Goodell did blow this one, Mike. The game could easily be moved to Baltimore or another stadium in Texas, perhaps (Dallas's if they have an away game).

Yes he did. Now, we have no bye week. Thanks Commish!

Mike--I agree with you on this one, but I can see where Goodell was coming from. He did not want to give the Ravens the advantage of having an "away" game at home.
The Houston owner did not want to lose the money from the home game.

But Roger should have known that Ike was going to damage the stadium and the city and been more proactive

It would have been better to move the site of the game rather than the date. Now we lost our bye week and with a veteran team having a week off mid season can help with tired players.

If the Houston owner really did not want the Ravens to have the advantage, he should have limited who the tickets to the game went to.

Forget moving the game to Baltimore, what about moving the game to any other neutral site in the state of Texas? That would be more convenient for the fans and families than moving it to Baltimore and the owners could get the money from those concessions. Now, the Ravens are the ones that really get the short of the stick, having their bye week changed to week 2. Shame on the greed of the Texans owners and Goodell in handling this circumstance.

I can't believe it, I actually agree with something Mike Preston wrote. The game could have just as easily been moved to Atlanta or New Orleans. Its just another example of Baltimore getting the shaft from the NFL.

You people are funny. We still do not know the full fall out of the storm. I just heard on MSNBC that with the water level being so high they do not no how many deaths there are. They could only confirm one, and there is a 18 year old man missing. Most of the people in that community do not have power, and you people are talking about a game being played or not being played. If an athlete made the comments I read on this board they would be ripped by you guys and the media. Now is not the time for football, now is the time to see how bad the damage is, help the people of Houston heal and then talk football. Final point, should the Houston fans lose out on a game. Are they just supposed to pick up and travel to Baltimore. I mean gas is only $3.50 a gallon.

Thanks For Nothing Mr. Goodell !
We all knew the game would not be played there Monday but you. Rogers first mistake in power just cost Baltimore BIG ! A bye we had was when you want one, NOT on week 2. Why couldn't they just played the game in Dallas Texas Sunday at 4:15 or a double header Sunday night? It's still in Texas and the Cowboys don't play until Monday night. It made more sence then going to Atlanta. Thanks Roger. Thanks for nothing!!

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the communities in Galveston & Houston, TX.
With that said, what is wrong with Steve Biscotti & Matt Stover - the Ravens NFL Player Rep???.
You are going to make your team work 16 weeks in a row without a Break!!! That is insane. You will say, "well they are off this weekend". NO,they were practicing all week. Hey guys "Grow a Pair". This change in the weather now causes the Ravens' players & families to change their vacation plans and catch up on needed rest in mid season.
At least the NFL should have given the Texans the option to move the game to Baltimore or a neutral site or FORFEIT the game. The Ravens should not be penalized.
Maybe the NFL thinks that the Ravens should just get along and hang out in their museum.

Mike

I agree. All indications early on were that this was a major storm and going to, if not hit Houston directly, was going to have a severe impact on the Houston infrastructure. Gee, really. Did he really beleive that only two days after the hurricane that power would be up, flooding would be down and people would be back? How stupid. I think that a decision to move the game should have been made by Friday at the latest. Both teams had practiced all week for a game that was not to be, due to a commissioner it appears was more interested in appeasing the Houston owner over home turf than providing for the entertainment and enjoyment of both fan bases. What do you expect though, afterall this is big business.

Thank you, Mike. I really appreciate this. I would like to ask you to write a full editorial on the decision, the consequences, and what could have been done better. As help, I can point out that if Hurricane Gustav was too harsh, New Orleans would have had it's home game at Indianapolis. That was just last week. An incredible double standard.

I feel terrible for the Ravens and John Harbaugh, whose season has just gotten much harder. Imagine if the Ravens claw and fight to stay in playoff contention, only to fall apart due to exhaustion at the end of the season.

If this was done at the insistence of the Houston owner, then that is appalling. He put his own financial interests over the health of his team. The Texans have just become my second least favourite team in the NFL.

I agree. Who'd re-schedule a game ONE day after a major hurricane? Who did Goodell think would show up?

Now we essentially have no bye-week.

I agree that this should have been planned better. If not Baltimore an alternate site should have been picked well ahead of time. Instead both teams are impacted because they are taking a bye week when they least need it. Yup, the NFL botched this one badly.

Amen to that. They could have played the game in Dallas tomorrow, since the Cowboys don't play until Monday night. Or they could have played it in San Antonio.

They moved the Chargers' home game to Phoenix a couple of years ago because of the wild fires. And of course they moved the Saints' home games. So why is Houston so special?

I disagree with your thoughts about this. Having the game in Baltimore would have been a slap in the face to the Houston. People critized what happened when the Giants were given a ninth home game.

It may have been better to do it as a neutral site game on Monday night or Sunday. Houston is a top 10 market and it would alienate a market you want to do well in the NFL. You wouldn't do that to say the Washington Redskins.

The Texans didn't have to lose a home date.

From moment one, instead of rescheduling a game for Monday (if it wasn't going to be ok Sunday, then it wouldn't be Monday anyway) just have the Ravens and Texans play in Baltimore.

Then have the Ravens play at the Raiders. Raiders play at Texans.

No missed byes - no bye weeks in week #2. You already had to bring in a 3rd team (Cincy) so this makes more sense.

An alternate site should have been chosen at the same time the game was moved to monday. These were the options then:

1) Baton Rouge
2) San Antonio
3) Dallas
4) Atlanta
5) New Orleans
6) Baltimore

What incredible luck that 3,4 and 5 all had road games this week! The city of New Orleans already lost 1 game this year when the chargers/saints game was moved to London.

