Rochesterfan

That is Bull Crap all the way. The 52% is then used to pay 100’s of additional employees - probably 3-4,000 people or more - like Chefs, coaches, trainers, administration, secretary, financial guys, security, lawyers, and support the NFL front office staff. The 52% is spread a lot thinner than the 48% that goes to the players. Yes every owner makes a profit and they make good money from the investment, but don’t for a second act like 32 owners take the rest of the money or that the players are not well compensated for their work.

The rules are not driven by the NFL, but this was what the NFLPA wanted and agreed to. More safety for the players and better requirements for the manufacturers. I believe as long as he is part of the NFLPA - he gave up free choice. The rules are in place for all players to be treated equally and fairly. This is not the idiotic NHL that allowed players to be grandfathered in to not wearing helmets when it was clearly an issue.

So now you have them trading Shady to try and make a point? The current depth chart is McCoy, Gore, Singletary - then RB 4 probably Perry or Yeldon. If they trade Shady then both Perry and Yeldon make the squad. Trade and an injury and Murphy is the last body - all before Wade. I do not see any reason why the Bills would not retain Wade either - just as the extra PS player. He is still at least 6th on the chart behind even Murphy and 1 run does not change that. Watching him at raining camp they had to spend a lot of time working on just getting handoffs. He is not anywhere near ready to pass block or become the extra pass receiver. The biggest point is that most people see he is destined for the PS and people want to be able to call him up. I understand, but to my point right now - if the 4 RBs are McCoy, Gore, Singletary, and Perry - you are cutting or getting rid of Yeldon and Murphy. My guess is at least one of those guys would be available and would likely be resigned before Wade gets called up anyways. Plus there will be guys like Ford or other teams PS RBs that you could call up. Give Wade a chance to learn and grow before throwing him to the wolves and getting Josh killed because Wade missed an assignment or a block. I think Wade showed he has talent, but he also played like the 1 snap - a first down where my guess is they chose a play he knew just to get him the carry. I did not see where he was ready for extended playing time and once the season starts the implementation is huge and even rookies start to hit a wall - what will happen to a guy that barely knows anything at this point.

Thank you for proving my point. Most teams utilize multiple backs rather than relying on 1 player and more importantly look at the wire RBs get picked up all the time and contribute. Perfect example look at the Rams - picked up CJ Anderson in December and he lead them through playoffs with less than 1 month of experience with the team. How about Keith Ford an UDFA that the Bills signed up from the PS in December - started a game and lead the team in rushing in a game. He was more of a body, but exactly what I was saying - you can find a guy even late in the season to come in and give you some starts. The Bills do not need to worry if Wade can be activated or not from the PS because you can find others all year long.

I love the discussion and our enthusiasm, but I do not see any way at all he makes the 53 man roster this year. I also do not see any way the exemption is not used for him. Running back is the easiest position to find a guy in the middle of the season if injuries occur and if Perry (or Yeldon) is the 4th back - you would still have guys like Murphy that was here all off season and could be picked up in an emergency. I love the Wade run and if running was all an RB needed to do - then maybe he has a shot, but Backs need to understand blocking and scheme to help pass block, and how to run pass routes. The also need to understand blocking to hit the right hole and utilize the blocking. These nuances take years to learn and develop and Wade just is not there yet on so many levels. I think the team loves him - both players and coaches - and I expect to see if on the extended practice squad and hopefully soaking up the knowledge from a veteran like Gore that is great in many facets of the game. I just don’t think he will be ready for true RB playing time this year and with RBs being a dime a dozen - giving him the whole year to learn is not bad.

