WhitewalkerInPhilly

Nate Hackett is the one piece of evidence I see that makes me think that the Rooney Rule has a point. There is nepotism in the league. There's no secret. Shedeur Sanders doesn't get this much buzz if his dad isn't a Hall of Famer. There are plenty of coaches for whom it's a family profession, with coaches bringing their kids on. https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/graphics/2022/11/22/nfl-coaches-nepotism-filled-dozens-positions/10702777002/ I don't think it's malicious. I think coaches want to share the love of the game with their kids. Aaron Kromer started with his dad. I am sure that no one in San Fran is going right now "I don't know, I think that being Mike Shanahan's son might have helped Kyle, are we sure he's really got it?" But when coaches staff teams with their kids as coaches, and then they make friends with people their age who have similar life experiences and worldviews and you get coaches where you ask "how the hell are they still in the league?" and it's because they have a connection like this. Hackett is just the most glaring example of someone who has failed upwards to the highest levels

I know there are jokes made, but yes. The Chief's gameplan was to take away the middle of the field and force Lamar to throw at the boundary. While I think the smart thing would have been to run the ball straight at them (rainy day, the Bills had their way with the Chiefs in the run game, you have the quickest running QB in the league, you handed the ball to your RB once?!?) when the game was on the line, Lamar just couldn't do it against a decent Chief's defense.

I think Rodgers could make a run effectively playing like Stafford: statue in the pocket, but distributing the ball. Of course, that depends heavily on getting an O-line together. I think Rodgers is still dangerous, and certainly feels like he has something to prove, but I think this is his last year because the money starts getting stupid real fast.

I made a pithy comment a while back about only trusting Rodgers in his taste in drugs. Look, I am not expecting football players to be MENSA members (though there certainly are some extremely intelligent players in the league) but Rodgers has gone completely 'round the bend. From being a vaccine denier, to claiming alien sightings are being used to hide Epstein updates, to explicitly stating that a (arguably not very funny) comedian who mocked him will be revealed to be a child molester. He has become a liability

Curses, what if they get the Ty Dunne treatment!?! But on a serious note, it does confirm what I know a lot of people on here and in some sports talk were saying: that Hackett was there because Rodgers wanted an OC that he could control to tailor the offense as he liked it. That's why you had so many ex-Packers vets brought on past their prime. The Jets in 2024 will go as far as Rodgers will take them. He's coming off an Achilles, but you don't have to be fast to sling the ball. I can see them legitimately making a bid for the division, because otherwise Joe Douglas has constructed a sound roster. In 2025? Rodgers costs $51 million against the cap with 94% of that guaranteed. That's going to be an interesting discussion.

Fair enough. Perhaps I should rephrase. I would say that there is a reason why players with Josh's talent often get that level of refinement. It astounds me how big of a business that college football is to the extent that you saw Harbaugh eff off to Michigan for almost a decade after never having a losing record as a NFL head coach and making the NFC Championship game three years in a row. College scouts are heavily motivated to kick over every rock imaginable for a superstar, that it's amazing that Allen had to go to JuCo, then to the Mountain West conference (not a historically competitive one) without being poached. And kudos to the Bills scouting staff for finding those things you mentioned, that his mechanics were fine but that he hadn't had top tier coaching and WR support.

I have a name you know!

yeah for the most part regional bank branches don't keep all that much hard cash on hand anymore. That's why you don't see as many bank robberies anymore: it's a lot of risk and attention for not a lot of money on hand. More common targets now are marijuana dispensaries. Because of the strange mix of federal and state regulations, they are a mostly cash only business and banks will not allow corporate accounts (because banks are federally regulated). This means that you have a slew of cash only businesses, whose bookkeeping is always going to be suspect and an inability to get any federal law enforcement involved.

Just wait until people hear about Russel Wilson /s

Look, the Pro Bowl never meant much and it means even less now. Right now, the Pro Bowl is a useful bargaining tool for players when negotiating a contract. It means that they played at a high level that year and have a public fanbase interested in them meaning that they are a name. And I will not begrudge players that. When it was held in Hawaii, that was a chance at a paid vacation in the winter when people might otherwise not have the excuse to go and that was a nice treat for players who deserved some recognition for a good season. Then they moved it to Arizona. Legit, who wants to go to Arizona? Now? It's in Orlando? I don't know if you can pay me to go to the tourist death trap that is Orlando. Enjoy your tee time Josh

I was one of the people who hated the draft pick at the time. This was my reasoning: The Bills had just ended The Drought, 17 years of missed postseasons. We had a QB in Tyrod Taylor who, while having obvious shortcomings, could have absolutely electric games, was a threat with his legs in the early Pisol/Read Option era before it got schemed against so hard. He wasn't a franchise guy, but after post rib injury FItz, Trent Edwards, Kyle Orton, EJ Manuel, and JP Losman it didn't seem like a bad place to be. So when the Bills shipped Taylor off for a 3rd, I was immediately worried that we had traded away an interesting journeyman while we had a pick in the 20s. This was the year of Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold after all, players who members of this board had urged to tank for and they would be long gone before we picked. Especially worrisome was the memory of EJ Manuel: an absolutely physically gifted player who was never unable to unlock anything and was benched. In retrospect, Marrone did not help his chances, but the sting was still fresh. In fact, overall, almost no prospect of the "physically gifted but not an accurate passer" mold works out. Almost all run into the same problems that Manuel did, and up until that point the most successful example had been Blake Bortles. So I despaired at the idea that we were going to go through another cycle of that. Josh is the one in a million player who gets more accurate. He got help, he got coaching, he got time and he worked his ass off so I won't call it luck, but he is the exception, not the rule, and if there is a single Bills take I am happy to be wrong about it was this one.

