Raiders & Packers to Play on Shortened Field Because of Turf Conditions

raiders jon gruden

Getty Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden.

Minutes before kickoff between the Oakland Raiders versus Green Bay Packers, the decision has been made for the game to be played on a shortened field because of a hole left in the end zone from where the CFL goal post used to be. This is all according to the Packers’ broadcast team.

How this wasn’t something that was figured out days before the game is beyond comprehension. This is the first game played in Canada since 2013 and this doesn’t bode well for their chances to get more games. Apparently, the Packers were planning on playing some starters, but that’s not happened anymore because of the field conditions. It’s unclear how the shortened field will work, but we’ll update this article as more information comes to light. It’s likely that the game will be played on an 80-yard field and should make this preseason game more interesting.

This won’t affect the Raiders too much as they weren’t planning on putting most of their starters in. It’s surprising that a little hole in the end zone would cause such a stink, but there’s no point in risking anything when it comes to preseason games.

The decision has been made to set up the pylons at each team’s 10-yard line. There will also be no kickoffs throughout the game. This is a fascinating development and turns this game into a glorified scrimmage between Oakland and Green Bay. It’s unclear exactly how field goals will work, but it’s likely that those won’t change as no players would have to go into the end zone. The Colesium in Oakland is considered one of the worst stadiums in the NFL, but at least this has never happened.

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Very Few Starters Tonight

What’s most disappointing about this whole thing is that we won’t get to see most of the starters for either team. It looked like the Packers were considering giving the first team at least one drive, but that notion was nixed once the decision to shorten the field came to pass. For the Raiders, Brandon Marshall and Maurice Hurst popped up in the first defensive drive and both of those guys could be starters week one.

There were no expected starters to hit the field for the Raiders on offense as Mike Glennon got the call. Regardless, this game still offers a chance for a lot of the backup guys or guys on the bubble to play well under a bit of adversity. Obviously, a shortened field isn’t the end of the world, but it is a curveball to throw at a lot of young players and it will be interesting to see who steps up.

For the Packers, no Aaron Rodgers tonight. Rodgers can throw a football in his sleep, so Green Bay should manage fine. At this point, the only reason to watch this game is that you probably won’t get many chances to watch professional NFL football players play on an 80-yard field.

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