I think that IF the texans practice facility was undamaged (as reported) and IF the texans were able to have a practice and walkthrough on Sunday morning, then NEITHER team would have benefited from having the game played at a neutral site.

The game should have been played in NEW ORLEANS...the NFL still owes that community, partly because of that bogus "home" game the saints played in The Meadowlands during Katrina, and also for the London game.

I would have let fans in the superdome for free...remember when San Diego and Miami played at Arizona state and they let college students in for free?

What a crock. So the Ravens essentially get no bye week this year? That's fair. I'm sure that in the interest of fairness, the rest of the NFL will forego their bye week as well. This is laughable. This is a shame. The Texans should have picked up and moved to San Antonio and played the game there for a week. They're still in Texas, they still get all the revenue of a home game, and maybe they increase their fan base in SW Texas. To force both teams to play 17 straight weeks, while 30 other teams get a break, is unfair.

Agreed. It's outrageous that we have to play 15 consecutive weeks. Who the hell wants a bye in Week 2?? Why should the Ravens be punished for the league's poor planning? There are neutral sites on which this game could have been played this weekend. I call BS on Goodell.

This means we'll have 5 road games in 6 weeks in the middle of the season. The Alamodome is only 3 hours away and could have hosted an event.

Let's face it, Mike, Bob McNair is one of those handful of powerful owners who get whatever they want from the league. Along with Bob Kraft (New England), Jerry Jones (Dallas), Pat Bowlen (Denver) and a few others (you know, the owners they always show Goodell and, before him, Tagliabue sitting with in their owner's boxes), these guys dictate to the commissioner, not vice versa. What I can't understand is why Bisciotti, with Dick Cass's assistance,
hasn't yet managed to enter the pantheon of league power brokers. I thought that's one reason why Cass was brought in as club president (the other being to act as Bisciotti's not-so-covert agent among the players seeking to undermine the previous head coach). Maybe the Ravens' cooperation in this matter will gain Bisciotti some brownie points with the commissioner's office, but I doubt it.

Look at both sides for a minute and stop whining about the game being moved to Baltimore; that was never going to happen. It was a mistake for the Saints to travel to NY for a "home" game in 2005. What should have happened is the game moved to San Antonio, where they still had the home town crowd.

Well,

Its happened and we need to start looking at this from a different point of view.

1. Cleveland plays the Steelers tomorrow and we all know that is gonna be a bruiser. So guess what they get to face next .. A pissed off pent up rested Ravens team. Advantage Ravens now where if they had played Monday .. would have been Advantage Cleveland. There is your one game right there and its an important game .. more so important than the Texans.

2. Dinged up Key Ravens players now get another week to heal up and get ready for Cleveland. This is again an advantage.

3. Flacco gets another game against a suspect Defense to grow. This could be looked at as another growth step for a Kid that seems to grow leaps and bounds per game. The same goes for the O-Line.

Look people. It sucks to have to play 15 in a row. But if the Ravens can hang tough here the next few weeks maybe they can get off to a decent start. Healthy and more cohesive.

I know this sounds blasphemous, but I would rather forfeit 1 game than play without a bye week. We could recover from one loss, but playing all those weeks in a row could lead to injuries and fatigue that could cost us several games.

Hey Mike,
I just sent Roger Goodell a letter asking him to consider moving the game to a neutral site to be played on Tuesday evening. That way we will not have to play 15 weeks in a row without no bye week(especially since we have been practicing this week like we would play monday night). What do you think about this?

They did not have to move the game to Baltimore but they should have had a contingency plan. Sure the Texans lose one home game, but now BOTH teams lose their bye week which I am sure does not make the players very happy (and I wonder if it violates the CBA). With all of that said, in the short term, it could help the Ravens. With all of the injuries this team has, it will be good to give the guys a week off. Hopefully when we get to Houston in November, we'll have a full roster and be ready to roll. Now let's get ready for the Browns!

I think for one weekend we can forget football and worry about the people of Texas...The game should have been moved to the 10th week in the first place...These players also have family, friends and homes in the Houston area. I think that is where their minds are and not on a football game. As for the Ravens this a year of fate...lets say a prayer for the people of Texas...the Ravens will be fine....

If anyone remembers, the presedent has already been sent. NO Saints had to play at Giants Stadium because of Katrine. Why did Baltimore have to loose their bye week, but the Giants did not.

Billicks gone now it is Harbaughs turn to see how it feels to get screwed by the NFL.

Is there more to this story than we know ? Why didn't Bisscoti opposse such a move ?
How do we contact the NFL Commissioners Office?

In normal circumstances, having your bye week moved to the 2nd week would be a disaster. However, this Ravens team came out of the preseason so banged-up, I'm not sure that it's a bad thing. Friday's injury report had 17 names on it (Houston's had only 8)! If players like Kelly Greg, Ed Reed, Chris McAlister, Fabian Washington, Demetrius Williams, and Todd Heap can heal and play well this year, then this may be what the team actually needs.

Mike, please write a full article on this tomorrow. I would like to hear the explanation from Roger Goodell. What was this idiot thinking? Everyone knew that this game was not going to happen on Thursday. I was shocked when he made the decision to keep it in Houston. If it's because of the Texan's owner then Goodell does not have what it takes to be commisioner. He botched the Spygate scandal by destroying the tapes and now botched this. He does not have what it takes to lead the NFL.

