2022-23 NFL Season Discussion Thread

[thehef]

Originally Posted by Ragnar

Let me clarify. When I said take the week off, I meant not play to win. Playing for a 1 seed is a lot different than playing for a 2 seed. Especially if they can still get the 2 seed even if they lose.

However, just recently they have been talking about postponing their game against the Patriots. I don't think that will happen. But I can't see the Bills being prepared for this game.

Totally understood, though I didn't get at the time you meant "not play to win." So my reply to cephasjames wasn't any sort of accusation, just a reference

If they play the NE/Buff game as scheduled, it's hard to say what state the Bills will be in. On one hand, I can't imagine daily practices between today and Saturday will be as substantial and focused as they normally would be. OTOH, by the time Sunday rolls around, the players could be in a place where they just need to get out and play football, and are fired up to be able to do it... And we can certainly imagine the types of news (both good and bad) between now and then that could affect the team, and/or affect whether they even play the game at all. I won't touch on possible bad news, but if Hamlin were to communicate some inspiring words to the team this weekend, well, that could be something that really lifts the team.

[Ragnar]

Originally Posted by thehef

Totally understood, though I didn't get at the time you meant "not play to win." So my reply to cephasjames wasn't any sort of accusation, just a reference

If they play the NE/Buff game as scheduled, it's hard to say what state the Bills will be in. On one hand, I can't imagine daily practices between today and Saturday will be as substantial and focused as they normally would be. OTOH, by the time Sunday rolls around, the players could be in a place where they just need to get out and play football, and are fired up to be able to do it... And we can certainly imagine the types of news (both good and bad) between now and then that could affect the team, and/or affect whether they even play the game at all. I won't touch on possible bad news, but if Hamlin were to communicate some inspiring words to the team this weekend, well, that could be something that really lifts the team.

Here's my opinion of what will happen. The Bills/Patriots game is in Buffalo. When the Bills walk on to that field the fans will erupt. I feel sorry for the Patriots if that happens.

[cephasjames]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

I wonder how tentatively some players will play, at least at first. Looking at the video in which Hamlin was injured, by far that was not the worst hit that I have ever seen. It's just that Higgins hit him just right with his shoulder to Hamlin's chest, it seems. That's got to be in the back of a lot of minds, I would think.

I can't imagine that the actual play is what caused Hamlin to go into cardiac arrest. If it was, we'd see more players having the same issue. It's got to be some underlying issue that caused his problem. The hit was just a trigger.

[damientheomen3]

Originally Posted by cephasjames

I can't imagine that the actual play is what caused Hamlin to go into cardiac arrest. If it was, we'd see more players having the same issue. It's got to be some underlying issue that caused his problem. The hit was just a trigger.

I saw a doctor youtube channel talk about the incident shortly after it happened, and he said that there's a brief, milliseconds-long window in a specific part of the heartbeat cycle that, if a force hard enough to specifically that portion of your chest hits in this exact brief window, it can cause a person to go into cardiac arrest. He posited that as a potential explanation of what could have happened. He also mentioned baseball as an example of a sport where this is more likely to happen because a baseball is more likely to hit in the way needed to cause this issue than anything on a football field; I'm not a big baseball buff so I don't know of any examples of baseball players collapsing after being hit in the chest off the cuff.

[BaseballMan]

If Brady goes to the Raiders i would be curious to see if all of sudden they get less offensive penalties.

[thehef]

Originally Posted by damientheomen3

I saw a doctor youtube channel talk about the incident shortly after it happened, and he said that there's a brief, milliseconds-long window in a specific part of the heartbeat cycle that, if a force hard enough to specifically that portion of your chest hits in this exact brief window, it can cause a person to go into cardiac arrest. He posited that as a potential explanation of what could have happened. He also mentioned baseball as an example of a sport where this is more likely to happen because a baseball is more likely to hit in the way needed to cause this issue than anything on a football field; I'm not a big baseball buff so I don't know of any examples of baseball players collapsing after being hit in the chest off the cuff.

Yep, I read something last night that Dr. Richard Kovacs (who is an NFL combine heart doc) wrote about it. Can't find it now, but there a number of articles that refer to the basics of what he wrote. Just Google his name and "Hamlin"...

