Thurman#1

Yes, you're correct, you can indeed win without a good defense. How did it work out for the Bills? Not as well as it worked out for the Chiefs a couple of years and the, Rams etc. The fact that it worked out for some teams but not for the Bills -- well, it only proves that it didn't work out for the Bills. And the Bills had really good defenses several of those years, actually. Some of those years they had serious waves of injuries around the playoffs, and other times they were good but not good enough to stop the Chiefs in the playoffs with Mahomes playing at absolutely historic levels. You can argue this D is the worst. But they're getting better, particularly at passing defense. When Bosa gets the cast off, when and if Oliver comes back and when Dorian gets better at the role he's already playing pretty well this past week at pass rush schemes, we could easily get a lot better. When TJ and DaQuan get not just able to play but back at previous levels. It's a shame Hoecht is out, it really is. But there's every chance we'll be a lot better. We were awful against Miami. But not so awful against Tampa and pretty dang solid against KC. They absolutely have a shot. That simply isn't a question. Again, Vegas has them as the third most likely winner. That's likely a bit optimistic. But not much. They're 7-3, and beating the good teams.

Yup, And no other teams with great QBs are like that ... except all of them. When the great QB has a bad game, yeah, the team's not real likely to win. That's kinda the NFL. I mean, you're right, that's how we look. But I mean, when Mahomes had a bad game, the Eagles win the Super Bowl last year and the AFC championship against the Bengals about three years ago. Yeah, fair enough, big ask. But it could happen, Ed playing near how he did before. Or not. And no, Shaq was playing significantly better than average, he was playing well.

Punters are players. Possible that's inconvenient for your argument, but it has the advantage that it's true. And guys who are on different teams ... are on teams because they're better than the millions who would like to be on teams but aren't good enough. Plenty of guys leave one team for another for many different reasons that don't necessarily include quality. Look at Gabe Davis. He got a contract we didn't want to match but he's still plenty good enough to be in the league. You're talking about a 5th and two 6ths. Them being still in the league 6 or 7 years down the road absolutely does show something, it's not even a question. I get it. When you want to throw guys out who don't fit your opinion, if you're the type that does that, any reason will do. It's something to say. Doesn't make it a good argument, but it's at least something to throw against the wall and see if it sticks.

Yeah, um, no. No, it wouldn't. His answer works perfectly fine, and to assume it shows an issue says more about you and your feelings on this than it does about McDermott. Where does it say, "every," you ask? It says, "like any player." That's where "every" comes from though he used a synonym. "He has times, just like any player." Clearly he's having problems making it to meetings. Which is unbelievable immaturity. I'm a lot less likely to support Keon now, but what McDermott said simply did not imply that he had bigger problems on the field than most.

Passer rating is not dependent on quality. I have gotten quite a bit more confident in the pass defense over the past month or so.

Glad someone said this about Poyer. He's not as fast as he used to be, but he's looking pretty solid and his understanding get him started a step early. Don't expect him here next year unless it's as a coach or a de facto coach on the practice squad. Hancock is sure athletic enough. Will he get it? I hope so. I like this safety group. A lot more than I did a month ago.

You can't. Overall he does pretty well there, and much better in the draft overall, which is how this should be looked at. Certainly two major failures in Cody Ford and Basham. But if you're looking at all early draft picks over 7 or 8 years, you'll find pretty much every team has several poor picks. It's how things go. Look at the Chiefs, who in the top two rounds over the last seven years have picked Felix Audike-Uzomah, Skyy Moore, Willie Gay Jr., Mecole Hardman and Juan Thornhill, all in the 2nd round, and you can throw in Edwards-Helaire in the 1st. Even in the first round, success rates run at around 50%, and it's lower later in the draft where we generally end up. Wanna look at how a GM does in the draft? Simple, look at how he does in the draft. Not some part of the draft that can be separated to further some narrative or other. The draft. That's what you look at if you want to find out how someone drafts.

Yup, the Bills are ranked #3 in Vegas in terms of odds of winning the SB right now. IMO that's a bit high with how they've played recently, but it's arguable and in fact reasonable.

Yeah, we absolutely are. More, it's hard to know whether that defense will be the one we go into the playoffs with. If Ed Oliver gets back and Shaq Thompson, and our younger guys continue developing, we could easily be a lot better. And having a really good defense is a huge factor. But let's not pretend you can't win without one. KC in 2022 were the 16th ranked defense, and got a Lombardi. The Rams were 17th in 2021. It happens. We came about 6 inches away from the Super Bowl last year, with a defense that was probably not as good.

Defense too.

No, no Rutgers does not, not even slightly close. Bills should be ranked 6 - 8 right now, probably. Some weeks they look awful, some very good. But they have a history of cutting down the variability later in the season.

Nah, we deserved that game.

Talk to me after Week 16.

Got nothing to do with balls. It's got to do with whether or not he can grow up and develop and get better or not. There's still a chance. That chance appears to be decreasing, and not slowly. But it's still likely there. If they think it isn't, they'll cut him.

Yeah, and Hawes, Strong, Deone Walker, Cole Bishop who looks like he's turned the corner, Kincaid, Torrence, Cook, Bernard, Shakir, Benford, Rousseau, Brown, Gabe Davis, Dane Jackson, Ed Oliver, Dawson Knox, .... Oh, wait, those run counter to your silly narrative? Oh, sorry about that. Teams make bad picks. Every single team, without exception. Even in the first round. Bottom line, though is that teams need to be ranked by their complete draft record, not picking out this round and that round. And while it's still way way way early, Hairston looks good.