You and all of the idiots co-signing on this genius idea must live in a gated community called Ravenville. I'm sure you won't post this but you don't take a home game away from a team due to natural dissaster. And I find it quierly ironic that the only responses you post are those that agree with this scewed point of view. I'm the biggest Ravens fan there is, seriously, no fan is more in tune with this team than me. Had a hurricane struck B-more you wouldn't find a single Raven fan ponying up to send the game elsewhere. And we all know Mr. B would have it, even though it's not all about money. Mr. Goddell did just has he should. You my friend need a reality check. In fact I'll stop underestimating you. Good job Mikey!!! Way to go. You sure know how to get a response out of people. There's no way you actually believe what you're writing.

Oh No! No bye week? The horror! Call the union - NOW.
Thousands of people may have lost everything they own and I'm reading an article and comments about losing the bye week. Are you kidding me? Considering the players' salaries, they should be able to play once a week.

This is another screw-up by the NFL! This situation could have been totally avoided but instead it turned into a logistical nightmare because of bad planning and not relying on multiple weather reports! Both teams now get royally screwed with this so called week 2 Bye. This isn't/won't even be a bye week because both teams practiced all week and have to get right back at it starting on Wednesday.

My thoughts go out to Houston and the surrounding areas affected by the storm! My anger is directed towards the poor planning by the NFL.

In addition, "Both teams play the Raiders later in the season. The Ravens play them at home and the Texans on the road. If the NFL had simply switched the venues of those 2 dates, everything would have worked out, with minimal disruption to the schedule. Everyone would have had 8 home and road games, nobody's bye would have to be moved, and Oakland would have until week 8 to deal with any minor issues that this may have caused them."

Really shows you how well NFL executives thought about alternatives!

http://www.wnst.net /WNSTBaltimoreSports Radio/tabid/36/Entry ID/6256/Default.aspx

Goodell & the NFL have screwed up again. You mean they couldn't read a damn weather forecast and move/postpone this game DAYS AGO appropriately without this fiasco?

Only money being protected here is Texan's OWNER's season ticket & concessions money, the NFL couldn't give a rats ass about the people Houston, anything else & everyone knows it and the NFL clearly proved it through their utter stupidity.

Pathetic.

Where was Dick Cass when this decision was made? I thought he was supposed to bring the Ravens clout with the NFL. When is that clout going to actually benefit the team?

How stupid are you people ? People lose everything and the devestation of this storm and you worry about why the NFL didn't prepare. For years there was no bye week, its time for these guys to earn their millions. Be thankful the storm wasn't here.

Goodell is strong on the players: See Packman Jones.

Goodell is strong on the fans: See the new code of conduct.

Goodell is still scared of the owners: See this SNAFU in Houston.

Mike,

How big of a deal is it to lose your bye week -- especially when it's as favorable of one as Week 8, right in the middle of the season?

On a bright note, players like Ed Reed and Kelly Gregg can get healthy for Cleveland, I suppose.

The NFL is joke. I guarantee if that storm was headed to Boston or Dallas things would have been handled differently. How can the Raven's ownership stand by and let this go down. Once again, we get screwed.

Mike I saw this coming. The NFL is all about screwing Baltimore. The Ravens, the fans, and the City of Baltimore. Remember the expansion, they gave them to Carolina and Jacksonville over Baltimore. And then if that wasn't bad enough they let the Redskins move to Laurel, not far from Baltimore.

Yeah Preston I agree with you this was mishandled so badly. I didn't realize the damge was going to be that bad to Houston till Friday morning and Goodell made the wrong call keeping this in Houston. There was no reason this could not have been moved since as people have mentioned it has been done before, if something like this had happened to Dallas it would have definitely been moved to Philly.

Goodell has now proved that he cannot handle a difficult situation. The only thing he has been doing is managing player's and their behavior, which is a good thing, but there is much more to his job than handing out fines. I agree with Mike Preston on this one! The forecast for this storm was known early in the week and this Goodell acted like a non-believer just like the idiots that rode out the storm. They could have played this game Thursday night in Houston, but they waited until Friday to make any decisions and then he sat around today arguing with both teams about what to do. Let's move on and get ready for Cleveland! We should have a healthy team ready for week 3. Unfortunately, Mr. Goodell has ruined any chances of having a fresh, healthy team late in the year. The players have to be beside themselves!

I'm very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very mad. He did blow it. The Ravens need that bye badly. Give the Ravens extra draft picks or something.

Such an old story about us getting shafted. This game should've been moved to Atlanta, and now, we have no bye week, we gotta play fifteen straight games.

I think you all are totally underestimating the logistics that would have to go into 'moving' a game to another city. That is no easy task. It is such an overwhelming task that they probably deemed it unrealistic. And moving it to Baltimore should never have been an option. Could you imagine if it was reversed and they would be taking away a home game from Baltimore. You all would be going crazy now and saying they hate Baltimore. It was a very difficult situation for the NFL and they did the best they could. Even though it was being forecasted for a direct hit, it could have very easily changed direction and had it gone a just a little north or south, then they would probably be playing on Monday. Imagine the outrage if they would have moved it to New Orleans or Atlanta and then the storm missed and didn't cause any damage. Now think about it if it was a storm heading for Baltimore. Would you all be all happy with the idea of the home game being played in the Meadowlands? I don't think so! And by the way, Houston also get screwed out of a bye, not just the Ravens.

There you go Ravens fans, you now have your excuse for yet another miserable year. Blame it on Ike, Goddell or the late bye week. Shame you cannot accept that your team is not that good.

