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Bad news here, both Lockett and Collins are on COVID list. We'll hope the list stays short.

Careful don’t want to offend anyone mentioning Covid on the forum this sucks . Lockett is Russ security blanket . Knowing the strain I can’t talk about is likely the culprit I fully expect more . Lots more . I think the league is resisting return to daily testing because they really don’t want to know the full scope of asymptomatic cases they might have right now .

So much for our ability to keep dodging bullets. Next to Russell, Lockett is the player we can least afford to lose.

Cbob, you'd better take another look at your picks.

I guess we'll find out how good our #3 is. It'd be nice if Eskridge could get some more work to see how he develops. We know he's fast, need to know how good of a football player he is.

DK is about to get a bunch of targets, which should open things up for the other guys. Next man up mentality.

I've heard a report the league is considering waiving some of the wait and test period for fully vaccinated players who have tested positive in order to avoid a PR disaster or postpone games. Probably everyone but Lockette and Collins will qualify

Hawktawk wrote:I've heard a report the league is considering waiving some of the wait and test period for fully vaccinated players who have tested positive in order to avoid a PR disaster or postpone games. Probably everyone but Lockette and Collins will qualify

You heard right:

The league announced Thursday that it has updated COVID-19 protocols to "address the increase in cases and the advent of the Omicron variant."

"Effective immediately, all clubs will implement preventative measures that have proven effective: masking regardless of vaccination status, remote or outdoor meetings, eliminating in-person meals, and no outside visitors while on team travel," the league said in a statement. "We will continue to strongly encourage the booster shots as the most effective protection. Finally, and based on expert advice, we will adjust the return-to-participation requirements for those who have recovered from COVID-19.

"All of these changes are grounded in our data and science-backed approach, with safety our number-one goal for the entire NFL community."

Included in the updated protocols are changes to how fully vaccinated players can "test out" of COVID-19 protocols and return from quarantine quicker. The NFL provided three testing options for a fully vaccinated individual to return provided he or she is asymptomatic for at least 24 hours. In the updated protocols, an individual's return from quarantine is possible as soon as the day after his or her initial positive test.

https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-updates-co ... tine-for-v

I was just going to post. Its the only way not to torpedo the season. Very proactive by the league.

Hawktawk wrote:I was just going to post. Its the only way not to torpedo the season. Very proactive by the league.

Yeah, this couldn't happen at a worse time as the league is gearing up for the playoff run and with so many teams having viable chances. And it's likely to get worse before it gets better.

RiverDog wrote:
Yeah, this couldn't happen at a worse time as the league is gearing up for the playoff run and with so many teams having viable chances. And it's likely to get worse before it gets better.

Ill respect that were not discussing the virus over here per se but just doing a bunch of research on the variant and its not good and yes we will see many more cases soon. Sucks. Its Like the Giants owner said "it feels like its never gonna be over"

If we don't play until Tuesday maybe there's a chance those players get enough negative tests that will permit them to play.
On the other hand it gives the virus two more days to infect other players.

NorthHawk wrote:If we don't play until Tuesday maybe there's a chance those players get enough negative tests that will permit them to play.
On the other hand it gives the virus two more days to infect other players.

Yea, it's a Catch 22. But the alternative is to either cancel the games or play them with one team having to field a vastly reduced roster, so the league is rolling the dice hoping that enough players will qualify so as not to compromise the competitiveness of the game.

And that really depends on who gets infected.
If we lost DK, Wilson, Wagner, along with Lockett and the Rams lose Stafford, Donald, OBJ, and Ramsey the game would lose much of its luster.

NorthHawk wrote:And that really depends on who gets infected.
If we lost DK, Wilson, Wagner, along with Lockett and the Rams lose Stafford, Donald, OBJ, and Ramsey the game would lose much of its luster.

The Browns lost QB Baker Mayfield, backup QB Case Keenum, WR Jarvis Landry, TE Austin Hooper, and 3 of their offensive linemen on the Covid list, not to mention a bunch of key players on defense. With that many players out, they might as well forfeit.

