The Random Thought Thread

[Simba]

You can look in the NFL Gamebook, which is found here:

https://www.nflgsis.com/GameStatsLive/Schedule

If the site asks you for a login and password, use User: NFL and password: NFL.

This is awesome. Wish they had a way to compile the snap counts per year but still cool nonetheless. Thanks for the resource that I'll totally be using going forward. I had been checking out the game books for the last few years but was also missing the older ones. Shame they don't have 96 and 97, either.

 

[rmcjacket23]

I don't disagree by any means, but he is missing the whole liability aspect. These aren't contracted employees so colleges would be responsible for safety in ALL aspects of their experience. With the number of schools that are planning on doing fully online in the fall, it's hard to justify that you have all of these facilities open for sports. Just hard to compare it to the NFL because it's so much more difficult logistically.

But like I said, I don't disagree with Trevor. He makes a very valid point and it sucks for those guys that are put back into those situations, but you've got to hope you put your kids in a program that breeds success off the field and at home as well.

Ehh, I don't think its all that well thought out to be honest...
1. He's just naturally assuming that because they're now playing football and may be in closer contact with others, that he and his peers will all of the sudden "take it more seriously".
My answer to that would simply be... no you won't. I think it'll make them more relaxed to be honest. We've seen the NBA, that has players getting paid a ton and put in a bubble where they have plenty of entertainment opportunities, that can't even adhere to the rules. MLB has the same problem.
His argument is basically against all evidence of human instinct and that age group. They're in college, at least significantly, for the social experience. If they're removed from that social experience, they'll find ways around it. Hence, his own admission that if they sent the players "home", they'll be more likely to catch it from others. Why is that? Because they won't be responsible enough to take the proper precautions when they're unsupervised. That tells you all you need to know right there.

Its the very reason people are pushing a mask mandate. In an actual society where people look out for each other and hold each other accountable, you'd never need a mask mandate. People would just do it. They're pushing it, because people won't just do what they're supposed to do. They'll do what they want to do.

2. He complains about cost of medical care. Spoiler alert... the University is only going to pay for YOUR medical expenses if you get COVID. When you spread it to your family, and you probably will, their expenses will NOT be covered by the University, nor should they be.

It seems somewhat hypocritical to pretend like medical care costs are a big deal for 18-22 year olds when it comes to COVID, considering they're the primary spreaders in terms of age group, they're the most likely to NOT adhere to social distancing and mask wearing in terms of age group, and they're also one of the lower risk groups in terms of needed costly medical care. If you already know you can't afford the costs of being sick, shouldn't you be taking extra precautions to make sure you're not getting sick?

 

[JO_75]

Seems we are now going to be getting a Players vs College situation as the Big Ten and PAC 12 have canceled their seasons. The players want to play and are thinking of forming an association. This is going to get interesting.

 

[rmcjacket23]

Seems we are now going to be getting a Players vs College situation as the Big Ten and PAC 12 have canceled their seasons. The players want to play and are thinking of forming an association. This is going to get interesting.

LOL, good luck to them. I give them about a 0.00001% chance of being successful.

I mean I suppose if they're willing to play by themselves, with no TV cameras, and no revenue streams, while purchasing their own equipment and landing a place to play, then sure, it could happen.

But other than that, there's only a few hundred other barriers to entry that they'll need to solve in about 4 weeks.

Good luck.

The only thing that will be interesting is if a Conference, like the SEC, actually tries to move forward. The players can gripe all they want on social media, try to put up a united front, etc. Its all meaningless. They'll need the backing, and most importantly, the financial backing, of a very large Corporation in order to do anything other than playing 7 on 7 at a high school stadium in front of a few hundred people.

 

[rossihunter2]

and no revenue streams

they already dont get that tbf...

 

[rmcjacket23]

they already dont get that tbf...

Well, not directly at least.

How many athletic scholarships do you think programs would hand out if they were playing in empty stadiums with no cameras normally?

