NFL Thread

[Crashcourse]

17 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

The WFT should just be renamed the WTFs.   It's fitting and what I always think when I see WFT anyway

Same here!

Speaking of my beloved WTFers, I'm glad they got rid of this idiot.  I initially liked him and had so much hope for him, but he made some dumb moves.  Maybe the Steelers can do something with him.  

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/31820146/pittsburgh-steelers-dwayne-haskins-injured-wife-faces-domestic-violence-charge-reports-say

The funny part is, he swears she didn't knock all his tooth out.  LOL

[merylinkid]

10 hours ago, xaxat said:

League related medical care is negotiated under the CBA. The union would fight it.

I would think this is care for injuries to make sure teams don't cut injuried players ON THE ROAD (yes this happened), not ensuring unvaxxed players don't KILL other players.    Pretty sure Goodell could shoehorn it into "tanishing the shield" or something to get away with it.   They already have agreed to stricter protocols for unvaxxed players than vaxxed players.   The union represents ALL the players, not just the numbskulls.     

[Irlandesa]

12 hours ago, xaxat said:

League related medical care is negotiated under the CBA. The union would fight it.

I'm confused.  You think the union would fight a player being cut because they didn't get vaccinated? 

The union has already agreed with the league to pretty restrictive policies for those who are unvaccinated.  I don't think they'd put up much of a fight if a team were to cut a player because of a vaccination.  Teams cut players all the time.  It's all about respecting contracts.

[xaxat]

20 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I'm confused.  You think the union would fight a player being cut because they didn't get vaccinated? 

It's not "a" player, it's a lot of players. Half of the players on the WFT are unvaccinated. Dan Snyder (or his wife) isn't going to cut them.

I believe that the union would fight against the requirement that players be vaccinated as a condition of employment. Cutting a player specifically because he was not vaccinated would go against that. 

But I also believe that this discussion it irrelevant because, while the league may make life more difficult for the unvaccinated (with the union's approval) they will not call for mandatory vaccines. 

[JTMacc99]

13 hours ago, xaxat said:

I believe that the union would fight against the requirement that players be vaccinated as a condition of employment. Cutting a player specifically because he was not vaccinated would go against that. 

Right.  It wouldn't be "specifically", but I think it will play a factor in who stays and who gets cut for the back end of the roster. If you're a team trying to get to the 85% level so you can operate normally, it's hard to imagine that it won't factor into decisions. 

Even more so, it will be a factor when teams are choosing players to pick up when they need to fill a roster spot once they're down to the 53 man rosters and people start getting hurt. If you're a team choosing between two guys who are similar, it HAS to play in the decision.  One guy has to go through all of the COVID restrictions with being tested and quarantined and so on, and the other guy can just show up and immediately get to work.

[Carey]

13 hours ago, xaxat said:

It's not "a" player, it's a lot of players. Half of the players on the WFT are unvaccinated. Dan Snyder (or his wife) isn't going to cut them.

I believe that the union would fight against the requirement that players be vaccinated as a condition of employment. Cutting a player specifically because he was not vaccinated would go against that. 

But I also believe that this discussion it irrelevant because, while the league may make life more difficult for the unvaccinated (with the union's approval) they will not call for mandatory vaccines. 

The league isn’t going to call for mandatory vaccines.  However, they have the right to control their conditions of their workplace.  While roughly half of a typical population like or dislike Mark Madden, he was right on point when it came to discussing the employment conditions.  Jon Rahm found out the hard way; he was permitted to golf at the Memorial despite not being vaccinated, but the officials had every right not to change or modify the rules on the fly to benefit Jon Rahm.  

As mentioned, no one is forcing the players to participate. Like all business, they have a right to not work.  Of course, the players are under contract, and if they don’t show up, they won’t get paid.  They could opt out, but apart from that if they’re not vaccinated then things will be tough.  Nonetheless, despite not receiving a paycheck, they have a right not to be there.

By the way, if anything, I think certain guidelines will be determined on a team basis, a player’s real employer.  For one, the vaccinated percentage differs throughout the 32 teams.

