Hapless Bills Fan

No problem, appreciate the honesty. I think @wjag had the key point: Beasley said repeatedly that he gave up social media and turned his accounts over to his PR team and was much happier. So evidently he just can't resist sticking his feet back in the water of social media then complaining about the temperature of the water. I don't Do Twitter. I follow a bunch of media people who provide great information and some other informative accounts of interest to me - but in general, it's way too full of, well, Twits.

I think it's very much related and not a logical fallacy - if for no other reason than those 1000 NFL people are all out in communities interacting with others - but again - we're not going down that rabbit hole.

This is neither about football and is a pretty long leap from the post you're responding to. Take it somewhere else. OK a couple of things: 1) The protocol for covid-19 safety is indeed vaccine related, because the NFL has chosen to set up two sets of safety protocols - one for vaccinated and one for unvaccinated players. 2) We are NOT going to go into whether or not the NFL protocols have a gap or are sufficient. That can't be rationally discussed without a deep dive into the latest data on covid-19 transmission to vaccinated people and by vaccinated people, and we're simply not going to do that here. I'm not sure I know the answer myself at this point. I have some questions, but that's different than a definitive statement "that protocol is insufficient". I do know that the NFL's protocols last season, when followed, were very effective and that when they weren't, they looked for the gap and made adjustments to fill it. Their medical consultants did a very good job of being data-driven and adjusting to new data that emerged. Further posts down the rabbit hole of pronouncing that the protocols are insufficient (or sufficient) thus eliciting general discussion on that point will quietly disappear.

The guy who wasn't "in sync" with Allen, dropped a pass on the numbers, and wouldn't talk to the media after practice as scheduled? That guy? He was supposed to be "in addition to" not "instead of"

I think the way it's supposed to work is that the NFLPA rep from each team is supposed to get info on the proposed rules and take them to the players he represents. Since the Bills are listed as not having an NFLPA rep, maybe that didn't happen? Or maybe the Bills "alternates" Dawkins and Phillips were supposed to make it happen and "dropped the ball" being too busy with other stuff?

Breathe, YOLO! We need you, Big Dog! You gotta make it!

Cole Beasley caught 77% of the 106 balls thrown his way last season. He came within 34 yards (half a games production) of 1000 yd season. He played 3 playoff games on a broken leg. He's a helluva football player. Just saying. I'm assuming he's upset about the protocols and isn't quite sure how to channel that concern productively - a problem that's not unique to football players. He's not a guy who habitually hangs out on Twitter to start fights and keep rolling with them like Rachel Bush does. Well, she's not a guy, but you get my point.

I guess their rep used to be Zo Alexander, though you woulda thought they woulda picked one last season to replace him. OK, so he should talk to Phillips and Dawkins. He should try to put it as questions - how do they know that vaccinated players won't come back to the hotel and infect me? I'm not judging his motives. If he has questions, and is upset about the protocols, Twitter is clearly not his best place to go. But he should have a place to go, and the people who crafted the protocols should be willing to explain and defend them, not brush him off. You may be right. Maybe Beasley should take it on LOL

A couple weeks ago Beasley was defending the decision to not get vaxxed as individual choice, on the grounds if I'm vaccinated he can't affect me (which of course isn't true: Now he's upset about the vaccinated/unvaccinated protocols because people who are vaccinated aren't 100% immune and could infect him: I guess it shows his understanding is evolving, perhaps due to the educational materials provided to the players, which would be a Good Thing(tm)? I think he's asking valid questions that should be answered for him by the league and the NFLPA. He's concerned that he can't protect himself as well under these protocols due to vaccinated teammates actions - a little ironic given his previous exchange, but a perfectly understandable concern, which should have an answer if phrased as a question. I have some questions about the details of the new protocols myself. He should call the NFLPA and ask, or ask whoever it is on the Buffalo Bills that's coordinating the Covid program to explain the rationale. The Bills should have a player rep who should be able to help him find the right person. Whoever on the NFLPA signed off on the protocols should be accountable to the players they represent, and should make themselves available to discuss the scientific basis for each protocol decision. I don't think his complaints show he's not very bright. Well, OK: He should know, or be able to find out, who his Bills NFLPA representatives, are, right, and be able to reach out and talk to them? He shouldn't have to resort to a cry from the heart on Twitter?