This, of all years, is the one time where college football players complaining about lack of financial fairness is, and should, fall on deaf ears.

 

[Ellicottraven]

You can look in the NFL Gamebook, which is found here:

https://www.nflgsis.com/GameStatsLive/Schedule

If the site asks you for a login and password, use User: NFL and password: NFL.

Thank you so much!

 

[JoeyFlex5]

Big ten shut down, all remaining conferences expected shut down in the coming days. This is bullshit dude. I’m so done with the world being this way.

 

[Ravensnation5220]

Big ten shut down, all remaining conferences expected shut down in the coming days. This is bullshit dude. I’m so done with the world being this way.

Damn that really sucks...although college football really wouldnt be the same without the student section and fans. That's where all the tradition is. So I'm not too surprised but it all still sucks...

 

[drjohnnyfever]

Big ten shut down, all remaining conferences expected shut down in the coming days. This is bullshit dude. I’m so done with the world being this way.

I really think the NFL is going to give it a go despite some of the College leagues cancelling. Yet I think the NFL said they were going to play way back when, at least partially, to avoid all of the difficulty that MLB went thru. I still think there is a chance that it either gets postponed or cancelled altogether. They've pretty much dodged the discussion bullet so far by proclaiming early they'd play, but I could still see them saying, "You know after much consideration... never mind, season off."

 

[Simba]

I really think the NFL is going to give it a go despite some of the College leagues cancelling. Yet I think the NFL said they were going to play way back when, at least partially, to avoid all of the difficulty that MLB went thru. I still think there is a chance that it either gets postponed or cancelled altogether. They've pretty much dodged the discussion bullet so far by proclaiming early they'd play, but I could still see them saying, "You know after much consideration... never mind, season off."

The NFL is definitely starting at this point. The issue becomes if/when one player contracts it and unknowingly spreads it. We've seen how quickly it spreads in an MLB locker room, and there are more people in an NFL locker room. If you find yourself in a situation where 20-30 guys get it (which isn't too unreasonable with the MLB numbers), that's when the season is put in serious danger. That's when games have to be cancelled and you have to wait for all of the test results which could put the next week in jeopardy too. And if it happens to multiple teams, they're screwed. They'll certainly start at this point, but finishing the season is the big question.

 

[JoeyFlex5]

The NFL is definitely starting at this point. The issue becomes if/when one player contracts it and unknowingly spreads it. We've seen how quickly it spreads in an MLB locker room, and there are more people in an NFL locker room. If you find yourself in a situation where 20-30 guys get it (which isn't too unreasonable with the MLB numbers), that's when the season is put in serious danger. That's when games have to be cancelled and you have to wait for all of the test results which could put the next week in jeopardy too. And if it happens to multiple teams, they're screwed. They'll certainly start at this point, but finishing the season is the big question.

During WW2 there wasn’t enough nfl players in Pennsylvania to field 2 teams due to the draft, they merged and formed the steagles for a season.

THIS NFL IS SOFT AS FUCK

 

[Simba]

During WW2 there wasn’t enough nfl players in Pennsylvania to field 2 teams due to the draft, they merged and formed the steagles for a season.

THIS NFL IS SOFT AS FUCK

I’m content with being soft because we’d be forced to combine with the Washington Football Team and we don’t need that kind of negative energy around here.

 

[drjohnnyfever]

The NFL is definitely starting at this point. The issue becomes if/when one player contracts it and unknowingly spreads it. We've seen how quickly it spreads in an MLB locker room, and there are more people in an NFL locker room. If you find yourself in a situation where 20-30 guys get it (which isn't too unreasonable with the MLB numbers), that's when the season is put in serious danger. That's when games have to be cancelled and you have to wait for all of the test results which could put the next week in jeopardy too. And if it happens to multiple teams, they're screwed. They'll certainly start at this point, but finishing the season is the big question.

