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A lot? It's one Sat night per week, and that may not be a bad thing.

I agree that it seems to be much more a factor in the last two years, and like you, I go back to 1963. Obviously, the facility was designed with the more open end on the east, since the prevailing wind is from the southwest. It would be quite simple to provide a structure neutralizes that opening. Aerodynamics is aerodynamics. A stadium is no different from any airfoil. Wind flows from high to low pressure, and is impacted by structure. It isn't magic. Storms that create one off issues are not a factor in Sep/Oct/Nov at that latitude. There is simply not enough energy in the atmosphere. The problem is easily solved once the data is known, and I don't think it would be that expensive. Again, it is becoming more an issue, and I'd like to see it addressed.

That's the obvious solution. Decades ago US Navy figured out figured out how to mitigate 700 degree, 500 mph exhaust from jets on the catapults at full power. They use jet blast deflectors, and the guy who's next to launch is 20 feet behind those tail pipes, with no influence other than noise. The winds in that area are predominately from the southwest. That's why the long runway is 5/23. 23 is 230 degrees, southwest. What I would do is start there, but I'd suggest placing six anemometers on the top and compile data during a season on strength and direction of flow. Using that data, I'd consider building an angled structure and deflecting the wind up and away. I was up there last Thurs-Sat last week for the first time in about twelve years. Stayed in a hotel not far from the stadium and it was windy as hell. I think the wind is too big of a factor at that location to not be dealt with and I think it would make Allen and Bass better which has some free agent ramifications, including wideouts.

That new stadium is a ways off. There are things that could be done now to mitigate the situation at the current facility. Of course having a stronger arm that results in higher velocity throws helps, but nobody can overcome winds once they get in the 20 knot range, and the swirling inside there truly impacts both the passing and kicking games.

Two comments, one on the game and another, far more complicated. The Bills defensive line got good pressure from the outside, but nothing from the inside. Heinicke stepped up repeatedly to avoid the outside, but nothing pressure wise inside. I am getting tired of the wind at that stadium. It seems to have become far more influential on game days. The last two years especially, it is impacting games. There are ways to mitigate it, and I think its time to consider engineering solutions. Ultimately it effects not only the team's performance, but free agent signings, especially kickers and QB's. Just a thought, but I think it's time.

It always amazes me how fans misinterpret basic aerodynamics. Once a football leaves the quarterbacks hands, it is "in the atmosphere," and subjected to the same laws that all flying objects are. If a "strong armed" quarterback provides increased velocity at release, the ball will be subjected to those influences for less time, but the same influences. Works the same in aviation. Winds have the same effect on 777 as they do on a Cessna 172. Stronger arms, measured by release velocity, simply provide less time for those effects. One caveat. The spin rate of the football effects stability. Less stability results in greater ball wobble, and that subjects the ball to greater parasite drag as opposed to a tight spiral. Ergo, a tight spiral is less effected by that type of drag.

It was very obvious how quick the Bills were getting off at the snap. I'm sure teams will see that on film and adjust with hard counts and other techniques to get them offside.

And another problem is who is reading their MRI's? Monday it's bruised ribs, Wed it's fractured. I thought that's what MRI's were for?

Sincere condolences.

I'll state what I stated months ago. Last year's Bills lived off the scramble drill. Josh would leave the pocked left or right, the receivers would break of their routes and Josh would hit them with significant separation. This year, he is trying to get it to them in their normal routes. Not his strength, and not theirs. Run the scramble drill and watch what happens.

We cannot have this guy punt when the snap comes inside the 5. We had a 3rd and something from inside the 5, and I didn't care about the first down as much as I cared about getting it outside the 5 to allow for normal timing. He is noticeably slow.

Nachos this week.

Politics aside, how does a plane take off in the wilderness? I guess I'm less political and more aviation.

Can we possibly stop conversations about presidents killing people with drone strikes? The assignment of blame is a senseless, idiotic exercise. The way this works is that the CIA, NSA, or some other intel agency suggests a strike on a specific target. The president either approves it or he doesn't, but generally he does, if that is the recommendation from those authorities.

I am over Singletary. Constant drops, whether at the end of carries or pass receiving. The guy had a couple fumbles today saved by a whistle or a sideline.

Bills forecast..... Clear skies. Unlimited visibility. Light winds. Steelers forecast.... Cloudy. Limited visibility.

You must have seen those games, as I did. As a kid, at the stadium, I would watch his matchup and they would always go to the other side of the field.