Well, the NFL/NFLPA protocols just came out

Well....Zero as yet. The pre-season is young yet 😜. But I think it's safe to predict that number will be very small. The number of players who actually opted-out of the 2020 NFL season was 67. I think it's notable that most of the players who opted out and took the $150,000 were kind of fringe, end of career players like EJ Gaines who otherwise may well have been cut and gone home with a $25k signing bonus. And there ain't no 6 figure stipend for retiring.

I pointed out that a lot of these guys aren't just feeding what most of us think of as family (couple and kids), they are buying houses and annuities for their parents, supporting siblings either directly or indirectly, maybe underwriting a business that has a whole payroll of people working for it. Good luck continuing that on $50,000 a year. If you're speaking of players who have made their money and are set for life....there are two aspects. 1) Those guys are relatively few vs. most of the roster 2) If you were, someday, to find yourself making that kind of money, you might find that your priorities shift and it's harder than you think now to walk away from an extra $6M or $10M. The best of these guys have financial plans, that don't account for them paying back their amortized bonus money and walking away suddenly. As the paycheck blossoms, the lifestyle blossoms - sure, you could sell your house on the waterfront in Miami and your Lamborghini and your country club memberships, take your kids out of the private school patronized by the affluent, travel on SWA instead of by private jet, and drive your Honda CRV to the 4 BR, 2 bath tract ranch where the people who make $50k/yr live. Yeah, there are a few Orlando Pace-class players who invested their money properly, started profitable businesses, and are still living the Good Life after their playing days are done. But again, those guys are relatively few vs. most of the roster, and none of them retired and handed back their bonus money suddenly (see Wood, Eric) PS A lot of NFL players didn't actually finish their college degrees. Most of those that did, majored in stuff like "communication" or "general studies" where the job market and starting salary for a guy with no experience may not be as Luxe as you think. "Even if they made $100,000 a year" LOL the starting salary for a "communication" or "general studies" major more likely $43-$45k.

Well.... 1. for the Bills, the Pegulas have put into place a GM and Coach that have taken the team to playoffs 3 out of 4 years 2. for the Sabres, the Pegulas have put into place GMs and Coaches that are on track to go from a 7 year playoff drought into an 11 year playoff drought So, functionally, you could say that they are different Pegulas to the two teams

How old are you, and what is your profession? The NFL is a business. Yes, the players are playing a game, but at the end of the day, their NFL contracts are how they feed, not just themselves and their kids and wives or girlfriends, but often parents - maybe 2 sets of parents - and siblngs. Sometimes the relatives develop businesses under the player's guidance managing his endorsements or merchandise deals or investments (sometimes that's a bad idea for the player, but again, another issue). Take Isaiah McKenzie, a young guy at the bottom end of the NFL wage scale. He just opened a BBQ restaurant with a partner and at least one of his other friends works there or manages it. Isaiah, who is earning essentially veteran minimum, has $350,000 guaranteed on this year's deal. It's probably a pretty safe bet that the restaurant was remodeled and its initial operating funds came from a loan secured by McKenzie's NFL paycheck. So now that's not just his partner and friend but a whole payroll of other people who would be impacted by a decision to walk away. The point is for most of these guys, it's not just "I am personally offended by the NFL's protocols and vaccination policy therefore I shall take my ball and go home" that their professional business decisions (such as a decision to retire) affect, it's a whole web of people. Picking on 'Lil Dirty, needs to be realized that even a minimum-salary guy like Zay is lined up to take home money this year that puts him in the top 0.1% of the US population. (Not 1%, 0.1%). A guy like Davis Webb, who spent most of the year on the practice squad and was active for one game at vet minimum, probably earned over $190,000 last season - which puts him in the top 11% of US household incomes. I'm gonna guess that's not you.

