Can we guess how the NFL adjusts schedules from here?

[cmh6476 550]

 @edjr isn't a mange border, but he says cancel the bye week between the conference championships, play this game next week, week 18 the following week and push everything else back a week.

I'm wondering if there is best case news for Hamlin today (as we all hope to hear, and yes is more important than this discussion, but it's simply a discussion about scheduling), then could they finish the Bills/ Bengals tomorrow night?  I think they would then have to think about adusting the Bills/ Pats game scheduled for noon on Sunday, and should also effect the Ravens/ Bengals game that is not yet scheduled.

Also worth noting, there is a Monday night game the first week of the playoffs, so that could help if they wanted to schedule one of the games for Monday night next week, which is currently open...

 

[edjr 4,866]

I just read this.

 

[cmh6476 550]

7 minutes ago, edjr said:

I just read this.

 

 

[edjr 4,866]

I have a 30 point lead in the Geek Board Fantasy Finals.  I have Allen and bier has Burrow. 

[cmh6476 550]

This is just an example of an interaction at a chiefs message board.  Just a lot at stake for so many people with what decision will be made.

 

 

Quote

 

Originally Posted by cmh6476  Yes. I hope our fanbase doesn't come out being jerks about it, whatever happens. I can't imagine we would, but there are always a few exceptions. At this point if they just simply cancel the game and go from there, who cares?   Quote I can have compassion and empathy for the guy in the hospital and still be pissed if they push the entire NFL schedule back one week. I have plane and game tickets in Vegas this weekend and will not be happy if that game is rescheduled.

I can understand that. I was also thinking about all those Bills fans that made the trip to the game last night. How they heck are they supposed to make a reschedule work? And what about all the money they spent on travel? I feel for all of them.

__________________

 

 

[cmh6476 550]

If by chance this game is simply cancelled, and the Bills, Bengals and Chiefs would all win week 18, you would have the following:

1. Chiefs 14-3 (.824)

2. Bills 13-3 (.813)

3. Bengals 12-4 (.750)

 

[cmh6476 550]

I also forgot the College Football National Championship game is Monday night.

[TBayXXXVII 1,816]

My guess is that they'll finish the game tomorrow night.  Again, just a guess.

[cyclone24 1,560]

30 minutes ago, TBayXXXVII said:

My guess is that they'll finish the game tomorrow night.  Again, just a guess.

Yeah, but the bills already flew home. I mean I guess I could catch a flight today and go right back. Man, this thing is a mess. 

 

[Woble Eth 11]

7 minutes ago, cyclone24 said:

Yeah, but the bills already flew home. I mean I guess I could catch a flight today and go right back. Man, this thing is a mess. 

 

Exactly... Not like it is a transatlantic flight..  So long as they are not all taking Southwest.        Hope the kid is ok.. damn that was scary. 

 

[JustinCharge 2,133]

cancelling this game does not cost any team a playoff spot, so as a fan i guess you need to decide what is more important:  getting better seeding or disrupting the team schedules.

[posty 2,018]

As I mentioned on the Geek Board:

I would do one of the following...

--Play the game on Wednesday and move Ravens/Bengals and Patriots/Bills to Monday, January 9 at 1pm ET...  They could probably still play on Sunday, but give them the extra day...

--Play the game the weekend of the January 14-15, and push back all of the AFC/NFC playoffs back a week, allowing only one week between the conference championships and the Super Bowl...

[TBayXXXVII 1,816]

27 minutes ago, JustinCharge said:

cancelling this game does not cost any team a playoff spot, so as a fan i guess you need to decide what is more important:  getting better seeding or disrupting the team schedules.

They didn't have a problem disrupting team schedules for Covid 2 years ago, did they?

[TBayXXXVII 1,816]

57 minutes ago, cyclone24 said:

Yeah, but the bills already flew home. I mean I guess I could catch a flight today and go right back. Man, this thing is a mess. 

