Football (North America: NFL, CFL, Arena Football, minor leagues)

[webny99]

And... some recognition for the Bills! 4 prime time games, up from just 1 last year.
Bills-Chiefs on TNF and Bills-Steelers on SNF should be fun.

I just don't want the expectations to get too high, because that tends to lead to crash and burn situations.
Last season was perfect, because it was relatively unexpected success story. There's going to be a lot more pressure this year, with everyone assuming they'll win the division, plus a much tougher schedule with 4 trips out west (vs. zero last year).

[Roadgeekteen]

And... some recognition for the Bills! 4 prime time games, up from just 1 last year.
Bills-Chiefs on TNF and Bills-Steelers on SNF should be fun.

I just don't want the expectations to get too high, because that tends to lead to crash and burn situations.
Last season was perfect, because it was relatively unexpected success story. There's going to be a lot more pressure this year, with everyone assuming they'll win the division, plus a much tougher schedule with 4 trips out west (vs. zero last year).

Without Tom my Patriots shouldn't put up much of a fight for the AFC east, but with Belichick who knows.

[CoreySamson]

I'm feeling like the Texans will have a down year, and no, it's not because of the Hopkins trade. They did literally nothing to fix the secondary, drafting a cornerback in the 4th round all the while losing 2 of the previous starters in free agency. Not only that, but the Titans and Colts both had great offseasons. I'm predicting 7 wins.

As for the Texans schedule, I think the first half of it is absolutely brutal, though the second half is soft. I mean, first four weeks is KC, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and Minnesota. Not sure if I've ever seen a harder start in the NFL.

[Roadgeekteen]

The NFL gave every team 2 home games and 2 away games in the first 4 weeks. They should have made them all AFC-NFC though.

[SEWIGuy]

1982 was a strike shortened season.  They made the decision that year to get rid of divisions and have 8 playoff teams per conference.  I was 14 years old and that was the first Packer playoff win of my lifetime.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982_NFL_season

My guess is that if the NFL season is shortened, they would do something similar.

[NWI_Irish96]

The NFL gave every team 2 home games and 2 away games in the first 4 weeks. They should have made them all AFC-NFC though.

Zero chance that NBC agrees to have the Chiefs hosting Atlanta or Carolina for opening night.

[SEWIGuy]

The NFL gave every team 2 home games and 2 away games in the first 4 weeks. They should have made them all AFC-NFC though.

Zero chance that NBC agrees to have the Chiefs hosting Atlanta or Carolina for opening night.

If the NFL gets to the point where they are lopping four games off the front of its schedule, NBC won't have much choice.

[Henry]

The NFL gave every team 2 home games and 2 away games in the first 4 weeks. They should have made them all AFC-NFC though.

Zero chance that NBC agrees to have the Chiefs hosting Atlanta or Carolina for opening night.

If the NFL gets to the point where they are lopping four games off the front of its schedule, NBC won't have much choice.

But those four games could be added to January, resulting in the entire playoffs taking place in February and the Super Bowl being held on the last day of that month, with no Pro Bowl being played. Look, the schedule that the NFL came out with is portable, and I do believe that it's a good idea to move games around if the second wave hits as expected; that way, no games would be lost, and the entire schedule could be altered, if need be.

[NWI_Irish96]

The NFL gave every team 2 home games and 2 away games in the first 4 weeks. They should have made them all AFC-NFC though.

Zero chance that NBC agrees to have the Chiefs hosting Atlanta or Carolina for opening night.

If the NFL gets to the point where they are lopping four games off the front of its schedule, NBC won't have much choice.

But those four games could be added to January, resulting in the entire playoffs taking place in February and the Super Bowl being held on the last day of that month, with no Pro Bowl being played. Look, the schedule that the NFL came out with is portable, and I do believe that it's a good idea to move games around if the second wave hits as expected; that way, no games would be lost, and the entire schedule could be altered, if need be.

I understand that reducing the schedule by 4 games or moving the first four weeks to the end of the season are options.  I'm just pointing out that as long as there's a chance that the season starts on time, NBC is not going to allow any restrictions on who plays in Kansas City for one of the highest rated games of the season.

[Alps]

The NFL gave every team 2 home games and 2 away games in the first 4 weeks. They should have made them all AFC-NFC though.

Zero chance that NBC agrees to have the Chiefs hosting Atlanta or Carolina for opening night.

If the NFL gets to the point where they are lopping four games off the front of its schedule, NBC won't have much choice.

But those four games could be added to January, resulting in the entire playoffs taking place in February and the Super Bowl being held on the last day of that month, with no Pro Bowl being played. Look, the schedule that the NFL came out with is portable, and I do believe that it's a good idea to move games around if the second wave hits as expected; that way, no games would be lost, and the entire schedule could be altered, if need be.

