2022-23 NFL Season Discussion Thread

[cephasjames]

Gotcha

[Cobra Mgr]

NFL announced the game won't be resumed this week. Doesn't mean it has been cancelled yet.

[dsvitak]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

NFL announced the game won't be resumed this week. Doesn't mean it has been cancelled yet.

Doesn't this eff up the playoffs?

[TC Dale]

Originally Posted by dsvitak

Doesn't this eff up the playoffs?

Well it could, but, I would think removing a media day for playoffs could delay the playoffs till the next week.


Surprised they decided to go the route they did.

[thehef]

Originally Posted by pilight

When Chuck Hughes died on the field in 1971...

Strangely enough, Yahoo sports posted an article on that yesterday, well before the Bills-Bengals game: https://sports.yahoo.com/remembering...183504770.html

(The dateline indicates this morning. However, that must reflect an update or something; it was up well before last night's game.)

[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by dsvitak

Doesn't this eff up the playoffs?

Only seeding. CIncy & Buff were already in the postseason. Balt could have still caught up w/Cincy in their division. Both the Bills & Bengals could have overtaken the Chiefs for the 1st week bye.

Hopefully everyone indirectly affected by the situation will recognize life hands you a less than ideal blow & just adjusts w/o complaining. After all the changes the world had to go thru w/Covid, I'd think one game getting cancelled should be easy to deal with.

[thehef]

Originally Posted by dsvitak

Doesn't this eff up the playoffs?

Best I can tell, if they simply cancelled the game and played the week 18 games - including Patriots at Bills and Ravens at Bengals - as scheduled, it would only have an effect on playoff seeding. For the #1 seed, the Chiefs' path gets a little easier (they would now control their own destiny), the BilIs' path gets a bit harder (they would no longer control their own destiny), and the Bengals somewhat longshot path disappears... With a cancellation, the Ravens would no longer have a path (Bengals lose to Bills, Ravens beat Bengals) to the AFC North title; the Bengals would clinch, making the Bengals/Ravens week 18 clash meaningless (well, it could affect whether Baltimore gets the 5 or 6 seed).

It also could affect the Patriots. Whether they would've and still might play a Bills team that is resting players or fighting for a win is still not known; both possibilities still exist although the likelihood has probably changed (if KC beats LV on Saturday, the Bills may or may not be playing to win on Sunday*). And that could affect the Dolphins (who need the Pats to lose), and also the Steelers and Jags (who need the Pats to lose and other things to happen).

*Last night's game would've decided any tiebreaker scenarios between Bills & Bengals for the #2 seed. Now, it's possible they would tie on W/L, also be tied on conference record, and then it would go to best record in common games... I haven't looked that up...

I could be wrong on some of that... Just my take after a quick review of standings & scenarios...

As far as rescheduling the Bills/Bengals game, with a resumption of it this week (understandably) off the table, I don't see how they fit that in without pushing the entire playoff schedule back one week, which would seem to be too monumental of an endeavor, considering TV playoff schedules...

Rather, the NFL will probably just say that due to the unprecedented nature of the events in last night's game, and in consultation with the Bills, Bengals, and player's association, they've determined that the best course of actions is to cancel the game and that, essentially, any advantages or disadvantages to playoff scenarios are what they are... and they'll point out that no team is in danger of missing the playoffs with the cancellation; it can only affect seeding. Also, from both a practical and - more-important - a human standpoint, I'm sure both the Bengals and Bills would rather move forward towards towards the playoffs, rather than revisit everything (emotions, media circus, etc.) surrounding last night's game.

[thehef]

Originally Posted by thehef

*Last night's game would've decided any tiebreaker scenarios between Bills & Bengals for the #2 seed. Now, it's possible they would tie on W/L, also be tied on conference record, and then it would go to best record in common games... I haven't looked that up...

Ok, because I'm a nerd and time-wasting idiot, I took the time to crunch this... Best I can tell (emphasized), if last night's game is cancelled, and Cincy beats Balt, and Buff loses to NE, then here's the deal on Cincy/Buff tiebreakers:

1. Tied on overall record at 12-4
2. Head-to-head does not apply
3. Tied at 8-3 in common games
4. Tied at 8-3 in conference games
5. Strength of victory (records of the opponents in each of the team's wins to calculate the total winning percentage)... this would be too much to crunch since there are whole week's worth of games yet to be played...

