sullim4

I've heard the same thing - that he was told to cut the play prediction stuff and lighten the broadcast up a bit. I don't think it has anything to do with him not studying film (although less film study might be a side effect of him being told to knock it off with the x's and o's). Unfortunately, he went from an ace color guy to an insufferable listen. It's really unfortunate.

Who else thought these guys were the subject of the thread?

I tend to agree - this is a purgatory team similar to the Fitz-era Bills without Allen. 6 to 9 wins, showing up "in the hunt" towards the end of the season. Note how the media said the Cook signing was all about taking the pressure off of Allen. The problem all along has been a travesty of a defense in the playoffs giving up 30+ points a game. That has always been the problem with Allen feeling the need to put on the cape, and you'd think someone - anyone - would notice this and call them out about it. Sadly, we are where we are and you can expect more of the same this year.

This is exactly why an indoor stadium doesn't work for Buffalo. Think about it - in the case of a Super Bowl, you have 50k plus people with enough money to buy a ticket in the same metro area. This crowd will have a few ham and eggers that are fans of the team, but the vast majority will be VIPs and the wealthy. People with that kind of money are not staying at the Hampton Inn in East Aurora or even the Hyatt in downtown, which is in desperate need of some kind of refurbishment. About the only hotel on the US side of the border that fits the bill is the Marriott. That covers what, 200 rooms? That's barely enough for the two teams playing along with NFL personnel. Crossing the border, especially in this climate, is not going to be something the league deems acceptable. Even if that was allowed, that opens up a few hotels in the Marriott's category on the Canadian side of the falls. Not nearly enough to host the largest TV spectacle of the year.

Give the people what they want...

The idea of holding season tickets with PSLs? I wouldn't entertain the notion even if I lived in Buffalo. Buying single game tickets a la carte to the ones you actually want to see in person, and maybe visiting an away game or two would have much more appeal to me and would be significantly cheaper. I suspect a lot of people are thinking along these same lines.

I really hate this schedule - as a fan traveling from the west coast, I would really prefer to avoid night games and I prefer to avoid the end of the season due to the possibility of getting stuck or having flights cancelled due to snow. If this is accurate, it eliminates everything other than New Orleans, Kansas City, and Tampa Bay. I have a conflict with the 11/2 date so that means an NFC south matchup.... yuck.

It sits on a valuable piece of real estate. I could see a deal where someone buys the property deeply discounted in exchange for making the needed repairs and renovations. The city would take a hit on the value of the property on paper, but the alternative is to have the team walk away from the city and end up with a venue that sits empty for 350 days a year. I will say the economics of that venue are a lot harder to justify now that cross border traffic has plummeted.

I suspect the NFLPA will get a second bye week out of an 18 game season with more international games - so it'll actually be a 20 week regular season. That will cause the NFL to move the Super Bowl to Presidents' Day weekend and push up the regular season to labor day.

During Trump's first term, Ben Shapiro had a pretty good explanation of why Trump was being a complete moron about the trade deficit. It is worth the 3 minute watch, it was noteworthy enough to me to remember it almost 8 years later:

The one thing that's in play which helps the networks - the NFL's antitrust exemption. Expect significant political blowback if Sunday afternoon games do not remain on free OTA tv.

Vrabel and Diggs seem incompatible to me longer term.

Hah, that's our anniversary.

This would be the reason I would get rid of him. I don't see him as a "cancer" or a problem in the locker room. I don't think he's the most upstanding human being, but I also think for the organization he seems to be well liked and he is trying to make a deal to stay. I think you reward that, especially given the Cook situation where he may hold out for more money. Also understand that as the season goes on... perhaps Miller's snap count goes down and you start plugging in younger talent.