DCofNC

All too many parents living vicariously through their kids. My brother is one who can’t help himself, he was a nobody athlete and wants his kids to be stars, they don’t have elite traits in any stretch and he can’t get over it. I don’t get it. I want my kids to play sports for the experience and if they happen to shape a passion for it, awesome, I’ll help you be the best you can be. That said, I know the gene pool they are working with and unless there is a major divergence, you aren’t going to have the gifts it takes to be a big time athlete. So I don’t have my boy playing travel sports etc, because he’s not that interested and frankly he’s not good enough. I could force him to train for hours a day so he could have a shot at being a mediocre college player, or I can let him be a kid. I chose the latter, there’s plenty of time to hate your life as an adult. My daughter is too young to know, but her early traits give her a better shot to at least be pretty good at whatever she chooses, guess we’ll see where it goes. I still won’t make take away her childhood to have her get a “scholarship” to play a game.

My kids won’t be playing, they will never be elite and therefore, it’s not at all worth the risk. I don’t take Hamlin’s situation as the reason for this, it’s just simply not worth the long term risk to your physical and mental well being. If you have a star athlete, who might have a shot at playing professionally AND has a passion for the game, I would let it happen. That’s not the case here and therefore, we’ll stick to sports with a lower likelihood of tearing your body apart.

I thought the Ravens had 5 losses, you are correct, they get screwed. That’s true.

KC needs to lose this week, in an ideal world for the NFL, KC and Cinci lose, Buff wins, meaning Cincy has 5 losses, KC has 4 and the Bills have 3. The Tie breaker would go to the Bills either way in that scenario and Cinci would have nothing to gain in terms of seeding, now it can be a no contest and everyone is no worse off.

The NFL is praying the Chefs lose this week, then they can reveal it will be a no-contest before Cinci and Buffalo play their games, Cinci can come away with the 2 and the Bills can still take the 1 or if Bills lose they fall and nobody is shocked.

Could not agree more. My wife is at that point in her job, money is not everything and you need to make sure you live (I hate this term, but…) “your best life”. Especially for the guys mentioned above, they have plenty of money already, they could all go live comfortably for the rest of their lives. I would be surprised if they all made that choice, but a couple of them define could make that decision and nobody should be surprised or blame them. Especially, Hyde and Morse from an age/injury perspective.

I had the same thought watching him. He was a wreck, it’s obvious he was very concerned about Demar and he had made it seem as though he may be looking beyond the game in his off season statements/ his statements during his return. If he chooses to leave the game, I won’t be surprised and I can’t blame anybody who chooses their life beyond the game. We have seen Luck walk away and others who are lesser known, if Tre chooses to do so, it would suck for the organization, but nothing was illustrated more last night, these are human beings, throwing their body and lives on the line for entertainment. Yes, it’s highly lucrative if you play at the highest of levels, but there is no doubt, it’s extremely dangerous out there.

Too soon indeed. That said, I would not be shocked to see some guys walk away after seeing this first hand. It’s a different level of scary.

Jax is a team you don’t want to play, that’s a team playing like the Bills 2020 team. Young QB hitting stride, Etienne absolutely killing it and a SB winning coach, I don’t think anybody wants to deal with them.

The NFL sure wouldn’t like it, but I’m not sure what the official rules are.

Too bad for them, they don’t get to control what happens in a game, played or not.

Yeah, run the math.

This is exactly why they can’t just pretend the game never happened, it becomes a 17 vs 16 game schedule. They either have to play the game or the Bills have to forfeit. Otherwise it screws too many things up. I think it’s going to end up in a forfeit and that’s all they can do. The Bills will be locked to the 3 seed, assuming KC beats the Raiders, they can forfeit the NE game if they want, at very least the starters aren’t playing.

I hate to say it, but I think the obvious choice is going to be a forfeit by the Bills and move on. It sucks, it is a bad blow to the Super Bowl aspirations, but I really can’t see a way it works out any “better” for the team or league. At this point you are looking at multiple games on short rest of they try to squeeze it in, unless they actually delay the entire season a week.

In all respects, football is entertainment, I genuinely hope he is not only ok, but able to carry on with his life in a planned respect. I’m scared to death for him and his family, I can’t imagine the pain his family is dealing with. Prayers to him and his family.

If it’s a ride in to declare it, you absolutely would. I hope they have him stable and that’s why they waited, but I don’t feel good about that.

I honestly feel this game is the defining game of the year, lose it and you have to win an extra in the playoffs, plus your confidence is shaken that you can’t handle this team.

I was joking the Harbaugh must have gotten a call from Denver, watching that Michigan bowl game.. not shocked, but a little surprised if that really was the case.

He’s been great in bursts this year, I’m not sure I think he’s the very best at his spot, but he’s right in the mix. I would like to see more consistency from him. Some games you hear his name 15x and others he’s completely invisible. I understand that’s scheme specific, but he is the key to this D at this point. When he’s not dominating, the team is getting B word slapped. He’s basically the Allen of the D, hope they both bring the big game mentality for tonight and the rest of games they play this year.

I do see what you are saying there. I don’t disagree with you on any of what you are saying. I think we are looking at things a bit differently, you are looking at the player and you are right on, I’m focused on the situation. I see 3 things about him in LA that stick out to me and it’s not necessarily anything to do with him. 1) McVay seems to like him and I think he can get the best of what he does, also I don’t see the current WRs he has as being game breaking outside guys, they all really belong as super high end slot guys, meaning I think that’s exactly where Mayfield can thrive. Look back at Jarvis Landry vs OBJ in CLE. 2) Stafford has been on a steep decline for the last few years, the numbers may not show it as much, but he’s not what he was. Kupp made him look much better than he is, much like Megatron did. They will regret holding out hope for him to return to 2017 form. 3) Like him or hate him, Baker has talent. Consistency is not something anybody would accuse him of. I question how long it will take LA to get anybody in there that would be as talented (granted he’s flawed), as Mayfield.

Well, interesting to see KC playing Saturday, if we happen to lose tonight and they lose on Saturday, the Bills can take the 2 seed, otherwise the Bills can rest their starters against NE because it won’t matter at all. Kind of nice for us to know the situation.

As much I agree completely with what you are saying, he’s in a really tough spot to expect much from him. He’s got very little to work with out there and very little time in the system as a whole. I think he could actually be everything Stafford was for them last year, which isn’t saying a ton, but he could start and do pretty well in that system. He’s streaky, that’s certain, but I think their best shot is to ditch Stafford, eat the dead cap and let Baker play on a prove it deal.

The official term is called a “Russell Wilson”. As pedestrian as these 2 QBs are, I’m convinced there’s not a worse QB in the league than Wilson.

They won’t be trading him, they will be cutting him before February 15th, they can basically walk away from him for next to zero cap hit. The only reason Carr is on the bench is an injury would have guaranteed him next year’s salary and locked them in.

I would rather see them make the playoffs than NE only in that they might have a snowball’s chance in hell of beating KC / Cincy if Tua gets back and Hill/waddle come through for them. I’d rather deal w them any day vs either of those teams.