The NFL schedule has been made this year very carefully and strategically. As it turns out, the NFL schedule makers went out of their way to account for the possibility of pushing back the NFL season. The way it’s set up, the first 3 weeks of the season could be missed and the NFL could push everything back and still have a 16 game season. The idea is that it buys the NFL some cushion in case a labor deal is not done and they could still have a full season. All the teams that play each other in the first 3 weeks have the same bye weeks, or something like that (I’m not going to pretend to get this), so the idea is the teams could make up the games they missed on their bye week. The fact that they’re thinking about this just in case is great, because it means they could avoid losing games even if the season starts late, but the fact that they felt they needed this contingency is extremely scary.
To me, that says the two sides are so far apart it’s completely realistic that the NFL season won’t start on time. In fact, it sounds like they almost expect it. But how prepared will the players be to jump right into the season with no practice, no free agency and lead up time? Half the players don’t even know where they are playing next year. This could be a catastrophe. I just can’t imagine teams being organized enough to pull off a 16 game season at the drop of a hat. A deal is done and the next week the teams play a regular season game? That’s going to be tough on preparation, especially when the teams will have to sign their rookies and fill out their rosters. If things end up going that far, it will be a real mess for all parties involved, regardless of how many games we get to enjoy.
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