Rochesterfan

So you want to “steal” the Pats 3rd stringer - are you putting him on the 53 and cutting another good player for a 3rd string QB. If not why would Stidham choose the Bills PS over the Pats?

I think he is PS worthy, but I do not think he would be who they bring up if another QB is needed. He really needs reps and study to become a better QB, but he is just not getting that now. We we will see how it goes - not sure if someone else shakes free that they had their eye on - if they keep him, but most QBs that are cut would prefer to PS on the team that cut them rather than have to learn a new system and I do not see the Bills using a 53 roster spot for a 3rd QB.

Do you not think the coaches see him in practice? Do you not see that his teammates love him and the plays? It seems pretty obvious that they recognize his talent, but he is not ready for a more extended role. In training Camp he routinely struggled getting his hands right for a simple handoff - and was getting one on one training with coaches and players from what I saw. Yet we still saw issue that in his one carry in game 1. He is learning things like how to block, but he is still a long way from being ready to handle routine Blitz pick-up or understanding the timing of swinging out to get a dump off. He struggles understanding blocking - including downfield blocking by his own guys - as seen in game 2. Even if he made the 53 man roster - he would not be activated on game days. They are not sitting McCoy, Gore, Devon, or Dimarco. They 4th RB is most likely Perry or Yeldon - both of which would have specialized roles on either special teams or as a 3rd down pass catcher. Neither of which Wade is ready for yet. I just do not see a team utilizing a player on both the 53 man roster and the active game day roster that is so limited in experience that he can only be used in a a few plays - especially if the league has designed a way for you to keep him and let him learn on the PS without losing another young talent. Wade has a ton of talent and upside and it is infectious to see how the team celebrated his 2 plays, but right now he is a professional athlete playing against 4th sting guys that he is simply more athletic than and the team does not seem to think he is read for extended time even in the 4th quarter - let alone moving up to play against the 1s and 2s. Just give it time and be patient and let the team do what is best for Wade and the Bills.

Nope because he still does not understand the nuances of the position. People love the runs, but if he can’t pick up a blitz - he gets your starting QB killed. If he is not familiar with the correct swing route - he gets your QB killed. He is still learning how to take a handoff. I love what he is doing, but he needs time to learn.

Not a chance in heck. I like our 1&2 and the third guy should be developmental not an old has been. i have no issue with Jackson and the role he is playing on this team.

Nope - the competition committee adjust the rules with input from coaches and GMs. That is voted on by the league. Goodell is not responsible for rules. He is responsible for business development decisions. Goodell has also been an advocate for full time officials and has gotten some of that, but not all the way. The set-up of the officials and the replay was again set by the competition committee. Goodell can only do so much with officials because they are part of a collectively bargained Union. He tried to discipline some officials last year, but has limited power to do anything. You can blame Goodell, but he has very little to do with rules and officiating- other than being the face piece. Goodell actually tried to fix the catch rule by getting players to provide input to the competition committee, but that group still could not fix he issue. He also tried to get more full time officials, but that was not pushed through the union - so he has to make due until their CBA is up and they can make changes if the owners approve. If you want to complain about Goodell - then it should deal with the NFLPA, Stadium deals, TV deals, and other business related decisions. Rules and enforcement is really under the competition committee that happens to have guys like Sean Payton on it that push issue the impacted their team - hence the new stupid pass interference rule. Additionally - if you watch the play and listen to the explanation provided by the league - the foul that was called occurred prior to the pass with an offensive push off that lead to the DB being out of position. So even in the end if you want to blame Goodell - the correct call was probably made in this case.

I saw that also, but people make their mind up and that is it. Just gets frustrating when the same people spout the same false garbage over and over. Especially once it has been proven false again and again.

I don’t get this at all. Did Goodell make the call? Is Goodell in the booth making the call? Did Goodell blow the call in the playoffs? Was Goodell on the coaching and GM committee that decided the rule change? Goodell is a front piece for a billion dollar game where revenue keeps growing. He rides a fine line between what is best for the owners and the league. The joke is the result of coaches wanting more control and not understanding the consequences of their decision. It was the same issue with the catch rule - that one (and this) is on the competition committee that wanted a change, but couldn’t define the change and made it worse. None of this is on Goodell.

I am thinking that Tucker in Baltimore May lead the NFL I scoring. That looks like an offense that is going to bog down a lot as he field shrinks.

Considering the practice squad is a relatively recent addition - I think you have to include looking at guys that played things NFL Europe as that was a pseudo practice squad. The numbers are not huge, but there are several that have gone on to have legitimate careers. I am sure someone will point out the Romo’s and the Warner’s, but there have been others that have been back-ups. It is a great spot to learn, but the guys going there are not the cream of the crop and therefore the expectation that they will become anything should be low.

The Bills can’t negotiate a long term deal. As a franchise tagged player after July 15th he has to play on he franchise tag. No teams can negotiate until after the last game of the season. He also has not signed his tender - so currently he can not be traded and rumor has it he has already blocked a trade to Miami. We will see where this goes.

Actually wasn’t Buffalo just in this same situation a couple of years ago with Tyrod Taylor? A QB that won the majority of his games, made few mistakes, was helped by a top flight running game, made the playoff in Buffalo for the first time in forever. How did that work out - are there a lot of little Tyrod’s Running around Buffalo? Nope - the Bill’s fans realized that Tyrod was very limited meaning their chances were limited and when he wanted/got a raise from 3 million a season to 20 million a season - people recognized it was not going to work. Dak works on his rookie deal, but as soon as you start paying him and losing support around him - it falls apart and the expectations on him will rise beyond what he is capable of achieving.

The problem is the percentage is already set. So in shifting the percentage- he is not shifting from owners to players - he is shifting player to player. Him taking more means less for others on the team - meaning at some point a veteran making 3 million and talent to help win - gets replaced by a less talented rookie. It means potentially another star player - a Zeke, a Cooper, a ProBowl OL, etc either gets less or gets cut or can’t resign. I can see the Cowboys doing everything to resign Cooper, Zeke, and Dak and then watching as the best OL in football erodes further and they wonder why none of the 3 are as effective.

I get it, but would rather be 4-0 in the regular season.

Totally disagree - if the NFL and the Union make an agreement - all players within the union should abide by the decision. The players still have a choice, but it is to leave the union and play football someplace else. Their choice should not be about equipment. If the firefighters get some new equipment that better protects them and helps keep them alive - the fire chiefs do not go - well you are a veteran you can decide. Same with military or law enforcement- construction workers - etc. People in all manner of jobs have uniform and safety decisions thrust upon them and have to wear and do things beyond what they want because in reality people are stupid and avoid change for no reason. AB is acting like a baby and there is no reason he should be allowed to do something just because he is a whiner - suck it up or quit and get out.

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.