Tag: rest

Chiefs face uphill battle in second-half of NFL’s 2023 schedule

Kansas City was dealt a bad hand by the NFL, which scheduled the #Chiefs to play at a disadvantage in six straight games in 2023. | from @TheJohnDillon

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The Kansas City Chiefs’ path to defending their newly won Super Bowl championship won’t be easy in 2023 after the NFL released a schedule that has them playing no less than six of their last seven games with a rest disadvantage to their opponents.

Though many thought the team would face an uphill battle to emerge as league champions for a second-straight season, none could have predicted that they would be put so far behind the eight ball. Warren Sharp of Sharp Football recently appeared on the Ross Tucker Podcast to bring this detail to light.

Rest is sure to factor in for the reigning champs as their 2023 campaign progresses, especially if there is a late-season fight for a playoff berth. In the midst of an AFC arms race, Kansas City will need to have an underdog mentality over the course of this crucial portion of their schedule to have any chance of securing a top seed in the postseason.

Sharp added in a later tweet that this kind of disadvantage hasn’t been given to a team in more than 35 years. It is time for Chiefs fans to ask the question so often posed by fans of other teams about Patrick Mahomes: Just how much help does the rest of the AFC need?

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6 Cowboys games in 2023 will give one team a rest advantage

From @ToddBrock24f7: Short week off a Monday night? A mini-bye after a Thursday game? The NFL schedule can offer an occasional boost, or it can work against you.

It’s often the days between gamedays that determine the outcome of the action on the field. And it’s not just the practices and the drills and the film study and the gameplan meetings, but simply how many days a team has to recuperate from their most recent battle that sometimes matters just as much.

Coaches always place a great deal of importance on rest days, but thanks to an NFL schedule that has over the years increasingly sprawled from exclusively Sunday afternoons into Sunday primetime, Monday nights, Thursday nights, and even the occasional Saturday kickoff, a team often finds itself operating on a very different prep schedule than their opponent in any given week.

And thanks to the magic of flexing, some games can even be changed on the fly once the season is well underway. It all can either help a team on the short end of an abbreviated work week, or else make things more difficult by slashing valuable prep time, depending on the circumstances. Either way, it wreaks havoc on a coach’s preferred routine.

Here’s a quick look at the six games on the Cowboys’ 2023 schedule that- currently- have either Dallas or their opponent coming into the matchup with a rest advantage.

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NFL schedule-makers create notable rest disadvantage for Packers in 2022

The Packers have a built-in disadvantage to their 2022 schedule: rest.

The Green Bay Packers have a notable built-in disadvantage to their schedule during the 2022 regular season: rest.

If all teams played on Sunday, there would be no rest differentials. All teams would be on an even playing field in terms of recovery week to week. But the NFL schedule is filled with quirks, bye weeks and primetime games on different days, so the idea of rest comes into play. In a game as physically and mentally demanding as football, rest is important. Coaches across the league talk about the importance of rest and prep every single week.

How does this work? Let’s say Team A and Team B play in Week 2. But in Week 1, Team A plays on Thursday night, and Team B plays on Sunday. Team A would then go into Week 2 with a three-day rest advantage – 10 days for Team A compared to just seven for Team B.

The Packers will be playing against better-rested teams for a big chunk of the 2022 season.

According to Seth Walder of ESPN, the Packers are -13 days in net rest differential relative to opponents, which ranks as the worst mark in the NFL for 2022.

The schedule is filled with disadvantages for the Packers.

– In Week 7, the Packers play the Commanders, who play on Thursday night in Week 6. (-3 days rest)

– In Week 8, the Packers play the Bills, who have a bye in Week 7. (-7 days rest)

– In Week 10, the Packers play the Cowboys, who have a bye in Week 9. (-7 days rest)

– In Week 16, the Packers play the Dolphins after playing on Monday night the week prior (-1 day rest)

– In Week 17, the Packers play the Vikings, who play on Saturday in Week 16. (-1 day rest)

The Packers also play the Jets just seven days after playing the Giants in London, which will require a grueling transatlantic flight there and back. We already pointed out that the Packers will then play five of their next seven games on the road, including a three-game road trip after facing the Jets at home, so the middle part of the schedule – with three rest disadvantages in the span of four weeks added in – looks especially challenging from a logistical standpoint.

