What if the Bills refuse to play the Patriots?

[DrPJax]

14 hours ago, chongli said:

 

No, if the Pats win, they clinch. And the Bills are still playing for #1. 

Plus after listening today on Sirius, Pat Kirwin was comparing this to when Dennis Byrd of the jets was paralyzed.  He stated no one wants to see this Bengals / Bills game go forward now , interest is lost and no one want to go back thru that trauma , nor should they.  That game and it’s once in an NFL lifetime need to be moved forward from ,  there is just no realistic way to jump back into it.  It wasn’t until the players knew Byrd was going to live that they emotionally picked back up and it drew them together.    They knew he was going to be paralyzed with a long recovery , but they knew he was going to LIVE ! The players still don’t knew that regarding Damar ant this is so rare ,  literally still life and death  on the line , it’s impossible to expect those two teams to just go right back to it.  
 

      Kirwin really believes it will be a no contest for both teams and if KC wins this weekend , they get the 1:seed. Seems disappointing to me if that happens , just giving the 1 seed to KC.  Yes they won one more game , but in my eyes they lost to both the Bills and the Bengals head to head and rewarding them just because  the other two teams suffered a unique tragedy and trauma , just feels wrong to me.  It goes away if they would lose but that seems unlikely. The Bills controlled that 1 seed for most of the season , and just because they were 4 points down ( and they are the best scoring team at the end of the half’s ) is not a reason to take that away and ice it to cincy unless the Bills lose their 4 th game.  Then I could see Cincy with the 1 , kc 2 , Bills with the 3 seed   Should Kc get that 4 th loss , then for me with a Bills win over the Pats, they lock up the 1 and Cincy 2 aamd kc 3.  
 

     I don’t concede an L just to move on ; they have fought all year thru so much and have never quit. I don’t see them playing more than 16 games and then have a no contest as the only fair solution  and had no control over or did anything to make that happen.   They have had a season unlike any other and if they win in the face of all this, they deserve some acknowledgement of all they have overcome.  The  Bengals / Chiefs can try to argue differently but they have not overcome anything close to what Buffalo faced this year.  They deserve a week off after all the trauma and travel and let the others come in to Buffalo to face a small taste of adversity , and prove they really are better.  The Bills got hosed with Covid and the Titans mismanagement in a prior year ,  plus they faced and lost in 120 degree heat to a team and league who allowed a concussed player to continue for the second half when admittedly he should have been disqualified from the second half. .  What else do they need to overcome to be treated fairly and with some compassion ?   😔🤔

[dorquemada]

12 hours ago, HOUSE said:

All it takes is a guy like Tre White to say, I'm not playing and that's pretty much it.

No game

 

Most human beings have coping strategies when things get hard.  I don't see how refusing to work is going to help any of them cope?  Will they ever be expected to play again in your mind?

[Buffalo03]

4 hours ago, davefan66 said:

Terms I can understand? Thank you dearly for helping me throw out any shred of empathy I have for the situation and those involved.  You are correct! A game that does nothing to change my life is more important than the mental health and well being of those involved in the situation.

 

If the people involved closely with what happened decide they can’t move forward, only THEY have the right to make that decision. I wouldn’t question this teams desire to win or think any less of any one of them. 

Sorry to come across the way I did. But no one is getting it. We know they have a right to forfeit any game remaining. They have that power, there is no denying that. But bottom line is, games have to be played. They know this and as hard as it is, they have to keep going. That's all my argument is about but people aren't getting it

[HOUSE]

52 minutes ago, dorquemada said:

 

Most human beings have coping strategies when things get hard.  I don't see how refusing to work is going to help any of them cope?  Will they ever be expected to play again in your mind?

The players just need to know Hamlin is out of danger then I expect they will play..

I support their wishes...

[Mr. WEO]

no one's giving up a game check.   It would make no sense.  They are all hurting, but I bet they want to get back to normalcy (such as their job provides) right now.  Not sure sitting around waiting for vague updates is better for them.

[BillsFanSD]

7 minutes ago, HOUSE said:

The players just need to know Hamlin is out of danger then I expect they will play..

I support their wishes...

This seems like an odd thing to say under the circumstances, but I don't people fully grasp the severity of this injury.  We won't even know if Hamlin is going to survive until later today or tomorrow.  But that's just one part of it.  His long-term prognosis is 100% totally up in the air.  He could play for the Bills next year, or he may never live independently ever again.  We won't find that out for a long time.  Certainly not by this weekend.

