Rochesterfan

Does this push Macaroni and Cheese Jones up to number 1 when your QB misses rules prior to the game?

The other piece I don’t get is that Haack is slow and is going to have kicks blocked. In 4 seasons with well over 300 NFL punts, Haack has had 1 kick blocked - a 0.3% block rate. He is due to have another, but compare that to BoJo. BoJo in 2.5 seasons and 165 NFL punts has had 2 blocked - a 1.2% block rate - about 4 times higher than Haack and he is also due for a block. The fact that both these teams were AFC East teams meant - both played similar schedules and both played NE multiple times. I won’t disagree that Haack seems more deliberate back there, but his timing must be alright to have nearly twice as many punts as BoJo and half the blocked kicks. Sorry @GunnerBill I was addressing this as you responded - I wanted to look up the data. I agree, but remember - Haack kicked for 4 years in Miami - so the Hoodie has had 8 games against Miami and has not regularly found a way to block his kicks in the past. If it is going to happen - then it is on our staff to block as well as Miami did because they managed to protect him.

I am still trying to figure out why people think Cory B should have been re-signed. He was a booming punter with absolutely no control. Shanks, touchbacks, and long , low kicks down the middle allowing returns were common. The biggest issue was holding - he was terrible and cost the Bills points on both FGs and XPs because he could not get the laces right and consistently place the ball. BoJo almost singlehandedly cost the Bills our Kicker - as everyone was blaming Bass for the misses - when quick film review showed it was BoJo many times not getting the laces out and Bass was kicking the laces. Haack will not kick them as far, but even in the Chicago game - we saw multiple punts right on the sidelines (along with directional kickoffs) and he has much better height and control to allow his team to down the ball inside the 20. The biggest improvement is in holding and Bass looks amazing because he is getting consistent holds from his kicker. I would give up punt yardage easily to get better holds on kicks as that is points. Not only do I not think Beane missed out - I think that may end up being one of the biggest improvements in the off-saeason.

I believe the idea is to get guys a chance to get to other teams with time to still evaluate them. We had several guys picked up to get a look and have a shot versus weaker guys on other teams.

Really hard to engage the o-line sitting on the bench. We have not seen 1snap of Edmunds playing in this more aggressive defense. I don’t think Tyler holds up at all trying to play that role. If Edmunds is out - I still think Tyler is not the replacement - One of the other LBs go in and Tyler is purely fill in when needed.

It is interesting- Sal has talked about this and thinks they may adjust active RBs and gameplans based on specific teams to attack weaknesses. If a team lacks LB speed - us Brieda more. Smaller faster team - use Moss to wear them down. This could be a fascinating year. Also depends upon Jones making the roster or not.

Totally agree - the only thing I would say is cut down the snaps - I think 8-12 snaps and about 3-4 touches a game. I think he is a between the 30’s back and in specific drives where you want to challenge the edge or force the defense to adjust. The thing about pre-season is you are not running designed plays for people - so the Bills have not used him the way they will during the season - to attack the edge.

I don’t know if they will be able to find a trading partner for Addision. I still think after a long discussion he is cut and added as a PS player with the new rules. The same thing goes for Butler. If they can get a trade - even for a 7th - great, but I think they are bubble candidates to fill experienced PS spots. I don’t think Nsekhe was ever an option - he was hurt on and off the last 2 years and with his age - it made no sense and he is hurt again - so that would of been wasted money.

We will see 7 of the last 10 stadiums built have been covered stadiums with tons of amenities. The last 2 open air stadiums built - MetLife and Levi stadium both already have had complaints of being outdated feeling. I think the Bills will struggle to create an updated and viable stadium that will be a lasting site because of cost. I think it will be an upgrade over what we have, but I don’t anticipate cutting edge and much like the Sabres arena that was built new, but on a budget - it will not age as well as fans will like. We already know that with sight lines at a premium and no roof - they are going to be limited in replay screens similar to now where to provide good screens - end zone seats will have to be removed. They can’t hang them over the field with no support above. It will all come down to design and I give them credit that they will do a good job, but my gut tells me it will feel more the the new Cleveland stadium than a new updated plan.

The gigantic screens all over the place for replays and HD and 4K capabilities. Enhanced top end WiFi to be able to watch and stream things all over the stadium. Advanced capabilities to order food and beverages to be delivered to seats based upon your mobile device and the enhanced number of vendors that they can pack into open areas because they are not open air. Huge advancements in cellular coverage and cellular capabilities to again help fans in-game experience as you watch or listen to your game or a myriad of other games. The amount of tech crammed into these new stadiums is unbelievable and it is developed with an eye toward the future. That is what I want to see out of the Bills designs. How are they going to handle the need for multiple levels of wide band tech to allow the newest wifi and cellular data to get everywhere and what kind of advances are they going to make for all types of in stadium experiences? Then you have things like ingress and egress points and tickets and funneling fans around the stadium from all points to speed up entrance and exiting, getting to restrooms and vendors, and getting around the stadium to party with friends. We will see how much they put into the initial bid and how much goes in by the end.