Let's look on the BRIGHT side for a moment (Ravens-wise anyway, there is nothing bright in H-town with Ike ripping through there). Maybe this allows some banged up Ravens to heal an be that much more fresh for another division rival game vs. the Clowns. It also allows Flacco to get another game under his belt in front of a fan friendly home crowd. The football gods work in mysterious ways!

This is a major screw up on the part of the NFL. They've given the Ravens a major setback bye taking the bye week from them. Houston comes out clean as a whistle with a bye week in tact. There is no way to determine the impact this will have on the Ravens late in the year, but it probably will not be good. There is nothing going on here is San Antonio this weekend at the Alamodome to prevent a game from being played. The let the Saints in for the 05 season after Katrina. Roger Goddell and his incompetent staff really stuck it to us this time. Some sort of compensation from the league is due.

First, I hope and pray for the folks in Texas. What a disaster. That said, there was a solution that I think the NFL should have considered. What common, non-division opponent was on both the Ravens and Texans schedule, and scheduled to play the Ravens in Baltimore and the Texans in Houston? Answer: The Oakland Raiders. Texans should have been ordered to play the Ravens in Baltimore, and in return, they would get the Raiders in Houston. The Ravens would have switched to play the Raiders in Oakland. All three teams would have retained their bye dates, and would have had the same amount of home games. Why can't the commissioner's office think out of the box like that?

Everyone knows that Goodell is a life-long Steelers fan. I knew from the start that they weren't gonna be able to play in Houston, so i have my suspicians about his handling of this situation.

Nice. Six road games in nine weeks, and no bye week, for all intents and purposes. Roger Tagliabue did us a solid, huh? Can someone PLEASE tell the NFL office that Art doesn't own the team anymore, so they can stop screwing us over at every opportunity? One last thing - if Gene Upshaw was still here, this wouldn't have gone down like this.

I whole heartedly DISAGREE with both you Mike and the other Morons posting here. Its a freaking game. You all are nothing more concerned than ME! Those complainging about losing the bye, well then, they are a bunch of pussies then. You know dimwits, the BYE is only a recent phenomenon. A decade ago, it was non-existant. Shame on all of you for being so self absorbed. Did it ever occur to any of you that (well, I know it wouldn't occur to Mike) that a heck of a lot of Americans are going be living in squaler, without electricity for the next several weeks, many Texans players families will be affected, tens of thousands of Americans will be trying to piece their lives back together starting tomorrow, and all you are concerned about is how it inconviences YOU! I am almost ashamed to be a Ravens fan reading these posts. No wonder we have received the moniker of Balitmorons. Based on these posts, we deserve it. Especially YOU Mike Preston.

how cool would it have been if they made the monday night in Dallas a double header. I mean the same stadium and the same night, or let the ravens play there sundayand the cowboy game as the monday night game it is scheduled to be. You never want your bye week to be week 2 of the season, this is a terrible job by Godell and I don't think he is all that much of a commish anyway

Not only does the new scheduling glitch force the Ravens to play 15 consecutive weeks - it gives Baltimore (3) straight road games (Cleveland, Houston, NY Giants) and 5 road games over a 6 week stretch starting with Indy October 12th. Talk about a proverbial hosing by the NFL!

Home field advantage is a big deal in football anyone who has ever been to a Ravens game understands this. While this is frustrating you have to understand that moving the game anywhere would be an overall disadvantage to the Texans. No owner is going to be willing to give up a home game and Goodell knows this cut him some slack. Besides I'm sure all of us would be outraged if the Ravens had to give up a home game.

Goodell is an idiot! 2 major decisions 2 screw-ups. Katrina last year and now this BS. Couldn't reschedule the game for the end of the season? Too stupid to believe the weather forecasters? He's a jackass and both the Ravens and the Texans get screwed. There are reasons to hate the NFL and this is one.

The ONLY previous comment on this page that shows the poster has ANY intelligence was posted by Jon.

You idiots are worried about a game when people are now homeless, injured, or even dead? How sick are you people?

Everyone but Jon needs to see a doctor. And yes, that includes Mr. Michael Preston, who seems to have more concern about a silly game than people who are truly in need.

Should have moved the game to Heinz Field. It would have been a sell-out, the fans could be counted on to play the part of a home team for Houston, and the Texans should feel at home there as they just played there in Week 1. In fact, the fans likely would be louder in their boos and taunts towards the Ravens in Pittsburgh than they ever would find in a game in Houston. Additionally, the Steelers are away this week so they would have full stadium access to get ready for a Monday night game.

For the second time this year, I agree with MP.

I don't remember the first MP agreement, but we certainly did get the shaft on this one.

I know...I know...our hearts and prayers should be with those suffering in the greater Houston area and they are, but our hearts are and always will be with our team also.

Hopefully the coaching staff will be able to downplay the importance of the bye week, i.e., "mind over matter", but it may be hard to do that with injuries. We can fight through fatigue. Injuries are another story!

Dallas would never go for the game being played there just one day before theirs. think about the disadvantage to them.... this is a huge storm and the Cowboys fiels is obviously pretty wet right now from rain itself. the turf on that field would have been so dammaged fand tore rom a game one day prior that it would put the Cowboy players and its opponents at a much greater risk for injury because no grounds crew can repair a wet field that fast. having said that the solution is simple- switch the venues for the games the Ravens and Texans play aginst the Raiders . bring Huston here this week, and switch stadiums for the Oakland dates. let us go there and Oakland come to Huston and the home-away game balance is perfectly maintained.

