"After another nasty game in the nastiest rivalry in pro sports, Ed Reed stood in the Baltimore Ravens' locker room, the last player left, and he dished out a few final hits.

"All of a sudden, the NFL is starting to get sued for all the stuff they haven't protected over the years, and they haven't done ... now you want to take it out on us?" Reed asked. "Take it out on yourself. It's easy for them to do the things they're doing, fining us and make us look bad, like we're the bad guy, when we're not.

"If they were really so concerned about the violence and the injuries, players getting hurt, answer this question for me ... why is there Thursday Night Football?" Reed asked. "We played three games in 17 days. Why is there Thursday Night Football? Come on, man."

There is Thursday Night Football for one reason: Money. Reed knows it. Anybody watching knows it. It is hypocritical and wrong, a simple part of a complex problem.

Roger Goodell's league is caught between its reckless past and its multi-billion-dollar present. Former players are suing, saying the NFL failed to protect them. Some current players believe the league is more concerned with the appearance of improving safety than actually improving player safety. Reed is apparently one of them.