As mentioned, Dan Snyder is not booted half his team.  Furthermore, if Tampa Tom Brady isn’t vaxxed, I hardly think he’s going anywhere either.  FWIW, I don’t recall him passing on the vaccine, nor did I hear that he received it.  Similar to the comments made on who he voted for, I guess this is one of the things that will not be made public from TB12
 

[JTMacc99]

The window for choosing to opt out of the 2021 season has passed, and not a single player chose to opt out of the season.  (I only know this because some people speculated that Aaron Rogers could have used the COVID opt out as a way to bail out on the Packers.) 

I do like what the NFL did to encourage players to get vaccinated with the promise to let teams operate much more normally once 85% of the players are vaccinated. It's a good number for a lot of reasons, but I mostly like it because it puts a team-first pressure on the players who are hesitant.  It's the old "WE could be having normal meetings and practices if YOU would get vaccinated."  

And reaching that 85% threshold is also almost definitely going to factor into roster decisions.  If you're an agent of a player who may or may not make a team, I would think you'd have to be advising your player to get vaccinated. It could absolutely be the difference between him and another player.

[Irlandesa]

18 hours ago, xaxat said:

I believe that the union would fight against the requirement that players be vaccinated as a condition of employment. Cutting a player specifically because he was not vaccinated would go against that. 

I think the union has already agreed to pretty strict regulations that make getting vaccinated the much easier solution.  But whether or not they'd fight that kind of rule would depend on who votes on the issue.  Is it just the player reps?  They tend to be a different kind of breed than your run-of-the-mill player and might push for overall player safety (the vaccine) than trying to protect an individual player's right to not get vaccinated.  I think this is one area where the NFL and the union are probably in agreement even if there's disagreement.   Because here's what they know--very few players, even players with strong convictions, are going to give up the chance to play in the NFL over getting a vaccine.

They're already willing to risk their personal safety to play this game.  If push comes to shove, most would get the shot if it were a requirement.

But it's not right now.  And yes, I do think team leadership (owners, coaches and some key players) will move the needle one way or the other.

[JTMacc99]

Oof.  The Rams lost Cam Akers for the season with a torn Achilles tendon today. 

 

[Carey]

Oh that sucks.  Practice & training camp is still very important, regardless of the saying of people getting hurt there (or in preseason for those that need it).  Without it, you're going down in a meaningful game (regular season or the postseason following a meaningless Week 17/18 game).  Practice makes perfect, and preparation is key for success, but what a downer.  Practice & prep doesn't directly result in wins, but injuries during those times still lead to one being sidelined for a minute or for the year.

[merylinkid]

The NFL isn't mandating vaccines but they ARE saying that if a team can't play because of an outbreak -- no rescheduling, its a forfeit.    The team forfeiting can also be liable for any finanncial losses due to the cancellation of the game and subject to League Discipline.

ETA:   If a game is not played NO ONE gets that week game check, not just the ones who are positive.   Do YOU want to be the guy who costs your teammates their game check?

 

Edited July 22, 2021 by merylinkid

[Irlandesa]

55 minutes ago, merylinkid said:

The NFL isn't mandating vaccines but they ARE saying that if a team can't play because of an outbreak -- no rescheduling, its a forfeit.    The team forfeiting can also be liable for any finanncial losses due to the cancellation of the game and subject to League Discipline.

Yep.  And they're also trying to distinguish between unvaccinated and vaccinated players.  Say, for instance, there's an outbreak amongst vaccinated players--they're more likely to work with the team than if it's with unvaccinated players.

[Johannah]

They didn't say the game couldn't be rescheduled, just that it had to be done within the 18 game season.  No extensions.  Not sure how feasible that will be, but they did manage to reschedule a bunch of games within the regular season timeframe last year.

I also wonder if the loss of money for both teams is to motivate the team that would get the automatic win to reschedule.  Money vs easy win?

Edited July 22, 2021 by Johann

[meowmommy]

3 minutes ago, Johann said:

Not sure how feasible that will be, but they did manage to reschedule a bunch of games within the regular season timeframe last year.

A combination of dumb luck and the ability to move games to mid-week without considering ticket holders and concessionaires.  More from the memo:

Quote

Postponements will only occur if required by government authorities, medical experts, or at the commissioner's discretion...

In light of the substantial roster flexibility in place for the 2021 season, absent medical considerations or government directives, games will not be postponed or rescheduled simply to avoid roster issues caused by injury or illness affecting multiple players, even within a position group

 

[DrSpaceman73]

It's a 17 game season, 18 weeks

But this is another reason why they should have a second bye week if they are extending the season.  More flexibility in the schedule for any possible reason.  

