Mark Madden: Steelers are inconvenienced but no punishment necessary for Titans

The postponement of the Steelers game at Tennessee is much ado about nothing.

The NFL wasn’t as ready as it should have been. Nor was MLB when covid hit the Miami Marlins. The pandemic provides an unprecedented situation. Until an outbreak happens, you don’t know how you’ll react. When it happens again, consult precedent. MLB took early struggles with the ‘rona as a warning shot, buttoned up, and things got better.

Any call for the Titans to be punished is absurd. Any call for a forfeit even more so.

Unless it’s proven that Titans players and staff were struck ill because protocol was violated, it’s lunacy to suggest that punishment should be levied for contracting a highly infectious disease. Contact tracing to narrow down what happened might be helpful. But don’t discipline.

The NFL isn’t going to forfeit a game over covid. The league might fine a team or even dock a draft pick if negligence or recklessness is evident. But there’s zero chance of a forfeit.

Nobody was hard done by. The Steelers are inconvenienced, no more. Perhaps it’s best to not share a field with a team overrun by positive tests.

As expected, the NFL juggled bye weeks and will make the Steelers play at Tennessee in Week 7 and at Baltimore in Week 8. That creates a tough stretch that continues Week 9 at Dallas. It also makes the Steelers visit Baltimore the week after the Ravens had their bye. Not good.

But it also gives the Steelers four straight games at Heinz Field. The homestand continues with Philadelphia and Cleveland as their next two foes. The Steelers should be 5-0, building momentum and wiggle room.

So, it’s no worse than a mixed bag for the Steelers. Their players don’t miss out on a Week 8 vacation because their bye got hurriedly switched. Due to the pandemic, players can’t travel during their bye. They must stay local for testing.

When asked about the possibility of playing 13 games without a bye, coach Mike Tomlin said bluntly, “We do not care.” That’s what should be said. Tomlin has handled this situation very well. Every team plays 16 games. Does it really matter when, or in what order?

Steelers fans are nonetheless whining. It’s a bad look. Follow Tomlin’s lead.

There is also the possibility that the NFL creates a Week 18 bye to reschedule games that are postponed by covid. The Titans will likely need that: They have 13 cases of covid as of this writing. Their home game scheduled for a week from Sunday vs. Buffalo appears in real jeopardy. The league is wisely thinking ahead by using the Week 7-8 scenario to reschedule Pittsburgh-Tennessee.

A Week 18 bye is no problem. Pushing back the playoffs is no problem. Eliminating the bye week between the conference championships and Super Bowl is no problem. Pushing back the Super Bowl is no problem. Adding two or three weeks onto the season is no problem.

The Constitution doesn’t mention a date or a deadline that the NFL has to finish by. So, what’s the difference? It would give the networks extra weeks of football.

Speaking of the networks, exactly why was the Steelers-Tennessee game postponed? Covid became the primary reason when the cases started piling up in Nashville.

But when the story broke, it seemed the game was being moved to Monday because the Titans facility was closed until Saturday and the NFL wanted to give the Titans at least one day of practice in the interest of fairness and because football is such an exact science (gag).

Then it seemed the game might be moved to Tuesday because Monday-night rights holder ESPN didn’t want CBS to televise a game Monday night (or late afternoon) and because Tuesday Night Football is a can of worms the NFL and its broadcast partners would love to open.

Football cripples its participants. So, it’s hard to believe worry for the players’ health is the primary reason for any decision made by the NFL.

The league may be more concerned about fantasy owners. That might be why the postponement was determined well before fantasy lineups have to be submitted.