Rochesterfan

They have been employed by this “quasi-monopoly” for years. The NFL existed before the pandemic and will exist after the pandemic and the players have always had to play by the rules bargained for. The “quasi-monopoly” is the reason they get paid huge money to play a game because if you take away the exclusive TV rights - the NFL becomes the CFL and that hurts the players way more than the millionaire owners. At least they have a Union and can bargain - the players just do a terrible job of representing themselves because just like politics most players are uninformed and don’t care about the issues just as long as it is not them that has to go to meetings. This is no different than the drug testing done in the past - some players liked to smoke pot - other didn’t - but the rules for testing were in place and established and the players had to abide and those that couldn’t were issued fines and suspensions - along with more drug testing and rehab plans - even if the player didn’t want it. Players that tested positive for drugs were treated different from players that had not tested positive (even if said player was a known pot head or worse) by having a whole litany of additional testing and other “commitments” to fulfill that were not required of their teammates. Those players had the exact same options the unvaccinated players have - follow the rules or face the consequences and if you really hate the rules - pull a Ricky Williams and retire - go do something else - there are 10 more guys willing and able to fill in. Most companies and businesses are having to make the exact same choice the NFL is making - some have union representation and many don’t, but they are having to navigate unvaccinated versus vaccinated and rules. We have had to establish that unvaccinated employees are masked at all times and in break rooms or meetings must maintain a 5 foot social distance, but unvaccinated employees can return to normal - no mask required (still recommended) and less social distancing. As a leader - I have to know the vaccination status of all of my employees and have to enforce the rules and just like the NFL - there are consequences to their actions. Our employer has decided that unvaccinated employees get 1 “verbal reminder” then 1 “verbal warning” before written disciplinary action begins that includes suspensions and firings.

Why - they got agreement with the NFLPA on the protocols and now the league has several players upset and openly talking about ignoring said agreed to protocols. How do you fix that - you start taking away the only leverage you have - Money and Games. Fines and suspensions are teams only options and the NFL has given them the guidance and ability to use those. They didn’t have a ton of options last year as teams broke out - now they are putting info out there ahead of time based upon what they saw. They will make minor adjustments, but now some of last years misadventures will have repercussions.

Yes and Brady took the sad NE Patriots offense into the playoffs 2 years ago and only lost to the eventual champions, but suddenly after Brady leaves - NE is “rebuilding” and that was why the HC everyone praised suddenly couldn’t win close games last year - it wasn’t the fact that Brady was their everything for 15+ years. If you can’t see it - just enjoy the continual downfall. You have nothing to prove that Belicheck can be an exceptional HC without Brady (cause it has never happened) - yet we have multiple seasons of data both before and during Brady’s career that clearly shows without Brady - Belichick is average. Now we have the 2nd data point - Brady leaves Belichick and goes onto another team that was mediocre and propels them to a Super Bowl. Checkmate - seems pretty obvious who needed who. Seriously enjoy the “rebuild” I hope it last 20+ years. 😂

This is awesome - I was worried it was going to revert to the old rules. I wonder if this means a few Vet Dlinemen get cut and signed to the PS helping to protect a younger player - allowing them to get paid and get called up, but give some guys like Bam Johnson a spot to remain due to special teams. I can see this really helping with the roster bubble.

Yep - coaches do coach and Belichick without Brady has coached the Pats to mediocre levels each time. He is a 0.500 level coach without Brady and I don’t expect that to change this year. He will be around the break point and probably below 0.500 by a game or 2. Players do play and Brady left Belichek and went to an average team - got several guys to agree to smaller deals to rejoin him with another average/good coach and won another Super Bowl. Right now it seems pretty clear that the dynasty was pretty much all about Brady - the guys leave and Belichick misses the playoffs and Brady goes elsewhere and brings a championship. Early on they needed each other, but the last 10 years Brady is the sole reason they won.

