Beck Water

Yeah, it was kind of notable that when someone brought up Brittany he would usually kind of grimace. Like with Kyle Brandt when he said he watched football whenever it's on and Brandt asked "does your girlfriend like it?" and he kind of grimaced and said "I guess maybe she likes it a little, but there are other rooms and other TVs in the house, I think she watches HGTV, I don't really know what she watches". Or one time he was talking about loving to have teammates over "against his own best interest" and the interviewer said "what does that mean?" and he said "someone calls and I say sure, you can come over" and I should talk to my girlfriend because she has plans for us to do something together". I mean, it's true in a relationship. If plans have been made, both partners better keep track of them; if inviting crowds of people over to your home, check with the other person living there first. But it just seemed odd - NFL players are the ultimate scheduled people and Josh too famous around WNY to go out on a whim without serious clout- and name-dropping. Long before the rumors, I just kind of felt hints like maybe it was a relationship between two people who really didn't have a lot in common and it had perhaps run its course.

Not watching "Hard Knocks" Can you explain more about that last? (Saleh not more likeable) I suppose I've had a little soft spot for him ever since the Bills game where they did this to his SF defense.

I think partly Josh is just trying to be private and a regular guy, so he doesn't want to talk about his personal life. Which I 100% understand.

There's an upside and a downside to having a partner who has their own career and their own life vs one who latches on and makes the player their life, right? A lot of players and coaches have wives (or girlfriends) who basically make being "Mrs Coach" or "Mrs Player" their full time job. And especially with kids, it probably is. The upside is they try to make a home for the player and themselves and are always available. The downside comes if they are kidless, the wife or girlfriend is not seriously employed, and is unhappy with life in WNY. "Nothing to do but Each Other", isn't that what Jordan Matthews said? A girlfriend like Hailee Steinfeld has her own career and you're probably right, she's not going to spend time hanging in WNY just to be close to Josh. She's gonna be doing her own appearances and auditioning for her next roles and so forth. On the other hand....she's not going to be bored in WNY and asking the player to take her out on dates or entertain her when he wants to hang with his teammates or needs to be studying extra film. If she wants celebrity status, she has that on her own; if she does come to WNY it would be to share the NFL football life with Josh. I kind of had the impression Brittany longed for the "glamorous life" and felt that dating a young wealthy athlete ought to be her pass to A list Celebrity status, which she wanted to use more often than Josh did, and that she wanted to do more date-like things with Josh and spend less time with a house full of football players. I could be totally wrong of course, it's just based on a couple of things Allen said on Kyle Brandt's show. It really didn't seem as though she and Josh had that much in common except the dog.

That's a good question, and I'd also like to know the answer. Could only find a site before the hire, implying that it would only apply if Bieniemy was hired as a HC So I can think of two reasons Rivera might talk about it - one positive, one negative. The positive one is spin control. Rivera might figure that there's enough grumbling that it's going to get out, so stay ahead of it and put his version out first. The negative one is based on the theory some have that Rivera will be fired and Bieniemy is the HC in waiting. In which case, it could be seen as saying "this guy has some lessons to learn first".

How to put this politely? I'll try this. While you may be 100% correct about the intentions, let's just say that W-L records around the league, despite all attempts at parity, suggest that the intentions may not always be implemented in a way that is actually conducive to achieving them. Let me ask you this: Assume that the owner/GM will always hire the guy they PERCEIVE as the best man for the job. Does the hiring of HC such as Nathaniel Hackett, suggest to you that their perception is 'in sync' with some kind of objective assessment of the actual best candidate? If, in fact, the best candidate is always being hired, how do you explain some of the patterns around the league? Bienemy may have flaws of character or approach that would make him a poor head coach. I don't know; neither does anyone here. I would say the same was probably true of Doug Marrone, who obtained 2 different opportunities with 2 different teams. His record as a head coach was W:38 and L:60, so if he was the "best talent" available, that was kind of a fail, no? Why yes, actually. Both of these can be true. I think you're mixing in a couple of things here. There are all kinds of objective measurables and performance data available about players. It's one thing to be choosing the best performers on the field, based on all those measurables and performance data. It's another thing to choose the best guy for the executive suite - the criteria are somewhat less tangible, most would admit. That's not unique to football - there are plenty of places where the lower echelons look like a cross section of America or may even be predominantly minority or predominantly women - but as you look up the org chart, the top positions are dominated by Old White Guys. I'm sure they're absolutely the best and most talented people for the job, always <-sarcasm We all have our perceptions, and if we hire without examining them, we 1) don't necessarily choose the best candidate 2) we may in fact, systematically rule out candidates of certain characteristics. Doesn't make us racist or sexist scum, but it's still a problem if you believe in meritocracy and fairness. I likely won't continue this; I've said 90% of what I have to say, as clearly as I can say it, and the convo can easily become inappropriately broad and philosophical/political.

