What do you all think of games being canceled?

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

We have seen now three NFL games that have been canceled recently. The Bills/Bengals game due to Damar’s injury. And then two preseason games where a player suffered potentially serious injuries where stretchers were called. 
 

what are your thoughts on this?
 

I definitely get the cancelation of the Bills/Bengals game, since that was so unprecedented and really a life or death situation.

 

I am less sure how I feel about the other games, and I wonder whether we will see more of these team-initiated cancelations during the regular season. There are obviously major scheduling impacts, but also there is some real decency and humanity to halting games when someone gets seriously injured. Pretty tricky situation.

[oldmanfan]

Cancelling these preseason games?  No problem whatsoever.  During the season if it’s life threatening like Damar no problem either.

Edited August 28, 2023 by oldmanfan

[wppete]

Just now, oldmanfan said:

Cancelling these preseason games?  No problem whatsoever.

Agree. Preseason doesn’t matter. Let’s see how the regular season goes. 

[DrDawkinstein]

Dont care about the preseason games. Good for those coaches that called it after the injuries. Although I feel bad for the guys who may not have had a chance to play yet and needed the playing time to get on some film.

 

It will be really interesting to see how the NFL plays out with regular season games. I'm pretty sure the league is ABSOLUTELY AGAINST canceling games like McD did. That may be the last time we see such a thing.

[Warcodered]

Damar Hamlin seemed like a unique situation since he basically died on the field was revived and had a serious risk of not making it.

 

Not sure if since that incident if situations like what happened to Dane Jackson where a serious injury with a player who gets taken away by ambulance but isn't in life threatening condition will cancel a regular season game now or not though.

[TheyCallMeAndy]

5 minutes ago, oldmanfan said:

Cancelling these preseason games?  No problem whatsoever.  During the season if it’s life threatening like Damar no problem either.

Fans better get full refunds too

[mushypeaches]

They won't cancel a regular season game for anything less than what happened to Damar Hamlin last year

1 minute ago, TheyCallMeAndy said:

Fans better get full refunds too

 

I wish you luck with that part - pretty sure there's a disclaimer on any ticket that absolves the NFL of any liability or refunding of tickets

[oldmanfan]

4 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

Dont care about the preseason games. Good for those coaches that called it after the injuries. Although I feel bad for the guys who may not have had a chance to play yet and needed the playing time to get on some film.

 

It will be really interesting to see how the NFL plays out with regular season games. I'm pretty sure the league is ABSOLUTELY AGAINST canceling games like McD did. That may be the last time we see such a thing.

I disagree.  If a life threatening situation you call the game.  Neither team wants to play if they are not sure a player is going to make it.

[wjag]

2 minutes ago, mushypeaches said:

They won't cancel a regular season game for anything less than what happened to Damar Hamlin last year

 

I wish you luck with that part - pretty sure there's a disclaimer on any ticket that absolves the NFL of any liability or refunding of tickets

 

Vivid Seats gave me a full refund for the Cincy-Buf game + 10%..

[Buffalo_Stampede]

I think we’re heading to no preseason games very shortly. It’s how the league will grow revenue. 20 week seasons. 18 games, 2 byes on the way.

[Steve O]

Sadly, Doug Whaley may have been right.

 

"This is the game of football, It's a violent game that I personally don't think humans are supposed to play."

[DrDawkinstein]

6 minutes ago, oldmanfan said:

I disagree.  If a life threatening situation you call the game.  Neither team wants to play if they are not sure a player is going to make it.

 

There is a stark difference between what is morally correct and what is best for the NFL.

 

Canceling games in a sport where every game counts so much will completely up-end the NFL. It almost did last year. Some (Cincy) could argue that it definitely did.

 

If this were baseball or hockey, sure. But games are valuable and schedules are tight.

 

I was there for Kevin Everrett being paralyzed on the opening kickoff. It was a life threatening situation. There wasn't even an inclination of canceling or postponing that game. Right or wrong, football has played through major life threatening injuries throughout its history.

 

There is also a small part of me that wonders how much the canceling of the Cincy game contributed to our "zombie state" we saw the next 3 weeks.

 

Morally the right thing to do. But was it the right Football thing to do?

