SirAndrew

Just my take, not a comment on Covid itself at all. I couldn’t care less if I can go to game this season. After spending 40 hours a week wearing a mask, I’d rather sit in front of the tv watching the Bills in comfort. I don’t get how you make the mask thing really work though. Are they going to ban food and drinks ? How would they determine when you are or aren’t eating ? Who enforces all of this ? I don’t see who would be stopping fans from loading up on a bunch to eat during the game, so they could keep the mask off. I’d be like the restaurant rule. They’d almost need to just sit people six feet apart, and only require masks in the concourse imo.

Yeah, that’s the problem. I don’t care how elite you might be as a return man these days. It’s unlikely you’ll bring the ball past the 25 from deep in the end zone on a regular basis. Back when a touchback was placed at the 20, there was less risk in losing yardage from taking it out. I value having the ball at the 25 on a regular basis more than I do the small chance it’s taken out to midfield. Big returns can be huge, but the consistency of starting at the 25 outweighs one long return mixed with a bunch where you actually lose field position. Don’t get me wrong, Roberts is a good player to have, but I’d prefer he take his chances from outside the end zone, or at least just a few yards deep. I don’t want to see anyone taking the ball out from deep in the end zone.

I don’t trust him to be the guy who can develop talent on offense, and utilize the talent we already have properly. His scheme is overly complicated to the point of being a hindrance, and he constantly outsmarts himself. I also don’t trust him with talent like Diggs on the roster. Will he be smart enough to make an effort to get Diggs involved on a regular basis? Or will he try to outsmart everyone by not properly utilizing a guy like Diggs ? I don’t want a basic smash mouth offense, but Daboll’s offense is like an overpriced foreign sports car. It looks great, but it’s difficult to work with, and you’re lucky to get it out of the garage on a regular basis when things break down. Daboll has yet to build an identity for this offense, because he subscribes to the Patriot way of running a chameleon like offense. One week is run heavy, while the next is pass happy. That’s great when you have Brady under center, but a young guy like Allen needs more consistency and direction to be comfortable.

I just have a feeling Tua is going to be a bust. He has a funky throwing motion, injury prone, and benefited greatly from playing with Bama. He might turn out to be decent, but I don’t see him being much better than mediocre. He doesn’t scare me in the division, I’ll just say that.

Yeah, I never joined forums like this, or talked much football with fellow Bills fans during the drought because that opinion was very unpopular. Any criticism of the franchise being a train wreck was taken very personally by most fans. Somehow, good things were just around the corner (even though we didn’t have a pro roster), and any criticism of management was just being negative.

Whaley did well in free agency, but QB wasn’t the only thing he missed in the draft. Maybe I undervalue some of the players he drafted, but I thought every Whaley draft was very weak.

I’ve never understood that crowd either, and I don’t even wear a jersey on game day. I just don’t understand why anyone cares what another dude chooses to wear.

Chan Gailey wasn’t an offensive genius. We often blame those years on Gailey’s inability to manage both sides of the ball, but the reality is different. His offense was a gimmick that only worked a few weeks every season, then we’d have long streaks of struggling to score points. People mostly remember the exciting Gailey games, but forget the dreadful 24-10 type loses those seasons were also filled with.

Yeah, and if Hauschka is coming up short from 50+ in OP during August, that’s not a good sign for what he can do when fall/winter weather gets here. Starting NFL kickers have the leg strength to make 52 yarders. You have to move on from a guy who doesn’t.

I like Hausch because he’s been an important part of this team and their success. I appreciate what he’s done with them, but it’s time to part imo. It’s a prerequisite that an NFL kicker must be able to kick 50+ field goals. We are losing a lot having a guy you don’t trust from that range. We also have an offense who has yet to get in the end zone on a regular basis, and field goals remain a big part of our scoring. We were stuck in that 50+ field goal no mans land many times last season, being forced to punt or just go for it on forth down. Rookie kickers can be an adventure, and Hausch has been good percentage wise. However, Hausch’s good percentage doesn’t account for all the times we pass on the opportunity to kick past 50 yards. Bass could be just as effective with a slightly lower field goal percentage, simply based on the additional long field goals he could make. Those kicks don’t count for a miss with Hausch because they never happen, but we’re still giving up possession when most kickers get on the field for a 54 yard kick.

