Mango

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.

Daniel Ricciardo has to be the winner of this one, right?. Australia to Buffalo. His hometown of Perth is literally the furthest inhabited (100k+) place on earth from Buffalo. https://furthestcity.com/city/BUFFALO_NY_UNITED_STATES_OF_AMERICA

If we are ranking and putting them in position. I am likely going Jefferson and Adams outside and either Diggs or Tyreek in the slot. Chase makes things interesting, but he has been injured so I didn't get him in the mix

I think players lived in their teams cities a lot more in the 80's and 90's. It really isn't much of a thing these days. Most guys seem to hunker down in CA or FL for most of the year and have a second place in their teams city. They leave in February and move back in after camp in mid-late August. That makes just about the entire league warm weather players whose home field happens to be somewhere were it gets cold for a couple of weeks during the season.

If we could actually hit your pitch count I think it would solve some ills. I would actually drop Beasley (include him with McK/Shakir’s 3) and spread his targets between Knox and Cook/Hines. A couple weeks ago Diggs had 12 targets….in the second half. That’s insane.

Ugh that’s annoying. But it’s also kind of funny…to everybody not in Buffalo. This one is on Buffalo not Jefferson.

I am just worried about not starting every third down third and long. We can deal with clock management later.

It’s wild that a guy who choses a screen name that’s a play on ***** from a demon feels threatened by women. SHOCKING!

I think Kyler is a guy who never should have gotten his contract. It’s insane. He could have stayed healthy and that contract still sucks. Stafford, Carr, Rodgers have all been franchise guys and durable for their teams. They’ve been around awhile. Injuries sometimes happen. QB contracts are already over inflated. Imagine paying even more to make up for the uncertainty of a year or two. Generally guys take a little less to get a contract that is a little longer. Russ is his own weird case study. He’s also one of the weirdest dudes in the league.

Diggs Knox Davis Shakir McKenzie Brown Beasley I can't put a guy who hasn't been on a roster in 3 months above anywhere. Brown only beats Beasley because he has a couple of games under his belt.

There is a decent likelihood SDS knows his log in/handle/IP address. It would be hilarious if it was blocked here even as a viewer. That would actually drive him crazy.

I was just joking about TO because he just beat up some a-hole outside of a department store a few weeks ago. Also, the Bills aren't signing 49 year old Moulds to get him 5 yards....

These guys are so big (not in Murrays case) are so fast so young. In order to get the most out of the way they play the game there needs to be a certain amount of tightness. I used to work with a few trainers who worked in the NBA, NFL, MLB (pitchers), and some Olympic sports, and they always talked about how tough it was to get guys in these twitchy sports bigger, faster, and stronger without hurting them. They need to be tight to perform, but not so tight that they risk injury. The bigger, faster, and stronger they get the smaller the window becomes.

TO is pretty fit still. Maybe a two way contract with the Sabres too. We could use a guy who can throw a punch.....

I think he was called out under this regime and he was basically like "The media is also part of the team and it can be our job to inspire the team through our criticism". Basically he is an arse and when the team fails he goes "seeeeee I told ya so" and when he is wrong he says "good thing I was a total piece of poop to you. If I wasn't you might not have played with such anger and vitrol to prove me wrong!". I don't mind being critical. I have a tendency to be critical. He just doesn't seem like a good or nice guy. He is a rude contrarian for the sake of being a rude contrarian (and making himself feel good). They had three people commenting in the live. Nobody is listening. You can't cancel a show nobody is watching or listening too. That's actually the most insulting part for them. They're too irrelevant to be cancelled. 99% of us probably didn't know this podcast existed until Sullivan's idiocy.