Buddo

Considering that this was done with the consent and in some instances at the request of, opposition parties, it hardly seems like a dictatorship.

It's an interesting proposition. Traditionally, Cover CBs weren't getting paid the same as man CBs. However, in todays NFL, flexibility seems to be the byword. That flexibility means that White may well get paid, because it affords McDermott more system flexibility, similarly to Belicheck, but not in the same ways. White lets McDermott do a lot of other things, in his system. Principle being the same, execution different. Imho, White will get paid, providing he keeps his head down and keeps working. It goes too much against the overall philosophy of Beane and McDermott, for that not to happen, unless White's demands are astronomical. I don't think they will be, as I think he's a level headed guy. He won't settle for much under the market, if at all, but I don't eel he thinks he has to set the market. I think he'll get serious money, that will probably have more guaranteed than expected, yet less overall. All of which is supposition.

In relation to vaccines, I'd say that a lot of countries worldwide, are trying to reduce the time it takes to get through all of the phases. Some of those countries will be able to test stuff on humans, before others, due to their state run policies. I think I read that the Russians, for example, are going to be vaccinnating their military, so they will get testing done that way. That is not to condone how they are going about it, but simply an observation as to how different countries will have different approaches. Many poor countries, could easily persuade people to try a vaccine, for a relatively small (to us) financial remuneration, that included post vaccine care. As to the availability of any sort of vaccine through 'black markets', I'd say it's going to be inevitable. Whether through the social media platforms, or the likes of ebay. People will no doubt be scammed, or put themselves at risk, due to either desperation, or stupidity. The traditional warning will remain true - 'if it sounds too good to be true, it almost certainly is'.

Seems to be good news generally, especially how inexpensive it is. The issue, as with all testing, is how quickly can you get the results back. I've not read the article, but I've just seen something else about it, and in that it said it still needs to go off for testing. Definitely a positive development, and hopefully, as it is inexpensive, they may be able to refine it to a quick result turnaround, i.e. within a few hours.

The team statement alludes both to private information they have about the situation, and also that it didn't come as a great surprise because of it. Sounds like there were other things more important on his mind. People need to be aware that there is a distinct possibility these types of situations can, and probably will, arise, through the course of a season. I wouldn't blame a player for suddenly opting out, even in mid season, if a close family member gets a serious diagnosis of illness, that means they become at greater risk from the vagaries of the covid 19 situation.

'A' focal point, i.e. of LBers, not a whole D. Tbh, I have no idea about Martinez, and don't actually care about him. On the assumption that the Giants will be running a base 4-3, then it's quite possible that as a comparison, Milano should get more, I don't know. What I do know is that making the assumption that someone will be prepared to overpay for him next year, is precisely that, an assumption. There's going to be an awful lot of uncertainty for this season, and with the unprecedented reduction in the cap number for next year, I just don't see even desperate teams willing to pay over the odds. Imho, if Milano signs in the not too distant, it will be for around $10 million per, however it shakes out (I don't want to get involved in the 4 or 5 year thing ). I also think that that would be fair, and currently, I'm very much of the opinion that guys would be far better off securing their future now, rather than hoping everything else that's going on, eventually turns out ok. N.B. Fwiw, the laughing emoticon was in relation to the house buying in London. Good luck with that.

Maybe I've misread 'the market' also. I just don't see the value at $12-14 million per. Even to the Bills, where he's a terrific 'fit'. I do see him as being a capable starter in pretty much any base 4-3 system, but my belief is that the Bills get the most out of him, and in respect of 'the market', it isn't just about what a.n.other guy got, it's also about what someone else is prepared to pay, and I remain unconvinced that other teams will be prepared to pay top dollar (the $12-14 million per being mentioned) for a guy who while important, is a very good complimentary piece, rather than a focal point.

