2020 Week #7 GDT Steelers at Titans

[titans0021]

2 minutes ago, Dcash4 said:

I really do not like the idea of forfeit, but there needs to be SOME form of punishment in my mind for the Titans. When you look around this league and the NBA - you really do not see wide spread cases. I understand the bubble, but it comes down to guys doing what they are supposed to be doing correctly and safely. Even the MLB -- they had small breakouts, but they all stem from guys NOT doing what they should be doing. 

So to me, this is most likely a case of the Titans NOT following the precautions and mandates that were set up for this season. Because of that, its going to cost another team a scheduling fiasco and potential loss of an advantageous scheduled bye. 

It can obviously just be a random occurrence, but based on all other leagues happening it seems like if you do what you should be doing -- we will be okay. Just seems like someone -- either players themselves or the Titans - dropped the ball and now here we are. 

I think the thing is, without some level of evidence of negligence or carelessness, a punishment would be fought hard by the PA and be a dangerous precedent. Also, probably a PR nightmare.

Without a bubble, you’re looking at a sport with more teams and far more players/staff members than any other sports league in the world playing during a global pandemic in a country that is the largest hotbed of the virus.

If there was a Raiders like video out there, where a dozen players were out in public without masks around other people also not wearing masks, I think you can reasonably start talking forfeit. Without it, it’s extremely possible that it could be as simple as a coach’s kid going to class because the school is still trying to do in-person work and then bringing it home. And I don’t know what you do with that? 

[CKSteeler]

Rescheduling this game by shuffling around bye weeks is setting a bad precedent. This isn't going to be possible every time this scenario pops up. It only worked out because of a scheduling quirk where Baltimore and Pittsburgh had byes right after Tennessee's was scheduled. That isn't just unlikely next time, but all this could happen *after* bye weeks are scheduled to begin with.

[titans0021]

9 minutes ago, CKSteeler said:

Rescheduling this game by shuffling around bye weeks is setting a bad precedent. This isn't going to be possible every time this scenario pops up. It only worked out because of a scheduling quirk where Baltimore and Pittsburgh had byes right after Tennessee's was scheduled. That isn't just unlikely next time, but all this could happen *after* bye weeks are scheduled to begin with.

Yeah, this only “works” because it’s still so early in the year. Hopefully it at least forces the league to take a look at the current “plan.”

Note: I use the term work loosely because even though the NFL was technically lucky here, it’s still entirely unfair to the Steelers.

[Dcash4]

1 minute ago, titans0021 said:

I think the thing is, without some level of evidence of negligence or carelessness, a punishment would be fought hard by the PA and be a dangerous precedent. Also, probably a PR nightmare.

Without a bubble, you’re looking at a sport with more teams and far more players/staff members than any other sports league in the world playing during a global pandemic in a country that is the largest hotbed of the virus.

If there was a Raiders like video out there, where a dozen players were out in public without masks around other people also not wearing masks, I think you can reasonably start talking forfeit. Without it, it’s extremely possible that it could be as simple as a coach’s kid going to class because the school is still trying to do in-person work and then bringing it home. And I don’t know what you do with that? 

So fight it, the point of the discipline (and i mentioned i am not for forfeit) isnt to claim "bad titans, bad!", its to FORCE all teams to take considerable more control of their processes and relaying information to players of how important this is. Accountability needs to be held in some manner. I am also not meaning to do this without investigation. 

The players and the league are in this together -- if someones not holding up their end of the deal, that's a problem that hurts all. In terms of the bold, its a billion dollar industry affecting millions of dollars for players/coaches. Take the precautions -- its home schooling time. I know that sounds harsh, but what sacrifices are you willing to take for one year when you had the opportunity to OPT OUT. If you CHOSE to play this year, you agreed to take all precautions to eliminate additional exposures. I'm not trying to be insensitive with it, but it is what it is. If you agreed to do this, you agreed to take all precations to make it happen. The MLB has fewer active roster numbers, but were still entitled to a 60 man player pool to use as needed in call ups and after the rash (again, of people not doing what they were supposed to be doing), they didn't have an issue and they do far more traveling than the NFL does. 