I mean yes, but at some point a deep sideline throw has to be a threat. Otherwise defenses compress their coverage.

Well yes we need a deep threat guy but maybe not for the reason you think? In my mind the defenses have been bracket covering Diggs and then trying to force Josh to dink and dunk interspersed with blitzes. Yes, the field opened to Cook, Knox and Kincaid but you need to constantly keep those clicking and they rarely are chunk plays. A deep threat on the outside would in theory mean that gaps open up in coverage for Diggs to exploit along with improving YAC for Cook and Kincaid. Is there a reason you don't want a deep threat?

Oh wow, I knew about the LBs but not the safety group. 2017 feels like forever ago when I remember there was skepticism when the Bills went out and plugged in a couple of journeymen (Hyde and Poyer) into safety and it wound up being the most underappreciated safety tandem in the league for years. Linebacker this year speaks for itself. I was legitimately worried at the departure of Edmunds, not so much because I thought Edmunds was a runaway All Pro, but feared the drop off in his place. Terrel Bernard stepped in and by Week 2 looked completely comfortable and then played to the point where I still wonder if we win that Chiefs game if he's on the field. And even with those losses Dodson, Spector and a rookie Dorian Williams all looked ready to play. Considering these were 3rd round or lower picks, clearly coaching had something to do with it, they weren't getting into the league with elite measurements. I would have loved a more experienced guy like Vrabel, but I would prefer to keep young talent if possible. I see a youth movement coming at OBD I guess you'd love to come back for another few years on the cheap then? Pretty please?

He didn't know it was an Option

Honestly it's the position group that was best coached last year

Marvin Harrison, obviously ok, expecting that we are looking for someone in the top 15 to hopefully drop here is what I would look at: Brian Thomas (LSU guy for Bradu!) Xavier Worthy (where I think is a likely mix of draft spot and need) Troy Franklin DeVontez Walker T'Vondre Sweat (DT3)

I mean there is certainly work to be done on the defense. But I do agree that there is a reason for optimism. CB we are a bit thin, but Rasul Douglas and Benford are not a bad one two punch. Taron Johnson is likely to be back. Tre White is currently an unknown. While a lot of the board is on the "kick 'em to the curb, maybe with cab fare" Cover One thinks he'll be back. Safety is troubling. Poyer looks out of gas, even if we keep him for one more season, so it's a problem we should work on now. Greg Thompsett's recap reminded me that in 2022 there was noise about putting Benford in at safety, and if Tre is fully ready to go, why not have him work a hybrid role? Also, if there is a position that gets underpaid in FA, safety is top 3 in my mind so I think there is value to be had. I expect to sign one, draft one and roll out next year with Poyer gone. Linebacker? For what I thought was my biggest nightmare at the start of 23 had shockingly good depth. We just went through it all. Milano and Bernard I have complete confidence to start and we have backups who can hold down the fort. D-line? Thin, but we are going to PAY Von Miller. Groot is back. Oliver actually outplayed a brand new contract. We are thin at DT3, but again that a bargain shopping FA venture and I think we retain DaQuan and/or Epenesa. While I think WR is out #1 priority in the draft, I am expecting a youth movement on the defense his year.

I mean, I think you can get a little bit out of it, though just those two stats seems misleading I think there's something I want to do a bigger data dive on: total rushing yards per game and breaking out WR receiving yards vs combined RB/TE. Also time of possession. It seemed like under Dorsey the ball was pushed to receivers (which is where most of the big mistake INTs happened) while Brady focused on RBs and TEs. This would explain why people are raving about Brady and have kicked Dorsey to the curb. It's not that Brady isn't getting yards so much as he's been getting them in dribs and drabs, having Allen take the easy throws to Cook or Kincaid while Dorsey seemed to push it. Those underneath throws are higher percent and go for fewer yards but it certainly felt like we were on the field longer as opposed to boom and bust three and outs.

Ssshhhh, you're frightening the "McDermott is terrible regardless of any evidence to the contrary" crowd. I will say that the return of the jumbo formations in the Dallas and KC games were welcome returns in my mind.

Agreed. To compound it, Brady was let go under Matt Rhule who seems to continue failing upwards. I will judge Brady on what I've seen him do when handed the keys here.

Pretty much where I am. If we have a single ring, it's hard to argue that getting to the playoffs 6 out of 7 years and winning a playoff game 4 years straight is cause to move on. That was the Andy Reid paradox. Reid was the Eagles HC for over a decade, and under his watch the Eagles went to 4 straight NFC championship games and then got grace for a mixed bag. Then he goes to KC and has a great regular season record but sputters into the playoffs...until he gets Mahommes. Franchise QB can make a coach.

Thanks. This makes a lot of sense that we would run the compressed bunches considering our personnel. I am hoping he is able to open up more with a real #1/#2 combo of Diggs and a rookie.

Interesting. It seems like a perfect pairing: a slightly above average QB who pretended to be elite by running up garbage stats with an OC who rode an elite QB who was putting out stats. I expect the entire run game to be shotgun QB draws

Sweet mercy we could have beat the Ravens