It might - or it might be fairly bare bones to save money. It is going to depend upon where these negotiations go. I would not expect it to be packed with tech and features that we see in many other newer stadiums like LV or LA or even Minnesota from a few years ago. The choice of open air and OP both were made with cost in mind - so what other choices will be made with the bottom line driving the decision.

Basically - we don’t know what new advancements are coming - so can they build the field with the ability to handle future technology as things change. The current stadium has been known to lack the ability to handle the full crew associated with prime time games because many of the cable pathways built into the cement could not be increased to handle more camera locations around the stadium. We also saw huge leaps in lighting and scoreboard technology, but they have struggled to upgrade the facilities to handle the new upgraded technology. They also struggle to get powerful wifi around the stadium due to the sheer amount of concrete and metal and those are just in recent years. we don’t know what tech is coming, but building a stadium with some built-in flexibility will help. The old stadium was great for about 30+ years and the last 10-15 the lack of ability to upgrade even the showers and locker rooms in the opposing teams areas and the concourses to fit more choices have really hampered the overall experience.

The intentional grounding was on the RB not Webb. The screen was read and destroyed and the RB decided to break his route and start downfield. Webb threw the ball purposely into the ground right where the RB should have been. I actually thought he stayed composed for his first real action against a different team in years. I think it is obvious he does not have Josh’s or Mitch’s talent level, but it sounds like he is a great guy and someone they all like and he is smart - so I still see him as a valuable PS player.

Yes there will be improvements to get it in line with what is needed today, but you are not changing toward the future - you are taking the existing idea and placing it in a new location- hopefully with enough room to grow in the future.

I will also say that warmer temperatures will keep the lake thawed more and when the cold polar wind currents shift down and go over the warmer, moist, thawed Great Lakes - we get lake effect snow in the Buffalo area. Warmer temperatures will not actually necessarily decrease the snowfall in Buffalo because of where most of our snow comes from. Warmer temperatures will most likely lead to more cases of blizzard like conditions that last for short periods of time as wind patterns shift.

Based upon some people I respect calling this a one-sided hatchet job - I will not give clicks to the original article - I will wait for a reputable source like Warrow to write a true piece. I agree with JMF that this is negotiating tactics- I just don’t see it landing near 50/50. I firmly believe the Pegula’s are making a huge concession going open air and in OP and that is their opening volley in payment. Basically we are saving you nearly 50% of the cost on the stadium we could demand - downtown and retractable roof - so we expect you to contribute about 1.2 billion publicly and we will get 200 million from NFL loans and pay this off. I think the final figures will be close to that - probably 1 Billion public, 200-300 million NFL and a couple 100 million from the Pegula’s covering cost overruns and additional amenities they want. I think there will be a lot of bickering and it will be messy, but some of it will come from the infrastructure bill being passed and now is the perfect time to get this done.

Can most current fans afford big increases - the answer is maybe - if the price was significantly higher and had PSLs - some would find a way - just like they have done at other stadiums - I mean some Jets fans found ways to deal with massive increases and PSLs and some were priced out. The question is if 30,000 people that currently are ticket holders got priced out - could you replace them with 25,000 people with more disposable income and a higher willingness to park in the Bills lots and buy food and drinks in the stadium? Would you see the transformation to a more corporate clientele that would prefer different amenities including a roof and less tailgating - similar to how the number of people getting into club seats has increases. If we want to keep the same tailgating and table jumping crowds that spend more money on food and beverages outside the stadium - then you build cheap and publicly funded. If you want to change the clientele and the game day experience- then you change the stadium - you go smaller, roofed stadium and charge higher ticket prices and PSLs and you provide a more personal experience like in the club seats for more fans. The Pegula’s seem to have decided that trying to maintain the current experience is what they think is best for now - so that is great. Now people just need to expect a larger percentage of public funding to maintain the lower ticket prices.

What I have seen is milder with more extreme changes - so warmer followed by more severe blizzards and higher winds at higher frequency. Much like hotter weather in the south with more hurricanes and dryer weather in the Midwest with more tornadoes. My guess would be we could see a few years with wonderful weather, but potentially more times like the blizzard that caused use to move a NYJ game to Detroit.

Look - I get it and don’t disagree and I am pretty sure it will end up as an open air stadium in OP because of money. I just feel that is based on maintaining what we have - low cost point and tailgating and although both are important- I think it is short sighted thinking to just build a newer version of what we have rather than what will better suit our needs for the next 50 years. The fan base, the sport, and the climate are all changing and now is the opportunity to plan a future to help an aging population in a snow belt climate - when it might just be a better product to watch at home.

