NFL: Bills-Bengals postponement impact on schedule discussion (UPD: Game cancelled)

[Stand Witness]

Should the game be played and the players are not in favour of it (AND if no fans?), it would be a nice tribute/a message to the NFL if the players take a knee the whole game.

Lets just hope and pray today brings good news and a game can be played instead.

 

[Pens1566]

I'm guessing the game will not be played and whatever league rules are in place for "canceled" games will kick in.

 

[hatterson]

I'm guessing the game will not be played and whatever league rules are in place for "canceled" games will kick in.

The NFL rules effectively leave situations like this up to the commissioner to figure out versus having explicit rules in place.

There’s some guidelines though and terminating the game (declaring it over as it stood) is only an option if the remaining game is unlikely to change the outcome (obviously not applicable early in the first) and cancellation entirely should only happen if there’s no inter-team competitive balance at play (which there obviously is).

 

[TheGreenTBer]

They're going to have Joe Burrow play Josh Allen in Madden.

I was going to suggest those two have a dance off but madden works.

As long as it's not a jumping-through-tables contest we have a shot.

 

[BobColesNasalCavity]

Skip Bayless having to do Undisputed by himself after Shannon Sharpe doesn’t show up. Not sure if it was because of Skips tweet last night or what. Yes I hate Skip Bayless like you do too

 

[TheGreenTBer]

Skip Bayless having to do Undisputed by himself after Shannon Sharpe doesn’t show up. Not sure if it was because of Skips tweet last night or what. Yes I hate Skip Bayless like you do too

All he had to do is keep his mouth shut or say something respectful. Yeah, maybe it would have been lip service, but when a guy's life is in the balance it's not time to hot take.

 

[Pens1566]

The NFL rules effectively leave situations like this up to the commissioner to figure out versus having explicit rules in place.

There’s some guidelines though and terminating the game (declaring it over as it stood) is only an option if the remaining game is unlikely to change the outcome (obviously not applicable early in the first) and cancellation entirely should only happen if there’s no inter-team competitive balance at play (which there obviously is).

That's an amazing gap in the rules/oversight for a league this big that plays games in locations prone to inclement weather. Then again, the commissioner has entirely too much power in other areas as well.

 

[BMOK33]

I wonder what they do if Buffalo just wants to forfeit the game vs New England. I think in that situation you just cancel the Jets/Dolphins game and make Miami and New England play heads up to see who gets in. Pittsburgh you basically tell them too bad, you need help to get in anyway

 

[StreetHawk]

All he had to do is keep his mouth shut or say something respectful. Yeah, maybe it would have been lip service, but when a guy's life is in the balance it's not time to hot take.

Need to separate the human and the business side of football.

We all get that the nfl is a big business with TV commitments and schedules. But all of that can be dealt with at a later time than last night.

 

[Terry Yake]

All he had to do is keep his mouth shut or say something respectful. Yeah, maybe it would have been lip service, but when a guy's life is in the balance it's not time to hot take.

yeah but then he wouldn't have gotten that many likes and retweets on twitter or generated any sort of outrage!

skip is nothing more than a shock jock

 

[Halladay]

Why are we even discussing Skip? 14 year old Halladay figured out Skip was a paid troll. Just discussing him is giving him what he wants. If a tree falls in a forest and you didn't hear it, did it really fall? Just ignore him.

 

[TheGreenTBer]

yeah but then he wouldn't have gotten that many likes and retweets on twitter or generated any sort of outrage!

skip is nothing more than a shock jock

I get it, especially in today's social media climate, but hot taking in a life and death situation is pretty damn low.

He'd be livid if someone did that about a family member, right? Hamlin is someone's son too. There has to be some point where you turn off your shitposting mode.

Why are we even discussing Skip? 14 year old Halladay figured out Skip was a paid troll. Just discussing him is giving him what he wants. If a tree falls in a forest and you didn't hear it, did it really fall? Just ignore him.

This is true. Any publicity is good publicity to him.

It's scummy but attention is what he wants.

 

[StreetHawk]

I get it, especially in today's social media climate, but hot taking in a life and death situation is pretty damn low.

He'd be livid if someone did that about a family member, right? Hamlin is someone's son too. There has to be some point where you turn off your shitposting mode.


This is true. Any publicity is good publicity to him.

It's scummy but attention is what he wants.