Browns Raiders is also moved . The Seattle Seahawks organization is furious , they did everything right and the Ramblos had to have been clubbing or at a party or ignoring protocols completely . Seattle made it plain they wanted to play the game as scheduled . Goodell said in the off-season games “ will not be postponed “. He went on to say if teams couldn’t field a team the game would be forfeited . But it’s the Rams , Goodells prized LA team with their 5 billion stadium. Don’t expect any help from the officials either . Pure BS

Hawktawk wrote:Browns Raiders is also moved . The Seattle Seahawks organization is furious , they did everything right and the Ramblos had to have been clubbing or at a party or ignoring protocols completely . Seattle made it plain they wanted to play the game as scheduled . Goodell said in the off-season games “ will not be postponed “. He went on to say if teams couldn’t field a team the game would be forfeited . But it’s the Rams , Goodells prized LA team with their 5 billion stadium. Don’t expect any help from the officials either . Pure BS

Where are you getting your information? The only Seahawk I saw being quoted was KJ Wright, actually a former Seahawk playing for the Raiders. I've seen a lot of tweets from fans and talking heads, but nothing from the Seahawks current players or anyone else directly associated with the team.

As a matter of fact, the exact opposite from what you're claiming seems to be the case:

But while Carroll sympathizes with his players for having to deal with a short turnaround after uncharacteristically playing in the middle of the week, he respects the NFL's decision to move the game for the sake of allowing both teams to have as many healthy players available as possible. As for the argument the Rams will gain unfair competitive advantages, he's not buying it.

"It doesn't have anything to do with that, competitive advantage or disadvantage I don't think," Carroll told reporters on Friday. "We're trying to get as many guys able to play as possible but with the thought of looking after everybody and making the right decisions in the midst of this surge we've kind of seen in the league and around the country and around the world. We're trying to make good decisions and as [is the case] with so many decisions we make, we don't have a lot of background on these things. You just gotta figure out what to do and go for it."

And while it could be natural for the Seahawks to feel like they're the victims of the Rams having a COVID outbreak, Carroll refused to go down that road. "I can't do anything about that," he said. "I just wish nobody was getting sick."

Rather than dwell on the fact Seattle will have a tight window between games next week, Carroll chose to look for positives his team can capitalize on over the next few days. The team will have two extra days for injured players such as tackle Brandon Shell and receiver Freddie Swain to get healthier and players will have extra study time to prepare for a critical divisional matchup.

Regardless, while Carroll could have easily complained about the Seahawks being victimized by the NFL after handling protocols as well as any team in the league to this point, he understands this pandemic is far bigger than football. Keeping players, coaches, and their families for both teams healthy remains what matters most and if playing on Tuesday allows for that to happen, he's all for it.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/pe ... uxbndlbing

How do you know that the Rams contracted the virus because they were out 'clubbing' or otherwise ignoring protocols? I have seen nothing that would indicate that your statements have any truth to them whatsoever, so please, start citing your sources.

BTW, I see where as of yesterday, neither Lockett or Collins have yet to return a positive test. If they don't return one today, then they wouldn't have been able to participate in the Rams game had it not been moved. OBJ tweeted that he had a negative test yesterday, if he tests negative today, he comes off the list.

RD obviously toungue in cheek on the party quip or I guess maybe not obvious . I know the Hawks feel they are not being rewarded for going the extra mile . I’d say 29 players or something they did something wrong . It’s pretty obvious . Does anyone think Seattle would have gotten this delay if half their team was out ?

Hawktawk wrote:RD obviously toungue in cheek on the party quip or I guess maybe not obvious . I know the Hawks feel they are not being rewarded for going the extra mile . I’d say 29 players or something they did something wrong . It’s pretty obvious . Does anyone think Seattle would have gotten this delay if half their team was out ?

Given that there's such a large outbreak, and not just with the NFL but with the NBA, NCAA, as well as a huge increase in cases nation wide, it's entirely believable that the Rams were reasonably compliant, and the virus got them anyway. In any event, there isn't the evidence present to punish the team by causing them to forfeit.

Keep in mind that it wasn't just the Rams that experienced a large outbreak. There were two other teams that had 20+ individuals, as well as scores of players on other teams. In 5 days, the NFL had 151 players test positive, 6% of the entire league:

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/new ... 69uxgubvw4

And to answer your question, yes, if we had 20+ players out under these circumstances, of course, the league would have postponed our game.

This change just came down a few hours ago:

The NFL will stop mandating weekly COVID-19 tests for asymptomatic vaccinated players, according to memos distributed Saturday that described a major shift in the league's approach to the pandemic.

The new protocols, which take effect next week, could allow the virus to spread undetected through locker rooms, and could increase opportunities for infected but otherwise healthy players to participate in games.

The NFL and NFLPA announced the "more targeted testing plan" in a statement, along with "more flexibility" for players "to attend meetings virtually" and opportunities for "high-risk players" to opt out of the remainder of the season.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/nf ... d=msedgntp

Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!

