Any realistic adjustments the NFL can make (or is making?) at this point so they're more NBA than MLB or are we good/screwed??

[transplantbillsfan]

6 hours ago, Logic said:

Agreed.

And for me personally, a championship won during a year without fans in the stands and with multiple squads decimated by infection from a deadly pandemic wouldn't be very satisfying. I know others disagree, but that's how I feel.

Would people really be happy about the Bills winning their first ever Lombardi during a season in which a deadly pandemic ravages league rosters, street free agents face off with vanilla playbooks, and no fans are there to celebrate? To whom does that sound like a worthwhile endeavor?

 

Ummm... yes.

 

I would take it for sure.

[SCBills]

I’m interested in how the games translate to tv.  
 

MLB is pretty meh.  It’s already a boring sport, so I’ll admit that I’m biased, but it’s a rough watch with no fans (IMO)

 

NBA translates extremely well with the giant screens around the arena, virtual fans and home court advantage with graphics and crowd noise piped in. 
 

 

Edited August 3, 2020 by SCBills

[transplantbillsfan]

4 hours ago, Buffalo Timmy said:

If a team wanted a bubble they could make it happen at a local college dorm that did not have students on site, but players don't want that. This season will go on fine because even if a player gets it he will only miss 2 games most likely and every team has to work through rosters that way every year. Will it always be pretty of course not, but I would not be surprised if teams did a bubble the last 2 weeks of season and into playoffs.

 

The issue is when the stars, specifically the star QBs get it. And that's bound to happen.

 

If it only happens a small handful of times this year; not a big deal.

 

But if LOTS of stars end up getting it and missing a couple weeks this season, that's going to be hugely problematic.

4 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

There's a book about how we relate to food (not really a diet book) by a UMN psychologist Traci Mann, "Secrets from the Eating Lab".

 

In it, she points out that at work, if we resist distractions and work efficiently 95% of the time, we'll probably be pretty productive.  But if on a diet, we successfully resist temptation to eat a plate of donuts at the coffee machine 95% of the time, but eat the donuts the other 5% of the time, we can undo the good work of a day (or a week) of dieting.  That's one reason diets have a poor track record of success.

 

There's a similar problem for self-quarantining.  It depends upon literally everyone in the household being disciplined about precautions 100% of the time. 

 

One thing that's been raised with college students is "don't tell us what we can't do - tell us what we CAN do, socially and safely".  So I think that would be an important thing for the Bills and other teams to address.  It's unreasonable to expect healthy, vigorous young men to live in a bubble without social contact for 6 months.  So don't focus on just telling them what's off limits and they shouldn't do  -  tell them also what they can safely do, or find out what they want to do and give advice on how to do it more safely.  If you want to have a gathering, rent a canopy and do it outside.  Play pool noodle games along with Mafia where you get to whack someone who comes within 6 feet.  etc.

 

Fantastic post.

 

Social gatherings aren't an issue on smaller scales. It's how they're done and if everyone is being responsible.

 

But that's a hard ask for young wealthy 20 something celebrities.

[transplantbillsfan]

4 hours ago, BullBuchanan said:

My thought is that if all the NFL families did actually bubble themselves from the outside that it would make sense that they could hang out together after quarantine and not increase risk that much, but I'm not a doctor.

 

You're asking for potentially over 10,000 people (I don't know the average NFL player family but Phillip Rivers has like 1,000 kids of his own ) to have no contact but their families for 6 months all for the sake of the NFL.

 

I'm sure many of the spouses have jobs and that's be asking them to quit their jobs or find a way to work from home.

 

I don't see that happening.

4 hours ago, maddenboy said:

I know that the NFL is now taking these additional steps after watching MLB & NBA, so I feel better about the season. (List steps being taken)

 

-Preparing to have a quarantined QB every week.

 

-Having a complete list of backups / journeymen / UPS drivers to pull from. 

 

Seems like every time a player is put on the Covid/Quarantine list, there is a guy being signed to take his spot the same day.  These players only last a week or 2, but they get acclimated to the system and playbook.   "stay in shape, son, and stay by your phone for the next 4 months"

 

-"complete" season I forsee.  16 game season, notsomuch.

 

And plus, we really just "root for laundry" in this free-agency era.  If JA goes down for the season, but we still win the SuperBowl, no Bills fan will put a mental asterisk by it.

