Welcome to another edition of Mailbag Monday. Thank you to all who gave input last week on Facebook and Twitter, it was the most we have received in the short history of the column.
Training camp and the start of the season continue to creep closer, as we are now less than three months away from the September 10 opener versus the Houston Texans.
Give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram to keep up with all our new content and as always, thank you for reading.
“What’s the status of the season with COVID 19. Will there be fans in the seats for the games?” – Doug Cozort, Facebook
The uncertainty surrounding how the 2020 NFL season will play out continues to be a storyline worth monitoring.
As of now, the NFL still plans to play with fans and on time. Personally, I do not think that playing with fans will be possible, but I do see the NFL season beginning on time on September 10 in Kansas City.
I have mentioned this a few times before, but the NFL is the beneficiary of the timing of the pandemic, given that it is striking in the offseason. The NFL has plenty of time to figure out a safe way for players to return to practice and gameplay, which will likely includes testing all players and coaches.
As the season opener gets closer, the NFL will have to make changes to keep the NFL season safe and playable for all.
“It would have been nice for Andy Reid to put Matt Moore in the Super Bowl for a couple of plays at the end of the game since he too was instrumental on the Chiefs road to the Championship.” – Donald Kevin Adey, Facebook
Every game in an NFL season is important, but that Week 9 win in Minnesota was exactly what the Chiefs needed at the time. That was a prove it game for the rest of the Chiefs, who were out to show that they could win without MVP QB Patrick Mahomes.
It would have been nice to see Moore make that final heave on 4th and 26, but personally I was hoping for a different Chief to see the field.
Up 11, I saw no downside in having Dustin Colquitt go out on that final 4th and 26, take the snap, and run straight back out, maybe even out of the back of the end zone to run the rest of the clock out.
No matter what, it is amazing that the Chiefs had the opportunity to do whatever they pleased at the end of a Super Bowl.
“If the league would do something either before or after the national anthem, it would remove a very large majority of the negativity that surrounds the issue (of kneeling during the anthem), and also make it its own positive response to an important issue that affects many in our football family.” – Geri Dee, Facebook
Given the current world events, kneeling for the anthem has become a topic of conversation around NFL fanbases.
Make no mistake, kneeling is going to return in 2020. Baker Mayfield is one player who already commented that he will be kneeling, as well as Texans coach Bill O’Brien.
Expect others who have knelt or protested in the past to continue in 2020.
Roger Goodell said in an NFL video that the league was wrong before in silencing protests in the past, referring to past kneeling in the NFL.
The statement leads me to believe that they will allow kneeling during the anthem. While that will likely upset a lot of people, I think it will be a part of the league in 2020 and potentially beyond.
I do like the idea of the NFL doing something in addition, and their $250 million donation to fight social injustice (link) was a good place to start. Even with any potential responses by the league, I believe players will still kneel to draw attention to the issues that have been highlighted in recent weeks.