[thehef]

Originally Posted by BaseballMan

If Brady goes to the Raiders i would be curious to see if all of sudden they get less offensive penalties.

I just don't get why Brady would want to go there. True, the Bucs hadn't seen much success prior to Brady's arrival, but the Raiders pretty carry the stench of decades-long failure, caused primarily by ineptitude coming from the top... At least with Tampa, there was the sense that Arians had the team on the right track. Can that be said about McDaniel? And Brady will be 46 next season, whereas when he went to Tampa, he was merely a spry 43

I'd think he'd want to go to a team that seems like they have most of what they need to contend except for a QB. I wouldn't say that - by a longshot - of the Raidahs...

[Syd Thrift]

Originally Posted by damientheomen3

I saw a doctor youtube channel talk about the incident shortly after it happened, and he said that there's a brief, milliseconds-long window in a specific part of the heartbeat cycle that, if a force hard enough to specifically that portion of your chest hits in this exact brief window, it can cause a person to go into cardiac arrest. He posited that as a potential explanation of what could have happened. He also mentioned baseball as an example of a sport where this is more likely to happen because a baseball is more likely to hit in the way needed to cause this issue than anything on a football field; I'm not a big baseball buff so I don't know of any examples of baseball players collapsing after being hit in the chest off the cuff.

Yeah, and while this has never happened in pro baseball, it has happened in cricket I think twice, including one incident where a player died on the field just a few years ago. And also, IIRC it happens around 5 times a year at the high school level. You need to restart the person’s heart immediately for them to have a chance and many/most high schools don’t have a paramedic crew sitting around the stadium, so that plus the fact I guess that high school age kids are way more susceptible to this effect means that those 5 kids die.

It’s kind of a wild freak effect, except that at this point it’s not even a “one in a million” type thing, or if it is, the world has gotten so large that we’re hitting that level of rarity relatively often.

[CONN CHRIS]

I heard Chris Pronger this morning talking about when this happened to him with a puck in a Stanley Cup game. He lost consciousness and went to the hospital but was actually playing again in a few days.

He said that his doctor described that millisecond window hit as one that fools the heart into thinking it beat when it did not. After that missed beat, you pass out and the rest is determined by how well or when your heart restarts itself in a normal fashion. Pronger's restarted on its own, in this case, it required outside intervention.

That's one possible explanation at least.

[pilight]

Hamlin regained consciousness and wanted to know who won the game

[Cobra Mgr]

Buff @ Cincy has been cancelled.

[thehef]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

Buff @ Cincy has been cancelled.

So many scenarios being kicked around as to how the NFL will handle playoff seeding... Among them:

- Randomly removing a game from affected teams' schedules from seeding & tiebreaker scenarios (seems kinda quirky)
- Let #1 seed choose between having home field throughout the conference playoffs and hosting a potential AFC championship (interesting)
- Adding an 8th team to each conference's playoff field, thus eliminating a bye week for the #1 seeds (good news for several teams on the periphery of the postseason, and for those who can't get enough playoff football)
- Neutral site for the AFC championship if it involves teams that were affected by the Cincy-Buff cancellation (boring, especially if they put it in a dome)
- Just rolling with the standings as they end up after Sunday's games

Am I missing any?

Adding an 8th team solves the advantage gained by the #1 seed receiving a 1st-week bye, but it doesn't solve any seeding issues, including determining home-field advantage for the AFC title game.

At any rate, with the great news of Hamlin's improvement and the decision that Monday's game will not be made up, I think that nearly clinches that the Bills/Pats game will take place as scheduled on Sunday.

[Ragnar]

Originally Posted by thehef

So many scenarios being kicked around as to how the NFL will handle playoff seeding... Among them:

- Randomly removing a game from affected teams' schedules from seeding & tiebreaker scenarios (seems kinda quirky)
- Let #1 seed choose between having home field throughout the conference playoffs and hosting a potential AFC championship (interesting)
- Adding an 8th team to each conference's playoff field, thus eliminating a bye week for the #1 seeds (good news for several teams on the periphery of the postseason, and for those who can't get enough playoff football)
- Neutral site for the AFC championship if it involves teams that were affected by the Cincy-Buff cancellation (boring, especially if they put it in a dome)
- Just rolling with the standings as they end up after Sunday's games

Am I missing any?