 

Ok, thanks.  I didn't know that.  Guess they never planned on finishing the game this week then.

44 minutes ago, Woble Eth said:

Exactly... Not like it is a transatlantic flight..  So long as they are not all taking Southwest.        Hope the kid is ok.. damn that was scary. 

 

They fly privately anyway, so yeah... a 1 hr flight isn't a big deal.  Not sure when they'll do it though.

[cmh6476 550]

Quote

As uncomfortable as it is, there are next steps and there are many questions on how the league proceeds. The league’s policy manuals and governing documents give NFL commissioner Roger Goodell the ultimate authority to determine what happens to the suspended game.

Despite all of the contingencies that were documented in advance, Goodell is in uncharted territory. According to Quirky Research, no NFL game has been suspended and resumed at a later date. (Preseason games have been terminated early or canceled outright, and regular season games through the years have been rescheduled prior to kickoff.)

The league’s Gameday Operations Manual states the following:

Games should be suspended, cancelled, postponed, or terminated … when circumstances exist such that commencement or continuation of play would pose a threat to the safety of participants or spectators or would unduly affect the ability of a community to deal with the effects of a local catastrophe or similarly disruptive event.

In determining whether a game should be rescheduled or relocated, public safety, community relations, and competitive integrity should be key determining factors. …

Authority to cancel, postpone, or terminate games is vested solely in the Commissioner. … If possible, the Commissioner’s-office representative should consult with authorized representatives of the two participating clubs before any decision involving cancellation, postponement, or termination is made by the Commissioner.

Rule 17 in the NFL rulebook contains much of the same general information on resuming a suspended game.

The policies do outline a few things the commissioner cannot do. He cannot unilaterally declare a forfeit, and he essentially lacks any authority to do so except in a very limited circumstance of a team refusing to take the field. This game in particular cannot be terminated early, because games may only be terminated if “it is reasonable to project that its resumption (a) would not change its ultimate result or (b) would not adversely affect any other inter-team competitive issue.” The playoff seedings are definitely affected by the outcome of this game. Similarly, the commissioner cannot outright cancel the game — nullify everything from the game and have it uncontested — except as a last resort, which wouldn’t apply here. Some have also suggested that the game be declared a tie. There is no provision for the commissioner to do so, and the half-win in the standings also presents the “inter-team competitive issue” that the league would avoid.

Essentially all of the guidance forges a clear path to completing the game as soon as possible. The Bills buses departed Cincinnati early Tuesday morning local time, so a Tuesday night game would have been the least disruptive, but it is out of the question. The policy manuals state that “for regular-season postponements, the Commissioner will make every effort to set the game for no later than two days after its originally scheduled date and at the same site.” This provision was adhered to as close as possible during the 2020 and 2021 seasons due to coronavirus outbreaks, but there were several concessions that had to be made. Not a single game was lost in either season.

In the end, the game was suspended because the shock and the intense humanity of the situation was overwhelming. That was the right call to make for Monday night. But, despite Hamlin’s path to recovery, the reality is that the game has to be played no matter what. The Bengals fans are aware of this, as their team took the field two days after receiver Chris Henry died in 2009.

One possible remedy is to push the playoffs out one week and removing the week off prior to the Super Bowl so that the Bills and Chiefs would play a “Week 19” game. While that seems easy, it creates potential network conflicts by moving the playoff games that air in primetime slots. The extra week was a possibility during the 2020 season, but the league did several schedule moves to avoid doing that.

When the playoffs are scheduled, the league will not place a team in a game with less than 6 days’ rest. When introducing the Monday night wild card game in 2021, that meant that a team could not play that game and then be scheduled for a Saturday divisional playoff game. There could be some quick changes to the Ravens-Bengals and Patriots-Bills games to move them up to Friday, resuming the suspended game on Tuesday, and scheduling one or two wild card games (as needed, depending if the Bills clinch the #1 seed) on Monday.

