Hapless Bills Fan

That’s a fair point, but the NFL players already have a union that they certified to represent them 🤷‍♂️

Yeah, the NFL is really trying to use all the leverage it can to get players vaccinated, but I think this is a mistaken decision on their part.

In the latter case, I don’t think it was the protocols so much as the new news that the NFL will cause a team to forfeit a game and take a “L” if the team has an outbreak amoung unvaccinated players. I mean, you could be correct that they’re unhappy with the protocols, but it’s the “forfeit” thing that had them speaking out

Then why put that out there? My rebuttal to your point is that the current health status of players is not the reason for the Covid protocols, it’s maintaining the health status and availability of players. Whether the NFL/NFLPA current protocols will do that effectively may be open to question, but that’s the rationale. No one is “stigmatizing” players by asking them to follow health protocols that account for the different risk to health status and availability due to vaccination.

Not following your point at all here. Injured players can report to mandatory minicamp. They receive treatment for their injuries and rehab protocols to follow over the months between minicamp and training camp. Wealthy vets may prefer their own guys, but don’t overlook the benefit of team-provided treatment and rehab to young guys just trying to make a team. Are you saying that it’s OK for players unhappy with their contracts to miss mandatory minicamp and they shouldn’t be fined? Or what point are you trying to make?

I disagree. I think Beasley has exceptional abilities to get open and to reliably make high degree of difficulty catches in traffic. But given his age, he’s going to have to be replaced at some point soon. One viewpoint is might as well audition guys while we have Sanders as a choice, provided he and Josh can get on the same page.

1) no one, especially an employer,can listen to “all the wants and needs” of their employees. That’s not an “end goal” that’s just a fact. Anyone who has ever led or supervised people knows this, it isn’t news. The end goal of a business is to deliver product, not please employees; most businesses try to meet employee needs because “needs” are what you require to do your job. Most businesses accommodate some wants as long as it doesn’t interfere with product because high-morale employees do better work. But Fergoshsakes, anyone who thinks a union can listen to “all the wants and needs” of the employees they represent, much less negotiate for that, is air dreaming.

I wonder why? Well this clears up one thing: McDermott, you got a problem

The point is, it’s not what we’re talking about here with regard to NFL players and the NFL

Respectfully, I think you are missing his point. Many people believe that marijuana should be like alcohol - legal for recreational use, or at least accepted for medical use in pain relief and treatment of certain diseases. Regardless of popular opinion (and individual player opinion) NFL had rules that required testing for marijuana and players who tested positive had consequences - they received additional testing requirements and penalties for future tests. The point isn’t “pot head” vs “non user”, the point is that it’s not a new thing for the NFL to have unpopular (and arguably, detrimental) rules that the players must still either follow, or have consequences, and the marijuana policies are given as an example.

He’s a point here, you know. Counterpoint, there’s a diff between facing a team once in the playoffs and facing them every season, twice a season. Most people say latter is harder.

And some people probably agreed with the workers at GM Tonawanda last summer who didn't want to wear masks all shift on the un-AC'd plant floor. But those were the rules that the Union and GM agreed to, so the workers who felt strongly enough about it could either follow the rules, retire, or quit. All employers have rules. If you don't like the rules strongly enough that you don't want to follow them, retire or quit. That's how it is in every profession.

Except that there is no mandate, so he isn't fighting a mandate. Beasley and other NFL players are allowed to CHOOSE whether or not to get the vaccine. Then there are alternative rules to follow. He is saying "I want choice 3: No vaccine, AND No rules". Good luck with that, we all have rules to follow at work.

Given his performance in the Bills "12 days of Christmas" I don't think that's a good notion

I don't grasp the meaning "he made it easy to side step the formal designation being placed"

I understand the points about the salary, fines, and message to trade partners. I don't understand the "no cause to put him on exempt list". Goodell has shown again and again that his decisions don't necessarily play out as others expect. I also don't understand who the trade partners would be, for a trade. At this point every team has gone ahead with their own plans. If Rodgers retires and GB gets their money back, Green Bay could use a QB but unsure they can afford him. Certainly if Rodgers retires, then unretires to be traded, GB would need cap for that.

There's a meta-question there, which is "can Baltimore, with Greg Roman as OC, run a more effective passing game?" Without the talent level of Lamar....these are the questions raised when Greg Roman was OC in Buffalo, "can they sustain that level of effectiveness without a better passing game?" Several of the more football-steeped commentators and several of the more football knowledgeable here critiqued the fundamental design of the passing game, saying what was happening downfield was out-of-sync with what was happening behind the LOS. With David Culley being marketed successfully to the Texans, the Ravens made the interesting move of giving their long time secondary coach, Chris Hewitt, the title of passing game coordinator. Leaving aside the question "if you give one guy the job two guys have been putting in full time hours doing, how does that work?", it's a good question what his passing game concepts will be like. He clearly oughtta know something about what elements of a passing game make it hard to defend. I'm not saying it's a bad move, I'm just saying from the coaching perspective, it's hard to predict the impact - is he gonna be kind of an apprentice, while Greg Roman takes on the real heavy lifting? And if so, has Roman developed since his days in Buffalo (people do grow and learn)?

Is that upthread somewhere or No?

Well that clears a lot of things up

I thought if a player retired, their salary did not have to be paid their salary (even if guaranteed), and the team could request repayment of any amortized bonus money for next season? My understanding is that NFL "guaranteed" salaries are guaranteed for skill, injury, and cap - but not for retirement. https://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/pittsburgh-steelers-nfl-features-news-blog-long-form/2016/3/5/11158958/nfl-101-how-cuts-retirements-and-trades-affect-the-salary-cap Thought that's why Eric Woods was so hysterically careful not to use the word "retirement" in his "nonretirement press conference" - if he'd said "I'm retiring" the Bills could have said "Give us back your last 2 years signing bonus" or whatever it was

What, Josh Allen's mom not Babe-alicious enough for ya? "Catfish have whiskers and a...cute little grin...but you never can tell where a Catfish has been"

FIFY. Not trying to minimize the loss of Lori etc. Lot of gains on knowledgeable posters over the years, too

I thought they chose Mayfield over Allen because Haslam was sold on Baker's fiery competitive attitude

Have you had your fingers in your ears going "Lalala" through all this? Beasley's health decisions are not the issue here. Announcing that he won't follow NFL/NFLPA agreed protocol, possibly causing the team to be fined or penalized draft choices is the issue. "Being a distraction" by posting all kinds of stuff on Twitter is potentially the issue, IF McDermott, Beane, or player leadership asked him to keep it "in house"

Really. If there was one guy whose opinion would sway me to do the exact opposite of anything he supports, that would be O.J.