They could have easily moved this game on Thursday to Atlanta, Dallas, or New Orleans. Only the morons in the NFL front office would think that a city taking a direct hit by a category 3 hurricane would be ready to play a football game two days later.

Did everyone forget that the Texans lose too. They have lost thier bye week. Now they have to play Cin. on that day. We all loose.

Hopefully everyone is OK if the Houston area.

Goodell worried more about taking a home game away from a team that may not have a "home" game in their stadium for a few months anyway because of damages. He worries about this while he takes away a home game from the Dolphins to make them play in rainy London.

Also, Goodell puts the Texans and their families in danger by keeping them in the city on the dim hopes of playing monday night, rather than moving the game to Balitmore, which would have SOLD OUT in an hour. How were the Ravens supposed to fly in there in 30-40 mph winds sunday??? Ridiculous.

Did Tagliabue come out of retirement or something???

Prior Planning Prevents Pee Poor Performance.

One the subject of Hurricanes and in the Bush isn't the Devil Dept... read about past hurricanes on Wikipedia. Katrina wasnt the first time FEMA blew it on a natural disaster... If anything, Katrina helped open the Feds eyes to its shortcomings and helped it respond well during Gustav and Ike. Only Agency to blow it on Ike was the N F L

Baloney. This was a very reasonable answer to an unfortunate situation. Get a grip. The city of Houston deserves to watch their team once this is over. Kudos to Goodell!

the people in houston are recovering from a natural disaster football is the last thing they care about. yeah, the ravens got screwed out of a bye week, but honestly, you really dont think a bye week in november would make a difference? you will still not beat the reigning afc north champs. crying over spilled milk, and lost bye weeks, focus on the important. people will be looking for loved ones and getting their lives back on track.

To all Ravens and thier fans welcome back to the NFL's drive through. You know what's going to happen, but you keep comming back and you're already making plans to watch the game on Monday Night when you realized you got #!@ED!

Goodell is spineless and we're going to pay for it. A veteran-laden team with 15 straight games and NO bi week. Yeah, that's totally fair. Unbelievable. And that scumbag Bob McNair exposed his true colors by forcing his OWN team to play 15 straight rather than lose some revenue. Hopefully the media will point out what a shaft this is for the Ravens but they're not in New York so I won't hold my breathe.

Please send the commish your thoughts at:

National Football League
Attn: Roger Goodell, Commissioner
280 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10017

I think he made a horrible mistake!!!

I really can't understand Baltimorons. I wonder how all the bloggers were in on the conference call. Was it just Biscotti, Goodell, the texans owner and you guys? We don't know if other owners participitated and saying the texans owner was being greedy is hysterical. First of all, the financial details and splits are worked out way before the 1st fan walks thru the gate.Moving it to Baltimore is rediculous. Let's just start with ticket sales. Who determines that? Do season ticket holders get them?. that's not fair to the fans who may only get one chance to see a game. But the two best comments were "they have to work 16 weeks in a row, like the fan doesnt do that . oops Harbaugh just gave them three days off. But the classic was , the texans should FORFEIT the game. Ravens fans should move to wisconsin so they can get a little cheese with that wine

Coach Harbaugh will just have to arrange more days off from practice during the season

The NFL new this storm was coming at the beginning of the week, why didn't they play the game on Friday?

Goodell is supposed to be in charge, screw Bob McNair, if you don't want to move the game here because all the criticism the league took in 05 when they moved the Giants/Saints game to the Meadowlands, then play it in New Orleans. Now my team is screwed because of this crap. 15 straight games & the bye the 2nd week of the season.

a week 2 bye week? seriously? goodell must be mildly retarded rescheduling to monday when he could of moved the game to any other of the 50 states available

No one wants to postpone a game, so you give it every chance you can. The Comish. was correct, once again Preston you blew it.

What's the big deal,baseball games get reschduled all the time.Team salaries are set tor revenues you can't afford to lose hundreds of thousands moving a game somewhere else.

We all need to write to the Commissioner. He dropped the ball big time on this one. You think people in Houston are thinking about football when their lives are in shambles? They wouldn't care if the football game was held on the moon!!

Somehow I think we have loss our focus on what is important in life. So our players have no bye, too bad, maybe they will have to earn their money and try to stay in football shape. I remember when we had early bye weeks. But then again it will give the doom and gloomers an excuse if we have a bad season. maybe we will only be 9 and 7.

Hey guys.... this was about money. The texans owner refused to move the game. From what I read on other posts, there could have been changes made with the Oakland game that would have kept the season the same.......

The greed of money was the decision maker here, not common sense.

Goodell sided with the Houston owner that was only worried about Money.

Money > common sense

Atleast in Goodell's world.

Unbelievable that the biggest thing people are complaining about is the Bye Week. All those alternate sites and scenerios I am reading here would assume that the players from the Texans have a working airport and transportation system to even get out of Houston be able to get to another site to play a game. As of Sunday morning both airports are closed as are many of the major roads in the area. Remember at times like this, it is only a 'game' and the personal well-being of the players and family of the Texans is much more important than worrying about the Ravens Bye Week!

To the people who think we are ridiculous for discussing how the Ravens and Texans got screwed - we are talking from the footbal perspective, everyone knows that devastastion and tragedy has occurred in Texas. However; to postpone the game in an NFL season is just plain stupid. Teams need the bye weeks in the later weeks of the season because this is a grueling season. Thanks Roger, now the Ravens and Texans get to play 15 straight weeks - good luck to both teams but that is almost an impossible task. He should have just moved the game to New Orleans or Atlanta and cut a check for the Texans. Bud Selig didn't even screw this one up, the Astros home games are being moved to Milwaukee against the owner's wishes. The NFL season doesn't have any room for leeway in rescheduling games, unless you move to another venue, a team's schedule is screwed. Thanks NFL, you screwed both teams.

