Last Guy on the Bench

It's actually a pretty amazing city now - some really cool transformations since the 90s, though like any big city they still have their problems. And health care in Colombia is top notch. I wouldn't hesitate to go there for any kind of treatment or procedure. There's actually a lot of medical tourism there, because the quality is so high, and it's way cheaper than the U.S. (what isn't?).

One other clarification - no trade "costs" the team dead money. That money was already paid and always had to be accounted for against the cap, whether the player remained on the team or not. Trading (or releasing) the player just changes the "when" of the accounting. We were always going to eat that money against the cap - now we're just eating it all this year instead of spreading it out.

I don't think so. Browns took on the guaranteed salary that was still owed, not bonuses that had already been paid out. Don't think you can do the latter. Of course you can trade any future obligations. But not past payments. The dead cap is all the bonus money already paid out to Diggs but prorated over the life of the contract in terms of cap accounting - can no longer be prorated because we don't hold the contract anymore, so all the money left to be prorated gets immediately acclerated to this year's cap. But again, it's just accounting for money that has already been spent (paid to Diggs).

Sorry if posted already. Dion = joy. Kay was loving him. He was in a severely good mood. Make your already good day a little bit better and watch this. Shnowman on Up and Adams

Disagree. Fumbles happen. Whatever. But he has no feel for returning and hasn’t all year.

I do. I'm sure there are others. I love the internationalization of the game. The more the merrier. I realize I'm likely in the minority. But it's hard to be sure. I'd be interested in real data on that, as usually the people most against it are the ones that jump early into threads like this.

Sorry if posted already - I've been trying to keep up but may have missed it. But here is a comment from the Athletic (Mike Sando article) with an angle on how the Toney penalty is viewed around the league: 2. Does Mahomes have a point about the offensive offside call? He’s not getting much sympathy. Down judge Mike Carr threw the flag right away, well before Mahomes threw the ball to Kelce, and well before anyone knew the offensive offside penalty against Toney would wipe out an incredible play. “It’s tough to swallow, not only from me, and football in general, to take away greatness like that,” Mahomes said afterward. “For a guy like Travis to make a play like that, you want to see the guys on the field decide the game. … I’ve never had offensive Offside called. If it does, they warn you. There wasn’t a warning the entire game. And then you make a call like that in the final minute? Another game, we’re talking about the refs. It’s not what we want for the NFL. It’s not what we want for football.” Lots to unpack here. Terry McAulay, the former NFL referee now providing analysis for NBC, noted that officials have called offensive offside 11 times this season, up from twice in 2022 and once in 2021. It was called a 12th time during the Philadelphia-Dallas game. McAulay called Toney’s violation an easy call, and consistent with how the rule has been interpreted this season. On-air officiating analysts typically rally to the support of their on-field friends, but in a league filled with coaches and executives embittered by inconsistent calls, there was no outrage over this one. “The line-of-scrimmage officials are in charge of the entire neutral zone — pass-rusher alignments, center head bobs, all those things,” an NFL team exec said. “When someone aligns as ridiculously Offside as Toney did, the officials can’t see in there to do their jobs. It’s an easy flag when it’s that blatant.” The NFL this season has sent officiating enforcement tapes to teams with a focus on presnap alignment rules for offensive linemen on “tush push” plays, according to league sources. One of those videos from November referenced receiver alignment, noting that officials would throw flags if the violations were blatant. The video included an example play when offensive offside was called against a receiver. “It was the right call,” a former head coach said. “It is so obvious when you are close to the tackle. I mean, I can’t believe there would be anyone that you would talk to who would say that was not a penalty.”

On the injury list.

Need something new to get excited about every year. This year it is the emergence of Terrell Bernard.

Idiotic take (not you, the article). Clearly Josh is working on the mental side of his game and always has been. But the idea that reflection, experimentation, trying to grow and evolve (which of course will come with ups and downs) is somehow weak or confused or unhelpful is absurd. Sure overthinking things can be a problem in any area of life, but if that's happening, continued reflection will help him see that too. The article could have been interesting; the topic is interesting. But it's such a knee-jerk and/or clickbait angle.

For some reason Mike McD is at the Bills Pats game.

Yep. They are all over the place. And they are not shy. Also football weather literally can’t get any better than this. Perfect. What a day. Go Bills!

