2020 Pats: Broncos Game Postponed Until Next Sunday (10/18)

BigSoxFan

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Buys Cam and Gilly more time and gives more reps to Stid. I’m ok with this.
 

CoffeeNerdness

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So, they're prioritizing the game with the one potential playoff team out of NE, Denver, and Miami in order to maintain the veneer of competitive balance? This is like trying to fix a bad haircut with a chainsaw and a Flowbee attachment.

Denver's bye week was week 8, Miami's is 11.
 

RedOctober3829

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Broncos get screwed as well. They practiced all week and now this is considered their bye week. Now they have no time off and have to play 12 weeks in a row. Imagine how pissed they’ll be if they stick this Dolphins game on a Thursday.
 

8slim

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The back half of the NFL schedule is going to be an epic mess. They need to start canceling games and stop trying to move things around.
 

bsj

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Why can't they just, right now, announce...say...weeks 10-17 are all being moved one week back, with the existing week 10, or some other week, being an OPEN/MAKEUP date? Then move the playoffs a week back too in case thre are any that need filling in the 2nd half?

It's their league. There are few fans or ticket sales to deal with.

Yes, its less than ideal, but FFS 2020 is less than ideal.
 

8slim

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Why can't they just, right now, announce...say...weeks 10-17 are all being moved one week back, with the existing week 10, or some other week, being an OPEN/MAKEUP date? Then move the playoffs a week back too in case thre are any that need filling in the 2nd half?

It's their league. There are few fans or ticket sales to deal with.

Yes, its less than ideal, but FFS 2020 is less than ideal.
As long as the league has enough games to fill the 8pm Thursday, 1pm Sunday, 4pm Sunday, 8pm Sunday, and 8pm Monday TV slots, then they’re covered. Everything else should be malleable at this point.
 

NJ_Sox_Fan

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If assume Titans/Bills gets postponed as well right? Another Titans positive result, so not sure how they could play.
 

trekfan55

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I also think they need an open week or two and move the playoffs back.

It’s inevitable that where one positive emerges, more will follow even with protocols in place.
 

rymflaherty

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This is stupid, if this is the “plan” the NFL has, they should just move to forfeiting games.

I’m sure that idea will go over like a lead ballon here since one of the two teams that would currently be affected is the Pats. But as a fan of another team, this seems like complete bullshit.

And when I mention “forfeit” I don’t do so as some sort of penalty, Teams can be following every procedure and still fall victim to an outbreak, so I’m just saying it out of practicality.
Or of course, the NFL can add the additional weeks, as others gave suggested, and should gave done from the start...which admittedly bridge the gap and create a fair-as-possible middle ground.
 

Oppo

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This is stupid, if this is the “plan” the NFL has, they should just move to forfeiting games.

I’m sure that idea will go over like a lead ballon here since one of the two teams that would currently be affected is the Pats. But as a fan of another team, this seems like complete bullshit.

And when I mention “forfeit” I don’t do so as some sort of penalty, Teams can be following every procedure and still fall victim to an outbreak, so I’m just saying it out of practicality.
Or of course, the NFL can add the additional weeks, as others gave suggested, and should gave done from the start...which admittedly bridge the gap and create a fair-as-possible middle ground.
Wouldn’t that encourage teams to hide positive tests?
 

DonBuddinE6

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Duct tape can cover one leak, or two leaks, or maybe even three or four. But at some point, you figure out that duct tape doesn't fix everything.

If the NFL has any hope of the season continuing, they need to get into a bubble.
 

BigJimEd

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I also think they need an open week or two and move the playoffs back.

It’s inevitable that where one positive emerges, more will follow even with protocols in place.
They really should have scheduled it like this to begin with. No other byes, two open weeks for those that got postponed.
 

Time to Mo Vaughn

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This is stupid, if this is the “plan” the NFL has, they should just move to forfeiting games.

I’m sure that idea will go over like a lead ballon here since one of the two teams that would currently be affected is the Pats. But as a fan of another team, this seems like complete bullshit.