What does it also say about the Foxsports producers of the show to allow Skip on the show prompting Shannon to not do the show. Should have been the other way around.

 

[BruinsFan37]

Goodell will "suggest" that the game be played on Thursday and the Week 18 games be played on Monday night.

If both teams "agree" the game will be played.

If one team disagrees and the other doesn't (most likely the Bills in that scenario) then the team that disagrees will forfeit.

If both teams disagree then the game will be declared a tie.

Really the ball is in Cincinnati's court, since they have the most to lose by not playing the game. Buffalo still has a "chance" at the #1 seed provided the Chiefs lose and the game is declared a tie.

 

[Taro Tsujimoto]

 

[TheGreenTBer]

That seems to be the most appropriate course of action.

No way Buffalo is going to want to play until Hamlin's condition improves (if at all), and if I'm the Bengals I refuse to steal a forfeit win from a grieving team; not like it was a picnic for their players either.

 

[BB88]

Goodell will "suggest" that the game be played on Thursday and the Week 18 games be played on Monday night.

If both teams "agree" the game will be played.

If one team disagrees and the other doesn't (most likely the Bills in that scenario) then the team that disagrees will forfeit.

If both teams disagree then the game will be declared a tie.

Really the ball is in Cincinnati's court, since they have the most to lose by not playing the game. Buffalo still has a "chance" at the #1 seed provided the Chiefs lose and the game is declared a tie.

 

[John Price]

 

[TheAngryHank]

I can get behind this, The hard truth is its best for anyone involved to get on a path to " back to normal" as difficult as that sounds. With something on schedule for sunday gives them something to occupy thier minds or distract them if that word works better. Its a terrible situation without a good solution .All any of us can do is hope for improvement.

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

I have a hard time seeing them go forward with his condition still in the balance. The next nightmare worst-case scenario, apart from it actually happening, is that they’re playing the game and news breaks that he passes.

I don't know how his condition is at all relevant to it. It's a workplace accident. And I've never heard of a company that ceased operations because an employee had a medical emergency. There's a pause so people can gather themselves and then it's back to business.

 

[misterchainsaw]

I don't know how his condition is at all relevant to it. It's a workplace accident. And I've never heard of a company that ceased operations because an employee had a medical emergency. There's a pause so people can gather themselves and then it's back to business.

Any company worth a damn would absolutely give employees in the area who were first hand witnesses and affected and close friends time off.

And the NFL isn't exactly just another company. Their players lives are very public, and not to mention this was not just a medical emergency on the job, but a medical emergency caused by the job - where the ultimate fate of the player is not yet known.

It is impossible to play football with your mind not 100% on the game. It is begging for more injuries - perhaps not as catastrophic as what we saw Monday, but certainly not "safe" - even by the normal standards of the NFL - by any means.

 

[Stand Witness]

Would the teams want to risk injury in a compressed schedule right before the playoffs? My guess is this game isn’t played.

 

[GKJ]

I don't know how his condition is at all relevant to it. It's a workplace accident. And I've never heard of a company that ceased operations because an employee had a medical emergency. There's a pause so people can gather themselves and then it's back to business.

Go back and watch the footage of last night, and then say his condition isn't relevant as millions of people, including thousands of people in the stadium and both teams on the field thought they just watched somebody die. Employees with first-hand account don't just to 'back to business.' Unless you're Amazon.

 

[Hockeyholic]

The NFL could have the game next week sometime. We'd or Thu.

If necessary, move said teams PO games to the following Monday.

The game will get played. It's a matter of when.

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

Any company worth a damn would absolutely give employees in the area who were first hand witnesses and affected and close friends time off.

And the NFL isn't exactly just another company. Their players lives are very public, and not to mention this was not just a medical emergency on the job, but a medical emergency caused by the job - where the ultimate fate of the player is not yet known.

It is impossible to play football with your mind not 100% on the game. It is begging for more injuries - perhaps not as catastrophic as what we saw Monday, but certainly not "safe" - even by the normal standards of the NFL - by any means.

On New Year's Eve afternoon a baggage handler at a small airport in Alabama was sucked into a jet engine and turned into thousands of little specks of organic matter in a matter of seconds. The airport stopped operations for a few hours but resumed service later that evening. It's a small airport where not a ton of people work, no doubt people who knew the deceased woman were expected to pick up the slack and continue work the same day.

That's pretty normal for industrial accidents.