Of course! But, since most coaches who are hired don't, in fact, lead their team to the Lombardi - 1/3 of current NFL coaches don't even have winning records with their current teams - and some of these coaches get chance after chance with different teams - your observation simply raises the question "why do the NFL execs or owners charged with hiring, feel their chosen hire can lead them to the Lombardi? What criteria are they using? Are those criteria, in fact, the most relevant criteria? And if they are, are those criteria being applied differently to black or brown coaching candidates? I'm not saying this to flap the "racist conspiracy" bedsheet. I don't think there's some grand conspiracy. I don't even think there's necessarily some kind of conscious racism at play. But I do think, without some serious and careful examination, there's a natural tendency to settle on hires we "click" or are comfortable with, and a lot of times those are people who who remind us of ourselves - not necessarily the people who have the best background most likely to lead a football team to victory. And people who remind us of ourselves, tend to be people who look like us and talk like us and have a somewhat similar background. Which is why it's worth giving some thought as to whether something like "Candidate A is detail-oriented; Candidate B is picky. Candidate A is invested in his job and sets a high standard; Candidate B is demanding" might be going on. Neither the reactions to my previous post, nor the posters who made them, surprise me a bit. " It is what it is"

Nagy also moved on to the Bears before Mahomes took the reins as starter in 2018

It may very well be that Bienemy learned his intensity from Andy Reid, and that it's been a factor in the Chiefs offensive success, and that it's been lacking in Washington, and their offense will benefit from his approach. 2 different things can both be true. There could be legitimate concerns resulting in Bienemy not being seen as the best guy for a HC job. It can also be true that there's a double standard, and that the same concerns would be overlooked in a different candidate with similar experience/qualifiications are perceived as eliminating a man of color. This piece is about how the same traits are perceived differently in men vs women, but if you care, you can substitute a few words and figure it out. "How To Tell A Businessman From A Businesswoman" A businessman is aggressive; a businesswoman is pushy. He is assertive; she is confrontational. He is detail oriented; she is picky. He loses his temper because he's so invested in his job; she's bitchy. He's persistent; she doesn't know when to quit. He's firm; she's inflexible. He makes judgments; she reveals prejudices. He says what he thinks; she's opinionated. He exercises authority; she's tyrannical. He's discreet; she's secretive. He's a stern taskmaster; she's difficult to work for.

Interesting. McDermott, and other coaches have stressed that you have to "get to know players and care about them as people, before the players listen to what you say to them as a coach." One thing I was fascinated by was Daboll's progress from a first year OC, very terse, calling players out a bit in his press conferences (not by name, but when you talk about "we can't have problems with the QB-C exchange" it's clear who you're talking about, and when Beasley tipped up a low ball and it was picked on the deflection "maybe the throw is a little low, you still have to catch it" that's clear too. By his second year he was much more protective of his players to the press, and also much more relaxed and affable dealing with the press, asking them how they were, etc etc. And his press conferences became less adversarial. I knew a coaches kid from Dick Vermeil's Rams, and he talked about how impressed he was just after his father was hired, when he walked into the practice facility for the first time and Vermeil greeted him by name, asked how his grade in school was going, and if he'd found a band yet (he was a musician). Vermeil used to send his assistants to Dale Carnegie classes to improve their people skills if he thought it was needed. So this from Rivera: Perhaps that "this is it, this is the way it's going to be" from Bienemy is part of the reason why

Second recommendation of Gabriel's Gate. My kid spent a summer living in downtown Buffalo as an intern and she and her friends really liked it. To the OP, you might want to look into the special "Game Day Express" bus NFTA is advertising as returning for the 2023-2024 season. $5 each way They say they haven't finalized the stops, but last year it ran from the NFTA Terminal on Ellicott Street & North Division downtown, and drops off at Gate 1 of the stadium. Board the return bus on Abbott Road after the game. I google mapped it as a bit over a mile and a half from the Lenox Hotel. There are also a number of other hotels a bit closer. https://www.wgrz.com/article/sports/nfl/bills/nfta-game-day-express-returning-for-2023-2024-bills-season/71-8f4209ec-2b84-4b07-9f68-a4b1e5433337 Many folks here have had the experience of wandering through the parking lots where people are tailgating on Gameday and being offered food and drink everywhere they stopped to chat, especially if you have a little something (whatever your Argentinian specialty beverage is?) to offer.

