I sent an email to VP of Corporate Communications Brian McCarthy and he told me all NFL clubs received the following memo from Commissioner Roger Goodell:

“If a club has at least six players unable to participate as the result of confirmed or suspected cases of swine flu, it can receive roster exemptions for those players and promote players from its own practice squad to replace them. A club can receive a max of eight such exemptions. They must be medically confirmed cases of swine flu. This procedure does not apply to any other type of flu or illness. There is a deadline for promoting practice squad players pursuant to these procedures at four hours prior to kickoff.”

He also said the rationale for the policy was to try to anticipate potential issues. This policy, which was discussed with the Competition Committee, was implemented in the event an outbreak of H1N1 materially affected a club’s roster. As with all issues of player health and safety, medical considerations must and will have priority over competitive concerns.

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Cleveland Browns Sacked By Flu Bug

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

In the first of eight games the Buffalo Bills will play in Toronto through 2012 (five regular season and three preseason), the first team offense looked very sharp in a 24-21 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Quarterback Trent Edwards was 9-of-11 for 104 yards and two touchdowns. He also had a critical 22-yard run from his own endzone. Tight end Robert Royal caught both of those TD passes from Trent. Wide receiver Lee Evans had three catches for 55 yards. And despite missing Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters (still a training camp holdout), the offensive line was outstanding in both protection and run-blocking. With or without Jason, this group will ultimately be the key to Buffalo’s offensive success or failure this season. Trent Edwards concurred:

“We did a good job up front stopping their front four. There was plenty of time to throw the ball and that allowed our receivers to get open down the field, and allowed me plenty of time to be accurate with the ball.”

The play of the game was Bills rookie first round Draft pick Leodis McKelvin’s 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Buffalo already has one of the NFL’s best return team duos in Terrence McGee and Roscoe Parrish, but Leodis is getting a lot of work in the preseason so he figures to get into the mix down the road. With a near-sellout crowd of 48,400 fans in attendance at Rogers Centre (pretty good for a preseason game), it was a great start to the series with the game coming down to the final play.

Source: BuffaloBills.com

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Bills Beat Steelers in Toronto Series Debut

It started as an optimistic and inspirational evening with over 70,000 fans roaring in a frenzy with pregame hysteria for NBC’s Sunday Night Football. It quickly turned out to be the largest margin of defeat for a home game in Buffalo Bills history. After suffering a 56-10 beating at the hands of the (still) undefeated New England Patriots, TE Robert Royal talked about how the Bills needed to put the loss behind them and keep their eyes on a playoff goal.

Shownotes: David Kindervater (host), Robert Royal (NFL player guest)

• 0:26 – Coach Jauron reminds: Bills 4-1 in an adopted 11-game season
• 0:37 – Patriots did everything right, Bills did everything wrong
• 1:09 – Bills still developing into the team they know they can be
• 1:37 – This loss doesn’t show America what kind of team the Bills have
• 1:53 – Patriots are a very good team that does many things right
• 2:12 – Despite being down by so many points, Bills never quit playing hard
• 2:46 – Buffalo fans are tremendous supporters to the team
• 3:04 – Playing under the lights is good for the players and the city
• 3:28 – Giving thanks at Thanksgiving

Sponsor: ColdGear ArmourFleece Big Logo Hood
Links: BuffaloBills.com, NFL.com

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Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

BPR Home Team Edition Robert Royal