NFL News & Notes

[packfanfb]

11 minutes ago, Leader said:

You think the players are going to "self report" diligently? Call me a skeptic.

Really don't care personally. 95% of these guys aren't symptomatic and there's zero evidence of spread on the field between players anyways. This rule should have been implemented Week 1 once the league became predominantly vaccinated. 

[minnypackerfan]

59 minutes ago, Leader said:

Dont pretend to slip a herd immunity post in here and expect it to pass muster.

 

Not suggesting that....I don't know anybody that is immune to the flu.  But rather, its just something we have to deal with.

[Leader]

34 minutes ago, packfanfb said:

Really don't care personally. 95% of these guys aren't symptomatic and there's zero evidence of spread on the field between players anyways. This rule should have been implemented Week 1 once the league became predominantly vaccinated. 

Asymptomatic (and vaccinated) people can still spread COVID...and it's *virtually impossible* to determine whether (or not) the germ is being passed from player to player on the field or sideline - but there's absolutely no reason to believe it isnt.

Less testing will result in greater transmission. The entire reason for this change it to facilitate getting games played.

[packfanfb]

13 minutes ago, Leader said:

Asymptomatic (and vaccinated) people can still spread COVID...and it's *virtually impossible* to determine whether (or not) the germ is being passed from player to player on the field or sideline - but there's absolutely no reason to believe it isnt.

Less testing will result in greater transmission. The entire reason for this change it to facilitate getting games played.

I think it's a progressional step towards the understanding that COVID is a virus you simply need to live with at this point and, especially with this more mild Omicron variant, simply getting it shouldn't require a professional athlete to miss a game. Treat it like any another illness. If the guy is sick, he can sick out, if he's not, let him play. 

[Leader]

26 minutes ago, packfanfb said:

I think it's a progressional step towards the understanding that COVID is a virus you simply need to live with at this point and, especially with this more mild Omicron variant, simply getting it shouldn't require a professional athlete to miss a game. Treat it like any another illness. If the guy is sick, he can sick out, if he's not, let him play. 

Understood - but again (in short form...) - less testing will mean greater transmission - even with a high % of players being vaccinated.

This is an accommodation to facilitate getting games played in a compressed scheduling window - i.e. - it's a choice of economy over public health. We'll see how it plays out - but with less testing and a reliance on the honor system, it's going to be difficult to determine.

[Old Guy]

1 hour ago, Leader said:

Understood - but again (in short form...) - less testing will mean greater transmission - even with a high % of players being vaccinated.

This is an accommodation to facilitate getting games played in a compressed scheduling window - i.e. - it's a choice of economy over public health. We'll see how it plays out - but with less testing and a reliance on the honor system, it's going to be difficult to determine.

So other than if the local health department calls or contacts you saying you are a close contact, society is exactly what you are stating. It's an honor system you stay away if you have symptoms or test positive at this point. 

Just a hunch, but I think the NFL was taking internal heat over asymptomatic people missing games. 

[Leader]

17 minutes ago, Old Guy said:

So other than if the local health department calls or contacts you saying you are a close contact, society is exactly what you are stating. It's an honor system you stay away if you have symptoms or test positive at this point. Just a hunch, but I think the NFL was taking internal heat over asymptomatic people missing games. 

The league had a fine system:

You test positive - and are vaxxed - you can come back after two negative tests in 48 hrs. Done.
You dont test negative - you're a carrier / spreader - regardless of how you feel and vax status.

If you're unvaxxed and test positive - sit down.

The problem came with the recent spike / increase in cases caused by Omi (which is happening across the vaxxed/unvaxxed boundary) - that's overrunning the system and challenging getting the season in a constrained time frame.   

Hence, the changes.

I suspect what will occur is players that feel okay (but are actually positive) wont know it (and now wont get tested_ so they'll play and spread it more. I dont see how that can be prevented now. I also dont know where the idea came from that you cant spread the virus while playing football. You can spread it standing next to somebody.

Whatever. It's not like I'll be tackling any of them. What happens happens. I just hope it happens to the other teams.

[AlexGreen#20]

1 hour ago, Old Guy said:

So other than if the local health department calls or contacts you saying you are a close contact, society is exactly what you are stating. It's an honor system you stay away if you have symptoms or test positive at this point. 

Just a hunch, but I think the NFL was taking internal heat over asymptomatic people missing games. 

There's a three way war happening.

+++

The owners only supported testing when it was governmentally required and/or not doing so resulted in a publicity hit that was going to cost more than the testing was going to. 

Public opinion has now sufficiently shifted such that the PR hit is no longer so damning. People are done caring. In combination with omicron being more pervasive and seemingly less severe, you're ending up with way more players missing games with no symptoms.

The cost of that testing wasn't insignificant. If they can get out of it, they want to.

+++

The rank and file NFL players are sick of the testing. They're sick of the requirements. They want life to get back to normal. They want the testing gone too.

+++ 

The NFLPA reps and the union leads are less sure about cutting down on the testing. Whether that's cause they're "smarter/more-cautious" than the rank and file or what, I don't know.

Generally this sort of apprehension leads me to think that there's a financial play involved. I'm wondering if they want a small concession involving other drug testing. That's the only play I can think of that makes sense.

+++ 

This seems to have gone the way of the other Ownership/NFLPA battles in that the owners split the union between the reps and the rank-and-file, teamed up with the rank-and-file and are ultimately going to get what they want.

[Leader]

Andrew Brandt -   Yesterday it seemed like the NFL was going to further enhance protocols in light of outbreaks, that this is a serious problem and a big deal. Today it feels like "F*** it, we can't keep moving these games, we're playing through. Most these guys are fine to play."   Business wins.

[ThatJerkDave]

Well, our guy Breeland got cut from the Vikings.

 

At some point, when you seem to have problems everywhere, you start to realize that the problem may not be other people.  Or at least, that is what a mature person would do. 

[{Family Ghost}]

28 minutes ago, ThatJerkDave said:

Well, our guy Breeland got cut from the Vikings.

 

At some point, when you seem to have problems everywhere, you start to realize that the problem may not be other people.  Or at least, that is what a mature person would do. 

Apparently he's a clown. I think in general he is a pretty good player, but he's had four or five teams the past couple years.  Knucklehead!

[ThatJerkDave]

2 hours ago, {Family Ghost} said:

Apparently he's a clown. I think in general he is a pretty good player, but he's had four or five teams the past couple years.  Knucklehead!

He has struggled this season.  But he was really good for us, in half a season, and pretty good for the Chiefs for two seasons, and before that his stats look pretty good for Washington too.  But he seems to have worn out his welcome everywhere.  Four teams in the last 5 years.  

[Sasquatch]

Dayum!  Smoking fast!

 

[gopackgo972]

NFL needs to stop testing healthy players this is ridiculous. 

[Refugee]

10 hours ago, Sasquatch said:

Dayum!  Smoking fast!

 

I watch very little CFB outside of channel flipping and an occasional UW bowl game hungover on New Year’s Day. I saw JT trying his best one year vs. Ohio St, running for his life, catching passes and generally being a one man show for his offense. I really wanted to see him in GB.