Tuco

No 2-point conversion until 1994. You would have to try really hard to get to 11 points without a 2-pointer. Then even if you did, 26 isn't exactly a common score either, especially with out a 2-pointer Yes the AFL had the 2 pointer, but considering even with the 2-pointer 26-11 has only happened 3 times in over 7,000 NFL games since 1994, it's not that hard to believe it never happened in 600-700 total AFL games.

No, they are not the same thing. The play isn't dead when the QB starts to dive. It's dead when he dives (or slides) and any part of him that would make him down by contact touches the ground. If the QB were to start a feet first slide at the 1 yard line then slide into the endzone, they don't give him the TD. They spot the ball when he was "down", as in, when his knee or his elbow or his butt touched the ground. Any yardage gained after that is negated. They changed the rule in 2018 to include head first slides. If a QB dives forward and gets the ball into the endzone before any part of him touches the ground, he gets the touchdown. But if he dives head first (or feet first), hits the ground when the ball is at the 1 yard line and then slides over the goal line, the ball goes back to where he was "down" by beginning his slide. In the Bills game Heinicke never touched the ground until after the ball crossed the goal line. In today's game he was clearly "down" when his knee touched the ground, and the ball was clearly still outside the endzone at that point, and that's where it was spotted. That's the difference. And it's something several people on here don't seem to get. The play isn't over at the start of the dive. The play is over when the diving QB hits the ground - negating any sliding yardage that happens after that.

Everything pointed out in this video was made possible because we were able to get decent (not always great, but adequate) pressure and containment using only our front 4 D-linemen. When you can do that and don't have to blitz you can always have extra men in coverage and do the things we did.

Agreed. It's actually annoying when I hear it on TV. Back to the OP. Don't forget the obligatory "Back On The Chain Gang" whenever the sticks come out for a measurement.

https://www.wkbw.com/news/local-news/bills-mafia-steps-up-for-bills-fan-with-dream-to-see-team-in-person

Yes a signing bonus can only be prorated over 5 years, and those guys should know that. To the point, the initial signing bonus is $16.5 million spread from 2021 - 2025. But look further on Spotrac or wherever, and you will see $8.48 million listed under "option bonus" for the years 2022 - 2026. Then look at the notes down below you will see an option bonus due in 2022 for $42.4 million. This is the same bonus - $42.4 million = $8.48 million X5. Many people don't realize "option" doesn't mean the team has the option of whether or not to pay the bonus. Actually, sometimes that's exactly what it means, but in most cases, as well as this one, it's referring to a fully guaranteed bonus that the team has the "option" of either charging the whole amount to the cap in the season it's due, or "opting" to turn it into a signing bonus at that time it's due and spreading out the cap hit for 5 years from that point. Rarely is it the former, and since Spotrac knows the plan is to convert the 2nd year bonus when it's due, they already have it listed as prorated for 5 years starting in 2022 when it's paid. In essence, converting next year's option bonus into a signing bonus hasn't been done yet, but when the time comes next off season it will just be a formality - although no doubt people will try to make a big story out of it. Since both bonuses in 2021 and 2022 are fully guaranteed, this actually amounts to the Bills giving Josh a $58.9 million ($16.5+$42.4) signing bonus, but using the "option" bonus in year 2 as a way to spread the whole $58.9 million over the next 6 years instead of only 5, AND keep the cap charge relatively low in the first year. Teams do this with bigger contracts all the time. I didn't listen to Brown and Tasker, I never do. But this is what they should have known, and the point they may have been trying to make. But any talk of spreading anything out over 8 years shows lack of knowledge. Or possibly just a Freudian slip made when speaking? Either way, it's why I never listen to radio sports shows, I get irritated when the supposed experts don't know what they're talking about. And while you've got me ranting (lol), I often feel the same way when I'm amazed at how often game day announcers on TV don't know the rules. Drives me nuts. Thanks for listening.

Love me some Ti-Cats. They got them killer uniforms.

Sort of. The salary cap is set each year by what the CBA refers to as "AR," or All Revenue. Basically they add up all the money the league takes in and then the players get 49.5% (or something) of that. But the AR figure used to set the cap isn't really every dollar the league takes in. There are deductions made to the AR figure before the players get their percentage. One of the biggest deductions is called the Stadium Credit. What the Stadium Credit boils down to is, any time the NFL gives what's known as a G-4 loan (it's called a loan but it's really free money from the owners to team building the new stadium) to a team building a new stadium or performing upgrades, the league receives a Stadium Credit. The CBA states the Stadium Credit can't be over 1.5% of the AR figure. But looking at league income for 2019 we see overall the league generated $15.26 billion. So while we don't get to see the complete numbers, in a year like 2019, if there were G-4 loans given to teams, the league could have deducted almost $230 million from the AR figure before giving the players their 49.5%. If that was done in 2019 (or any other year but with different numbers), that would mean the players would have collectively given back over $110 million to go towards stadium construction.