From a 2016 AP article about regrowth downtown in Buffalo with Canalside. https://www.apnews.com/411cf9338ef74df8b77279ef6899ae42 “BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Buffalo’s blossoming Lake Erie waterfront district saw a surge in tourist visits over the summer. Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office says Canalside crowds topped 1.5 million people, up from 1 million a year ago. Planners have added more food venues and scheduled more concerts, cultural events and other draws to an area that until recently offered little to visitors. The Thursday night concert series drew 133,000 people, with artist T-Pain seeing the biggest crowd of 40,000.“ This was from 2016 - and the number of visitors have continued to grow. That is also a Thursday night and people start arriving downtown before people start leaving work - so it handled the initial incoming traffic and outgoing work bound traffic. The 6 miles of light rail is enough to spread out the parking across the city. I also believe they would need to utilize the Amtrak line that runs North and South, but does have a downtown drop-off already right near the 190 and Michigan just east of the area. That would allow the creation of some larger “Tailgating” lots in the more spread out Southtowns if they want that. The concerts routinely draw 25,000 people and those are just the people at the concert - there are hoards of other people in the area that are not counted within the concert goers. I believe they routinely handle 30-40,000 people on the concert nights - it is again a spread out leaving time, but the number of people is not going to be the issue. It is going to be traffic flow and timing on the routes that will need work. The logistics will be a bear to work out.

I think this is more about Bodine and how bad he looked. Need depth at Center and Tackle. Take a position with some depth and get a position with less depth in return.

If you go to many other stadiums - tailgating is very limited. If they build the stadium downtown - your couple of hours before and after - will be spent differently. If they build tailgating lots a bit away from the stadium - then you can do the exact same thing there as in OP. Many others will come in and find a place to park near bars and restaurants- some will eat and drink before hand - some will meet up with their friends. You watch the game and you can hit up some bars afterwards to eat/drink and watch more games or you can leave. The experience will change some, but you still control what you want to do. You can keep it at 8 hours, you can shorten it to 5 or 6 hours, you can extend it until after 2am if you want.

I would agree it would be bad if everyone parked there and tried to leave at the same time, but look at other stadiums downtown- Baltimore, Cincinnati, Detroit, etc. they have parking for about 8-10,000 cars around the stadium at most. For example: You have to use the light rail in Baltimore that drops you off right at the stadium. Buffalo already has the free light rail metro service that deliver people from other areas down to the Harbor. Not to mention the fact that some of the concerts down town have attracted 40,000+ just to canal side - so the volume of people can be handled. The experience will be vastly different from the OP experience and the first couple of preseason/regular season games will be a nightmare- just as it is in OP when they changed the traffic patterns a couple of years ago and no one knew where they were going. Then everyone settled into a pattern and people meet up and it becomes a new normal.

What are you even talking about. There are already a ton of bars and restaurants around the hockey and the baseball stadium and new ones are popping up all of the time to take advantage of the summer festivals. These are all already there and are already surviving without the stadium. Plus expand the search toward Lafayette Square, and Chippewa - both sites right on the free Metro line and are common hangouts with tons of bars and restaurants. Nothing is being rearranged - these places already exist and do a good enough business to survive year around. These are also prime areas that could and would handle some game day parking and these would replace some of the tailgating at the stadium. Yes adding the stadium downtown would cause and immediate increase in the number and then subsequently some will go out of business, but the area already has a bunch of these businesses and unlike say Orchard Park where there is nothing around the stadium - these business already handle game day crowds. Additionally as I said - if you build it in OP near the current stadium - the number of dates is very limited, but downtown those limited number of days intertwine with the limited number of hockey dates, the limited number of baseball games, the limited number of concerts in the park and Canalside festivals. You are adding 15-30 days to the already 100+ days that people are in the area. I understand you are against spending the money. I get that, but in the end a new stadium is going to get built. If it is in Orchard Park great, but all that does it keep the current dynamic. It does nothing for anything because you are building a huge venue for literally 8 games and the area sits empty the rest of the time. If you build it downtown - it is in an area that is already growing and changing. You add it to the 2 other arenas already there that draw people - just like places Cincinnati and Pittsburgh - plus you have other draws to the area and you now give more dates for the places to make money. The stadium wherever you put it is not going to ever make back the money it costs - they never do. The decision will then be where do the Pegula, and the city and the state feel they can get the most bang for the buck. The arguments for and against a downtown stadium are numerous, but the things I keep reading are all just excuses without any real thought. There is already in place a subway/metro line from east to west to the current downtown arena. It extends all the way to the UB Main Street Campus and the lower above ground rides are all free. There is already a North/South Amtrak line that has a stop right near Michigan with multiple lines into the north towns and the south towns - with minor changes that could be used for a light rail setup to move people from large tailgating lots from down near the old Ford stamping plant area and up near Grand Island. There is already 2 major roadways that lead out of the area in the Skyway and the 190. Yes it would need some changes to on/off ramps to better fit the needs, but it really needs that anyway because the current ramps were designed for the Aud and the baseball stadium. The city already owns a number of parking areas and parks in the area - so they can determine what other land and areas they need to acquire to get the space needed. I don’t buy that it can’t happen because of the location - I can buy if the study shows it costs to much that they could decide on a cheaper alternative, but I think the difference is going to have to be astronomical to prevent the logical move to consolidate a ton of the Pegulas property and allow them to continue to invest into the major downtown area around the Arena. In the end - what do I care - they are going to spend the money. They are going to build something that costs more than it generates. They are going to decide what is best for the principals involved - NFL, Pegula’s, City, and after all that they will decide what will provide a positive fan experience.

