NFL Week 18

[WrigleyField 22]

This game should not be played. I don't think it will.

 

Baseball played a 60 game season and crowned a World Series champion. Big picture: this isn't that big a deal. Just accept that it's an unavoidable situation and let the playoffs fall where they may based on whatever modified metrics the league wants to put in place.

Yea I have a feeling Buffalo and Cincy just have a 16 game schedule. I certainly don't think Buffalo is going to have that be top of mind, and it likely doesn't affect Cincy in the standings anyways.

 

It's honestly hard to imagine what the Buffalo players will have to do to even be ready for week 18. Due to the trauma, anything will probably be a rush job and mentally unhealthy for those players.

[Old Style]

This game should not be played. I don't think it will.

 

Baseball played a 60 game season and crowned a World Series champion. Big picture: this isn't that big a deal. Just accept that it's an unavoidable situation and let the playoffs fall where they may based on whatever modified metrics the league wants to put in place.

The difference is in that scenario it was a level playing ground. Here it would not be. I am not making an argument one way or another on how it should be handled but if two teams play one less game it is not equal. And unfortunately for the NFL this game had huge playoff implications.

[Irrelevant Dude]

If you have ever played a sport, has the idea that you may actually die ever crossed your mind? I watched that live, and it was just stunning and sickening. I know it's a violent sport but holy hell

Never once when I was playing, but absolutely once I had a son. I highly encouraged him to play every sport except football. He tried flag football when he was like 8 or 9 and said it wasn't for him, and I was perfectly fine with that. I never found the risk for serious injury or death to be worrisome when my daughter was playing softball or volleyball or when he played baseball.

When I played sports, including football, I never once considered the possibility of a catastrophic injury. I could comprehend the possibility for a broken bone or other orthopedic injury, but nothing beyond that was ever on my mind. Looking back at it now, and especially as a parent/coach, sports look more like a minefield of possible serious outcomes. Even baseball, which never concerned me one bit while playing, has the ever-present risk of one line drive or errant pitch changing someone's life forever.

[Thusly Boned]

If you have ever played a sport, has the idea that you may actually die ever crossed your mind? I watched that live, and it was just stunning and sickening. I know it's a violent sport but holy hell

Never once when I was playing, but absolutely once I had a son. I highly encouraged him to play every sport except football. He tried flag football when he was like 8 or 9 and said it wasn't for him, and I was perfectly fine with that. I never found the risk for serious injury or death to be worrisome when my daughter was playing softball or volleyball or when he played baseball.

When I played sports, including football, I never once considered the possibility of a catastrophic injury. I could comprehend the possibility for a broken bone or other orthopedic injury, but nothing beyond that was ever on my mind. Looking back at it now, and especially as a parent/coach, sports look more like a minefield of possible serious outcomes. Even baseball, which never concerned me one bit while playing, has the ever-present risk of one line drive or errant pitch changing someone's life forever.

 

Going back a while, but I remember Hank Gathers and Reggie Lewis essentially dropping dead on the court, so I got the idea in my head at a relatively young age that it could happen, but you know how it is when you're young, death is still and abstract and you don't really feel it.

 

To that point, I was pitching once ages ago (as a teenager) and had a vicious comeback liner actually take the hat off my head without hitting me directly, and I am definitely more disturbed by it now than I was then. An inch or two different, or a nanosecond slower on my reflexes, and who knows.

 

I think of stories of people/kids getting felled by commotio cordis, and it's scary.

 

We think of young athletes at the pinnacle of physical fitness as being impervious to stuff like this, but at the end of the day we're just a complex mess of meat and electricity, and there can be a wide array of underlying flaws and weaknesses that we aren't and will likely never be aware of, and may just need the right trigger.

 

But you can't really dwell on it or it'll paralyze you.

[Derwood]

Considering how seemingly "innocent" the hit looked, it really is a miracle that these targeting/helmet-to-helmet hits aren't resulting in more catastrophic injuries

[raw]

This game should not be played. I don't think it will.