And I'm not trying to say it cant be something extremely reasonable and understandable -- but teams have been together, what like 2 months now, and this is the first incident and its spread across the team, seems like something might be investigation worthy to whether you did something wrong or were too lax on your rules inside the building. Neither of those things must be true, but for the NFL to look at it and say "nah, guys its cool, we will figure it out" doesnt work. Something needs to be decided to deter any unnecessary actions by players or lax on precationary rules by the team to make sure everyone goes above and beyond to limit exposure -- and that can just be simply creating disciplinary measures for future issues if negligence is proven or acts that might lead to exposure like your Raiders example. 

Quote

“What it boiled down to on this particular trip was guys were around each other, they got relaxed and they let their guard down,” Jeter said. “They were getting together in groups. They weren’t wearing masks as much as they should have. They weren’t social distancing.”

That's Jeter's quote regarding the Marlins issue early in the year. He blames the issue on letting their guard down -- which is why i push for some form of punishment or rules outlining future punishments. The MLB added a compliance officer to every team that traveled with them after this indecent occurred. 

Quote

"We are playing," Manfred told ESPN. "The players need to be better, but I am not a quitter in general and there is no reason to quit now. We have had to be fluid, but it is manageable.

Another quote from August, putting the problem at players after looking into them from. The biggest problem from MLB to NFL is that the football schedule is NOT as manageable. Its why looking at how the other leagues have handled things, how the other  31 NFL teams have handled things, and how when taking the precations we generally do not see wide spread issues across a team -- I would look into potentially holding the Titans responsible. 

[Dcash4]

I think the only real option is to add a "week 18" to the schedule and really hope that no one team is effected twice. Remove the bye week will not work for every case, it just would for this one. Say the Packers team comes down with a rash of Covid cases in week 6....after their week 5 bye. What do you do? Its why the "This is the NFLs fault for not thinking ahead" doesn't really work. When is the next game going to be postponed? Week 6 or week 10? If you had an extra week 8 bye across the league, only one of these examples helps. The only way to do it is add a week after the season and make it so that any rescheduled game hopefully gets played that week. But if the Steelers or Titans end up getting a second occurrence happen to them -- you are going to be screwed. Its really not a great situation. 

[3rivers]

24 minutes ago, Dcash4 said:

But if the Steelers or Titans end up getting a second occurrence happen to them -- you are going to be screwed. Its really not a great situation. 

or other teams too, eventually could end up like this. Maybe teams will need to play their best football in march,  the new march madness I guess  

I am waiting for this season to have a few such incidents, causing the standings to be affected in the process. It's important to win the games you can when you can since there is not way of knowing when key players will be out due to this fiasco 

[VigilantZombie]

1 hour ago, Dcash4 said:

I think the only real option is to add a "week 18" to the schedule and really hope that no one team is effected twice. Remove the bye week will not work for every case, it just would for this one. Say the Packers team comes down with a rash of Covid cases in week 6....after their week 5 bye. What do you do? Its why the "This is the NFLs fault for not thinking ahead" doesn't really work. When is the next game going to be postponed? Week 6 or week 10? If you had an extra week 8 bye across the league, only one of these examples helps. The only way to do it is add a week after the season and make it so that any rescheduled game hopefully gets played that week. But if the Steelers or Titans end up getting a second occurrence happen to them -- you are going to be screwed. Its really not a great situation. 

That should be what they do, but it won't be, Pittsburgh is gonna get screwed here.

[Dcash4]

5 minutes ago, wwhickok said:

Pittsburgh is gonna get screwed here

To be fair, we would get screwed either way. We would either have a rough stretch of 13 straight without really having a bye, the straight road games, following the Ravens bye, and rolling directly into playoffs....or we are one of the only teams (us and the Titans) to NOT get a bye heading into playoffs. 