And when I mention “forfeit” I don’t do so as some sort of penalty, Teams can be following every procedure and still fall victim to an outbreak, so I’m just saying it out of practicality.
Or of course, the NFL can add the additional weeks, as others gave suggested, and should gave done from the start...which admittedly bridge the gap and create a fair-as-possible middle ground.
Why forfeits over cancellations that are never made up like baseball did?
 

PedroKsBambino

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Feels like a plan where each team plays ~12 games, with built-in off weeks regularly, and staggering the off-weeks by team so that there are (in total) more games for TV overall over a longer period was the play here.

That would allow teams who have positives to more easily reschedule, take pressure off of "having to play the game this week", and keep the gravy train running for TV purposes.

It is of course not perfect---reducing games per market hurts. But I suspect it would have been better than what we are likely to end up with, which will be a patchwork with competitive imbalances.
 

RedOctober3829

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On a bigger scale, the NFL does not have very many positive tests and have decent protocols across the board. There’s issues there for sure but the real cesspool is college football. Look at Va Tech yesterday they had 15 players and a coach who “weren’t available for unspecified reasons” and that’s just one team. The majority of teams have a ton of players who are positive or out due to contact tracing. They’re not required to say why these players are out. Then you look in the stands at games and there’s thousands of people wearing no masks. Texas A&M(announces crowd was about 60% of what was actually in attendance)and Clemson had their student sections packed and hardly any students had masks on. Florida’s coach wants a 100% full stadium for next week because “competitive advantage”.
 

johnmd20

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On a bigger scale, the NFL does not have very many positive tests and have decent protocols across the board. There’s issues there for sure but the real cesspool is college football. Look at Va Tech yesterday they had 15 players and a coach who “weren’t available for unspecified reasons” and that’s just one team. The majority of teams have a ton of players who are positive or out due to contact tracing. They’re not required to say why these players are out. Then you look in the stands at games and there’s thousands of people wearing no masks. Texas A&M(announces crowd was about 60% of what was actually in attendance)and Clemson had their student sections packed and hardly any students had masks on. Florida’s coach wants a 100% full stadium for next week because “competitive advantage”.
The colleges are going for herd mentality.
 

nattysez

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As long as the league has enough games to fill the 8pm Thursday, 1pm Sunday, 4pm Sunday, 8pm Sunday, and 8pm Monday TV slots, then they’re covered. Everything else should be malleable at this point.
They need two games each for those Sunday day slots, but I otherwise agree with this. And I think this is their "plan." Just keep muddling through as long as you have enough games to fill all the tv slots.
 

E5 Yaz

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Here’s the plan, per sources, which is tied to Tennessee being able to play:
Broncos-Patriots next Sunday.
Week 8 (what was supposed to be Denver bye): Chargers at Broncos.
Week 11 (scheduled Miami bye) Dolphins at Broncos.
So, when does Miami get it's bye?

Were Chargers also on a bye Week 8?
 

TFisNEXT

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E5 Yaz

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Curious to hear how the NFL justifies having the Patriots play Week 4 after rescheduling the Patriots-Broncos game. Will they rationalize it as a lack of practice time rather than COVID spread?
 

8slim

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On a bigger scale, the NFL does not have very many positive tests and have decent protocols across the board. There’s issues there for sure but the real cesspool is college football. Look at Va Tech yesterday they had 15 players and a coach who “weren’t available for unspecified reasons” and that’s just one team. The majority of teams have a ton of players who are positive or out due to contact tracing. They’re not required to say why these players are out. Then you look in the stands at games and there’s thousands of people wearing no masks. Texas A&M(announces crowd was about 60% of what was actually in attendance)and Clemson had their student sections packed and hardly any students had masks on. Florida’s coach wants a 100% full stadium for next week because “competitive advantage”.
I turned on Auburn-Arkansas for a bit yesterday, and it was a horror show. Every pan to the student section saw hundreds of maskless kids packed in tight. If science can’t get us a vaccine we’re all so very screwed.
 

TheWizard

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So teams won't get bye weeks, see Denver who practiced all this week. I'd be shocked if the NFLPA doesn't step in.