I would have rather gotten destroyed by the Chiefs. It would have given this team more experience (as mentioned by others), and any playoff win is a step in the right direction for a franchise. That loss to the Texans was more embarrassing than getting beaten by the Chiefs. The Chiefs were considered unstoppable by most fans at that point. The game in Houston was basically another “Billsy” loss to most NFL fans. I guarantee that no one who isn’t a Bills fan blames the refs for that loss. The average fan saw a team who blew a lead, made some questionable game-day coaching decisions, and left a lot of plays on the field. We can come back stronger this season, but personally I remember that game being a tough loss. With that said, the extension of McDermott was a good move. Regardless of what direction this franchise goes, it’s clear that it would be very difficult to find an upgrade considering what he’s done with this team.

I think people also forget that Gore wasn’t bad early in the season. The problem began when he was on the field in crucial situations late in the year, when he had nothing left in the tank.

Montana also had a decent short run with the Chiefs way back. However, Brady is 43, which is four years older than Favre when he took the Vikings to the NFC championship game. Brady looked like a QB who was quickly declining during the second half of last season. I don’t care how much talent the Bucs have, I don’t see Brady having much left in the tank, and it takes a QB to put talent to use.

You knew things were changing when the new regime cleaned house their first few years. I had been waiting for one of our many new regimes over the years to hit the reset button. Most of them just allowed the relics of previous failures to stick around.

It certainly doesn’t help that he looks like the Redskin dude, but with a hat ?

I couldn’t care less what anyone thinks about Lamar’s intelligence, so I’m not here to defend that. However, I must say it’s funny how Lamar wanting AB on the roster is the one thing that makes him unintelligent. Has everyone forgotten that Brady was posting fond memories of AB last year on social media in hopes of his return ? I wouldn’t say Brady is an unsuccessful QB.

I’m not really into debating anything Covid related anymore (so that’s not the intent of my comment), but the Costas comments did make me ponder a question. I’ve seen obesity among NFL players tossed around this forum quite a bit, but is the obesity rate among NFL players any higher than the general population? I kind of doubt it, pretty much the majority of America has the obesity risk factor going for them. At least obese pro athletes are physically active, which is more than you can say for many others.

Great point, and I’d completely agree if you were talking about football with it’s massive popularity. You are correct in the fact that baseball is doing the right thing for their bottom line. I’m just looking at it from a long term perspective. People who watch baseball on TV are an extremely aging population, that won’t be around forever. When the viewers vanish, the big TV deals won’t be there for the taking. Baseball does an awful job marketing itself and promoting its stars. Football and basketball have multiple generations who will continue to follow the game. City streets are full of people wearing football and basketball jerseys, yet not many people care who Mike Trout is. I fully understand your point, but I was also speaking to the question of Blue Jays games being televised in Buffalo. If MLB doesn’t forget about blackout rules, they are making a big error. Exceptions should be made during the pandemic season. Wouldn’t you think televising Blue Jays games in Buffalo while they play here would be good for building a future baseball fanbase in WNY ? It’s crazy there’s any question whether this will happen imo. I get the contract and television aspect as well, it’s just ridiculous there’s not much flexibility. The NBA and NFL can survive ridiculous policies, but MLB needs a system that offers their product more exposure.

Those type of business decisions drive me crazy. Baseball has been declining in popularity for some time, yet they stick to an archaic system that pushes away fans. MLB should be doing all they can to allow their product to be seen, without always thinking about the bottom line. The bottom line will actually improve if more people have access to the game imo.

We also conducted electric shock therapy and lobotomy’s in the 1950’s. Science has improved A LOT since people were given deadly vaccines. Many of these guys lose their passion even earlier. These guys learn that football is their ticket to success early in life, and there’s no turning back at that point. It’s something the average fan has trouble grasping, but football becomes work to them.

I understand all the fear of a fast tracked vaccine, and it seems like a common sentiment. Personally, it’s a risk I’m willing to take. I don’t like the unknown long term impact of Covid any better. I’m seeing some things I don’t like, and the idea of permanent organ damage (even in asymptomatic people) is just as scary as the off chance the vaccine does something to me.

True, just saying some people often exaggerate those dangers greatly.

I’d simply be more concerned with it being ineffective than dangerous. Often times when people mention “adverse effects”, they are talking about a fever; runny nose, or something like that. People seem to think vaccines are created by throwing a bunch of random chemicals in a needle. There’s a scientific process that typically provides a decent level of safety, even with those in development. The random horror stories, and tales of vaccines from decades ago aren’t the reality.

I’d like to opt out to another planet, and return to Earth once this is all over.

No, but you said, “ most countries are past it”. I’m just saying that isn’t true. Australia was used by people as the shining example of how you can miraculously eradicate something without a vaccine or treatment. The reality is much different. That’s all I’m saying.