# How should the NFL handle the missed games? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 17, 2001, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-the-nfl-handle-the-missed-games/82261 "2001-09-17T21:48:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2001, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-the-nfl-handle-the-missed-games/82261/1 "2001-09-17T21:48:28Z")
I’ve heard two proposed solutions, and frankly both of them are not great. 1. Only have a 15 game schedule this year. 2. Make up the missed week on week 18 and cut back the # of playoff teams from 12 to 8, eliminating some wildcard games. Now, one thing I haven’t heard suggested is that they play the missed week on week 18, and then instead of 2 weeks from the Championship games to the SuperBowl, only have one. What’s the problem with that? “You need time to prepare” – Both teams will be at the same disadvantage, so there is no disadvantage. Why would the NFL take option 1 or 2 instead of my suggestion? How come I’m not the NFL commissioner? :mad: 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2001, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-the-nfl-handle-the-missed-games/82261/2 "2001-09-17T22:01:03Z")
According to Peter King of SI, it’s a foregone conclusion that they will play week 2 schedule in week 18. Too much home gate for the owner’s to lose, plus it unbalances the schedule to leave out the week. They could add another week to the whole thing and keep the wildcard games in, but I imagine that it would be too difficult to move the Superbowl back a week, hotels are already booked, etc. And IIRC they already moved to just one week between the final playoff and the Superbowl, so there is no slack there. I would have preferred for them to play the season from this next week as if last week was just a bye for everyone, but apparently the schedule conflicts in dual use stadiums would have been to difficult. ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2001, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-the-nfl-handle-the-missed-games/82261/3 "2001-09-17T22:11:15Z")
Hmm, I just learned you’re right about the extra week being gone between the conference championships and the SuperBowl this year. Interesting that the first time it could have been useful, it’s gone. ---
**Author:** ![TexasSpur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a6a055/32.png) [@TexasSpur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TexasSpur)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2001, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-the-nfl-handle-the-missed-games/82261/4 "2001-09-17T22:19:46Z")
To me the logical thing would be to get rid of the damn pro-bowl and play all the games. Of course, thats not one of the options. ---
**Author:** ![imthjckaz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/imthjckaz/32/3223_2.png) [@imthjckaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/imthjckaz)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2001, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-the-nfl-handle-the-missed-games/82261/5 "2001-09-17T22:26:53Z")
What does the Pro Bowl have to do with the Super Bowl? The Super Bowl date is pretty much set in stone. Hotels have been reserved, people have arranged for vacations to take place that week. There is just too much stuff already set in place to change the date. ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2001, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-the-nfl-handle-the-missed-games/82261/6 "2001-09-17T23:20:02Z")
> [@](#): > > To me the logical thing would be to get rid of the damn pro-bowl and play all the games. Of course, thats not one of the options. The Pro Bowl happens several weeks after the Super Bowl and has nothing at all to do with it. The players are chosen from a ballot mailed in from fans across the country, it’s an NFC vs AFC best of the best game. It’s really just a fun game, doesn’t count for anything and is just for publicity. Therefore, your solution makes no sense at all. ---
**Author:** ![Purd\_Werfect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47c2d/32.png) [@Purd\_Werfect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purd_Werfect)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2001, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-the-nfl-handle-the-missed-games/82261/7 "2001-09-17T23:32:13Z")
Couldn’t they cancel the bye weeks during the regular season and reschedule conference games to fill those weeks? ---
**Author:** ![TexasSpur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a6a055/32.png) [@TexasSpur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TexasSpur)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2001, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-the-nfl-handle-the-missed-games/82261/8 "2001-09-17T23:42:25Z")
Move everything back one week. The Pro bowl is normally played the week after the super bowl. Play last weeks game at the end of the year, then play the post season schedule just one week later. Have the Super Bowl be the first week of February. The NFL schedule would be the exact same amount of time, but they wouldn’t play the pointless Pro Bowl. ---
**Author:** ![PlanMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/2bfe46/32.png) [@PlanMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlanMan)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2001, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-the-nfl-handle-the-missed-games/82261/9 "2001-09-18T00:10:11Z")
First, **TexasSpur** doesn’t seem to get it. As several others have said: The ProBowl is played in Hawaii. The SuperBowl is in New Orleans. Many folks have made reservations in the Big Easy for the SuperBowl the weekend, January 25, 2002. Changing these will be hard. Maybe something else is going in New Orleans the following weekend? Sliding the SuperBowl a week isn’t an option. and anyway, why couldn’t they just slide the ProBowl too? A rumor I heard on the local news tonight is that one option is to move Week 2 games to Thanksgiving. So everyone (except ‘bye’ teams) would play the Sunday before Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Day, then the following Sunday’s games would move to Tuesday. … sounds pretty weird. Altho’ the owner and coach of my home team are agin’ it, I think dropping the first Wild Card round is the best solution. Given our prospects this year, it might keep us (Jaguars) out of the playoffs, but so what? ---