 

Baseball played a 60 game season and crowned a World Series champion. Big picture: this isn't that big a deal. Just accept that it's an unavoidable situation and let the playoffs fall where they may based on whatever modified metrics the league wants to put in place.

Yea I have a feeling Buffalo and Cincy just have a 16 game schedule. I certainly don't think Buffalo is going to have that be top of mind, and it likely doesn't affect Cincy in the standings anyways.

 

It's honestly hard to imagine what the Buffalo players will have to do to even be ready for week 18. Due to the trauma, anything will probably be a rush job and mentally unhealthy for those players.

 

The interesting thing here is there are Super Bowl implications with this game. I'd estimate about 90% of NFL games don't matter in the grand scheme of who wins a title or not, if the NFL had to cancel 1 every couple years and have an unbalanced situation. But this game was between 2 of the top 3 teams in the AFC....the conference that will be the favorite to win a championship. And this game was going a long way to determining who wins home field advantage. If Buffalo won, HFA was there's. If they lost, goes to KC. If KC loses, potentially to Cincinnati after that. If not played, KC would win HFA based on a 1/2 game difference. HFA can legit be the difference between who makes the Superbowl or not.

 

Obviously, in comparison to a player's life, HFA doesn't matter at all. And I'm sure Buffalo would take going on the road to KC if it meant Hamlin was OK. But there will be a lot for the NFL to discuss.

[squally1313]

This game should not be played. I don't think it will.

 

Baseball played a 60 game season and crowned a World Series champion. Big picture: this isn't that big a deal. Just accept that it's an unavoidable situation and let the playoffs fall where they may based on whatever modified metrics the league wants to put in place.

Yea I have a feeling Buffalo and Cincy just have a 16 game schedule. I certainly don't think Buffalo is going to have that be top of mind, and it likely doesn't affect Cincy in the standings anyways.

 

It's honestly hard to imagine what the Buffalo players will have to do to even be ready for week 18. Due to the trauma, anything will probably be a rush job and mentally unhealthy for those players.

 

The interesting thing here is there are Super Bowl implications with this game. I'd estimate about 90% of NFL games don't matter in the grand scheme of who wins a title or not, if the NFL had to cancel 1 every couple years and have an unbalanced situation. But this game was between 2 of the top 3 teams in the AFC....the conference that will be the favorite to win a championship. And this game was going a long way to determining who wins home field advantage. If Buffalo won, HFA was there's. If they lost, goes to KC. If KC loses, potentially to Cincinnati after that. If not played, KC would win HFA based on a 1/2 game difference. HFA can legit be the difference between who makes the Superbowl or not.

 

Obviously, in comparison to a player's life, HFA doesn't matter at all. And I'm sure Buffalo would take going on the road to KC if it meant Hamlin was OK. But there will be a lot for the NFL to discuss.

 

If you're Buffalo, at this point does it even make sense, setting aside all of the actually important stuff, to screw up your schedule for the next few weeks for...a coin flip shot at best? Every one of those players on both teams woke up today significantly more drained than they would after a normal game, going through the whole process of a game again (and two, potentially three short weeks) to potentially avoid playing a first round game just might not seem worth it. And then I would think it would be even less important for Cincinnati, but haven't gamed out of those scenarios.

 

Again, setting aside all of the actually important stuff

[raw]

Never once when I was playing, but absolutely once I had a son. I highly encouraged him to play every sport except football. He tried flag football when he was like 8 or 9 and said it wasn't for him, and I was perfectly fine with that. I never found the risk for serious injury or death to be worrisome when my daughter was playing softball or volleyball or when he played baseball.

When I played sports, including football, I never once considered the possibility of a catastrophic injury. I could comprehend the possibility for a broken bone or other orthopedic injury, but nothing beyond that was ever on my mind. Looking back at it now, and especially as a parent/coach, sports look more like a minefield of possible serious outcomes. Even baseball, which never concerned me one bit while playing, has the ever-present risk of one line drive or errant pitch changing someone's life forever.

 

Going back a while, but I remember Hank Gathers and Reggie Lewis essentially dropping dead on the court, so I got the idea in my head at a relatively young age that it could happen, but you know how it is when you're young, death is still and abstract and you don't really feel it.

