Monday Night Football 2022/23 Thread

[Bully Wee Villa]

1 minute ago, Todd_is_God said:

I really don't think so. If the Bengals lost this game, Baltimore can win the division by beating the Bengals next week. If it's just cancelled or declared a Tie, then they can't. There is / was a much greater impact on various teams than just the Bengals and Bills and therefore it isn't right to not play the game.

As scary an incident as this was, it was an almost unprecedented freak incident.

I can imagine them maybe playing tomorrow, moving the Bills' and Bengals' final games until Monday and guaranteeing that their respective games would be on the following Sunday/Monday if they find themselves in the Wildcard Round.

[Todd_is_God]

3 minutes ago, Bully Wee Villa said:

I can imagine them maybe playing tomorrow, moving the Bills' and Bengals' final games until Monday and guaranteeing that their respective games would be on the following Sunday/Monday if they find themselves in the Wildcard Round.

Yeah, possibly. That obviously isn't ideal for the Chiefs as they would be playing first but, short of playing tomorrow & Sunday, I can't see any other way.

It's easy for people to be critical of the NFL but I think people forget how tight and inflexible the schedule is between now and the Super Bowl.

[Todd_is_God]

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

A useful piece on what the options are.

[Donathan]

27 minutes ago, Todd_is_God said:

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

A useful piece on what the options are.

So for me, the options are:

 

- Play the game tomorrow or Thursday and move both teams week 18 games back to Monday. Design the playoff schedule so that none of BUF/CIN/NE/BAL are playing on the first Saturday. This is probably the least disruptive option that allows the game to be completed, but are the players really going to be ready to play again this quickly?

 

- Cancel the game altogether, call it a tie and move on to week 18. It would be unfortunate for the Ravens as they’d lose any ability to win the AFC North. Bills would also lose their chance to control their own destiny for the 1 seed. But overall, the least disruptive option.

 

- Try and fit the game into midweek next week. You could play it on Thursday and play any wildcard games involving these teams on Monday. Would mean 3 games in 8 days though.

 

- The nuclear option. Play week 18 as normal, but move the playoffs back by a week. Bills and Bengals play their game on Sunday 15th January and the playoffs don’t start until the following weekend. You could cancel the bye week before the Super Bowl, so that the SB can still be played on the correct date.

 

 

I really think they’re just going to end up calling it a tie. 

[Todd_is_God]

44 minutes ago, Donathan said:

I really think they’re just going to end up calling it a tie. 

"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."

[steelmen]

a tie???? can't have that in American sports.

I guess we are going to find out how sensitive NFL management are. I think the fairest thing to do is call it a non contest and move on as there is no way the Bills (or bengals) players are going to be ready to play tomorrow and then again on Monday. Their heads must be all over the place watching that happen to a teammate.

guess we will see.

[lichtie23]

Could they just say the game finished 7-3? 

[TxRover]

2 hours ago, Detournement said:

So if a player's heart is beating at 120 bpm then are there two moments in every second where he is vulnerable to death from an innocous hit according to this guy?  

Given how much contact sport is played around the world we would surely see a lot more of this. All the cited previous cases seem to be people getting hit with projectiles rather than body to body. 

Actually, generally correct. This reared it’s head a few years ago with a couple of youth baseball players taking hits to the chest at that exact correct moment and causing heart issues. It’s, as others have noted, a very rare issue because of the particular timing, force and condition required, but it seemed a quite useful analysis of the situation. 

[peasy23]

13 minutes ago, lichtie23 said:

Could they just say the game finished 7-3? 

Not going by those guidelines in the link posted above, the only way they could declare the game as finished is if there is no chance the outcome of the game could change, and with 3 quarters to play then they won't be doing that.

I think it will be played ASAP, as the article also points out, the Bengals had to play three days after Chris Henry died in 2009, albeit in vastly different circumstances. Teams also had to cope with very short turnarounds with Covid postponements a couple of years ago.

[TxRover]

NFL Rulebook https://operations.nfl.com/the-rules/2022-nfl-rulebook/#rule17

Applicable is Rule 17, Section 4:

“ARTICLE 4. EMERGENCY SITUATIONS

The NFL affirms the position that in most circumstances all regular-season and postseason games should be played to their conclusion. If, in the opinion of appropriate League authorities, it is impossible to begin or continue a game due to an emergency, or a game is deemed to be imminently threatened by any such emergency (e.g., severely inclement weather, lightning, flooding, power failure), the following procedures (Articles 5 through 11) will serve as guidelines for the Commissioner and/or the duly appointed representatives. The Commissioner has the authority to review the circumstances of each emergency and to adjust the following procedures in whatever manner the Commissioner deems appropriate. If, in the Commissioner’s opinion, it is reasonable to project that the resumption of an interrupted game would not change its ultimate result or adversely affect any other inter-team competitive issue, the Commissioner is empowered to terminate the game.”

