PITTSBURGH _ It is difficult to understand why, seven months after the COVID-19 pandemic began, there are so many people who seem so clueless as to how it works. The only thing that is known or predictable about it is that it is mostly unpredictable.
That's why all of these people calling for the Titans to have to forfeit the planned Steelers game this weekend are comical. I have to laugh at how silly that idea is because it keeps me from crying about how ridiculous people are.
What happened to the Titans could happen to any team, any day. It doesn't necessarily mean that anyone did anything wrong because, well, we're dealing with a virus that is contagious and spreads in a multitude of ways.
Yes, maybe someone did something they weren't supposed to, but that doesn't seem to be the case. In fact, some reports have said one of the bus drivers in Minnesota that drove both the Astros and Titans around has tested positive for the virus. So that means the Titans must forfeit a game because they rode the wrong bus to the stadium or airport?
Give me a break.
The Steelers are the victims of bad luck in that they happen to be scheduled to play against the first NFL team that has had an in-season outbreak. Those are the breaks, and it is beyond everyone's control.
When it was the St. Louis Cardinals or Miami Marlins and the outbreak was clearly because players broke protocol, OK, maybe there should be something punitive attached to that. But the NFL's other 31 general managers and head coaches are all looking at the Titans situation and saying "But for the grace of God that could be us."
This virus seems to have no concern for when it shows up and whom it affects. It seems to show up at the worst possible time, actually, and it has caused a lot of inconvenience. That's life in 2020, though, isn't it?
The NFL is trying to have a season where every team gets in all 16 games. Health and safety of players is the top concern; the second concern is finding a way to play a whole season.
Fairness is not really a priority, nor should it be. This is a league that wasn't even sure it would be able to play a couple of months ago. Officials know they are hanging on for dear life and will do anything and everything to try and keep the season going.
If there is one slight criticism, it is that the NFL didn't build an open week for every team in Week 18 to handle this situation exactly. But the decision was made Friday to play Steelers-Titans on Oct. 25 and move the Steelers-Ravens game back one week to Nov. 1.
Mike Tomlin was asked about all of this Thursday. He was asked about playing 13 weeks in a row and how tough that could be and what his thoughts are about that.
"We do not care," he said.
Next question please.
That's a great answer _ and the right answer.
