McD's Presser

[Hapless Bills Fan]

I just hid a bunch of off topic Seatbelt discussion, I understand the intent of the analogy but it was getting 2nd and 3rd responses about seatbelts and not football.  Time to steer the vehicle back on the Prime Purpose road

 

Errr...so to speak.

 

If your post disappeared just want y'all to know why

[teef]

1 minute ago, SCBills said:

It sounds like it was more laziness/lackadaisical attitude than opposing the measures.   
 

I get it… I’m not vaxxed (I’m actually on Day 10 of having covid right now - moderate to now minor symptoms), so I have nothing else to do today but finish my quarantine and debate some of y’all ha.   
 

If I was Cole, I’d follow the rules completely.  It is what it is and he gets paid well to follow dumb rules.  
 

That said, he is 100% correct about the rules not making sense, and they will cause issues during the season.   The league doesn’t want to acknowledge the changing covid landscape because players got vaxxed with certain assurances of how they could live life, but it’s a very different world now than just a few months ago. 

i'm glad you're ok.  

[Gugny]

2 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

I just hid a bunch of off topic Seatbelt discussion, I understand the intent of the analogy but it was getting 2nd and 3rd responses about seatbelts and not football.  Time to steer the vehicle back on the Prime Purpose road

 

Errr...so to speak.

 

If your post disappeared just want y'all to know why

 

As long as you don't tare me down, I think I'll be okay!  😉

[Kelly the Dog]

1 hour ago, YoloinOhio said:

Yes

Frankly I don’t believe him. The NFL is petty, and serious about Covid, but I seriously doubt they would fine him 14k for those five steps. I know he said it I just don’t believe it. 

[716er]

6 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

Must be in jest otherwise he wouldn’t be fined… 

Could be in the post vax window where he still needs to mask up. Ditto Gabe Davis.

 

The only player who it’s obvious doesn’t have the vax is the one who promised to stay off Twitter once camp started.

[JGMcD2]

3 minutes ago, Mango said:

You don’t miss nearly a week of practice for wearing a MAGA hat. Or a quarter of the season. 
 

We all draw the line between work and personal life. You really like a guy at work even if he holds some unfortunate opinions. But things change when they start impacting you at work and you’re personal beliefs. There’s only so much you can compartmentalize. 
 

At least that’s my take on being in that locker room. 

Being in the locker room/front office it’s exactly as @Hapless Bills Fandescribed. 
 

Plenty of my co-workers and players have missed time, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, but there’s very little finger pointing.
 

Everyone has a different viewpoint and that’s it… the various factions agree to disagree and carry on with life like adults should.

 

It’s next man up to keep the ship running when someone pops positive or is a close contact and we’ve all taken pride in keeping things together. 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

1 minute ago, ScottLaw said:

Must be in jest otherwise he wouldn’t be fined… 

 

Not necessarily.  He could have been in the process of being vaccinated between the warning (July 27th, start of training camp) and the observed masklessness August 26th.  For example, if he got vaccinated on July 27th with Pfizer, he would get his 2nd shot August 17th but not count as "fully vaccinated" to the NFL until August 31st.  Until August 31st, the non-vaccinated protocols would apply.

[LeGOATski]

I assume that's an easy dispute for McKenzie if he's actually vaccinated. Why tweet it out?

[Rochesterfan]

5 minutes ago, SCBills said:

It sounds like it was more laziness/lackadaisical attitude than opposing the measures.   
 

I get it… 
 

If I was Cole, I’d follow the rules completely.  It is what it is and he gets paid well to follow dumb rules.  
 

That said, he is 100% correct about the rules not making sense, and they will cause issues during the season.   The league doesn’t want to acknowledge the changing covid landscape because players got vaxxed with certain assurances of how they could live life, but it’s a very different world now than just a few months ago. 
 

 

This is somewhat true, but the fact that the NFLPA has come out and said they would support daily testing for all tells me it is not assurances that are preventing the update.  I think they have an agreement in place for preseason and are running with it to find out just what cracks they have and will make adjustments in the last week after Preseason game 3.

 

I believe they are trying to get the vaccination rate as close to 100% without forcing the issue and now we will see what kind of an agreement the NFL and NFLPA will come up with that will impact everyone.  
 

The worlds changing fast and my guess is like last year - the NFL in working with the NFLPA will respond slightly more slowly, but will tweak protocols as the years goes on.  They were not against changing last year and I would assume they will change this year - it just does not happen as fast due to the negotiations required.

