The overriding opinion among NFL teams Wednesday night was that commissioner Paul Tagliabue would give the go-ahead to play games this weekend.

No one knew for sure. The final determination will be known Thursday by noon ET. Clearly, Tagliabue is troubled as to which way to turn. He hears the complaints by the players. Gene Upshaw, executive director of the NFL Players Association, advised Tagliabue that a majority of his player reps don't want to play, particularly those in New York and Washington, D.C.

So why would Tagliabue approve games to be played?

Though it may tear at his emotions to go ahead, the reasons are varied. That's why Tagliabue involved as many people as possible. He talked to owners twice. He talked to the union. He talked to the White House. The commissioner also knows the emotions of his employees in New York. At least one legal adviser in the league office may have lost his wife in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

The wise thing Tagliabue did was wait. Had he decided Wednesday, the sentiment might have been to postpone the games. There was so much emotion involved, which is understandable. Vinny Testaverde led a group of Jets who strongly protested the wisdom of playing Sunday and Monday. Upshaw spoke out strongly against playing.

But as Wednesday developed, other thoughts surfaced. For example, President Bush has taken the position that re-establishing as much of the American way of living was vital to show that terrorists can't alter the way we go about our lives. The president has advised most sports organizations to return to the field as soon as it is reasonably safe.

Several college conferences advised their schools to play Saturday. Baseball reportedly plans to play games Friday. Those decisions may not convince Tagliabue, but it's also part of the final process.

By Thursday, commercial planes were expected to return to the air. So many people are comparing this decision to Pete Rozelle's regretful decision to play football three days after President Kennedy's assassination. That was a mistake. The nation needed to grieve his death and definitely needs time to grieve this tragedy.

The difference of three days to five days, though, is significant. By Sunday, the country will need a diversion from the 24 hours of continuous network coverage. That's what the networks need to throw in their plans. If the games are played, will they be televised?

One suggestion circulating is to lift all television blackouts so that people who feel bad about going to a game can watch the action. That's fair. It's not about the money. It's not about ticket sales. It's about national recovery from one of the toughest emotional traumas in a lifetime.

To play and not lift blackouts would be a mistake. If ticket holders feel bad about going to games, they shouldn't be shut out of seeing those games. Everyone is dealing with their grief differently. Demanding that all games be sold out so that those throughout the area they live in to see those games would be considered greedy.

The league's players are professional. Not all will be able to give their best. That's understandable. It's been a tough week. But still, most will try to perform and give the country something to alter their despair.

Still, if the safety issue persists, cancel the games. Those may not surface, though. For travel, teams fly mostly charters, which is safer than flying commercial.

During conference calls with owners Wednesday, the sentiment was to play because many owners felt it would be good for the country.

On a minor note, the competitive aspects of canceling had to be taken into account. There is no off-week before the Super Bowl, so canceling this week's games would have left the league only two options. They could cancel and have 30 teams with 15 games and one (San Diego) with 16. The Chargers have a bye this week.

The other option would be playing Week 2 as Week 18 and canceling the wild-card weekend, eliminating four potential playoff teams. General managers adamantly don't want that. Owners financially would take a hit because they receive a bigger paycheck from playing regular-season weeks than they do a wild-card week.

Certainly, the players wouldn't be asked to forgo their paychecks if they play one less week. The NFL has a salary cap and 16 weeks of games are included in that cap. While players may present the gracious willingness to contribute to relief funds created in the wake of Tuesday's attacks, they would also be able to do so if there are 16 weeks of games.

There is not a player or employee in the sport that doesn't want to help victims. Giants players, for example, gave blood. Many players are willing to give money. Those are individual choices that are exclusive of the decision of whether or not to play Sunday.

It's expected that the NFL will be willing to adjust the times of their games to accommodate national services for those who died Tuesday.

Special attention should be given to the Giants, Jets and Redskins. Unlike those around the league, they do have neighbors who died. They have friends who died. If that means moving their games to Monday, that's fair, too.

On Tuesday night and Wednesday, the terrorist attacks on the United States touched those around the NFL. Patriots guard Joe Andruzzi related the story of one of his three firefighting brothers who survived the collapse of the first World Trade Center tower. Giants defensive end Jason Peter hasn't heard from his friends who worked there. Neither has Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck.

Injured Browns defensive back Lewis Sanders' dad worked on the 70th floor of the World Trade Center. His dad survived.

To play for those who care when players know that sports isn't the most important priority is tough. It requires professionalism. It requires sacrifice. But the commissioner, the players and the owners know the value of their sport.

No, it wouldn't be surprising if the NFL calls off its games. Understand if they do, it's not for greed of the players or the owners. That's why the NFL wished President Bush would make it easy for them to come out and give public advice, but obviously, the president has more important things to do than talk football.

But the game is a part of America's fall Sundays and Monday nights. If the NFL decides to play this week, understand the decision. This isn't a matter of right or wrong. It's a matter of trying to heal a country from its deep wounds as a nation.

John Clayton is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.