Mango

Yes about the call ups. But I’ve been told that the PS rules reset for the playoffs. So the Bills could do nothing and put him back on the PS in a few weeks. I expect Beasley to sit one of the next 4 for the same reasons. I’m guessing Chicago.

This isn’t that cold of a game. We’ve officially reached the point where even we are over exaggerating the weather issues. Football players will be playing in snow. The kid from Hawaii might struggle but the rest of the roster will be fine. Their only struggle will be whether or not their game plan can acclimate to the snow and a little bit of luck in regards to not slipping. But 6’4 250 men aren’t running to the sideline because it’s 28 and snowing.

I don’t necessarily mind the difference between sidelines as a home field advantage. I do mind it when it starts to toe and cross the line of player safety. It’s certainly something to pay attention to though. The league is pushing for so many new stadiums, you certainly want to make sure that physical home field advantages don’t start to get way out of whack. I am not a meteorologist, but the league should have a formula and plan in place. Something like estimated heat index + due point = moved time slot. If it crosses that threshold 30 minutes before kickoff then there is a requirement for both sidelines to have some sort of NFL/Miami branded canopy rolled out. This is likely a scenario that only gets used 0-2 times per year.

Oh god. We keep a core special teamer who is so old he can’t play 18 snaps per week without a day off? ST hasn’t missed a beat since Kumerow went down and we’ve had to pull two guys out of retirement to play the last 2 weeks. A lot of this is tongue in cheek, I value core special teams guys. But we did have 4 WR’s on the roster.

Ugh, what a nightmare scenario. I hate the way the Jets are trending.

It’s wild to me that a guy like Taiwan Jones, who averages a total of 18 special teams snaps per week gets a vet rest day.

A game or two? So confident in the team this year. Haha.

Honestly, I miss the Hawaii days . Not that the Pro Bowl was ever a good football game. But it felt like they hit a good stride in the 90's and early 2000's with the skills competitions for the week. Those were always a fun, fastest man, passing, catching, etc. It was fun. Guys were loose. It was entertaining. I almost never watched the game, but I watched a lot of those competitions.

I was texting with a buddy of mine in NJ today. I thought it was weird to go back to Wilson since they don't even dress him to avoid playing. His response was that it made sense, that way Wilson doesn't get bogged down with studying film and can just work on fundamentals. I was like "Dude, you do know that the 3rd string QB gets almost no reps during the week. They aren't letting him work on anything". The Jets are a good roster. Saleh seems to have improved that franchise. But I think they really botched the handling of this. I don't see how they aren't forced to try and get Wilson off the roster at this point.

Sal went to Newhouse at SU, which is widely considered one of the very best (top 5) communication and journalism programs in the entire country.... But yes, while he was trying to get his career going he was a teacher/coach while he was also working in radio at the same time.....You really roasted'em with that one. How will he ever recovery.... Good one dude....

I thought for sure this was going to be a Chinese kid. They are notorious in international sport for just saying athletes are "x" age since they don't keep birthing records.

I didn’t say anything incorrect. I never mentioned anything about “canopies similar to cooling tents”. But there were trainers holding canopies over the benches. 3:29 mark. That is 100% fact. https://www.buffalobills.com/video/mic-d-up-dion-dawkins-x2743 Baking in the sun is and was problem number one. I’ve mentioned that numerous times in this thread. But it isn’t inherently an issue with the equity rule. I think the issue falls on the league regarding tents and blocking the line of sight for cameras and fans. Edit: Just to be clear, when you say I am incorrect and the heart of the conversation is about the shade from the roof, the post you quoted me on was from me saying that the Bills could not prevent the Dolphins from using heaters or heated benches. What you quoted me on wasn't a topic of conversation for the OP I was quoting or my response. For player safety concerns, the league needs to figure out how to manage Miami better. Full stop. I don't think they are going to ever allow a fully tarped sideline and adding any roof protection would take too much time and too much money to push through and have installed for the next season. @Richard Noggin suggested that Miami plays the first few weeks of the season at 4:30 only. This is likely the most implementable immediate solution.

There is no rule that prevents cooling benches or cooling fans on the sidelines. The Bills brought and used their own benches, fans, and canopies. The shade from the sun provided by the stadium itself is the only difference between the teams. I’ve posted this on nearly every page of this thread. At least make a tiny effort. Florio is wrong. The Bills brought and used cooling fans, canopies, and benches to Miami. By Miami not using them, they don’t have to provide them to visitors. But visitors are well within league rules to bring and use their own league sanctioned devices.

Ahhhhh!!!!!That isn't true at all and the Bills have no capability to ban anything on the opposing sideline!!!! I have said it a bunch of times in this thread, Buffalo fans have been misinterpreting the equity rule for months now. For reference. Dawkins was mic'd up for that game. Here he is (3:29 mark) under the shade. The cooling benches are to his right, and 6+ misting/cooling fans are blowing behind him. https://www.buffalobills.com/video/mic-d-up-dion-dawkins-x2743 Visiting teams are welcome to travel with any equipment that is allowed by league rules. The home team is required to provide identical equipment to what they are using. But home teams cannot prohibit what visitors can use. MIA in LA is a perfect example. LA did not use heaters, Miami brought their own and used them. That is allowed. The Bills brought their own cooling benches, cooling fans, and had trainers holding shade above them. What the equity rule does require Miami to provide the same cooling fans to visitors that they are using. If Miami chooses not to use cooling fans, that does not prohibit Buffalo from brining and using their own. The issue is that in that kind of heat without protection from the direct sunlight those tools are basically useless.