They have to cut him to make room for Christian Wade.

I don't think they have announced it officially yet.

Good start here. It's top 51 through training camp right up until the final Tuesday before the regular season starts. During that time there is no practice squad. All players count towards the 90 player limit. There are limits to how long players can be on the practice squad, but it's generally a couple years so it's not like a few weeks decision thing for the most part. And last year (and still possibly this year) the PS rules have been expanded to allow more flexibility through the COVID times. At the end of the year PS contracts expire and teams resign their players to regular NFL, usually minimum contracts through training camp. This is why if you look at a salary cap page right now guys like Christian Wade (aren't we about due for a new CW thread? LOL) are technically under NFL contract for the minimum $660,000. Correct, a player must be waived and pass through waivers unclaimed before he can be signed to a practice squad. That's why practice squads aren't established until after the 53 cutdown date. There is a minimum salary for practice squad players, and most players are signed to it. And, with a few limitations, PS players can sign to another team's regular roster (if doing so the new team must keep them on the regular 53 for a 3 week minimum). The PS player's team can't stop the player from signing to a new team's 53, but they are allowed to offer the player the same deal (or better) and sign them to their own 53 if the player wishes (same 3 week minimum applies normally, relaxed last year for COVID reasons). For this reason, PS players CAN be paid any amount. subsequently they do count against the salary cap. On the final 53 cut down date basically all players under contract, including PS and IR, all count against the cap. Certain players with commish exemptions or non-football injuries, etc. do not, but mostly they all do.

Browns center and NFLPA president JC Tretter is from Akron. Not a big deal but FWIW, I played in high school against his uncle and maybe his father when they were at Oakfield-Alabama.

By 1995 we had to use Tasker. Lofton and Beebe were gone. Reed only started 6 games. That left us with guys named Bill Brooks, Russel Copeland, Justin Armour, Lonnie Johnson, Tony Cline and Steve Tasker. We used him more because we had too.

In order to get the floor in 2020 up to $182.5 mil instead of the $175 mil minimum originally agreed to, the NFLPA and NFL agreed to suspend certain player benefits we rarely hear about (severance pay, player savings plans, CBA related performance based pay, etc.) until 2023 when they would be reinstated. This agreement specifies that any amount above the $208.2 mil ceiling will go towards reinstating those benefits in 2022.

Not arguing your points as I agree. Just want to point out they have every team's adjusted cap at $208.2 million. They're just using the ceiling amount for now as I suppose it's way too early to bother trying to know what each team's rollover, etc. will be next year.

Players can only wear dark tinted visors during games if they have a medical reason and approval from the Commish.

Wow. All these years I never knew the reason Brad Van Pelt went to 5 straight Pro Bowls a a middle linebacker was because him wearing #10 consistently faked out the other team.

I think the clause has been around a long time. And Edwards wasn't just some guy hanging out at the Pro Bowl playing flag football. He was invited there by the NFL as one of the season's best rookies, and the flag football game was the NFL's idea and was promoted by them. So I don't think that would have violated the clause anyway. However, I'm sure the incident is undoubtedly the reason we don't see the NFL promoting rookie flag football games before the Pro Bowl any more though.

