corta765

I have checked the previous times they went west and generally the NFL does try to package both games back to back. Does not guarantee that always but that has been trend while giving that team a favorable home schedule before hand.

Thanks. some people specialize in free agency, others the draft, for me its the schedule lol

Happy Friday everyone. Got some fun scheduling updates and rumors: -First off I asked Vinny Bonsignore the main reporter in Vegas for the Raiders about the schedule drop on twitter. He has no idea yet of the game, BUT a user replied saying April 16th is the date of the release. This user doesn't have a ton of followers but they have responded multiple times that this is the date and they seem to be actually selling tickets. This date would line up with the fact the schedule was released last year on the 17th and in 2018 on the 19th. The NFL does like to release the schedule on a Thursday so that also lines up that the 16th would be the date. There is one factor that could delay things... -Tom Brady. Per FMIA by Peter King this year the NFL has some real issues on their primetime schedule due to Brady not having a team. It makes sense as if Brady leaves the Patriots they may finally see a reduction in primetime games and a team like Vegas or LAC would see an increase. In the end the NFL controls the release date and I could see them pushing the date back if things are not squared away in the time frame they want. Ratings is king. -Kansas City has squared away a scheduling issue with the Royals who share the parking lot and are now set to open the season at home on Thursday Sept 10th. The Bills do not travel to KC but they do host them so they will not play them week 1. -I have thought for a while the Bills will open at home against the Chargers week 1 and I still believe that but... the Brady factor exists. If Brady goes to LAC I see the Chargers going to KC for opening night. Same if the Raiders get Brady. The Rams are going to open the new LA stadium week 1 on SNF that's almost a given so the Chargers have to go on the road week 1. Perhaps they head to the Raiders on the back half of the MNF football doubleheader, but I think the league would prefer SF in that spot and to let the Raiders have week 2 to open their new stadium on SNF. -The Bills have opened on the road for two years in a row and the NFL generally tries to rotate home and away opening by year. I believe given the Bills travel this year that Buffalo may get a bunch of home games early before hitting the road. Buffalo opened against a division opponent last year, typically the Bills have gone back and forth from opening against a division opponent one year to playing an AFC conference foe the next. If the Bills do host a divisional opponent my pick is the Dolphins at this point. -In case you have missed the headlines the Dolphins are hosting a game in London and the Cardinals in Arizona. The Bills do go on the road against both teams although I do not think the Bills would go to London given the four west coast trips they already have. The Cardinals are a little more interesting of a possibility, but given they host the Eagles, Skins, Seahawks, Rams, and 49ers I tend to think they would go with a bigger more marketable opponent then Buffalo. -Speaking of London Sports Illustrated has reported the Falcons are hosting the Broncos in November there. If that is the case it makes it less likely Buffalo heads to Denver that month as the Broncos would go on the road to the east coast first for a game and then to London to help stunt travel. Additionally in a weird scheduling quirk the last two times the Bills have went to Denver they went in December. Four of the last five games played between the Bills and Broncos have been in late November or December. The one non late season game was the memorable Von Miller handshake Personal Foul game in September 2017. Knowing my luck this means the Bills are going to Denver week one destroying much of my predictions and writing haha, but interesting none the less. (Buffalo's all time record vs Denver is 22-16-1) Finally for fun this is my current schedule prediction. I think the NFL will set the Bills up for some primetime games in the first half of the season while giving the Bills flexible games in the back half whether for good reason or bad: Opponent Time Week 1 LAC 1:00 PM Week 2 MIA 1:00 PM Week 3 at DEN 4:00pm Week 4 LAR MNF Week 5 at Raiders 4:00pm Week 6 at NE 1:00 PM Week 7 SEA 4:00pm Week 8 KC 1:00 PM Week 9 at NYJ TNF Week 10 BYE Week 11 at TEN 1:00 PM Week 12 NYJ 1:00 PM Week 13 at SF SNF Week 14 at ARZ 4:00pm Week 15 PIT 1:00 PM Week 16 at MIA 1:00 PM Week 17 NE 1:00 PM

Kids this is my daily reminder don't do drugs "That's Bills legend and accused double murder suspect OJ Simpson running all of the field" yea that doesn't sound very good ?