So as has been explained elsewhere numerous times - NFL guaranteed salaries for veteran players are usually guaranteed for skill, injury, and cap. Meaning if the player is cut because someone else is deemed better, or because he's injured, or because the team needs to fit under the cap - nopenope, player still gets his $$. NFL salaries are NOT guaranteed for retirement. You retire, you don't get your guaranteed salary and the team can request repayment of amortized signing bonus. This is why Eric Wood gave a retirement press conference in which he carefully did not use the word "retire", and stayed on the roster until he failed his physical and was released the following season. So contrary to your lack of surprise, I would be extremely surprised if Sanders handed back $6M in earnings to the Bills by retiring.

I can't comment on your state of surprise Teams with minimal cap space don't generally sign a guy for $6M with $5.9M guaranteed if they anticipate cutting said guy.

I’ve kind of been getting a bit of “I’m great, I’ve played with the 49ers and Saints plus I know this offense from SMU” vibe from Sanders. Hopefully this is a wake up call thst maybe he needs to put in some time getting on the same page with Allen

I don't see Tua and Murray as comparable at this point, and I'm wondering why you do? Tua just isn't generating enough offense to date - 181 ypg last season. Now I grant you our own Josh, his first two years, wasn't generating enough passing offense (QB needs to generate >=220 yds of offense to correlate to teams winning consistently). But when you sum his rushing YPG and passing YPG, he was generating 224, 225 YPG of offense. By that yardstick, Murray is doing OK. He's generating >220 ypg with his arm alone (233, 248) and last year pushed 300 ypg (299) when his rush yards were added in. And he seems to have the full passing vocabulary, unlike Lamar Jackson who was still missing a couple pieces last season. That's not to disrespect your feeling, but wondering what's behind it, as I see them as different. I don't see Tua as having an NFL arm at this point. Hopefully it was a hip issue and he's gotten his mechanics right and is still tuning that in. Well, hopefully except when they're playing the Bills

If you're talking about Star, to be considered a fact, there needs to be evidence. What is your evidence of this? We've already got you in this thread interpreting me as saying "bone growth", which is either careless reading or poor comprehension - not that there's anything wrong with either form of misunderstanding, but fair or not, it does lower your credibility factor, for me anyway.

Got a linky for this?

Heh. Not quite: I don't think the clubs could come around and *zap* the players for a game check up to $50k and more for a 2nd or 3rd violation last season. That's a sizeable chunk of change! I wonder if this news has any relationship to the Bills announcing minicamp is over - maybe they want to have some more "mature discussions" on the vaccine issue in lieu of these new NFL/NFLPA approved protocols? I believe there might be some ranting and raving, akin to the seething turmoil of a volcano about to erupt. But prior to the retirement papers being filed, I believe the boiling lava of young individual passion will encounter the cold ocean water of agent and financial advice and be chill. It's worth bearing in mind that the NFLPA, which is supposed to be the advocate and voice for the players, has signed off on all this.

I know our Bills coaches aren't forthcoming on the injury front, but IIRC Breida and Hollister weren't participating yesterday either. Hope they aren't badly dinged. Wait, Wat? I thought it was scheduled to be a 3 day minicamp? Just like that, Cold Turkey, no more football-ish stuff until the end of July?

Bease showed up in some social media posts with a missing tooth this summer. I wonder if he's having some kind of dental surgery and that's one reason he's been helmetless until this week.

Why would they "retire" and face giving back millions of dollars of amortized signing bonus not to mention potential future earnings? Basically, the protocols unvaccinated players follow are just what they dealt with last year, and few players opted out, can't think of any who retired. So if someone has strong convictions, they can just shrug and say "OK, I lived this way last year". I'll be honest though, I don't see how the different rules can help but become a distraction if the clubs actually enforce the different rules.