 

[Johannah]

2 minutes ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

It's a 17 game season, 18 weeks

But this is another reason why they should have a second bye week if they are extending the season.  More flexibility in the schedule for any possible reason.  

 

Right, I worded thet wrong.  I meant 18 weeks of games being played, not that each team plays 18 games.

[AimingforYoko]

DeAndre Hopkins is thinking of quitting the NFL rather than getting the vaccine.

You do you, I guess.

[DrSpaceman73]

5 minutes ago, AimingforYoko said:

DeAndre Hopkins is thinking of quitting the NFL rather than getting the vaccine.

You do you, I guess.

Go ahead DeAndre.  

Tens of thousands of medical workers have to get the vaccine and make less money than these players.  

Whining bunch of stupid millionaires.  

[AimingforYoko]

1 minute ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

Whining bunch of stupid millionaires.  

Not just millionaires. It crosses all income levels, age demographics, race, religion, occupations (Estimated, 30-40% of health care workers are unvaccinated.)

[twoods]

Don’t let the door hit you on your way out, you selfish millionaire asshole. You’re welcome to find another job. 

[NUguy514]

6 hours ago, AimingforYoko said:

DeAndre Hopkins is thinking of quitting the NFL rather than getting the vaccine.

You do you, I guess.

Miss you like a front tooth, toots.

[merylinkid]

Guys will talk big but when it comes to actually giving up the $$$$, it's gonna be a big nope.

There will be a LOT of peer pressure in locker rooms.   Because its one thing to say "Oh well, I guess I won't get paid if I miss a game because I'm not vaxxed."   Its a whole other thing for your teammates to go "yeah its your right, but its MY money you are messing with."   This is the same reason strikes always fall apart in the NFL.   People want their game checks.  

Also I didn't quite get this yesterday but if a game is forefeited BOTH teams don't get paid.   Even if the other team is following all protocols.   So there is going to be a lot of peer pressure throughout the League.   

[DrSpaceman73]

13 hours ago, AimingforYoko said:

Not just millionaires. It crosses all income levels, age demographics, race, religion, occupations (Estimated, 30-40% of health care workers are unvaccinated.)

Yes it does. 

And the health care professionals are being fired for it if not vaccinated.  These NFL players are lucky the same is not true for them. 

It's just such a stupid move on the players part.  They have short careers and windows, any time they step on the field could be their last. It's literally thousands of times more dangerous to play am NFL game than to get the vaccine.  But they gripe about a vaccine and their rights and being forced into this.   

My team the colts is right now is one of the two lowest vaccinated in the league, which pisses me off about the players.  

[JTMacc99]

13 minutes ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

And the health care professionals are being fired for it if not vaccinated.  These NFL players are lucky the same is not true for them. 

That's because the players have a union, which got a guarantee from the league earlier this year that they would not be required to be vaccinated.

Having said that, it's not exactly the strongest union, as the League is doing a bang up job of saying, you don't have to be vaccinated, but you better get vaccinated.

 

[woodstock]

Rick Dennison out after refusing to take COVID-19 vaccine

Coaches are required to get vaccinated but players are not. I wonder if there will be others that leave.

[Johannah]

Sooooo... Are they afraid of the vaccine?. Or they just don,t like being told what to do?

I think all excuses fall in.one of those two categories.

Edited July 23, 2021 by Johann

[emmawoodhouse]

3 hours ago, woodstock said:

Rick Dennison out after refusing to take COVID-19 vaccine

Coaches are required to get vaccinated but players are not. I wonder if there will be others that leave.

I just read a second coach is also out for the same reason. Forget the team.

[Fukui San]

Re: Coaches leaving the profession because they don't want to take the vaccine: Good. Eff them.

I wish I could find a listing of where every team was in terms of getting their players vaccinated. So far I've only seen mentions of a few top and bottom teams. I'd like to know where my team is in that.

[Moose135]

4 hours ago, Fukui San said:

I wish I could find a listing of where every team was in terms of getting their players vaccinated.

Sounds like the NFL hasn't released that.

From What is the current NFL vaccination rate by team? (sportskeeda.com)

Quote

There isn't a complete rate for each team as of this moment, just which teams have reached the 85% and which team are way below that rate. NFL teams that are close to reaching the compliance rate may in fact reach the threshold by the time camp starts, depending on when players become fully vaccinated.

