chongli

My guess is the AFC side will be announced sometime during FNIA. If both SEA (vs PIT, maybe) and LAR (at NYG, expected) win, someone is getting eliminated on SNF this week (either GB or MIN) so the NFC side may wait until it gets close to the end of SNF. In any case the Week 18 schedule should be announced during SNF: before, during, or after.

A blackout currently means a network in that time slot is not showing any game. The current rule is home teams have to allow the other network to air a competing game in the same time slot on the singleheader network four times a year, but can enforce a blackout if that number has been or will be exceeded that season. This rule does not apply to the first and last weeks of the season, when both networks show a double-header. Only a few teams this year had that situation (not Buffalo). It used to be for all home games, but in 2019 the NFL allowed two opposite games to be aired, then the current four in 2020 (because of the pandemic). It used to mean the network could not show your home team if they game did not sell out 72 hours in advance, but that rule was lifted in 2014. The original idea was to incentivize the local fan base to buy tickets to support the home team, but the NFL found they lost more money by the game not being shown on TV than by any loss in ticket sales. Blackouts were common before 2014, especially in Buffalo, with a smaller market and larger stadium. The Wild Card game in 1993 vs. the Oilers was even blacked out. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Football_League_television_blackout_policies EDIT to add my second response: As for the Seattle game, I believe Burkhardt and Olsen would have been there, but FOX is always weird. They do what they want to do time in and time out .NO-TB is a big game, but it's the NFC South with small markets and mediocre records. They really could have been assigned anywhere, with the exception of TEN-HOU. These games all involve big markets: LAR @ NYG SF @ WSH AZ @ PHI These are better games with playoff implications, but smaller markets, and one is a mediocre AFC team: NO @ TB PIT @ SEA These are both AFC teams and FOX doesn't like all AFC games, especially in small markets: TN @ HOU

NYC switched, AFAIK, to MIA-BAL. Zap2it has changed to them.

It does really suck for you guys, but if you it's on GamePass/DAZN if you pay for that:

Bills shouldn't be on Peacock since NBC already has the Buffalo subscribers. They want new subscribers.

There are no Monday night games Week 18. All on Sunday and two on Saturday. Both networks have double-headers. There is always SNF, termed "Game 272", except in 2017, when there was none, as no game was deemed worthy enough (but it would have been called "Game 256" back then, as there were only 16 games in a season). Also, lots of Australian fans up now (but no Bills game for you this week :-( )!

On the Miami forum, it comes out as "Pea****", lol.

Game 272 will, in fact, be simulcast on Peacock.

No blocks allowed Week 18. The NFL can put any game in any slot and on any network (with FOX and CBS being more or less balanced, that is). And if BUF-MIA is for the division, then yes, the thinking everywhere is we should be Game 272.

Weird fact: Also, lol:

I did some more googling. The guy is pretty ripped, very religious, and he says this when asked about his favorite food: https://alittlebitofeverythingblog.com/q-a-with-tab/ "Favorite meal is tough and this has evolved some through the years. Growing up, my mom would make homemade chicken strips, white rice, brown gravy and brussel [sic] sprouts on my birthday because that was my favorite. I’m still a big fan but now it’s hard to beat a steak and a baked potato. Big time cheat meal is pizza and if calories didn’t matter and I only had one food to eat forever, it would probably be pizza or PB&J!" [I'm a little concerned he (or his wife who wrote out the interview with him?) can't spell "Brussels sprouts" correctly, but ok.]

We had Ecks for the Jets. The 12 men thing was Denver.

Good research! Also, notice how FOX assigned the A-team that week to the best game, which was at 1 (San Francisco at Cleveland): https://506sports.com/nfl.php?yr=2023&wk=6 FOX has a different style. This week, they are assigning the A-team to a small distribution game, New Orleans at Tampa Bay, where they could have given them the game with the second-most distribution at 1 (Arizona at Philadelphia). The game with the biggest distribution is at 4:05 (Pittsburgh at Seattle), with Kenny Albert. FOX gave him that assignment only because he will broadcast the NHL Classic the next day from Seattle.

Patrick Mahommes brownnosing Alan Eck Week 3 of this season, congratulating him for his promotion to referee: [right at start of the video:]