Why couldn't they have set an alternate site up AGES in advance? For instance we could have played at Aggie's Kyle Field and EVERYTHING WOULD HAVE BEEN FINE!!!

Goodell is the G. W. Bush of the NFL.

Mike, I agree. But I think everyone has overlooked the larger problem for the Ravens, which is that the guts of their schedule, which already included 3 of 4 on the road (somehow this is always unique to the Ravens' schedule) has now become 4 of 5 away games AND an amazing 6 of 8 on the road for a team with one of the toughest schedules in the league.
Do you think the NFL would have done this to their beloved Steelers or Colts? I think Bischotti needed to be tougher in this situation.

I disagree with all of you. The Ravens need this week off. Reed can use it, the new tackle can use it, McAllister, can use it, Smith can use it, Gregg can use it, and what' with the crying about 15 weeks without a break? What are you, a bunch od sissies? This is football!

Putting the game in New Orleans would have made perfect sense. If any city would turn out to cheer full throat for a team displaced by a hurricane, that's the one. Even though it would have been a neutral site, nobody there would have been cheering for the Ravens.

It looks like Bob McNair was just too greedy to give up a home game, and Goodell wasn't willing to either pay him off out of the NFL's billions to cover the lost game or, better yet, just tell him to shut up deal with it.

I agree it stinks that we miss out on our bye week, but you have to remember that Roger Goddell, the Ravens, and the Texans all had a meeting to discuss the matter and if they had any obbjections they could have voiced them at that time. Also Jim. This is a forum to discuss football. If you want to talk about the weather go to the weatherchannel.com. Thats like going to HGTV's website and saying "Come on girls now is not the time to talk about how to plant plants, lets go repair the damage" No one is saying they dont care about the storm, or the people affected by it, but think about the matter being disscussed. Everyone who comes here wants to talk about football.

Once again, David Steele misses the point. The Saints/Giants game did make a difference because the Giants won that game at Giant Stadium and barely reached the playoffs as a result. Also, the impact on a young Ravens team to have the bye week after the first game, rather than in mid-season, means they have to play 15 straight weeks.

Wouldn't it be nice to be the Cowboys and Lions, teams who get two byes each year thanks to Thanksgiving, when they play at home, and then get 11 days off. Oh, and they get a league sanctioned bye. Gee, that's fair, Competition Committee. For those who argue they play on 4 days rest to play on Thanksgiving, lots of teams do that in December when college football is done to fill the Thursday night void. But I digress. This is lousy for the hometeam Ravens--I guess Mr. Steele is still miffed that Troy wasn't named the starter last January.

Yeah, the "away" game in Baltimore would have been great for us, but would it have been fair. How would you feel if it were the other way around?

Let's say you have tickets to the game. A hurricane comes through, floods your home, knocks your job out of commission for a while, and by the way, the game you were going to is now 1000 miles away at the other team's stadium. Enjoy watching the game on you . . . oh yeah, you have no TV. Enjoy going down to the bar . . .that just got destroyed. Enjoy trying to listen to the game on a tiny little battery powered radio while you patch up the hole on the wall with the tickets you won't be using.

Or maybe the game is moved to a stadium only a few hours away. You could jump in your car and...right, it's flooded. And there is no bus or train service. Or maybe you could rent a car and fill it with $5 per gallon gas and go watch a game instead of trying to deal with the mess at home. The kids will understand the hole in the roof.

I can not believe how shallow most of these comments are. Yeah the Ravens are getting screwed, but so are the Texans. And considering how the majority of people on this site thought the Ravens would do this season, is getting a raw deal this year so big? Grow up people and realize that there are think more important than football.

Houston and Baltimore both got the shaft. If this had involved teams in New York, New England, Dallas or Washington, it would have been handled differently because everyone knows they actually run the league.

What a ridiculous statement, blaming Goodell. All these Ravens fans', Mike Preston the biggest rah rah of all, would be screaming at the top of their lungs had the situation been reversed and the Ravens were told to play a home game elsewhere. I wasn't aware that Mike Preston was also a meteorologist and can predict the path of a hurricane better than the experts. Goodell and the NFL did the right thing. Stop the whining and always complaining how the NFL is out to screw the Ravens. What nonsense.

The real solution here was to move the game "up" to a Friday night game...get in and out of town BEFORE the hurricane hit.

Moving it to Baltimore, when there are dozens of other neutral sites would have been the worst solution.

Once again, some in Baltimore (I live here too!) are acting like the whole NFL is against us.

I understand why everyone is upset. However if the game had been moved to Baltimore then every team in the AFC would have a complaint because the Ravens would get 9 home games. The best solution would have been to move this game to the University of Texas or another major stadium close to Houston.

"At least the NFL should have given the Texans the option to move the game to Baltimore or a neutral site or FORFEIT the game. The Ravens should not be penalized."

Absolutely correct! This was a crime! A travesty! Now, The Ravens are committed to FIVE straight road games which no other team has to face. This plus the effective loss of bye week (essential for recuperation in a long season) is intolerable and shows the despicable contempt of the league for the Ravens.

People - some- carp about the inconsideration for people in Houston, but what about the greedy Texan owners who refused to change the venue of the game out of pure greed? These pigs ought to be held in contempt as much as the NFL.

