What if there's no 2020 Season?

Then I am am very very sad. I might even cry a little.

One thought I think I'd look at would be changes to the camera angles etc.

Remember the game where the traditional cameras were down and they had to go with backups? That got a lot of positive response.

In general I like the close ups and replays but it's a shame we can't see more of the field for the snap and live play. It wouldn't have to be All-22 perspective, but something where the defense can be seen etc. would be appreciated. In fact, one thing I've often thought would be a great feature to add now that we have the tech for it, is giving viewers the ability to choose their preferred angle. Regular broadcast, all-22, side-line... whatever it might be. They could still put their audio over the top etc. but that might really appeal to people.

For the Dolphins, with the rebuild that's been going on, if the season doesn't happen it would be good to see the league lift roster restrictions, and allow teams to hold camps or whatever they prefer, bring their team together. Ultimately you can't make up for game time experience but if that's just not possible, then it could benefit the team to be able to work throughout the year and build rapport. It would be a challenge, some personality types would disengage I think, and over time boredom might set in. Overall though, a year off for further injury recovery, studying playbooks, looking at tape, working out etc. could benefit the team.

I suppose something to keep fans engaged would be important. What if they got players to get on Madden for certain events, maybe a tournament, and gave fans a chance to play with NFL players?

I'm rambling on now... just wondering what you guys think - any ideas?

I've thought all along that the season won't happen because there's no way to plan around 25+ cities nationwide with their own regulations.

With that said, I think it really comes down to how MLB and the NBA does in the next few weeks to sort of guide the NFL towards a reality. The UFC seems to have this figured out for 1:1 competition and the NBA is sort of following that plan with the bubble- I think isolating players in full lockdown is the only way we actually get a season...but I don't know that the players go for it.

"Galant wrote:

I suppose something to keep fans engaged would be important. What if they got players to get on Madden for certain events, maybe a tournament, and gave fans a chance to play with NFL players?

In high school, we chose our starting linemen weekly by lining up nose to nose with another player and driving them out of a small box. If you won, you advanced up the player tier....if you lost, you advanced down. And once you lost to the same person twice, you're done for the day.

So like I said, I'm about 12 inches from the guy opposite me and we're both in 3 or 4 point stances (player's choice). The coach blows the whistle and it's an explosion of power...very rarely did you just go through someone. You'd either keep your balance and stay low, sliding beneath them and making them stand up....or you went high and instantly got knocked back. I used to enjoy the heck out of these match-ups and so did the rest of the team.

In college, we did a similar drill EXCEPT two players would lay on their backs, helmet to helmet. The coach would blow the whistle and drop the football, and both players couldn't move until the ball was in motion. You could "win" two ways...by grabbing the ball and advancing three yards, or by driving the other guy back three yards once he grabbed the ball (or a combo of making him fumble and making the ball fly past 3 yards, etc...the rules weren't that important, LOL). This was brutal, barbaric and we had a number of injuries since the whole team would participate (from RB to WR to linemen and kickers). A nose tackle, linebacker or offensive guard usually won, by the way....speed was rarely a factor; strength and agility won the day.

We did another drill where you'd have a 5-yard lane that was maybe 10 feet wide. One player had the ball, the other was there to tackle. Sometimes we threw in a blocker as well to make the defender work even harder. Coach blew the whistle and again, there were explosive movements on both sides with people violently colliding. Just fun stuff.

Anyway, drills like these could be televised/streamed and I think they'd go over well with a general audience when we can't have actual NFL football. You'd see people getting flattened all the time and I still smile thinking about it. There's all kinds of stuff you can do like the QB challenge for other positions...kicker trick shots, RB/WR agility courses, etc.

Back in April and May, I was hopeful that things would be better by now, and that a NFL season would happen. It might be different, with no fans in the stadiums, or even some teams sharing stadiums, but that it would likely work itself out. However, with the situation the way that is now, I really don't expect it to happen now.

Though it's not surprising to me, players are opting out at a rate that seems to be shocking many. The deadline to do so keeps getting pushed back to give more of them time to think about it, and I think that there are a lot more of them on the fence than the media presumed.

