Beck Water

Oh, Jesu. I most certainly can blame the grocery store for firing an employee who missed time due to cancer treatment. Not paying him if he's an hourly worker and isn't working hours, icky but I get it. Non-paid leave, likewise. But firing an employee who misses time due to needed medical treatment is the Land of Scrooge, not what happens in a civilized nation. Especially since for most people, medical insurance is tied to employment. I think this is getting aside from football, so I won't continue this.

? who are you speaking of? (edit: nvm, I saw you answered. Jordan Mims, our UDFA RB) ----------------- Darrynton Evans draft profile. 5'10" 203 lb https://www.nfl.com/prospects/darrynton-evans/32004556-4111-6537-4adc-98552053123e The part that catches my eye "why this guy?" is that he returned kickoffs in college, and also returned some kickoffs for Tennessee.

I don't think the standard language contract mentions jet skis. TBN did a piece on contract language already: So it's not like the contract explicitly states "no engaging in jet ski activities". My point was in general, teams can't cut an injured player unless there's an injury settlement for the length of the injury. Now in this case, Bills could certainly claim that Hines was in breach of the "significant risk of person injury and are non-football in nature" clause of his contract, and cut him. The Broncos did that with Ja'Wan James , who filed a grievance. James was injured while actually working out off-site. This caused a lot of fuss, since teams usually provide off-season conditioning programs players are encouraged to follow in order to show up in peak condition. I can't imagine it did morale in the Broncos locker room any good. Even though he wasn't working out, Hines would certainly file a grievance, and it would be messy. In general, rules have to be enforced equally to all employees, so if there's video of Von Miller and Dawson Knox jet-skiing about with no consequence but Hines gets his contract voided because he was sitting on a jet ski and someone ran into him, I think that's legally not good. The relatively low-ripple thing the Bills can do is put Hines on the Non-football Injury list (since it's clearly a non-football injury) and not pay the non-guaranteed portion of his salary.

Negative. At New Orleans. What Detroit, New Orleans, and the NJ Meadowlands had in common was the use of slit film astroturf. The Bengals, Colts, and Vikings also use it. I believe several of these stadia have replaced it now. It's been contentious with the NFLPA due to data of higher risk of lower extremity injuries on slit-film turf fields Here's why: Instead of being a single filament, slit-film turf has like a netting, where cleats are more likely to snag and twist the player's leg https://www.foxnews.com/sports/nflpa-calls-immediate-replacement-ban-slit-firm-turf-fields https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/research-shows-statistically-significant-higher-risk-of-lower-extremity-injuries-on-slit-film-turf

That's a phrasing which seems like a contradiction in terms. If you "throw someone under the bus", you hold them out publicly as blameworthy or at fault for a situation. On the other hand, part of leadership is to hold subordinates accountable - current standards for "best management" say this should be done privately and/or kept within the organization. So if a FA is left to sign with another team, a coordinator quietly encouraged to seek another position, or a position coach retires, that wouldn't typically be described as "throwing them under the bus" So how can you "furtively throw others under the bus"?

I too, thought Beasley looked done in both Tampa and with the Bills. It seemed like he was not able to get to his spot as the play demanded. Not sure he's just a camp body. Keep in mind the Giants signed Parris Campbell (several million) and Jameison Crowder (vet minimum), both healthy to start camp AFAIK. I think they might want Beasley in a player/coach role and also to learn the system and build chemistry if needed in a "break glass in emergency" kind of role. Does he now? Jones averaged 5.1 "completed air yards" per completion last season. His receivers gained him 5.0 YAC/completion. For context, that was 28th in the NFL. I'm not saying that to dunk on "Danny Dimes", but it may not be an accident that his completion % rose to 5th in the league and his INT% fell to 1st in the league, the same year his intended air yards and his completed air yards both fell to career lows by 0.8 and 0.6 yards respectively. Maybe he was told "do what you can do well"

I agree with the point that there were many players who did not choose to get vaccinated, including Gabe Davis and a number of others (I knew them all at one point, but consistant with what you say, can't remember), and attracted no fan ire because they kept a private medical choice private, and, as you say "didn't make a spectacle" of themselves. That said, I'm somewhat puzzled by the "team that underachieved greatly" claim about the 2021 Bills. #3 offense, #1 defense, 11-6, and came literally within seconds of a 2nd trip to the AFC Championship isn't most people's idea of "underachieved greatly". And Beasley had some pretty clutch contributions at the end of the season, including 6 receptions/8 targets for 60 yards in the 13 second Division round loss.

While I'm sure Daboll has his inputs, it's worth noting that the Giants OC is Mike Kafka, previously QB coach of the KC Chiefs. I don't think Kafka left KC and came to NY to be Daboll's "dingleberry", an OC in name only, so.... ...how certain are we that the Giants are, in fact, running a variation of the same offense Daboll ran in Buffalo, vs. something more akin to what Reid/Bienemy/Kafka ran in KC? As long as they're not playing us, I'm happy for Beasley to succeed, but I think it's unlikely he'll "do just what he did here" as far as productivity. Father Time is undefeated, and Beasley is 34 years old.

Shakir's performance on punt returns was, I think, one reason why we traded for Hines. But, it's also possible he might improve.

