Makes sense given the Bills propensity to use an extra OL in certain situations and the increased blocking role of TE. He has been used at Fullback and TE in addition to playing Guard.
I'm less concerned about Hyde without Poyer than I was about Poyer without Hyde. Hyde has his 'football sense' and knowledge to fall back on. He's been the QB of defense in getting guys lined up and helping them diagnose pre-snap.
The concern for Hyde (like Poyer) is much more about how much his mental ability can compensate for the decreased physical ability as he ages.
They won't do that. The players would like to have their cake and to eat it too. Add on the horrendous union leadership they've had under Smith and Tretter and you don't have any adults at the wheel watching out for the players when they have conflicting self interests.
The NFL isn't the one standing in the way of a lot of 'safety' improvements. It's the players themselves. They have rejected previous improvements to equipment because they worry it may cost them an iota of performance and this money.
Well, that person wasn't Bieniemy. If you're building a donut delivery operation that's going to keep McClappy constantly supplied with donuts then Bieniemy is your guy. Otherwise, look elsewhere.
I think you're overlooking the real problem. It's not whether that 1 call decided the game.. it's that every conversation around any game often ends up more about egregious calls or non-calls. Why did several much more obvious penalties go uncalled and then this one get called? That is the particular problem the NFL has with it's officiating.
If a penalty *could* be called on every play then there's a massive problem with the rulebook and the rules are so complex that they can't be enforced appropriately and consistently by the officials then you need to make changes.
Wut?
I think the officiating is an issue (well, more the complexity of the rulebook trying to account for everything), but underpaid is not any part of the problem.