 

[Johannah]

I like this quote from that article:

"...Just last month, Buffalo Bills wide receiver Cole Beasley stated that he will not be taking the vaccine and doesn't believe he should have to follow safety protocols..."

So, play without a helmet.

[DoctorAtomic]

I'm interested to see what happens when the FDA fully approves the vaccine. There's a lot of news pieces saying that's when companies will mandate it. I know it's not exactly the same in the NFL. 

I'm interested in seeing the fallout if a team actually has to forfeit and that's the difference in a playoff spot. 

[Carey]

23 hours ago, emmawoodhouse said:

On 7/23/2021 at 2:49 PM, woodstock said:

Rick Dennison out after refusing to take COVID-19 vaccine

Coaches are required to get vaccinated but players are not. I wonder if there will be others that leave.

I just read a second coach is also out for the same reason. Forget the team.

Cole Popovich from New England

[wknt3]

On 7/24/2021 at 2:39 PM, Johann said:

I like this quote from that article:

"...Just last month, Buffalo Bills wide receiver Cole Beasley stated that he will not be taking the vaccine and doesn't believe he should have to follow safety protocols..."

So, play without a helmet.

Living in WNY and therefore seeing every comment, tweet, etc. I'm beginning to think he has...

[mojoween]

Love the “Welcome to the Jungle ad”.

HATE that it’s trying to get me hyped up for the dastardly Bucs and weaselly Cowboys.  And that it’s succeeding.

[Johannah]

5 hours ago, mojoween said:

Love the “Welcome to the Jungle ad”.

HATE that it’s trying to get me hyped up for the dastardly Bucs and weaselly Cowboys.  And that it’s succeeding.

Eh.  Just because it means football is back.  I have no delusions that it will be a good game.  Or that I'll care about the outcome. Unless both can lose.  That would be fun.

 

[merylinkid]

Oh I want to see Dak wipe that smirk off TB's face.  

Bruce Arians went ballistic at his press conference yesterday.   It was reported that vaxxed players would wear one color bands on their wrists and unvaxxed players another.    Then they had an open practice and it was reported that TB was wearing no bands.   Arians screamed about biased reporting, etc.   Claims that the bands were only in the building, not on the field.   Except the Bucs themselves did not say that to reporters before the stories came out.   I think Arians is pissed because they got caught hiding Brady's knee injury all season and now got caught hiding whether or not TB is following the Covid Protocols (like he didn't follow them last year with some of his workouts).   

[meowmommy]

3 hours ago, merylinkid said:

I think Arians is pissed because they got caught hiding Brady's knee injury all season and now got caught hiding whether or not TB is following the Covid Protocols (like he didn't follow them last year with some of his workouts).   

You would think that someone as ostentatiously and lucratively attentive to his health as TB would be the first to follow COVID guidelines, his background as a cheat notwithstanding.  But some people, especially pretty boys who've led a charmed life, think they're exempt from the laws not only of the NFL, but of nature.

[Irlandesa]

3 hours ago, merylinkid said:

It was reported that vaxxed players would wear one color bands on their wrists and unvaxxed players another. 

I don't get why they'd do this.  Isn't the "tell" that unvaxxed players are supposed to be wearing masks and vaxxed players don't have to?

Or are the bands a way to spot who should be wearing masks?

Oh, in case you haven't heard, Rodgers is back in GB.  Not really that unexpected given that GB wasn't going to trade him even though the media made it sound like he'd be sitting out.  I was always skeptical that he'd do that given his age and the talent on GB.

But the surprise is that he might be getting Randall Cobb back. 

Edited July 28, 2021 by Irlandesa

[cambridgeguy]

Arians probably wishes he could be honest.  "Look, let's not pretend the rules apply to all players.  We all know TB can do whatever he wants, so don't go getting all shocked if he doesn't do what the rest of the players do.  Go cover Aaron Rodgers if you want drama."

[Johannah]

I thought a press conference Ron Rivera had was a bit sad.  I think a lot of the WFT players haven't been vaccinated and Ron was saying that he had to be extra careful because his immune system was compromised and he would have to wear a mask in most situations.  He didn't say it, that I heard, but it was like he was saying that they didn't care that they were putting him at extra risk.  Dammit, players, think of someone else instead of your misguided right to put yourself at risk.  Sad.

