sullim4

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.

You wish - these will end up in the BFLO store for $99 per piece. Perhaps alongside the seats and a very limited number of troughs from the men's rooms!

That would either mean it's a playoff game, it's game 272 (NBC SNF Week 18), or they finish the season on the road. Personally I am hoping for a meaningless game against the Dolphins that isn't nationally televised, after we've clinched the division.

A few thoughts. CBS has fought tooth and nail to keep Chiefs/Bills each year. So much so that it is at the top of the list of games they want to keep the past few years, and as a result, they sacrificed some terrible doubleheader slates late in the season with the more desirable AFC games going to NBC and ESPN. I just think the other three networks would rather feature big market NFC teams like Philadelphia or the Rams. I could be wrong, but I think CBS gets this one again sometime in late October or early November, especially since 4:25 standalone games draw a ton of eyes. It is similar to the 90s when CBS and then FOX always got the Cowboys and 49ers in the late window. I agree that Miami finishing the season in Orchard Park is the most appropriate way to finish out regular season games at Rich Stadium. I suspect the Bills will request this if they can and I don't see why the NFL wouldn't grant it if they can make it work. I think the chances are high that they will be at home in Week 18 regardless of whether it is Miami, New England*, or the Jets. PHI/BUF has 4:25 FOX written all over it. FOX hasn't gotten an A-list Bills game recently... they got the Rams and Seahawks last season but neither of those teams is a top 5 opponent. It feels like FOX is due to get one and this one specifically makes a ton of sense. Baltimore, Cincinnati, Tampa Bay, and Pittsburgh feel like candidates for SNF and MNF. I think we get someone like the Jets on TNF this year. One of the middling NFC games, maybe the Carolina or New Orleans ones - will be eligible for a Saturday flex to NFL Network in December. It seems like this happens a lot to us.

I think they need to treat the 4th and 15 (or whatever) sort of like a PAT in that the offense must convert it, because I agree with you that this proposal is begging for phantom holds and DPIs. If there's a penalty... you retry the conversion after the penalty is marked off. For instance, if the ball is at the 35 on 4th and 15, and a defensive hold is assessed, there is no automatic first down and the 4th and 15 conversion is now attempted at the 40 - 5 yards down the field.

A lot of this has to do with the type of players that the coaching staff and Beane plug into the defense. They tend to have speed at the expense of size and durability. I get it with the injuries but imo some of this, in particular the linebackers, is due to the particular players that fit the scheme. Injuries to undersized players are now a problem and thus I think it's perfectly legitimate to question whether the scheme needs to be re-evaluated.

I was in El Chalten, and slept through it fighting a cold. Hiked Fitz Roy/Laguna de los Tres the next day. I'd say I got the better end of that deal.

How is that not a delay of game? I have watched football for 35 years and I have never seen that at the 2 minute warning.

I noticed this too... they should start going to this more often.

Last offseason, I booked a trip for this year to Patagonia for hiking over the Super Bowl because I was so confident that the Bills would be fighting, at best, for the division this year. They'd be lucky to win a wild card game. On Super Bowl Sunday, we are in a small town called El Chalten that lacks reliable cell service and has no landline-based internet. ESPN Argentina will be carrying the game in Spanish and it is not clear whether our inn gets it or not. This of course means the Bills will be playing. I suppose the pro is that I won't have to listen to Tom Brady's color commentary.

You make it a condition of hire and write it into the contract that the GM and/or HC have final say over roster composition and the cap. I'm not saying it will happen... but IMO that's what it is going to take for the Jets to have success with whomever they decide to run the football operations of the franchise.

They need a McDermott type coach to change the culture and keep Woody out of the day-to-day decision making. I agree that Glenn doesn't seem like that kind of person. Ironically I would have said Saleh might be a few years ago, but we know how that turned out.