Facing the Bills and Cowboys coming off bye weeks will be difficult, especially considering all the travel required during that part of the schedule. The Bills and Cowboys, two playoff teams in 2021, combined for 23 regular-season wins last season.

It’s not all bad. The Packers do get a bye week before hosting the Los Angeles Rams in December, although the advantage is negated slightly by the Rams playing the previous Thursday night. The mini-bye week advantage comes into play for the Packers before facing the Philadelphia Eagles in November, Overall, the Packers will gain seven days of rest advantage before playing two playoff teams from the NFC in 2021. And both games are at home.

Overall, the Packers play three games with a significant rest differential working against them (Washington, Buffalo, Dallas), and they’ll have a multiple-day rest advantage in two games (Philadelphia, Los Angeles), so the net result isn’t necessarily great. Weathering the storm during the middle part of the schedule – and getting to the good stuff late in the season – will be huge for Matt LaFleur’s team.

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Adam Silver hints that the NBA might finally be willing to solve its longstanding rest problem

The NBA really needs to consider shortening its season

Load management has been a hot-button NBA issue for pretty much a decade now. More specifically, load management when it comes to the NBA’s stars.

The league doesn’t like it when teams pull star players for rest, generally. But they especially don’t like it when it happens during big games. They’ve even instituted a team fine for when it happens.

This is a discussion that dates all the way back to 2012 when the San Antonio Spurs sat Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Danny Green ahead of a matchup against the Heat.

Fast forward 10 years later and this is still an issue the league thinks it has yet to solve, which is why Adam Silver is still talking about it.

Silver addressed the issue during a media availability session after an NBA Board of Governors meeting on Wednesday, per ESPN’s Tim Bontemps. He also used it as a springboard to talk about potential mid-season tournaments.

“The other way we can get at it, in terms of player participation, is creating other incentives. The play-in tournament, I thought, was a beginning of creating renewed incentives for teams to remain competitive and be fighting for playoff position. It might be through in-season tournaments and changes in format where we can get at it.”

Those are such interesting comments coming at such an interesting time because, well, this hasn’t been that much of an issue this season.

Think about it. How many stars have we seen resting for long periods of time with mystery injuries? There haven’t been too many, as NBA analyst Tom Ziller writes here in his daily newsletter. There’ve been stars with legitimate injuries, of course, but not too many have sat from load management.

There was, of course, the Ben Simmons thing. But that was an overt trade demand that Simmons was even fined for. There’s also the John Wall situation with the Rockets where he hasn’t played a game this season but that’s also because the Rockets wanted him to sit.

That aside, the NBA thinks it needs solutions here. And we could start with things like no more back-to-back games. Or no more 4-games-in-5 nights stints. Especially no more east to west travel swings over a three-day period. Those stints are why players sit occasionally.

But on top of that? The league really needs to consider shortening or altering its schedule in some way. If Silver’s comments from the press conference hold true, they just might.

He said this is something they’re considering.

“I also have said in the past, if we have too many games, that’s something we should look at as well…It’s something, as we sit down and we’re looking at new media deals and looking at a new collective bargaining agreement, we will be studying.”

That’s a huge deal and a real solution to the problem the NBA seems to be looking to fix here. It’s also very encouraging to hear considering this isn’t something the league has seemed willing to do in the past.

Though load management hasn’t been as much of a problem now, it could certainly be one again in the future. Shortening the season should solve that. We’ll see where things go from here.

