Octopus Overlords

It's on starting Thursday. This is gonna be weird with no preseason, few or no fans (possibly an advantage for the Chargers) and the NBA playoffs in the second round. Plus Brady in Tampa Bay and Cam Newton in New England. At least we have football in this worst timeline.

Any predictions?

7-weeks.

The Meal wrote: ↑Mon Sep 07, 2020 8:16 pm7-weeks.

Is that your prediction for how long the season is going to last?

Baroquen wrote: ↑Mon Sep 07, 2020 10:51 pm

The Meal wrote: ↑Mon Sep 07, 2020 8:16 pm7-weeks.

Is that your prediction for how long the season is going to last?

It's how long until the Patriots are eliminated from the playoffs.

Baroquen wrote: ↑Mon Sep 07, 2020 10:51 pm

The Meal wrote: ↑Mon Sep 07, 2020 8:16 pm7-weeks.

Is that your prediction for how long the season is going to last?

It is. But it's an extremely uninformed opinion. I haven't paid attention to what the league/teams are doing to maintain health and safety during the pandemic; I just don't see how they can keep the league clean.

It seems like they've done a pretty good job so far in the pre-season, at least I haven't heard of many cases. I believe they are testing every day, but not 100% sure of that. Of course, once travel/staying in a hotel and playing other teams starts, who knows what will happen. I hope they can play a full season, but I'm doubtful.

I think they are going with the "next man up" mentality because we know the owners don't truly care about the players' health. I think they make it through all 16 games, but that forfeits are a real possibility. I have to read up on the COVID list, though. If it allows teams not to count those players against the roster, then teams will just sign FAs and try to keep playing. Be interesting to see what it does to capped out teams. New Orleans us up tight to the cap - what do they do if they need to replace 5 players for a couple weeks?

It's going to be plain bad. For starters, the first 4 weeks will replace the lost preseason games, so expect rosters to still be sorting themselves out. By mid-season, the bottoms of all barrels will be scraped and fucking Tebow will be starting somewhere. Finally, Belichek will order a halt to the season when it becomes apparent this season is a clusterfuck he can't even manage.

There is a 0% chance Tim Tebow plays in the NFL this year.

pr0ner wrote: ↑Tue Sep 08, 2020 11:19 am There is a 0% chance Tim Tebow plays in the NFL this year.

Unless the Bears can give up 3 draft picks to get him.

Jaymann wrote: ↑Tue Sep 08, 2020 11:26 am

pr0ner wrote: ↑Tue Sep 08, 2020 11:19 am There is a 0% chance Tim Tebow plays in the NFL this year.

Unless the Bears can give up 3 draft picks to get him.

What are draft picks?

Stating 0% of something happening while the apocalypse is going on seems a little presumptuous.

With 5 days to go, the Patriots still don't have a kicker on their active roster (2 are on their practice squad).

Enjoy whatever time your team gives you this season, because there's no way it's going to unfold in anyway that looks normal. I'm not sure about 7 weeks, but I'd bet my house the season is interrupted and then ends unexpectedly. Well, unexpectedly in the broad sense.

I'm also in the camp that thinks is absolutely gross that they're trying to hold a season, knowing full-well there might be chronic health concerns for anyone exposed. I guess when you have a near-limitless pool of people that want to play, you can churn through those that are willing to suit up every week.

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Tue Sep 08, 2020 12:09 pm I'm also in the camp that thinks is absolutely gross that they're trying to hold a season, knowing full-well there might be chronic health concerns for anyone exposed. I guess when you have a near-limitless pool of people that want to play, you can churn through those that are willing to suit up every week.

I think it's not great, but I feel better than college because these players are getting compensated, had the opportunity to opt out (and get some money), and have health care provided.

If I were a player, I'd still take out an insurance policy protecting future earnings before playing.

stessier wrote: ↑Tue Sep 08, 2020 11:47 am With 5 days to go, the Patriots still don't have a kicker on their active roster (2 are on their practice squad).