I don't disagree, but they've had one large batch of "opt-outers" already. A couple more like that with some more marquee players in there, a bigger outbreak in MLB, more College divisions cancelling... the "excuse" to pull the plug would be in place. I'm still there with you that I think they start, but the reality is that the NFL is even more susceptible to an outbreak merely by their proximity to one another during play. Imagine a couple teams going down. That might mean 4 teams quarantined and 4 games postponed the next week. A couple more go down and you've got half the games potentially postponed. The snowball will be gathering much faster than MLB. I can't help but thinking this is what the Collges divisions are coming to grips with. It doesn't mean it's going to happen....... but if you come out looking bad in how you handled anything about this, it might be better to take you're lumps in backtracking the "We're going to play," message.

 

[rmcjacket23]

I don't disagree, but they've had one large batch of "opt-outers" already. A couple more like that with some more marquee players in there, a bigger outbreak in MLB, more College divisions cancelling... the "excuse" to pull the plug would be in place. I'm still there with you that I think they start, but the reality is that the NFL is even more susceptible to an outbreak merely by their proximity to one another during play. Imagine a couple teams going down. That might mean 4 teams quarantined and 4 games postponed the next week. A couple more go down and you've got half the games potentially postponed. The snowball will be gathering much faster than MLB. I can't help but thinking this is what the Collges divisions are coming to grips with. It doesn't mean it's going to happen....... but if you come out looking bad in how you handled anything about this, it might be better to take you're lumps in backtracking the "We're going to play," message.

1. The deadline for opt outs has since passed, so barring the league opening that up again (which they won't) or a marquee player literally forfeiting tens of millions of dollars (and losing a year of contract status) to sit out, there's not going to be any more opt outs of note.
2. I don't really think they're that much much susceptible to virus spread than, say, basketball. Maybe a little bit, but if you're testing before games, does it really matter? Its not like they're not going to test the heck out of these guys.
They're more susceptible to outbreaks because they won't be in a bubble. As it stands now, these guys are going to travel, be in their own homes multiple times a week, and just have general freedom to live their lives. They're not going to be quarantined at a resort.
That's what amplifies the risk.
3. I don't think the NFL cares one little bit about what other leagues are doing. They'll point to the amateurism of college football as a reason for their possible postponement (which certainly plays a role), and they'll point to the many differences with other sports as to why the NFL can't and shouldn't operate like they did.

In the truly macro sense, there's only really two things these leagues are actually worried about:
1. Players dying
2. Basically what college football is concerned with, which is long term effects and possible future lawsuits. Its Concussions 2.0. If players get COVID while participating in the season, recover, and all of the sudden need a lung transplant 20 years from now due to complications, they'll fire up the class action suits against the leagues, and go for big payouts.

Everything else, I would bet, is tolerable to the league. COVID outbreaks in week 6 that require the season to be shut down are fine. Why? That's 5 weeks of revenue they wouldn't have gotten if they postponed before the season started.

Deaths from family members of players is probably "OK". Why? Because you can't just blame it on the players. Contact tracing largely doesn't exist in this Country, so they'll never be able to prove where the source of the virus spread came from.

 

[Simba]

1. The deadline for opt outs has since passed, so barring the league opening that up again (which they won't) or a marquee player literally forfeiting tens of millions of dollars (and losing a year of contract status) to sit out, there's not going to be any more opt outs of note.
2. I don't really think they're that much much susceptible to virus spread than, say, basketball. Maybe a little bit, but if you're testing before games, does it really matter? Its not like they're not going to test the heck out of these guys.
They're more susceptible to outbreaks because they won't be in a bubble. As it stands now, these guys are going to travel, be in their own homes multiple times a week, and just have general freedom to live their lives. They're not going to be quarantined at a resort.
That's what amplifies the risk.
3. I don't think the NFL cares one little bit about what other leagues are doing. They'll point to the amateurism of college football as a reason for their possible postponement (which certainly plays a role), and they'll point to the many differences with other sports as to why the NFL can't and shouldn't operate like they did.

