BillsVet

NFL players and the league itself are a day (or two) late and a dollar short with their support of BLM. Where were they when thousands of minorities each year are/were being gunned down in the inner cities? Where are/were they when thousands of innocent minority babies were murdered in utero? Apparently unaware or those matters weren't deemed protest worthy. Very interested to see how throwing in with BLM will affect TV ratings. Because in 2021-22 several of the league's TV contracts will be up for extension (Fox, CBS, NBC, ESPN, and DirecTv).

Probably not a McProcess kind of guy. But then again, neither was Antonio Brown.

In 2016, the NFL permitted (then reversed a decision for) players to kneel on-field during the National Anthem. Attendance decreased and the league blamed it on a presidential election. In 2017, the league bought some peace with a sizable donation to the Players Coalition to address social justice issues. Now, the league is playing something that isn't the National Anthem in week 1, moving away from singing the National Anthem, permitting players to kneel again, making larger donations to certain organizations, and allowing players to wear apparel to celebrate these movements. We are going to find out how fans react. On what basis do you reserve the right to brand people as "racists and racist sympathizers?" I don't respond to any of your posts as a rule, but must make an exception to this one. You have no idea who the vast majority of people are who post on this board and do not have the responsibility to judge anyone.

Obviously it wasn't about cap because they went out and dropped 50M with 25M guaranteed on a DT mere months later. Guy affectionally called the human traffic cone by a longtime poster who is not with us right now. Your assessment on Dareus makes it seem like you were part of the conversation between McD and Beane about the player and what to do with him. Call me skeptical. And another thing. People talk about the "process" (which changes really quickly sometimes) as though it's a secret weapon. But then Buffalo trades for a talented, albeit mercurial Stefon Diggs. Or, once tried to trade for Antonio Brown. I think the "process" talk works because people assign it mythical value and serves as message board fodder for fans. It's McD trying to establish credibility circa 2017 as a new HC.

There's a reason Buffalo traded for Diggs, then drafted another guy in the 4th round. And it's not because they believed in last year's WR group. Lumbering receivers who struggle to separate are not the typical receiver anymore. Furthermore, the Bills aren't going to spend more time developing a veteran like Duke who has been a pro for 4+ years. If it comes down to him versus the draft picks, they'll go with the latter. He's a nice story, but the emotional tug of a guy going from 5 star recruit to the CFL to the NFL isn't enough to keep him on the game day roster.

Evidently, some do not believe Beane is a witch. In all seriousness, the planning we don't see at OBD is tremendous. It's there, for example, in the hours they spend prepping for UFA, the draft, and coaches looking at their next opponent. I'm sure there are other examples. Managing contingencies and war-gaming different scenarios is what good administrators do. It's obvious that front office types have adapted to the cap and been able to mitigate the restrictions. Gone are the days when teams like SF and DAL got into cap trouble like they did in the mid-90s. Teams are smarter and I'm confident Beane will maneuver any way he has to.

Almost a year to the day of signing the 2 year 8M extension.

I thought you were Chris Brown? The Bills tried to similarly revamp their media coverage policy back when Whaley was GM during the 2016 off-season. It was funny reading the media describe practice without crossing the line. For example, this is a verbatim Buscaglia tweet from 2016: "Cornerback Corey White caught a pass that was not intended for him during team drills." https://www.si.com/nfl/2016/05/24/buffalo-bills-introduce-new-media-policy My guess is this policy results from an ever-increasing NFL competitiveness where teams, as Beane alluded to, are looking for any advantage they can on opponents. It's also driven by the fans who demand coverage of everything in a way never seen before. Media must produce more content, particularly analysis, to meet this need which means teams are left open to other teams gathering intelligence on them. No one cared 30 years ago about practice, but the ever-increasing focus on pro sports has put us here now. I'm also confident McCoach is behind this, but truthfully, I can understand why.

Classy response. It's a game dude. Chill out.

How much time should a guy you had a 1st round grade on need to develop? If anything, perhaps he needs time to recover from the torn labrum surgery he had during the off-season. Someone earlier talked about whether Ford has the feet to play outside and I tend to agree. If not, he kicks in to play RG which is the least important position on the OL. You play on the strong side, and typically pull less than the LG.

So bad that the Ravens would absorb that cap hit. Thomas' life is out of control and it's spilling over to his on-field performance and behavior. There's something going on that isn't within any of the reporting here.

Because the question is unrealistic Doc. Have a nice day.

Do you really believe he's going to the Pro Bowl this season? Let's be serious and stop with the hopes and wishes.

For reference, McD's winning percentage against playoff level teams is .150 (3-17) and against non-playoff teams it is .733 (22-8) You can argue that '17 team wasn't expected to do much and they overachieved. Poor planning in 2018 left them with an almost historically bad offense and a 6-10 finish. Last year I believe several posters sensed that Buffalo was playing a light schedule that ultimately was 30th weakest in strength of schedule. At some point, good coaches have to beat good teams and McD hasn't done that yet. Still don't see the harm this late into the league's year of waiting on McD. Of course, the Pegula's have been playing coaching/GM roulette with both franchises and are desperate for continuity and less criticism. McD provides them with that, but whether he's elite level remains to be seen. It's clear that, barring a significant injury to their starting QB, no excuses remain to being an 11 or 12 win team and winning playoff games. The standard cannot be any less with the moves they've made for a few years to shape the team in his image.

