Report: NFL's COVID-19 backup schedule includes no bye weeks

[Digital]

The NFL season is currently set to continue without interruption, although the COVID-19 pandemic may have some say in that before September rolls around and the NFL is ready to kickoff their 101st season. With this much notice ahead of the potential start to the season, the league has been reportedly hard at work to secure contingency plans and help the league go off with as little interruption as possible. And now, thanks to a report from John Ourand and Ben Fischer of the Sports Business Journal, we have some idea of what exactly that contingency plan might look like.

According to the report, one potential backup plan for the league’s schedule would involve a mid-October kickoff, a season that runs with no bye weeks and culminates with a late February Super Bowl — hardly the expanded schedule that NFL fans have come to know and love. But trying times call for compromise and should this be the biggest impact to the NFL in 2020, the league will have been spared the brunt of the impact — unlike Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League and the National Basketball Association, all of which have seen their seasons thrown on ice and interrupted by lockdowns across the country.

Hopefully the current climate across the country will be able to stabilize and all will be able to return to something the more closely resembles “normalcy” — but the timetable for such a shift is still something that is hard to grasp. As such, the NFL is doing what it can to be ready whenever that time comes. With the NFL Draft having gone off without a hitch, the league is positioned to have another extended window before having to make any significant alterations.

Only time will provide the clarity needed to determine what those actions will be.


https://dolphinswire.usatoday.com/2...vid-19-backup-schedule-includes-no-bye-weeks/

If this can happen, I'm all for it. Coaches will have to rest players or face being ravaged by injuries come playoff time. That's on the coaches, and the ones who fail to do it during the season, will be weeded out in the playoffs.

Every CBA the players whine about playing too many games, and the season being too long, and bye weeks needed just to heal up--all of which are valid concerns. But, in a game where the players pick up a game check only on game days ... they've re-prioritized trying to get all of those regular season games on the schedule--which makes sense. At least both management and players are on the same page with this one ... keep the revenue flowing and keep the pie large.

As for the NFL, I'd expect there to be an extremely shortened pre-season. Skip all the mini-camps etc., and start with a 2 week preseason, maybe 2 preseason games if any at all, and BAM, regular season begins. This might lead to a shortened season if mid-October proves too ambitious, but however it shakes out, this rookie class is getting the shaft. No time to teach you fellas, either know it or sit and watch. I'm expecting a LOT of sit and watch from our rookie class. Maybe guys like Strowbridge, Kindley and the longsnapper make it into the rotation, but for the most of the spots it will be veterans. Tua, sits, Jackson sits, Igbinoghene sits until injuries crop up. The loss of a preseason is going to seriously curtail rookie development.

 

[Fin-Loco]

Obviously the playing into February and no bye weeks is merely a contingency in case we get into July/Aug and find that we need to push it back. I imagine at the very least the first few games will have no-one in the stands and at best MAYBE slowly work up to a minimum of fans well spaced out. It could totally be empty stadiums all the way through. I'm curious, in this scenario if the home teams can utilize fan recordings to simulate home noise at a set db amount?

If there are no fans in the stands, I would like to be the first to volunteer to shelter in place with the Dolphin cheerleaders. I'm concerned about their psyche as they are all so you and impressionable.

 

[ATL_PHIN_FAN]

I hate to sound like the adult in the room but...

some folks are trying VERY HARD to transition us into a "The Hunger Games" reality

and loads of people are STILL more focused and concerned about entertainment.

Was George Washington worried about safety?

The answer is.....

OF COURSE NOT.

If we LET THEM, they will take it ALL away from us and we'lll ALL end up with brain stem implants.

Elon Musk is on tape talking about this. It is NOT a secret

While it might sound rather foolish and insensitive to people who are hurting out there during a world-wide pandemic, entertainment is essential for helping to maintain order. It offers distraction and hope for people who have long been cooped up and watching all their dreams and assets gradually go up in smoke. Just sayin'

 

[SkapePhin]

I hate to sound like the adult in the room but...

some folks are trying VERY HARD to transition us into a "The Hunger Games" reality

and loads of people are STILL more focused and concerned about entertainment.

Was George Washington worried about safety?

The answer is.....

OF COURSE NOT.

If we LET THEM, they will take it ALL away from us and we'lll ALL end up with brain stem implants.

Elon Musk is on tape talking about this. It is NOT a secret

 

[Fin-Loco]

While it might sound rather foolish and insensitive to people who are hurting out there during a world-wide pandemic, entertainment is essential for helping to maintain order. It offers distraction and hope for people who have long been cooped up and watching all their dreams and assets gradually go up in smoke. Just sayin'

Exactly. I really could care less who wants to chastise me for wanting to remain entertained through this process. Other people can think other people's thoughts. I want football and some good movies (who wouldn't pay $30 right now to watch the new Bond Film in their house or Black Widow?). I wasn't incarcerated for wrongdoings. I'm not in jail. If the 31 (plus GB) billionaire owners want to make a bunch of money and capitalize on us wanting entertainment in an innovative manner that keeps everyone safe, I'm supposed to not want it?

 

[Fin-Loco]

Hell. Let's move UP the season if heat and humidity hurts this thing!