In the truly macro sense, there's only really two things these leagues are actually worried about:
1. Players dying
2. Basically what college football is concerned with, which is long term effects and possible future lawsuits. Its Concussions 2.0. If players get COVID while participating in the season, recover, and all of the sudden need a lung transplant 20 years from now due to complications, they'll fire up the class action suits against the leagues, and go for big payouts.

Everything else, I would bet, is tolerable to the league. COVID outbreaks in week 6 that require the season to be shut down are fine. Why? That's 5 weeks of revenue they wouldn't have gotten if they postponed before the season started.

Deaths from family members of players is probably "OK". Why? Because you can't just blame it on the players. Contact tracing largely doesn't exist in this Country, so they'll never be able to prove where the source of the virus spread came from.

Just to touch on the bolded, I think this is one of the biggest risks. Yeah they're testing like crazy but the testing isn't foolproof which MLB has shown. In baseball, we've already had numerous instances of guys playing after testing negative, and then the next test shows they're positive. That's gotta be the biggest fear for football right now - a guy has a false negative, plays on Sunday, and then tests again and it's found that he's positive. Test the rest of the team and the opposing team and that could be the recipe for disaster.

With that being said, I'd hope the NFL has much better protocols in place than MLB because MLB has shit the bed.

 

[rossihunter2]

I really think the NFL is going to give it a go despite some of the College leagues cancelling. Yet I think the NFL said they were going to play way back when, at least partially, to avoid all of the difficulty that MLB went thru. I still think there is a chance that it either gets postponed or cancelled altogether. They've pretty much dodged the discussion bullet so far by proclaiming early they'd play, but I could still see them saying, "You know after much consideration... never mind, season off."

the nfl have built in schedule flexibility to allow a postponement and other interesting flexibilities built in so we'll see

 

[rossihunter2]

The NFL is definitely starting at this point. The issue becomes if/when one player contracts it and unknowingly spreads it. We've seen how quickly it spreads in an MLB locker room, and there are more people in an NFL locker room. If you find yourself in a situation where 20-30 guys get it (which isn't too unreasonable with the MLB numbers), that's when the season is put in serious danger. That's when games have to be cancelled and you have to wait for all of the test results which could put the next week in jeopardy too. And if it happens to multiple teams, they're screwed. They'll certainly start at this point, but finishing the season is the big question.

i mean obviously they're in different countries but there's no reason why other sports around the world have managed but US sports cannot beyond the obvious higher covid rates in the US right now - but as long as the teams are strict then it's feasible

 

[rossihunter2]

Just to touch on the bolded, I think this is one of the biggest risks. Yeah they're testing like crazy but the testing isn't foolproof which MLB has shown. In baseball, we've already had numerous instances of guys playing after testing negative, and then the next test shows they're positive. That's gotta be the biggest fear for football right now - a guy has a false negative, plays on Sunday, and then tests again and it's found that he's positive. Test the rest of the team and the opposing team and that could be the recipe for disaster.

With that being said, I'd hope the NFL has much better protocols in place than MLB because MLB has shit the bed.

the protocols in that scenario are easy though tbf - you postpone both of those teams games for 2 weeks and the teams are obliged to self-isolate at home for that period with no players allowed back into the building until they've had at least 5 days without symptoms and 2 consecutive negative tests

MLB just clearly hadnt thought anything through before coming back - other major sports around the world have managed to re-open and play with overseas travel included and not have covid run rampant or the like - very few outbreaks and cases at all in those sports that have come back

but the hard truth is that partly that's because the US on higher levels than sport is not treating the virus seriously - my country (UK) shit the bed with the virus early on but we have controls now in place that limit the spread which has made sporting events (albeit with no crowds) and other things able to come back with limited spread events and very few cases in professional sports

there's no reason why the NFL can't do the same

 

[JoeyFlex5]

I’m content with being soft because we’d be forced to combine with the Washington Football Team and we don’t need that kind of negative energy around here.

Shit man well played