HappyDays

Nothing they can do about the Patriots game unfortunately. It's an awful position. The Patriots are fighting for their playoff lives and the Bills understandably will not be focused.

No, the AFC wildcard round would be pushed to the following week. Bills and/or Bengals would get 10 days rest before their wildcard round. So you would sort of stagger the two conference playoffs so that any team who participates in the Super Bowl has a bye at some point during the playoffs, but not the week before the Super Bowl like usual. I still think win percentage with a 16 game schedule for Bills and Bengals is the easiest way to move forward, but if the NFL is looking for a way to have every game played and still be totally fair with regards to seeding then this would be the only way I've seen that makes sense. I don't care what they decide. But it's an interesting idea.

As someone who has said the only way through this is to take the game off the schedule and award seeding based on win percentage, I'm intrigued by this format: The idea is certainly outside the box but also 100% logical.

Looking through the top donations on his Go Fund Me page I was struck by several donors with Fantasy Football League in their names, all donations of at least $1,000. Presumably all the members of those leagues, maybe because their championship matchup was disrupted by the game's postponement, decided to take the whole pot and donate it to Hamlin's foundation right at the end of their season. For some reason this is really sticking with me, even moreso than all the NFL players, coaches, etc. listed as donors. The way this injury has affected every single person that pays attention to sports at some level.

The way I feel is that if the team decides to pack it in for the season I support them. If they decide to give it their all and rally for a playoff push I support them, however it ends. I go as the team does.

The weird thing about this sport is that the worst injuries always seem to come from innocent looking hits.

I wish we could get the #1 seed too but focusing on the competitive disadvantage of a life or death situation is, to me, the wrong focus.

I wish I could pin this to the board - A Bills player's heart stopped beating on the field yesterday. He is currently fighting for his life. His teammates had to witness this happen and now patiently wait for any kind of news. WHO CARES ABOUT THE #1 SEED.

My one positive thought is that James Cook continues to look like a really good player. I'm not going to draw any conclusions about the game itself, just thought that was a good trend to see continue.

Oh well. None of those teams control their own destiny regardless so they can't complain. A young man's heart stopped on the football field. There is no perfect 100% fair solution. Logistically there is one reasonable situation and not a single player or coach or fan would be callous enough to reject it.

If we just basically forfeit the Bengals and Pats game we go into the playoffs rested and with hopefully good news on Hamlin putting the players at ease. We then face the #6 seed (likely Ravens) at home, then probably the Bengals and KC in their stadiums. I'd sign up for that right now. It's the best case scenario that doesn't force the players to play a game they're not ready for or screw up a bunch of other NFL scheduling.

It doesn't matter.

I'm begging you to leave the board and go troll another team. You had your fun. Please read the mood of the community and take it elsewhere.

We need to leave behind this mindset that someone is going to be penalized in this scenario. The players and coaches don't feel that way. I know on here the #1 seed is considered life or death but it isn't. I just don't understand how anyone could even care about the #1 seed anymore. If it were about forfeiting the Super Bowl I would understand more. The NFL is going to go with the simplest solution which offers the least disruption to the season as a whole and gives the Bills and Bengals players enough time to process what they just experienced. The only solution that makes sense in that context is a cancelled game that counts as a tie or one less game on the record.

I can't begin to care about this even a little bit. If Hamlin comes out of this with his health and we're playing on wildcard weekend I'm as happy as can be.

People have been way to quick to criticize the league's handling of an unprecedented situation. In fact all of the NFL's preparedness and on-field protocols for a situation like this may have saved Hamlin's life tonight. I choose to focus on that, instead of how many minutes they waited to announce the game was postponed.

One more thing on the charity. This was Damar Hamlin's last Instagram post from a week ago: Whether the specific daycare mentioned in the charity is still active or not, toy drives for children in need is clearly something that Hamlin actively supports. Anyone who donates in support of Damar Hamlin can be at peace with that. It was a small way of doing something with this balled up frustration I've been carrying since it happened.

I trust in the good of people in cases like this. Go Fund Me is as legit it gets. I believe without any doubt that all of the money will be used appropriately. I never would have considered otherwise. If someone would prefer to wait to donate that's fine, but capturing people's generosity at a unique tragic moment like this can not in any way be construed negatively.

It never crossed my mind that anything else would happen. Go Fund Me isn't a fly by night company. They're run by good people. They publicly endorsed the charity on their own social media pages. The money will get used in a way that is helpful for the spirit of the organization. Do people really think the money will just be unceremoniously dumped on a random toy drive organization in Pennsylvania?