Twitter: The Ringer/Bill Simmons Conspiracy on Cowboys Rest Differential

[Runwildboys]

Sorry brother but I disagree. I believe the cumulative effects of the compressed slate of games is harder on the body than having to do the Thursday turnaround twice within a 4-6 week span. Doing the Thanksgiving day game followed by 10 days rest and a few games with 7 days rest before doing that turnaround again is IMHO much less taxing on the body than. Think of it terms of a cut being opened on Sunday. By Thursday it may have a scab but it certainly is not healed. You go out on Thursday and rip the scab off again.. So by the following Thursday it's healed up a little more but still not 100% and you go and rip the scab off again. That elongates the healing process .. On the flip side if you get that cut on Sunday and then go out and beat it up on Thursday and THEN take 10 days before going out and beating up on it again that cut is MUCH farther down the road to healing by that next Sunday.. And if you have 7 days off in between for the next several weeks it has a chance to be pretty close to completely healed before you are asked to play another game on 4 days rest.

But if you play Thursday games consecutively, you only have one week with a four day rest period. The time between Thursdays is a regular 7 day stretch.

 

[gimmesix]

But if you play Thursday games consecutively, you only have one week with a four day rest period. The time between Thursdays is a regular 7 day stretch.

I think it's the four-day week that's the problem. Dallas took Thanksgiving when no one wanted it, both because it was a holiday and because it was a short week. Injured players don't get enough rest time between the Sunday game and Thursday game. As a way of compensating for that, the players essentially were rewarded with a 10-day week after the Thanksgiving game. They still get that, but it's delayed by a week. I'm not sure how much it cumulatively affects players to have that compressed schedule compared to the previous way. I mean, you are playing three games in 12 days instead of three in 15.

 

[Runwildboys]

I think it's the four-day week that's the problem. Dallas took Thanksgiving when no one wanted it, both because it was a holiday and because it was a short week. Injured players don't get enough rest time between the Sunday game and Thursday game. As a way of compensating for that, the players essentially were rewarded with a 10-day week after the Thanksgiving game. They still get that, but it's delayed by a week. I'm not sure how much it cumulatively affects players to have that compressed schedule compared to the previous way. I mean, you are playing three games in 12 days instead of three in 15.

Right, and if you stagger the Thursday games, it happens twice. I'd rather have four games in 19 days than 3 games in 12 ×2.

 

[Pokes12]

Cowboys will play 6 games against teams who have less than a week to prepare for them.

No other team has more than 4 this season.

Dallas is bound to have some quirks to the schedule that are unique, given the amount of National TV games + always playing on Thanksgiving.

The league know that teams do not need a lot of time to prepare to play a vanilla and predictable offense.

 

[JBond]

The NFL understands it only takes 2 light practices to "prepare" for the Cowboys.

 

[RonnieT24]

Right, and if you stagger the Thursday games, it happens twice. I'd rather have four games in 19 days than 3 games in 12 ×2.

You might but I would almost guarantee you the players wouldn't. Try to imagine if this was a boxer. If a boxer gets clocked with a minute left in the round but covers up for 30 seconds before getting clocked again the effects of the first punch are still there. If the opponent lands another haymaker just before the bell there's a good chance the boxer is going to sleep even if the second punch is not as solid as the first. Take the same fighters with the same scenario where one guy clocks the other with a minute left in the round but doesn't land another solid blow until a minute left in the next round. Most of effects of the punch landed in the previous round have worn off. So it will take much more of a direct hit to put the guy down. A boxer can absorb a haymaker that might kill me and you once or twice a round and still answer the bell the next round. But if his opponent land three or four haymakers in a round he's in trouble. The Sunday, Thursday, Thursday, Sunday is the equivalent of taking three or four haymakers in one round. The Sunday, Thursday, Sunday, Sunday, Thursday might let the guy get in two haymakers in one round but the second barrage comes like 2-4 rounds later after the cobwebs from the first one have gone away. It's the same number of punches, but the amount of recovery time in between is the key. I know it's not an exact analogy but I think it fits.

 

[Runwildboys]

You might but I would almost guarantee you the players wouldn't. Try to imagine if this was a boxer. If a boxer gets clocked with a minute left in the round but covers up for 30 seconds before getting clocked again the effects of the first punch are still there. If the opponent lands another haymaker just before the bell there's a good chance the boxer is going to sleep even if the second punch is not as solid as the first. Take the same fighters with the same scenario where one guy clocks the other with a minute left in the round but doesn't land another solid blow until a minute left in the next round. Most of effects of the punch landed in the previous round have worn off. So it will take much more of a direct hit to put the guy down. A boxer can absorb a haymaker that might kill me and you once or twice a round and still answer the bell the next round. But if his opponent land three or four haymakers in a round he's in trouble. The Sunday, Thursday, Thursday, Sunday is the equivalent of taking three or four haymakers in one round. The Sunday, Thursday, Sunday, Sunday, Thursday might let the guy get in two haymakers in one round but the second barrage comes like 2-4 rounds later after the cobwebs from the first one have gone away. It's the same number of punches, but the amount of recovery time in between is the key. I know it's not an exact analogy but I think it fits.

I know what you're saying, and if they were old folks like us, I'd agree. But these kids heal a lot faster than we do. I'd be more worried about the mental preparation of two short practice weeks.

 

[RonnieT24]

I know what you're saying, and if they were old folks like us, I'd agree. But these kids heal a lot faster than we do. I'd be more worried about the mental preparation of two short practice weeks.

I can't disagree there.. but no matter how young one is, broken bones and torn ligaments don't heal any faster in your 20's than they do in your 50's. Same with pulled/strained muscles. And while a lot of the guys are 25 and under, some of the other key guys, Zack, Tyron, D-Law, are north of 30 and can't do the turnaround. All you need to do is look at the Cowboys' record in that game after a post Thanksgiving Thursday game when it was 10 days off vs only 7. When I have time I will look it up and see if it tells us anything.

 

[Runwildboys]

I can't disagree there.. but no matter how young one is, broken bones and torn ligaments don't heal any faster in your 20's than they do in your 50's. Same with pulled/strained muscles. And while a lot of the guys are 25 and under, some of the other key guys, Zack, Tyron, D-Law, are north of 30 and can't do the turnaround. All you need to do is look at the Cowboys' record in that game after a post Thanksgiving Thursday game when it was 10 days off vs only 7. When I have time I will look it up and see if it tells us anything.

While I see the merit in looking at the win/loss record after Thursday games, it's far from definitive either way. You'd have to also compare the opponent's records, the Cowboys' overall records for the respective seasons, pregame injuries, etc. There are far too many variables to use that as proof, regardless of the outcome.

Also, pulled/strained muscles do heal faster with youth, but they have staff and methods to accelerate the healing, and there are also shots that can negate the pain, if there's not much danger of doing damage. Obviously those things aren't optimal, but that's why they make the big bucks.