1-Man’s Opinion on Sports–Monday “NFL-vs-Covid—What’s Been Learned”

Posted by on September 7th, 2020  •  0 Comments  • 

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“Nfl-Vs-Covid–What’s been learned”

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It’s the opening week of the NFL season.

7-weeks of training camp has been completed.  Roster cuts are done.  No preseason games.  Very few injuries of note.

Next up, the season, and the protocols.

The NFL has learned alot thru the Covid testing programs.  The players have too.  Nobody wanted to become the next ‘Miami Marlins’ and endanger your roster or infect your building.

The NFL, the last two weeks of August, continued daily testing.  In all, they conducted 58,397 tests in that span, and had zero positive tests.  The Union and the League have now agreed they will continue ‘testing’ daily as the season begins and have put in special Re-Test protocols for Saturdays and the morning of game-days too.

 

There wee only 19-players total from the opening of camp till this weekend, who tested positive.  Amazing.

 

The NFL is spending a total of75M to protect the product, the most important thing the league has to offer, protecting the players.

Sports Illustrated conducted a survey of Coaches and GM’s, discussing what their fears were, what they learned, what they expected.

Thought you’d enjoy the responses to SI.

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NFC head coach

Biggest thing I’ve learned: “It takes a huge group to manage the COVID issues. Lots of problem-solving and ability to adjust on the fly.”

My biggest concern going forward: “Travel. We are all mostly here or home. Baseball seems to struggle with that. Will we have controlled environments?”

Your confidence level that the season gets played: “Confidence is really high. Keep doing the next right thing!”

NFC GM

Biggest thing I’ve learned: “Having to manage and educate the last month IS the new normal.”

My biggest concern going forward: “Biggest concern going forward is letting our guard down and the virus coming on strong.”

Your confidence level that the season gets played: “I’m very confident in the season getting played. Protocols are great, and players and staff are doing well.”

NFC head coach

Biggest thing I’ve learned: “It’s about daily reminders to players and coaches and being willing to be a pain in the ass with protocols.”

My biggest concern going forward: “Any symptoms triggering someone to be out—even when it’s not COVID-19. The symptoms are so general that when fall and winter hit, everyone can have symptoms on every day.”

Your confidence level that the season gets played: “Confidence is high. But we’ll have some roller-coaster moments and weird scenarios play out (all of those are going to be surprises when they come up).”

AFC GM

Biggest thing I’ve learned: “Biggest thing I have learned is don’t buckle your knees, expect the unexpected and remain vigilant with all players, coaches and staff to mask up, wash hands and social distance when possible.”

My biggest concern going forward: “Biggest concern going forward is that we have a position wiped out for a game, should there be a mini-outbreak at a position.”

Your confidence level that the season gets played: “I do believe the season will be played. At a minimum, I believe we will get 12 games, plus playoffs in. As we sit here today, I see us playing all 16.”

NFC head coach

Biggest thing I’ve learned: “I’ve learned that having to test every day helps keep everybody disciplined (I hope it stays that way).”

My biggest concern going forward: “I hope we don’t lose our focus and get complacent.”

Your confidence level that the season gets played: “I am fairly confident we will play. If we can stay disciplined, we have a good chance to play 16 games. I also appreciate how cooperative the NFL and NFLPA have been. It just shows that we can work together.”

AFC head coach

Biggest thing I’ve learned: “If you consistently follow protocols, we can manage this. And we must not let people in our bubble.”

My biggest concern going forward: “Biggest concern is travel. You hope airlines, hotels, buses and facilities are on par. Then it’s the players leaving the bubble. Most won’t, but all it takes is one.”

Your confidence level that the season gets played: “Higher than what it was!”

AFC GM

Biggest thing I’ve learned: “Expect the unexpected. [False positives were] actually a good ‘fire drill’ on how to handle a potential outbreak. Also, I’m proud of how all of our staff/coaches/players have made good decisions outside of the building so far.”

My biggest concern going forward: “Biggest concern is making sure we all continue to make good decisions once the time constraints from training camp are reduced.”

Your confidence level that the season gets played: “My confidence level was very low in mid-July but has grown each week. I think we have a good shot at getting this season in.”

NFC head coach

Biggest thing I’ve learned: “I guess the biggest thing I have learned, some of the protocols are silly, such as wearing masks during a game or in a press box, not being able to leave the hotel but we can go anywhere we want in our own city, etc.”

My biggest concern going forward: “Biggest concern is false positives and a position group out on game day.”

Your confidence level that the season gets played: “I think I’m more confident that the season will be played now.”

AFC GM

Biggest thing I’ve learned: “Managing COVID administratively has involved many people, not just ICO’s [infection control officers]. We have used staff from other departments on a full-time basis to help with this.”

My biggest concern going forward: “I’m concerned with the league doing so well in camp, but now players will have more time outside the building. I hope higher exposure to the general population, combined with potential complacency, does not lead to positives.”

Your confidence level that the season gets played: “I am very confident for a full season.”

NFC head coach

Biggest thing I’ve learned: “WEAR YOUR MASKS. It’s mandatory in our building.”

My biggest concern going forward: “My biggest concern is people getting relaxed. Moving forward, it’s all of us understanding how important it is to be selfless and be smart outside our bubble/complex.”

Your confidence level that the season gets played: “I feel very good about getting started.”

AFC GM

Biggest thing I’ve learned: “That the adaptability of everyone in our organization to adjust, to create a workplace where our players and staff can still come to work, be productive, and feel safe has been outstanding.”

My biggest concern going forward: “Obviously that our players, coaches, staff and the families of those in our organization stay safe and understanding of the environment we are all working in.”

Your confidence level that the season gets played: “We are confident that we are going to do all we can to make sure we adhere to the protocols, work hard, stay safe, try to get better each day, and see where that takes us, that’s the only thing we can control.”

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As you can see, across the NFL, there’s a pretty good understanding that no one’s out of the woods yet—regardless of how strong a start pro football seems to be off to. But one thing that was common among all these guys, when I followed up, was that they’ve all been surprised at how relatively smooth the whole thing’s been for the last six or seven weeks.

Here’s hoping it stays that way.

 

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