I'm curious where your Boston sports pessimism is at these days with regards to the Patriots.

Seems like there's a pretty wide variation in possible results, mostly centered around how Cam Newton plays but also related to COVID effects on the games.

El Guapo wrote: ↑Tue Sep 08, 2020 12:20 pm

stessier wrote: ↑Tue Sep 08, 2020 11:47 am With 5 days to go, the Patriots still don't have a kicker on their active roster (2 are on their practice squad).

I'm curious where your Boston sports pessimism is at these days with regards to the Patriots.

Seems like there's a pretty wide variation in possible results, mostly centered around how Cam Newton plays but also related to COVID effects on the games.

Honestly, I'm not in a great place with respect to the whole world at the moment. I know the Celts are up 3-2, but haven't read anything about their games. I know the Sox stink and that we have no rotation, but no idea on where that season stands. I think the Bruins got bounced. This weekend was the first time I looked at anything Pats related because my brother noted they cut both kickers. I have no idea who is on the team - only know the 8 who opted out. I can't go to the bar to watch games this year, so this will be the first time since 2010 I haven't seen every game. It's going to be really weird and I have no expectations. I'll be happy if Cam is good and will just move on if the season is a wash. Too much else is going on for me to worry about it.

A couple of things, not only will the season make it through all 16 games, I suspect there will be minimal COVID interruptions. The players have largely been sequestered during training camp and while there have been a view positive tests, most of those were false positives.

They are testing the crap out of players. While they will begin playing other teams, the other team is in the same boat (also being tested daily). The levels of viral circulation within the NFL population is incredibly low.

While they will begin traveling, it’s not like players are flying coach and staying in roach motels. They are flying on private jets that can be scrubbed clean and staying in hotels following proper precautions.

Will someone get infected? Sure. Will what happened to the Marlins happen? Probably not.

stessier wrote: ↑Tue Sep 08, 2020 12:30 pm

El Guapo wrote: ↑Tue Sep 08, 2020 12:20 pm

stessier wrote: ↑Tue Sep 08, 2020 11:47 am With 5 days to go, the Patriots still don't have a kicker on their active roster (2 are on their practice squad).

I'm curious where your Boston sports pessimism is at these days with regards to the Patriots.

Seems like there's a pretty wide variation in possible results, mostly centered around how Cam Newton plays but also related to COVID effects on the games.

Honestly, I'm not in a great place with respect to the whole world at the moment. I know the Celts are up 3-2, but haven't read anything about their games. I know the Sox stink and that we have no rotation, but no idea on where that season stands. I think the Bruins got bounced. This weekend was the first time I looked at anything Pats related because my brother noted they cut both kickers. I have no idea who is on the team - only know the 8 who opted out. I can't go to the bar to watch games this year, so this will be the first time since 2010 I haven't seen every game. It's going to be really weird and I have no expectations. I'll be happy if Cam is good and will just move on if the season is a wash. Too much else is going on for me to worry about it.

Yeah, this is about right. The bright spots are that the Celtics have a reasonable shot at making the Finals (though not guaranteed, and they'll be an underdog in the Finals if they make it) and that the Patriots might be very good.

Also, this isn't a bright spot, but the Red Sox rotation is not just bad, it has a shot at being the worst of all time.

27. Boston Red Sox (Previously: 27)
We talk a lot about Boston’s pitching staff being bad, and it is, but here on September 8, their collective ERA is 6.21. From the founding of the American League until now, only three teams have posted a worse collective ERA over a full season. Only eight teams have gone over 6.00. What’s important to remember, however, is that we are in a relatively low-scoring period of baseball history. All eight of those teams were either from the Steroid Era or the early days of the live-ball era, when a spectator selected at random and armed with a broom handle could hit .275 with 20 home runs in a season. (One of those other teams, the 1999 Colorado Rockies, posted a 6.03 ERA, which came out to an ERA+ of 97 after adjusting for park and league.)