FWIW, every NFL contract contains this paragraph. 3. OTHER ACTIVITIES. Without prior written consent of the Club, Player will not play football or engage in activities related to football otherwise than for Club or engage in any activity other than football which may involve a significant risk of personal injury. Player represents that he has special, exceptional and unique knowledge, skill, ability, and experience as a football player, the loss of which cannot be estimated with any certainty and cannot be fairly or adequately compensated by damages. Player therefore agrees that Club will have the right, in addition to any other right which Club may possess, to enjoin Player by appropriate proceedings from playing football or engaging in football-related activities other than for Club or from engaging in any activity other than football which may involve a significant risk of personal injury. But it's very non-specific, and I suppose it's more of a disclaimer that gives the team the right to not pay an injured player depending on just what he was doing when injured. I know there are other areas of the CBA that require a player to maintain his excellent physical condition. And I know players have been injured playing basketball but have argued that's part of their offseason conditioning. Still, I would think the paragraph would enable the team to step in and prevent a player from bull riding or auto racing. And the following article from 2005 points out that many contracts do add specific activities that players are not allowed to do. Plus my fading memory seems to remember Jim Kelly one time saying he was looking forward to skiing once he retired because he wasn't allowed to ski throughout his career. So who knows? I don't think anyone could come up with a definitive list prohibiting the million different ways a guy could get injured. And being fine young physical specimens, they can hardly be expected to live in a bubble when they're not on the field. https://www.espn.com/nfl/news/story?id=2051653 CLEVELAND -- Browns tight end Kellen Winslow II sustained internal injuries and complained of chest pains after he was injured in a motorcycle accident, the team said Monday night. Kellen Winslow II suffered various injuries after crashing his motorcycle riding in a community college parking lot Sunday. AP Photo/Westlake Police Dept. A Browns source told ESPN.com that the team was "particularly concerned" about Winslow's right knee. The Browns confirmed his injuries aren't life-threatening. Winslow was riding in a community college parking lot Sunday when he hit a curb at about 35 mph and was thrown from the motorcycle, Westlake police Lt. Ray Arcuri said. Winslow was taken by ambulance to Fairview Hospital and was transferred to the Cleveland Clinic on Monday where the team's medical staff would treat him, Browns spokesman Bill Bonsiewicz said. The extent of the injury to Winslow's right knee, and the possibility of structural damage that might sideline him for an extended period, likely will not be determined until swelling in the knee subsides. There is also swelling in Winslow's right shoulder. "He went over the handlebars and was real evasive about what the injuries were," Arcuri said. The 21-year-old Winslow had minor visible injuries. He was wearing a helmet, but it wasn't strapped on and flew off his head, Arcuri said. He landed in a landscaped area at the edge of the parking lot, falling hard enough to tear out a small tree. He and four other men were riding motorcycles in the parking lot, not far from Winslow's home in suburban Cleveland. There was no alcohol involved, Arcuri said. "The four gentlemen said he was testing the bike out learning to ride," Arcuri said. ESPN.com senior writer Len Pasquarelli reports the availability of Winslow for the 2005 season is not the only thing at risk. Beyond the injuries, there are possible financial ramifications as well, and Winslow may have given the team an opportunity to recover a portion of his signing bonus and option bonus, if he is found to be in breach of his contract. Section 3 of the NFL's standard player contract stipulates, in part, that a "player will not engage in any activity other than football which may involve a significant risk of personal injury. Player therefore agrees that club will have the right to enjoin the player from engaging in any activity other than football which may involve a significant risk of injury." But two league sources said Monday night that Winslow's contract includes language which is even more specific and limiting, and which expressly forbids riding a motorcycle. Many teams include such specific language in the addendums to contracts, especially those involving high-round draft choices. An agent who negotiated the contracts of some high-round Cleveland draft choices in recent years said the Browns routinely include such restrictions. If the Winslow contract indeed includes such language, the Browns could seek to recoup a prorated share of the $6 million signing bonus Winslow received last year and perhaps the entire $4.4 million option bonus he was paid on March 1 of this year. Winslow bought the powerful Suzuki GSX-R750 sport bike April 9 and obtained a 30-day license for it, but the bike, which can reach speeds of 172 miles per hour, is too powerful for a beginner, law enforcement officials told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Lt. Judy Neel of the Ohio State Highway Patrol told the Plain Dealer on Tuesday that Winslow obtained a motorcycle learner's permit April 26. He passed a written test and vision exam to get the permit, Neel said. Winslow could still be charged with reckless operation of a motor vehicle, Arcuri told the paper. That is a fourth-degree misdemeanor which carries a maximum penalty of 30 days in jail and a $250 fine. It is up to Westlake prosecutor John Wheeler to determine if Winslow will be charged. A learner's permit comes with certain restrictions, including riding in daylight only, wearing a helmet, carrying no passengers and not riding on interstates or heavily congested roadways. A rider must pass a road test or complete a motorcycle course to obtain a permanent license or endorsement. He failed his first attempt at the written test in Garfield Heights, Neel said. He passed it the second time on April 26 -- five days before the accident. Sunday night, Winslow was traveling 35 miles per hour in a Westlake parking lot when he lost control of the bike. The first-round draft pick missed nearly all of his rookie year with the Browns after breaking his right leg against Dallas in Week 2 while attempting to recover an onside kick in the final seconds. Winslow had five receptions for 50 yards in his first two pro games. He has had two operations on the leg and said in March that he expected it to be fully healed for this season. Winslow signed a six-year, $40 million contract with the Browns, but lost a $5.3 million bonus because of the leg injury.