Any list that does not have Robert James as the primo CB is not informed. He wasn't just a shut down CB, he was a shut out CB. Teams simply did not throw his way. In my view, here are the musts: Robert James OJ Simpson Mike Stratton Bruce Smith Tom Sestak Thurman Thomas Kelly, Josh Allen Cookie Gilchrist Joe DeLamielleure Kent Hull Billy Shaw Andre Reed Steve Christie Special consideration Steve Tasker Guys who have been mentioned that should not be: Stew Barber Don Beebe

I don't want to quibble about it, but people in cockpits don't use roads for guidance. At the end of this turn, all on the ground except the target, which is easy to spot, would have been a blur. The Pentagon is extremely easy to see. The Capitol even easier. The White House is not, until you know where to look. They didn't use roads. It would not be possible to do so. The airplane was essentially out of control when it hit the ground just prior to and bounced into the Pentagon.

The Pentagon is an incredibly easy building to identify, and it is not possible to use a road as guidance when you're travelling at 200 knots, let alone 500. What they did is use the flight guidance system to get to the DC area. They spotted the Pentagon and did a 330 degree right turn and slammed into it. Actually the plane hit short and short hopped into the wall. The reason they used a right turn was that the Captain's body was in the left seat and wasn't moved, probably because his throat was slashed and it was too messy, thus eliminating the left side window views.

Anglophile with a vacation home in the Cotswold's.

Four days. I got out of San Francisco to LA and the all nighter to Dulles on Friday night/Sat morning. Sat next to Mike Wilbon, (Pardon the Interruption), from LA to Dulles. Not impressed with his view of the magnitude of this.

They did have locks on the cockpit door, and they were always locked in flight. The doors were designed to be able to open with about 50 pounds of force. Not a lot. This was done to ensure that if a mishap occurred, people could get in without super effort. Things are vastly different now. The way entry was made varies in each of the four instances. There were no "orders" on how to handle attempted hijackings. There were protocols but it is at the discretion of the captain.

I was a 767 check captain. In that position you train new captains and first officers and certify them on regular passenger flights before they start actually flying schedules. I left New York the afternoon prior and was in San Francisco. We left San Francisco on the return leg at 6am. I had just finished the mandatory “seat belt” announcement when you reach cruise altitude, and were just east of Fallon Nevada. I saw the printer start printing a message. The company communicates in flight through a data link system that prints their messages. The message said: “Numerous cockpit incursions. Do not allow the door to be opened.” Pretty strange message, so I read it and put it away without saying anything to the new co-pilot I was with. A few minutes later, I got another message that said: “Numerous cockpit incursions. Defend the cockpit at all cost. Suggest divert.” I had been based in San Francisco my years as a first officer, and one of my old friends was going to NY so I told him to come up when we hit cruise so I could check up on old friends. He had just arrived and was sitting in the jumpseat. I told him something is going on, and asked him to listen to an AM station. The airplane has the ability to hear the am freq range. He told me that they were saying there had been multiple hijackings and suicide hits on the World Trade Center, and they thought there were more to come. 767’s and 757’s, the two planes I was a check captain on. There is a way to get all the flight attendants on the phone at the same time, so I did that and explained the situation and had them block the cockpit door with service carts and two males guard the area, jumpseater behind me with the crash axe and fire extinguisher to get anyone trying to get in. Told air traffic that we needed to divert to San Francisco, turned the thing around and started back. Fortunately, I was a west coast Navy pilot while in the military, so I knew all the bases and airports available in case something happened. Pushed the airplane up to max speed, .85 mach and started back. Absolutely nothing from air traffic control. In fact the only other airplane I heard was a TWA who was heading back to Sacramento. There was an undercast that day, so when we got under it I made an announcement to the passengers, who clearly knew something was up that we were over the Sacrament Valley returning to SFO, there was nothing wrong with the airplane and an agent would explain once we landed. During this twenty five mins or so, I received a bunch of messages from the company verifying it was actually me flying the airplane, including one where they asked for a password I had no idea they had knowledge of. I finally sent them a message saying I was too busy to respond anymore. There is a lot of stuff involved in a wide body diversion. Lots of flight guidance inputs to change routes and destination. With a co-pilot on his first flight in the 767, I was basically solo. Anyway, got to San Francisco approach control and they cleared me for the usual noise abatement approach, an arrival longer than necessary as it avoids high population, noise sensitive communities in the East Bay. I told them I wasn’t flying that arrival, that I was going to point the thing directly at the end of runway 28L and land. I also added that if anybody comes through our door I was going to put it in the Bay. They said “OK.” Came over the San Mateo Bridge and noticed what looked like 30 emergency/police vehicles on the parallel taxiway. I landed, they all chased me to the gate and a bunch of them with weapons drawn were below us on the ramp. Got to the hotel and found out that along with the other three crashes, American 77, Dulles to LA, a trip that I had flown for two years just prior to taking the check airman position had hit the Pentagon. Knew all of them. Got a call from the FBI in the early afternoon asking me if I saw any unusual passengers as they de-planed. I told them I wasn’t watching. A true horror story.