 

To that point, I was pitching once ages ago (as a teenager) and had a vicious comeback liner actually take the hat off my head without hitting me directly, and I am definitely more disturbed by it now than I was then. An inch or two different, or a nanosecond slower on my reflexes, and who knows.

 

I think of stories of people/kids getting felled by commotio cordis, and it's scary.

 

We think of young athletes at the pinnacle of physical fitness as being impervious to stuff like this, but at the end of the day we're just a complex mess of meat and electricity, and there can be a wide array of underlying flaws and weaknesses that we aren't and will likely never be aware of, and may just need the right trigger.

 

But you can't really dwell on it or it'll paralyze you.

 

I think it's important to realize, commotio cordis is pretty rare. It takes the perfect storm of a bunch of different things happening at once. A hard hit, to a direct spot in the chest, at the exact time between heartbeats. The heart beats, rests and then beats again all within fractions of a second.

 

But it's crazy, I played football in MS for 2 years, HS for 4, and 1 year in college and I never missed a practice. No broken bones, no head injuries. And it wasn't just me toughing out things. I legit never got injured. So, I wasn't really worried at all. I am a little more worried about my son, which is why when he wanted to play youth football at 6, I got into coaching because I wanted to be there and make sure he was doing things properly and being as safe as possible. I didn't want to trust anyone else to "protect" my son. He broke his wrist in football this year and I was like, "oh well, it happens". Sure didn't want him to be in pain, but bones heal even if sometimes incorrectly. Head injuries can have long term effects, but they don't typically kill you on the spot.

 

I feel like I am more worried about a fastball to the face while he's at bat, or a line drive to the face when he's pitching (really hate him pitching). I am more worried about an elbow to the face in basketball and breaking an orbital bone and messing up his vision, or now his teeth now since he got braces right before Christmas. I'm guessing because I played football. I come from a huge football family. Nobody has had anything happened that has ended their career or threatened their life. And I have heard stories of people being really messed up from a baseball to the head. Of course, there are football players that get paralyzed, but I supposed I rationalize that by saying, "oh it's because he put his head down and hit with the crown". But that's probably stupid of me to dismiss.

[minnesotacubsfan]

If you have ever played a sport, has the idea that you may actually die ever crossed your mind? I watched that live, and it was just stunning and sickening. I know it's a violent sport but holy hell

Never once when I was playing, but absolutely once I had a son. I highly encouraged him to play every sport except football. He tried flag football when he was like 8 or 9 and said it wasn't for him, and I was perfectly fine with that. I never found the risk for serious injury or death to be worrisome when my daughter was playing softball or volleyball or when he played baseball.

I must be old like you, I never heard about it growing up.

 

The worst injury I remember was watching a baseball teammate take a fly ball off their eye socket. It sounded like a golf ball hitting wood, left a giant bump and swelled their eye shut

[raw]

Yea I have a feeling Buffalo and Cincy just have a 16 game schedule. I certainly don't think Buffalo is going to have that be top of mind, and it likely doesn't affect Cincy in the standings anyways.

 

It's honestly hard to imagine what the Buffalo players will have to do to even be ready for week 18. Due to the trauma, anything will probably be a rush job and mentally unhealthy for those players.

 

The interesting thing here is there are Super Bowl implications with this game. I'd estimate about 90% of NFL games don't matter in the grand scheme of who wins a title or not, if the NFL had to cancel 1 every couple years and have an unbalanced situation. But this game was between 2 of the top 3 teams in the AFC....the conference that will be the favorite to win a championship. And this game was going a long way to determining who wins home field advantage. If Buffalo won, HFA was there's. If they lost, goes to KC. If KC loses, potentially to Cincinnati after that. If not played, KC would win HFA based on a 1/2 game difference. HFA can legit be the difference between who makes the Superbowl or not.

 

Obviously, in comparison to a player's life, HFA doesn't matter at all. And I'm sure Buffalo would take going on the road to KC if it meant Hamlin was OK. But there will be a lot for the NFL to discuss.