Now, we see what's happening with MLB, where whole teams are shut down due to outbreaks, and others are on pause due to being on contact with them, and its inevitable that the same thing will happen in NFL camps as well. As they do, I expect for the NFLPA to push the league to call the whole thing off, and the two will negotiate some middle ground with respect to the players being paid this year similar to the opt out.

With respect to next year, I expect that there will be some sort of alternate free agency period. Teams will have to cut players in order to get under the reduced salary cap, and those guys will sign on with new teams. That will in turn lead to players on those teams being cut to make room, and the merry-go-round will go on. There will absolutely be a draft, because many players will want to leave college and get into the NFL, even without a 2020 season to prove themselves. And it will be unique and interesting to have what amounts to two rookie classes bonded into one on rosters in the 2021 season.

For sure, no one will ever forget what's happening now. But its best to shut things down before it gets worse and just move on, looking to the future.

No way we should have a season. Shut it down let families stay safe. Lots of issues around school, travel and other things should take precedence. No one wants to go to a packed stadium or a completely empty one either.

If they do force the games to play I say they need to work with direct tv and allow users to pick one team and let us see the games or offer free NFL Sunday ticket to all users dirt cheap

"Dorfdad wrote:

No way we should have a season. Shut it down let families stay safe. Lots of issues around school, travel and other things should take precedence. No one wants to go to a packed stadium or a completely empty one either.

If they do force the games to play I say they need to work with direct tv and allow users to pick one team and let us see the games or offer free NFL Sunday ticket to all users dirt cheap

The interesting side take to that is that the NFL can opt out of the deal with DirecTV after 2020 and shop the service elsewhere. Given that AT&T also wants out of the deal, it would be fitting if in the final year of the deal there was no NFL.

The NHL will begin finishing their season August 1st. They plan to use only 2 arenas to do this however. The NFL could easily copy a similar method.

The UFC has its events with no fans in the stadium. This is proof enough that there will be a season. Most of their revenue doesn't come from PPV buys, or gate attendance. It comes from their big name sponsors. If they were to shut down, they're sponsors would not pay them to display/push their brands.

The NFL will not surrender the ad-revenue(alone) they stand to make from having a season. Nevermind the TV ratings that they also get a large share of $$$.

Worst case scenario is

-They copy the NHL's method of having only a few stadiums to host all/every game.
-They don't allow fans in the stadiums and/or practice 'social distancing' thus fans will be separated by every other section.
-All fans will be forced to wear a mask while in the stadium (I believe the NHL is also adopting this policy)
-Not the typical NFL experience for anyone, however we will see the games.

Most convincing reason there will be a season: Every other sport is continuing their seasons. NBA, MLB, UFC, Nascar etc. But nice attempt at a fear-mongering thread, as if we don't have enough of that in the world.

In closing... there will be an NFL season, and I will personally bet anyone that feels strongly enough that there won't be. Cheers.

The Big 10 is seriously considering not playing football this season. A step towards all of college football making the same choice.

"IdrA wrote:

The NHL will begin finishing their season August 1st. They plan to use only 2 arenas to do this however. The NFL could easily copy a similar method.

The UFC has its events with no fans in the stadium. This is proof enough that there will be a season. Most of their revenue doesn't come from PPV buys, or gate attendance. It comes from their big name sponsors. If they were to shut down, they're sponsors would not pay them to display/push their brands.

The NFL will not surrender the ad-revenue(alone) they stand to make from having a season. Nevermind the TV ratings that they also get a large share of $$$.

Worst case scenario is

-They copy the NHL's method of having only a few stadiums to host all/every game.
-They don't allow fans in the stadiums and/or practice 'social distancing' thus fans will be separated by every other section.
-All fans will be forced to wear a mask while in the stadium (I believe the NHL is also adopting this policy)
-Not the typical NFL experience for anyone, however we will see the games.

Most convincing reason there will be a season: Every other sport is continuing their seasons. NBA, MLB, UFC, Nascar etc. But nice attempt at a fear-mongering thread, as if we don't have enough of that in the world.

In closing... there will be an NFL season, and I will personally bet anyone that feels strongly enough that there won't be. Cheers.

This would be interesting. If they do this and college football is for the most part canceled, they can do a Saturday, Sunday, Monday type model, heck they could eve have a game of Friday Evening.

