How COVID could affect the upcoming season and how the Pats could benefit

[Patsgofor4]

This may be jumping the gun, but now that the draft is over, and without any other sports to watch) speculation is all that we have right now. There are some really intriguing NFL dynamics (potential) because of COVID.

1. If there is no college football in the fall, a ton of players could end up entering the supplemental draft. Will some "students" entering their (true) junior years petition the NCAA to be allowed to enter the supplemental draft or even go to court to push for this?

2. If NFL games are played without fans....long way away but this is a definite possibility, this will take away a big advantage for the teams with the loudest stadiums/crowds...KC, Seattle and several of the dome teams. Gillette is considered a tough place to play but anyone who has attended games on a regular basis knows that the crowd is NOT consistently loud, especially for day games (too many kids/families, stadium designed for aesthetics not noise optimization like Seattle). KC will be a huge challenge because of their offensive weapons but they also feed off of their crowd. No need for silent snap counts. In addition, no crowd noise would be a big plus for teams with young, inexperienced starting quarterbacks (not naming any names).

3. If the season starts in mid October, this is going to take away some of the September home field advantage for teams who play outdoors in hot and humid climates. As we all know Pats often struggle in Miami in early season games in part because of the oppressive heat (and in part because Brady usually sucks balls in Miami). You'd also have one or two additional games in the cold weather cities in the dead of winter.

PS. How is this not basis for the main article in the Athletic/ESPN/NFL.com? I sometimes even surprise myself when my big brain spits hot fire like this.

 

[1960Pats]

This may be jumping the gun, but now that the draft is over, and without any other sports to watch) speculation is all that we have right now. There are some really intriguing NFL dynamics (potential) because of COVID.

1. If there is no college football in the fall, a ton of players could end up entering the supplemental draft. Will some "students" entering their (true) junior years petition the NCAA to be allowed to enter the supplemental draft or even go to court to push for this?

2. If NFL games are played without fans....long way away but this is a definite possibility, this will take away a big advantage for the teams with the loudest stadiums/crowds...KC, Seattle and several of the dome teams. Gillette is considered a tough place to play but anyone who has attended games on a regular basis knows that the crowd is NOT consistently loud, especially for day games (too many kids/families, stadium designed for aesthetics not noise optimization like Seattle). KC will be a huge challenge because of their offensive weapons but they also feed off of their crowd. No need for silent snap counts. In addition, no crowd noise would be a big plus for teams with young, inexperienced starting quarterbacks (not naming any names).

3. If the season starts in mid October, this is going to take away some of the September home field advantage for teams who play outdoors in hot and humid climates. As we all know Pats often struggle in Miami in early season games in part because of the oppressive heat (and in part because Brady usually sucks balls in Miami). You'd also have one or two additional games in the cold weather cities in the dead of winter.

PS. How is this not basis for the main article in the Athletic/ESPN/NFL.com? I sometimes even surprise myself when my big brain spits hot fire like this.

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1. If it's the NCAA vs the players, I'm with the kids.
2. If there's any team that can adjust to changes I'd bet on the Pats.
3. I thought the problem the Pats had playing in Miami was later in the season.

 

[primetime]

On the other hand, they're heavily relying on new or inexperienced players to contribute and missing offseason activities won't help. In the end all these things are marginal dis/advantages, won't matter if the team isn't very good.

 

[XLIX]

This may be jumping the gun, but now that the draft is over, and without any other sports to watch) speculation is all that we have right now. There are some really intriguing NFL dynamics (potential) because of COVID.

1. If there is no college football in the fall, a ton of players could end up entering the supplemental draft. Will some "students" entering their (true) junior years petition the NCAA to be allowed to enter the supplemental draft or even go to court to push for this?

Do you mean a supplemental draft held prior to this season so that they can play this year? If that’s what you mean, then the NCAA isn’t the one standing in the way of that, it’s the NFL. Under current rules, they wouldn’t allow a true junior in since that player would not be 3 years removed from high school.

I doubt the NFL would change their rules. They might, but I would predict no.

 

[Patsgofor4]

Do you mean a supplemental draft held prior to this season so that they can play this year? If that’s what you mean, then the NCAA isn’t the one standing in the way of that, it’s the NFL. Under current rules, they wouldn’t allow a true junior in since that player would not be 3 years removed from high school.

I doubt the NFL would change their rules. They might, but I would predict no.

OK. Thanks for the clarification. I think that the point remains the same, however. If the NFL denies the petition, the player(s) may have a chance in court, especially if they go in front I would judge who generally favors private citizens over corporations. The courts may be more sympathetic to the arguments of the college players, given that COVID has lead us into unchartered territory and the season would be lost because of a pandemic, not because of an injury or academic ineligibility or transfer rules. The rulings could be limited to this one year only.

Then again, I know very little about the law, so I am probably talking out of my arse.

 

[Chevrolet]

If the preseason and or season is disrupted by COVID19 and practice time is decreased, it will be a HUGE advantage to experienced teams with experienced QB's...like Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Aaaron Rodgers.

In fact I would say that younger teams no matter their talent level will have extraordinarily difficult go of it.

 

[n6249c]

If the preseason and or season is disrupted by COVID19 and practice time is decreased, it will be a HUGE advantage to experienced teams with experienced QB's...like Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Aaaron Rodgers.

In fact I would say that younger teams no matter their talent level will have extraordinarily difficult go of it.