I think this is a smart and necessary move on the part of the league. Pro football players are young, healthy individuals not likely to die or even need hospitalization. On top of that the current Covid strains are seem to produce much less serious illness, more like the common cold. And there are also some pretty effective therapeutics for those with significant symptoms. In fact, I think the whole country needs to go this direction.

the 3 key words for today: asymptomatic vaccinated players.

This is what former Seahawk KJ Wright complained about earlier this week when their game was moved, while they were sitting in the plane waiting to take off. The teams and players were getting upset because there very well may be positives but they aren't really sick, so there is no reason to delay the games. The NFL/NFLPA are now treating the new positives just a common cold type virus. We'll see how this plays out. Does this mean we get Lockett back?

trents wrote:I think this is a smart and necessary move on the part of the league. Pro football players are young, healthy individuals not likely to die or even need hospitalization. On top of that the current Covid strains are seem to produce much less serious illness, more like the common cold. And there are also some pretty effective therapeutics for those with significant symptoms. In fact, I think the whole country needs to go this direction.

jshawaii22 wrote:the 3 key words for today: asymptomatic vaccinated players.

This is what former Seahawk KJ Wright complained about earlier this week when their game was moved, while they were sitting in the plane waiting to take off. The teams and players were getting upset because there very well may be positives but they aren't really sick, so there is no reason to delay the games. The NFL/NFLPA are now treating the new positives just a common cold type virus. We'll see how this plays out. Does this mean we get Lockett back?

The problem isn't with the players getting ill as much as them being spreaders. Plus there's not enough data yet to conclude that this variant is going to be less likely to cause severe illness. My sense is that they should have called for a pause after this week's games, get some guidance, then figure out what direction they want to go to finish out the season. Would having all their players get boosters then start up in two weeks be an option? Is a person with a 2 shot series plus a booster any less of a spreader than those currently considered 'fully vaccinated'?

I'm not saying that my proposal is the way they should handle it, and I do understand that at some point, we need to learn to live with this virus as it's going to be with us for some time. But this move has the smell of just saying to hell with it, that public health takes a back seat to making a profit.

This is don’t ask don’t tell. Potentially allowing scores of asymptomatic players in the facility , in airplanes etc without any testing is a recipe for a massive viral load even from vaxxed asymptomatic people . If it’s what needed to be done fine . It’s just another okey Doke by Goodell. How many games were already affected by a key person not allowed to play in the last 20 months now it is plan b. Lots of players on the teams forced to postpone due to their opponents superspreader events are not happy . Particularly Seattle who is forced to play a road game on Tuesday and then play 4 days later .

I’m sure that decision had nothing to do with the Rams having played a bruising conference game on MNF. their Covid outbreak is in its second week and many of their players would have been able to go with the new protocols anyway . This schedule helped the Rams more than any of the other 5 clubs involved . That part of this decision was intentional .

Not to mention it’s a windfall for the league to have a prime time game with lots of stars on Tuesday . All 3 teams who were told they were getting moved requested to play next Monday and all were denied . The hell with player safety .

Everything I have heard on the news indicates that the omicron variant is less deadly than previous iterations of the virus. I'm thinking it's time to let everyone get exposed and let the chips fall where they may to move toward herd immunity and get this thing behind us. It's become a political football more than anything else by now. There, that expression should make my comments relative to the forum subject of football.

Hawktawk wrote:Not to mention it’s a windfall for the league to have a prime time game with lots of stars on Tuesday . All 3 teams who were told they were getting moved requested to play next Monday and all were denied . The hell with player safety .

Our season is lost anyway, so why are you having kittens over these schedule changes?

I do think that moving our next game to Monday would have been just compensation for our being bumped not due to anything we did, especially when our opponent, the Bears, would also be playing on a short week. But we don't know what the league is thinking. Perhaps they don't want to make any unnecessary schedule changes in case they have another breakout. In any event, I'm not subscribing to the conspiracy theories.

Hawktawk wrote:Browns Raiders is also moved . The Seattle Seahawks organization is furious , they did everything right and the Ramblos had to have been clubbing or at a party or ignoring protocols completely . Seattle made it plain they wanted to play the game as scheduled . Goodell said in the off-season games “ will not be postponed “. He went on to say if teams couldn’t field a team the game would be forfeited . But it’s the Rams , Goodells prized LA team with their 5 billion stadium. Don’t expect any help from the officials either . Pure BS

Check the last line . I hate being right about stuff like this . The Hawks made it easy for the refs to tip the scale but ….yep