 

Tough one to hash out on a message board.

[SCBills]

Seems like pre-season games were cancelled for the equivalent of the Dane Jackson injury from earlier last season.  

[ALLinALLEN]

I think you're watching a sport that will either look completely different or not exist at all in 20 years.

[Dan]

24 minutes ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

I think we’re heading to no preseason games very shortly. It’s how the league will grow revenue. 20 week seasons. 18 games, 2 byes on the way.

I think lots of people appear to have this sentiment.  But, regarding player safety, this is the worst thing to do.  More meaningful games and longer seasons will only wear players down and make injuries, especially chronic ones, far more common.  
 

The NFL already walks the line with serious, life threatening injuries. 20 game seasons, with zero warm up, will cross that line. IMO

 

Regarding the OP’s question. I haven’t seen any official league opinion. But i would think they stopped the last two games because it was preseason.  But, it is quickly becoming an expectation. I think the league needs to let everyone know what the protocol is going forward.  Personally, I wouldn’t suspend a game unless it was a Hamlin type situation.  That was unique and far worse, just based on the players faces and reactions. 

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

4 minutes ago, Dan said:

I think lots of people appear to have this sentiment.  But, regarding player safety, this is the worst thing to do.  More meaningful games and longer seasons will only wear players down and make injuries, especially chronic ones, far more common.  
 

The NFL already walks the line with serious, life threatening injuries. 20 game seasons, with zero warm up, will cross that line. IMO

 

Regarding the OP’s question. I haven’t seen any official league opinion. But i would think they stopped the last two games because it was preseason.  But, it is quickly becoming an expectation. I think the league needs to let everyone know what the protocol is going forward.  Personally, I wouldn’t suspend a game unless it was a Hamlin type situation.  That was unique and far worse, just based on the players faces and reactions. 

To your one point, I do believe this is now becoming more of an “expectation” and I can see coaches and teams saying they don’t care what the league says if this happens in the regular season.

[Patrick Duffy]

50 minutes ago, oldmanfan said:

Cancelling these preseason games?  No problem whatsoever.  During the season if it’s life threatening like Damar no problem either.

 

Yup exactly.....It's very rare any game gets canceled regular season or not anyways, but certain possible situations can occur that are much more important than football (as we experienced last season).

 

In the event of a serious scenario that is severe like that, only someone who is a 100% pure bred ####### would have a problem if a game is canceled.

Edited August 28, 2023 by Patrick Duffy

[dpberr]

I'm not concerned yet, but I see, without some guidelines, this being abused for strategic advantage because I don't know who makes that call to cancel the remainder of a game in progress.

 

(Late season game where one team is losing big in a conference or divisional game, and a tie benefits said team more than a loss, or picking up the game later, buys time for rest or a new strategy.)

 

I also think the gambling world would have big problems with cancelling parts of in-progress games. 

 

 

[Starr Almighty]

46 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

There is a stark difference between what is morally correct and what is best for the NFL.

 

Canceling games in a sport where every game counts so much will completely up-end the NFL. It almost did last year. Some (Cincy) could argue that it definitely did.

 

If this were baseball or hockey, sure. But games are valuable and schedules are tight.

 

I was there for Kevin Everrett being paralyzed on the opening kickoff. It was a life threatening situation. There wasn't even an inclination of canceling or postponing that game. Right or wrong, football has played through major life threatening injuries throughout its history.

 

There is also a small part of me that wonders how much the canceling of the Cincy game contributed to our "zombie state" we saw the next 3 weeks.

 

Morally the right thing to do. But was it the right Football thing to do?

 

Tough one to hash out on a message board.

I was at this game as well. This took all the wind out of the crowd. It was nowhere near as loud as it was before it happened. If it affected the fans imagine the players. I get why they don't stop/cancel games but I also see why some would want it to be done.

[gordong]

no problem what so ever.  preseason or reg season.

 

[Toomstone.Part.Duex]

I have no issue with it at all.  I think the NFL should put something in place for games being cancelled and rescheduled.   I hope and pray that it never has to be implemented but there should be a flex week at the end of the season for a cancelled game to be made up.  

