Wednesday morning brought more trouble for the NFL on the coronavirus front, with news of reigning Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore‘s positive test preceding more Titans positives. Sunday’s Titans-Bills game is firmly in doubt, while the Patriots’ Week 5 contest against the Broncos is no longer a certainty to occur.
The NFL has beefed up its COVID-19 protocols, but the league may stop there for the time being. The league is not considering implementing home-market bubbles by putting players in hotels, per Mark Maske of the Washington Post, who adds the NFL pausing its 101st season is also not a serious consideration.
Another Titans postponement would represent a significant schedule glitch, since the league has already moved Tennessee’s bye week — along with Pittsburgh’s — after the outbreak forced a Week 4 schedule change. Wednesday’s news of the additional COVID cases forced the Titans to pause their facility reopening, and the NFL and NFLPA are investigating a protocol-violating offsite workout Tennessee players allegedly conducted.
More Patriots positive tests will further push calls for the NFL to make bigger changes to its coronavirus effort. The Pats did not practice Wednesday, closing their facility. Cam Newton remains asymptomatic, and the Patriots’ round of tests prior to Gilmore’s positive all came back negative. But given the string of positive tests the Titans have encountered since their outbreak began, this is obviously a situation to monitor.
The NFL has considered pushing its playoff slate back to add a Week 18 makeup window, however. But a Titans hiatus beyond this week would create issues with that plan as well. The next few days figure to be a critical point for the league, which Maske notes believes its in-place protocols will work if they are followed.
Keep on playing. So many need to have faith over fear.
Fear isn’t bad if it’s the correct amount. Faith isn’t good if it makes you feel safe walking into traffic.
Amen.
And what happens if that faith ends up decimating half the league? Then what? Do you march on, or do you gain some common sense, take a long pause and try and figure out the safest way to do business, if there is one?
There you go!
Because it worked so well for POTUS, right?
No one would get the Pandemic right, especially not in his situation with all the political Covid games being played between the Left & Right while it’s happening.
But this isn’t about politics, it’s not even about sports anymore – it’s business. NFL will stop at nothing to turn a buck. Regardless of a life threatening sickness, the NFL is sticking to “The Show Must Go On” which is looking more and more like it’s going to go off the tracks.
What matters more, life or playing games? You know if it were you that had to make the decision, you’d choose life. The NFL chose games/money. Remember that.
faith… Lol
‘Faith’, lmao. Ask Herman Cain if he wishes he had a little more fear and a lot less faith.
So how is it that if Titans can’t go again this week they forfeit only one of two games?
I’d imagine that would be part of the punishment for allegedly holding that clandestine practice last week and breaking protocol, but I’m not too sure what the league is going to do there. I’d home they come down hard and make an example out of the Titans in hopes that it makes no other team (should more mass outbreaks occur) consider doing something like that.
*** I’d hope
Let’s face it, the NFL season is in great jeopardy. The one thing all fans can count on is that Roger Goodell will make the wrong decision in every case. We have all noticed his history. We need a 2-week break at the minimum. Anything else and the season will be gone.
You have no clues! Roger has made the correct choice in nearly every decision he has made!
MLB had issues and worked thru it just like the NFL will. They can add a week 18 and even 19 if needed. The networks don’t care if the SB is backed up till the last week of Feb. sorry, doomsayers, but you lose again.
The networks might not care, but the host city might have shiverin’ fits…
Can the NFL reserve all the hotel rooms in the Super Bowl area for a month?
They won’t postpone the Super Bowl until late February.
They would have some teams play 14 or 15 games before adding 2 weeks.
‘MLB had issues’
Dramatic understatement there.
‘and worked thru it’
I’d wager only like 5% of baseball fans think this season has any kind of legitimacy.
5% huh? Picking such a low number indicates that you may be the least best at placing wagers
Bubby sites like Orlando and so on.
And lose money!!??
HAHAHAHAHA!
NFL players are by far the most irresponsible of the 4 sports. Granted it may be because its the largest sample size of people but thats not an excuse for these COVID issues. Goodell deserves blame for focusing on coachs not wearing a mask while calling plays over the players off the field.
good luck with a regular season bubble. there’s a reason the MLB didnt do it.
Money > health and player safety
Yet again, politics screw over the workers. It is the players who put their health and lives at risk while the billionaires and the politicians pay themselves on the back for giving the masses something to be distracted by. Panem et circenses!
If your team can’t make it to the game, automatic forfeit. (Though the NFL does like that idea because then there’s a lack of TV revenue.)
The NFL is as complicit as the Dictator in Cheeto is
Is Cheeto the singular form of Cheetos? Are you referring to the animated tiger? That cat has nothing on Hobbes