Sierra Foothills

Who needs an actual article??? Didn't you see the bullet points???

You forgot Offensive Coordinator! They might not have a choice...

Kollman is slow to write-off Coleman. Plenty of people here are predicting his selection was a mistake. They might not be writing him off but they're predicting that he'll bust.

Yep. And his former New England teammate Ty Law needs to get his JD too. Then they can become partners again... The Lawyer and Law Firm. Yeah it was but the last game of that season against New England... ouch. LMFAO.

You said "it's a waste of time pining after another team's punter." When you make a negative value judgement about an activity it implies that the individual shouldn't be doing it.

There are several people who have posted in this topic that have claimed that "once a kicker allows self-doubt to creep into his game, that it's all over." My subjective recall from having watched football for decades is that the above assertion is not true. There are kickers who have gone through slumps who have persevered and elevated their games, and gone on to long and successful careers. Each case is different and I'm hopeful that Bass will rebound. I do wish however that the Bills bring in another kicker to compete with him. I've never believed in the coddling/insulating "protect his fragile psyche" approach to improving player performance.

Is it more of a waste of time than telling people that they shouldn't?

Yes, this is the above bullet point that jumped off the page at me. I agree with the bolded. I understand those that are a bit bothered by Beane allowing access to Dunne. What I don't understand are the handful of people here who have stated that they would deny Dunne access... that are more upset with Dunne than the Bills are...

One thing I seem to recall is that unlike most QBs, Rodgers had very poor attendance for most OTAs. Typically your QB is "all-in" and sets the bar for attendance at voluntary activities because he is the highest-paid player on the team and the tone-setter.

I understand fully what you're saying Doc. I'm just lamenting that the NFL bows to the god of PR instead of justice (due process, innocent until proven guilty). For the sake of clarity and not argument, it's not that I don't believe or disagree with you. It's that I believe that the NFL Personal Conduct Policy (in-and-of itself) is poorly-written and inconsistently applied. I appreciate and understand your clear explanation... particularly citing the Reggie Bush case. Thank you.

Fair enough. I haven't seen those proclamations but I trust your knowledge of the situation. But if McDermott said "Ed Oliver" and Beane said "Christian Wilkins", who's gonna get their way? You may treat it as a rhetorical question if you wish.

Vontae Davis' name has come up a few times in this thread. He died just a few months ago... still no cause of death released. Not long ago he did an ad for FanDuel... cashing in on his infamous retirement:

The spelling and grammar everywhere are jarring. I'm not convinced that there's enough editing going on at the Buffalo News or the Rochester D&C. And ProFootballTalk has a very low standard for spelling and grammar... shameful for an enterprise that makes as much money as they do. Florio's no better than many of the corporations he rails against. Actually AI-generated stuff is very excellent with spelling. AI is used in the medical and legal fields and media outlets should make more use of it in order to better edit their products.

I'll believe it when I see it. And why would the "NFL Personal Conduct Policy" not cite or repeat verbatim the applicable sections of the CBA if they directly apply to this policy? Where I work we have governing documents with the US Dept of Labor, the EEOC, the state Department of Industrial Relations, the CBA, and our state and local standards. I just don't believe it's anything but arbitrary, Beck Water.

I remember it was discussed and it's very "convenient" for the NFL to take this position... even though there's nothing in the actual language which punctuates when the rules are applied relative to when the alleged incidents take place. https://nflpaweb.blob.core.windows.net/website/Departments/Salary-Cap-Agent-Admin/2022-NFL-Personal-Conduct-Policy.pdf And that relates to my earlier objections to Goodell's handling of the Araiza case (and his running of the league in general)... that the NFL arbitrarily applies its rules for its own convenience. This is further supported by your statement that (paraphrasing) "the league would not grant the Bills a roster exemption unless he were criminally charged." There's nothing in the language delineating this position. In fact further indicting the NFL's arbitrary and inconsistent rules is the one that does exist that states "But even if the conduct does not result in a criminal conviction, players found to have engaged in any of the following conduct will be subject to discipline." Make sense? I don't think so. Then look at their recent sanction's against Atlanta for tampering... in the context of previous tampering cases. The tampering case is just one of dozens of examples of the NFL not being consistent in their rulings. Believe what you'd like but I'm done here.

On the other hand, had the NFL adhered to the principals of due process and "innocent until proven guilty" (by placing him on administrative leave) it could have ultimately been a win-win-win for the NFL, the Bills, and Araiza.