Without being especially detailed about it, my impression has been that for the last couple of years, the team has been better with Milano on the field, than when he's missed any games. Now, while Joseph may have some potential, we don't know how he's progressed, as he has been injured. There isn't anyone currently, who replaces him to the same level of play. Undoubtedly, Milano is a good 'fit' for what we do as a D. He has also proven himself as a good player in the system. Imho, he will be a decent player for other base 4-3 teams, yet perhaps not have the same level of impact he has had for us. That leads into how do you value him? As a starter level 4-3 LBer, he is probably worth around the $6-8 million per, region, especially considering his body of work and age. Due to his 'fit' for the Bills, I think you can bump that by a couple of million, especially as we currently don't appear to have an equally effective replacement. I think Milano can probably get around $8 million per, from just about any 4-3 base team. He's definitely starter, and his age and experience is right. Depending on how they want to use him, that might go up some, but not a great deal. I think the Bills know exactly what they have, and want, from him, and will be willing to actually 'overpay' some, to retain him, and my best guess is that he will end up with a deal that is about $10 million per. I think that that is fair, and a reflection of his value to the Bills, in relation to the market. I would be pretty surprised if he gets more than that, because I don't see other teams being prepared to pay that.

I'm pleased about the extension, but just wonder if it couldn't have waited another year. I believe that the Pegulas finally made the right decision, when they hired McDermott, which in turn led to the right decision to hire Beane. Between the two of them, they have assembled an impressive FO and Coaching staff. Much of the credit for the 'culture change' should go to all of those guys. There may well be still some question marks over our OC, but the one thing I will say, is that if McDermott does think he's got it wrong, he won't hesitate to try and find a 'right' guy. I don't think he needs to especially understand offense, as such, he just needs to know when he's found a guy who does understand it, and can implement it. Some of the 'tweaks' he's made, already look promising - particularly the O-Line coach. As an aside, before the Ryan hire, what I really wanted, was to keep Schwartz. I was probably in the camp for Jackson, because of that, but anyone who would have come in and let Schwartz keep doing what he was, was going to be okay with me. I wouldn't have been too worried if they had made Schwartz the HC. It never ceases to amaze me that when a new HC is appointed, they throw away what parts were actually working. Ultimately, I think we have probably finally got lucky, as even if Schwartz had still been here, we were probably going to have to redo the team overall, within a year or two, which is what has happened with McDermott and Beane.

I don't have any problem at all with a guy wanting to opt out, for any reason, and I'm not going to criticise them for doing so. I do believe though, that if White is saying that that's his reason (if it does come to it), then there's no real problem in calling it that. I don't think that White is wanting to imply anything about anyone else, but I can see how some people can take it that way, but I also think that's making a mountain out of a molehill.

It's becoming apparent that kids might not suffer much with covid 19, but they sure as heck can spread it effectively. Particularly amongst adults, apparently. See a couple of posts by Hap in the info thread. This sad reality is what teachers will be facing. I wonder how many teachers have to catch it in a school, for the school to be forced into a lockdown. Tbh, if I was a teacher and was expected to teach a class of kids, atm I'd want a hazmat suit to do it in. ;( How many kids might have their lives ruined by the loss of a close relative (mother, father, grandparents) because they have been to school and brought the virus back with them, through no fault of their own. Something that really ought to be done, is to come up with a set of rules that all schools need to follow, throughout the country. That way everyone knows where they stand, and they can also discover where the particular flaws are in those rules, and improve them as they go. There's obviously a slim to no chance of that occurring, and Slim just left town. ;(

County Clare on the West coast of Ireland. Wild and wonderful, with lovely people, great music and terrific Guinness. I'll be going back. Again. Crete. Hoping to go the end of September, start of October this year. Everything crossed for that one. Lovely people, especially at the apartments where I stay. Loads to do apart from the sun, sea and sand. Cyprus. Again, wonderful people, beautiful beaches, and great climate for probably 9 months of the year. Went there a lot as a friend worked there for years. Not likely to go back in a hurry, (lots of other places to get to) but would recommend it to anyone. Italy - specifically the Amalfi Coast. Just beautiful, and for someone who has an interest in history, chock full of incredible archaeological sites, easily accessible from a little railway line. Pompei, Herculaneum etc. Barbados. Fabulous Island. Great people, and sunsets to die for. I suspect that many other of the caribbean islands will be similar, but Barbados is simply beautiful. Normandy in France. Loads of history to do with the D-Day stuff. Plenty of apple based products, including Calvados, which is good stuff. People from the UK should have gone there around the time of any D-Day celebrations, to understand what the idea behind a united 'Europe' was, and especially to see the generosity and respect that the veterans of D-Day were given. One time, when leaving a bar, where we had been before, we tried to quietly leave a 'drink' for some British Para vets of D-Day. We were refused. The bar manager told us that 'those men will not be paying for anything here'. Thing is, he could have just taken the mony, and we wouldn't have been any the wiser. There are a few cities I think I'd mention. Amsterdam - a whole different vibe. Needs to be experienced. Best place to drink Belgian beer (which is Industrial strength). Prague, again, a different vibe, but lots of interesting architecture. Lots of good local lagers, that are cheap. Nice people once ice is broken. Edinburgh. A 'cool' vibe in the centre. Need to be prepared for some up and down walking.