This is also incorrect - Buffalo is the snowiest NFL city typically by a lotupwards of 20 inches more than other NFL cities - especially in Orchard Park compared to downtown.. It is also the windiest NFL city as you stated. Buffalo also sees even more snow starting in January than Nov and December - meaning as the season extends 17th and eventually 18th regular season game and additional playoff rounds - the chances of getting hit by a blizzard or super windy game goes up.

That is exactly what I am talking about - it is called the best blue collar city because of the hourly union healthcare and education jobs. They are not traditional blue collar jobs. It is the same reason Rochester is #3 on the list - with an extremely limited traditional blue collar workforce. Rochester has traditionally been considered much more white collar than Buffalo, but it is #3 because it is being driven by the same healthcare and education jobs as Buffalo. Why for any reason would you specifically talk only about men and just the city of Buffalo when talking about a stadium in OP - that makes literally no sense. Asking what guys named Bob that live on the south side of Hamburg and deciding what stadium design is best makes just as much sense. We we’re talking about stadiums and you said we are a blue collar city and therefore should be an open air stadium in OP, but we find out you are basing that on men only that live in the city? 🤦‍♂️ I am pretty sure that the people going to the game include people from the suburbs and even women and maybe a covered stadium is even more inviting for that group and brings in more people. We already know that late season and bad weather games tend to have difficulty selling out even when we were going to Super Bowls. We also know that when we were bad those late season and bad weather games end up with 20-30,000 fans - many complaining about Donahoe at the time. The final thing we know from the players is several of them prefer indoor venues and have talked about liking the consistency- including our franchise QB. I understand the Pegula’s making the choice because it saves money and the ask will be close to 1 billion in public funds and that money should cover the majority of the stadium, but it doesn’t make it the best choice - it made it the most convenient choice.

I think your pulse is way, way off and it completely impacts your opinions. The major employers in Buffalo right now are 4 Hospitals systems, 2 grocery chains, multiple banks, and insurance companies. There are also gaming companies, schools, and food service driving employment. The occupational employment and wage information collected and printed by the US bureau of labor points out the fact that education and healthcare alone outstrip Construction, industrial production, and installation and repair for the Buffalo region. Due to the number of union employees (including in healthcare) - Buffalo is considered an excellent “blue collar town” with high wages compared to housing costs, but the caveat from reading the studies - is the majority of jobs are not “Blue Collar Jobs” - they are hourly paid union jobs in healthcare and schools. There are also over twice the number of people working in banking than construction - so I guess my overall take would be that the people you know and interact with fit a more traditional blue collar job and perspective. There are an even larger group living throughout the surrounding area that have a different and just as valid set of feelings. The issue with you wanting to poll all of Buffalo and the surrounding area will lead you to the same issue that San Diego had. There are huge swaths of people that don’t care about sports and would rather see the money spent elsewhere and that ends up being exactly how San Diego lost the Chargers. They had support of fans, but the wider community rejected the call for money to build a stadium and therefore the team left.

I believe you are correct it is about a 50/50 mix of people wanting fixed roof and people wanting open air. It bounces a bit back and forth either way. As to the idea that we have sold out plenty of games even during the drought - that is just crazy talk. The running joke for most of the early 2000’s - was the cost of Bills tickets on the resale market starting in November. Most years you could get resale tickets on Stub Hub for under $5 a ticket. The Comeback game wasn’t the only late season game during the Super Bowl run that didn’t sell out - it was quite common with Ralph having to by up 2-3000 tickets and give them away. The other misconceptions is that the weather effects other teams more - that is a false narrative- the weather makes the 2 teams more closely matched because each team loses the ability to play the game to the best of their ability. The wind in the Ravens game basically kept the Ravens in the game as teams only moved the ball going in 1 direction. Bad weather/windy games help strong running teams and hurt passing teams and if we want to have an elite offense built on Josh Allen’s arm - we should be doing everything to maximize that. Yes he can throw the better and farther than most, but if the wind is causing issues with every throw going in one direction a team built like the Pats is going to have a huge advantage coming into OP late in the year. The same thing goes for a team like Cleveland or Tennessee in the playoffs - if we have home field and the weather is crap - we hamper our own ability - while enhancing others.

I agree, but the fans wanted open air and OP because cost and Tailgating were cited in multiple studies as the top things fans wanted. For the city of Buffalo, for the long term enjoyment, and the development of the area - it is by far the most short sighted decision as basically you are replacing one with another and there is little benefit.

That why I said they have been divesting themselves of these things. I think years ago they were hoping to buy up and move things downtown, but over the last 3 years that has changed to the point they have been moving on from restaurants/bars around the arena downtown. I think they saw the OP site as the future stadium site and then coupled with the pandemic- have moved on from that area.