You might be right - I just do not see Knox, Hollister, or even Ertz for that matter as “just as dangerous”. I see them as JAGs - and neither Knox nor Hollister are especially strong in the run blocking game - meaning teams go base defense/nickle and I think are actually better able to stop the run because the guys they are bringing in are better than the guys we are bringing in. I get wanting to be more diverse - I think the Bills should run better from a 4WR set opening teams up with draws and screens. We saw Knox struggle to block in the H-Back role a ton last year and although I think Hollister is slightly better in that role - I don’t think either are much above average as blockers. You do have 2 WRs, but now they are being covered by the #1 and #2 DBs and you are leaving 2 safeties to allow high/low or inside/out coverage - basically taking them out of the offense - unless either Knox/Hollister hurts them repeatedly or we actually get much more effective running the ball. And unless running becomes a major focus - I think the running game is in for just a slight change. I honestly don’t care about how they go about the offense - just keep improving. I just prefer to see them put as much talent on the field as possible to exploit mis-matches and the biggest mis-matches to me are our #3 and #4 and/or #5 WRs versus any teams 3, 4, and 5 DBs. Knox has the potential to be a huge mis-match, but right now he and all of the TEs are 20-40 catch guys and 4-5 TDs from around the goal line - they are not weapons.

I hear what you are saying and if I am an opposing DC - I would be so excited to see both more runs and 21 personnel because basically you have the Bills taking plays away from their best players. On offense - who are the top skill players? Allen Diggs Sanders Beasley Davis/McKenzie then you get to: Knox Singletary Moss Hollister I want as much of my top athletes and play makers on the field as much as possible and if I am a DC - that scares me. If you take Sanders or Beasley off to have Knox and Hollister does that create more match up issues than having 4 WRs that can all get open? I can cover Knox and/or Hollister 1:1 with a LB or safety and allow me to double cover the WRs and the defense is at an advantage. With the top 4 WRs this team has when healthy - you are trying to cover 2 WRs with your 4th DB and you can only double one guy most likely and all 4 of the top guys can beat man and/or zone coverage. I want the best guys on the field and the ball in their hands as much as possible - give me what we saw last year all day long getting the ball to play,Akers all over the field.

Over 1 million raised for 716 day - how awesome! What a city, region, and combined fan base. Great job and support!

Can I just say ewwwwwww! Way way way over TMI here.

I don’t disagree it could be cruddy data or less proactive collectors, but these are the same 2 teams that during minicamp when some of the initial data was provided were also at the low end. Some teams were nearing 50% and these 2 teams - along with Chargers were below 25%. It could still be a sign of less active collection, but as they have been low since the spring I don’t think it is a vacation issue with a data collector - I think it is more these teams and I have no idea whether that is disclosing information or not having sustained talking points or what. I find it particularly interesting that Washington with Rivera recovering from Cancer is on the low side as that to me seems like a place they would be pushing the numbers big time.

And golf has had multiple and even now an Olympic athlete is going to miss out on his dream with a positive test - other sports continue to struggle. I think once again the NFL is doing just about as good as they can with what we know. Many teams above 75% with some teams above 85% and the league at 73% - that is better than the National rates - great job.

Yeah we hear him say a lot of things, but in practice that goes to heck. I believe he has been able to act like Pittsburgh because he had a winning combo of coach and QB, but when it comes to practice - he showed with how they handled AB when Tom wanted him back and how they handled other players including Brady - that Kraft will get involved and will butt in and show a lack of patience. I expect nothing less once Bill steps aside and the next guy comes in and struggles that he will become just like 95% of the other owners and move on in 3 years - ala Carroll. Especially as the Patriots become an after thought as Boston fans move back to the Red Sox, Bruins, and the Celtics and the Pats become 2nd and 3rd class teams in their own town - he will make even more quick decisions than others trying to right the ship.

It was 100% luck - the Jets had already hired Belichick when NE decided to offer the job. If it wasn’t for the commissioner stepping in and forging a deal - Belichick never goes to NE. The Jets were ready to let him go but force an agreement where he could not go to NE. NE got very, very lucky in the deal. 2nd you say he was not a “hot commodity” yet 2 teams hired him to be a head coach and it took the commissioner’s office to get him to NE. You are correct - Tom Brady did no take the Lions to Super Bowl because he has not played there. Let’s see He took the Pats and the Buc to the Super Bowl - the only 2 teams he has played on and he won in both places - seems he is the common denominator as the TB team couldn’t do that the year before and after he left NE got worse. Yes I remember Tom Brady’s last year in NE - he had terrible WRs and made them look pretty darn good compared to the quarterbacking they had last year. I think you totally missed how good he was to keep that team alive because after he left - everything was exposed. So Pete Carroll wasn’t ready - so they moved on - who is to say the next guy is “ready”. Pittsburgh hires coaches and let’s them grow - he fired a head coach after 3 years and then through an act of the commissioner’s office happened to choose a guy that paired with Brady was epic. We have nothing that suggests Kraft will be patient after Belichick leaves.