I am less concerned with it being equal on both sides and much more concerned with player safety. I would be opposed to Miami tearing off part of their roof to even things out. That only increases the risk pool and solves nothing. That stadium was built nearly 40 years ago. We certainly have more severe weather spikes these days so the situation has changed in the nearly two generations that have since passed. For example, the growing season in Vermont is about 2 weeks longer now than when the stadium was built. Apples are struggling but they have a host of new crops as well. In 1987 this was much much less of a concern and more of a quirky homefield advantage. Much like every other climate issue, this has sort of crept up to a point that now requires swift action because of safety. I would hope the NFLPA gets involved at some point as well.

You are allowed to bring anything you want within league rules for general equipment use. Miami cannot prohibit the use of anything. They only have to provide the same equipment that they use. If they don't use it, they don't provide it. The team is welcome to put whatever they want on a plane and ship it though. The issues in Miami are: 1. Direct sunlight on one side and not the other based on the construction of the building. 2. The rules regarding tents/structures on sidelines in order to protect line of sight for TV's and spectators rather than player safety. The equity rule doesn't actually matter all that much here and we (fans) keep misinterpreting it.

No tents. You can have staff hold tarps or whatever for cover. I don't know if there are rules on sizing or number of staff that are allowed on the sidelines. The Bills had guys holding shade on their sideline as well.

For reference. Dawkins was mic'd up for that game. Here he is (3:29 mark) under the shade. The cooling bench is to his right, and misting fans are blowing behind him. https://www.buffalobills.com/video/mic-d-up-dion-dawkins-x2743

Yeah, in post game interviews. Players mentioned the cooling fans were just blowing hot air, and the bench wasn't doing enough. That is correct about shipping their own benches. The Bills did the same thing. In the shade, Miami might not use their cooling benches, which means they don't need to provide them, but it doesn't prohibit anybody from using them. I think its likely that this stuff is pretty common, teams like and know their own equipment. If they are going to play in say GB in January I would imagine the Bills bring their own benches and heaters even though GB would be able required to provide them. If I were a team I would consider always traveling with my own benches. Sounds weird, but that means everywhere your team goes on the road they are sitting in the same seat. There is a certain amount of comfort and consistency to that. Not a whole lot different than the Bills playing in Detroit on the away side two weeks in a row

The Bills had cooling benches and AC units. So did the Dolphins. The issue is direct sunlight and the NFL is protecting line of sight for camera's and fans over players so teams cannot bring tents. Bill Bellichick has circumvented that rule with temporary shade covers over the benches. It was certainly smart, but ultimately I wish that somebody didn't need to find a loophole for such a rule. Given the fact that the Vikings and Bills both had dangerous weather and this has become a national topic, I would not be shocked to see some sort of rule change proposed this offseason. Miami is installing cooling fans in the upper deck on that side of the field for their fans. Something should be done in the same of safety, the rule isn't cutting it.

I posted above. But I understand the rule as teams can bring anything they want within league rules. But if the Bills use a heated bench on their sideline, they have to provide an identical bench on the visitors sideline. Miami would be welcome to turn that down and use their own benches. But the Bills have to provide the same equipment they use. This is what happened in LA. The issue in Miami is that traditional cooling units were rendered useless when they sit for 3 hours in 120 degree direct sunlight. It is the tent rule that screws teams over in Miami.

I don't think that is the case. I believe that the equity rule means that if the Bills use a heated bench, or if they have 3 fans on the sideline they have to also provide 3 of the same fans to the Dolphins. The Dolphins are allowed to bring and use any piece of sideline equipment of their own that doesn't violate league rules. As an example, the entire league is making fun of the Dolphins for using heaters in LA. By your understanding of the rules that means LA was also using heaters on a 55 degree night. So pundits have been entirely silent on the local LA team needing heaters on a warm night and are all vocally ragging on Miami? It doesn't make sense. Miami brought their own fans and used them. The Bills had a working cooling bench and AC units in Miami. The issue is the direct sunlight and league rules prevent them from putting up tents and the heat renders the AC units basically useless. There were quotes from players that the bench couldn't keep up with the heat, and the cold air fans were just blowing warm air and were useless. The Pats circumvented the tent issues with temporary structures at one point. I think they had people holding up tarps over the benches and it didn't impede sightlines.

I dislike him because he is the Dolphins coach. But he is a character. I think he is a pretty funny dude. Meh, the entire country is saying "It is Miami, they can't play in the snow or cold". This isn't Rex Ryan putting on a wig, or naming a guy who literally punched his teammate in the face captain. It is a t-shirt that basically says, "bring on the snow!"

I want to be healthy first, bye second. We are getting healthy now, but I think we have a lot of guys playing banged up. I think a bye would be perfect for us to get everybody right. Edit: If the Bills win up through Cinci, and the Chiefs drop one game (most plausible, Seahawks?), Bills clinch homefield even if they lose to the Pats. That means 2 weeks of rest for Allen's arm. Giddyup.

I am very unclear on this. The Pats brought temporary shade tarps. The Bills brought and used benches and AC units (mentioned by the players). I think the equity rule basically means “if the home team has 3 cooling fans, they need to provide 3 cooling fans for the away team”. I do not think it means that the teams cannot bring and use other tools within league rules. At the time I was livid. But after it has calmed down I think the actual advantage in Miami is the fact that one side of the stadium is built in shade. Without physical shade on the visitors side fans and benches are rendered basically useless. I do think the league should step in and force Miami to install a work around for physical shade without damaging sight lines when the expected heat index reaches a certain point. Or maybe even those ice vests that race car drivers wear? Something better than just dumping ice in your helmet. I am from Buffalo, but when I moved back after years in OKC, I was no longer ready for winter. I was freezing when the sun went down. These guys are barely “living in it” They show up in the fall. Move back somewhere warm right after Christmas. In a bad year they are in snow for maybe a couple weeks. The craziest part about Buffalo winters isn’t December. It’s February and March. We’ve basically barely started winter.