This is one of the most egregious and outrageous violations ever inflicted on a team in NFL history. And yeah, Stover, why didn't you man up and fight harder? Jeebus, what a p*ssy.

One has to wonder if the "Colts or Patriots" played in Houston if Roger would still have that game go on at another location? Now the only two teams with a EARLY week 2 bye is Houston and Baltimore. WOW Mr. Goodell, you just shot down any chance of either of these teams makeing the Playoffs. Who's to say the Ravens might of had a good win streak going on in the first half, and without that bye on Nov. 9th, the Ravens will for sure run out of steam and be too banged up to compete at an even level as the other teams who get there rest when needed. Clearly Mike, any possible thought the Ravens fans had of competeing for a Div. or even Wildcard are now gone. There is no way this team can pull that off. Goodelll's first BIG Blunder is with the Ravens. Wow is anyone surprised. It's like the former "Paul" all over again huh? A STUPID BONE HEAD MISTAKE that has ended the Ravens season early! Thanks Goodell

This might actually help the Ravens. Next week v. Browns is a really big game for them, and several players who are coming off of injuries could use the extra preparation/recovery time. It's a bummer for us fans, but it beats having our houses flooded.

Once again the Ravens Got it shoved right up you know where. Correct me if I'm wrong but I cannot remember any NFL team getting a bye week the 2nd week of the season. Do you mean to tell me that Goodell only had a plan " A " which was last minute at best and absolutly no plan
"B" with the forecast basically stating there would be nothing but rescue and recovery going on in that area for day's and possibly weeks to come. You can bet your last $$ that the league would never let this happen to the ALMIGHTY Patriots, Chargers, Colts and dare I even mention that team from western PA.

This was an absolute fumble by the NFL. If Houston insisted on playing why not have the game Friday night in Houston and then everyone could get out before the storm hit. I don't believe the NFL would have moved the game to Baltimore but there were plenty of open stadiums to play in. Now no bye week to hang out in our museum. What will we ever do?

yeah he did. the game could've even been moved to dallas (they have a monday night game) poof all problems solved.

coulda played it at college station, or in austin, or at the alamodome, or any number of places. . .

As I said in your previous post, Houston did not have to give up a home date.

The best scenario would have been for them to play here Monday night. They move our home game with Oakland to Oakland and then have Oakland move their home game with Houston to Houston. Each team then has the some number of home games and you do not penalize Baltimore or Houston by removing their bye week.

As I said before, that would have been too simple. I am surprised none of you sports writers thought of that scenario.

Agree this was a blown decision by the commish but not horrible, it is after all a football game. The end result is fine but the concern is a commisoner who showed a lack of leadership and basic planning skills. He and his team failed to prepare a contingency plan, plain and simple.
Plan A...San Antonio, Plan B Baltimore, Plan C Change the dates, Plan D...Houston Monday Night if the hurricane misses.
The game should have been moved to the San Antonio Alamodome just short trip away and most likely where many folks from Houston traveled to to get away from the storm and "hello!" could have encouraged some of the idots who decided to stay in Houston to leave the city. San Antonio was a home for the Saints after they were misplaced and they sold out the Almodome (built for the NFL 65K seating) for all the Saint games including Christmas Eve.
The comish acted like Bush and looked at the hurricane like a deer caught in the headlights. He failed to have a contingecy plan evidenced by day to day changes and waiting until they could figure out what to do next. Once he screwed up he made the only decision left to juggle schedules and screw fans. Have fun sorting out tickets..great way to treat season ticket holders in Houston and Cinninati. I am sure the owner of the Texans is happy as are the injured players who have another week to rest up and get better. In the meantime when the next disaster strikes be assured the Goodell will not be prepared to handled.

I am from Baltimore and currently live in Houston. I was looking forward to seeing the Ravens play the Texans. To say the the commissioner blew this one by not moving the game is ridiculous. It looks like a war zone in this town and maybe as a socitey we should be more concerned with the people who have lost their homes and have nothing left as opposed to a football game being postponed.

Lose the advantage of the bye week. Also play 3 in a row, 5 of 6 and 6 of 8 on the road. Unless you are rooting for a high draft pick, very bad schedule.

re-scheduling the game is the right thing to do. anyone who disagrees is a moron. a team shouldn't lose a home game because of a hurricane. and to expect houston to come to balt. trust me you idiots who have no idea what a hurricane or tropical storm is all about. they have a hell of lot more on their minds than a game of football.

He blew it big time . Like many said they could have played it in Baltimore and each team would still have their bye week as scheduled . This change can hurt the Raven's chances into the play-offs by not being able to rest up for the eventual big push into the final games , all against top teams . There should be some compensation given to each team for this mistake .

I think the game should have been moved to bmore on monday night with the ticket sales going to the texans, the concession sales going to the city of houston and all other profits going to the ravens franchise. wouldn't this truely help both franchises as well as the city of houston and the nfl in the long run while giving both franchises the benefit of having a later bye week instead of playing 15 straight games. god for bid that the houston franchise lose a little money by missing 1 home game while still potentionally helping them in the long run by having a late bye week to help them with injuries late in the season.

AMEN!
To borrow a Curtis Mayfield/Otis Redding response that MARYLAND fans like myself adopted for VICTORY songs!
Mike Preston and I agree! WTF, yeah that's what I said! Me=Blues/Jazz/Folk, MP= who knows, but it's like adding water and oil. But when it counts, we agree! I hope we both vote for the only sensible candidate for Prez, the big O! Not Otis, not Orbison, but this time, Obama! Vote 4 Honest Change, my friends! Not that Mcbush LIE that is threatening to RUIN OUR GREAT Nation.