I actually know @mrags outside of this board... we talked the other day. He said that Kollman is so slow that in broadcasting school (Cal State-Fullerton) it took him 8 years to finish his 4 year degree.

That may have been the case and if so, it's disappointing (if not surprising) that the NFL would rush to judgment and bow to public outrage, instead of adhering to due process and showing proper professional restraint. That said, there is much to object to regarding how the NFL is run. Personally I think Goodell is a POS but as long as the Owners are happy with him...

Understood that some NFL clubs have adopted a structure whereby the GM/Head Coach jobs are not hierarchical but instead, equal. We don't really know who has final say over players or coaching hires do we? It has never been definitively stated, correct? We do know that McDermott was hired 4 months earlier than Beane and based on that it's my opinion that McDermott has more authority within the Bills than does Beane. As I stated, JMO. I'd love to know which decisions they differed on over the years and who prevailed in these cases. It's also interesting for me to contemplate who would win if it ever came down to a power struggle between the two... though I think they'll rise or sink together. To the bolded I agree 100%. But again this is muddled because as far as I know, no one outside of OneBills Drive knows for sure who has final authority on the major player moves. It's easy for me to think that McDermott relinquishes control over mid to late round picks and mundane free agent acquisitions. Conversely it's impossible for me to believe that McDermott didn't mandate the drafting of Tre White, Ed Oliver, Greg Rousseau and even players like AJ Epenesa, Boogie Basham, Cole Bishop and Terrell Bernard. I feel very comfortable believing that those picks have McDermott's fingerprints all over them. So this dynamic between HC and GM makes an evaluation of Beane's work more difficult.

Firstly I do not wish to debate on this. I will simply point out this document: https://nflpaweb.blob.core.windows.net/website/Departments/Salary-Cap-Agent-Admin/2022-NFL-Personal-Conduct-Policy.pdf According to the document the NFL can place a player on "Leave With Pay" later referred to as "Paid Administrative Leave." Yes, the club cannot perform this action, it has to come from the NFL HOWEVER, did the Bills request the league to do so? Based on the conditions, it seems that this would be applicable to the Araiza case. As far as his contract, he signed a 4 year , $3,876,148 contract with the Buffalo Bills, including $216,148 signing bonus, $216,148 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $969,037. Seems like it wouldn't have been onerous to carry this contract and let the justice system play out. That's all I got.

Some kicker named Andre Szmyt actually went 19-21 for 90.5% and had a long FG of 61 yards. He played collegiately at Syracuse where he won the Groza Award and the Vlade Award (most accurate placekicker). He was signed as a free agent last August by the Bears but didn't stick. Incidentally the Lions tried out both Bates and Szymt and chose to sign Bates. Never seen him play, only reporting what I've read about him. Other UFL kicker stats: https://www.theufl.com/stats/player

At the time the allegations against Araiza came to light, I made the suggestion (here) that the Bills place him on administrative leave. I was roasted for that take.

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/matt-araiza-appears-to-win-chiefs-punting-job "Matt Araiza, the strong-legged punter whose career was derailed by a sexual assault accusation, appears poised to win the Chiefs’ punting job for the 2024 season. The Chiefs cut punter Ryan Rehkow, which leaves Araiza as the only punter on their roster. It’s still possible that the Chiefs could bring in another punter to compete with Araiza, but it looks like Araiza is going to be the Chiefs’ punter when the regular season starts. Araiza won the Bills’ punting job as a rookie in 2022, but when news surfaced that he had been accused in a lawsuit of gang rape while he was in college, the Bills cut him and he was out of the NFL for more than a year. Araiza was never criminally charged, and the accuser later dropped her lawsuit. At San Diego State, Araiza was widely regarded as the best punter in college football, winning the Ray Guy Award and setting a new NCAA record by averaging 51.2 yards per punt. Araiza also handled kickoffs and field goals in college. With the off-field issue that ended his tenure in Buffalo behind him, Araiza now has an opportunity to show what he can do in the NFL. If he’s as good as he was in college, he should be one of the best punters in football this season."

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/jake-bates-will-sign-with-the-lions "UFL kicker Jake Bates won’t have too travel far for his next job. Bates, who spent the 2024 spring season with the Michigan Panthers, will sign next week with the Detroit Lions, per multiple reports." "All three of his 60-plus kicks were made at the (indoor) stadium where the Lions play their home games." "For the year, he made only 17 of 22 field goals, an average success rate of 77.3 percent." "The Lions currently have two kickers on the roster — Michael Badgley and James Turner."