The Most Dangerous Game: Week 7's Thursday Night Pick

Alright, I've been lazy this whole season and posting a pick for the Thursday night games on my twitter. I'll start doing it here, time permitting. (Shameless plug alert: read my stuff at mcgilldaily.com !!!)

Before  I give my pick, some thoughts on the Thursday Night game. If I can't even muster the energy to write a pick out on Thursday, how does the NFL expect players to play on Thursdays? Four days are not enough time for a player to recover from Sunday's game- a week is barely enough time. For a league that has pledged support for "player safety," Thursday night games every week are a joke, a transparent cash grab (Thursday is a prime-time TV night, and it prevents the NFL from stacking up too many games on Sundays- maximum exposure is the goal). If they want to put any games on a Thursday, they ought to be after a bye week. But, no, the players will continue to struggle under this compressed schedule, the quality of the games will continue to be poor, and the NFL's promises to attempt to truly make the game safer will continue to ring hollow.

Fine. It's not really news to say that the NFL is a hypocritical. At the very least, they shouldn't be so outrightly hypocritical. Money over safety, every time.

Seattle at San Francisco (-9)

Nine??? Nine points? The Seahawks are definitely not a great team on the road, but they do have the defense to limit the 49ers offense (hell, they limited the far-superior Patriots last week). While I don't see the 49ers losing two games in a row, especially since they were embarrassed last week, this won't be a cakewalk. The 49ers defense should be able to limit Marshawn Lynch and frustrate Russell Wilson, and their offense should be able to eventually get by the Seahawks. But by more than nine? These Thursday Night games have all been somewhat sluggish, for one or both teams. As the season moves on and the deterioration of player's bodies continues, it won't get much better. Besides, the 49ers offense hasn't shown it can beat elite defenses, especially with Alex Smith's finger woes. Niners take this one, but by a touchdown or less.

Pick: 49ers win, Seahawks cover