Beck Water

Might be paywalled, if you can read it, this NYT article is pretty positive about Buffalo during the blizzard. Makes Buffalo sound like "the City of Good Neighbors" indeed. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/25/nyregion/buffalo-winter-storm.html

At least you waited until Monday Tuesday to "do the experiment"

Bengals were the #4 seed. So were Rams. Last year AFC champ was between #4 and #2 seed, NFC champ was between #6 and #4 seed Superbowl, two #4 seeds faced off 2020 AFC #2 and #1 seed, NFC #5 seed and #1 seed, Superbowl, #1 seed and #5 seed (won) 2019 AFC #6 seed and #2 seed, NFC #1 seed and #2 seed Superbowl #2 seed (won) and #1 seed

I agree with this. It's not the head coach's job to clear the players physically. That's on the team physician, the head trainer, and (where applicable) the independent neurological consultant. If they say the guy is able to play, the coach's decision is only "is he the best player we have at that position?" In cases where the player doesn't stagger or show balance issues on the way to the huddle and doesn't come out of the game, how would the HC even know there's an issue? In any event, it's not unheard of for concussion symptoms to develop 1-2 days after the injury, so it may be legit that he didn't have symptoms at the time (and it looked like an ordinary hard tackle to me) and developed them after the game or today.

Correct

Wore it post-game to his Thursday Night Football victory interview ..... by Fitz

That is so classic. Grabs the facemask of one LB, uses it to swing him into the path of an onrushing DB taking them both out like bowling pins, then turns and stiffarms Aaron Donald before throwing the ball away. Announcer: "That is a Strong Man"

That's where I think the "generational storm" bit plays into it - not just in government planning and readiness, but in how people react to the weather reports and behave. There are published stories now memorializing two of the people who died on the street, and both walked out into the storm for food on Saturday. Weather reports are saying, this is very dangerous weather, zero visibility, whiteouts, 60 mph winds whipping snow into your face, and they're like "I'll go get milk". People in North Dakota and Minnesota which see blizzards more regularly understand that a weather report like that is Mother Nature saying "You....You....and You....Stay the ***** Inside". And that wearing your car as a winter coat, only works while the engine is running and the fuel holds out. IOW, I think you're right that people are "just another snow storm" and "I'll stop at Target on my way home for 3 last Christmas gifts and some extra eggnog for Christmas dinner" Prove it. Because there is nothing saying they (meaning 911) "stopped answering calls during the storm" anywhere I can find. They stopped RESPONDING to calls, because they (meaning the first responders) physically couldn't.

OK, we largely agree although, the location is not entirely the same - the airport in question was Rochester, and most of the drive was through counties where the travel bans had been lifted. But yes, the team broke the travel ban to drive into Erie County to the stadium, agree. And then players drove home, again breaking travel ban, agree.

My (single parent) mom who was supporting 4 people worked 36 miles away in Batavia. She was on the road home when it hit. She made it, but it was tough, IIRC the Thruway closed and she drove Rt 5 then some back roads. Of course this was before cell phones. I remember how anxious we were when she called to tell us her work was closing so she was leaving a bit early, until she made it home. Visibility sucked and she was powering through small drifts already. She was driving some really rugged snow handling car - a Ford Maverick I believe, LOL. Mom was tough. She did have some emergency supplies with her, like a sleeping bag and nut mix and sterno and flares, sand and a shovel. But still.

Just to be clear, I'm talking about the Christmas Eve blizzard, and you're talking about the much more localized heavy snowfall in Orchard Park Nov 19th. As far as I know, EMS services were not suspended during that event, nor were there reports of people calling for help and EMS not being able to respond.

I could be wrong but I think the travel ban was put into place Friday am like 8:30 am, and a bunch of people were already at work and needed to get home. People need to pay next month's rent, so if their employer says "we expect you at work today" they go. Then there are people who lost power and decided they needed to try to get to a family member or friend who still had heat, or to a warming center. And of course there are always people in every natural disaster who figure the news media is full of it and exaggerating, and don't decide they need groceries or whatever until they actually see the windows turn white.