You answered how he lucked into the head coach. He hired a guy that was not available. How much more luck can you have. I think Belichick early really helped Brady, but Tom has left and won another Super Bowl - while Belichick was a 0.500 coach with a team that Brady hauled on his back to playoffs the year before. We will see again, but there is a significantly better chance that Brady gets a second Super Bowl win away from NE than Belichick gets one without Brady. I think it is clear early on they needed each other, but later in their career - Brady has driven that team and Belichick has tried to compliment what Brady could do and Belichick failed as once Tom was given offensive weapons again - Tom Brady got another Super Bowl MVP.

LOL - I would have thought Belichick signed the door - it had the hidden spy camera that he loves.

This is about the funniest thing I have read. Of course Kraft can say that because in a moment of sheer stupid luck - he got his head coach 21 years ago through a fluke. Then that fluke doubled down and got a QB that was the best ever in the 6th round. Those 2 things have allowed them to be relevant. Kraft went through Parcells and Pete Carroll before lucking into Belichick. Not exactly Pittsburgh material. He had more HCs at that point than Pittsburgh had in 50 years. Now how do people really think it goes if once again the Pats end up right around 0.500 and miss the playoffs? Belichick may come back or may finally retire, but either way without a QB I give the next Head Coach 3-4 years - just like what the Bills, NYJs, and Dolphins did as they could not get over the hump. Bill Belichick is a great coach, but he is not succeeding without a QB. He has never succeeded as a HC without a legitimate QB. This team has talent at several positions that will help them win games, but the trick to winning all those years was the little things Brady did late in the 2nd quarter and late in the 4th quarter to transform games and without that - you will see more games you could of won become losses. I look specifically at games like Buffalo #1, Seattle, and even Denver - 3 games where the Pats were driving late in the game and instead of scoring to win - all 3 times their QB in Newton either was stopped, fumbled or threw an incompletion and cost them the game. Or Houston where with under 4 minutes to the half - NE gave up 2 TD drives and had to punt on their possession going from the lead to behind by 11 going into the half. Then NE down by a TD gets stopped again late in the 4th and couldn’t convert. These things didn’t happen often with Brady. He found ways to keep drives alive and you darn well knew if it was within 1 score he was getting NE into the Endzone. As was shown last year - Brady won another SB without Belichick, but Bill was a middling coach without Tom. Expect more of the same.

I understand the sentiment, but the thread title is terrible. Ramsey likes Tre’ White and would love to team with him. I don’t see anything that suggests he would like Buffalo or to do that in Buffalo. This is a nothing burger and Ramsey is not and would not come to Buffalo unless it was his last chance at a contract. Money is his driver and that is all.

I will not say anything about the violence because it is terrible in every situation and no one deserves to be ridiculed in a DV situation. Just a sad and tragic situation. What I will ask is what the heck is a former Ohio State player doing with a Michigan State girl - that is some Romeo v. Juliet stuff there. There is a natural and powerful hatred between those 2 schools - although Michigan is probably even worse than M State, but still. I feel bad for Dwayne because he has done nothing wrong and we don’t even know a small part of the story and he is getting killed for absolutely no reason - sad state of affairs and nearly as bad as some comments in the Mingo thread.

Yep, although to be fair we also get to see many at their highest point and if they avoid these situations- we may never see them hit these lows.

I think he fits the Bills alright because they use him (and all their TEs) more in a hybrid H-Back role and he is better at a shorter side picking up Blitzers. They don’t really use him as a in-line or split out TE - he is that lead blocking TE that slips out occasionally.