This is non-sense - the number of Bars and restaurants would not be the same as Atlanta and Chicago, but their are already a ton in that area that survive just fine right now on Daily Downtown workers, summer festivals at Canalside, tourists, Hockey fans, baseball fans, people going to the casino, and college students. Adding a football venue downtown near the already growing business gives 8-10 additional days of revenue on top of their already busy schedules at times. If you are building the stadium in the current location and want to argue it won’t support Bars and restaurants- I could agree because then it is only the football stadium to draw from, but downtown around the other stadiums - the area already draw fans for 40 baseball games in summer, 40 hockey games in winter, several festivals and concerts throughout the summer weekends. They already have at least 90-100 days of draw and the 8-10 more would be huge. Additionally - they have drawn the the NHL combine multiple times, NHL draft, NCAA tournament games, etc.into the area. Build the stadium there and have training camp downtown and you go from 8-10 days for football to 25-30 days in the prime of the late summer. The football stadium no matter where you build it will never pay for itself, but as in places like Pittsburgh it can be used to help support the growth that is already occurring. Buffalo would be no different.

Agreed - and looking at other stadiums - Buffalo would be no different - you have the 190 sitting right there - part of the infrastructure would be to add probably a new entrance/exit ramp right near some parking - could be around Michigan Ave. you could also add a 190 to Skyway turn just north of Main Street and now immediately with little change you have 190 N and S to 90 and the Skyway. Plus there is already a rail turn around by the Harbor Center already - so you have easy ability for light rail/metro line to the east. Need to create a stop. There are also already several parks in the area around 1st ward district and perry - that is already city owned property. I don’t know if this is where they will build or not and I don’t really care as long as we get a nice new stadium someplace. I just do not see the issues others see - I see a lot of potential to create an area like many other cities with all of the arenas within a small radius - all using similar infrastructure and planning.

I disagree with your first part. I think the Bills FO has probably been pretty straight forward with McCoy. I think they discussed potential trading partners last year and probably again this year, but they see value in McCoy above what they can get in trade.

You do realize pretty much every major city in the NE (almost across the US) are on some type of major water way right. That is why the cities were built there. The lakes and rivers that you are talking about limiting Buffalo - look at Cleveland, Chicago, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, etc. They all managed to find ways to build Downtown stadiums right on their waterfronts. Several of them have multiple Stadiums in the same area - to use the same infrastructure. All of these cities also had the exact same trends as Buffalo and most major cities - families moving to the suburbs for years. The difference - many of these cities began moving major events back downtown and building up the city and now more and more people are moving back into the city because of the growth. Buffalo is seeing the exact same trend - younger families/couples with disposable income grabbing apartments downtown to be near Canalside for festivals, to be right in the heart of the rebuild and enjoy life. People are correct in that a venue for football only has a limited number of uses per year and does little to bring in the money that it costs to build, but as cities like Pittsburgh have shown - it can be a big part of the revitalization of the area and can bring in businesses like bars, restaurants, casinos, hotels, etc. that help stabilize the areas and keep the growth. Putting a stadium in OP is fine for the fans, but it does nothing to enhance the area. Little has grown around the stadium because there is nothing there M-Sat. There is already growth in the downtown area that has been going for years with people working M-F and events on Sat/Sun. Supporting that growth helps and yes it will cost more, but somehow every major city finds ways to do exactly that many times with worse areas to work with.

