2020 Football - A Look Ahead

[dslyank]

CAA Adopts Flexible Scheduling Model For 2021; Teams Won't Need to Play Conference Games

Quote

Men’s and women’s lacrosse, as well as baseball, field hockey, men’s and women’s soccer, softball and volleyball will all use the EFM of schedule.

Does NOT mention football or basketball. Maybe 2020 too late to implement this or are football & basketball exempt from "cost cutting strategies"???  If you read the full article, Inside Lacrosse says the CAA will allow teams to play NO conference games, only conference games, or multiple games against the same opponent. The emphasis will be on minimal travel and playing teams in conference or out in your immediate geography. Article does not say how conference tournaments participants will be determined?

Would not be surprised if other conferences try similar formats; and IMHO feel we have NOT seen the end of some sports and teams being eliminated. THOUGHTS & OPINIONS!

[ctdanes]

Realistically even for the CAA, football is a money maker. They’ll do whatever is most profitable 

[HOF2013]

https://herosports.com/fcs/football-2020-coaches-corner-albany-greg-gattuso-ajaj

Coach Gattuso on the future

[UAalum72]

T-U reports the SIena will have athletes report August  17,  MAAC competition to begin Sept. 11.

OTOH RPI has cancelled all fall intercollegiate competition. No decision yet on winter and spring sports.

[cwdickens]

2 hours ago, UAalum72 said:

T-U reports the SIena will have athletes report August  17,  MAAC competition to begin Sept. 11.

OTOH RPI has cancelled all fall intercollegiate competition. No decision yet on winter and spring sports.

Additional note: Union College is expected to make a decision on or about July 15 for fall sports.  RPI  was not the first DIII school to forgo competing this fall.

[dslyank]

Never thought I'd say this but;  FOOTBALL should be canceled, or at least postponed through-out the country {NCAA & pro both.}  300+ pound behemoths standing about a yard apart breathing fire on each other; not a good covid scenario. 

Thoughts and DISAGREEMENTS fire back. This blog has been TOO quiet lately. Thought I'd stir things up a bit.

[Dane96]

Agreed.  Sadly,  right now the crisis is worsening not even remotely getting better.  I live in one of the few states that is handling this very well...yet we expect to see an uptick based on what’s going on nationally.  Statistically and logically it will happen. We are still in wave 1.  

Edited July 1, 2020 by Dane96

[B9j2j6s]

All for cancelling the season, playing football just doesn't make sense.   I doubt the university will have an on campus year.  We just as a country need to be realistic and for the love of god keep politics out of this.

[jimbo]

It’s impossible to keep politics out of this because it’s an election year and the country is in the midst of what some are calling a cultural civil war. Although it would be disappointing, barring a miracle drug/vaccination/divine intervention, I don’t think it will be safe to have ANY contact sports with crowds for the foreseeable future. While they may start out ok and have reams of safety rules it will take only a small slip up to upset the plan. We got back from FLA March 22 and I’ve been out of Saratoga County exactly once...quick trip to BJs in Rotterdam. We’ve eaten out once, outside at a picnic table well away from anyone else. We’ve ordered in a few times. I don’t see where sitting with a crowd of even 1,000 in an outdoor stadium makes any sense. 

[cwdickens]

Considering the tone the  forum has taken, perhaps there is a need for a new topic:  2021 Football - A Look Ahead

[Eli]

While I still do believe that COVID-19 is more than a flu, I will say that my trust in the gubberment has deteriorated considerably, regardless of aisle. CDC/WHO can't seem to agree on guidelines, Cuomo sends thousands of seniors to their death thanks to his nursing home fiasco, we have reports that for every 1 confirmed case there is likely 10 not confirmed but for sure sick, we keep hearing that labs are screwing up results which is leading to false positives or false negatives (which is doing who knows what to the numbers which are then used to dictate policy), protests are allowed to go on (I realize it is a constitution right and all) with virtually ZERO social distancing (so what if they are wearing masks?) yet people can't have funerals for loved ones or up until recently graduations, etc....what are we doing here? The whole thing has been completely and utterly mismanaged. I'm not surprised that people are fed up and not being patient...the leadership has done a terrible job of having a unified message or maintaining order...they are using it for their various agendas.

For my/our part, we only go out for groceries or drive thru (honestly, I've had drive thru probably more now than I did during non-COVID times lol) and use hand sanitizer/masks every single time. My wife works in retail (and was furloughed until like a month ago) while I work from home (have been for 5 years) and neither of us have shown a single sign throughout the whole thing (I did have a VERY bad case of the flu while in Vegas the first week of February at a work conference before stuff really hit the fan - 103 fever, all of that - ER doc said it wasn't Corona but who knows, maybe I did have it already).

I don't think sports should be cancelled, personally...just televise it and keep teams somewhat under wraps! But I'm 95% of them expecting to be.

[cwdickens]

5 hours ago, Eli said:

While I still do believe that COVID-19 is more than a flu, I will say that my trust in the gubberment has deteriorated considerably, regardless of aisle. CDC/WHO can't seem to agree on guidelines, Cuomo sends thousands of seniors to their death thanks to his nursing home fiasco, we have reports that for every 1 confirmed case there is likely 10 not confirmed but for sure sick, we keep hearing that labs are screwing up results which is leading to false positives or false negatives (which is doing who knows what to the numbers which are then used to dictate policy), protests are allowed to go on (I realize it is a constitution right and all) with virtually ZERO social distancing (so what if they are wearing masks?) yet people can't have funerals for loved ones or up until recently graduations, etc....what are we doing here? The whole thing has been completely and utterly mismanaged. I'm not surprised that people are fed up and not being patient...the leadership has done a terrible job of having a unified message or maintaining order...they are using it for their various agendas.