 

[716er]

Just now, LeGOATski said:

Why tweet

Indeed 

[FLFan]

1 hour ago, Mango said:

 

Weird quote. 
 

“we're going to be under the same protocols as last year.”

 

"There's league rules and then there's my rules. We ain't going anywhere. We're the same as last year,"

 

I took the “I don’t give a crap if they’re vaccinated or not” in context with the above. Vaccinations don’t get special treatment. Everybody follows the same rules. House rules are 2020 covid protocols not 2021. 

The only thing Arians is doing any differently is the rules for road trips.  He did this because they had a vax’d player have dinner with his former teammates on the road in TN and then spread Covid to the team.  Nothing that Arians is doing would have impacted anything that happened with the Bills this week.  Tampa has to follow NFL and NFLPA rules like everyone else.  His road policy is within his prerogatives.  

[Hapless Bills Fan]

1 minute ago, LeGOATski said:

I assume that's an easy dispute for McKenzie if he's actually vaccinated. Why tweet it out?

 

If he's had the vaccine shots but is still in the 2 week window where he still counts as unvaccinated,there's nothing to dispute.

[BuffaloBill]

2 hours ago, eball said:

Goodell could clean this up in a hurry.  Vaccine mandate.  Let the chips fall where they may.

 

 

Not that simple as the players have a union. The NFLPA would have to agree.

[716er]

FWIW Beane said in his last presser any vaxxed close contacts to the trainer who had covid were also tested.

 

It’s not a free for all in there once vaxxed as much as Cole wants us to believe that.

Edited August 26, 2021 by 716er

[Captain Caveman]

1 hour ago, Shaw66 said:

This wouldn't be cutting someone for his personal belief. This would be planning for the season and the future. If Beasley isn't going to be available to the team consistently, one plan for the current season and the future would be to cut him, give the starting job in the slot to Mackenzie.  That would create the room on the roster necessary to keep Stevenson and protect him from being signed away by another team. At some point Stevenson might take the slot job from Mackenzie.

Not a bad plan except it seems like McKenzie is also unvaxxed and therefore unreliable.  At this point it feels like there is a problem in the WR room.

[Mango]

3 minutes ago, FLFan said:

The only thing Arians is doing any differently is the rules for road trips.  He did this because they had a vax’d player have dinner with his former teammates on the road in TN and then spread Covid to the team.  Nothing that Arians is doing would have impacted anything that happened with the Bills this week.  Tampa has to follow NFL and NFLPA rules like everyone else.  His road policy is within his prerogatives.  

OK, that makes sense. I just assumed franchises in general were like munipalities and NYS home rule law. Where clubs can enact house rules like “no dinner with others while on the road”, so long as it doesn’t violate any league, NFLPA, CBA, etc rules. 

[Billever76]

1 hour ago, NickelCity said:

I, too, think the best course of action is instituting tampa style rules. Everyone plays under the same restrictions regardless of vaccination status. 

Sure punish the 80% of players who did the right thing for not only their teams but society as a whole..

[Doc Brown]

2 hours ago, JGMcD2 said:

What a miserable take with no basis rooted anywhere. 
 

Personal choice and caring about each person’s beliefs individually is EXACTLY what he built here. 

Is having a player spout off on social media about a very controversial subject a part of what we built here?

[Captain Caveman]

1 hour ago, Success said:

Purely hypothetical, and a goofy exercise, but just curious what other posters think on this one:  would Belichick cut Beasley?

 

Will he cut Cam?

[Hapless Bills Fan]

25 minutes ago, SCBills said:

It sounds like it was more laziness/lackadaisical attitude than opposing the measures.   

 

In the case of Cole Beasley, he made a very public issue on twitter that he would get tested every day, but otherwise "my day is the same as everyone else", no masks, no restrictions, in or out of the facility.

 

McKenzie is "Dad's" loyal apprentice, has been public in his support of Beasley and is possibly taking his cues from him.

 

So no, I don't think it's just laziness or lackadaisical attitude.

 

Quote

If I was Cole, I’d follow the rules completely.  It is what it is and he gets paid well to follow dumb rules.  

 

Again, Cole made a very public issue on twitter that he would not follow the rules and that he didn't care about money, he would play for free if he had to.  I don't know if he was considering being suspended for 4 games as a possible occurrence.  My guess is "no".

 

Now I think McDermott may have sat down and had a heart-to-heart with him about vaccination being his choice but was he In (follow the rules, don't be a distraction) or Out (do his own thing, distract away)? and I believe Cole chose "In".  I expect there is going to be another convo.

