Navigating Challenges Presented by NFL Offseason Training Activities (OTAs)
One unintended consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a change in how offseason training activities (OTAs) are conducted by the NFL. Last season sessions were done virtually via Zoom and players trained at their own facilities, mostly at home with guidance from trainers and teams’ health professionals. Players had tailor made protocols for conditioning, […]
An open letter to Buffalo’s Melody Martin
Dear Melody, This is your fairy godmother from Wyoming dropping out of cyberspace to respond to the latest installment on your youtube channel about the Buffalo Sabres. The sadness and frustration you expressed echoed all the to the Rocky Mountains and beyond. It was a heartfelt expression of utter despair. We hear you and we […]
Time for BillsMafia to become ‘Championship Caliber’ FAMbase
When Sean McDermott rolled into Orchard Park one of the first things he did to change the beaten down culture in the locker room was to post the two words “Playoff Caliber” all over where players congregate at One Bills Drive. He created this ‘theme’ very early in his tenure because he wanted players to […]
Why we should be glad ‘Big Baller Beane’ defies conventional wisdom
So, let’s get real here for a moment. How many of you reading this had a mock draft with the Bills taking two edge rushers and an offensive tackle in the first three rounds of the 2021 NFL Draft? After reading literally hundreds of mock drafts this past week I don’t recall reading about any […]
Turnaround by Sabres is all about ‘intangibles’
After studying ‘failure-to-thrive’ professional sports franchises for nearly five decades, very little comes as a surprise about how teams find ways to sabotage themselves during any given season. Lifelong fans of the Buffalo Bills and Sabres know exactly what I’m referring to… we bring new meaning to the term ‘long-suffering’. This year has been no […]
‘Cinderella’ Bills challenge past narratives
Who doesn’t love a good fairytale? Apparently some in the media, for reasons I’ve yet to completely understand. Despite this very special Buffalo Bills team extending their ‘Cinderella’ season and heading to Kansas City to face the Chiefs in the AFC Championship matchup, some media folks decided to double down on their dislike for all […]
Josh Allen vs Ravens’ defense, a storyline of its own in the making
It seems almost a lifetime ago when Josh Allen was suddenly thrown into a tire-fire game at Baltimore against the Ravens in the season opener on September 8, 2018. The 47-3 final score didn’t even begin to reveal the true nature of the beat down the Bills took on that fateful day… the day the […]
McDermott, Reich exemplify new approach to NFL roster development
Twenty years ago when the Buffalo Bills had a message board on their website I was posting regularly about my strong belief that NFL teams were missing an important variable in building a successful NFL roster. There were howls when I suggested it was just as important to put a team together with the right […]
McDermott rolls out ‘punch them in the face’ game plan, Bills squeeze playoff life out of Dolphins, 56-26
Holy sassafras. What a time to be alive. If the Miami massacre by the Bills really didn’t happen on Sunday… please don’t wake me up. What in the world did we just see play out quietly at Bills Stadium some 12 or so hours ago as I write this? I’m up in the middle of […]
McDermott’s secret sauce marinating to perfection
Stare into those intent blue eyes for a moment. I dare you to look away and not feel Sean McDermott’s intensity and sense of purpose. Anyone reading this who is acquainted with me in cyberspace over the last 20 years knows I have begged, pleaded and screamed to the heavens how important team chemistry is […]