[LabattBlue]

Hamlin was having CPR performed on him while on the field.  Unique situation, and I really doubt any regular season games are cancelled if a player is taken off the field on a stretcher(not to minimize the potential injury). 

[Scott7975]

I don't think it's that big of a deal for preseason games.  Regular season games are a different story.  I get the cancellation of a game for something life threatening. I don't really like the end result of how it played out but I get it.  They should have another bye week that could possibly allow them to reschedule a game if need be or something though.  The weird thing they did with seeding while as fair as can be, someone always gets the shaft.

Edited August 28, 2023 by Scott7975

[TheyCallMeAndy]

1 hour ago, mushypeaches said:

They won't cancel a regular season game for anything less than what happened to Damar Hamlin last year

 

I wish you luck with that part - pretty sure there's a disclaimer on any ticket that absolves the NFL of any liability or refunding of tickets

Obvs player safety always comes first, but that’s pretty ***** on the multi-billion dollar, non-profit NFL to not even issue partial refunds. 

[Chandler#81]

It’s Stupid. Hamlin literally DIED on the field! These 2 jokers were told to stay down so their 1st responders could have some game experience. Both are fine.

[CheshireCT]

1 hour ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

There is a stark difference between what is morally correct and what is best for the NFL.

 

Canceling games in a sport where every game counts so much will completely up-end the NFL. It almost did last year. Some (Cincy) could argue that it definitely did.

 

If this were baseball or hockey, sure. But games are valuable and schedules are tight.

 

I was there for Kevin Everrett being paralyzed on the opening kickoff. It was a life threatening situation. There wasn't even an inclination of canceling or postponing that game. Right or wrong, football has played through major life threatening injuries throughout its history.

 

There is also a small part of me that wonders how much the canceling of the Cincy game contributed to our "zombie state" we saw the next 3 weeks.

 

Morally the right thing to do. But was it the right Football thing to do?

 

Tough one to hash out on a message board.

 

I was just about to bring up the Kevin Everrett injury.... I personally have always found it kind of insane that such injuries occur and "the show must go on."

 

Where is the line on when to call a game? I'm not sure, but I would definitely support a more compassionate approach to life-threatening injuries on the field.  When you come right down to it, football is only "important" because of the amount of money involved. Otherwise it's just a game.

[Punching Bag]

25 minutes ago, Toomstone.Part.Duex said:

I have no issue with it at all.  I think the NFL should put something in place for games being cancelled and rescheduled.   I hope and pray that it never has to be implemented but there should be a flex week at the end of the season for a cancelled game to be made up.  

 

I think an additional week between playoffs for all teams would help.  It would allow all teams to have a bye and play their best in playoffs.

IF NFL could find a schedule which worked they would do it but they are already pushing schedule further into February and do not want to start regular season until after Labor Day. Imagine regular season games in Mijami fish tank in August.

[mannc]

I think we are headed down a slippery slope.  I believe the decision to postpone/cancel the Hamlin game was correct, but that was truly a unique situation--a player possibly dying on the field.  Nevertheless, a precedent of sorts was established and I think that's why these pre-season games were cancelled.  No one wants to be called out for being "insensitive", so the standard for postponing or canceling a game will become lower and lower.  That's just how our society works these days.  I fully expect another regular season game to be cancelled this year due to a situation that is less serious than the Hamlin incident.    

[RobbRiddick]

The Damar situation set a precedence. It'll be interesting next time there's a 'serious' injury during the regular season (the kind where we see players kneeling in prayer), if there will be pressure on coaches and league officials to cancel the game. If not they might get called out from certain people as being heartless, only thinking of their careers, money etc.

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

This sounds like a ppp topic 

[boyst]

1 hour ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

I think we’re heading to no preseason games very shortly. It’s how the league will grow revenue. 20 week seasons. 18 games, 2 byes on the way.

There has been talk about this on many outlets of NFL coverage. The consensus among those with NFL backgrounds and actual experts was the preseason will not go away. They will likely adapt and change vs go away.

 

The thought a few years ago isn't working anymore where teams hold joint practices. The players play too rough for a practice, the backups against any starters don't respect the other teams starters even when working on specific situations, etc.