At any rate, the way I see it, even if KC beats LV on Saturday - thus eliminating the Bills' chance for the #1 seed - Buff will still need to win on Sunday vs NE in order to be sure they capture the #2 seed (which may or may not matter a great deal to them... whether they play LAC, Balt, NE, Mia, Pitt, Jax in the playoff opener is probably of little consequence to them; however, it could determine where a 2nd round game vs Cincy is played...)

[Ragnar]

Originally Posted by thehef

Ok, because I'm a nerd and time-wasting idiot, I took the time to crunch this... Best I can tell (emphasized), if last night's game is cancelled, and Cincy beats Balt, and Buff loses to NE, then here's the deal on Cincy/Buff tiebreakers:

1. Tied on overall record at 12-4
2. Head-to-head does not apply
3. Tied at 8-3 in common games
4. Tied at 8-3 in conference games
5. Strength of victory (records of the opponents in each of the team's wins to calculate the total winning percentage)... this would be too much to crunch since there are whole week's worth of games yet to be played...

At any rate, the way I see it, even if KC beats LV on Saturday - thus eliminating the Bills' chance for the #1 seed - Buff will still need to win on Sunday vs NE in order to be sure they capture the #2 seed (which may or may not matter a great deal to them... whether they play LAC, Balt, NE, Mia, Pitt, Jax in the playoff opener is probably of little consequence to them; however, it could determine where a 2nd round game vs Cincy is played...)

Buffalo is up 7 points in strength of victory going into the last week. If Cinci beats the Ravens and Buffalo takes the week off, that's a 10 point boost for the Bengals. And who knows where the other points go? It's a toss up.

[thehef]

Originally Posted by Ragnar

Buffalo is up 7 points in strength of victory going into the last week. If Cinci beats the Ravens and Buffalo takes the week off, that's a 10 point boost for the Bengals. And who knows where the other points go? It's a toss up.

I didn't think of that possibility - that in addition to last night's game being cancelled, Buffalo's season-ending game against the Patriots would get cancelled. That would really scramble things...

That would really suck for NE, as they would go from "win and in" to needing both Miami and Pittsburgh to lose.

The strength points, or any other tiebreakers, would not come into play between Buff and Cincy because there is no way they can tie unless Cincy beats Balt and Buff loses to NE... If Buff plays neither of their remaining two games, then KC is the #1 seed with a over LV, and Buff is #2; if KC loses to LV, Buff is 1 and KC is 2. Cincy stays at 3 either way.

[cephasjames]

Why would Buffalo not play against the Pats? A week will have passed and thus far Hamlin is still living. I get the trauma on the day it happened, but life moves on. There is no logical reason the Bills don't play the Pats this week.

[thehef]

Originally Posted by cephasjames

Why would Buffalo not play against the Pats? A week will have passed and thus far Hamlin is still living. I get the trauma on the day it happened, but life moves on. There is no logical reason the Bills don't play the Pats this week.

I would tend to agree. However, if the team says that it is unable to adequately prepare for its game on Sunday, then I don't see how the NFL - from practical, humanitarian, and public perception perspectives - could force them to...

I write the above from the perspective that I have no idea if Buffalo not playing on Sunday is a real possibility; only that Ragnar mentioned above "if Buffalo takes a week off." So maybe it's a legit possibility, or maybe it's just his conjecture. I dunno

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by thehef

I would tend to agree. However, if the team says that it is unable to adequately prepare for its game on Sunday, then I don't see how the NFL - from practical, humanitarian, and public perception perspectives - could force them to...

I write the above from the perspective that I have no idea if Buffalo not playing on Sunday is a real possibility; only that Ragnar mentioned above "if Buffalo takes a week off." So maybe it's a legit possibility, or maybe it's just his conjecture. I dunno

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.

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

Within hours of his hospitalization, a toy drive led by Hamlin’s charitable foundation had received more than $3 million via a crowdfunding website.

By the way, this is now over $6 million as of this morning. For a community toy drive!

I wonder what they are going to do with all this money? I could use a few toys, myself. Santa keeps stiffing me.

Just kidding, of course. It's wonderful and I am sure it will all go to good causes. I need to see more of this kind of thing and remember it to counteract my curmudgeonly drift. There are a lot of decent people out there.

[thehef]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

By the way, this is now over $6 million as of this morning. For a community toy drive!

