billsfan89

Literally said in the post that I am not comparing the two rather just stating that standing by bad principles doesn’t add any value to them. Do people even read the posts they comment on?

God Dam Cole is stupid. Has Cole never taken a medicine or had a surgery?

OR if he doesn't want to take the vaccine he can just follow the protocols in place? He has that choice.

If you want to be not vaccinated that's your right but then you have to follow the protocols in place. Cole wants it both ways he wants to not be vaccinated (Which he has a right to be) but then he doesn't want to follow the protocols in place which are there to stop a Covid spread amongst the unvaccinated and to possibly protect from variants. These protocols are designed by top doctors and not just random people's Google skills. That's why Cole is being a baby. He has a choice take the vaccine or be subjected to the protocols. He wants to invent his third option based on his own hurt feelings. Cole has three choices, take the vaccine, don't and follow the protocols or retire. He can't force a fourth option because he wants to be lazy and not take the vaccine.

20 years ago adults in their 40's and 50's used to tell me not to trust things I read on the internet. Now I have to tell those same people (now in their 60's and 70's) that not everything they read on the internet is true. So many people feel that their Google skills are superior to their own doctor.

He is literally free to not take the vaccine as long as he follows the protocols. This seems like a fair compromise between personal choice and safety of those involved. The players union (which represents Cole) agreed to these terms with the owners as a means to protect everyone involved as best as possible while not having any mandates for a vaccine to preserve personal choice. If he wants to be a baby and not get vaccinated and not follow the protocols then he is free to retire.

I never compared Cole's stance to the WBC, in fact in that post I clarified that I wasn't not comparing Cole's stand to the WBC. I was responding to a poster saying that you have to "respect someone that stands by their principals" which is a ludicrous statement when compared to other people that "stand by their principals" but have odious beliefs. The validity of your beliefs is not improved by the fact that you are willing to stand by them. Cole is being a baby not wanting to undergo protocols designed to protect him, the team staff, his teammates and his family. No one is forcing him to get a vaccine.

I don't feel many will retire over this. Maybe Cole and a few others raise a stink about it but in the end these players windows to make good money are super limited even more so than most other sports. I doubt that many will retire.

The NFL literally mandates what activities you do in the off-season on your own time. They mandate what drugs you can and can't put into your body regardless of legality, these protocols literally fall right in line with that.

Schools mandate your kids get the polio vaccine among others in order to attend them. This also isn't an employer saying you can't be an employee without getting a vaccine you are still allowed to play in the NFL while being unvaccinated, you just have to comply to other protocols to keep you and your teammates safe.

The Westboro Baptist Church speaks their minds and stands by their principals do you have to respect them? If your principals are garbage you standing by them makes no difference to the merit of your argument. To clarify not necessarily saying that Cole's principals (which are dubious) are equivalent to the WBC but rather just standing by something add no value to it.

Then you have to follow the protocols to protect you and your teammates and the staff at the facility. There really isn't a both sides to this situation. Players are not mandated to get the vaccine but if they choose not to they will have to undergo a more strict process in regards to distancing and daily testing. Seems like a fair way to keep the players choices intact but also protect them. If Cole is a baby and wants it both ways that's on him. I love Cole but he has to realize he has three choices. Get a vaccine, continue the protocols or retire. If the protocols designed to keep him and his teammates safe are too much for him then he has the right to retire.

To me I break it out into tiers. Elite - Bills and KC Secondary contenders - Ravens, Browns and Titans Mid Level Teams - Colts, Miami, Chargers, Steelers and Pats. Non factors - Jets, Texans, Jags, Raiders, Bengals and Broncos The Bills and KC are the two top teams while the Ravens, Browns and Titans are the other contenders. Then you have the Mid-level teams that could make the playoffs and even win a game but just aren’t there yet. Then there are the non-factors that are a year away generously.