Not sure what you mean by this? Is there a better place you would recommend to our Argentine friend?

NFL OLman are pretty damned tough and fight to stay on the field until they can't walk/ can't lift an arm and go on IR. If you go on IR, the team backfills by elevating an OLman from the PS. Otherwise there were factually 7 games (out of 18) last season in which a single OLman was unavailable, and elevated a guy off the PS to have 9 available to pick from on game day. I looked it up after I posted, but Morris was also a ST stalwart last season. So unless Sternberger lights it up on ST during the PS, I think that gives Morris a further edge.

That's actually a tougher question to answer than one might think, because usually the initial 53 man roster reflects a couple of guys who are cut and resigned on a handshake so that we can carry a couple guys onto the roster then put them on IR (eligible to return). Then by the end of the season it flexes because of injuries It also flexes with drafting, and what position the ST guy plays. For example, when we drafted Fromm, we kept an extra QB. With Taiwan Jones playing RB, we kept an extra RB. When we drafted 2 DE in one year, we kept an extra DE (2021). When we drafted 2 LB, keep an extra LB (2022) Anyway, 10 OL are usually not that thing. We usually keep 9 - 5 starters, 2 reserve IOL (of whom one can play C), and 2 reserve T (of whom 1 can play as a 6th OL) But for the last 3 years it's looked something like this: Clever people who do addition might notice that it doesn't break down as 25 players on O and 25 players on D. Edit: this is an amalgam of the Wiki articles "Buffalo Bills 202x season" (which is inaccurate because of IR during the season) and articles detailing the 53 man roster at cutdown (which are inaccurate because of guys who are IRd, and cut guys then re-signed). So it's kind of a best guess.

Well, also at least as far as reports that are coming out, Morris and Gilliam are getting some time with the 1s and playing well. Also, I know some fans don't want to think about keeping players for ST, but both Morris and Gilliam have been core STers the last couple years. Like >75% of the snaps. In a year where the Bills finally moved on from core STers Taiwan Jones, Jake Kumerow, and Jaquan Johnson, I don't see them ditching Gilliam and Morris as well.

Not bad. I don't think Kyle Allen has done anything to claim a roster spot over Barkley. If anything, to the contrary. Hard to say, but the reports I've heard are that Morris is killing it over Sternberger. Morris getting shots with the 1's. I don't think Morris gets cut for Sternberger. Also they love Gilliam for his ST work as well as his positional flexibility from FB to TE to receiving TE. So unless Stermberger is putting some really surprising play at the end of preseason, it's Gilliam and Morris.

Stand down, big guy. No one said you needed an instruction manual, just explained why the thread is drawing the comments it is. You get to start the thread, others get to comment. Because it's unusual, some of the comments will be 'why is this here?' 'why are we discussing this?' etc

There's nothing wrong with it, it's just unusual to have preseason threads about teams we aren't playing.

The 50 survey participants were anonymous

Practice yesterday didn't show on the Bills calendar, but there was a practice (maybe closed to fans, media only?) Sal C says today is a day off

I have wondered that myself

Look, there are GIFS about you!

Well, you're entitled to your opinion, but when you call a guy "a parody of an NFL quarterback prospect" and use the words "zero" and "all", any evidence at all that the guy isn't a "parody" and any single piece of evidence supporting that he has a chance, make you wrong.

(Aaron Schatz of Football Outsiders) Some of us keep our receipts. This is what Schatz had to say about Allen after the draft: "A parody of an NFL quarterback prospect, Allen was abysmal in 2017 en route to not even making an all-Mountain West team. We don't want to say there's absolutely no chance he'll ever be good – he's got a deep ball, he's got some ability to make plays on the run and under pressure – but there is zero empirical evidence to support him becoming a reasonable NFL starting quarterback. And if you thought the excuses for his supporting cast were bad in Wyoming, wait till you see this Bills offense. ... Allen is the battleground that old scouts are going to die on, whether they're right about it or, as all evidence suggests, wrong about it." Plus of course the comment "I would rather have Tyrod Taylor quarterbacking my team over the next four years than Josh Allen." I gained some respect for Sal Capaccio after one twitter exchange where Schatz tried to white-wash his post-draft take as saying "I said he had a chance to be good" and Sal said "you called him a parody of an NFL quarterback prospect and said there was zero evidence to support him becoming a reasonable starting quarterback" As for the old scouts, I would say they're not dead yet, so don't sleep on them.

Maybe it was @Billl..someone named a couple Chiefs fan forums they said were pretty good and I went there and looked around, they seemed OK. Certainly a mile above chiefsplanet.