**Author:** ![imthjckaz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/imthjckaz/32/3223_2.png) [@imthjckaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/imthjckaz)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2001, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-the-nfl-handle-the-missed-games/82261/10 "2001-09-18T00:28:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Purd Werfect \* > \*\*Couldn’t they cancel the bye weeks during the regular season and reschedule conference games to fill those weeks? \*\* There are 31 teams in the NFL. Every week, one team has a bye. There is no bye week for the entire League. Until this past week. \*\* Texas Spur\*\* the Pro Bowl thing is a moot point, the Super Bowl date is [set](http://www.superbowlxxxvi.org/sbhost/gameday.htm), and I don’t think NFL wants to move it. ---
**Author:** ![TexasSpur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a6a055/32.png) [@TexasSpur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TexasSpur)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2001, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-the-nfl-handle-the-missed-games/82261/11 "2001-09-18T00:44:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by PlanMan \* > \*\*First, **TexasSpur** doesn’t seem to get it. As several others have said: The ProBowl is played in Hawaii. The SuperBowl is in New Orleans. Many folks have made reservations in the Big Easy for the SuperBowl the weekend, January 25, 2002. Changing these will be hard. Maybe something else is going in New Orleans the following weekend? Sliding the SuperBowl a week isn’t an option. and anyway, why couldn’t they just slide the ProBowl too? > \*\* I understand that they aren’t going to do it. I understand exactly how it all works. But give me a break, people could easily change their reservations. Plus, many of the tickets probably haven’t even gone on sale yet. The Super Bowl is months away. They could move it back with minimal problems. Anyways, I know that isn’t one of the two options. ---
**Author:** ![Purd\_Werfect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47c2d/32.png) [@Purd\_Werfect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purd_Werfect)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2001, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-the-nfl-handle-the-missed-games/82261/12 "2001-09-18T01:22:36Z")
Well, then they could go to a six day rotation until the extra week is gained back. If it’s a choice between dropping playoff games or regular season games, I’d rather they drop a regular season game, though it sounds like they’ll probably compress the playoffs. ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2001, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-the-nfl-handle-the-missed-games/82261/13 "2001-09-18T02:26:45Z")
Having hundreds of thousands of people change their plans would not be that easy. What we’re saying is that you don’t understand the whole Pro Bowl thing. It has NO EFFECT ON THE SUPER BOWL. It isn’t pointless, and if you have such a negative reaction to it, don’t watch it. It will probably not be changed, and it doesn’t happen just a week after the SB. Therefore any one-week changes to the regular season schedule DOES NOT affect the Pro Bowl. I think **TexasSpur** isn’t going to get this anytime soon. ---
**Author:** ![lurkernomore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@lurkernomore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lurkernomore)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-the-nfl-handle-the-missed-games/82261/14 "2001-09-19T14:54:00Z")
IIRC there is a car convention in N.O. the next week, so they can’t just move back. Cut to 1 wild card. No #5 or #6 seed (the last 2 WCs) has ever made the Super Bowl, anyway. The #4 seed (first WC) will still be in the picture. ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-the-nfl-handle-the-missed-games/82261/15 "2001-09-19T15:15:22Z")
Or there’s the theory that (to my knowledge) is strongly favored by the NFL. (To clarify the explanation: week 18 is wildcard weekend, 19 is divisional game, 20 is conference game, 21 is Super Bowl.) On week 18, we have the delayed week 2 games. But rather than switch from 12 playoff teams to 8, we then have wildcard games on the Wednesday following. Then we return to our regularly-scheduled broadcast with divisional games on week 19. Thus, theoretically, if the Chargers win their division, they would have a bye in week 18 and 18.5 (because of their week 2 bye and the first-round bye) and would play week 19, conceivably against a team playing its third game in one week. Truly, a sight to behold. Although I admit to hoping for a Cinderella story of some team sneaking into the wildcard, winning their three games in one week, winning the conference championship the week later, and going to the Super Bowl. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-the-nfl-handle-the-missed-games/82261/16 "2001-09-19T15:29:39Z")
Double-elimination roshambo between the owners of the teams. Five minutes and they’re done, get on with their lives. ---