Keep in mind, though, that this is a conversation we’ve been having for years. In fact, Silver had similar comments three years ago in 2019 about this very subject. He told reporters that a shorter schedule is something the league will “continue to look at,” and we haven’t really circled back since.

To be fair, a lot has happened in the world at large since 2019. A shorter schedule was certainly not on the top of the NBA’s priority list. But now, it seems, it’s back on the table. That might be a good thing for everyone.

We’ll see where things go from here. Hopefully, whatever the solution is, we won’t have to have this conversation again. Because, man, it’s exhausting.

Seahawks tight end Greg Olsen won’t play Week 17 against 49ers

Seattle Seahawks tight end Greg Olsen won’t play in Week 17 against the San Francisco 49ers to give his foot a break before the playoffs.

Seattle Seahawks tight end Greg Olsen was recently activated back from the injured reserve after suffering torn plantar fascia in his foot. He appeared in his first game back last week but will sit out against the San Francisco 49ers in Seattle’s regular-season finale.

Although he was listed on Friday’s injury report as questionable, coach Pete Caroll confirmed Olsen would not be playing on Sunday.

“We’re going keep him out of this game is what we’re going to do,” Carroll said after practice. “Just to make sure that he’s ready next week. Just a little flare-up from last week, but he handled it well, practiced today and got through it and all that, but we just think it’s the best thing to do is to give him another weekend.”

Carroll said Olsen really only suffered a “tweak” and is expected to return back to practice next Wednesday, giving him nearly a week to recover before the playoff preparations begin.

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Chiefs HC Andy Reid plans to rest some players against Chargers in Week 17

Reid weighs in on the “rest vs. rust” debate.

Kansas City Chiefs HC Andy Reid confirmed on Monday that he plans to rest some players against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 17.

After clinching the No. 1 seed in Week 16, the game against the Chargers has no meaning in terms of the playoffs. It’s essentially a bragging rights game that will only impact the final record of the team. After the Falcons game on Sunday, Reid wasn’t so certain about his stance on resting players when Los Angeles came to town.

“Yeah, well, I’ve got to sit down and think about all of that, where we sit with it,” Reid said after the game on Sunday. “Obviously, if we need to rest a person, it gives us that opportunity, but also I look at it the other way—it gives us an opportunity to get some guys in that haven’t played much to get them some experience, and there’s nothing like that. And you don’t do anything other than try to prepare yourself to win games, so it doesn’t matter who’s in or not, that’s how you go about your business here. So, that’s the way we’ll go about this week. Whoever is playing, that’s how we’re going about it.”

When Reid spoke with the media on Monday, he was quite a bit more confident in his plan when it comes to resting players.

“I’ve been down this road a couple of times before,” Reid told reporters on Monday. “I’ve had the opportunity to rest guys, so we’ll do that. I mean we’ll rest up some guys. I’m sitting right here, Adam (Teicher), kind of waiting on the guys to come in and get their treatment and talk to Rick (Burkholder) and see exactly where we stand with any injuries and that. But there are certain guys that will have an opportunity to rest up. Everyone will be ready to go, as long as they’re physically ready to go, but we’ll make that decision down the road.”

Reid has rested players in the past, both with the Eagles and with the Chiefs. In Week 17 of 2013, with no seeding to gain in the playoff picture, Reid rested key starters like Alex Smith, Jamaal Charles, Dwayne Bowe, Brandon Albert, Derrick Johnson and Tamba Hali. Some players like Eric Berry, Justin Houston and Brandon Flowers were active but didn’t end up playing a snap during the game.

This situation is a bit different in comparison with the first-round bye week also coming into play for the Chiefs as they’ve earned the No. 1 seed in the AFC. It raises the age-old argument of “rest vs. rust.” Do you rest players and risk them showing up rusty in the divisional round of the playoffs? Reid feels confident that he won’t be hurting his players by providing them with some extra rest.