I would assume Eric is very familiar with these rules as he has tried to get credentials in the past and was unable to. I always assumed that was part of the reason he signed on with the athletic- to hope to get one of their credentials. I have not seen anything on there by Eric since the end of last season - so maybe his gig is up or maybe they got a similar notice to Jeremy White. I would assume like with Jeremy White - if the person using the all 22 on an official media platform like WGR without consent - they will get hit by the NFL. Freestyle bloggers are below the NFL radar it seems as that is common, but my guess is the NFL pressures things like you tube to prevent and block downloads of the NFL property - similar to videos only playing on you tube - not on a website like this after a short period.

Well as this is not the teams first deep dive into what to do with the stadium - I would suggest “They” is the team and the city who have been doing different studies for about 15 years on what can and can not be done. Since the team and the city are the principal people that will be making the final decision- I think their interests are very high on the overall discussion of what will occur. I do not understand at all why you would suggest that the 2 parties involved in the decision would not look at their overall goals as a guiding point to the decision? Their goals would be a part of the defining of the scope and breath of what they want to look at. Yes - any stadium downtown would require infrastructure changes - it would also have to be something that works during the week to recover money other than just for sporting events. Luckily the land for a light rail line is already owned and lines already exist going down and back to several spots. They would need upgrading and in some spots a second line added, but it can be done. Currently there is one line up through Amherst and 1 line down through the south towns so you would have 2 major prongs to come from - North and East could hit Amherst near the 190 and 90. South towns and over could use the steel plant area with Route 5 and 90 right there to move people in and out. I am not saying it would be easy or cheap, but it is an option. Most people object to Downtown because of the assumed parking issues based upon Sabre’s games. I just do not think that is a factor because I do not think they will make enough parking for that. The expectations will be that the vast majority of fans for all stadiums get there from mass lots outside of downtown area. Then it becomes land acquisition which will be interesting. This is why I do not expect a final decision on this for years as the city and the Pegulas look to buy up land they want. A decision can’t be truly discussed because of the lease for a bit - they will extend the lease for a couple of years to allow building of the stadium wherever. We will see what the final decision is - but I do not think any decision will be made lightly. They will come up with a decision and a plan to get things done.

With Uber you do not need 4+ hours of parking spaces. People use it all the time in other cities - why would it not work here. You create a small Uber lot with a exit at a light for pick-up and drop off. I have used it for Baseball and Hockey In Philly. Football in Indy. It worked well as long as it is thought out. If you use mass transit to move a majority of the people - like they do for other downtown arenas- Uber will work. If you do not expand your mind and you look at things only as they are right now with 80,000 fans all with cars right there - then it won’t work as well. A downtown arena would require a different set-up than the OP set-up - that is obvious. The difference in getting in and out must be addressed and it has to be something that works for people during the week also. So a light rail line with parking outside the city - can be used for both daily commuters and weekend games. Services like Uber work to move people around without the need for long term parking helps and works great in cities with limited parking. Everything I suggested was legitimate things discussed and used in other cities- why is Buffalo different. Open your mind a bit and travel - see how other places do things with downtown stadiums and maybe you can have a real discussion about options.

I do not need to say anything. The NFL has defined it and the teams have their own additional rules. See the Dallas media guidelines as an example.

Nope - not in the NFLs eyes. Sorry

Yes and the athletic already received their allotted press credentials- they have Mathew Fairburn, Tim Graham, and Joe B already credential and on staff - so the fact that he is on the athletic has no bearing at all.

This is crazy. He is not a professional scout or writer - he is an internet blogger. He is one of millions of guys that does what he does. Is he good - sometimes, but that does not mean he should get press credentials. Giving him press would be the absolute wrong thing to do because it sets a precedent that any stupid blogger can force their way into credentials. That is how you get the idiots at the Super Bowl press day. If you don’t think the Bills care about their fans - with everything they do - that is on you. Not giving Cover 1 credentials has nothing to do with the fans or with Erik. It is keeping within the guidelines to ensure that legitimate people get in and keep out the random bloggers that are everywhere.