[HOUSE]

1 hour ago, Strethor said:

I am sure there will be a player vote, but at the end of the day the world does not stop. Human's face tragedy and traumatic events have to gather strength and move forward because the world keeps spinning

They will move forward but it might not be this week. 😕 

[WotAGuy]

11 minutes ago, BillsFanSD said:

This seems like an odd thing to say under the circumstances, but I don't people fully grasp the severity of this injury.  We won't even know if Hamlin is going to survive until later today or tomorrow.  But that's just one part of it.  His long-term prognosis is 100% totally up in the air.  He could play for the Bills next year, or he may never live independently ever again.  We won't find that out for a long time.  Certainly not by this weekend.

@HOUSE can address this as well, but I read his post as meaning the Bills players would like to know Damar is going to live before they play again.
 

Granted, nothing is guaranteed, but encouraging signs delivered personally to the team yesterday by Damar’s father probably went a long way toward giving the players some reason to feel things are headed in the right direction.
 

If you are correct that they will find out today or tomorrow whether Damar will survive, I think the players will be ready to move forward with that news. 

[henry jones]

Will they play this weekend, who knows?  That's up to them to decide.  Should they play... yes.  Everyone grieves in their own way and how long they need is up to them.  Hamlin is thankfully still alive and his condition is improving so that should be comforting.  Speculating here, but I would think that Damar wouldn't want them to stop working toward the ultimate goal because of the situation at hand.  Again, dunno.  They know the risks and they are playing a game that they love and have earned more than most will ever earn in their lifetime.  I'm sure that once they start losing a "paycheck" or two they will be back on the field.  After all, they are making a living at the same time.  Will some completely walk away?  Who knows, maybe.  But there will be others who will gladly try to take their place.  
 

[HOUSE]

You are witnessing a rare event

The NFL can not control the situation by simply saying play the game or suffer the consequences. 

The league knows popular opinion will side with the Bills and could be a PR nightmare.  The player union and the owners need to be very careful here, one wrong move and every player in the league will be bashing the NFL.

 

.

Edited January 5, 2023 by HOUSE

[prissythecat]

17 hours ago, HOUSE said:

I would back the Bills decision if Hamlin does not drastically improve.

 

..

https://www.boston.com/sports/new-england-patriots/2023/01/04/damar-hamlin-decision-bills-patriots-game-postponed/

 

.https://985thesportshub.com/listicle/mike-reiss-wouldnt-be-shocked-if-patriots-bills-isnt-played-sunday/

The answer to your basic question is simple . In the case where NFL says the game goes on, the Bills would have to forfeit the game and take a loss while New England gets a win.

 

On the other hand , if NFL is regularly in contact with teams and listens to preferences about needing more time to cope, they may very well postpone the game  .  
 

However , one must remember there are huge logistics/ financial  impacts from a postponement . And NFL players are employees just like everyone else.  Workplaces don’t stop work for weeks because an employee had a cardiac arrest on the premises . 

 

 

Edited January 5, 2023 by prissythecat
Grammar

[HOUSE]

2 minutes ago, prissythecat said:

The answer to your basic question is simple . In the case where NFL says the game goes on, the Bills would have to forfeit the game and take a loss while New England gets a win.

 

On the other hand , if NFL is regularly in contact with teams and listens to preferences about needing more time to cope, they may very well postpone the game  .  
 

However , one must remember there are huge logistics/ financial  impacts on postponement . And NFL players are employees just like everyone else.  Workplaces don’t stop work for weeks because an employee had a cardiac arrest on the premises . 

 

 

Uncharted waters, good luck predicting anything here

[bigK14094]

It would be called a wildcat strike.

[BillsFanSD]

4 minutes ago, prissythecat said:

The answer to your basic question is simple . In the case where NFL says the game goes on, the Bills would have to forfeit the game and take a loss while New England gets a win.

 

On the other hand , if NFL is regularly in contact with teams and listens to preferences about needing more time to cope, they may very well postpone the game  .  
 

However , one must remember there are huge logistics/ financial  impacts from a postponement . And NFL players are employees just like everyone else.  Workplaces don’t stop work for weeks because an employee had a cardiac arrest on the premises . 

 

 

Hopefully people in the league office are also being a little more forward-looking and thinking about whether they're also going to postpone games in the future when (a) a player is paralyzed on the field, (b) a player is killed in car accident, (c) a player is murdered in his home, (d) a position coach dies of a massive heart attack, etc.  They obviously didn't think any of this stuff through when they postponed the game on Monday night, but that was understandable because they had to make a snap decision under pressure.  There's no excuse for poor foresight now. 