The Red Sox, unless they shape up or sign prime Pedro Martínez in the season’s final two weeks, are in danger of becoming the worst pitching staff in major league history, adjusted for park and league context. It’s not what you want.

You know, at least they're comically bad rather than frustratingly mediocre. And the Red Sox will wind up with a high draft pick as a result!

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Tue Sep 08, 2020 12:09 pm Enjoy whatever time your team gives you this season, because there's no way it's going to unfold in anyway that looks normal. I'm not sure about 7 weeks, but I'd bet my house the season is interrupted and then ends unexpectedly. Well, unexpectedly in the broad sense.

I'm also in the camp that thinks is absolutely gross that they're trying to hold a season, knowing full-well there might be chronic health concerns for anyone exposed. I guess when you have a near-limitless pool of people that want to play, you can churn through those that are willing to suit up every week.

You realize you're talking about a league that has a known problem with CTE and long term brain injuries yet people are still lining up to play. What's a little COVID compared to that?

Moat_Man wrote: ↑Tue Sep 08, 2020 9:11 pmYou realize you're talking about a league that has a known problem with CTE and long term brain injuries yet people are still lining up to play. What's a little COVID compared to that?

The key there is "long-term" - decades after retiring there are problems and by that time, they have plausible deniability. But with exposure to this virus, the acute and chronic damage will be easier to attribute to playing a game, being exposed and contracting the disease.

RunningMn9 wrote: ↑Tue Sep 08, 2020 12:43 pm Will someone get infected? Sure. Will what happened to the Marlins happen? Probably not.

And it's worth noting that MLB is still churning along even after outbreaks on the Marlins and Cardinals. I was a skeptic going in - I thought the odds were about 50/50 that MLB was going to get its season in, and I was probably 80/20 against after the Marlins and Cardinals. Now I'm probably 80/20 that they will finish the season. I think football is a bit trickier because players are so much closer to each other than in baseball, but I'm also thinking they'll probably get in a season, even if there are abnormalities in it.

One thing is that they have the lessons of baseball to learn from. I read a letter from the NFL to players that said that if players broke protocol, they'd be suspended. Which is what baseball should have done going in. The problem with the NFL is that their season is short and tight, and trying to make up games is a major deal, whereas MLB has fallen back to the double header. We'll see what happens.

Lorini wrote: ↑Wed Sep 09, 2020 10:29 am One thing is that they have the lessons of baseball to learn from. I read a letter from the NFL to players that said that if players broke protocol, they'd be suspended. Which is what baseball should have done going in. The problem with the NFL is that their season is short and tight, and trying to make up games is a major deal, whereas MLB has fallen back to the double header. We'll see what happens.

Radio said as much last night and held the same opinion. Dick around and risk Covid = no pay. End of discussion. Also 56,000 tests in one week (with one reported positive). I don't know if the NFL is playing games with data but, no matter, this week + the threat against livlihoods has shown a commitment to getting the season done is something they are determined to work through.

I think we'll see players go down but I also think the NFL is serious about tracing and containment and rules enforcement, so I think they have a good shot at pulling off some sort of complete season. Time will tell if there is enough of a bubble to make it a good product minus the first few pre-seasonless games, where the teams have to find their 2020 identities. Their plan looks like it bodes well for fall sports, unlike college football, where livelihoods aren't on the line and you are asking 18-22 year olds to give up their social lives in the name of a college football tradition they may or may not be invested in.

This is gonna be good. I can record the Angels, Lakers and Texans/KC and watch all 3 commercial free.

I'm going to watch the games as long as they last. I have to admit I'll be watching for mostly non football related reasons. How will the announcers handle the weirdness of it all? Will the players play as hard, knowing that the season might end at any moment? I mean, risking tearing up a knee makes sense if a full season is guaranteed but would you really risk something like that when it might all be for nothing? How will I feel watching football? Can I enjoy it as an escape from real life problems or is real life just too surreal now to escape with sports? Snacks and drinks are ready to go, so I have that going for me, which is nice.