[DrSpaceman73]

Come Beasley can f*** himself, once again. More anti vaccine BS trying to be framed as freedom, claiming they need ' more information' and it's not fair for unvaccinated players to be tested more often. 

 

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/31906170/buffalo-bills-wr-cole-beasley-says-nfl-vaccine-gripe-differing-standards-wants-players-proper-information

35 minutes ago, Johann said:

I thought a press conference Ron Rivera had was a bit sad.  I think a lot of the WFT players haven't been vaccinated and Ron was saying that he had to be extra careful because his immune system was compromised and he would have to wear a mask in most situations.  He didn't say it, that I heard, but it was like he was saying that they didn't care that they were putting him at extra risk.  Dammit, players, think of someone else instead of your misguided right to put yourself at risk.  Sad.

The responses on Instagram were even worse, fans telling him he should just retire if it's such a risk and that the players have no obligation to worry about the health of their coach. 

[Johannah]

5 minutes ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

The responses on Instagram were even worse, fans telling him he should just retire if it's such a risk and that the players have no obligation to worry about the health of their coach. 

Wow.  That's appalling.

....and I should have no obligation to worry about their health, so let me know when they are going to be outside so I can drive drunk.

Edited July 28, 2021 by Johann

[merylinkid]

15 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

More anti vaccine BS trying to be framed as freedom, claiming they need ' more information' and it's not fair for unvaccinated players to be tested more often. 

But they've been taking toradol for years to stay on the field when injured.    If a trainer says "here take this shot" during a game so they can get back in the game, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM takes it.    But a shot that will allow them to not kill someone else?   Oh nooooo we need more information.

Beasley is just  stringing words together to justify his anti-vaxx stance.

[BuckeyeLou]

Sooo...here we go again in Indy: Colts saying Carson Wentz is out indefinatly  with a foot injury and will need surgery.  Colts now looking for a QB with 'experience", what a 'great" start!  

[Fukui San]

40 minutes ago, BuckeyeLou said:

Sooo...here we go again in Indy: Colts saying Carson Wentz is out indefinatly  with a foot injury and will need surgery.  Colts now looking for a QB with 'experience", what a 'great" start!  

Hey Phil! Chris Ballard here! Remember me? How are the wife and all the kids? Enough to make you want to get out of the house, right? Phil? Phil? 

[Haleth]

Anyone have Andrew Luck's phone number?

[Danny Franks]

19 hours ago, BuckeyeLou said:

Sooo...here we go again in Indy: Colts saying Carson Wentz is out indefinatly  with a foot injury and will need surgery.  Colts now looking for a QB with 'experience", what a 'great" start!  

The Colts really are QB killers. Only they get the job done with neglect and malpractice.

[DrSpaceman73]

1 hour ago, Danny Franks said:

The Colts really are QB killers. Only they get the job done with neglect and malpractice.

He injured his foot in training camp in a routine practice.  

I won't get into Andrew Luck, but nothing else about the colts history is one of 'qb killers.' They have one of the best OL in the league the last few years. Reichs schemes and the running game protect qbs.  Rivers chose to retire because he was old and had a productive season last year despite having the mobility of a statue.  Brissett is just a career back up, they did all they could for him too. 

 

[Fukui San]

54 minutes ago, Danny Franks said:

The Colts really are QB killers. Only they get the job done with neglect and malpractice.

Certainly true for Luck, but the supporting cast has been good since then.

 

15 minutes ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

He injured his foot in training camp in a routine practice.  

I won't get into Andrew Luck, but nothing else about the colts history is one of 'qb killers.' They have one of the best OL in the league the last few years. Reichs schemes and the running game protect qbs.  Rivers chose to retire because he was old and had a productive season last year despite having the mobility of a statue.  Brissett is just a career back up, they did all they could for him too. 

 

I agree with this. They did wrong by Luck, but that was the poor work of Ryan Grigson, for the most part, and he got canned for it. The structure of the team since has been QB friendly with a stellar OL and a scheme that doesn't expose the QB that much. 

[merylinkid]

Hello, Peyton Manning played many years for them just fine.   They only screwed up with Luck.   Let's have an AWESOME QB but give him no line to protect him.   Although it took a long time to get a good line around Peyton.   he got sacked so many times he was dumping the ball any time he heard footsteps behind him.  

Wentz is fragile.   When he is healthy he is great.   But he can't stay healthy.