I think it's a pretty good bet that Erie County knew the Bills were planning to drive chartered buses across the County line to the stadium. We can agree on this. Whether they provided a police escort, I don't know. But you were writing as though the government was "ignoring" people and "condemning" them to die, but helping the Bills... as though 1) being unable to reach someone to help them because your EMS is physically unable to reach them in blizzard conditions = "ignoring them" (I call shenanigans) 2) these events took place during the same time - not the case -while EMS was announced as being unavailable due to not being able to physically get out and get there, the Bills were...wait for it...playing a football game and then overnighting in Chi Town. I worked as an EMT in my time and have friends and relatives who are EMS...police officers, nurses, paramedics, firefighters...they've worked through floods, the aftermath of tornadoes. I was in Buffalo for the Blizzard of '77 in one of the hardest-hit areas and helped shovel out a pregnant neighbor and then knock on doors to find a neighbor with a Jeep when it was clear her studded snowtires wouldn't cut it so I have a damned good idea what conditions were like there Fri thru Saturday...frankly I find the implication that EMS was "ignoring" or "condemning" people and therefore shouldn't be trusted, because they actually couldn't physically get to people and were placing themselves in danger trying, to be despicable. Just my opinion, based on knowing these people and what they do and how they put their lives on the line at times. It wouldn't bother me if the Bills or the players got a ticket for violating the travel ban, but it doesn't bother me if neighbors with 4WDs are out there helping folks get where they need to go in violation of the ban, either, and I think the police have better things to do right now than cite people as long as they don't get stuck and need help.

There was an entire Facebook group about the storm where citizens were asking for help getting rescued from their cars or getting home to their kids and people with snowmobiles or FWD trucks or whatever were violating the travel ban and coming to help them. These weren't essential workers.

You're way off. This is totally not what happened. 911 wasn't able to serve calls during the actual blizzard - FRIDAY night, SATURDAY morning. WIth zero visibility, rapidly falling and drifting snow, gale-force winds - ambulances and firefighters and police vehicles were getting stuck. At one point, it was reported that 2/3 of the emergency vehicles in the worst affected areas were stuck. They weren't "ignoring" people. By Saturday noon, limited services were restored. By Sunday, they were digging out and able to get to people. I don't know, and I'm pretty damned sure you don't know, exactly what emergency services or "government help" was provided to the Bills. There may have been a state trooper or a EC sheriff or someone escorting the buses. But that probably was the extent of it. If you have actual sources and info, feel free.... <this space for rent> But there's also the timeline of events. It matters.

I don't think it's you. It's almost like, in a 18 week season with 1 bye, players are wearing down or something. Maybe the NFLPA needs to push harder to cut the season instead of extending it, for the health and safety of the players.

So the Ravens, Saints, Browns, and Chiefs all had pretty good run games against the Bengals. Ravens and Browns are no surprise, that's their Thing. Saints and Chiefs, that was a little unexpected to me. Kamara ran for 99 yds on 19 carries with a 24 yd long carry - 5.2 ypc. Taysom Hill and Shaheed basically broke 1 long run, but Kamara was evidently pounding the rock regularly against them. The Chiefs are a middle-of-the-league run team, but because they don't run very much. They're tied (#7 through #12) in YPA. My recollection is that the Bengals rushed 4 and flooded the middle of the field to shut down the KC passing attack. Kelce was held relatively quiet, 4 receptions for 56 yds.

Yep. Bills players were traveling on 11/19, getting to the facility during the morning and early afternoon. Travel ban was in effect from 6:30 am on, squarely involving the areas where they were traveling (Orchard Park, W. Seneca, Cheektawoga etc https://www.wbfo.org/local/2022-11-19/saturday-brings-more-snow-leaving-some-areas-buried-under-6-feet-new-travel-bans-announced County said at the time that the only resources involved were providing advice about which routes were plowed - although there was a police escort of the team buses on the clips I saw.

