Re: Starting to think NFL season not feasible
 

So how does a team and/or coach prepare for half of their team having to quarantine at the drop of a hat? Or the older, more susceptible coaches on the staff?

Again, I don't see how the NFL will pull it off in 2020.

Re: Starting to think NFL season not feasible
 

From what I am hearing there will be daily testing upon entering the facility. They are saying that there will be rapid testing readily available by then ... especially with pockets as deep as the NFL's. If they are tested positive, they would be isolated immediately and monitored (and treated if necessary) until ready to return. The only way for half the team, and or staff to have it all at one time would for them to get it from outside sources independently at the same time. The exposure for the players should not be from other players, but rather their contacts outside of the facilities and stadium. It is also being said that players will have to agree to sheltering in place and avoiding people outside of their immediate families though the course of the season.

Players are going to get it. There is no doubting that. But, with expanded rosters and practice squads it can be handled. There is far too much money on the line for everyone involved for there NOT to be a season. I also heard today that several hundred pro and college players have tested positive already in preliminary testing. I haven't heard of any that were not either asymptomatic or sporting very mild cases.

Don't forget that early on only people showing obvious signs of the illness were getting tested.

Re: Starting to think NFL season not feasible
 

My guess is that the NFL will closely monitor the NBA's approach to starting the season however the biggest obstacle here will be logistics (in terms of size).

From my reading, the NBA's format is to allow 37 people including players per team. Let's say from a NFL's perspective, they have at least 55 players which is a rough total of at least 100 (trainers/coaches/etc) per team. Outside of the playing fields, you need the capacity to put 3000+ people in a "bubble".

That alone seems to be a potential logistical nightmare for the league.

But from a financial angle & aspect, I totally get it.

Re: Starting to think NFL season not feasible
 

Speaking of money ...

Here is a quick read and the financial implications if teams were to play without fans. By the way, the Dallas Cows franchise is a monster in terms of revenue.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeoza.../#a03b597691ad

Re: Starting to think NFL season not feasible
 

Tests are so inconsistent I doubt they would do much to stop the spread. My mom got three false negatives three days in a row and on the fourth day she tested positive. Unless there are major advancements in testing by then I don’t see how testing can help.

Re: Starting to think NFL season not feasible
 

That is definitely a huge issue, and one of the reasons I'm skeptical any sport can restart other than doing it via a very restrictive bubble(and even then it would be difficult). A lot of times the viral load where the test sample from(nasal passages/esophagus) may be low, but it may already be working it's way through the body and deeper into the bronchial tubes and lungs. Testing is incredibly unreliable, and while it may lower the chances of a big outbreak occurring... in the long run I don't see testing actually stopping it from preventing it from spreading through teams. Once that occurs, everything is pretty much ****ed. I don't even know if the NBA can do it. Football is going to be far more difficult to keep everything in a bubble. I think there is almost zero chance of a college football season occurring, and I think the chances of an NFL season playing to completion are below 15%(and that's being incredibly optimistic). I know a lot of people on here and throughout the football world want to be optimistic(I get it, football being cancelled would really suck) and think it can be done, there's just too many variables to control and I just don't see it happening.

Re: Starting to think NFL season not feasible
 

Major advancements are expected. I would imagine, however, that the rapid return tests that the league would be using wouldn't be as economically reasonable as tests offered to the general public, nor as unreliable. All part of those deep pockets I mentioned earlier.

That was a caveat according to what I had heard. Fast, reliable testing that could accurately support daily testing.

Re: Starting to think NFL season not feasible
 

I think you are actually being quite pessimistic in your estimate. There is a ton of money on the line for owners and players alike. I see little chance of the season NOT taking place. Most players are not only not concerned about being infected, they appear to be quite open to it. Several former players on NFL Radio have mentioned that most players they have talked to would just as soon get it before the season so they wouldn't have to worry about it later. That seem to be a popular thought process from that age group, especially given the mildness of what other players have experienced recently.

Re: Starting to think NFL season not feasible
 

I have no doubt they'll attempt it. They will fail though. I think the season will start, but then a few weeks into the season a wave of infections will hit the league and they won't know what to do with it. I know that a lot of money is on the line. That's why I said a complete season.

Re: Starting to think NFL season not feasible
 

The young people have always thought that they were indestructible. I did too but now I'm beginning to question if I'm indestructible or not.

Seriously though, These athletes who want to go ahead and get it before the season are willing to put themselves in grave danger so that they don't get it during the season. That's a questionable move to me. COVID does lung damage and you can get it more than once. That is not the way I think. I've been in lock down for months. The rugby teams are practicing again....not me! I guess I'm getting too old for this ****! :p