I won’t argue if he is a middle of the road TE or could start for many lesser teams as I think we are quibbling over minor phrasing and slight differences, but the above quoted piece is so critical and it fits in with the entire Ertz discussion. Hollister (or Knox, Kroft, or even Ertz for that matter) come in as the 4th or 5th best receiving option. They are behind Diggs, Sanders, and Beasley for sure and then you have McKenzie (McKittrick 😂) and Davis either of which when on the field may be better options. Therefore; no matter who is in that role (and that the includes most TEs in the league - looking at you Logan Thomas) they are not going to put up elite numbers because the targets are not there. I think the combined targets you see for Knox and Kroft last year are going to be about the combined targets for Hollister and Knox (maybe Ertz) and therefore the difference between any of them is tiny because the sample size is small. They have their check down, safety blanket, first down guy in Beasley - he just does it differently than a big TE. Now with Josh talking a lot about in-breaking routes and the addition of Sanders maybe the TE moves up slightly in targets, but I still think the primary responsibility is going to be protect Josh as the hybrid FB and then as needed slip out into patterns to occupy space and pick up 30 catches for 400 yards and be a big target around the goal line. The same role we have seen the last 3 years.

Can I honestly ask what you mean by pretty late in FA? Just curious. Hollister was signed March 19th. Free Agency started March 17th. NE signed Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry on March 19th also - should they be guarded about those 2 TEs also? I am guarded because he has typically been a number 3-4 TE on other teams and is very average, but he has also shown some nice things and has played both in line and as an H-Back for blocking - so he seems to be a good fit. I expect him to be a step up in what he can do, but he is not an elite TE. He can make plays and block and do everything the Bills have asked of other TEs - just don’t expect Kelce or other elite numbers.

“Won it”. We all know the story of the Kiko Jersey and how you got it. 😂😂😂😂😂😂 - I kid.

Totally disagree - most guys are good upstanding guys. Most guys give time and effort for sick kids and charity of their own free will. Many come from bad and poor and deadly neighborhoods and find through sports, hardwork, and caring - they can make it out and give back. There are a bunch of guys that are the opposite of that - bad, horrible, terrible people and they should be removed from the league whether or not they help a team win, but there some coaches and teams that don’t care and allow these people to stay in the league. Atlanta had the guts to cut a bad guy - KC has several and don’t care - there is a difference. For me - I want to win, but it is much more important that I like the team at the same time because they are brining the memories and Joy. We have had some bad people that were good players, but for the most part I am happier with an approach where I can identify and love my team because they are generally good people - not a guy that beats his girlfriend and gets multiple felonies for guns, but wow he got me 5 sacks or caught a TD. An attitude of well I will tolerate it to win is a horrible way to get through life - especially in entertainment. These guys should be celebrated for the good and positive things they do and after a few failed chances - guys like Clark should be out on their butts and it should be lead by winning teams saying I can get production from good players and people.

The problem is Orlovsky was not wrong in his assessment, but he totally misjudged how Allen would take to teaching and how absolutely little Allen knew (exactly how raw of a prospect he was). Everyone could see the huge arm, the size, and even the talent, but you could also see the lack of footwork, his “hero ball” tendencies, eyes staring at receivers, inaccuracy, and the willingness/desire to go for the deep throw over the play the defense is giving you. What no one could see was just how smart of a prospect he was (Wonderlic score), how hard working and dedicated he would be, how he would listen and learn as a prospect, how he would adapt his game with teaching, and most importantly how good of a leader can he be. Those things do not come out until you get them into an NFL program and Josh has shown himself to excel at all of those traits. Of course he never had a plan because his prior coaches never gave him those tools - Daboll is giving him the answers and it was up to Josh to then recognize the defense and find the answer. Palmer is working with him on footwork, accuracy, and changing throws (taking some off so they are not all fastballs and adjusting the angles), but Josh has to be willing to listen and practice. The WRs need to run the correct routes and need to be in the right place and Josh needed to trust them to do their job and even in year 1 that was lacking making him seem more inaccurate. The biggest thing is leadership - these guys trust and know that Josh gives it his all and they are all willing to give a bit more to battle with him. That can not be taught that is who you are. Josh destroyed the analytics guys because they only looked at the raw numbers, Josh became more than the aggregate of his numbers as he has learned. Josh also passed expectations of many prior QBs and analysts because he has been willing to put in and absorb more knowledge and effort than others. He has the ability to take another leap as he adds to the knowledge he has and finds new ways to beat teams.