Is it the TV stations who don't want to tack on a 18th or 19th week for make up games and push out the playoffs? Is that why the NFL is so steadfast on cramming in all these games?
 

rymflaherty

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Thinking about this more, this is even more stupid than I initially thought...how does it make sense to postpone Denver and Miami, when there’s no guarantee New England is even going to be able to play next week?!?

If you’re using Tennessee as an example,
the answer is you shouldn’t assume that. Or what? Is the NFL going to decide on Friday night, maybe they should just have Denver face Miami after all. So dumb...
 

E5 Yaz

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...how does it make sense to postpone Denver and Miami, when there’s no guarantee New England is even going to be able to play next week?!?
such a good question

meanwhile

@ArkansasFred
Broncos-Patriots game is being moved to next Sunday, sources tell ESPN. It will be played on an oil platform in the North Sea. Broncos were supposed to play Miami; that game instead is being simulated on the evil computer from WarGames.
 

Joe D Reid

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Thinking about this more, this is even more stupid than I initially thought...how does it make sense to postpone Denver and Miami, when there’s no guarantee New England is even going to be able to play next week?!?

If you’re using Tennessee as an example,
the answer is you shouldn’t assume that. Or what? Is the NFL going to decide on Friday night, maybe they should just have Denver face Miami after all. So dumb...
It's extremely stupid turtles all the way down.
 

rymflaherty

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Wouldn’t that encourage teams to hide positive tests?
Good point...that seems like it would be a valid concern.
Admittedly the whole forfeit thing is an opposite extreme and I realize the best solutions are rarely found in such extremes.
The current handling of the situation just has me frustrated.
 

NomarsFool

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I realize making the season longer would have required an agreement with the players, and that isn't easy to do - but it really does seem like stretching the season out would have been a far better approach. I realize there is some weather issue, but you could also just decide that the playoffs will be held in Southern/Domed neutral sites. It's not like there are fans (for the most part).

The NBA felt like there was no dilution of the product. The games were good, and maybe even better as they cut out some of the crappy teams.

The NFL feels like they are diluting the quality of the product. Teams can't practice. Certainly can't blame everything or most things on COVID, but that Pats-Chiefs game was crap. Poor play, poor officiating, just lousy.
 

j-man

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what shouild had happen was 8 bubbles AFC East Miami North ciny South Jax West vegas Nfc east Dallas north minn south ATL West zona

u play 6 games in the 8 bubbles there and then 4 games AFC East vs NFC East at dallas AFC North vs nfc north at minn afc south vs nfc south at atl AFC west vs nfc west at zona

then AFC East vs afc north teams in miami afc south vs afc west teams in vegas nfc east vs nfc north teams at dallas nfc south vs nfc west at zona 4 games

u cancel the 2 oddball games based on record u play a 14 game season

playoff bubbles are AFC Vegas hou NFC ATL ZONA AFC Champ game vegas nfc champ game zona SB 55 ZONA
 

NomarsFool

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I think the scale of the NFL makes any sort of bubble difficult. The number of players, associated staff, is easily twice as much as the NBA and that's not even considering 32 teams vs. 22.

Also, the length of the season. We are into the season now, but the NBA was looking at only 8 games before the playoffs. The NFL has 3 months before the playoffs even start. That gets to be a long time in a bubble.
 
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johnmd20

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I think the scale of the NFL makes any sort of bubble difficult. The number of players, associated staff, is easily twice as much as the NBA and that's not even considering 32 teams vs. 22.
It's way more than double the amount of people, coaches, doctors, and assistants.
 

Saints Rest

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It's way more than double the amount of people, coaches, doctors, and assistants.
I agree. More like NFL team population, players, staff, etc is closer to 4x NBA. Players alone is roughly 69 vs 17.

Patriots coaching staff is 20 (and I recall reading that they have one of the smallest staffs); Celtics was 7. And that's just coaches.
 

DJnVa

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So teams won't get bye weeks, see Denver who practiced all this week. I'd be shocked if the NFLPA doesn't step in.

Is it the TV stations who don't want to tack on a 18th or 19th week for make up games and push out the playoffs? Is that why the NFL is so steadfast on cramming in all these games?
If you listen to McCourty the players are pissed with the NFLPA too. The NFLPA is party to all of this.