The more interesting piece of this is ESPN and by extension ABC if they move back there has been upset with the matchups they get on MNF. Part of the reason for wanting the ability to flex games on MNF is because the matchups have not been good. From what I have read the NFL is going to try to balance the matchups more evenly between SNF which took all of the top games and MNF. Should be interesting to see where this goes.

Yep. A lot of people don’t like hearing it but our tailgating is a double edge sword and very anti family. I won’t take my son until he’s at least 10 to a game. In general there is a massive market for families the NFL could tap into if they want. i should also add on the greed side and anti fan nature lately of the NFL the moving of training camps from colleges where fans and kids especially can meet their heroes for free back to the NFL facilities is one of the worst things that’s happened. I understand why the moves have occurred I’m prepping for the Bills to leave Fisher but it takes away another avenue for fan interaction without spending $500

Thanks I agree. The NFL is playing a really dangerous game right now with this 17th game stuff. I think it will go through OK, but the owners want 18 games and are always hellbent on more revenue. The NFL is the only professional sport (in the US) that's regular season matters to the point every game is good. The moment that changes the moment they will break so much of the good the league has. To me one of the biggest stories of the last decade that did not receive enough attention was the fact the NFL let the Rams move from St. Louis despite the Rams fans and community following to a T exactly what needs to be done by NFL by laws to keep their team. The NFL wanted a team in LA and was able to get their way. If you follow the rules and still get burnt like that it does not give me a tremendous amount of hope that the NFL really cares about your community just the $. It's why I am not as bullish as I use to be on the Bills future if they do not have a new stadium. I just think the NFL would truthfully rather have teams in international markets over places like Buffalo, Cleveland, even Green Bay. Maybe I am wrong and panicky, but the league has tripped over itself for years now and has lacked vision to the point it will bite them hard. As is the Chargers move is a disaster where owners are saying the team should just go back. Paul Tagilabaeu remarked how bad it was for markets to move or lose teams and there is a reason why after the Browns move teams stayed put a lot more and the NFL worked to keep teams in markets.

Tyrod Taylor would've been more successful his last two seasons if Rex didn't fire Greg Roman. After Roman left the offense the rest of 2016 was never the same and I think McD would've kept Roman.

His name is fine and needs to stay. He was a great player for the Bills and one of the best RBs of all time. He also was a murderer. Both are parts of his story you cannot erase history.

-Fred Jackson was a slightly above average running back and would lower the standard for the wall of fame if he was put up. He was more the product of fans blue collar mindset and being a bright spot on not great teams then anything else -Going to the airport for the Bills has went from a cool one time experience to over blown and embarrassing showing how low of standards our fans have. We lost a playoff game and fans went. Teams that win SBs fanbases have higher expectations. -Bills fandom is about to hit its saturation point nationally and we are going to go from the fanbase everyone loves to annoying and drawn out -If the renovate the stadium and do not build a new one the Bills have 15 years before relocation talks become real if a new stadium is not considered. The NFL has become so money hungry and could care less about the fans that with the Pegula's aging and the leagues oversea's priority Toronto could become a bigger threat if we do not have a new palace. Atlanta has built two stadiums better then the New Era in 30 years, owners notice this.

As an owner Ralph was the definition of average, as a leader in the NFL ownership group he was a visionary. It sucks it wasn't the opposite

I would change this to the tailgate experience is very limited and if the Bills ever were to expand it to have more options like on campus restaurants and parties they'd be stunned at how many more fans and families especially would be willing to show and not tailgate

I'm not wringing hands and worrying I am pointing out an important fact. The offense had trouble against top D's and averaged just 19.6 pts a game. They will have a harder test of teams that will challenge their ability to score. I expect them to improve on offense and as long as Brady leaves I believe they are the favorite in the AFCE. But that does not discount the fact they will not have nearly the ease opponent and defense wise that they did last year.

