Man, talk about a rocky start! The Bills just played their first preseason game at their brand new stadium a couple of weeks back, and things literally went flying, as in a “massive clump” of sod, roots, dirt and all. One unnamed player didn’t pull any punches either, saying flat out that “the field is ass right now.” Yikes.
Divots Everywhere! What Went Down on the Field
So, what exactly was the problem with this new field? It was all about the divots. Apparently, chunks were coming up everywhere, making for a pretty shaky playing surface. You can’t have your players tripping over loose turf, can you? Even though the current field somehow passed a pregame inspection for their Thursday night preseason finale against the Steelers, that initial game with the flying sod was a red flag nobody could ignore. This is early season stuff, and you gotta get it right from the jump.
Bills Are Going All In to Fix This Mess
Good news for those Bills players who probably didn’t want to break an ankle. Lance Lysowski from the Buffalo News reports the entire playing surface is getting ripped out and replaced! Yeah, you heard that right. They’re doing it before the Week 2 Thursday night home opener against the Lions. That’s a tight turnaround. Bills chief operating officer Pete Guelli told Lysowski that while they “can be happy with the performance and playability and still make the change,” they’re all about giving the players the “absolute best possible playing surface.” If it’s even “slightly better,” they’re making the move and “err[ing] on the side of performance.” That’s a good philosophy, right? Their senior director of grounds, Aaron Ramella, added that a replacement isn’t “a cure-all,” but the goal is clearly to reduce those nasty divots.
This new field needs to be perfect for that Week 2 showdown against the Lions, especially since it’s the first of three straight home games for them. You gotta protect that home turf advantage, and more importantly, your players. Let’s see if this fresh grass holds up better.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Pro Football Talk.
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