Late Monday, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic published, “Ravens players hold their ground, matchup with Steelers is pushed back a day.” The article documents the chain of events that caused a third (and hopefully final) postponement of Steelers-Ravens.
“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,” wrote Zrebiec.
Let’s pretend for a moment that injury risks due to no practice are the true reason behind the team threatening to strike.
Ravens running backs J.K. Dobbins and Mark Ingram haven’t had “legitimate practice or conditioning” over a week either, but they are eligible to play on Wednesday. They would not have been eligible on Tuesday.
Why, again, weren’t the Ravens practicing? Oh, that’s right, their strength and conditioning coach had coronavirus symptoms but did not report them. He also did not wear a mask or contact tracing device.
No practice? No problem
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was not concerned about his safety, nor was the team, when he, linebacker Vince Williams, running back Jaylen Samuels and offensive lineman Jerald Hawkins went seven days without practice.
Instead, they were activated on Nov. 14, participated in one walk-through and played on the 15th.
“We are going to have an extended walk-through tomorrow just to give [Ben] an in-helmet perspective on some of the situational things, to put the finishing touches on our work, to allow him to work with the eligibles that he will work with in-game, to have any necessary informal conversations that allow us to have a level of comfort as we push into play,” said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin in a Nov. 10 press conference.
Roethlisberger put up a season-best 333 yards and four touchdowns.
No bias here. The Tennessee Titans also had one practice on Oct. 11 — their first legitimate session in two weeks — before playing the Buffalo Bills on Oct. 13. The Titans trounced the Bills 42-16.
The Steelers and Titans did not threaten to strike. They did not push the NFL to postpone the games. Instead, Tomlin and Titans’ head coach Mike Vrabel pushed their teams to put on their big boy pants and play.
So, not only do the Ravens get two workouts/practices before flying to Pittsburgh, but they will likely get (at least) two key players back. All of this preferential treatment for a team that blatantly violated protocols.
Baltimore’s spineless moves — and the NFL catering to them — have been watched closely by the 31 other teams. You can bet that they will attempt to follow suit if there’s another outbreak in the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl.
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