Bills Pre Season Update

by Pat Freeman, The Mighty O’Ba

Photo by Jerome Davis

The Buffalo Bills opened their preseason schedule in the new Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park. This is a beautiful facility from my point of view; the new stadium is absolutely the same and I congratulate the organization and New York State on completing it. This is not to say that I do not respect those that are not happy with it because everybody is entitled to their viewpoint.

This is the age of social media where everybody can post their viewpoints. When I first started covering the Bills, there was a total dependency on the media for all information, but that day is long gone. My opinion of a new stadium here is still the same. It is my belief that this area needs a revenue producing model beyond the control of the football organization that would make money for the region and bring down some of the costs associated with a facility of this magnitude. Unfortunately, this area still makes decisions that do not always benefit the wishes of the masses of people that live here.

This preseason offers one other dynamic other than the new stadium. It marks the debut of new coach Joe Brady and his approach to leading this team toward opening day. He is a different coach, but its preseason and the normal NFL approach is more geared toward player evaluation. Once the regular season begins the focus shifts to one week at a time.