 

Quote

That said, he is 100% correct about the rules not making sense, and they will cause issues during the season.   The league doesn’t want to acknowledge the changing covid landscape because players got vaxxed with certain assurances of how they could live life, but it’s a very different world now than just a few months ago.

 

I agree with the first.  As far as the second, I think it's more likely the NFL's medical officers are taking guidance from the CDC and looking for data from the US (which has been very slow to emerge) on which to base any changes, and also they don't want to be "trigger happy" and make changes that later data don't support.  They established their pre-season protocols and decided they would run with them, see how they worked, then adapt.

 

[ColoradoBills]

I don't envy Beane, McDermott and the organization and how they have to tightrope this whole situation.

As for the proposed avenue of having a more self imposed "lock down" that is a tough call.

These are men not petulant children and strict actions could cause unwanted consequences.

That being said if nothing changes everyone can see what other consequences are possible.

 

Maybe the locker room/team leaders need to determine that it might be time that everyone's voices are heard "in private" within the team.

If I was part of that player leadership team I might think it's time for a "players only" meeting to get this talked out in the open amongst the team

without management and media.  

 

Whatever is decided going forward as long as it doesn't create a permanent riff would be OK with me. 

[DCOrange]

I'd be impressed if McBeane cut Beasley loose, but I definitely don't expect that to happen. If we were in the middle of a rebuild, maybe, but I think they know how close we are and want to just keep the ship together as long as possible to try to win it all.

[Patrick Duffy]

4 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Again, Cole made a very public issue on twitter that he would not follow the rules and that he didn't care about money, he would play for free if he had to

He did say that obviously. But I have always wondered if he was in one of those moods and was venting and said things you don't mean? I know I have done it before

Edited August 26, 2021 by Sheneneh Jenkins

[Captain Caveman]

1 hour ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

The math was done yesterday in the "Bills may be one of the lowest teams" thread.

 

The flea in the above ointment is that the unvaccinated players may be unevenly distributed between likely starters, and fringe guys.

So currently 16 unvaccinated players out of 80 if we're ~80% vaccinated per Beane's press conference yesterday. (1-0.8) * 80 = 16

 

Question is, are those all guys who make the 53?  If we are, then we're (53-16)/53*100 = 69.8% after the cut.

 

 

In the final % wouldn't / shouldn't you count practice squad player though, since they're in the building every day?  And I would assume (as bubble players) they may be 100% or close to it.

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

 

 

 

sorry if already posted 

[NickelCity]

3 minutes ago, Billever76 said:

Sure punish the 80% of players who did the right thing for not only their teams but society as a whole..

 

Yep, it does punish people who did the right thing. Not sure how else to keep our resident contrarians from tanking the season, though. 

[JGMcD2]

1 minute ago, Doc Brown said:

Is having a player spout off on social media about a very controversial subject a part of what we built here?

Players talk about controversial subjects on social media all of the time… there’s a little thing called Freedom of Speech? 
 

Cole Beasley expressing his opinion on Twitter is no different than you or I doing the same thing. I didn’t realize that Freedom of Speech dissolved when you became a professional football player.

 

I would say it would be pretty anti-McDermott to not allow his players to express their opinions… so yeah in a sense it’s exactly what’s been built here. 
 

[TEC]

2 minutes ago, JGMcD2 said:

Players talk about controversial subjects on social media all of the time… there’s a little thing called Freedom of Speech? 
 

Cole Beasley expressing his opinion on Twitter is no different than you or I doing the same thing. I didn’t realize that Freedom of Speech dissolved when you became a professional football player.

 

I would say it would be pretty anti-McDermott to not allow his players to express their opinions… so yeah in a sense it’s exactly what’s been built here. 
 

 

Freedom of speech/choice does not mean freedom from consequence. 

 

Edited August 26, 2021 by TEC

[JGMcD2]

2 minutes ago, TEC said:

 

Freedom of speech/choice does not mean freedom from consequence. 

 

Irrelevant to the question that was posed to me and has next to nothing to do with my response other than the fact that you regurgitated “Freedom of Speech.” 
 

Beasley expressing his opinions should not result in consequences… Beasley not following the rules should. 
 

Beasley expressing his opinions is not Beasley failing to follow the rules. 

Edited August 26, 2021 by JGMcD2

[YoloinOhio]

 

[Success]

5 minutes ago, DCOrange said:

I'd be impressed if McBeane cut Beasley loose, but I definitely don't expect that to happen. If we were in the middle of a rebuild, maybe, but I think they know how close we are and want to just keep the ship together as long as possible to try to win it all.