I might have the game on tonight in dual screen while playing a game. Players who intentionally dog it are usually more susceptible to causing injury...if not themselves, then others who were supposed to be protected by them. I can see something like that escalating out of control; if a significant number of starters fall by the wayside are replaced first by inferior backups and eventually bums off the street the disparity between player skill levels will be noticeable.

The sparse crowd looks surprisingly normal, it's like watching a Chargers home game.

Yay, I forgot how much I hated NBC’s green zone enhancement. The season has officially begun!

(Looking forward to Fox and CBS coverage)

This feels like watching every other football game I’ve watched.

Edit to add: specifically I mean that I barely notice the crowd size, and most importantly, this doesn’t feel like bad preseason football.

RunningMn9 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 10, 2020 9:25 pm This feels like watching every other football game I’ve watched.

Edit to add: specifically I mean that I barely notice the crowd size, and most importantly, this doesn’t feel like bad preseason football.

Regarding crowd size (or lack thereof), I've been flipping between the NFL and the Cubs tonight, and I think the NFL is in much better (TV) position on this. The default camera shot on every MLB play is the center field camera looking in to the pitcher, hitter, catcher, and home plate ump . . . behind which is 5-10 rows of (now empty) seats. So many of the alternate camera angles also include shots that include the stands. The standard shot for football is the wide angle of the field before the play which then gets zoomed into the action. You really only get crowd shots on kicks and replays. Baseball by default reminds you that no one is in the stands, while football can keep the illusion of normalcy much better.

$iljanus wrote:Yay, I forgot how much I hated NBC’s green zone enhancement. The season has officially begun!

(Looking forward to Fox and CBS coverage)

God, that green zone is terrible.

gameoverman wrote: ↑Thu Sep 10, 2020 8:32 pm The sparse crowd looks surprisingly normal, it's like watching a Chargers home game.

They had just enough fans so you could hear the boos during the pregame moment of silence for racial equality and justice.

gameoverman wrote: ↑Thu Sep 10, 2020 2:22 pm I'm going to watch the games as long as they last. I have to admit I'll be watching for mostly non football related reasons. How will the announcers handle the weirdness of it all? Will the players play as hard, knowing that the season might end at any moment? I mean, risking tearing up a knee makes sense if a full season is guaranteed but would you really risk something like that when it might all be for nothing? How will I feel watching football? Can I enjoy it as an escape from real life problems or is real life just too surreal now to escape with sports? Snacks and drinks are ready to go, so I have that going for me, which is nice.

I think they will complete the season. There's so much history with the MLB issues, the virus itself is fading in many areas (not saying it's going away, just saying that cases are down), there could be some breakthrough whether it be with a vaccine (doubtful) or way better testing (likely; the NFL already has access to 15 minute test results) that a team or teams being significantly infected with Covid is unlikely.

Ralph-Wiggum wrote:They had just enough fans so you could hear the boos during the pregame moment of silence for racial equality and justice.

Garbage people will do garbage things. Or to quote my great grandfather, “the only thing you can expect from a pig is a grunt.”

I don't think the Venn diagram between "People willing to risk going to a football game during a pandemic" and "People who oppose racial equality" is a circle - there are probably a lot of good people who have evaluated the risk for themselves and are itching to get out to do something "normal". I do think there is likely a large overlap, though.

Ratings down over 16% during a time when people are craving sports and entertainment and are mostly home bound.
Good job, NFL!!!

stimpy wrote: ↑Fri Sep 11, 2020 2:06 pm Ratings down over 16% during a time when people are craving sports and entertainment and are mostly home bound.
Good job, NFL!!!

They were competing with playoff Lakers with a ho-hum matchup. This Sunday will tell the tale.

I'm not sure the ratings will mean much this year. I haven't missed a game in 10 years and have no plans to watch this year. It has nothing to do with the NFL.

stessier wrote:I'm not sure the ratings will mean much this year. I haven't missed a game in 10 years and have no plans to watch this year. It has nothing to do with the NFL.

Why?