Just pulled into Gillette. My first live game in 15 years (been living abroad until recently) and first ever at Foxborough. Scored a ticket in row 21 at the 50 yard line. Best seat for a game I’ve ever had. I feel like I am 7 years old on Christmas Day. A good number of Bills jerseys in the lots and I heard the Shout song blasting as I pulled in. Go Bills!!

From the Athletic (on Von). Sorry if posted elsewhere: "Long absences don’t slow down Miller The previous two times Miller was green-lit to return from a long-term injury, all he did was go, go, go. Miller also suffered a torn ACL toward the end of the 2013 season. When he returned for the 2014 season opener, he tore through the opposition. In his first seven games back, he assembled a six-game sack streak, totaling nine of them along with 16 quarterback hits. He also missed the entire 2020 campaign with an ankle injury but opened the next season with 4 1/2 sacks and seven quarterback hits over the first four games. After missing the first six games in 2013 because of a substance-abuse suspension, Miller amassed 20 tackles, four sacks, seven quarterback hits, two forced fumbles and one recovery for a 60-yard touchdown in his first four games back. — Tim Graham, NFL senior writer" Full article: Bills Activate Von Miller

Wow. It's also amazing how balanced it is. They are first in both points scored and points given up. How the heck have we not won a Super Bowl? The same coaches that can win this consistently on both sides of the ball are capable of winning it all. We need a little luck. Sure maybe we are not the best team over the last 4 years - even with that point differential. (Have to give that to KC obviously.) But we are and have been a really, really good team and are plenty good enough to win at least one Super Bowl, hopefully more, if a few cards fall our way. Please let it happen!

This was fantastic. Thanks! It's super helpful for someone (like me!) without a ton of technical knowledge. Really helped me appreciate a couple things: 1) Those wide side throws and how long and difficult they actually are. Hard to see that live, because Josh makes them look so freaking easy and routine, like he's playing catch in the back yard. 2) How much anticipation he's throwing with. The answer for Dolphins fans asking "Why was Diggs always open?" is that Diggs wasn't open when Josh threw it. He and Diggs are so on the same page. It's crazy how he throws it (to difficult spots) way before Diggs has made his final cut. Josh had the early rep of needing to see guys open rather than throw them open. Not now. That Shakir drop was another one he threw so early. Moral of the story: Josh is unreal and we are INSANELY lucky to have him on the Bills for hopefully another decade plus.

It's really hard not to. Great guy. Emotionally mature. Generous. Very resilient. Given his physical limits (arm strength, etc.) he can really play. And he's still early in his QB journey. I wish he didn't play for the Dolphins so I could enjoy him more.

He's had more heroic games for sure. The KC playoff game for one. But yeah, he was so cool and collected today. Through three quarters, his face just looked like, "Eff these guys. I'm better than them." Throw in the long PI to Diggs, and the beauty that Shakir failed to come up with, and his numbers are even bigger.

One of my favorite things about this edition of the Bills is watching Spencer come flying in from out of frame downfield when the running back or receiver is in the process of being tackled. He launches himself into the tacklers with complete abandon. It makes me laugh every time. No one else does it with that kind of speed or unbridled joy.

They've been claimed.

I have two tickets for Training Camp Thursday - won't be able to make it. Free to the first person who DMs me to claim them, assuming I can get the Ticketmaster transfer thing to work.

Same for me. I just need one. Went on the site right at 1:00 PM but was already #800 in the queue, and it sold out by the time I got to the front. I've been living out of the country for years and recently moved back, so this will be my first Bills TC since I think 2005. If anyone has a spare ticket for August 6th I'd appreciate it. Happy to Venmo some $ for the effort. Thanks!

I absolutely don't want to see Diggs go anywhere. I think he has been and will continue to be a huge plus for the team. And I like the crazy bastard. But as to whether he could be traded cap wise, Florio says it's possible. His cap hit next year on the team is not that much smaller than his cap hit off the team (bonuses accelerate but salary - which is big next year - comes off). Diggs Trade Not Impossible

Yes. Very deceptive. I went in and signed up, as $10 would be an amazing deal. But when I checked my account status, it shows that it auto-renews at the regular $79.99 price on August 1st. So I just wasted $10, as there is no need for the subscription before August 1st for me. I was going to buy it anyway at the regular price, as I do every year. But that was some skeevy marketing.

He rarely looks too happy. Unless Kaiir Elam has his notebook out.