There are generally 16 games.
2 game on Friday night
6 games on Saturday
6 games on Sunday
2 game on Monday night

"Galant wrote:

One would assume there will be a draft of some sort for the college students who have advanced a year (even if college football is also restricted). If that's the case then we'll have two draft classes sharing their rookie season - would that be a first?

If both the CFB/NFL seasons are cancelled or truncated, I don't think you're going to have a "normal" NFL draft. The NCAA would probably give players another year of eligibility, which I'd assume would mean quite a few would not declare as they'd be trying to be drafted off of sophomore seasons. You've got some juniors who didn't declare for 2020, and some sophomores that you could still draft highly, but is it really going to be that much?

I think it'd make sense for the NFL to replace the "normal" draft with like a modified version of the supplemental draft. 2021 picks roll over to 2022, but you can bid them for the players who do declare. You've also got a built-in method to provide a semi-randomized draft order that seems fair given the circumstances.

Not sure why the nfl didn’t mandate playing in a bubble, at home and away..

Letting players go home after practice isn’t the right way to have a season

The PAC12 is pushing back their planned start until the end of September, hoping that things are better by then.

"djphinfan wrote:

Not sure why the nfl didn’t mandate playing in a bubble, at home and away..

Letting players go home after practice isn’t the right way to have a season

The NBA can't keep 9 guys in a bubble. No way it will work in the NFL with 60 guys on a team.

No link but I heard the Big 10 is considering no football.

"firedan wrote:

No link but I heard the Big 10 is considering no football.

I linked it yesterday in this thread :chuckle:

Yeah as how can you have that of possibly unable to breathe if you wear a mask on the field playing?

"Unlucky 13 wrote:

I linked it yesterday in this thread :chuckle:

That's more than likely where I saw that.Thanks.

As the NFL deploys what chief medical officer Allen Sills calls a “virtual bubble,” there’s a chance that the bubble will harden, at least locally.

Pressed on the possibility of putting all players, coaches, and essential staff in a hotel in order to minimize the possibility of a player catching the virus away from work and bringing it to the facility, Dr. Sills said during a Friday visit to #PFTPM that all options are on the table.

It would be difficult for players to leave their families and to live in a hotel indefinitely, and it likely would require further negotiations with the NFL Players Association and modified opt-out rights, given that no player signed up for sequestration. But the current approach entails a degree of risk that would be reduced if players remain with the team; thus, the chances of getting all 256 regular-season games played would be enhanced if the players and coaches aren’t going home at the end of the work day.

The league is committed to pursuing the current approach unless and until circumstances require a change. With a full-blown, NBA-style bubble impractical, the next best thing could be a localized bubble that entails players shuttling between hotel and practice facility until the time comes to travel to the site of a game.

Again, it would be difficult for the players and coaches and other personnel to make that sacrifice. But if the alternative is lost games, lost weeks, and possibly a lot season, it’s worth considering — especially if the current approach shows signs of collapsing.

They should listen to that guy

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2020/07/31/mlb-commissioner-floats-possibility-of-scrapping-season/

Baseball commish Rob Manfred has now openly floated the possibility that the season may be stopped, or ended, if things don't get better. That fact that he's doing this openly almost certainly means that things are extremely serious, and doing it behind closed doors hasn't worked. Its also likely to soften the blow to the fans and media if and when it does happen.

"Unlucky 13 wrote:

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2020/07/31/mlb-commissioner-floats-possibility-of-scrapping-season/

Baseball commish Rob Manfred has now openly floated the possibility that the season may be stopped, or ended, if things don't get better. That fact that he's doing this openly almost certainly means that things are extremely serious, and doing it behind closed doors hasn't worked. Its also likely to soften the blow to the fans and media if and when it does happen.

I think this is more along the lines of the kind of posturing you'd see from a beleaguered, in-over-their head substitute teacher. I don't think they've got any intention of cancelling the season unless it gets significantly worse.

"Disgustipate wrote:

I think this is more along the lines of the kind of posturing you'd see from a beleaguered, in-over-their head substitute teacher. I don't think they've got any intention of cancelling the season unless it gets significantly worse.

There has been word since the early Spring that a notable minority of baseball owners just wanted to cancel it early and be done with it. MLB doesn't seem as deadset on playing it out as the NFL does.