 

Do you have a link for teams quarantining their QBs and how they're doing it?

[transplantbillsfan]

4 hours ago, Figster said:

I like the idea of playing all sports in the safest venues possible. (bubble)

 

Players that test positive, quarantine until healthy, then return to the playing field will help build herd immunity within the bubble IMO. 

 

 

 

 

 

Where is there a bubble big enough to hold the 1,700 NFL players and their families AND the stadiums (plural of course) already built for them to play in?

3 hours ago, Doc said:

 

Continue playing (without those teams obviously) and teams scheduled to play a team that has to drop out gets a bye and at the end they go by winning percentage.

 

Are the other teams allowed back in when everyone is healthy?

[transplantbillsfan]

20 minutes ago, SCBills said:

I’m interested in how the games translate to tv.  
 

MLB is pretty meh.  It’s already a boring sport, so I’ll admit that I’m biased, but it’s a rough watch with no fans (IMO)

 

NBA translates extremely well with the giant screens around the arena, virtual fans and home court advantage with graphics and crowd noise piped in. 
 

 

 

I'm not worried about the NFL.

 

The NBA you can see fans in any shot because they're right there on the court.

 

MLB has such wide shots in the game that inevitably show empty stands.

 

The NFL can fairly easily make it so you rarely see the empty stadiums. Will they pipe in noise? Probably. And I'm fine with that.

[NoHuddleKelly12]

7 hours ago, Logic said:

Well sure, if the season goes all the way through a championship game, it's better that they win than not win. 

But if we're talking about the level of satisfaction derived from a Lombardi won during a COVID-affected season vs the satisfaction derived from a Lombardi won during a normal season, it's not even close, right? It certainly isn't for me.

Depends. Would we be playing TB12 in the SB? If so I’ll screech through the house like an about-to-be headless Ichabod Crane when we win...Great Scott what a night that will be! 

Edited August 3, 2020 by NoHuddleKelly12

[BullBuchanan]

1 hour ago, transplantbillsfan said:

 

You're asking for potentially over 10,000 people (I don't know the average NFL player family but Phillip Rivers has like 1,000 kids of his own ) to have no contact but their families for 6 months all for the sake of the NFL.

 

I'm sure many of the spouses have jobs and that's be asking them to quit their jobs or find a way to work from home.

 

I don't see that happening.

 

Do you have a link for teams quarantining their QBs and how they're doing it?

I admit that it's probably not likely. However, unless your name is Giselle I think most NFL players are likely to drastically out earn their spouse, and given that NFL players move so often, it wouldn't be extremely unrealistic to ask them to not work in person.

[transplantbillsfan]

55 minutes ago, BullBuchanan said:

I admit that it's probably not likely. However, unless your name is Giselle I think most NFL players are likely to drastically out earn their spouse, and given that NFL players move so often, it wouldn't be extremely unrealistic to ask them to not work in person.

 

Some of those spouses (maybe many) have jobs that are SIGNIFICANTLY more secure (and lucrative) a single year in the NFL, especially when any player can opt out for $150,000 for that year.

[BullBuchanan]

8 minutes ago, transplantbillsfan said:

 

Some of those spouses (maybe many) have jobs that are SIGNIFICANTLY more secure (and lucrative) a single year in the NFL, especially when any player can opt out for $150,000 for that year.

Alright. I'm not really looking for a fight. If you think there are a lot of spouses that earn above the  ~500k for a rookie minimum deal, so be it. Obviously just about any job is going to be more secure than an NFL job, though, so again I'll concede that point too.

Edited August 3, 2020 by BullBuchanan

[Figster]

3 hours ago, transplantbillsfan said:

 

Where is there a bubble big enough to hold the 1,700 NFL players and their families AND the stadiums (plural of course) already built for them to play in?

 

Are the other teams allowed back in when everyone is healthy?

The hard hit state of NY might provlde some of the safest venues now in my humble opinion.

 

I think only playing once a week gives the NFL a better chance of completing a season vs other sports..

 

2 or 3 scheduled breaks instead of one would help teams regroup in the event of a serious outbreak. Shortening the season to 14 games might help make this possible.

 

 Its possible herd immunity is already beginning to take hold in certain regions of the US IMO.  I also think its posible herd immunity can begin to build within the NFL and our own herd of Buffalo. Players playing through the pandemic now might be building a safer tomorrow for the whole league in my humble opinion.

