These damn Thursday night games.

I feel no compulsion to watch Thursday Night Football. Why should I? The players take the field four days following their previous game, with three days of rest and three days of preparation. Understandably, the product on the field is lesser than the normal NFL game. Now compound that on top of the awful matchups the NFL slates — Chargers-Chiefs, Bucs-Vikings, not one but TWO NFC West contests, the list goes on — and you get hot, football garbage. The best Thursday matchup, by far, was Packers-Bears in Week Two, and thanks to a lack of rest early in the season, the game was pure slop. Thursday Night Football ruined the best rivalry in NFL history.

This week’s game is Dolphins-Bills. Are you going to go out of your way to watch Dolphins-Bills? Is anyone?

These games have fantasy implications as well because they mess everything up. They take NFL teams out of the comfortable pattern that is the “one game a week” schedule. NFL plays on Sundays. Monday Night Football works because it is only one day removed from the Sunday schedule. Thursday is the exact opposite — four days from the previous Sunday, three days until the next. The makeup of the game is a logical mess, too. It covers as a primetime marquee matchup, but it’s in the middle of the week, with bad teams and tired players.

The whole idea is disorienting, and the players perform accordingly. Jay Cutler played the worst game of his career. Ramses Barden, named after a Pharaoh, accounted for one-third of his career reception total in one game. It’s chaos.

So if you’re considering starting a Thursday night player, be warned. Anything could happen. Reggie Bush could run for 235 yards this week, or he could run for 6. Neither would surprise me.

Here are some non-Thursday fantasy tips I feel a little more comfortable with.

START

Matt Forte (running back, Chicago Bears) — Quarterback Jay Cutler is doubtful to play for the Bears on Monday. If he can’t go, Forte and the running game will have to carry the load against the great 49ers defense. If Cutler does play, the team will still be cautious about their most important player, limiting him by switching the focus to the running game. Either way, Forte becomes Chicago’s top weapon this week.

Randall Cobb (wide receiver, Green Bay Packers) — Packers receivers are streaky. First, it was James Jones finding the endzone in three consecutive games. Now, it’s Cobb. He’s scored six times in the past five games and in the only game he didn’t catch a touchdown, he caught seven balls for 100 yards. Jordy Nelson returns from injury this week, but I don’t expect him to cut into Cobb’s production until Week 12 or 13. In Week 11, rely on Cobb against a middle-of-the-road Lions pass defense.

Andrew Luck (quarterback, Indianapolis Colts) — The Chuckstrong movement is a very real thing. The Colts have rallied around cancer-fighting head coach Chuck Pagano in a way that tugs at the heart strings. It’s beautiful. Indianapolis is riding high on a four-game win streak, Luck has replaced Peyton Manning and the Colts-Patriots offense heavy rivalry renews on Sunday. Chuckstrong, rivalry, Luck. That’s a 400-yard, three touchdown formula.

SIT

Ray Rice (running back, Baltimore Ravens) — Rice is a fantasy stud. No one is denying that. But this week is the dreaded carnage-filled matchup with the Steelers that could end 3-0 without anyone batting an eye. Even with the two teams aging into the twilight years, it’s still a rivalry and it’s still based on the defenses. Ravens-Steelers is not a formula for fantasy success.

Carson Palmer (quarterback, Oakland Raiders) — Normally, sitting Palmer is a pretty obvious decision because he has no talent. But this week, two things will lead you into temptation: He’s coming off his two biggest passing totals of the season, and he’s facing the Saints defense. He’s averaged about 400 yards and three touchdowns the last two games. The Saints are thrilled when they only allow 400 passing yards and three touchdowns. So, on the surface, CP3 is a smart play. But the reality with Palmer is that he cannot stop himself from throwing interceptions, which hurt fantasy point totals. In a game of two not-so-good teams — a game that is actually winnable for Oakland — Palmer could throw five picks.

Jack is a senior in LAS. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JCassidy10.