Yeah, Mike P is CORRECT!
Yeah, the NFL honcho SCRWD up!
So Ban me!
Just like the NFL scrwd the Chargers on Sunday. It's wot the NFL does.
Yes, BAN me 4ever. It's what we do.
It's what the NFL masters in.
Glorify the IDIOTS, cancel out those too smart. Yeah, that's the ticket. Yeah, yeah.
It'll be amazing if they post this. Hmmmmm.

ACTUALLY

Mike, I normally disagree with everything you write. Why should today be any different? Roger Godell knew the weather situation in the Houston area would be dicey at best on Monday-just like the rest of us. Do you really believe the NFL commissioner doesn't subscribe to the weather channel? Of course he knew that the game being played in Houston tonight wasn't likely, but he also knew something else: That with the exception of pre and post-season, league owners receive revenue from 8 home gates, and he wasn't about to ask Houston to surrender one. The NFL is, afterall, a business-which is why every decision they make centers around money. Godell doesn't care if the Ravens play 15 games straight. He wouldn't care if they played 15 years straight. This is about 80,000 tickets @ $125.00 per...you do the math.

What happened to the people in Houston and how this game has been handled are two different topics IMO. For those that are calling people morons for thinking this is a bad idea, no is saying we aren't thinking about those who lost everything with the hurricane this weekend. But that has nothing to do with how the NFL handled this situation, which in most opinions, was poor. I pray for everyone that lost everything or is missing in Texas, but aside from that, this "solution" is not a very good one. Two separate subjects that have a common denominator

Are you guys serious? What happened in Texas is so much more inportant than a football game. Your team lost their bye week. So what? People have lost their lives and their homes to this storm. All of you really need to look in the mirror and realize what is important. Pathetic. But, I would expect nothing less from Ravens fans.

We all have sympathy for the victims of hurricane IKE and our prayers and help go out to them and their families. Having said that, life still goes on and the rest of the NFL nor the country shut down to morn the victims affected by the storm. Most of the comments are directed at the NFL for not making the best decision regarding this game. There were much better other alternatives than to postpone the game without giving either team a true bye-week. I think that is the issue at hand.

All he had to do was to follow through with what he has done in the past. The last time a game had to be moved was the NYG vs NOS game. We all remember Katrina and how horrible it was. They moved it to NYC and played the game there. Why not do the exact same thing they did then?

They had all the notices for weeks before this game. O well that's the way Baltimore is always treated by the NFL so guess what, bring it, we'll pop them in the face and walk away with the win.

You people crack me up! Move the game to this site, play the game on Tuesday, blah, blah, blah. If they moved the game, the Houston fans WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GO! How is this fair to the season ticket holders for that team. Just think if Baltimore got hit by a blizzard with 10 feet of snow and they moved the game to DC. How many of you would be able to travel to DC one day after a blizzard drops 10 feet of snow??? Suck it up. Professional athletes are very well compensated and this type of adversity is part of the package.

For future reference, the NFL should reconsider scheduling games during hurricane season in areas that are vulnerable to hurricane devastation (Miami, New Orleans, Houston, etc.).

What a bunch of whiners you people are. Wake up!! There are people homeless, suffering, and dead in Houston and Galveston right now and most of you are crying because you can't watch your favorite football team and drink beer all night.

Do you honestly think that the Texans should have to totally forget about their families and homes during a major hurricane to travel half way across the country and play a football game? Get a perspective.

I'm an AVID Ravens fan here in Houston. Both Texans and Ravens fans here are wondering why they didn't move the game to San Antonio! It's only a 3-hour drive from Houston, the Alamo Dome sits empty and the Houston owner--McNair--would still get the bulk of the revenue.....we can't believe how badly they handled this. Plus, a footnote: the Texans spent $500 million on a stadium that was supposed to stand up to 120 mile winds......it couldn't last up to 80 mph.

"

What a bunch of whiners you people are. Wake up!! There are people homeless, suffering, and dead in Houston and Galveston right now and most of you are crying because you can't watch your favorite football team and drink beer all night.

Do you honestly think that the Texans should have to totally forget about their families and homes during a major hurricane to travel half way across the country and play a football game? Get a perspective."

i am amazed by the basis of your argument, it's an apples to oranges thing.

Does the NFL clean up after hurricanes?

NO, that's FEMA.

Does the NFL keep the peace in the event of a natural disaster?

NO, that's the national guard.

saying that we should have a heart for those poor people in that area is a true statement and has not one single thing to do with the NFL's unprecedented decision to juggle schedules.

The real question should be "how can the Texan's owner and the NFL only be concerned about money from a home game during such a time?"

That's the truth of the argument, out of pure greed at a time of desperate need this action was taken.

Do not be disgusted by Ravens fans who don't understand why our team should pay a price for this, be disgusted by the Texans greed and the NFL's staggering loss of judgment.

If the Texans organization or team are so concerned they don't want to travel to play at a neutral site they can forfeit the game, but they didn't do that.

No in this one the Ravens got screwed, the people of Houston are suffering, but the NFL and the Texans will make a lot of money!

Something is wrong with this picture but it is not the outrage by the Ravens fans, it's your misdirected criticism.

The New Orleans Saints played several home games in the Alamodome in San Antonio after Katrina (in '05). Would have been a perfect for a Texans home game since they are the "local" team in S.A. and Ike was not predicted to have much of an effect there.