 

If you're Buffalo, at this point does it even make sense, setting aside all of the actually important stuff, to screw up your schedule for the next few weeks for...a coin flip shot at best? Every one of those players on both teams woke up today significantly more drained than they would after a normal game, going through the whole process of a game again (and two, potentially three short weeks) to potentially avoid playing a first round game just might not seem worth it. And then I would think it would be even less important for Cincinnati, but haven't gamed out of those scenarios.

 

Again, setting aside all of the actually important stuff

 

Yeah that's a good point. The only likely way to get this game in would be to move everything back a week and give their potential 1st round opponents by weeks either now or right before the playoffs. I don't think it is worth it to have to play 2 games to everyone else's 1, just to have a potential extra home game in Buffalo, though I'm sure folding table manufacturers would be distraught.

[WrigleyField 22]

Yea I'll be just fine if my son never has interest in tackle football. I played from 4th grade through senior year. I saw two really gruesome injuries, on a broken femur and the other a really serious head trauma that ended a teammates playing days. The latter fortunately I think ended up alright long term, though I don't know for sure as I haven't talked to him in over a decade. Just very casually keep up on social media.

 

But even with those I probably could rationalize the risks pretty easily, but the more I see and read, I'd just prefer he doesn't play at all.

[Thusly Boned]

When I played sports, including football, I never once considered the possibility of a catastrophic injury. I could comprehend the possibility for a broken bone or other orthopedic injury, but nothing beyond that was ever on my mind. Looking back at it now, and especially as a parent/coach, sports look more like a minefield of possible serious outcomes. Even baseball, which never concerned me one bit while playing, has the ever-present risk of one line drive or errant pitch changing someone's life forever.

 

Going back a while, but I remember Hank Gathers and Reggie Lewis essentially dropping dead on the court, so I got the idea in my head at a relatively young age that it could happen, but you know how it is when you're young, death is still and abstract and you don't really feel it.

 

To that point, I was pitching once ages ago (as a teenager) and had a vicious comeback liner actually take the hat off my head without hitting me directly, and I am definitely more disturbed by it now than I was then. An inch or two different, or a nanosecond slower on my reflexes, and who knows.

 

I think of stories of people/kids getting felled by commotio cordis, and it's scary.

 

We think of young athletes at the pinnacle of physical fitness as being impervious to stuff like this, but at the end of the day we're just a complex mess of meat and electricity, and there can be a wide array of underlying flaws and weaknesses that we aren't and will likely never be aware of, and may just need the right trigger.

 

But you can't really dwell on it or it'll paralyze you.

 

I think it's important to realize, commotio cordis is pretty rare. It takes the perfect storm of a bunch of different things happening at once. A hard hit, to a direct spot in the chest, at the exact time between heartbeats. The heart beats, rests and then beats again all within fractions of a second.

 

But it's crazy, I played football in MS for 2 years, HS for 4, and 1 year in college and I never missed a practice. No broken bones, no head injuries. And it wasn't just me toughing out things. I legit never got injured. So, I wasn't really worried at all. I am a little more worried about my son, which is why when he wanted to play youth football at 6, I got into coaching because I wanted to be there and make sure he was doing things properly and being as safe as possible. I didn't want to trust anyone else to "protect" my son. He broke his wrist in football this year and I was like, "oh well, it happens". Sure didn't want him to be in pain, but bones heal even if sometimes incorrectly. Head injuries can have long term effects, but they don't typically kill you on the spot.

 

I feel like I am more worried about a fastball to the face while he's at bat, or a line drive to the face when he's pitching (really hate him pitching). I am more worried about an elbow to the face in basketball and breaking an orbital bone and messing up his vision, or now his teeth now since he got braces right before Christmas. I'm guessing because I played football. I come from a huge football family. Nobody has had anything happened that has ended their career or threatened their life. And I have heard stories of people being really messed up from a baseball to the head. Of course, there are football players that get paralyzed, but I supposed I rationalize that by saying, "oh it's because he put his head down and hit with the crown". But that's probably stupid of me to dismiss.

