Hapless Bills Fan

He is free to retire, sure. He is free to remain in the NFL, not get the vaccine, and follow the NFL/NFLPA protocols for unvaccinated players. He is free to challenge those protocols and try to get them modified. He doesn't have the choice to remain in the NFL, not get the vaccine, and thumb his nose at the protocols the NFL and NFLPA agreed to as part of their CBA.

And you know what? If Cole said "I'm going to retire, ***** it, this isn't worth it to follow these protocols" I would 100% support him as that being his right. But he's 100% trying to "have his cake and eat it too". The NFL controls what players do outside the facility in all sorts of ways already. The players have a right to refuse to accept that, in which case they can retire or find employment elsewhere.

I don't think he could cut Beasley for being unvaccinated, but if the NFL and NFLPA want their protocols to be taken seriously, then they really can't have a veteran player who is looked up to by the team, publicly thumbing his nose and saying he won't follow the protocols. That's way different than cuttlng a player to get to a vaccine threshold, IMO.

If the NFL/NFLPA protocols are being driven by "public perception", then you have a point. The NFLPA leaders are asserting in their press releases that the players don't want to get sick with covid-19 and want the NFL to have protocols to protect them from infection. There is evidence of long term impacts on athletes from mild or asymptomatic infections, including 5 out of 729 infected pro athletes who acquired myocarditis/pericarditis that lasted more than a couple weeks last season. That's 0.7%, way higher than any incidence from vaccines, and that's only one effect - it's not the lasting pulmonary effects that Myles Garrett had and so forth. I think the stance that NFLPA has legitimate health concerns deserves the benefit of the doubt as being genuine at this time.

But only the FOLLOWING year, after they learnt some humility and how to get along

I thought God gave me brains so I could earn a PhD and design manufacturing processes for vaccines to prevent infections and medications to treat them? If God didn't want me to do that *****, he shoulda made me fast strong and dumb

So now we get down to it. This isn't about Cole Beasley wanting to protect himself and his family from vaccinated teammates who might go out to dinner and bring Covid-19 back to the WR room and infect him. This isn't about Cole Beasley not getting clarity on NFL/NFLPA protocols. The only outcome acceptable to Cole Beasley, that he thinks the NFLPA should have fought for, is for no mandatory vaccine AND no protocols restricting unvaccinated players. ***** the rights of any players who might not want to be exposed to covid (vaccination is maybe 85% effective against current variants), ***** any concerns of the team to have their stars available all season, and the NFL's concern to deliver a quality product. So much for Beane and McDermott saying this won't be a distraction to the team or any desire by team leaders to keep contention internal. Welp, the Bills are certainly in the Forefront this season and it's not for good reasons.

You don't think Josh Allen would look Knox in the eye after a whiffed blocking assignment blows up a play (or blows him up) and say that?

Good post, thanks. Big Ed: I need to see him deliver consistent pressure up the middle and quality run defense. I don't like sacks as a metric for DT quality - that was a flaw with Jordan Phillips, he would pursue sacks sometimes at the risk of giving up a big run play or getting an encroachment penalty. I think Oliver gave Star a big hug because he's well aware the team wants to see more from him, and his ability to perform was limited last year by being asked to play out-of-position at 1T or next to guys whose 1T play wasn't cutting it. Ford: Needs to deliver quality blocking both in pass and run. His run blocking sucked great wads of mucus at times last year. Blame injuries, but he seemed to have slow feet (same for Feliciano). TBH, I wanted us to draft or sign a quality upgrade at interior OL this off-season and failing to do so is my biggest disappointment. Motor: I don't think the team wants to see higher run production from Motor, but more consistent performance when he gets his reps. Knox: In the words of Xena Warrior Princess, I say to him: "Don't be Sorry, Gabrielle. Just...IMPROVE!" He needs to do more than show reliable hands. His route running needs to improve. His blocking needs to improve. His understanding of his assignments and how they change with post-snap defensive shifts needs to improve. I hope it does.

Given the fact that we re-signed Daryl Williams then drafted 2 tackles - yeah, I think we have. I hope we have. I think he's a guy that the team mantra of "positional flexibility" does not serve well. Hope you're right there.

Making all the shots....I see what you did there Yukyuk TeeHee

It's a good question, @Buffalo716. It probably gets pretty general and political pretty quickly so I'll try to tread carefully. Historically, matters of public health were left as Local control > State > Federal and not requiring specific legislation. Made sense historically - disease outbreaks were usually local, and half the county could be infected while the state legislature was still driving its buggies to the state Capitol. Local officials were at-hand and could act effectively and immediately for the health needs of the local area. For Covid, NYS clearly took the position that State law overrode any Local regulations in imposing then lifting restrictions. One would think that principle would apply to Stadium capacity.