For my/our part, we only go out for groceries or drive thru (honestly, I've had drive thru probably more now than I did during non-COVID times lol) and use hand sanitizer/masks every single time. My wife works in retail (and was furloughed until like a month ago) while I work from home (have been for 5 years) and neither of us have shown a single sign throughout the whole thing (I did have a VERY bad case of the flu while in Vegas the first week of February at a work conference before stuff really hit the fan - 103 fever, all of that - ER doc said it wasn't Corona but who knows, maybe I did have it already).

I don't think sports should be cancelled, personally...just televise it and keep teams somewhat under wraps! But I'm 95% of them expecting to be.

I respect your opinion, I don't agree whether one person can be blamed for one aspect of this pandemic that went horrible wrong.  What I do know that instead of acting as one nation, we are acting as 50 independent states, 3000 plus counties and countless other municipal units.  With the exception of finding a vaccine, everything was piece meal.  The Albany Times Union pointed out how Saratoga Health and Sheriff's office gave approvals against Phase 4 guidelines.

The United States of America has become a country of tribal factions.  Political, Social, Economic, Health Issues and throw in sports for good measure.

I would love to see fall sports.  My neighbor is a DIII Offensive Coordinator stated the odds of a team getting through the season without an issue are long.  He reminded me not only are you worried about your team; you need to be worried about your opponent.  He and I agree that keeping all student-athletes under wraps is a next to impossible task.

[jimbo]

I think the response to this whole pandemic has been what the military refers to as a “clusterf***.” The hyper partisan politics and polarized media coverage have exacerbated everything. Every step or misstep is magnified and used for political advantage. The President runs his mouth when he ought to just shut up. The congressional leadership either remains silent or lies and uses inflammatory language. The so called experts change course on a whim or for a non medical reason. The models and predictions have been horribly wrong. The Gov made some horrible decisions and ridiculous forecasts of medical needs while NYC health officials and the mayor were pooh poohing the whole thing. Modeling a pandemic has been shown to be wildly erratic and overly sensitive to human behavior. No thinking person believes anyone in the media or leadership anymore. Now we’ve got a national movement taking advantage of the situation with often violent and destructive behaviors and local and state leaders allowing and encouraging the behavior. There’s ongoing efforts to defund or defang law enforcement. Monuments are being defaced or destroyed. I love sports and football, but against the backdrop of what is going on, whether or not there’s football this fall kind of doesn’t even register in my worries. Sorry if this is too political for the venue, but it had to be. I’m more concerned about the future of the USA. 

[BestDaneSinceHamlet]

5 hours ago, jimbo said:

I think the response to this whole pandemic has been what the military refers to as a “clusterf***.” The hyper partisan politics and polarized media coverage have exacerbated everything. Every step or misstep is magnified and used for political advantage. The President runs his mouth when he ought to just shut up. The congressional leadership either remains silent or lies and uses inflammatory language. The so called experts change course on a whim or for a non medical reason. The models and predictions have been horribly wrong. The Gov made some horrible decisions and ridiculous forecasts of medical needs while NYC health officials and the mayor were pooh poohing the whole thing. Modeling a pandemic has been shown to be wildly erratic and overly sensitive to human behavior. No thinking person believes anyone in the media or leadership anymore. Now we’ve got a national movement taking advantage of the situation with often violent and destructive behaviors and local and state leaders allowing and encouraging the behavior. There’s ongoing efforts to defund or defang law enforcement. Monuments are being defaced or destroyed. I love sports and football, but against the backdrop of what is going on, whether or not there’s football this fall kind of doesn’t even register in my worries. Sorry if this is too political for the venue, but it had to be. I’m more concerned about the future of the USA. 

A fish starts rotting from its head. When the spread can be curtailed by 20x by a simple face covering and those in power refuse to acknowledge, or even flaunt it, we're doomed.  The whataboutism is not a both sides issue.  There's a real and direct causation to this cluster*** and that's poor centralized leadership. Wearing a mask isn't a freedom issue, it isn't a liberty issue.  It's a common sense one.  The greater good is always greater if it increases safety and saves lives (not driving drunk, seat belts, child safety and employment laws, etc.)

That being said, I've talked to some pro sports folks and we agree that the one league that will probably go on would be the NFL.  I don't see college football though.  The NFL has the shortest career and lowest salaries on the low end of the team and these guys are more likely to want to push the envelope a little.  Their earning potential depends on it. 

[jimbo]

1 hour ago, BestDaneSinceHamlet said:

A fish starts rotting from its head. When the spread can be curtailed by 20x by a simple face covering and those in power refuse to acknowledge, or even flaunt it, we're doomed.  The whataboutism is not a both sides issue.  There's a real and direct causation to this cluster*** and that's poor centralized leadership. Wearing a mask isn't a freedom issue, it isn't a liberty issue.  It's a common sense one.  The greater good is always greater if it increases safety and saves lives (not driving drunk, seat belts, child safety and employment laws, etc.)

That being said, I've talked to some pro sports folks and we agree that the one league that will probably go on would be the NFL.  I don't see college football though.  The NFL has the shortest career and lowest salaries on the low end of the team and these guys are more likely to want to push the envelope a little.  Their earning potential depends on it. 

I have to take exception to something you said. Whether or not the President should wear a mask is debatable, since he essentially lives in a highly protected bubble with unlimited testing. But on the other side, the spikes we are seeing are mainly being attributed to young people not taking precautions at bars, beaches, etc. do you honestly think any of them gives a rats ass whether the President, their governor or anyone else in authority is wearing a mask? More likely it’d make them NOT wear a mask. About 3 people in NYC voted for Trump...do we now think the epicenter of the US pandemic take their lead from him as it regards their safety? I don’t. For show and for politics and to please the leftists in the media? Probably. Actually having a measurable impact? I doubt it.