 

It's statistically rare for sure, as is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which I guess is the leading cause of death in young athletes. Especially when you consider the sheer number of players that churn through these sports (esp. a violent and high turnover league like the NFL).

 

But still the knowledge that these things can happen shouldn't be forgotten.

 

We're all becoming more aware of the mid-long term toll of playing football, but it's honestly kind of astounding that we don't see more serious acute injuries in football, given the forces at play, and how chaotic it can sometimes be.

 

I played some amount of football, baseball, basketball, and track and field from sixth grade through high school, and never had anything worse than broken fingers, bruises, and hyperextensions, and though I played with people who had far worse, I took it for granted at the time, less so today (though I did write off football pretty early after a series of hits, because I knew I wasn't nearly good enough to justify the beating).

 

I think part of that is just getting older and growing out of the complacency of youth, but also I think that generally speaking we're becoming more aware.

 

That said, I think the reckoning around the health risks to players and health of former players the NFL is facing is just getting started, really.

[stitchface]

I'm guessing the probability of dying in a car accident on the way to the game far exceeds the likelihood of dying during the game.

[Old Style]

[Soul]

New reporting that Hamlin had to be resuscitated twice, once on the field and again in the hospital.

[Brian707]

Just hope he can recover and lead a normal life.

 

Assuming they do not play this game, give KC the bye based on the half game lead but should Buffalo or Cincy meet them in the AFC championship, that team would get home field advantage

[minnesotacubsfan]

If you have ever played a sport, has the idea that you may actually die ever crossed your mind? I watched that live, and it was just stunning and sickening. I know it's a violent sport but holy hell

Never once when I was playing, but absolutely once I had a son. I highly encouraged him to play every sport except football. He tried flag football when he was like 8 or 9 and said it wasn't for him, and I was perfectly fine with that. I never found the risk for serious injury or death to be worrisome when my daughter was playing softball or volleyball or when he played baseball.

When I played sports, including football, I never once considered the possibility of a catastrophic injury. I could comprehend the possibility for a broken bone or other orthopedic injury, but nothing beyond that was ever on my mind. Looking back at it now, and especially as a parent/coach, sports look more like a minefield of possible serious outcomes. Even baseball, which never concerned me one bit while playing, has the ever-present risk of one line drive or errant pitch changing someone's life forever.

 

[bbvideo=560,315]

[/bbvideo]

[raw]

Just hope he can recover and lead a normal life.

 

Assuming they do not play this game, give KC the bye based on the half game lead but should Buffalo or Cincy meet them in the AFC championship, that team would get home field advantage

 

Cincinnati would have needed KC to lose for HFA. I say play AFC Championship at neutral site if it's any 2 of the top 3 seeds playing in it. Play it in Indianapolis. Nice central location. Both teams split revenue

[Brian707]

That's a good idea about the neutral site. I mentioned that about KC because they lost to both Cincinnati and Buffalo

[PackLandVA]

The assumptions above being the Bengals win their division. Without last night's game, Baltimore no longer has a chance to win the division. With a Buffalo win last night, and the Ravens beating Cincy in the final week, they'd be a 3 seed and host at least one game. Now they're most likely a 6 seed, and possibly/probably playing at Cincy in consecutive weeks.

[David]

New reporting that Hamlin had to be resuscitated twice, once on the field and again in the hospital.

 

 

 

Also...

 

[raw]

The assumptions above being the Bengals win their division. Without last night's game, Baltimore no longer has a chance to win the division. With a Buffalo win last night, and the Ravens beating Cincy in the final week, they'd be a 3 seed and host at least one game. Now they're most likely a 6 seed, and possibly/probably playing at Cincy in consecutive weeks.

 

Good points. Didn't think about that angle. Thought the Ravens were already out on the division.

[Soul]

New reporting that Hamlin had to be resuscitated twice, once on the field and again in the hospital.

 

 

 

Also...

 

 

Good news. I believe the source for that was a relative (Uncle?) who said this on the street to a reporter. Not an official medical report.

[17 Seconds]

do the doctors know by now whether or not there is brain damage from lack of oxygen?

[David]