I guess the thing for fans like yourself to do might be, to write to the Pegulas and express these sentiments that you hope any new stadium will reflect the Bills stadium character and the Buffalo area, and not become impersonal "Jerry World"?

Is this Good News, or No?

I think he was possibly just frustrated and didn't have a clear idea how/where to focus his frustrations. It's not unique to Cole, the reason there are people who make their living advocating for patients with health insurance issues or for consumers with problems is that it's not natural for everyone to know how to advocate for themselves effectively. This just in: "We" in the thread context is clearly Cole and NFLPA leadership, which seems like a positive and productive step. What is "this" in your post? Beasley doesn't seem to be complaining about pressure for vaccination, but rather about the details of the protocols for vaxx'ed and unvaxxed players. I have questions about these specific protocols myself, which it's beyond the scope to discuss here. If I were a player I would want to know what is the science and evidence behind them, because it is reasonable for an unvaccinated player to want to feel he can prevent catching covid and keep himself available to the team.

My favorite: "I'm a Genetic Freak!" 🤣🤣🤣

Serious question: why do you feel it's the union's job to protect players from some hypothetical "pro vax mob"? Isn't it their job to negotiate with management to preserve player rights while protecting players health, and didn't they do that? Vaccination is a choice for players, it's not mandatory - and I'm quite sure the clubs would have liked it to be mandatory and pushed for that. Players don't have to get vaccinated. Players can't be cut for not being vaccinated. But freedom of choice doesn't mean freedom from consequences. Negotiations are a 2 way street. The players who want to be protected from covid-19 by having high vax rates around them, the coaches who want players to be available, and the clubs have to get something too.

Exactly, This: Your union reps have a responsibility to keep you informed, and to convey concerns/input up the chain of command - but everything isn't a referendum and shouldn't be. If you have a union committee studying the need for fall protection in a certain op with management, getting hip-deep in all the OSHA data and medical data on injuries from different height falls - Expertise matters. The union guys who have a ringside seat to all the information and facts (and the mandate to dig up whatever other info they could find) should weigh in, it shouldn't become a "popularity contest" based on "my Girlfriend's sister's Parrot Walker said, side effects from wearing fall protection harnesses" or the perceived inconvenience from the young invulnerable studs on the floor and concerns about decreased p Why it's hard for them is that there's all sorts of viral SM crap about vaccine out there, some of it incredibly detailed and plausible sounding (though hollow when tapped, like a Halloween pumpkin). Add in a lot of these players have spent college and their NFL career with team physicians who may have prioritized game availability over medical best interests, and a healthy degree of skepticism seems warranted. Some, of course, are conspiracy theorists whom no data or evidence can reach, because they distrust all data and evidence provided by "the establishment" on principle.

There's zero chance this changes by him yelping about it on Twitter, either. And it's not clear to me what exactly he's concerned about. At first I thought he was concerned about heightened exposure of himself in meetings etc, but then I thought "no, the protocols require him to be masked in those meetings if he's not vaccinated, so he can protect himself." He's supposed to have input. Not Democracy - public health measures should not be subject to majority vote - but input and transparency. If Cole is worried about the safety of himself and his family from Covid, there is this tool of preventive medicine readily available to himself and his wife? If he has questions about the scientific or medical basis behind the protocols and whether they're sufficient to protect his family, Twitter is not the place to get answers - the NFLPA has said "if players have questions, call us", the team has NFLPA "alternate" reps, etc. Is that in response to this? Some of the other responses in that thread are pretty funny:

The actual number was 5, so you do the math

Just so we know, this is the same guy who reported that Tua had thrown 70 INT at Dolphins minicamp

No, it doesn't. Poor analogy. That'd be why Oliver came right up and gave Star a hug?

It's a point: Cole's kind of throwing his teammates Harrison Phillips and/or Dion Dawkins "under the bus" as (apparently) his NFLPA "alternate" reps

Interesting point about the corporation. I wonder if that's Beasley's intent - cast a net and have someone reach out to him? That could be either good or bad, depending upon whether it's someone from the league saying "bro, got it mixed - if you need more background on the basis for the protocols, we're here to help" -vs- someone looking to fan the flames as it were.

He coulda meant lengthwise not widthwise? Oh, Wow, I hope DIggs has a motorcycle license or knows this. If I read this map right, Alaska NY and MA are the only states where a motorcycle license is required.