Hines signed a new, 2 year contract with Buffalo this off season. He is under contract to the Bills thru 2024. Now, if it's that significant of a knee injury it may be a distinction without a difference, as he'll have little dead cap ($500k) next season, and he may not be the same player; he struggled last season to establish himself on our offense. The Bills may very well move on. No NFL team can cut an injured player. Not allowed, unless there's an "injury settlement" to pay him the number of weeks his injury requires to heal. Nor will the Bills place Hines on IR. He'll go on "Reserve/Non-football injury". The difference is that IR (injury while working out/practicing in team facility or in game) for a vet usually obligates the team to pay the player his full per game salary and per-game roster bonuses (but not active roster bonuses). Under NFI, the team is only obligated to pay the player that portion of his salary that is fully guaranteed.

This, pretty much. Diggs has posted social media stuff of him bungie jumping and skydiving. Poyer has gone skiing. Von Miller jet skiing. The Bills must know Ed Oliver loves his horses and rides regularly - has posted photos of him standing on the saddle! I think teams have that clause so if a player with a cap-bending contract does get injured doing something stupid, they can get some relief. But riding a jetski, especially if he wasn't the one doing something reckless, is pretty much an "every day life" sort of activity for people who live or vacation on a coast or on a lake. That said, it is a "non football injury" and I'm wondering where Sal C gets his info that the Bills eat the entire cap. Some teams have even put players who were injured working out off-site on NFI and not paid their salary; it's not something the teams have to "go after", they simply pay them the contractually obligated amount.

It was a trade for a KR/PR. Fans got all excited like we'd signed our own budget Christian McCaffery, but KR/PR was an obvious gap at the time of the Hines trade.

I agree, yeah, I see 1 or 2 jet skis riding for fun, but a lot of time there is a pack of them, everyone is drinking, and there's a lot of horsing around (and also accidents due to inexperience + alcohol) Doesn't mean he wasn't sitting on his own stationary Jetski, as reported. The "minding his own business" may or may not be true, but was that said?

So the TB% was 59.7% in the NFL last season per pro-football reference 1013 returns, out of 2698 kickoffs, 37.5% kickoffs returned so (?) 2.8% fair catch? Is the new rule that a fair catch anywhere comes out to the 25 yd line? If so I would think the NFL would be trying to increase the number of fair catches

I thought Barkley already signed his tender?

OK, but (for example) Andre Roberts is not referred to as a "fumbling machine" or a fumble risk. In the same period of time as Harty, he had 8 fumbles (all on ST I believe). Similar with Ray-ray McCloud, who has developed into a top PR/KR the last several years. He does play more WR especially in 2021, so some may be offensive, but he had 11 fumbles in the same time period. Is he referred to as a "fumbling machine"?

Likewise, feel very bad for him. Very little - a couple of KR I think

I wonder where Sal is getting his information, because that's not what Spotrac shows (unless the Bills choose to pay it). Spotrac says that $2M of Hines salary is guaranteed ($1M signing bonus plus $1M 2023 salary)

People in this thread are saying this, but it's not quite what the stats record. Can you explain?

He will be getting game checks for the $1M of his 2023 salary that is fully guaranteed. He won't be getting game checks for his per-game roster bonus or the $1.56M of his salary that is not fully guaranteed.

I don't think he was selected as a first-team all-pro because "he's been a fumble machine" in the return game. Looking at stats, he had 3, 3, and 2 fumbles (1 lost each season). What are you seeing or what have you heard beyond the stats?

The easy answer for an injury occurring outside the facility during the off-season is "yes, it does free up his $$$ on the salary cap". Those are called "non-football injuries" and the team isn't obligated to pay non-guaranteed salary or per-game roster bonuses. "NFL teams are not required to pay base salaries to players placed on the reserve/non-football injury or reserve/non-football illness lists."** Hines has a cap hit of $3.5M of which $1.5M is signing bonus or fully guaranteed, so it frees up (nominally) $2M Now, for a vet who is injured in the facility, he will usually have injury guarantees in his contract, so the easy answer would be "no". **it is left to the discretion of the team, so the team can choose to pay the player part or all of his salary and per game bonuses. they just aren't obligated to. if they choose to, it still counts against the cap.

You do know Harty actually led the league in PR and was a 1st team all pro as a ST'er his rookie season? He was 10th and 14th in PR yardage the next 2 years. 5th, 14th, and 7th in KR yards. I don't want to minimize Hines loss. He was a good KR/PR for us last season. I think Hardy has had trouble staying on the field, so using him as a PR where "it helps if you have a screw loose" (Andre Roberts) or "I don't care about my life" (Nyheim Hines pre-return mantra) isn't gonna help him contribute as a receiver. But going from "Oh,no - Hines is a big loss" to "we don't have a returner" is a big step.

I dunno what you mean by "quite often". Are there stats on this somewhere? Would love to see. Let's look at Nyheim Hines. He had 2 kickoff return TDs against the Pats for 96 yds and 101 yds. Obviously he made a decision to run instead of fair catch, but neither were from "5 yards deep". A nit, perhaps. But look at the big picture. Hines returned kicks for us in 7 games. In 4 of those games (including the Pats game) his average return yards were >25 y/rt. In 3 of those games, it was less. But in 2 of those games, it was 20 or 19 yds. So obviously, the way he was coached is "run it out if you think you can get at least back to the 20." Now it's gonna be "catch it and take it out only if you think you can get at least to the 25". There were ~40 players with >10 KR in the NFL last season. Only 12 averaged >25 yds, and of those 12, 2 averaged 25.5 So it changes the way players will be coached.