I think one is way worse than the other, but either way we get dinged because of Tennessee. 

[Steeler Hitman]

1 hour ago, Dcash4 said:

I really do not like the idea of forfeit, but there needs to be SOME form of punishment in my mind for the Titans.

I agree. I don't like a forfeit either, but what can you do? Right now the onus is on the Steelers as well. They don't get a real bye week and were put in limbo until Thursday, morning. I do like the idea of adding an 18th week to play and extending the play-offs a week or some other safeguard, I don't really know what to do. It is not like the Titans wanted to get this, but the luck or un-luck of the circumstance or schedule should not  dictate the decision.

When you look around this league and the NBA - you really do not see wide spread cases. I understand the bubble, but it comes down to guys doing what they are supposed to be doing correctly and safely. Even the MLB -- they had small breakouts, but they all stem from guys NOT doing what they should be doing. 

I get this but realistically, you can to everything the right way and still get it. The bubble would be easier to do in the play-offs because there are less teams, but regular season,I can't see how. 

So to me, this is most likely a case of the Titans NOT following the precautions and mandates that were set up for this season. Because of that, its going to cost another team a scheduling fiasco and potential loss of an advantageous scheduled bye. 

I am not as concerned with pointing fingers as to why as opposed to coming up with a good and fair solution. If this were the case of 25 guys and coaches going to a bar or something, I would get it a little more and thus be more inclined to say, "You take the forfeit due to your outright disregard to the policy." 

It can obviously just be a random occurrence, but based on all other leagues happening it seems like if you do what you should be doing -- we will be okay. Just seems like someone -- either players themselves or the Titans - dropped the ball and now here we are. 

Dcash4 I understand and respect what you are saying, but it may or may not be true. I don't like making accusations without proof/evidence. They may or may not have followed,  protocol, but we don't know for certain. It is a problem either way. I am glad to see the Steelers pushing back and the NFLPA should get involved. The option forced upon the Steelers is not really fair or in the best interest of everyone either. 

[MOSteelers56]

Keyshawn Johnson made a good point on the radio a couple days ago. He said all teams should just go back to extended training camp for a week or two. Keep the measures in place to test and contract trace. This will stop all teams from meeting and could be a way to nip this outbreak in the bud. 

[August4th]

Titans game against Buff might be in jeopardy. two more titans have covid. NFL will probably investigate. I wonder if they find negligence and more players keep getting it, would they force tenn to forfeit games against us and the Bills. NFL is money hungry tho, so they will probably try to get these games in no matter what.

[Dcash4]

24 minutes ago, August4th said:

Titans game against Buff might be in jeopardy. two more titans have covid. NFL will probably investigate. I wonder if they find negligence and more players keep getting it, would they force tenn to forfeit games against us and the Bills. NFL is money hungry tho, so they will probably try to get these games in no matter what.

I would think the possibility of moving our game to week 18 is now off the table, in case they need to reschedule the Titans again. Gotta imagine we are for sure playing on that bye week now. 

[warfelg]

23 minutes ago, Dcash4 said:

I would think the possibility of moving our game to week 18 is now off the table, in case they need to reschedule the Titans again. Gotta imagine we are for sure playing on that bye week now. 

I’m resigned to the fact that’s the case no mater what. Even though the Steelers could make an argument they got the short end by having to adjust faster. 

[August4th]

 

[Dcash4]

Well, to look at the bright side -- the bye week in the NFL this year was going to be a nightmare for teams. Giving players release from work duties for a week? Dudes usually travel, go back to college for games, take a quick vacation, etc. Might be better for us that we actually just had to spend it in Pittsburgh working. Probably not going to be a lot of guys doing their normal bye week routine, but leaving people to their own devices -- especially rich(ish) 22-28 year olds is dangerous this season.