Maybe, but it also happens that teams have a great first half offensively and the opponent's defense makes adjustments, or vice versa? I don't think we can always pin 2nd half mistakes on the QB getting concussed. Though there was speculation that Allen may have hit his head hard when tackled on one of his runs, and it caused some of his INTs vs GB in the 2nd half. There was some speculation here, when the news came out that Tua had passed his baseline testing for concussion vs. the Bills, that as many players do he might have deliberately under-scored on his baseline testing so that he could pass it when dinged up. So unless he showed obvious signs in his balance and gait they might have tested him and still kept him out. TBH I don't know that I would have flagged that hit as a potential concussion just watching it. I don't think every time a player hits his head = concussion. But maybe I'm wrong.

What exactly do any of these entities have to do with the Bills getting home? They weren't driving through the City of Buffalo - and I'm guessing that players living in Downtown Buffalo or anywhere else that's seriously impassible, were told to get a hotel or stay with a friend on the team. Ditto City of Rochester. Monroe County travel advisory was lifted and Genessee/Orleans county Travel Ban lifted before the Bills busses drove through there And totally beats me why he thinks the NFTA has anything to do with it - the buses the Bills road on were not NFTA buses, they were charters. There's really not evidence that government resources were involved in the Bills getting home, though they clearly did break the travel ban once they crossed the Erie County line and again to get in their cars and drive home from the stadium. Nor is there evidence waiting until today would have helped - travel ban is still in effect in many parts of Erie County. This person identifies himself as an undergraduate "political science" major. I think he may need edumacating.

I think there's a need for some perspective here: The majority of the deaths, were people "found dead outside". Why were they outside? Were they homeless or without power and seeking shelter but didn't get there in time? Car stuck and trying to find help? We don't know, but clearly these were extreme conditions and since Buffalo doesn't experience them often, it would be easy for people to under-estimate how quickly they could become disoriented or hypothermic. 3 deaths (so far) were in a vehicle, 3 from an EMS delay. So that's 6 deaths where blocked roads/limited travel were clearly a factor. Those 6 deaths matter - Matthew 10:31. But "Michael Thomas" needs to chill with his "we couldn't leave to see our families on Christmas, it's So Unfair". It's not like the Bills players all drove all over town to see their families on Christmas, they went home and stayed there. And there are stories all over social media (and some on mainstream media) of people whose cars were stuck while they were trying to get home to their kids, pleaded for help and Good Samaritans on snowmobiles or in trucks came and got them and took them home. It's not like ordinary citizens aren't trying to get home by any means if they can, Ban or No Ban. I think Buffalo and Erie County need to Do Better and Be Better about communicating/being more pro-active to get people home and off the streets before the storm hits, so less vehicles stuck and more plowing can take place; by publicizing warming centers better and making sure that warming centers have redundant systems for heating; information about clearing exhaust vents for furnaces and teaching if applicable how to start a gas furnace without power (some can be, some can't be); by organizing/deputizing snowmobile clubs ahead of the storm as assistants to get to people who are stranded and need help. But Bills players staying in a hotel in Chicago on Christmas fixes NONE of that.

They reportedly did not use closed Thruways

I mean, there are different rules for the privileged? Alert the media.

I think we all understand that. And it's a tragedy. But the point is - when did they need assistance and die without it? Logically, if people became stuck in the snow or went out on the streets seeking shelter because of lack of heat, and weren't helped on Friday or Saturday .......the Bills flying into an open airport in Rochester after noon on Sunday and being allowed to bus through plowed streets to the stadium and drive home on Sunday afternoon, did not divert help from those people. It's not like people were dying in their cars on the streets of Buffalo while snowplows were leading a flotilla of Bills busses down the closed Thruway.

Well, it's been a few decades since I lived in WNY, but didn't use to be true that the airport got hit about the hardest. Used to always be Southtowns, closer to the lake. Sounds like this stormy was an equal opportunity mess though.