While there are very few options to schedule a resumption of the game, not scheduling a resumption of the game seems to be very unlikely. However, if the game is not resumed, standings for the playoff seeds would be calculated on win percentage as usual. Any statistics that would affect a player’s contracted performance bonus or position in the statistical rankings would be prorated to 16 games.

 

https://www.footballzebras.com/2023/01/how-does-the-nfl-handle-a-suspended-game/

 

[cmh6476 550]

I'm guessing they might mean Cincy and not Chiefs, but it seems interesting info to relay

[NelsonAlgren 5]

They should play Bills Pats as scheduled. After that Cincy or Baltimore would have won already and the Pats/Dolphins/Steelers/Jags would have been decided. (I think). Then if need be they can play the Bengal game.. Or just declare it a tie.

[posty 2,018]

50 minutes ago, NelsonAlgren said:

Or just declare it a tie.

Terrible idea...  If HFA was not involved, then maybe, but not in this case...

This is the best thing to do (as I mentioned above and toofy posted):

"One possible remedy is to push the playoffs out one week and removing the week off prior to the Super Bowl so that the Bills and Chiefs would play a “Week 19” game. While that seems easy, it creates potential network conflicts by moving the playoff games that air in primetime slots."

Cry me a river...  The networks will bend over backwards to move their prime time schedule around accordingly to get the NFL game on...

[Mike FF Today 537]

Welp...

...And no changes to the Week 18 schedule as of now.

[Mike FF Today 537]

Hopefully we get some clarity on if/when the game will be finished sometime soon.

[posty 2,018]

Play it Jan 14-15, push back the playoffs a week and get rid of the two week break before the Super Bowl...

This isn't that hard...

[IGotWorms 2,414]

19 minutes ago, posty said:

Play it Jan 14-15, push back the playoffs a week and get rid of the two week break before the Super Bowl...

This isn't that hard...

Sure it is. Network tv schedules, stadium availability etc.

I bet they just go with tie or like both teams only played 16 games 

[cmh6476 550]

Now this feels heartless, but now we have huge implications on fantasy championships. 

[cmh6476 550]

Just now, IGotWorms said:

Sure it is. Network tv schedules, stadium availability etc.

I bet they just go with tie or like both teams only played 16 games 

And fans who made travel plans well in advance.

[cyclone24 1,560]

I think what we’re going to do is we’re going to let the two finalists decide on whether they want to use next week or wait for a rematch. If there’s no rematch than they are at the mercy of whatever their first round matchup is and will just have to score it manually I guess. 

[IGotWorms 2,414]

3 minutes ago, cmh6476 said:

And fans who made travel plans well in advance.

True, although that was a gamble to begin with 

[posty 2,018]

6 minutes ago, cmh6476 said:

And fans who made travel plans well in advance.

What travel plans?  Nothing is set in stone yet for the playoffs for the home teams...

[posty 2,018]

8 minutes ago, cmh6476 said:

Now this feels heartless, but now we have huge implications on fantasy championships. 

No one cares about a fantasy championship in a fake game...  If you do, then you have serious issues...

[AxeElf 759]

1 minute ago, posty said:

No one cares about a fantasy championship in a fake game.

If you believe that people who have thousands of dollars riding on their championship game don't care what happens in that game now that the life of a man they will never know was endangered, then you're the one with issues.

[cmh6476 550]

19 minutes ago, posty said:

What travel plans?  Nothing is set in stone yet for the playoffs for the home teams...

Wild Card, Divisional Round and Championship Game tickets are already on sale for eligible teams.  I've already purchased my Divisional Round tickets through the Chiefs.  Granted, the Chiefs may not even play in a Divisional Game this year.  But me making plans for what I anticipated to be either January 21 or 22 is a lot different than what my availability would look like January 28 or 29.  And not all fans live in the city where their team plays.  Are we going to get a refund on purchases for a game we anticipated to be played on the 21st or 22nd if we now can't make it the following week?

