Rochesterfan

I do not disagree that Riveron needs to go, but to blame this on him is just wrong in my opinion. The competition committee created an ambiguous rule using the words “unnecessary” in the rule. What is unnecessary? I would rather see the NFL call it every time someone lands on a QB with his full weight rather than a referee try to determine if it was unnecessary or not. To me each week - Matthews has purposely went right through midsection of the QB - driving him backwards and landing directly on top of the QB. The only one I question is week 2 he had his hands out and did not land with his full weight. I see other guys come up the middle and hit the QB, but slide to one side or the other to not fully land on the QB. I agree the intent is to stop a hit like Barr on Rodgers, but trying to write a rule to stop one type of play is going to impact others as we have seen with the catch rule. The catch rule worked for years until slow motion replay showed there were flaws. Then they tried to write the rules to eliminate the one offs and it impacted plays that were not intended in the original purpose. This was not a Riveron issue either - he just handled it poorly when it came time to explain the situation. The issues were there before Riveron and will be there long after he is gone. Football is a massively complex and fast game meaning there are just a lot of things that occur right on the edge in gray areas and fans get mad about these plays. The NFL responds by trying to “fix” the problem with a rule, but the consequences are on unintended plays that cause additional frustration. No matter what people are upset and in the internet world - small groups have loud voices leading to overreacting to correct non-issues.

I hope they adjust and it causes them to back off to protect against his arm and we can get the running game really going. The last 2 years with TT and Peterman we could not get the D to back off by completing passes and it clogged up the running lanes. Yesterday - they got the Vikings D to back off into 2 deep safeties giving more running lanes for Ivory. That is a tough team to run on and the adjustments to JA’s arm started to allow better run fits and that will hopefully continue.

Should be, but get a 260 lb Linebacker chasing you and sometimes you find and extra gear.

I disagree - the Refs messed up, but the play works and you have to shovel it to make it a pass and that is what makes it safe. The timing must be perfect to get the full effect and that means just barely touching it and tossing it forward to the speeding receiver. More practice will make it work and look better. If the call was missed how is it a turn over waiting to happen? The point of the catch and flip forward is to make it a pass so that it is not a turnover waiting to happen. A handoff to the sprinting WR could be a fumble, but the shuttle pass protects the team. The point is to avoid the handoff because a guy running full sprint trying to take a handoff is very easy to bounce of and that is a fumble. The small flip forward makes it a pass and protects you from exactly what we saw in the game - the Refs just blew the call. Give them some more time and we will see how it looks, but I love the idea.

My Oakland pick is still alive

NFL tweeted out that Josh Allen is making his Arizona Debut. Wow our QB is so good he hopped on a plane to help Arizona out - they preferred him to Rosen all along - LOL.

I totally agree he dropped a beautiful pass, but he also finds a way to get open. Needs to work on catching with those hands.

I can’t believe Taiwan Jones is playing with the stitches and the bruising. Good Lord keep his hat on today.

If they had started Baker they would be 3-0 and not needed the kicker.

It is not useless though because it can roll over to next year. They may not use it, but any money they get back adds to next years money to sign players.

This is so easy - yes it was a fumble - ball came out before the elbow hit out of bounds. The WR then landed out of bound (elbow) while still touching the ball - therefore it is a dead ball out of bounds. The Bills have seen this exact thing at least 3 times in the last 2 years - where a guy fumbles on the sideline and either lands out of bounds and touches the ball - ala LA this weekend or the Dolphins last year OR the Bills trying to recover end up touching the ball out of bounds ala last week in Baltimore.

That was the correct call as explained by the former referee- it was a muffed punt - he never had possession and therefore did not establish control outside of the goal line. The first control was in the end zone and therefore touchback was the correct call. Every close play outside of the muffed punt went to LA. The first fumble should have been Buffalo ball and that would have had the potential to change the game. The punt where the ball was touched by LA on the goal line should have been a touchback- JA then throws an Int because he is backed up in the end zone. A correct call there could have also changed things as that lead to LA’s last points. In the end the Refs did not cost the Bills the game - they did not help them either - it was just another fast moving game with a lot of very close plays that for the most part the Refs get right in live action - which amazes me over and over.

And called them San Diego at least 5 or 6 times - they are definitely a low end crew that barely knew the players on either team.

Trolling bait - what a hot take - LOL. Yeah the silent protest of fractured ribs that McCoy will try to play with - no respect for the coach. Kyle out their on his knee playing his heart out for the team and coach, but yeah they have no respect. Players trying to make a play even when the helmet comes off - no respect for the coach or team at all Let’s take it further - I guess based on your “Logic” - Carson Wentz is silently protesting in Philadelphia. Greg Zuerlein is protesting the coach in LA - I mean he pulled himself out of the game right after the opening kickoff. He didn’t even have the respect for the coach to try and gut it out like Shady - they must really hate McVay. The list could go on and on, but it doesn’t matter as you have a horrible hot take you want to troll with - so have fun.