 

[Locke]

I would think they'd have to wait at least a month in that isolated facility to be sure no one is carrying, or that all are immune?

The problem is not even that is foolproof. Outside vendors still have to bring stuff to this hypothetical facility.

This second wave is expected to hit in the fall. I think everyone should expect no football at all this season. If that’s wrong and we get a partial or full season, then that’s a happy surprise. But if that second wave is raging as expected, there’s no way 100 people per sideline is going to be safe. And that’s especially true considering how much bodily fluid gets thrown around on the field.

 

[gregorygrant83]

Seems like it would be easier to push the start time back and then have 12 regular season games instead of 16 and just set an alternate 12 game schedule with no AFC/NFC games. So Miami would play the same teams currently on the roster with the exception of removing the 4 NFC west games. That would cut 4 weeks from the season and if you needed an extra week instead of not having a bye week, just eliminate the Pro Bowl week between the Conference Championship games and Super Bowl.

 

[ATL_PHIN_FAN]

The problem is not even that is foolproof. Outside vendors still have to bring stuff to this hypothetical facility.

This second wave is expected to hit in the fall. I think everyone should expect no football at all this season. If that’s wrong and we get a partial or full season, then that’s a happy surprise. But if that second wave is raging as expected, there’s no way 100 people per sideline is going to be safe. And that’s especially true considering how much bodily fluid gets thrown around on the field.

All good points above, but as the doctors have said, there's a difference this time between a Covid-19 2nd wave and the Spanish Flu 2nd wave. This time, we are ready for it. They'll be watching for it and ready to snuff it out the moment it starts back up. I'm pretty sure any 2nd wave will be only fractionally as harmful as the 1st. That is why I think the NFL is waiting for further developments before making final decisions on anything.

 

[Locke]

All good points above, but as the doctors have said, there's a difference this time between a Covid-19 2nd wave and the Spanish Flu 2nd wave. This time, we are ready for it. They'll be watching for it and ready to snuff it out the moment it starts back up. I'm pretty sure any 2nd wave will be only fractionally as harmful as the 1st. That is why I think the NFL is waiting for further developments before making final decisions on anything.

You are much more optimistic than I am. Let’s hope you’re right. But “being ready for the second wave” means shutting everything down again, hopefully much more quickly than we did this first time. I think that lends even more credence to no football at all. The entire world is at a standstill until this vaccine is ready and the best estimates for that are mid-2021 at the moment. I really hope we have a season, but that’s looking less and less likely.

 

[Fin-Loco]

All good points above, but as the doctors have said, there's a difference this time between a Covid-19 2nd wave and the Spanish Flu 2nd wave. This time, we are ready for it. They'll be watching for it and ready to snuff it out the moment it starts back up. I'm pretty sure any 2nd wave will be only fractionally as harmful as the 1st. That is why I think the NFL is waiting for further developments before making final decisions on anything.

One would like to think we have made some progress detecting increases since 1918....

 

[dolfan91]

The Navy's Blue Angel's and Air Forces Thunderbirds just flew by my house in Honor of the Covid 19 responders!!! They've flown over NY, NJ, DE and PA today in honor of all those hard working people. This is the America I love !!!!

 

[SkapePhin]

All good points above, but as the doctors have said, there's a difference this time between a Covid-19 2nd wave and the Spanish Flu 2nd wave. This time, we are ready for it. They'll be watching for it and ready to snuff it out the moment it starts back up. I'm pretty sure any 2nd wave will be only fractionally as harmful as the 1st. That is why I think the NFL is waiting for further developments before making final decisions on anything.

The only way this is at all manageable come the fall is if there is substantial testing, contact tracing and isolation measures in place. At this moment given the government response to this point, that doesn’t seem likely to be running smoothly.

So if there begins to be a spike in cases anywhere, the lockdowns start all over again. We are likely facing a scenario where we have rolling lockdowns all over the country up until there is a vaccine available.

 

[ATL_PHIN_FAN]

The only way this is at all manageable come the fall is if there is substantial testing, contact tracing and isolation measures in place. At this moment given the government response to this point, that doesn’t seem likely to be running smoothly.

So if there begins to be a spike in cases anywhere, the lockdowns start all over again. We are likely facing a scenario where we have rolling lockdowns all over the country up until there is a vaccine available.

From what I understand, we are testing at a rate far greater than any other country in the world. A significant part of that is we have existing facilities ready to be used by state governor Covid 19 task forces. If they do their jobs, pretty sure daily testing will reach millions per day, nationally. But really, numbers aren't so important. It's more important that the tests are focused on the right people in the right areas.

As you say, much will depend on creating effective tracing and isolation strategies which have never before been tried anywhere near this scale. A lot could go wrong. However, I'm hoping for the best. :thumbsup

 

[BennySwella]

I hate to sound like the adult in the room but...

some folks are trying VERY HARD to transition us into a "The Hunger Games" reality

and loads of people are STILL more focused and concerned about entertainment.

Was George Washington worried about safety?

The answer is.....

OF COURSE NOT.

If we LET THEM, they will take it ALL away from us and we'lll ALL end up with brain stem implants.

Elon Musk is on tape talking about this. It is NOT a secret

Brain Stem Implants from Tesla? That **** sounds... tight!