Not as much of an advantage for an experienced QB with a new team. Lack of time to work with his new teammates will still be a factor. That makes Gronk even more valuable to TB. Or TB squared, increases his value to both his old QB and his new team.

 

[Patsgofor4]

I can see it now: Pats win the ping pong war and get top pick in the supplemental draft. A couple of studs decide to skip their senior years and enter the supplemental draft. NFL fans and Pats haters lose their minds.

Conspiracy theories will be thrown around left and right. Heads will explode (God willing, this will include some Patsfans.com posters). Some will declare that COVID-19 was a product of the league office, in order to help the Pats extend their dynasty.

 

[sb1]

I hope they shorten the season and turn our schedule from a tough one into an easier one. The Patriot haters reaction would be priceless

 

[Ring 6]

I hope they shorten the season and turn our schedule from a tough one into an easier one. The Patriot haters reaction would be priceless

No good can ever come from less football.

 

[Patsgofor4]

NFL Draft prospects 2021: Big board of top 50 players overall, complete position rankings

Not saying that this is a consensus (early) top 50 for 2021 but just as an example.....19 of the 50 players listed here would be eligible for the supplemental draft.

 

[ralmat55]

I can see it now: Pats win the ping pong war and get top pick in the supplemental draft. A couple of studs decide to skip their senior years and enter the supplemental draft. NFL fans and Pats haters lose their minds. Conspiracy theories will be thrown around left and right. Some will declare that COVID-19 was a product on the league office, in order to help the Pats extend their dynasty.

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That could not happen. The Supplemental draft lottery is actually 3 different lotteries to establish draft order. The first lottery is among the bottom 8 teams from the previous season. The second is the rest of the non-playoff teams. The last is among the playoff teams. So, the earliest the Pats could pick is #21.

Also, Triumph’s earlier post about players needing to be “3 years from high school” to be eligible for the draft is correct. However, players who would be juniors or red-shirt sophomores in a cancelled 2020 collegiate season will already be 3 years from high school (June 2017 would have been their high school graduation) when the supplemental draft occurs in July.

The only leg the NFL would have to stand on is that a cancelled or postponed college season does not meet the criteria for a player to be eligible for the supplemental draft. I’m thinking the NFLPA might stand with the NFL in the inevitable lawsuits that would arise. I don’t think the NFL would win a legal challenge unless changes to the supplement draft were collectively bargained before hand. That’s possible, I guess as it’s likely the NFL’s plans to play in 2020 might require additional tweaks to the CBA.

It will be interesting to see how this all works out. I think it’s more advantageous for most draft eligible players to wait until the the regular 2021 draft with a good chunk of them just skipping the season to prepare for the draft if the college season is played in the spring semester as speculated.

 

[Patsgofor4]

That could not happen. The Supplemental draft lottery is actually 3 different lotteries to establish draft order. The first lottery is among the bottom 8 teams from the previous season. The second is the rest of the non-playoff teams. The last is among the playoff teams. So, the earliest the Pats could pick is #21.

Also, Triumph’s earlier post about players needing to be “3 years from high school” to be eligible for the draft is correct. However, players who would be juniors or red-shirt sophomores in a cancelled 2020 collegiate season will already be 3 years from high school (June 2017 would have been their high school graduation) when the supplemental draft occurs in July.

The only leg the NFL would have to stand on is that a cancelled or postponed college season does not meet the criteria for a player to be eligible for the supplemental draft. I’m thinking the NFLPA might stand with the NFL in the inevitable lawsuits that would arise. I don’t think the NFL would win a legal challenge unless changes to the supplement draft were collectively bargained before hand. That’s possible, I guess as it’s likely the NFL’s plans to play in 2020 might require additional tweaks to the CBA.

It will be interesting to see how this all works out. I think it’s more advantageous for most draft eligible players to wait until the the regular 2021 draft with a good chunk of them just skipping the season to prepare for the draft if the college season is played in the spring semester as speculated.

Thanks for the clarification. Lombardi didn't mention that part of the ping pong lottery system.

 

[ralmat55]

My bad. Triumph was right and I apologize for mistakenly saying otherwise. Only seniors or red-shirt juniors would be eligible. The actual wording in the CBA is no player can apply for the draft unless 3 NFL seasons have been completed since a player’s high school graduation. Juniors and red-shirt sophomores would have graduated in 2018. Time flies when you’re growing old.

 

[Bill Lee]

NFL is not planning on shifting the season or playing to empty stadiums, according to BSPN:

 

[Chevrolet]

Interesting. I read article today that Patrick Mahomes could get really short changed in his extension with chiefs due to COVID19.
If Season is only 14 games and no fans revenue will be way down and new CBA states players are to get % of revenue.

If NFL revenue is down Cap will decrease by as much as 30-80 million for 2021-2022. This will really hamstring teams with stars like Patrick Mahomes who need to be extended. Value of rookie QB contracts in situation like this will be incredible

 

[Triumph]

17 - 0

 

[farn]

Here is the Patsfans answer : since NE always sucks and is expected to suck even more, playing a 14 game sched allows them to lose less. So there’s that.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

BB can build mystique of "don't f*** with him" as Brady sits for his final 2 years of potential greatness...

I wont mess this thread up I promise... but I dont think they play this year.

 

[Joker]

I wont mess this thread up I promise... but I dont think they play this year.

you just did.

The question is whether the NFL will play an abbreviated season. I agree with Andy...they will attempt to play a full season from the beginning of September if for no other reason than...Goodell. Live attendance is the real question.