 

[cmh6476 550]

17 minutes ago, AxeElf said:

If you believe that people who have thousands of dollars riding on their championship game don't care what happens in that game now that the life of a man they will never know was endangered, then you're the one with issues.

exactly.  It's not near as big a deal as a man's life, obviously.  But I figured by this point we would have some clarity by now.  Instead I'm trying to divide winnings between the two teams in the championship, where first got $900 and second got $200, and trying to figure out something that's fair with so much still up in the air.  I mean their current score is 102-78, with the guy with 78 having Josh Allen going.  You can't even assume what would have happened here.  

[cmh6476 550]

4 hours ago, cmh6476 said:

If by chance this game is simply cancelled, and the Bills, Bengals and Chiefs would all win week 18, you would have the following:

1. Chiefs 14-3 (.824)

2. Bills 13-3 (.813)

3. Bengals 12-4 (.750)

 

I was being facetious when I posted this, but this is looking more and more like a potential outcome.  Imagine how much resentment the Chiefs would get by claiming the No. 1 seed in this fashion.  

[Woble Eth 11]

18 minutes ago, cmh6476 said:

Now this feels heartless, but now we have huge implications on fantasy championships. 

Not heartless at all. Depending on what the league situation you are in..  I am up a fair amount, with a lot of $$$ at stake that I NEED.   Doesn't make me care any less about this gentleman and his well-being.  

 

24 minutes ago, posty said:

No one cares about a fantasy championship in a fake game...  If you do, then you have serious issues...

 A few grand at stake?  That's anything but fake.    

[AxeElf 759]

13 minutes ago, cmh6476 said:

I mean their current score is 102-78, with the guy with 78 having Josh Allen going.  You can't even assume what would have happened here.

I wouldn't try to assume; if the game is not resumed, then the final score is 102-78 with Allen not playing a full game, kinda like Justin Jefferson didn't really play a full game or Jonathan Taylor when he went out after his first touch a couple of weeks ago.  Sucks, but that's fantasy football.

[Phil Simms 11 123]

I commish two leagues. 

Title games in both leagues - person has nice lead with Burrow going against Chase. That is the same players and situation for both leagues, I am awarding the 1st place here not split. 

Third place league 1 - One owner is up by over 80 points. Opponent had 4% odds. I am awarding to the team with the massive lead, hope I don't get any flack from the loser. 

Third place league 2 - This game is 80/20. The team with 20 conceded, however, I will see what the other owner thinks. 

[cmh6476 550]

Just now, AxeElf said:

I wouldn't try to assume; if the game is not resumed, then the final score is 102-78 with Allen not playing a full game, kinda like Justin Jefferson didn't really play a full game or Jonathan Taylor when he went out after his first touch a couple of weeks ago.  Sucks, but that's fantasy football.

Right but I mean if it was a kicker down 25, that is a safer assumption. 

[AxeElf 759]

Just now, Phil Simms 11 said:

I commish two leagues. 

Title games in both leagues - person has nice lead with Burrow going against Chase. That is the same players and situation for both leagues, I am awarding the 1st place here not split. 

Third place league 1 - One owner is up by over 80 points. Opponent had 4% odds. I am awarding to the team with the massive lead, hope I don't get any flack from the loser. 

Third place league 2 - This game is 80/20. The team with 20 conceded, however, I will see what the other owner thinks.

Don't make it complicated.  The final score is the final score.

[Phil Simms 11 123]

1 minute ago, AxeElf said:

Don't make it complicated.  The final score is the final score.

Summarizing my post, that is the outcome anyway.

[DonS 2,779]

This only impacts teams which started Buffalo or Cincinnati players Week 17. 

One option would be to use the stats those players accrue in their Week 18 games and apply to the Week 17 score. Folks would be starting their stud BUF/CIN players regardless of opponent.

[cmh6476 550]

There were also some accrued points for the game, but now those seem to be gone.   If you go with the outcome, would you count those points?

 

I think we'll have clarity from the nfl soon and might as well wait on their decision before leagues figure out how to respond.