Really - you think it would be cheaper? They have studied it for years and have already stated they cannot widen the concourses because of the upper deck supports. The lower concourses are restricted by the upper deck supports and the upper concourses are limited by their design. It is the same issue with the bathrooms - the available piping and water infrastructure within the concourses was nearly maxed - to expand they had to move newer bathrooms out into open areas that could be dug and plumbed - the concourses we’re maxed out. They also talk yearly about the issues with electrical and video limitations due to size of the openings in the concrete structure. It is part of the reason they do not get many home Sunday or Monday night games. They lack the infrastructure to be able to expand to handle the increased cameras and views for those games. They addressed that as best they could with the last upgrades, but without basically ripping everything apart they were nearly maxed out. From a fans perspective at your seats the games are great. The food, concourses, bathrooms, etc. are all lacking and those are things that the team and the city have said are maxed out because of the original design. Even the issue with trying to cover the upper deck - even with smaller coverage is that to support it - you need support beams and that suddenly gives obstructive views. It will detract from the experience. I do not see any way they remodel the stadium. The stadium will be new and updated to handle these issues. The question becomes what is the goal for the city and the Pegulas - is it keeping traditional tail gating and fan experience? Then build near the current stadium. I believe if they are looking to create a different experience and enhance the city and their property downtown- then building a stadium downtown will be the way to go. Then it is just an issue of deciding how you want to move people and enhancing the rail line is an easy way to help both during the week and during the games. You could even allow tailgating at these rail lots either up by UB or down route 5 where the steel plants used to be and keep some of the experience. There is a ton of open spaces on rail lines to be used and the money generated could help offset some costs. I would not not expect them to look at infrastructure to get 60-80,000 fans out of downtown after a game. I would expect that they have parking for about 15-20,000 fans downtown- similar to a Sabre’s game. That means 30-40,000 by rail and some by bus routes/Uber. The big loss will be the RV lot - hoping to be replaced by hotel rooms right there and access to food, drinks, and the casino.

Basically exactly what I said earlier - this is such a non-issue and has nothing to do with the NFL front office or them trying to do anything. Clearly stated - the testing team automatically flags contracts where it has been >12 months. Not a league guy deciding this, but an independent organization. As I said - I believe they have a way to input these and not flag and something was missed. It it should be a non-issue or a positive that this oversight is in place.

Yeah - I just do not see the Big deal here. The NFL does not decide who gets drug tested - it is outside their control. When the info got entered - I am sure they have a way to flag things as 1 day fake contracts and this was probably missed - so it goes into the system - flags as >12 months and therefore becomes a nearly automatic testing needed. I look at this as a positive meaning these guys can’t fake retire miss a few weeks/4 months of testing and come back and not get immediately tested. Note: not sure what you are confused about sunshower - read the article and understand that it is an independent organization that runs the drug screens - not the NFL and there are CBA agreed criteria for testing and one is if it has been >12 months since the last test a flag automatically comes up.

Whether Crazy Carl says it or not - that is one of the major areas that was being discussed and makes a ton of sense with the other Pegula buildings in the area. If they extend the “subway” and the rail line - you could funnel the people in and out and maintain space for 20,000 people parking around the stadium. Plus with the hotels, food, bars, and casino - there are things to do after the game to enjoy the area. However they want to do it - there is already the beginning of growth in that area and using the stadium to help expand and solidify the growth makes sense. Using some of the harbor for Sept and October “parking” is another option and would make for some beautiful shots pre-game. With the Casino, the newer restaurants, and some of the newer hotels - a new stadium and probably some additional amenities would certainly add to the ambiance of the area. I get the appeal of a redo in Orchard Park, but I think that does the least for the long term viability and health of the team and the city. It makes so much more sense to continue the downtown push and then keep working on ways to bring additional companies into the fold. In the end - I don’t care - I will go to my 3 or 4 games a year - where they are and enjoy the game and the fans I love. I just hope as I get older - the facilities get better and more accommodating because the December games have gotten harder the last few years.