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About an hour ago
How did things turn so badly with regard to the Covid-19 epidemic which has continually delayed the Steelers-Ravens match?
Jamison Hensley, reporter for ESPN.com Ravens, provided information that should help clarify many of these questions. He was a guest on ESPN Pittsburgh’s “Monday Night Quarterback” with Gerry Dulac and I this week. He said virus research seemed to improve in the days following the team’s loss to New England on Sunday, November 15.
It was then that Hensley says Steve Saunders – the now infamous Ravens strength and conditioning trainer – began to notice a cough which he attributed to “allergies.” He did not report symptoms.
“To really make matters worse, he didn’t wear his mask all the time,” Hensley said. “He wasn’t wearing his traced contact all the time. So (the Ravens) really didn’t know how many people had been exposed. How many people are going to be able to spread because they got it from him?
“After that, it took off.
From there, Hensley said the NFL and Ravens made a major mistake. Running backs JK Dobbins and Mark Ingram finally got positive tests after the team’s loss to the Tennessee Titans on November 22.
“After two players tested positive after a game, they still allowed the Ravens to come back to the premises on Monday morning to have meetings and things like that,” Hensley said. “You can’t have that after two players test positive. Some players I’ve spoken to believe that – even though the players were wearing masks – the players got (the virus) from each other and that’s where it spread as well.
Let me stress Hensley’s point about the organization and the league having mutual guilt.
Yes, the NFL should have stepped in and shut down the Ravens facility. If the NFL executives didn’t, the Ravens themselves should have at this point. After all, they did it on Friday once the spread got extremely bad.
Why not do it a few days earlier? Did they need a positive Lamar Jackson test before this was considered a real problem?
All of this leads to questions the NFL must answer. Preferably from Commissioner Roger Goodell himself.
I won’t hold my breath. But here’s what needs to be disclosed: In discussion with the league, how exactly has the Steelers-Ravens game been postponed so far? Was it a case of …
A)… does the NFL feel sorry for the Ravens for their situation?
B)… the league negotiating with the Ravens after the team requested that the game be postponed to at least Wednesday?
C)… the league gave in when the Ravens demanded that the game be postponed beyond Tuesday or would they refuse to play?
I want to know which of these characterizations is closest to the truth.
Frankly, none of the options are good. But I still want to know. I bet most NFL fans do, too.
If it’s A, the league shouldn’t be more sympathetic to the Ravens as they battle covid-19 than it has been to the Raiders, Broncos, or 49ers.
If it’s B, just because the Ravens have requested at least a day of practice doesn’t mean the league has to honor the request.
And if it’s C, who are the Baltimore Ravens to run the league office and threaten not to play?
Maybe the Steelers should have done the same when they realized that by playing the game on a Wednesday, they would have short consecutive weeks against Washington and the Buffalo Bills.
The problem here is a precedent. Now that the Ravens have had a full week to recover from an outbreak, any team with similar numbers – especially rookie players – are going to expect the same leeway and schedule adjustments from the league. .
Why not? Because at least in terms of “containing the spread” it seemed like less of a problem for the Ravens from Sunday to Monday. Their perceived complaints about the game played on Tuesday allegedly concerned “muscle tension” and not having time to practice before the game.
According to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic, Ravens players have extended their “health concerns” beyond the reach of covid-19.
“The concern of the Ravens players was that it was a safety issue. Not a competition issue. That’s what the league agreed to, ”Zrebiec told 93.7 The Fan Monday.
As Zrebiec wrote, “They were uncomfortable with the safety risks of having to play an NFL game against their fiercest rival without having a legitimate workout or conditioning on top of that. ‘one week.
The players coordinated a call with NFLPA officials on Monday to discuss their options and concerns about hosting the game on Tuesday night. Several players spoke during the call, and a common refrain was the lack of training time before playing a game and the fear of injuries that could result from going through an extended period of limited physical activity. to play in a match.
Awesome. But it’s not a coronavirus problem. It is a question of competitive balance. And when it comes to getting those games played, making sure the competitive balance is in place for both sides of every game, every week, now through week 17 is a pipe dream.
The Raven roster doesn’t see it that way. They see it as another type of health problem that originates from the coronavirus.
Again, via Zrebiec with “The PM Team” on 93.7, “I think it was the Ravens players who said, ‘How do you expect us – after not being together, not having a only practice for eight straight days – we off the training ground yesterday morning. We didn’t have a lift or practice. Now you expect us to play the Steelers? “
We need to answer the questions we asked earlier. They won’t be.
“I would love to hear from the NFL about this for sure,” Zrebiec concluded.
Me too, Jeff.
To some extent, I do receive Goodell’s reluctance to comment. The league needs to be nimble enough to adapt to various circumstances and avoid forfeits that throw the schedule into further chaos. Goodell doesn’t want to be framed by a quote.
But the NFL must at least have more clearly advertised thresholds that will dictate games on the move, forcing forfeits, or triggering an extra week of games.
Or, the skeptical and questionable reaction the NFL has received from places such as Denver and Pittsburgh in recent days will continue to swell nationwide.
TribLive Steelers defeated writer Joe Rutter joins Tim Benz to discuss the Steelers-Ravens’ never-ending kickoff quest.
Tim Benz is a writer for Tribune-Review. You can contact Tim at [email protected] or via Twitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication, unless otherwise specified.
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Sports | Steelers / NFL | Breakfast with Benz
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