BBTV

Now we're starting to go over the top with the critiques. If KC and CIN both win this weekend, KC would finish with 3 losses, and CIN with 4. There's simply no way to make up losses (you can make up wins). That extra game wouldn't have reduced their loss total. So they should go to KC. If KC loses and the top three teams are all separated by a half game (with KC and CIN having equal losses, and BUF being ahead of CIN only because of the cancelled game) then some coin flipping should be in place to determine seeding, and CIN would have some beef about having to go on the road to play either of those.

Maybe they should just have the Bills and Chiefs play at a neutral site on Wild Card weekend and then give the winner a bye to the championship game. That handles the home field and bye scenario. Doesn't help the Bengals though.

I'm typically the first person that rolls their eyes when there's a tragedy and it becomes a game of who can pretend to care more, but I didn't get that feeling at all in this case. I think every response and every reaction (at least on this board) has been genuine, not over-the-top, and very well balanced between feelings towards the player, praise of the EMTs and trainers that saved his life, bashing the league, and the overall rankings of priorities between humans and a sport. I don't think that nitpicking the potential playoff scenarios equates to "football is the most important thing going on". It's a thing that's happening, and we're talking about it. If people were like "WHY DOES MY TEAM HAVE TO GET SCREWED JUST BECAUSE SOME GUY HAD TO CHOOSE THAT GAME TO ALMOST DIE?!?!?!?!" then I'd be with you, but everyone that I'm hearing critique the options seems to be doing so with an understanding and sensitivity towards the situation that lead to this.

Doesn't account for a team losing out on a shot at the bye week. KC still presumably profits from this situation. Also really screws fans of both teams in the AFCCG since it's unlikely that many would be able to drop everything and go to Detroit or Indy or wherever they play. It could be a cool college vibe, or it could be pretty sterile. I don't really have a better solution other than maybe flipping a coin for home field. And I still think that if KC and BUF finish with 3 losses each, BUF should get #1.

Since they're not going to play the game, if KC and Buffalo both win this week, then they should award Buffalo the bye based on having the same losses and having won the head-to-head matchup. Since they're not going to have the same opportunity to win 14 games, it seems reasonable to give them the 1 seed. The rest of it is much tougher.

I think a metallic silver or chrome or steel-shaded helmet would work really well for the titans. The logo would look great on it and it would play into their silly sword gimmick without being so over the top. then just a more basic uniform (or something similar to their original set) but add the silver / gray pants into the mix and we’re set. no need for full rebrand, no need for a drastic change, no need for any of that.

I can’t think of a single circumstance in which i wouldn’t choose the bye. Fewer chances to lose trumps home field (that you may not actually get).

I'm 99.9% positive that I've read that there's always contingencies for the SB, even if it's just making sure that the host venue is available the week after. I can't confirm that. They're going to balance the financial ramifications of any decision first, then the competitive-balance ramifications, then the fan reaction last (of course). My guess is that moving the SB because of one unplayed game wouldn't be worth it. There's a ton of money already invested in SB weekend, and they probably only trigger whatever insurance they have if there's a natural disaster like a hurricane or a terrorist threat or something (just going by what I've read about sports insurance.) Eliminating the bye week also has financial ramifications, as ESPN and whatever networks pay to have daily coverage and that stupid-ass "media day" thing. It also probably hinders their partners from getting promotions set up in the cities playing in the game, and doesn't give people enough time to mortgage their house to buy a fraudulent game package to attend the game (but again, the fans are the last on the priority list.) Having them play mid-week games is a really bad look since playing on fewer than 7 days rest could be a safety concern and they're in this situation due to a (fluke, but still) safety issue. Every idea I've read has enormous ramifications. I'm very glad I'm not in the position of signing off on whatever they do. I even read that one possibility was that they could use a randomizer to determine seeding! (I forget where I read that but I think it was from a reliable source, though who knows what's "reliable" anymore?) In the absolutely tragic - but fortunately unlikely - event that there's a negative outcome for the player, then all bets are off because playing at all would be insensitive.

I fail to see how the extra week (or lack thereof) matters at all.

I heard Ross Tucker say (and he obv knows people with the league) that part of the reason for the delay might be because if there’s a negative outcome, they might move ALL of week 18 rather than have any games at all right after a player died. They probably know or are close to knowing their contingency plans but want to wait for a more certain (hopefully positive) prognosis before making any kind of announcement.