Every major sports league is playing games in other countries. The box is open its never going back, just hope that a team in London never actually happens

They had a host of injuries and Mosley being out hurt. I don't disagree they were not as strong as other defenses but they still factor into the Bills schedule and truthfully we only scored 17 pts and 6 (although that was with the starters out and if I were a Jet fan I would've been disheartened that it took so long to put the bills away)

I've seen a lot of people fretting about the Bills schedule coming up and more difficult opponents, but I think there is one thing that will determine the Bills chances against these teams then anything else. Straight up its how good their defense is or isnt. Buffalo has shown that the offense can move the ball and score points against most teams, but the Bills struggled when greatly this year against top defenses like NE, BAL, PIT, even the Jets truthfully. I really don't doubt that the defense will keep every game as close as possible for the offense, but as Brandon Beane said they gotta score more. So what does 2020 hold based off last years defensive rankings. Using yards per game as the main measurement the Bills schedule breaks down like this: Games against top 10 defense: 7 games (NE 2x, NYJ 2x, PIT, SF, & LAC) Games against defenses 11-21: 5 games (DEN, LAR, OAK/VEG, TEN, & KC) Games against bottom defenses 22-32: 4 games (ARZ, MIA & SEA) On paper that looks pretty formidable lets see how it compared to the 2019 year: Games against top 10 defense: 8 games (NE 2x, NYJ 2x, BAL, PIT, DAL, & PHI) Games against defenses 11-21: 2 games (DEN & TEN) Games against bottom defenses 22-32: 6 games (MIA 2x, CIN, WAS, NYG, & CLE) Judging by defensive rankings Buffalo will be for a tough ride this year. Taking into account that some teams will move up and others down the big area that will probably determine the Bills playoffs chances lie with those middle defenses which are playoff teams the Bills will absolutely be battling against.The Bills collected 5 wins last year against those teams with bottom ranking defenses and will have less to chew on this year. Obviously much can change, but generally defensive rankings do not see the drastic swings by tons of teams the way record can change. What will be interesting is with the potential extra playoff spot being added this year (depending on the CBA negotiations) these teams with middle ranked defenses games will take on even greater importance to the Bills this season. We all know the offense needs to do more and this only validates that this will present a tougher test for the team in 2019-20. What is your thoughts?

I'll be truthfully honest here. I was so mad they picked Allen not Rosen that I left my brother in laws draft party within 20 minutes. I was team Rosen all day and Allen I was against big time. Truthfully I didn't truly become team Allen until the Miami game when Clay dropped the ball. I liked what he showed against MIN that was encouraging and the JAX game at least showed some heart and passion. But for me it all changed against Miami because he was the best player on the field for either team and couldn't be stopped. With better talent they would've won or just a TE who wasn't a moron. Anyway that game proved to me he could carry the team at QB something you have to be able to do if your gonna be the guy. I'm not sure what his ceiling is but he will be around for a while and win a lot which is good enough for me.

What's awesome about the Bills wanting to draw from Rochester is the fact they probably will move training camp as soon as the contract expires smh

Yea it's tough because one of the best things the NFL did for fan interest was eliminating the blackout rule. It's weird to think just a decade ago that still happened frequently and it was a really archaic rule. I can't wait to tell my son that we use to not be able to watch the Bills because we didn't sell 500 tickets haha But yea Amy Trask former president of the Raiders tweeted back and forth with me and her thoughts were if you move the games the least the NFL should do is refund all travel and game costs assuming you can prove the cost with receipt as a way to say to the fans we get our move hurt your experience. She is huge about fan experience and the fact the NFL needs to do more for the fans who actually go. What you brought up about traveling and days off is my great fear if this comes true given how regularly the Bills do play on MNF which is at least once per season most of the time. Not being able to go to PIT was gut wrenching and in a sense it took away from watching them clinch knowing we should've been there. On the plus side we got our money back!