To quote "Dandy" Don Meredith,: “If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, we’d all have a merry Christmas.”

One of the more questionable draft decisions of the McBeane era so far. Traded up in the second for a guy they had a first round grade on. If he's moved inside to guard that's pretty poor value for that kind of move. Last memory of Ford is his (admittedly with a bad labrum) getting tossed around by essentially a one-armed JJ Watt. I still don't think he's got the feet to play outside.

Why does anyone care in the 15+ pages of this thread? First, because it's a relevant topic as McD is the Bills and vice-versa. Second, from the get-go McD has been leading their team-building strategy. So far, McD has largely been a defense first HC that packs it in at crucial moments. Re-signing McD may be good or may be bad. People are going to (hopefully) debate this decision, but only time will tell. As others have noted, Jauron received an extension. Didn't mean anything in the long run, but seeing as how everyone needs instant analysis or to draw conclusions of things that haven't happened, it's become a net positive the day it was signed.

When you look at the 50 games he's been the HC, there are 2 that wins that stand out. The 2017 game at Atlanta that was a one score game and the Dallas Thanksgiving game. Aside from that it's pretty meh. He's a career 3-17 against teams that made the playoffs or actually in the post-season. For reference, Buffalo was 1-5 against teams in those categories last season, having been outscored by 124-90. That said, it's hard to imagine any well-run franchises giving a HC an extension like this for being this average. There's a few shreds here of objective criticism for a HC who has not performed against top teams. That may well change this season, but to garner a contract extension you'd like to see a better body of work. The 2 playoff appearance retort is not strong given that several other organizations by now are winning in the playoffs. People forget about the WC game 7 months ago. McD and company squandered a 16-0 lead in a about 20 minutes. I didn't expect them to shut out Houston, but they fell apart in his last and probably biggest game coached. I recognize on this board people aren't going to think that, but down the stretch McD was ordinary. I am very interested to see if McD embraces a strategy that features a more open offense. I think he's pretty conservative, but says all the right things fans want to hear. I would hope with another year of Daboll and Allen combined with Diggs and other skill players it'll become more than a bottom quartile NFL offense.

More than one flu vaccine is available to meet the various strains in existence. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/season/faq-flu-season-2019-2020.htm?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fflu%2Fseason%2Fflu-season-2019-2020.htm To the matter at hand...if Tre White sits out, I'm interested to see if he becomes persona non grata among Bills fans. Buffalo has a very difficult schedule this year. Missing their best defender, especially as the virus continues to deteriorate, is going to be interesting situation among the fan base.

There are documented cases of people receiving the flu vaccine each year who still fall prey to that virus in one way or another. No matter what happens, one cannot assure immunity from a virus, be it corona, influenza, or otherwise. It's not a realistic alternative right now or during the next pandemic to spend months in one's house cut off from outside contact in hopes of avoiding the virus. These players have a right to opt out consistent with the CBA and NFL's guidelines. Does'nt mean it's proportional to the situation at hand.

Right. Hard to identify when people have been back in their offices for a couple months now. I'm also dismayed at the lack of awareness on the virus, even nearly 5 months after it started to surge in the US. We know those aged 0-19 are the most unaffected by the virus. We know the death rate of those under 55, particularly those without a co-morbid condition, is infinitesimally low. You can't wait out a virus, although many are trying.

Those teams also have good to excellent defenses. None have won SB's in the last 5 years either. I've read so many threads over the years about Buffalo players who really worked out hard during the off-season. That's good to see in younger guys, but by no means correlates to a strong season. Edmunds has been the ultimate potential guy to date, with the obligatory "he's so young" comment thrown in. Yet, the elite MLBs of the NFL drafted near Edmunds like Urlacher, Jonathan Vilma, Patrick Willis, perhaps Jerod Mayo and Luke Kuechly never needed so much lead time to excellence. They were instinctive from the beginning and no one can tell you off the top of their head who the DL were in front of them. And it's a tad alarming that TE says they don't need to change anything on defense this year. Frankly, teams are constantly adapting and scheming differently. Nothing remains the same for very long and just because you were good last year means nothing. As Jerry Glanville says, NFL means "not for long."

Dr. Bob and Dr. Never-treated COVID-19 Gupta both are opining recklessly. Has anyone seen an OL or DL up close? They're not obese. Most of them are the biggest human beings anyone will ever see, but they're not fat blobs. Listening to Bob you'd think Nate Newton's are all over the field. Sometimes in airports. Otherwise they trend to about 60% of what FoxNews attracts.

File this one under the Not Believable category alongside Greggo saying he would have drafted Drew Brees in 2001. First, Buddy wasn't interested in QB's because he hamstrung himself by signing Fitz to a decent sized contract extension the previous year. Drafting a QB like Wilson in the top 100 of the 2012 draft would definitely undermine that decision. Second, by 2012, Buddy was staring at his third season and had just signed Mario Williams in a last gasp attempt to improve on his then 10-22 tenure. Taking a young QB who clearly wasn't gonna start and probably wasn't ready to play makes zero sense. Pure revisionist history.

Someday I hope TSW returns to talking about football and not about politics, pandemics, and protestors. Can't wait to see Buffalo win big games this year. Go Bills!