Titans/Steelers in question over covid tests

[NorthHawk]

They are trying hard to avoid a week 18 game to make up for these postponements.
They should be able to make it if it doesn't get any worse.

I wonder what they have in mind if a team has a cluster or outbreak during the playoffs?
It would be hard to justify forfeiting games and losing revenue, but the playoffs can't go on
through mid March because of postponed games.

[RiverDog]

They are trying hard to avoid a week 18 game to make up for these postponements. They should be able to make it if it doesn't get any worse.

I wonder what they have in mind if a team has a cluster or outbreak during the playoffs? It would be hard to justify forfeiting games and losing revenue, but the playoffs can't go on through mid March because of postponed games.

They do have a little wiggle room in the bye week between the conference championships and the Super Bowl, but it would likely be sacrificed in order to fit in a Week 18 if there were significant postponed games that affected playoff seeding. It it were a game of no consequence, they'd probably just cancel it.

So far, it's been manageable because we're early enough into the schedule where teams haven't used up their bye weeks. But as we get further and further into the schedule, those options will begin to close themselves out.

[RiverDog]

The schedule is getting weird. Tomorrow we'll have the first ever Tuesday night game, Bills vs. Titans, and next week, we have a 2:00pm PT start on a Monday, Chiefs vs. Bills.

But on a personal level, I'm getting a chance to see more games than I ever have before, so I guess I shouldn't complain.

So far, the Bills are the most unfairly treated team. They haven't had a single positive test yet the league has put them on the end of a whip, and through it all, they're 4-0.

[c_hawkbob]

So far, the Bills are the most unfairly treated team

And not really all that unfairly IMO. I'll hear the complaints when a team with no positives or covid suspensions loses a game check for what the other team on their schedule has done. Until then, this is just the forced schedule flexibility force upon the whole league by the pandemic. Deal with it.

[RiverDog]

And not really all that unfairly IMO. I'll hear the complaints when a team with no positives or covid suspensions loses a game check for what the other team on their schedule has done. Until then, this is just the forced schedule flexibility force upon the whole league by the pandemic. Deal with it.

Here's what Vic Fangio, HC of the Denver Broncos, had to say about the subject:

“In a weird way, I’m kind of happy to see some of this stuff happen because you see who the whiners are … and who can’t handle adversity,” Fangio said Sunday, via the Associated Press. “And I’m going to try hard that the Denver Broncos don’t fall into any of those categories.”

[mykc14]

This could get real messy towards the end of the season after they have to reschedule games for teams that have already had byes. It seems likely the season will be pushed to 18 weeks, which means some teams may get a double bye heading into the playoffs. They have been creative so far but it has also been relatively uncomplicated compared to what a mess the end of the season could look like.

[RiverDog]

More weirdness for Week 6. There is no Thursday Night game tonight. Next Monday will feature a double header, with a good matchup, Kansas City vs. Buffalo, kickoff at 2:00pm Pacific Time, 11:00 am local.

[NorthHawk]

A double bye might be a good thing for us fans. Teams that get into the playoffs after coming off a bye week within a
few weeks of the end of the schedule might make for better games between teams that might otherwise be missing
key players.
Just looking for a silver lining...

[RiverDog]

Just looking for a silver lining...

One silver lining is that due to rescheduling outside of Sundays, we're getting more nationally broadcast games.

[c_hawkbob]

Just looking for a silver lining...

One silver lining is that due to rescheduling outside of Sundays, we're getting more nationally broadcast games.

A big plus for me.

[Hawktawk]

I hate to be a downer but this pandemic is getting worse by the day again with cases pushing 60K daily nationwide and 41 states seeing rises, over 20 seeing all time highs. This is week 6 and the NFL is already playing whack a mole trying to keep it under control. My great fear is we may have our HOF QB having a season for the ages, maybe 8-0 9-0 and they have to shut it down. I really want to be wrong but if the NFL doesn't adopt as strict a bubble policy as possible ASAP this season will be derailed

[RiverDog]

I hate to be a downer but this pandemic is getting worse by the day again with cases pushing 60K daily nationwide and 41 states seeing rises, over 20 seeing all time highs. This is week 6 and the NFL is already playing whack a mole trying to keep it under control. My great fear is we may have our HOF QB having a season for the ages, maybe 8-0 9-0 and they have to shut it down. I really want to be wrong but if the NFL doesn't adopt as strict a bubble policy as possible ASAP this season will be derailed

Obviously they can't keep rescheduling indefinitely, but the league seems pretty confident that they can continue with their current plan, at least for the time being:

Following a two-hour meeting with NFL team owners and club representatives on Tuesday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the league has “flexibility” to continue shuffling dates of postponed games leading up to the Super Bowl, which is still scheduled for Feb. 7 in Tampa Bay.

And it doesn't sound like an NFL bubble is going to happen, at least in the near future:

Asked about the reports (of going to a bubble), Troy Vincent, NFL executive vice president of football operations, said the decision would be medical-driven and deferred to the league’s chief medical officer, Dr. Allen Sills.

The NFL is keeping its options open, according to Sills, but right now the league isn’t in favor of adding bubbles.

Sills said bubbles are “not foolproof” with stopping infections, as they would still be open to outside service workers. And Sills emphasized the emotional toll on players isolated from families, especially during the holidays.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/14/the-nfl ... ikely.html

[NorthHawk]

I'm wondering if things do go off the rail would they try to reschedule to get the divisional games completed so that
in the event of a shortened season, they could determine seeding? There are probably a lot of different scenarios
that could play out, so who knows what contingencies they have in their bag of tricks.