Adding an 8th team solves the advantage gained by the #1 seed receiving a 1st-week bye, but it doesn't solve any seeding issues, including determining home-field advantage for the AFC title game.

At any rate, with the great news of Hamlin's improvement and the decision that Monday's game will not be made up, I think that nearly clinches that the Bills/Pats game will take place as scheduled on Sunday.

This is what I heard.
They will obviously go by win% for the AFC seeds.
Play the AFC championship game at a neutral site.
Add an 8th playoff team.

What they should have done is just omit the game. Do nothing else. The only thing that changes are some seeding advantages. And the only teams negatively affected are the teams that didn't play the game. Except for the Ravens. Nothing they do can solve that.

Now they are impacted the NFC if they do this crap. Washington was going to start Sam Howell at QB. Add an 8th playoff team and they're back in it. The #1 seed in the NFC would have a bye week, and play one less game. Add an 8th team, and now that's out the window.

[cephasjames]

I think Buffalo and Cincinnati should agree to a coin toss to determine who won their game. They could do best out of seven if they didn't want to just leave it up to one toss.

At least having a winner of that game would simplify everything going forward.

[Syd Thrift]

Nah, if anything, having 2 teams play one less game actually makes things easier to figure out regarding tiebreakers. If Buffalo finishes 13-3 then KC is the 1 seed if they win their game and the 2 seed if they lose. It only becomes thorny in the rare event of a tie.

[Cobra Mgr]

Here is something to ponder: If they did add an 8th, Would a victory by Tenn vs Dallas last Thurs have kept them in the hunt for a WC even if they lost to Jax this week? And would the Jets now have a chance to make the playoffs, giving them some incentive now vs Miami? Same for Washington vs Dallas?

[dsvitak]

Originally Posted by thehef

So many scenarios being kicked around as to how the NFL will handle playoff seeding... Among them:

- Randomly removing a game from affected teams' schedules from seeding & tiebreaker scenarios (seems kinda quirky)
- Let #1 seed choose between having home field throughout the conference playoffs and hosting a potential AFC championship (interesting)
- Adding an 8th team to each conference's playoff field, thus eliminating a bye week for the #1 seeds (good news for several teams on the periphery of the postseason, and for those who can't get enough playoff football)
- Neutral site for the AFC championship if it involves teams that were affected by the Cincy-Buff cancellation (boring, especially if they put it in a dome)
- Just rolling with the standings as they end up after Sunday's games

Am I missing any?

Adding an 8th team solves the advantage gained by the #1 seed receiving a 1st-week bye, but it doesn't solve any seeding issues, including determining home-field advantage for the AFC title game.

At any rate, with the great news of Hamlin's improvement and the decision that Monday's game will not be made up, I think that nearly clinches that the Bills/Pats game will take place as scheduled on Sunday.

You missed the most obvious, and likely result.

Just use winning percentages to seed teams, and then normal tiebreakers. The two teams that missed games will have unique percentages, and almost certainly won't need a tiebreaker...one that requires total wins within conferences or divisions.

[thehef]

Originally Posted by dsvitak

You missed the most obvious, and likely result.

Just use winning percentages to seed teams, and then normal tiebreakers. The two teams that missed games will have unique percentages, and almost certainly won't need a tiebreaker...one that requires total wins within conferences or divisions.

That's what my last one was - just rolling with the standings as they end up after Sunday's games

[thehef]

Welp, mods to the AFC playoffs (due to the cancellation of Bills/Bengals) are a done deal: https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/n...-of-proposals/

Basically...

- Neutral site for AFC championship if affected (by cancellation) teams involved & under certain circumstances

- If Ravens win this Sunday against Bengals and the those teams are to meet in Wild Card round, coin flip will determine home field (even though Cincy has clinched division)

[Cobra Mgr]

If you guys understand the "solution" more power to ya. I don't have to play the games, own the teams, or have tix to the games, so I'm going to stick this in the "What, Me worry?" box.