 

I agree w/ the bolded.  And I say this as someone who last season had Cole Beasley as their favorite guy on the team.  

 

But his behavior is not acceptable for most workplaces.  It is NOT that getting vaxxed isn't a private decision - it is.  It's the way he has conducted himself on the issue.  At this point, it is TOO disruptive, and if it continues, his value to the team as a player will be offset by the distraction he creates, and by potential missed time throughout the season.

 

That doesn't mean you cut everyone who isn't vaxxed, but players need to take this seriously regardless of their private decisions.  I also think McKenzie's flip attitude about it is very borderline.  They need to go BB on these guys. This ship needs to be tighter.

 

[Doc Brown]

5 minutes ago, JGMcD2 said:

Players talk about controversial subjects on social media all of the time… there’s a little thing called Freedom of Speech? 
 

Cole Beasley expressing his opinion on Twitter is no different than you or I doing the same thing. I didn’t realize that Freedom of Speech dissolved when you became a professional football player.

 

I would say it would be pretty anti-McDermott to not allow his players to express their opinions… so yeah in a sense it’s exactly what’s been built here. 
 

All Beasley's doing with his posts is creating an unnecessary team distraction.  It's selfish.  Keep it in house.  It reminds me of when Tomlin said stay off of social media while Antonio Brown was videotaping it on facebook live in the locker room or whatever.

[EasternOHBillsFan]

3 hours ago, wjag said:

Shame shame shame on all you reporters asking the same question over and over again. You had 15 minutes to get some football questions in and you chose to flog the covid horse.  

 

You should see the reporters after a hurricane... they rarely ask any questions about the tourist season... so many repeat questions about the hurricane. They always have the opportunity to ask about tourist season, but noooooo

[JGMcD2]

Just now, Doc Brown said:

All Beasley's doing with his posts is creating an unnecessary team distraction.  It's selfish.  Keep it in house.  It reminds me of when Tomlin said stay off of social media while Antonio Brown was videotaping it on facebook live in the locker room or whatever.

Entirely different.
 

Brown was posting a private team meeting on social media. Beasley is expressing his personal views on social media. 
 

Only consistencies are that they’re using social media and play WR in the NFL. 

[machine gun kelly]

Mods I feel you’re pain trying to contain this one.  God bless and maybe we can learn from Sal and ask a football question.  Think about how Sal just went to #1 on McD’slist moving forward as he was looking for a lifeline.

 

after you ask th he same question 15 different ways, he just wanted a football question.

[machine gun kelly]

Or a smart interviewer feeling the room.

[LeGOATski]

2 minutes ago, machine gun kelly said:

Mods I feel you’re pain trying to contain this one.  God bless and maybe we can learn from Sal and ask a football question.  Think about how Sal just went to #1 on McD’slist moving forward as he was looking for a lifeline.

 

after you ask th he same question 15 different ways, he just wanted a football question.

I was relieved too. Like, as a fan, I wanted to know some football stuff. I don't think Sal was just trying to gain McDermott's good graces, I think he was speaking for the football fan in himself and all of us.

Edited August 26, 2021 by LeGOATski

[Success]

2 minutes ago, machine gun kelly said:

Mods I feel you’re pain trying to contain this one.  God bless and maybe we can learn from Sal and ask a football question.  Think about how Sal just went to #1 on McD’slist moving forward as he was looking for a lifeline.

 

after you ask th he same question 15 different ways, he just wanted a football question.

 

I know what you're saying, but this topic shouldn't be off limits right now. It is THE biggest issue as we go into a season filled w/ promise.  I don't see why we should be all "Ssssshhhhhh" about it.  I get that discussions need to stay centered on football, but I think they are in the context of this thread.

 

[3rdand12]

57 minutes ago, WhoTom said:

 

Agreed. All the more reason for Cole to mask up. He's being fined for not wearing a mask.

 

 

It's really that simple. Follow the protocol and stf up Cole. 

[TEC]

13 minutes ago, JGMcD2 said:

Irrelevant to the question that was posed to me and has next to nothing to do with my response other than the fact that you regurgitated “Freedom of Speech.” 
 

Beasley expressing his opinions should not result in consequences… Beasley not following the rules should. 
 

Beasley expressing his opinions is not Beasley failing to follow the rules. 

 

People get canned every day for expressing their opinion on a variety of topics. Beasley could be no different. 

Cole is not naive. I'm sure he's recognized the gravity of choosing this hill to die on.  

 

Edited August 26, 2021 by TEC