 

Instead the chatter has been teams work to coordinate preseason games similar to what Pittsburgh did against us. Gameplans and limited information are shared to make better use of the time aloted. 

[RobbRiddick]

5 minutes ago, mannc said:

I think we are headed down a slippery slope.  I believe the decision to postpone/cancel the Hamlin game was correct, but that was truly a unique situation--a player possibly dying on the field.  Nevertheless, a precedent of sorts was established and I think that's why these pre-season games were cancelled.  No one wants to be called out for being "insensitive", so the standard for postponing or canceling a game will become lower and lower.  That's just how our society works these days.  I fully expect another regular season game to be cancelled this year due to a situation that is less serious than the Hamlin incident.    

 

Imagine if a coach (*cough* Bill Belichick *cough*) used that to his advantage in a huge game where his team is losing...

[Buffalo_Stampede]

10 minutes ago, boyst said:

There has been talk about this on many outlets of NFL coverage. The consensus among those with NFL backgrounds and actual experts was the preseason will not go away. They will likely adapt and change vs go away.

 

The thought a few years ago isn't working anymore where teams hold joint practices. The players play too rough for a practice, the backups against any starters don't respect the other teams starters even when working on specific situations, etc.

 

Instead the chatter has been teams work to coordinate preseason games similar to what Pittsburgh did against us. Gameplans and limited information are shared to make better use of the time aloted. 

They’ll add more rest for players. More importantly more money.

 

Rest won’t just be an extra bye but less offseason workouts, OTAs, and mini camps.

Edited August 28, 2023 by Buffalo_Stampede

[mannc]

9 minutes ago, boyst said:

There has been talk about this on many outlets of NFL coverage. The consensus among those with NFL backgrounds and actual experts was the preseason will not go away. They will likely adapt and change vs go away.

 

The thought a few years ago isn't working anymore where teams hold joint practices. The players play too rough for a practice, the backups against any starters don't respect the other teams starters even when working on specific situations, etc.

 

Instead the chatter has been teams work to coordinate preseason games similar to what Pittsburgh did against us. Gameplans and limited information are shared to make better use of the time aloted. 

College football gets by without preseason games, so why not the NFL?  (I know a lot of power five programs open up against Cupcake U, but not always; every year there are some big games scheduled for the first week of the college season...I think the Big 10 now prohibits its teams from playing games against 1-AA schools.)   

[TampaBillsJunkie]

Fires, hurricanes, snowstorms, etc.. will have a big effect on games this year. Then we have serious injuries which are becoming too common, unfortunately. Then add in the new variant "scare" for covid and this fall is going to be epic. I just hope the NFL doesn't screw with us too much. 

[Mikie2times]

It's all about the gambling money. That is the big to do on this subject. When this occurs the event gets ruled a no contest. Doesn't matter what the score is. All money returns to the better and the house doesn't keep the juice. 

 

The NFL cares too much about gambling. It's more about that than anything else being discussed on here. 

[RyanC883]

2 hours ago, Steve O said:

Sadly, Doug Whaley may have been right.

 

"This is the game of football, It's a violent game that I personally don't think humans are supposed to play."

 

I never understood that quote.  If he thinks humans should not play it, why is he making a career in it?  

[HOUSE]

The Buffalo  Pittsburgh game should have been cancelled right after kickoff

But noooo

[machine gun kelly]

2 hours ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

We have seen now three NFL games that have been canceled recently. The Bills/Bengals game due to Damar’s injury. And then two preseason games where a player suffered potentially serious injuries where stretchers were called. 
 

what are your thoughts on this?
 

I definitely get the cancelation of the Bills/Bengals game, since that was so unprecedented and really a life or death situation.

 

I am less sure how I feel about the other games, and I wonder whether we will see more of these team-initiated cancelations during the regular season. There are obviously major scheduling impacts, but also there is some real decency and humanity to halting games when someone gets seriously injured. Pretty tricky situation.

 

My wise sand da floor friend, Damar as you mentioned is a one off.  Preseason doesn’t matter as the teams and league made their $ with tix and concessions.  They are meaningless.  I don’t see that happening in the regular season unless someone as at risk of loss of life.

[julian]

It’s getting out of hand but they won’t be canceling any regular season games outside of dying on the field.