This leads us to Section 8:

“ARTICLE 8. INTERRUPTED GAME

If, under emergency circumstances, an interrupted regular-season or post-season game cannot be completed on the same day, such game will be rescheduled by the Commissioner and resumed at that point.”

That tells us the game MUST be resumed. This leads to Article 9:

“ARTICLE 9. ALTERNATE DATES, SITES

In instances under these emergency procedures which require the Commissioner to reschedule a regular-season game, the Commissioner will make every effort to set the game for no later than two days after its originally scheduled date, and will attempt to schedule the game at its original site. If unable to do so, the Commissioner will schedule it at the nearest available facility. If it is impossible to schedule the game within two days after its original date, the Commissioner will attempt to schedule it on the Tuesday of the next calendar week in which the two involved clubs play other clubs (or each other). Further, the Commissioner will keep in mind the potential for competitive inequities if one or both of the involved clubs has already been scheduled for a game following the Tuesday of that week (e.g., Thanksgiving).“

Given the Bills left town, today is unlikely, so next Tuesday is a likely date. They could move the upcoming Bills and Bengals games to Thursday, Friday or Saturday to make the Tuesday more palatable, since the Bills and Bengals effectively didn’t play. The opposing teams would be in the same preparation boat as the Bills and Bengals.

Article 11 is just record keeping for resuming the game:

“ARTICLE 11. GAME RESUMPTION

In all instances where a game is resumed after interruption, either on the same date or a subsequent date, the resumption will begin at the point at which the game was interrupted. At the time of interruption, the Referee will call timeout and will make a record of the following: the team possessing the ball, direction in which its offense was headed, position of the ball on the field, down, distance, period, time remaining in the period, and any other pertinent information required for an efficient and equitable resumption of play.“

[Todd_is_God]

There's no real argument for not completing the game IMO. Both teams will be playing in week 18 and the playoffs anyway so it makes no sense to say they can't play this one.

[TxRover]

10 minutes ago, Todd_is_God said:

There's no real argument for not completing the game IMO. Both teams will be playing in week 18 and the playoffs anyway so it makes no sense to say they can't play this one.

If I had to bet, they’ll move the Bills and Bengals upcoming games to Friday (or Saturday, or just perhaps Thursday), reschedule the suspended game for Tuesday, and then schedule the Bills (if necessary) and Bengals wildcard round matches for Sunday.

[pozbaird]

I think they’ll find a way to play it if Hamlin’s condition remains as is, or (hopefully) improves. If he passes, cannot see how the NFL could contemplate playing the game. They’d have a big enough problem having the Bills, and indeed Bengals, playing any game, anytime soon, never mind replaying this one. Just hope the guy is OK.

Edited January 3, 2023 by pozbaird

[lichtie23]

[steelmen]

Pelasaro saying they game will not be played this week and no changes to week 18

[Fuctifano]

Not being played this week. Not sure how they can rejig the fixtures, the only space is the bye week before the super bowl and I'd assume pushing the playoffs back a week would cause hassle with TV. 

Still think a tie / forfeit is the most likely option. 

 

[Todd_is_God]

9 minutes ago, Fuctifano said:

Not being played this week. Not sure how they can rejig the fixtures, the only space is the bye week before the super bowl and I'd assume pushing the playoffs back a week would cause hassle with TV. 

Still think a tie / forfeit is the most likely option. 

Looks like the NFL are going down the route of crossing their fingers and hoping results this weekend make the only impact of this game on who is #2 or #3

If it still has possible wider implications then they are probably going to need to play Sunday / Thurs / Monday 

[Jim McLean's Ghost]

The game is not going to be played even if the 1 seed is on the line.

Here guys go out and play an extra game so you get a 1 game rest! It would be a complete waste of time. The only consideration is whether the Bengals get the win, or there is a tie or the game is completely voided.

 

 

[Todd_is_God]

4 minutes ago, Jim McLean's Ghost said:

The game is not going to be played even if the 1 seed is on the line.

Here guys go out and play an extra game so you get a 1 game rest! It would be a complete waste of time. The only consideration is whether the Bengals get the win, or there is a tie or the game is completely voided.

If the Bengals won they'd likely host Buffalo in the Divisional Round instead of having to go there.

If the Bengals lose the Ravens have a shot at hosting the Wild Card game instead of travelling to Cincinnati.

This game has many, many more playoff implications than just #1 seed.

The NFL does not have the provision to declare a tie or force Buffalo to forfeit either.

Edited January 3, 2023 by Todd_is_God

[peasy23]

https://twitter.com/BuffaloBills/status/1610705119615516672?t=qqiidAOsBDM4N9WG-o4BcA&s=19