That solid rosewood tele that George had, is a thing of beauty. Bet it was bloody heavy though. Thanks for the OP as well.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-53635692 This is an 'update' as regards the UKs attempts, to try and get information from sewage, as to how much Covid19 there is in an area. Seems there are 44 'sites' where this will take place. The hope is that detailed analysis will be able to give more advance warning of where outbreaks are about to occur.

One positive of not fans’, is that rescheduling games becomes way easier. The NFL can probably get away with a lot of postponements overall, providing they aren’t involving just a few teams. Bye weeks, lmho, should already be being viewed as opportunities to reschedule games. Players and teams may well have to get used to the idea of more shortened weeks, if the season is to get completed.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53632043 New test for Covid19 that supposedly gives results in about 90 minutes. Could be an important step forward for any track and trace Systems to become more worthwhile. Doesn’t say who has come up with it, and no data given about accuracy as yet, but you would think that at least positives would get further testing to be certain. Obviously, false negatives are still a major concern, but speedier testing simply has to be achieved to nail this thing on the head.

Good points. Now if we could just get people all over the world to adopt the same approach, we might get to see the end of this, sooner, rather than later. 'Flattening the curve' was really necessary early on, as everywhere was in serious danger of being overwhelmed by cases. That isn't to say that the curve shouldn't be kept so, at all. Part of the problems are related to countries not being prepared for how quickly covid19 could spread, and any of their 'track and trace' systems, simply couldn't keep up, for a whole variety of reasons, from underfunding, to a lack of a solid test. As regards sports in europe, part of the reason why they have been able to continue to play games (eventually), is due to both extensive testing of players, and the simple fact that generally, people have been pretty good with observing lockdowns and social distancing etc. That isn't to say they are happy about it, but they are, mostly, doing it. It needs to be said that it wouldn't have happened if the curves in much of Europe hadn't been flattened to a large extent, meaning that there actually was the opportunity to get back to some semblance of tracking and tracing, being worthwhile. It also has to be said, that unlike in the US, Europe hasn't generally been politicizing responses to the virus. There are criticisms, for sure, but overall, people are simply trying to do the right thing first, and get around to having inquiries, etc. once the sh1t isn't still hitting the fan. Politicians are making concerns known, for 'future reference' but aren't necessarily going full bore about things, in part because the people wouldn't want that, but also out of a sense that the pandemic needs to be overcome first and foremost.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-52544247 It can be a useful tool in finding 'spikes' and also perhaps giving some advance warning, but to think it can accurately say how many cases there are, is something of a stretch, imho. Maybe over time, with far more extensive testing in communities, they can get a closer sense of how many cases there are, (in relation to the waste) but until they can actually correlate that sort of thing, I'd be very wary of taking the estimates as gospel. Undoubtedly they can tell you if overall if it's on the rise or fall for a given area, but I don't think they can be particularly more accurate than that currently, simply because there isn't enough testing done of all of a community, to verify any algorithm etc. that they can come up with.

As much as I love Santana, Carlos owes Peter Green big time. A sad day. Green was both a consumate songwriter, guitarist and vocalist. His 'feel' for the blues, probably unmatched by any of his contemporaries.

No problems with people anywhere, trying to hold any politician to account, whatever their stripe. Any sort of pandemic is not the time to be partisan, but unfortunately politicians the world over, really don’t seem to get that. There are exceptions, and oddly enough, those are places where things seem to be under far greater control.