We had Eck previously in Week 11 vs. the Jets. This is Eck's first year as a referee, and his crew has never worked together before this season. The crew was formed from six different crews. Pos. No. Name Exp. 2022 Crew College Occupation R 76 Alan Eck 8 Hussey Bloomsburg State, Georgia State University CPA/Tax Manager U 110 Tab Slaughter 4 Novak Arkansas State COO DJ 74 Derick Bowers 21 Blakeman East Central Sales Manager LJ 134 Robin DiLorenzo 2 Hussey Fordham CFO, Telecommunications FJ 117 John Jenkins 10 Kemp St. Mary's Sales Executive SJ 104 Dale Shaw 11 Kemp Allegheny Pharmaceutical Sales BJ 78 Greg Meyer 22 Clark TCU Banker RO n/a Denise Crudup 4 Torbert Wilmington [unknown] RA n/a Gerald Frye 4 Torbert Cannon [unknown] Position changes: Eck: U to R DeLorenzo: DJ to LJ Week 8 2023: https://www.outkick.com/diontae-johnson-openly-bashes-nfl-referees-blames-them-for-steelers-loss-to-jaguars/ "DIONTAE JOHNSON OPENLY BASHES NFL REFEREES, BLAMES THEM FOR STEELERS LOSS TO JAGUARS" "In Week 8, the Pittsburgh Steelers felt that the referees were out to get them. Steelers kicker Chris Boswell hit a 55-yard field goal at the end of the first half to put Pittsburgh down 9-6 heading into halftime. Except, officials threw a flag on the play. “Offside,” referee Alan Eck announced. Everyone expected the next words to be “on the defense.” Instead, Eck said that the Steelers right guard lined up Offside and negated the field goal." https://touchdownwire.usatoday.com/lists/nfl-worst-bryce-young-brian-daboll-nfl-officiating/ "Perhaps the league is a bit sensitive about roughing the passer after referee Alan Eck failed to call a textbook penalty against Jacksonville Jaguars defensive tackle Adam Gotsis in Week 8 in what was a textbook example of what the NFL doesn’t want you to do. Pickett was injured on the play, but perhaps the guys in Eck’s crew had the Burger King commercial theme in their heads." https://clutchpoints.com/chargers-news-fans-wont-like-referees-explanation-justin-herbert-hit "Chargers fans won't like referee's explanation of controversial Justin Herbert hit The call didn’t cost them the game, but perhaps things would have been different had the Chargers scored a touchdown to open the game On 2nd & 9 inside the red zone, Herbert scrambled out of bounds for a gain of five yards. That would have set up a managable 3rd down from inside the 10-yard line for the Chargers. Instead it ended up being 3rd & 19 after a personal foul was called on the Chargers following a reaction from the LA sideline due to a non-call on what looked like a late hit on Herbert. The referee for the game, Alan Eck, said that it was a bang-bang play so it went to the judgement of him and his crew. They deemed the tackle to be legal. “So, the ruling on the field was that the quarterback was trying to gain yardage. While he was still in bounds, the defender committed to the tackle,” Eck said, via Joe Reedy. “And as his foot landed out of bounds, the defender made contact. So, since the defender already committed to the tackle while the quarterback was in bounds, it was deemed a legal hit.”

In every game this year where CBS has had a doubleheader, Nantz and Romo have gotten the featured (4:25 PM) game. https://archive.506sports.com/wiki/2023_NFL_Season I would have to do further research to see if there was a time the A-team for CBS did not get that time in previous seasons. BTW, the NFL is allowed to switch late and early slots on the same network, no permission needed (although they do consult with the network). Apparently, CBS told them they were happy with the way it was. I agree MIA-BAL deserves to get the A-team, but for whatever reason, they didn't. It will be a block buster week for CBS no matter what. EDIT:,Also, the assignment was made when Cincy was in a four-game when streak and before KC's egg against Las Vegas, but still... it was a bad choice.

I couldn't find the tweet you mentioned above, but MIA-BAL is going to almost all of the country, whereas NE-BUF is just going to New York state, New England, NYC, and parts of Wyoming. NYC is expected to switch to MIA-BAL by tomorrow.

My interest piqued when I read the title, thinking the Chiefs would be stupid to get rid of Reid. But anyway, there is talk of bringing back Bienemy to be the OC.

UPDATE: Fox Single: New Orleans at Tampa Bay (A) Kevin Burkhardt, Greg Olsen, Tom Rinaldi, Erin Andrews Arizona at Philadelphia (B) Joe Davis, Daryl Johnston, Pam Oliver Tennessee at Houston (F) Chris Myers, Robert Smith Jen Hale All per Barry Werner: https://touchdownwire.usatoday.com/lists/nfl-reveals-announcers-for-week-17-games/ Thanks...the encouragement means a lot! As fot the Bills game being on a normal 1 PM window against MIA-BAL, let's just say a lot of Bills fans are going to be angry with the maps, as MIA-BAL is being featured (and rightfully so, despite getting the B-team).

To make matters worse, Tampa Bay and Houston are blacking out that game on CBS. EDIT: And a notice: the maps tomorrow may be delayed to the holiday and because a large part of the country is still undetermined on the FOX map.

UPDATE: Fox Single: Los Angeles Rams at New York Giants Kevin Kugler, Mark Sanchez, Laura Okmin True, lots of grumbling everywhere, but the Mahommes and Taylor factor...they will draw lots of eyes no matter what, which means money. Plus Baltimore and Miami are both smaller markets and the NFL/CBS did not want to switch and the A team almost always gets the late slot.

UPDATE: Fox Single: San Francisco at Washington (C) Adam Amin, Mark Schlereth, Kristina Pink

I want the number 2 seed. Then we host the number 7 seed in the WC and KC (Miami?) probably in the divisionals.

I'm feeling good about Baltimore beating Miami next week.

Brock Purdy: MVP! MVP! MVP!