It's a limited amount of portable, though, once stadiums start being booked.

[SEWIGuy]

The NFL gave every team 2 home games and 2 away games in the first 4 weeks. They should have made them all AFC-NFC though.

Zero chance that NBC agrees to have the Chiefs hosting Atlanta or Carolina for opening night.

If the NFL gets to the point where they are lopping four games off the front of its schedule, NBC won't have much choice.

But those four games could be added to January, resulting in the entire playoffs taking place in February and the Super Bowl being held on the last day of that month, with no Pro Bowl being played. Look, the schedule that the NFL came out with is portable, and I do believe that it's a good idea to move games around if the second wave hits as expected; that way, no games would be lost, and the entire schedule could be altered, if need be.

It's a limited amount of portable, though, once stadiums start being booked.

My understanding is the NFL requires that its stadiums have a NFL "right of first refusal."  That the NFL will make reasonable accomodations of course but are expected to be flexible in case of issues like these.

[NWI_Irish96]

The NFL gave every team 2 home games and 2 away games in the first 4 weeks. They should have made them all AFC-NFC though.

Zero chance that NBC agrees to have the Chiefs hosting Atlanta or Carolina for opening night.

If the NFL gets to the point where they are lopping four games off the front of its schedule, NBC won't have much choice.

But those four games could be added to January, resulting in the entire playoffs taking place in February and the Super Bowl being held on the last day of that month, with no Pro Bowl being played. Look, the schedule that the NFL came out with is portable, and I do believe that it's a good idea to move games around if the second wave hits as expected; that way, no games would be lost, and the entire schedule could be altered, if need be.

It's a limited amount of portable, though, once stadiums start being booked.

My understanding is the NFL requires that its stadiums have a NFL "right of first refusal."  That the NFL will make reasonable accomodations of course but are expected to be flexible in case of issues like these.

The stadiums are already reserved for three weeks after the end of the season for playoff games, so you only have to be worried about the last regular season week and playoff weeks after that.  The majority are outdoor stadiums that aren't having events in February anyway.  Have no idea if the NFL has a contingency in place to use the indoor stadiums beyond that point.

Speaking of stadiums, does anyone know what the NFL's contingency is in the incredibly unlikely event that the Jets/Giants or Chargers/Rams both end up hosting conference championship games?  Doesn't seem possible to have two games in the same stadium the same day.

[Roadgeekteen]

The NFL gave every team 2 home games and 2 away games in the first 4 weeks. They should have made them all AFC-NFC though.

Zero chance that NBC agrees to have the Chiefs hosting Atlanta or Carolina for opening night.

If the NFL gets to the point where they are lopping four games off the front of its schedule, NBC won't have much choice.

But those four games could be added to January, resulting in the entire playoffs taking place in February and the Super Bowl being held on the last day of that month, with no Pro Bowl being played. Look, the schedule that the NFL came out with is portable, and I do believe that it's a good idea to move games around if the second wave hits as expected; that way, no games would be lost, and the entire schedule could be altered, if need be.

It's a limited amount of portable, though, once stadiums start being booked.

My understanding is the NFL requires that its stadiums have a NFL "right of first refusal."  That the NFL will make reasonable accomodations of course but are expected to be flexible in case of issues like these.

The stadiums are already reserved for three weeks after the end of the season for playoff games, so you only have to be worried about the last regular season week and playoff weeks after that.  The majority are outdoor stadiums that aren't having events in February anyway.  Have no idea if the NFL has a contingency in place to use the indoor stadiums beyond that point.

Speaking of stadiums, does anyone know what the NFL's contingency is in the incredibly unlikely event that the Jets/Giants or Chargers/Rams both end up hosting conference championship games?  Doesn't seem possible to have two games in the same stadium the same day.

I think that they would put a game on Monday.

[triplemultiplex]

Speaking of stadiums, does anyone know what the NFL's contingency is in the incredibly unlikely event that the Jets/Giants or Chargers/Rams both end up hosting conference championship games?  Doesn't seem possible to have two games in the same stadium the same day.

The Jets and Chargers will do their best to prevent this from ever happening.

[webny99]

Speaking of stadiums, does anyone know what the NFL's contingency is in the incredibly unlikely event that the Jets/Giants or Chargers/Rams both end up hosting conference championship games?  Doesn't seem possible to have two games in the same stadium the same day.

The Jets and Chargers will do their best to prevent this from ever happening.

I thought it was the Giants and Rams these days...