 

On a side note: Going no huddle might help reduce the spread.  

Edited August 3, 2020 by Figster

[transplantbillsfan]

26 minutes ago, BullBuchanan said:

Alright. I'm not really looking for a fight. If you think there are a lot of spouses that earn above the  ~500k for a rookie minimum deal, so be it. Obviously just about any job is going to be more secure than an NFL job, though, so again I'll concede that point too.

 

It's the security over years over the single year salary.

 

Remember the average NFL career is less than 4 years. That's skewed by all those minimum salary guys.

[Buddo]

One positive of not fans’, is that rescheduling games becomes way easier. The NFL can probably get away with a lot of postponements overall, providing they aren’t involving just a few teams. Bye weeks, lmho, should already be being viewed as opportunities to reschedule games. 
 

Players and teams may well have to get used to the idea of more shortened weeks, if the season is to get completed. 

[machine gun kelly]

Well, I never hear the Washington team that won the SB in 1988 over the Broncos due to a strike year has an asterick.  Every team has the same challenges, and the virus is driving the bus.  I’m glad at least any player that doesn’t feel comfortable playing and is willing to delay their paycheck or have to pay back a stipend of they didn’t have a medical reason is very fair.

[machine gun kelly]

9 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

One thing the NFL should seriously discuss is what happens if teams are forced to drop out. Let's say 4-5 teams get so ravaged they can't field a team? Do you scuttle the season for 28 teams? Maybe they should discuss a contingency for that.  Unplanned byes,? Last-minute schedule changes?

PTR, I don’t see teams scrubbing the season.  They will just keep pulling people off the street like we just did to replace Gaines and Star.  This will be the busiest season for practice squad players getting pulled up an active spot.  I know it might be ugly ball some games, but they are determined to keep playing.  Again, it always goes back to $.

 

As an aside, nice avatar.  I had a chuckle on that one.

[Doc Brown]

Purposely infect all players, staff, media members, etc... right now and have then quarantine for a month.  Proceed as usual with no fans allowed.  If they die they die.  Rocky 4 is the best bad movie of all time.

[Saxum]

3 hours ago, transplantbillsfan said:

 

Some of those spouses (maybe many) have jobs that are SIGNIFICANTLY more secure (and lucrative) a single year in the NFL, especially when any player can opt out for $150,000 for that year.

 

Opting out just gives an advance - it is not something they can keep although some will not be employed next year and will try.

3 hours ago, Figster said:

Its possible herd immunity is already beginning to take hold in certain regions of the US IMO.  I also think its posible herd immunity can begin to build within the NFL and our own herd of Buffalo. Players playing through the pandemic now might be building a safer tomorrow for the whole league in my humble opinion.

 

It is possible it could get worse due to RSA mutations.  Betting on a herd immunity is not something NFL will be doing.

[PromoTheRobot]

2 hours ago, Doc Brown said:

Purposely infect all players, staff, media members, etc... right now and have then quarantine for a month.  Proceed as usual with no fans allowed.  If they die they die.  Rocky 4 is the best bad movie of all time.

 

I assume this is sarcasm. Because this would be the likely result of infecting the entire US population with SARS-Cov-2.

 

3 hours ago, machine gun kelly said:

PTR, I don’t see teams scrubbing the season.  They will just keep pulling people off the street like we just did to replace Gaines and Star.  This will be the busiest season for practice squad players getting pulled up an active spot.  I know it might be ugly ball some games, but they are determined to keep playing.  Again, it always goes back to $.

 

As an aside, nice avatar.  I had a chuckle on that one.

 

Thanks. Just a temp avatar.

 

The problem with pulling players off the street is you are just bringing in more potentially infected people into your bubble. Those players may not have been quarantined because they didn't expect to be in the NFL. So it's not a solution for many reasons, not just that one. You could see teams just shut down. My question is does the NFL scuttle the season if a few teams go down, or do they write that possibility into the rules for 2020? 

Edited August 3, 2020 by PromoTheRobot

[Call_Of_Ktulu]

Play 7 on 7 with only 7 backups with a 14 man roster

[Doc]

9 hours ago, transplantbillsfan said:

Are the other teams allowed back in when everyone is healthy?

 

Yes.