If the game was in Sept or Oct. Ravens game had tickets on secondary market for $30, not exactly our best showing.

This would fundamentally be one of the worst most unfan friendly moves they could make. My wife and I had to cancel PIT because of the switch to night time with the way our travel worked, but at least that was just a time difference. Switching the day when thousands of fans come from out of town and plan financial decisions around that would be as awful idea as they come. I get the NFL is hellbent on TV, but stadiums look awful when fans are not there. At some point they need to focus some efforts on the people ya know actually going to the games and not the TV side. The better idea I heard was having MNF with more double headers or two games so you could swap for the better matchup. I should also add the NFL wouldn't have this issue if they didn't schedule teams so repetitively ensuring that a bad season by the Giants Jets Eagles Bears etc.. insert major market will result in less people watching. The fact the Jets got soo many night games was hilariously bad last year, but I sadly expect the same again.

my point is politicians use this as something to boast about regardless of the statistics that show it has no positive impact economically. you can guarantee someone would say they helped keep the bills here if a new stadium was made downtown

Thank you for posting this to show the two of these things are not mutually exclusive. From a pure watching standpoint the Ralph is like you fine no issues. But your in the largest entertainment league in the world where they do anything to make money ... and Buffalo has people jumping through tables lol. That isn't a shot just a point that compared to literally the rest of the league were still in 1995 by revenue standards. The Pegulas are really hard to read because for as much as they talk renovation and a Buffalo fit, I have this gut feeling they would LOVE to be downtown with the rest of their investment. The Byron Brown has already said he wants the team back downtown. Truthfully its a really hard egg to figure out if they do go downtown because you need to somehow keep the cost within reason, have the ability for a good amount of safe tailgating, while also having more family options pre game, with ok access in and out, and a facility that is able to be used more regularly....YIKES lol Many NFL teams practice in one spot but play elsewhere. Carolina are building like a 100 million practice facility that is actually just in South Carolina no where near the stadium. If a stadium was downtown I don't doubt they keep everything else in Orchard Park. My solution to the old stadium is to make it a high end ampitheater/park mix which the area desperately needs. As for reno vs. new I think the one crucial piece is how much the city of Buffalo wants to get the team downtown. The mayor could absolutely use that as another piece of showing the Buffalo revival and that's a lot of money that comes downtown pre and post game etc.. It'll be interesting

GB renovated theirs for 540 mil CHI built a new stadium on top of Solider NOLA is doing renovation for over a billion KC also did massive Reno for like 500 mil

This type of stuff is tiresome and pathetic. Newsflash despite the Bills having their best record in two decades the Ravens game had tickets available for $30 a seat. The biggest game against the best team in the NFL was for $30. Certain Bills fans love to brag about "the elements' "being tough" etc.. well truth is the support for those games isn't there. What was another big game in 2017 at home against the Dolphins in December wasn't even a sellout despite having a decent shot at the playoffs. Snowbowl which I was at in 2017 wasn't close to a sellout in another game with playoff implications. This isn't a generational thing, older folks, families, many fans in general would prefer a stadium where they can go without risk of getting sick or having their fan experience be one of freezing the whole game. The world has evolved many people don't view entertainment as being in those conditions for hours on end. If they did it should be impossible to get tickets to the Ravens or Colts or Phins. There is a reason why the early season games are far more expensive regularly. It is an entertainment business first and foremost and the NFL for years has been looking for the Bills to expand their revenue streams. If that comes at the expense of not being out doors and not being able to jump drunkenly through tables on fire during a tailgate while allowing a wider audience to come more regularly it won't even be a question of what direction they pick. The Bills are an Alamo of sorts in terms of the sport and that isn't a good thing if you care about their long term viability in the league.