Hopefully, someone sues him. Seems to me that unnecessarily removing local government powers, has directly impacted those communities. In a very bad way. In far too many places, around the world, politics has got well in the way of attempts to mitigate covid. A classic case of 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'.

I think it's going to start, but to pretty much empty stadiums. It seems as though the NFL and NFLPA will agree to daily testing, and that is pretty critical. As others have said, the biggest problems relate to transportation and hotels for the away team. Flights shouldn't be a problem, but I would want my kit man, or equivalent, overseeing the disinfecting of any coaches/buses used to move players around. Hotels should be okay in that respect, but the dubious area is any contact with staff etc., i.e. people outside of the organisation. Some teams might find it more practical for some journeys, just to take to the road full stop, which could avoid more potential contact with the public at large. Hard to know how long a journey would be deemed to be practical though. The NFL could have got a lot more creative with scheduling, as well, by splitting up the traditional divisions, and doing things like putting the Chargers and Rams in the same division, also the Giants and Jest. Teams in those divisions then play two away games consecutively, in the same stadium. I also think they might have been advised to have a two week mid season break, which could serve as a quarantine period. Doesn't have to be at the exact mid point, but could be put in if teams are seeing players testing positive, with the schedule being delayed, but the delay having been sort of accounted for. ULtimately, I think we are going to be in a wait and see mode, but what happens at TCs throughout the league, will be a good indicator of if teams (and the NFL/NFLPA) have got things worked out.

Even if they had picked Wilson in the 3rd round, they weren't that confident he would be a success, otherwise they would have picked him sooner. Fact is they thought he was a solid prospect, who needed development. Even the Seahawks were surprised at how quickly Wilson adapted. I don't believe that Nix is trying to build any sort of 'narrative' - any which way you want to slice it, the fact that they liked Wilson, but failed to draft him, when they had the opportunity to do so, doesn't reflect well. Nobody thought that Wilson was going to be the player he was, immediately, otherwise he would have been a 1st round pick, and top ten at least. I've also said earlier, that teams try and get cute with their picks, and lilke to get what they consider to be best value out of them. That will mean trying to wait to take guys. Part of Nix's problem, was that teams weren't getting cute when it came to taking QBs. I'm not answering this for Gunner, but imho, they probably had a late 1st, early 2nd round grade on EJ. Iirc, they pretty much had to take him after they traded down, due to other possible interested parties, and not being able to drop down just a few more spots. I think they could only manage to drop back to the late 20s, and were convinced that he was going to go by the early 20s.

As I've said before, part of the problem with not drafting Wilson, was that Nix and Co, were still stuck in a traditional approach to drafting QBs. They put a value on them, and waited until they hit that value, before moving. Just about everyone else had got to the point where if there was a QB prospect they liked, they were prepared to go get them a round before a straightforward evaluation had them. The Wilson miss wasnt the first time it had happened to Nix, as nobody expected the 'Skins to take Cousins after taking RG3, and there may have been another instance in those few drafts as well. Nix eventually got the idea, which was why he drafted EJ where he did. The mitigation being he did trade down first.

That is in actuality, the crux of the matter. Nix was trying to be too clever before drafting Wilson. The same thing happened with, I think, Cousins, a year or so before. Nix didn't learn from his mistake that year, but eventually did do so, but for the wrong QB in EJ. At least then he traded down before doing so. Probably around the time he was retiring, I remember a presser with Nix, where he talked about this stuff. The Cousins situation was pretty annoying, becaue nobody expected the 'Skins to double down on QBs after taking RG3. While it's easy to criticise with hindsight, teams regularly will try and wait to take a player they like, to get the best value from their picks. An absolutely classic example of this was the Kyle Williams pick. Marv wanted to take him a round before, but Modrak persuaded him he would still be there in the next round, which thankfully, he was. As regards Whaley, his issues all largely stemmed from never being the guy who had the final say - even when he was GM, mainly due to the situation as regards ownership and structures. For sure, he had input into a lot of those decisions, but as to being able to put his own 'stamp' on the selection of QB and HC, he never really was given that opportunity.