How did things go so wrong when it comes to the covid-19 outbreak that has endlessly delayed the Steelers-Ravens game?
ESPN.com Ravens reporter Jamison Hensley provided some insight that should help clear up a lot of those questions. He was a guest on ESPN Pittsburgh’s “Monday Night Quarterback” with Gerry Dulac and me this week. He said virus tracing appears to hone in on the days after the team’s loss in New England on Sunday, Nov. 15.
That’s when Hensley says Steve Saunders — the Ravens’ now infamous strength and conditioning coach — first started to notice a cough he attributed to “allergies.” He didn’t report the symptoms.
“To really compound things, he didn’t wear his mask all the time,” Hensley said. “He didn’t wear his contact tracing all the time. So (the Ravens) were really in the dark of how many people were exposed. How many people are going to be able to spread because they got it from him?
“After that, it just took off.”
From there, Hensley said the NFL and the Ravens made a major error. Running backs J.K. Dobbins and Mark Ingram eventually got positive tests back after the team’s loss to the Tennessee Titans on Nov. 22.
“After two players tested positive after a game, they still allowed the Ravens to come back to the facility Monday morning to have meetings and things like that,” Hensley explained. “You can’t have that after two players test positive. Some players I talked to believe that — even though players were wearing masks — players got (the virus) from each other and that’s where it extended as well.”
Allow me to underscore Hensley’s point about the organization and the league having mutual culpability.
Yes, the NFL should’ve stepped in and closed the Ravens facility. If NFL executives didn’t do it, the Ravens themselves should’ve at that point. After all, they did so on Friday once the spread got extremely bad.
Why not do it a few days earlier then? Did they need Lamar Jackson testing positive before it was viewed to be a real problem?
All of this leads to questions for the NFL to 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, exactly how did the Steelers-Ravens game get pushed back so far? Was it a case of…
A) …the NFL taking pity on the Ravens for their situation?
B) …the league negotiating with the Ravens after the team asked for the game to be pushed to at least Wednesday?
C) …the league caving when the Ravens demanded the game be postponed beyond Tuesday or else they’d refuse to play?
I want to know which of those characterizations is closest to the truth.
Frankly, none of the options is a good one. But I still want to know. I bet most NFL fans do as well.
If it’s A, the league shouldn’t be more sympathetic to the plight of the Ravens as they battle covid-19 than they have been for the Raiders, Broncos or 49ers.
If it’s B, just because the Ravens asked for at least a day of practice, that doesn’t mean the league has to honor the request.
And if it’s C, who are the Baltimore Ravens to boss around the league office and threaten to withhold play?
Maybe the Steelers should’ve done the same thing when they realized that by playing the game on a Wednesday, they’d have back-to-back short weeks against Washington and the Buffalo Bills.
The issue here is precedent. Now that the Ravens have been given a full week to recover from an outbreak, any team with similar numbers — especially to starting players — is going to expect the same latitude and schedule adjustments from the league.
Why wouldn’t they? Because at least in terms of “containing the spread” that seemed to be less of an issue for the Ravens as of Sunday into Monday. Their perceived complaints about the game being played on Tuesday were allegedly about “muscle strains” and not having any practice time before the game.
According to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic, Ravens players extended their “health concerns” beyond the scope of covid-19.
“The Ravens players’ concern was this was a safety issue. Not a competitive issue. That’s what the league acquiesced on,” 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 practice or conditioning session in over a week.
Players coordinated a call with NFLPA representatives Monday to discuss their options and their concerns about keeping the game Tuesday night. Several players spoke on the call, and a common refrain was the lack of practice time before playing in a game and a fear of the injuries that could result from going from an extended period of limited physical activity to playing in a game.”
Wonderful. But that’s not a coronavirus issue. That’s a competitive balance issue. And in terms of getting these games played, making sure competitive balance is in place moving forward for both sides of every game, every week, now through Week 17 is a pipe dream.
The Ravens roster doesn’t see it that way. They see it as a different kind of health problem that originated with coronavirus in the first place.
Again, via Zrebiec on with “The PM Team” on 93.7, “I think it was the Ravens players saying, ‘How do you expect us — after having not been together, having not had a single practice for eight straight days — you kicked us off the practice field yesterday morning. We haven’t gotten a lift in, or a practice. Now you expect us to play the Steelers?’”
Those questions we posed earlier should be answered. They won’t be.
“I’d love to hear from the NFL on it for sure,” Zrebiec concluded.
Me, too, Jeff.
To a degree, I get Goodell’s reticence to comment. The league needs to be nimble enough to adjust to various circumstances and avoid forfeits that throw the schedule into further chaos. Goodell doesn’t want to be boxed in by a quote.
But the NFL at least needs to have more clearly publicized thresholds which will dictate moving games, forcing forfeits or triggering an extra week of games.
Or else, the skeptical and dubious reaction the NFL has received from places such as Denver and Pittsburgh in recent days will continue to swell nationally.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via Twitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
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