I wonder what they are going to do with all this money? I could use a few toys, myself. Santa keeps stiffing me.

Just kidding, of course. It's wonderful and I am sure it will all go to good causes. I need to see more of this kind of thing and remember it to counteract my curmudgeonly drift. There are a lot of decent people out there.

What's sorta needling me atm... Despite the awful event that started the whole thing, there has otherwise been so much good to report. Primarily the toy drive, but the overall outpouring of well-wishes, focus on players' (especially the Bills') mental health, etc... Many articles about how the plans in place - and the first responders' execution of it - was so vital, the interaction & cooperation between the who head coaches, the respectful reactions of the Cincy crowd, etc., etc... And then here comes Shalise Manza Young, who's sole purpose in life appears to be to try to find and report on only the worst in sports. I can't imagine ascending towards what many sports fans would consider a dream job - sports writer - only to then exclusively focus on the negative. What a pathetic existence.

Now, to be clear, I'm not saying sports reporters and columnists should ignore negative aspects of sports. I'm merely criticizing Young because that's ALL she does. That, and the fact that her opinion-ing is frequently biased and often includes assumptions & opinions that are not fact but are treated as such by her in her columns... I'll also point out that it's certainly possible that Yahoo (no unbiased institution itself) may have hired her with the specific charge to report & opine only on the ugly aspects sports. If that's the case, then perhaps she is not quite as miserable a person that she appears to be...

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by thehef

What's sorta needling me atm... Despite the awful event that started the whole thing, there has otherwise been so much good to report. Primarily the toy drive, but the overall outpouring of well-wishes, focus on players' (especially the Bills') mental health, etc... Many articles about how the plans in place - and the first responders' execution of it - was so vital, the interaction & cooperation between the who head coaches, the respectful reactions of the Cincy crowd, etc., etc... And then here comes Shalise Manza Young, who's sole purpose in life appears to be to try to find and report on only the worst in sports. I can't imagine ascending towards what many sports fans would consider a dream job - sports writer - only to then exclusively focus on the negative. What a pathetic existence.

Now, to be clear, I'm not saying sports reporters and columnists should ignore negative aspects of sports. I'm merely criticizing Young because that's ALL she does. That, and the fact that her opinion-ing is frequently biased and often includes assumptions & opinions that are not fact but are treated as such by her in her columns... I'll also point out that it's certainly possible that Yahoo (no unbiased institution itself) may have hired her with the specific charge to report & opine only on the ugly aspects sports. If that's the case, then perhaps she is not quite as miserable a person that she appears to be...

I assume your (most recent) ire is over this article?



https://sports.yahoo.com/damar-hamli...221622138.html

[thehef]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

I assume your (most recent) ire is over this article?

Attachment 923013

https://sports.yahoo.com/damar-hamli...221622138.html

Correct. I intended to include the link to it but forgot. Thanks!

To reiterate, while I do take issue with some of what she wrote, it's not this particular article; it just reminded me that all she does is look for the negative in sports.

[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by thehef

And then here comes Shalise Manza Young, who's sole purpose in life appears to be to try to find and report on only the worst in sports. I can't imagine ascending towards what many sports fans would consider a dream job - sports writer - only to then exclusively focus on the negative. What a pathetic existence.

.

I never read her column. Nor listen or read anything Christine Brennan has to say. Feminism on gamma rays.

[Ragnar]

Originally Posted by thehef

I didn't think of that possibility - that in addition to last night's game being cancelled, Buffalo's season-ending game against the Patriots would get cancelled. That would really scramble things...

That would really suck for NE, as they would go from "win and in" to needing both Miami and Pittsburgh to lose.

The strength points, or any other tiebreakers, would not come into play between Buff and Cincy because there is no way they can tie unless Cincy beats Balt and Buff loses to NE... If Buff plays neither of their remaining two games, then KC is the #1 seed with a over LV, and Buff is #2; if KC loses to LV, Buff is 1 and KC is 2. Cincy stays at 3 either way.

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.

[Antonin]

I have a lot of family in Buffalo. Friendly Browns vs Bills trash-talking has been a part of my life since I was a child. This is such a sad time for Damar Hamlin's family and for the city he plays for. So much sadness for Buffalo as a city...a mass shooting, a catastrophic blizzard and now a critical injury to a well-liked sports figure.

This is another time that causes you to reflect on the fragility of life.