[Henry]

Fox is looking to experiment with virtual crowds and piped-in sounds in empty stadiums this coming season:

https://tvline.com/2020/05/14/football-games-nfl-virtual-fans-crowd-sounds-2020-fox/

[Roadgeekteen]

Fox is looking to experiment with virtual crowds and piped-in sounds in empty stadiums this coming season:

https://tvline.com/2020/05/14/football-games-nfl-virtual-fans-crowd-sounds-2020-fox/

Falcons already have experience with this.

[1995hoo]

The NFL gave every team 2 home games and 2 away games in the first 4 weeks. They should have made them all AFC-NFC though.

Zero chance that NBC agrees to have the Chiefs hosting Atlanta or Carolina for opening night.

If the NFL gets to the point where they are lopping four games off the front of its schedule, NBC won't have much choice.

But those four games could be added to January, resulting in the entire playoffs taking place in February and the Super Bowl being held on the last day of that month, with no Pro Bowl being played. Look, the schedule that the NFL came out with is portable, and I do believe that it's a good idea to move games around if the second wave hits as expected; that way, no games would be lost, and the entire schedule could be altered, if need be.

It's a limited amount of portable, though, once stadiums start being booked.

My understanding is the NFL requires that its stadiums have a NFL "right of first refusal."  That the NFL will make reasonable accomodations of course but are expected to be flexible in case of issues like these.

The stadiums are already reserved for three weeks after the end of the season for playoff games, so you only have to be worried about the last regular season week and playoff weeks after that.  The majority are outdoor stadiums that aren't having events in February anyway.  Have no idea if the NFL has a contingency in place to use the indoor stadiums beyond that point.

Speaking of stadiums, does anyone know what the NFL's contingency is in the incredibly unlikely event that the Jets/Giants or Chargers/Rams both end up hosting conference championship games?  Doesn't seem possible to have two games in the same stadium the same day.

Back when the Giants and Jets shared Giants Stadium, there was at least one time (1985 season) when they both had home wild-card playoff games on the same weekend. The Jets game was played Saturday, the Giants game Sunday. Back then, there was one wild-card game per conference because a total of ten teams made the playoffs (each conference had three division winners and two wild-card teams), so the two wild-card games were normally played on the same Sunday. That year was an exception. I assume they'd do the same if this were to happen during any other playoff round. In 1985, it helped that Giants Stadium had an AstroTurf field–they just rolled up the Jets' end zones and replaced them with the Giants'.

[nexus73]

Speaking of stadiums, does anyone know what the NFL's contingency is in the incredibly unlikely event that the Jets/Giants or Chargers/Rams both end up hosting conference championship games?  Doesn't seem possible to have two games in the same stadium the same day.

The Jets and Chargers will do their best to prevent this from ever happening.

ROTFLMAO!  That was a good one!

Rick

[Roadgeekteen]

Speaking of stadiums, does anyone know what the NFL's contingency is in the incredibly unlikely event that the Jets/Giants or Chargers/Rams both end up hosting conference championship games?  Doesn't seem possible to have two games in the same stadium the same day.

The Jets and Chargers will do their best to prevent this from ever happening.

ROTFLMAO!  That was a good one!

Rick

Chargers looking better than the Rams.

[SEWIGuy]

I hope the NFL broadcasts don't pump in fake crowd noise if there are no fans in the stands this fall.  Watching the Bundesliga this morning, and while no fans is strange, no fans with fan noise in the background would be 100% worse.

[Roadgeekteen]

I hope the NFL broadcasts don't pump in fake crowd noise if there are no fans in the stands this fall.  Watching the Bundesliga this morning, and while no fans is strange, no fans with fan noise in the background would be 100% worse.

Hopefully they show at least a couple quiet games. That would be cool.

[bing101]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/2020/06/21/coronavirus-college-sports-schools-reporting-positive-covid-tests-among-athletes/3231509001/




https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/29336227/21-clemson-football-players-positive-covid-19-latest-testing




https://www.si.com/college/2020/06/20/lsu-football-players-quarantined-coronavirus


Update some College Football Teams are reporting COVID-19 Positive tests.

[thspfc]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/2020/06/21/coronavirus-college-sports-schools-reporting-positive-covid-tests-among-athletes/3231509001/




https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/29336227/21-clemson-football-players-positive-covid-19-latest-testing




https://www.si.com/college/2020/06/20/lsu-football-players-quarantined-coronavirus


Update some College Football Teams are reporting COVID-19 Positive tests.

There won't be college football in the fall. No chance. I think there's still a chance the NFL will play though.

[Roadrunner75]

There won't be college football in the fall. No chance. I think there's still a chance the NFL will play though.

Really disappointing around here, because with Greg Schiano back at Rutgers, everyone wants to see whether he can perform magic twice.