The Bills 1969 first round draft pick ultimately produced 334 touchdowns, over 35,000 passing yards, over 11,000 rushing yards and over 2,100 receiving yards over a 28 year span.

This is also true. However, my original response was to Jokeman's post that said, "Thank God Polian intervened and said we should take Bruce instead" - at which point I responded that decision was made easy for Polian because Flutie signed with the USFL in February. Your statement is true. But it still wasn't Polian who made the decision to pick Bruce and not Flutie. Flutie agreed to sign with the USFL in late January, and actually signed his contract on February 6th. Bills GM Terry Bledsoe had a heart attack right around that same day, prompting Ralph to ultimately let Polian take over as GM. Polian did do a good job signing Bruce as Bruce had also been drafted by Baltimore of the USFL, and was receiving a large offer. But the decision to take Bruce and not Flutie wasn't really made by Polian. I have doubts whether Polian would have chosen Flutie over Bruce anyway, but that decision was basically made for him.

When the Bills ended their 0 for the 70s 20 game losing streak to Miami in the 1980 season opener, it was the first game ever for newcomers Conrad Dobler and Phil Villapiano. They were, to say the least, quite amazed to see the fans storming the field, sharing beers with the players and ripping down the goal posts. It's one of the stories in Dobler's book "They Call Me Dirty."

Polian's decision not to use the first pick on Flutie was made quite simple for him. The reason Flutie went on to not be drafted until the 11th round is because In January he was drafted by the USFL's New Jersey Generals, where, in February, he signed a contract making him the highest paid pro athlete at the time. Two full months before the NFL draft.

Yeah I use that line all the time. Just like I use the line, "you are the son of a thousand fathers, every one a bastard just like you." Love that movie.

Just as Rochesterfan described above, the part about being "assigned" with the IPP exemption is an OPTION available if both Wade and the Bills agree to it. And yes, that is the exact situation Wade has been the last 2 years. But, again, as Rochesterfan described, it's not an indentured servant thing. And I prefaced my earlier post that I know it's partly the fault of guys like Sal who print things the way they do. But nobody is holding Christian Wade back. Again- 1 - Wade is currently under contract, just like any other player, for the minimum of $660,000 per year. This contract became effective on March 17th, but was actually signed by Wade back in January. The only difference between Wade and any other player right now is, since the league extended his IPP eligibility, he can once again be on the Bills roster as a 91st player instead of the regular 90. 2 - If Wade doesn't make the 53 man roster, he gets cut and goes on waivers, just like any other player, and just like he was last year and the year before. There is no "assigning" him to the practice squad without going through waivers first. Every player signed to any practice squad - including Wade - is an unrestricted free agent before being signed to any practice squad. 3 - If Wade clear waivers without being claimed (just like he has the last 2 years), he is then free to continue to be an unrestricted free agent. He is free to sign with any team's roster or any team's regular practice squad, including Buffalo's, if they were to offer it to him. 4 - If no team claims Wade on waivers, and no team (including Buffalo) wishes to sign Wade to their roster or regular practice squad, the Bills are allowed, by virtue of the NFL's IPP program's special practice squad exemption, to SIGN Wade to their practice squad as an exempted IPP player. At that point, and only at that point, does Wade become ineligible to be called up or signed by another team throughout the season. This exemption is normally good for 2 seasons, but since there was no preseason last year so no chance for Wade and the other IPP players around the league to get much exposure to game situations, the league extended their above exemption for a 3rd year. If both Wade and the Bills CHOOSE this option, then Wade will once again be ineligible to be called up or signed to another team - just like he was the last 2 years when, after not being claimed on waivers or having accepted any team's regular practice squad's offer (if any was offered, not likely), Wade chose to sign onto the Bills practice squad as the designated IPP player and accepting it's limitations. I don't care how it's been described, that's how it is. In fact I prefaced my original post by saying I know most writers like Sal don't do a good enough job of describing the actual situation. Regardless, nobody is holding Wade back from going to another team by "assinging" him to the practice squad as an IPP player without his consent. Wade can only be "assigned" as such by mutual agreement. And that option for such agreement has been extended by the league to the Bills and Wade for a 3rd year - meaning yes, he's in the same situation he was the last 2 years.