My math might be wrong, but 2 ties out of 32 teams playing 16 games each (256 games) = 0.7%. I'd say that pretty rare. And this is higher than most years. EDIT: I guess we're only up to 255 games since last night's was suspended, but the percentage doesn't change at all.

I don't think that any update that doesn't come from either 1) his family, 2) the friend / agent guy, or 3) the Bills can be taken with anything more than a grain of salt. Joseyna (sp?) Anderson was tweeting stuff out earlier from "sources" - I'd question any "source" that's giving her inside information about a patient that's sedated in an ICU.

I just think that there should be more vaporization in general in sports. like if the basketball game is on the line and a guy shoots a potential game-winning 3 pointer, the opposing coach should have the opportunity - only once per game - to click a button and have the ball disintegrate or explode before it can go through the hoop and win the game. It could get problematic if the button is pressed while a guy is going for a dunk, but it would certainly add another element of strategy to the game. Do you save your button press for a free throw? Or do you use it earlier on a 3 point shot? The possibilities - and ramifications - are endless.

Or you make it so that it vaporizes anything that touches it. You know the FG was good if the ball is vaporized. Some dumb college kid wants to try and take down the sensor? Poof! We could even add explosion sound effects to it.

I am the board’s CTE expert. But your point applies to everyone else. Having very recently gone through an out of nowhere heart-related death, I can empathize with those around him and hope they don’t go through what we did. Hoping to wake up tomorrow and read that he’s gonna make it even if football is off the table.

I've read a lot of the backlash to this tweet. While it's poorly worded, he even says that the outcome of the game and regular season are irrelevant. He's simply questioning the logistics of how it would be moved - which is something everyone has. EDIT: I think it's being interpreted as if he's saying that "the regular season outcome seems irrelevant" as a complaint - when I believe that he's saying what we're all saying. Just my two cents, giving the guy the benefit of the doubt.

Being told reports by who? Are the attending physicians texting her? If anyone other than his immediate family is providing any information, they should lose their job.

Can they flat out cancel the game from the schedule and these teams only play 16 games and go by the percentages? Does that screw one of the teams? Obviously there's a financial cost to that, but they'll figure out how to make it up to ESPN and the sponsors.

Just curious - what happens if they simply end the game right here and keep the final score as is? Forgive me but I don't know all the playoff implications. And... can they even do that?

Like I said earlier, during the two Covid seasons, they proved that it's possible to just "figure it out" and that nothing is too rigid to be changed. They'll figure this one out, even if it means unprecedented mid-week games, possibly a neutral site, and maybe possibly a funky playoff schedule to accommodate these teams. Or, since they're the NFL, they'll botch it and forever lose the trust of anyone who ever gave them the benefit of the doubt.

WTF - five minutes? Someone seriously said that they'd resume in five minutes? There was a scary moment in yesterday's Saints/Eagles game where an Eagles DL was carted off without movement in his extremities and they just picked up the game. Turns out he was alright and doing the thumbs-up thing, but even that seemed a little rough. This is on a different and unprecedented level. Over the past couple of years, sports (well, everyone in life) has gained tremendous experience in just making things up on the fly. There's some way they can finish this game another time. I don't know what that someway is, but it exists and maybe they should just call this one off, wait for an update, and then get to work figuring that out.

Cannot imagine what this is like for his family - getting updates and hearing potentially crushing news from social media and TV rather than first hand from a medical professional. This must be absolute torture for them. I hope there's some way that they're able to be more connected first hand to the team that's treating him.

The league is as scummy as scummy gets, but I have to believe that even they would understand the severity of what's going on and the mental state of everyone involved and would suspend the game and just "figure it out". No network or team is going to put up a stink about it, or they'd look like complete monsters. I didn't see it live but flipped over after the ambulance carried him out. Now just sitting here hoping that they break in and announce that his vitals are stable and he's going to make it. If this game continues it's the worst decision since Owen Hart died in the ring.

Crap I thought the Eagles could only wear the all-black clown suit twice, but looks like it's three times. Part of me hopes they get eliminated in those uniforms and decide they're bad luck.