Should the Titans have been forced to forfeit?

[hawaiiansteel]

Kovacevic: Titans' response to outbreak underscores why forfeits must be in play

By DEJAN KOVACEVIC
Oct 1, 2020

https://www.dkpittsburghsports.com/2020/10/01/titans-coronavirus-outbreak-mike-vrabel-steelers-dk

[NorthCoast]

The writer implies Vrabel has some way to control an outbreak of a virus. If he did, I am sure more than a few people would be on the phone to get his secret. Pretty much disagree with the article's premise.

[Buzz]

They shouldn't have been forced to forfeit. They should have been told, "Play the game this weekend, or forfeit." As of this morning, they are only down 4 players from the active roster due to Covid. Unless they have a massive infection that takes out a lot more players, they could've fielded a team Monday night.

[Eich]

You start making teams forfeit because of how they might have been exposed to a virus they can't see and you're going to start having a meaningless season on your hands. Imagine if multiple games are forfeited? Then you're going to have people who insist an asterisk be next to the team that hoists the Lombardi.

The whole issue really stems around the incubation period. Once some people test positive, they have no idea how widespread it's going to be until you keep testing the people who may have been exposed, through the incubation period. That's going to make an uninterrupted season very difficult to pull off.

[Eich]

They shouldn't have been forced to forfeit. They should have been told, "Play the game this weekend, or forfeit." As of this morning, they are only down 4 players from the active roster due to Covid. Unless they have a massive infection that takes out a lot more players, they could've fielded a team Monday night.

If Monday night gets them through the incubation period and they're certain that no one else is infected by Monday night, then I tend to agree.

There isn't much harm done by moving this one game. But what's going to happen when this happens to more and more teams and more and more games?

[Buzz]

If Monday night gets them through the incubation period and they're certain that no one else is infected by Monday night, then I tend to agree.

There isn't much harm done by moving this one game. But what's going to happen when this happens to more and more teams and more and more games?

Exactly. Chances are that we will see covid cases popping up on NFL teams a number of times before January. If they handle every such instance the way the did this one, it will likely be impossible to finish the season.

[SteelBucks]

Wasn’t the expanded rosters supposed to protect from potential positive cases? That’s why I’m confused and mad about the postponement. It feels like the Steelers are getting punished because the Titans have a covid problem. A bye in week 4 sucks.

[pfelix73]

Simple answer. YES. Either that, or just go forward with both teams only playing 15 games. Problem is, this game is gonna matter at end of season- in all probability. I guess if that happens, then at end of year, they should have to forfeit it.

[NorthCoast]

Simple answer. YES. Either that, or just go forward with both teams only playing 15 games. Problem is, this game is gonna matter at end of season- in all probability. I guess if that happens, then at end of year, they should have to forfeit it.

Interesting idea pfelix. Schedule the game at the end of the season and only play the game if it matters for playoff standings. If not, don't play.

[Northern_Blitz]

Have they announced when it will be rescheduled to?

I wonder if it would be more fair to put it in the bye week, or to put it at the end of the season.

Logistically, if it's a one off the bye week might make more sense. But it kind of screws us by putting the bye week early.

But if there are multiple postponed games like this, maybe it makes sense to play them after the regular season (or maybe to just compare win percentages and not replay them?). But what if a team has more than one game postponed? Or what if a playoff team doesn't have any postponed games so they get an extra bye at the end of the season.

I think there aren't really any good answers here. And I also think that my desire for the "offending" team to forfeit (and I do think that is a better outcome than rescheduling) is probably tied to the fact that the "offending team" isn't the Steelers and we're the ones getting screwed for something that happened to another team.

I thought that the best option was play Tuesday (even though it would give both teams a disadvantage the next week), but the seemed to have deemed that unsafe given the incubation period?

[Buzz]

Don't be surprised if some team, at a point in the season when they're at a competitive disadvantage (key players injured or in a slump, playing a team that's hot, in a streak of road games, etc.), "comes up" with a few positive covid cases so their game can be postponed to a more favorable time.

C'mon, you know Belicheat would do it if he thought it would help the *s.

[whisper]

Don't be surprised if some team, at a point in the season when they're at a competitive disadvantage (key players injured or in a slump, playing a team that's hot, in a streak of road games, etc.), "comes up" with a few positive covid cases so their game can be postponed to a more favorable time.

C'mon, you know Belicheat would do it if he thought it would help the *s.

Well now that Trump has it....hmmmmm.

[Oviedo]

They shouldn't have been forced to forfeit. They should have been told, "Play the game this weekend, or forfeit." As of this morning, they are only down 4 players from the active roster due to Covid. Unless they have a massive infection that takes out a lot more players, they could've fielded a team Monday night.

I agree. The precedent set could start a bow wave of schedule changes that become untenable if other teams have the same issue. It would be totally unfair that the Titans get a pass and later in the season another team doesn't. As the season goes on, the reschedules will become impossible to do

[SidSmythe]

Why didn't the NFL leave the Playoffs Schedule as "Tentative" - Any games like this could have been moved to a schedule "Bye Week" period at the end of the Season??
A "Flex" Week 18 and 19 - then Proceed to the playoffs.

[feltdizz]

No. You guys need to stop acting like this couldn’t happen to us later in the season.