“Listen, in the past, I’ve been OK with it,” Reid said of resting players. “The way we’ve gone about it— the way we’ve practiced in between that dead period there— the bye week period. I feel comfortable if needed here to rest guys; which I’m leaning in that direction. I’m confident that we can do it the right way and I’m not worried about [rust]. Getting guys freshened up, I think can be a positive thing for you. These guys aren’t going to forget the plays, they won’t forget how to play. But I think, in some cases, a little bit of rest helps.”

The questions that remain are which players will receive rest this game and will it be for the entirety of the game? Reid wouldn’t commit to any specific players or plan quite yet, but he did confirm who the starting quarterback would be on Sunday if Patrick Mahomes was one of the players getting some rest.

“I would tell you If Pat (Patrick Mahomes) doesn’t go, Chad (Henne) will be the guy,” Reid concluded.

If Mahomes doesn’t play on Sunday, he’ll have finished the regular season with 390 completions for 4,740 yards and 38 touchdowns to six interceptions. That’s a career-high in passes completed for Mahomes and not a bad stat line for his third year as a starter.

Perhaps the plan will mimic that of Week 17 back in 2013. Chase Daniel had a near-win against the then-San Diego Chargers, falling four points shy of victory. Now, Chad Henne will likely get his shot to lead the team to victory against the same AFC West opponent.

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Seahawks managing tackle Duane Brown with rest throughout week

The Seattle Seahawks are managing the health of left tackle Duane Brown with rest throughout the workweek during the 2020 season.

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The Seattle Seahawks have a game plan in mind to keep veteran left tackle Duane Brown healthy throughout the 2020 season.

“We’ve really managed him all the way through camp,” coach Pete Carroll said after Friday’s walkthrough. “We’re just working him on a schedule. He’s been around a long time and we want to make sure to take care of him. It’s a long year, and we don’t want to go until he feels something.”

Brown was not listed on the Seahawks injury report on Friday, but he was limited in practice on Wednesday and Friday and sat out Thursday’s session altogether.

“We’re just managing him kind of with a regular system,” Carroll continued. “We think we’re on it right now, so it’ll be very much the same for a while.”

Since Brown wasn’t designated as even questionable to play on Friday’s report, there should be no concerns about him starting Sunday against the Falcons in Atlanta.

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Seahawks resting left tackle Duane Brown at times to keep him fresh

The Seattle Seahawks will be resting starting left tackle Duane Brown at times during training camp to keep the 13-year-veteran fresh.

The Seattle Seahawks are giving starting left tackle Duane Brown a little downtime during training camp. He sat out Sunday’s practice but not because of an injury.

“We’re trying to take care of him over the long haul,” coach Pete Carroll told reporters during his Zoom press conference on Monday. “He’s in incredible shape. He’s just pumped, looks quick as ever. He can get by with a lesser workload. Long-haul thinking for us.”

But taking care of the 13-year-veteran over the long haul isn’t the only reason Brown might be sitting out some reps.

“And the young guys need the work,” Carroll continued. “Cedric [Ogbuehi] needs to be able to get as many reps as he can to show us what he can do.”

The Seahawks practice again on Tuesday before breaking on Wednesday for this week’s day off.

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Warriors to monitor Stephen Curry’s minutes next season

Of course, those numbers for Wiggins were without Thompson on the floor – and without, for all but one game together, Curry. That one game in March was the only one Curry played after breaking his hand four games into the season last November. Curry will be 32 when the Warriors lace ’em up again for real, and Kerr said it was time to start putting him on a version of the KG Plan going forward. “Now, (Curry’s) at the point where he’s been at the peak of his powers for the last couple of years,” Kerr said of his two-time league MVP. “If anything, it’s on us to try to begin to manage his minutes. We’ve always been really blessed. We’ve been able to do that because of the talent on our team. We’ve never really run Steph into the ground. We don’t have as much depth as we once did. It’s on us as a coaching staff to make sure we get him his rest every night, and we’re not wearing him out.”