[jshawaii22]

Shorten the season? That's not going to happen. They already have at least 2 weeks that they can push the season back, now that they've axed the ProBowl. The NFL has already said that the Super Bowl can be pushed back further as Tampa has opened up the schedule for the NFL.
No matter what happens, I seriously doubt that games that that matter are cancelled will not be made up, except in one case: at the end of the year, if those teams playing each other are not in a playoff position, it's possible but unlikely the game will not be rescheduled.

I also will bet the teams that are heading into the playoffs, come about week 16 or so, will go into their own bubbles for the balance of each teams season.

By the way, the testing is getting better and more available each week. The issue today is 'false positives' of the rapid tests, and now the medical staffs are sending anyone away who even has a sniffle, until they can be confirmed negative.

[obiken]

I agree! JS22!! Not gonna happen, to much dough!

[RiverDog]

Shorten the season? That's not going to happen. They already have at least 2 weeks that they can push the season back, now that they've axed the ProBowl. The NFL has already said that the Super Bowl can be pushed back further as Tampa has opened up the schedule for the NFL.
No matter what happens, I seriously doubt that games that that matter are cancelled will not be made up, except in one case: at the end of the year, if those teams playing each other are not in a playoff position, it's possible but unlikely the game will not be rescheduled.

I also will bet the teams that are heading into the playoffs, come about week 16 or so, will go into their own bubbles for the balance of each teams season.

By the way, the testing is getting better and more available each week. The issue today is 'false positives' of the rapid tests, and now the medical staffs are sending anyone away who even has a sniffle, until they can be confirmed negative.

I wouldn't bet on the NFL completing the entire regular season. We seem to be heading for a bad 2nd wave of infections, and the more infections in the general population, the greater the risk to the teams. As far as entering a bubble, Week 16 would be a tough one to start it as that's Christmas week. Any decision to go to a bubble has to be approved by the player's union.

[jshawaii22]

The Titan's issue, which had around 30 positives, didn't even stir the pot as the NFL worked it's way through the 'crisis'. There were no threats to shut the season down or even hold it up except by one player and it never got traction.
The NFL is rolling with the issues making the best decisions that they can with a bad disease and so far it's working out.

As far a I remember, the Union hasn't said anything negative in a few weeks since that add-on agreement for 7-day testing and the players know full well that they don't get paid if games and / or the season is cancelled and the future free agents will be unbelievably screwed by an even lower salary cap that is primarily based on TV revenue if they lose out on games played.

Given the situation and from what I've heard, I'd say that most of the teams and players are doing pretty good considering they aren't in a bubble. I don't see the Union stepping in unless all of a sudden the NFL relaxes their already strict rules on player safety and testing.

and OK, RD, they won't start a bubble on Xmas day, but I'd want my players in a bubble by NYE, at the very least it needs to cover the post-season.

[RiverDog]

The Titan's issue, which had around 30 positives, didn't even stir the pot as the NFL worked it's way through the 'crisis'. There were no threats to shut the season down or even hold it up except by one player and it never got traction.
The NFL is rolling with the issues making the best decisions that they can with a bad disease and so far it's working out.

The Titans lucked out as both them and their next opponent, the Steelers, had their bye in the same week, so there was no domino effect. It also occured early in the season. The further down the schedule, the more problematic rescheduling becomes.

As far a I remember, the Union hasn't said anything negative in a few weeks since that add-on agreement for 7-day testing and the players know full well that they don't get paid if games and / or the season is cancelled and the future free agents will be unbelievably screwed by an even lower salary cap that is primarily based on TV revenue if they lose out on games played.

Given the situation and from what I've heard, I'd say that most of the teams and players are doing pretty good considering they aren't in a bubble. I don't see the Union stepping in unless all of a sudden the NFL relaxes their already strict rules on player safety and testing.

and OK, RD, they won't start a bubble on Xmas day, but I'd want my players in a bubble by NYE, at the very least it needs to cover the post-season.

You're right, the union hasn't said anything negative. They seem to have been very cooperative with the league. I'm only saying that the league cannot make a bubble decision unilaterally, and entering one during the holiday season is going to be a tough call. These are young players that are not part of a high risk group and which has proven to be a much more difficult demographic group to rationalize the need for compliance to protocols.

I'm not necessarily being pessimistic. The league still has a number of options available to them, but we don't know just how bad this 2nd wave is going to be, either. IMO it could go either way. We could a season with nothing more than a couple additional rescheduled games or it could get so bad that they have to cancel the season. In any case, I wouldn't be so self assured to assume that we're going to have a complete season.

[jshawaii22]

way off topic, but I know a few of you (secretly) watch Mariners... So, congrats to Mike Zunino who is on to the World Series. He rocketed a huge homer for TB today that was actually the winning run and he's hitting 2x his 'regular' season average in the playoffs. It also knocked off the Houston Astros that everyone hates right now for cheating big time. Another failed top pick who the pitchers loved as a catcher but, alas, he couldn't hit a lick except for a few good home runs.

[RiverDog]

way off topic, but I know a few of you (secretly) watch Mariners... So, congrats to Mike Zunino who is on to the World Series. He rocketed a huge homer for TB today that was actually the winning run and he's hitting 2x his 'regular' season average in the playoffs. It also knocked off the Houston Astros that everyone hates right now for cheating big time. Another failed top pick who the pitchers loved as a catcher but, alas, he couldn't hit a lick except for a few good home runs.

I've lost interest in baseball, and even more so with the Mariners, and the empty stands and cardboard cutouts has served to highlighted my disinterest. The only way I see a regeneration of interest would be if the Mariners ever put a winning team on the field, a prospect that seems impossible for them.

Back to topic. The Patriots have placed 3 more players on their COVID list including a couple of starters, but Cam Newton will be playing today.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/301 ... id-19-list