[DrPJax]

31 minutes ago, BillsFanSD said:

This seems like an odd thing to say under the circumstances, but I don't people fully grasp the severity of this injury.  We won't even know if Hamlin is going to survive until later today or tomorrow.  But that's just one part of it.  His long-term prognosis is 100% totally up in the air.  He could play for the Bills next year, or he may never live independently ever again.  We won't find that out for a long time.  Certainly not by this weekend.

It’s just easier to go forward if they Know he will at least live. They all know he faces a long, hard battle going forward.  Pat Kirwin today on Sirius used the analogy of the jets DB Byrd , who suffered a spinal cord injury on the field. Finally , they got news he was going to live and not die.  They still knew he faced paralysis, but he was going to be alive to at least possibly improve.  Knowing that was positive news, their brother tho never playing again , would be there to live and have a chance to improve. Kirwin said it was a huge emotional lift for the team.  They didn’t keep dwelling on his possible death , focused on his being alive , and it freed them emotionally to move forward together as a team , and they went on to win the following game. Without that , without being certain he was going to live , they were never going to focus on playing a seemingly meaningless game.  Small positives matter ; the Bills know he is done for this year or more , but they don’t know yet if he will live. You can save the heart while still losing the brain. If they get news Damar suffered brain death , all the cpr/atls/acls doesn’t mean squat.  But , if he breathes con his own , maybe grasps a finger , thst is a HUGE  positive and he has a future , challenging to be sure , but he will still be here with them !  If that’s part of your family , you’re elated when for all purposes he should have died on the field! You can finally move forward !  Hope that makes sense. 😊👍 

[LV Bills fan]

I believe they are playing Sunday 100%. As tragic as it was Monday night everyone understands why that game couldn’t continue. I don’t think quite as many would understand why Sundays game couldn’t be played. 

[Mr. WEO]

45 minutes ago, HOUSE said:

You are witnessing a rare event

The NFL can not control the situation by simply saying play the game or suffer the consequences. 

The league knows popular opinion will side with the Bills and could be a PR nightmare.  The player union and the owners need to be very careful here, one wrong move and every player in the league will be bashing the NFL.

 

.

 

The NFL has never been concerned much with "bad press".

 

As most have said, the game goes on.  As I said upstream, I bet these guys want to get back to the game. 

[prissythecat]

37 minutes ago, BillsFanSD said:

Hopefully people in the league office are also being a little more forward-looking and thinking about whether they're also going to postpone games in the future when (a) a player is paralyzed on the field, (b) a player is killed in car accident, (c) a player is murdered in his home, (d) a position coach dies of a massive heart attack, etc.  They obviously didn't think any of this stuff through when they postponed the game on Monday night, but that was understandable because they had to make a snap decision under pressure.  There's no excuse for poor foresight now. 

Most of what you are referring to is a team level issue rather than NFL one . A team should have contingency or succession plans on how to handle impacts due to player or coach unavailability .

 

The  NFL already has procedures on serious player injuries on field such as potential paralysis (see Mike Utley or Kevin Everett ).  What they didn’t have is what happens if there is a traumatic injury where a player is clinically dead and is revived .

[dorquemada]

50 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

The NFL has never been concerned much with "bad press".

 

As most have said, the game goes on.  As I said upstream, I bet these guys want to get back to the game. 

 

Most people are capable of complex emotions.  An example of this might be "it's with a heavy heart that I step back out onto this field while #3's fate is unknown" or the opposite of which is "I'm not going to do a goddamned thing until i know 100% that #3 is back in perfect health"

 

Most adults (even young ones) have suffered loss and understand that times moves on and most dont have the luxury of waiting for optimal outcomes before getting back to the grind.  None of this takes away from the dark cloud over everything while we wait out the situation, but rending our garments and wailing isn't going to get Hamlin well any faster.   Sitting shiva, and similar ritual in dozens of cultures across the world has been practiced for thousands of years.  Although not a perfect analogy because all indications at this point are that Hamlin is going to survive and hopefully have a full recovery, it remains a worthwhile philosophical approach to the current situation

[hondo in seattle]

At some point... life goes on.  We've probably all worked shortly after the death of loved ones.   Damar is alive and recovering.   And players need to regain some normalcy.  

 

I think the NFL was very supportive of the team when Damar got hurt.  But I don't think they'd be as supportive if we wanted to cancel yet another game.