Covid 12 Game Season Idea

[TakeTheBallDeep]

So, this is an idea based on the NFL possibly going down to a 12-game regular season schedule due to the Covid. This is my idea of how to handle this situation, its not perfect by any means, but my point was to get the Brainiac’s on here thinking. My idea is to have each division play each other three times, followed by a two-week bye, then three out of division games, another two week bye, then playoffs.  I know my locations are not perfect due to practice facilities, hotels, ect, but let me know your thoughts on this rough draft idea

 

Division Bubble Locations – All division will play each other three times then two-week bye for quarantine/rest. Same bye for everyone and that gets us to 9 regular season games

NFC West:  Salt Lake City, UT (University of Utah)

NFC North: Iowa City, IA (University of Iowa)

NFC South: Tuscaloosa, AL (University of Alabama)

NFC East: Blacksburg, VA (University of Virginia Tech)

 

AFC West: Norman, OK (Oklahoma University)

AFC North: Knoxville, TN (University of Tennessee)

AFC South: Little Rock, AR (University of Arkansas)

AFC East: State College, PA (The Pennsylvania State University)

 

 

Out of Conference Bubble Locations – Each team will play 3 non divisional games and that gets us to 12 regular season games total. After these three weeks then another two weeks off to quarantine/rest. That equals 16 weeks total so nothing crazy than what we are used to

 

NFC Teams: Indianapolis, IN (Colts Stadium) Game will have to be played every day, thus ensuring things can be cleaned, and also taking advantage of TV ratings

AFC Teams: Minneapolis, MN (Vikings Stadium) same as NFC, take advantage of having a game everyday (I know we would need 8 days to play 16 teams, Sunday/Monday night could have a morning game followed by a night game)

 

Playoffs: Top 7 from each Conference

NFC Playoffs Location: Houston, TX (Texans Stadium)

AFC Playoffs Location: Atlanta, GA (Falcons Stadium)

 

Super Bowl Location: Las Vegas, NV (Raiders Stadium)

I wanted to make sure no team got to play in their own state during the regular season so everyone has to feel like they are on the road, also same for playoffs, Super Bowl is Vegas to reward them for their new Stadium.

 

I would also like to see roster sizes increased because obviously some will get sick with Covid, so say each team has ___ amount of players that are on the team, have the playbook, but remain at home, and are "on call" when needed

This is also assuming college football doesn't happen, maybe a way to help out some colleges with NFL Revenue

 

Thoughts on this?

Edited July 24, 2020 by TakeTheBallDeep

[Blackstar12]

This sounds like a decent idea on paper. This pandemic got us thinking all sorts of ideas on how this season should be played lol.

Edited July 24, 2020 by Blackstar12

[sammymvpknight]

What do I think about it? I think that it...and just about everyone plan I've seen...has been better than the plan put in place by the NFL, which  has a high likelihood of falling on its face when players get sick from their close contacts and this thing spreads like wildfire through locker rooms. If there is no bubble...players have to agree to play in spite of just how bad this can get. I don't think that they are...so if that's the case...we need a better plan.

[diamondbull424]

I don’t see why teams would play their divisional opponents 3x. That would give an unfair advantage to teams in bad divisions. Beyond that I proposed a very similar concept in the thread that was already discussing this topic.

The only difference in your proposed idea from mine is that teams are playing division opponents 3x vs 2x. Also the length of the season going from 14 games down to 12 games.

What’s more while the length of the season becomes shortened and that’s likely better for the players, it’s also not as financially prudent. In your proposed solution the NFL has a shortened season with no additional means of creating revenue, such as where I added the extra playoff game.

In your plan a game everyday is nonsensical in the NFL, players need additional recovery time from football than from other sports. More logical would be choosing a location that has multiple stadiums within a short space. That way players are ever only leaving the bubble city to go to another stadium, which would be done in a bus, which would maintain the “bubble”. The stadium in said city would also be applied a “bubble atmosphere” with no other events being had until football is done. Having games everyday would inevitably lead to unfair advantages for teams that played the 1st game in division matchups going against teams who played the last game. This seems like an exercise in futility.

Lastly your plan fails to account for a playoff bubble or a Super Bowl bubble. Potentially exposing the NFLs top athletes to potential ramifications in the event that COVID-19 isn’t yet cleared up (which until there’s a vaccine, it likely won’t be “cleared up”.)