I think most teams will get 60 to 70% vaccinated rates by training camp as they educate and push players. Then I suspect that by the end of September that number will be over 80% as you get the lazy people that cave. Hopefully that’s enough to avoid an outbreak

The difference is that the 30-40% of players that are unvaccinated are going to see the other 60-70% of players who are vaccinated enjoying having a mostly normal season. That might get a good chunk of the 30-40% of players who are hesitant against the vaccine to just cave into the inconvenience. Yes some people are just going to hold out no matter what but I suspect that the vaccination rate among players is going to end up in the 80% range by October.

Some people's laziness is going to win out over their hesitancy over the vaccine. I imagine that as we head into September that some players will get sick of these restrictions and just take the vaccine to avoid the daily testing and mask mandates amongst other restrictions. Some people are just head strong against the vaccine (mostly for dubious reasons in my opinion) and will hold out but I imagine that some will cave into the inconvenience.

In the first five games of 2019 Harrison was playing really well. He got hurt (and the run defense slipped into a bad state for the middle of the season) and came back in 2020 not playing at nearly the same level. Hopefully a full season removed from his major 2019 injury (which did happen 5 games into the season) he can return to form. Sadly in 2020 Harrison was mostly a forgettable rotation player. Not tragic as he can play rotational snaps but kind of a JAG. Hopefully with a more normal and regimented off-season and more time removed from injury helps him.

The Pats were better off trading for Jimmy G in my opinion. Jimmy G is a game manager plus who fits with how the Pats like to play. I think Mac Jones just isn’t going to work out. They probably could have given up a 2022 first for Jimmy G and used their 15th overall to address a need elsewhere on the roster. I think Jones can develop into a good game manager but is that really lighting the world on fire?

Neither player was going to get the snaps needed to produce. That’s what happens when you have a lot of talent some of it escapes to other teams. It is a good problem to have.

Especially if some of the 2019-2021 draft picks pan out this team has a bright future. Josh is a stud and there are a lot of good young players on the roster but it mostly comes down to cab the past 3 draft classes take the steps needed to take over for vets in the coming years.

KC grabbed two of the best O-line players on the market via trade and free agency and spent a second round pick along the O-line. They did their best to rebuild a shattered O-line (I think they also grabbed Kyle Long as a veteran depth piece.) KC will be a high octane offense again in the regular season. It is more so on the Bills to improve their D-line play to keep up.

Dane Jackson comes to mind. There are still a lot of good corners out on the market and the Bills haven't pounced and I think that is because the organization seems to like Dane a lot to take over for Levi (who remains as depth/insurance.) I do love AJE and Phillips but Dane is my guy.

Daboll really had a great 2020. Hopefully he fine tunes the offense and adds in new parts to the system.

Oliver has two years left on his rookie deal and then a possible fifth year option. He hasn't lived up to his draft status but he has been a starting caliber player. He is only entering into his third year and hasn't had a normal off-season since his rookie year. I think the fact that he has played well enough to justify his starting snaps is good for him. The best way to develop is to play and if you aren't good enough to get snaps there is only so much "goodwill" your draft stock or potential will go. I think Oliver with a true one tech next to him will have a good season and will be entering into his last year in good standing to get his fifth year option picked up. But this year is definitely a big one for him, not make or break but pivotal. The Bills in my opinion will use 2021 to assess if they want to pick up his fifth year option. But I agree with your logic that the cap going up massively will only positively impact the chances of Oliver getting his option picked up as it will seem more and more like a bargain as the cap is set to explode.

I thought he would have been a good hire in 2004 as well. Looking at his career post Giants and it is very odd. He went to the Ravens for 3 years coordinating and coaching their offense they weren’t offensive juggernauts but in 2006 his last year with the Ravens they went 13-3 and had a respectable offense. Then he goes into broadcasting for a few years before returning to coaching in the UFL where granted he was super successful but in a go nowhere league. Then he retired in his early 60’s. Just odd that a coach of his caliber didn’t pop up in the NFL at some point from 2007 to 2012 when he was last coaching. Just sad to see someone go before their time.