Agreed - it was obvious he was struggling even in the preseason and I am sure both he and the coaching staff were trying to decide how much is him coming back from injury - which takes time - and him losing the desire to play. Having a year off and rehabbing sometimes saps the desire as you enjoy the time away and the mental relief and it is hard to build that desire back up. I do not think the retirement was a huge surprise as even some guys on the board thought (stated they had heard) rumblings that he was talking about this as early as before game 1 - which was why he sat game 1, but doing it at halftime was a kick in the groin. I do understand that he had come to the conclusion that it was time and at that point it is best to just get out. Especially if you are more concerned about injury and therefore you are not giving it your all. What we do not know is what was said to who about this internally because the Bills seemed to adjust to not having him right from the start of the second half. The move to me is not a killer as he was not what he once was, but the optics seem bad.

Actually it was already posted in the other thread that this was know with the screen shots to back it up. The halftime piece was a surprise, but I think the Bills and Vontae knew which is why he sat week 1 and is not for injuries would have probably sat today. They are trying to get a replacement up to speed.

Good Post - the Vontae thing is bad optics, but it does not reflect on the coach or the GM in my eyes. They brought Vontae in hoping for a one year wonder, but it became obvious that he was not going to be the number 2 after week 1. He realized he was just not up to speed - wish he had just waited until after the game.

I think it has has to do with highs versus lows for specific players and consistency. For example on the O-line - we have seen some signs that Teller was making some nice plays as Guard, but he also totally whiffed on some blocks. In addition he struggled on some of the Combo blocks and getting into space. So his high might be slightly higher at times his low is lower and worse is it is inconsistent. You saw that with Milano last year - he was better on some plays, but Humber was more consistent early. Once Humber got nicked up - Milano took over and played with some consistency and kept the job. Honestly for all the hate - Vlad is not the issue on the o-line - I would not mind seeing if Teller could take over at LG and Vlad goes back to the right and Miller becomes a back-up. I am hoping that Groy just had a bad game because he did not look good and there is not a solid plan for that position.

At least one Bills player touched the ball while out of bounds before the recovery - a challenge would of been a waste. The Ref was standing right there and got the call right. It was a poor play by the Bills - really crucial in the situation to get the momentum of the ball moving back toward the inbounds part of the field and towards the Ravens goal line. Guys diving toward the boundary just hastened the out of bounds momentum.

The crap they have to say would be bad enough - hope it fails very quick for them.

Unless they tag him again next year to either force a trade or hold his rights. Additionally - you have numbers in your response - let’s use that, He would of got 10 million in year 1 for the signing bonus - plus the 15 million salary for a total of 25 million for the year. I think it would be less I used about 12 million , but even then it would be 22 million for 2018 versus 14.5 million. Then an let’s say you are right they cut him before 2019 - he loses the rest of his contract, but is free to sign elsewhere with a new signing bonus and is actually better off. Where he loses out is if he signed with Pittsburgh and they kept him 4 or all 5 years on the deal and he could not get another big contract.

It even states ages in the article that if he plays on the franchise tag again next year - with the huge increase that makes to over 17.4 million for 2019 (all guaranteed). It will only be a million less than he would have been payed taking the Steelers deal with the signing bonus for 2018-2019. Yes there is a chance he gets hurt, but if that happens this year and he gets cut - he will make next to nothing going forward and only get the franchise of 14 million for the year. He has a chance to make huge money after this year - so I get it, but he is also still taking a risk.

Read again - my numbers are accurate based on that article and the tweets - again I understand the 10 million guaranteed versus 14 million guaranteed, but in addition to his 10 million he would be getting his salary that when combined with the signing bonus makes for 33 million over 2 years. He loses 4 million in guaranteed money for this year, but with his salary of 12 + million and the 10 million guaranteed- he will play this year for significantly less on the franchise tag.

There are just just a few things that I would disagree with. First the 10 million guaranteed would be his signing bonus and that coupled with his 10+ million salary last year meant he would of made over 21 million for last year rather than the 12 million he got on the franchise tag. With 2018 - he would get 33 million for 2017 and 2018 based on the contract he was offered and with the franchise tag he will make 26 million assuming he plays every game this year also. If he sits out some this year that number is less. It will then depend upon what he gets as a contract because I am not sure if he sits out or comes back and pulls a hammie and misses time - what kind of a long term contract he will get. What we know is that he could of had 10 million up front, 33 million in compensation by the end of this year and 45 million by the end of next year. He is currently at 12 million and if he gets all of 2018 salary - he will be at 26 million - meaning next year just to match the old contract - he will need 19 million plus. He might “win” on this deal with his next contract, but the difference is going to be smaller than you would think and if he sits out and accumulates fines - it will be even less. It doesn’t make it wrong, but your portrayal is incorrect - it is not 10 million versus 14 million. It was 10 million plus his salary last year and this year which is significantly more than the franchise tag in the end. The other issue is yes there are differences between positions and they slotted him at the time as the highest paid RB by a significant margin. He wanted WR money based on his play and that is fine for him to try and get it, but I think the Steelers and most teams realize the RB replacement level is significantly easier to replace and cheaper than top end WRs. It is why NYG were criticized for the Barkley pick.

Yes and the Ravens have won like 13 straight preseason games going back to 2015, but have not made the playoffs at all. They much like the Bills have been average the last several years - some ups and some downs - wins against lowly teams like Cleveland and losses agains the better teams like Pittsburgh. It all means nothing until after the game Sunday.