**Author:** ![TexasSpur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a6a055/32.png) [@TexasSpur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TexasSpur)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-the-nfl-handle-the-missed-games/82261/17 "2001-09-19T17:05:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ladyfoxfyre \* > \*\*Having hundreds of thousands of people change their plans would not be that easy. What we’re saying is that you don’t understand the whole Pro Bowl thing. It has NO EFFECT ON THE SUPER BOWL. It isn’t pointless, and if you have such a negative reaction to it, don’t watch it. It will probably not be changed, and it doesn’t happen just a week after the SB. Therefore any one-week changes to the regular season schedule DOES NOT affect the Pro Bowl. > > I think **TexasSpur** isn’t going to get this anytime soon. \*\* AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! Obviously you don’t get it. I don’t know how long you have been watching football, but you are clearly not the expert you pretend to be. THE PRO BOWL HAPPENS THE WEEK AFTER THE SUPER BOWL! If they move the Super Bowl back a week, one of three things must happen. 1. Move the Pro Bowl back 2. Cancel the Pro Bowl 3. Play the Pro Bowl the same week as the Super Bowl without Super Bowl Players The Super Bowl can be changed. They can either play it the next week in the Superdome or play it the next week somewhere else. It is not an impossible task to change the Super Bowl date. Here are quotes from an ESPN article on this exact subject. It looks like my crazy idea isn’t so crazy after all. "One option would be to move the Super Bowl, to be played in New Orleans, from Jan. 27 to Feb. 3. There is only a one-week break this year after the championship games. One way to do that would be to switch the Super Bowl and the National Auto Dealers Convention, scheduled for the next week. The Pro Bowl, scheduled for Feb. 4, would either be moved back a week or played as scheduled without players from Super Bowl teams." [http://espn.go.com/nfl/news/2001/0918/1252462.html](http://espn.go.com/nfl/news/2001/0918/1252462.html) They don’t mention cancelling the game, but you can easily figure out that it is possible to move the Super Bowl back, and that the Pro Bowl would be affected by this. Please tell me what else I don’t get. ---
**Author:** ![techchick68](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea5d25/32.png) [@techchick68](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/techchick68)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-the-nfl-handle-the-missed-games/82261/18 "2001-09-19T18:42:31Z")
Here’s the email I recieved from the NFL: > [@](#): > > * * * > > ``` > NFL ANNOUNCES 16-GAME REGULAR SEASON WILL BE PLAYED; > WEEK 2 GAMES TO BE PLAYED ON WEEKEND OF JAN. 5-7 > > ``` > > * * * > > Dear Liz, > > The NFL playing schedule that was postponed this past weekend will be played on the weekend of January 5-7 to retain a 16-game regular-season schedule, the league announced today. > > “We believe that a full 16-game regular-season schedule is > vital to our fans and the integrity of our season,” said NFL Commissioner PAUL TAGLIABUE. "Each team needs to be guaranteed the same number of home and away games plus an equal number of divisional games. The NFL Competition Committee was unanimous on that point. > > "We continue to work on keeping six division winners, six Wild Cards and our entire postseason format intact. Several options have been presented to us in recent days that would help us accomplish that. We will review them and make a decision shortly. If we cannot resolve our entire postseason lineup in a satisfactory fashion, we then will go to a system of six division winners and two Wild Card teams for this one season only. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-the-nfl-handle-the-missed-games/82261/19 "2001-09-19T22:32:59Z")
[sup]I am abbreviating here so go easy on me, 'kay?[/sup] 1] Move back the Super Bowl one week. This, as stated above, is highly unlikely because of the National Car Dealers convention which is booked in that week. But in **TexasSpur** ’s defense, they **are** looking at that option. Note that there are several possible options for pushing back the Pro Bowl, including having it on the Monday Night after the Super Bowl. 2] Wipe out the “Wild Card Week” of playoffs. Go to an 8 team format. This is the simplest logistical option, but the downside is a $50-60 million loss of revenue, which includes gate and television rights. Ouch. 3] Squeeze Wild Card Week into the middle of the week, as **lno** suggests earlier in this thread. The NFL would move as many “important” games to the last Saturday as possible to give teams a chance to rest, then Wild Card Week would happen on that Wednesday and Thursday, with the Divisional Championships happening on Saturday and Sunday. 4] Move the SuperBowl to another site, but play both the Conference Championship games at New Orleans as a “neutral site”. This would allow N.O. to give up the SuperBowl but not take a total hit on the revenue. N.O. would likely be promised the next available Super Bowl. My guess is that the owners will be sorely tempted by option 3, since they are in the end greedy cusses. I would also be surprised if the Player’s Union didn’t scream about being forced to play three games in seven days. This option would give a huge advantage to teams that “bye” out of the first round, plus any teams with depth or low injuries. Going with the greed angle I could see some go for option 4, but I think they would be hesitant to mess with the guy who has the Super Bowl, it’s too important to them. If the owners can not reach a consensus then Option 2 above would be the default. ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-the-nfl-handle-the-missed-games/82261/20 "2001-09-19T22:39:41Z")
re: Option 3 > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ShibbOleth \* > \*\* I would also be surprised if the Player’s Union didn’t scream about being forced to play three games in seven days. \*\* I was reading about this on [espn.com](http://espn.com) – they shouldn’t bitch that much, because it’s either that or not be in the playoffs at all. Given those two choices, the decision seems easy to me. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-the-nfl-handle-the-missed-games/82261.md?page=2)