Thurman#1

You're right. $40, maybe $50M a year ... money is no object!!!

Over 20? Boy, I think you're kidding yourself there. But could he get his $15M in that case? Yeah, maybe.

It really isn't. The problem has essentially been KC in the playoffs. That's the problem. And when we get there the main reason they haven't done that well is that they haven't been able to pressure Mahomes. Haven't had the guys, with the one exception of the season when we looked like we did till Von Miller's injury. This year they finally spent a bunch of resources on pass rushers. Hopefully they'll finally be able to put some heat on signal callers.

This isn't the most leverage he'll ever have. He'll have more next year when they'll have to tag him or let him go. It might be the time that Cook himself has the most on the line, as an injury really could ruin his career. Which is the reason he should maybe have accepted less but gotten a contract with some injury guarantees. I've got nothing against him doing all this. I question - as many have - whether this is the best move he could make to further his own interests. A lot of the reason those players in that same draft class you mentioned got those early deals is that they gave the team good value to do so. Cook did not. If he'd accepted a deal at around $10 to $11M, Cook would also likely already have a deal. Can't say for sure, but that's the way it seems. Generally if you want a deal early, you have to give something up to get it.

Hmm. How do I count a PASS behind the line of scrimmage? Tough question. Run? Or pass? Hmm. Remind me. Did you say they have dink and dunk elements? Or did you say they were a run first team, and is that what I responded to? I believe it was the latter. Again, they were not a run first team. They were also 9th in the league in YPA. Allen threw downfield a lot. Had a bad year, his worst since he broke through at percentage of catchable balls that were in the air for 20 yards or more. That's not all on him, but some of it is. They were a very successful passing offense, in any case. 8th in TDs and 14th in yards. Not run-first, though. If anything, fairly balanced, which is probably what they want to look like to - among other things - make it easier on Josh. C.Biscuit, I'm totally with you in terms of not being the least bit angry at Cook. He's got to try to maximize his earnings. The question is whether these tactics do maximize his earnings. And what the Bills should do in response. IMO, the Bills response should be hoping he comes down eventually and not re-signing him unless he does.

Run first? No, not so far. Below 50% runs, and that's counting Josh Allen's scrambles as runs. Does he want us to be able to do both on any given play? Yup. But it's not run first. It's you don't know which will be first, 'cause we can and will do both.

It really is NOT ... that simple. Because one guy gets paid, another guy should get paid ... regardless of value? Sorry, man, that makes sense in no sense whatsoever. All of those other signings - without exception - were great values. And being a great value is kinda what you would expect if the team signs you after your third year. You do them a favor by giving them money early, and they give you a bit of a discount. Which is the opposite of how Cook is going about this. As for Jamyr Gibbs vs. James Cook? Man, I like Cook a lot, but not that much. Cook does have terrific contact balance. But that's not the same thing as power. That great run against the Lions showed a ton of contact balance but not particularly much power. Which is Cook. Most explosive weapon outside of Josh? Yeah, fair enough, probably. But that doesn't necessarily equate to $15M. Get him back ... if the price is reasonable for him.

Makes plenty of sense. It's just not what you want to hear. The more fungible a position, the less guys there will be paid.

That's not it. That's maybe a part of it, but only a part. And he has been working harder again in the last year or two, from the evidence anyway. And that he "quit" against the Bengals is pure personal opinion, and in my own personal opinion, a dumb one. Not playing very well isn't quitting. He failed. They failed.

Agreed that in the first few seasons he worked like a dog. Sure looked like after he'd made it he took his foot off the gas a bit. That interview on Bussin' with the Boys podcast did not look like or sound like a man working hard in the offseason. Not even close to Tom Brady or Peyton Manning hard, anyway. Having said that, it sure looks to me like he noticed it and consciously got the fire lit under his butt again. Pure guesswork but it looked to me like Hailee has been a really good influence on him, and that his earlier breakup with his high school girlfriend might maybe have thrown him for a loop, but as I say, that's all pure speculation.

Can't say it better than that, Shaw. I agree with every word. So frigging close, but it didn't happen. He certainly hasn't been "the" issue. But even though he has overall played terrific, he's been part of the problem. Not "the" problem, but part of it. Look at the first two or three drives last year in that Chiefs game. Josh was awful. Yeah, he played really well after that, but if he'd played at the same level the whole game we're in the Super Bowl.

He signed. Meaning that if he doesn't live up to the particular terms of the contract he will be liable for fines within the CBA. He'll pay the fines if they're assessed. He'll understand if he (likelihood close to zero) misses the first game and loses a game's worth of his paycheck. Got zero to do with honor. "It's not personal, Sonny. It's strictly business."

The rift is serious. It's about $5M a year serious. But he's not going to skip out on training camp. Or not more than a day or two anyway. Nah, it ain't about hating, it's about the meeting of "all around." Ty absolutely is our best all around back if that means having the widest range of skills and abilities. Ty blocks a ton better, catches probably a bit better and is probably better at pure banging. Yeah, Cook is more dangerous as a breakaway threat. But nobody is denying that. Cook is the best back, but that's not the question. The question is what he will sign for and what the Bills will give him. That's my feeling too, but it's his life. Doesn't make me angry that he's doing this.

Um, dude, no. First, no, I don't pay $25 a month for a service I use maybe twice a year. Second, the NFL teams aren't buying the $25 a month services. They are all signed up for extremely sophisticated deep dives on stats that come from PFF's tape study. Much much more than $25 per year. Again, that doesn't mean their opinion is always right. But it does mean that the NFL believes at a 100% rate that PFF knows how to watch tape, analyze it and break it down. And yet again, that doesn't mean they know exactly how good a guy like Kincaid is and should be the only thing you listen to. But are they worth consideration? Yeah.

PFF desperate hater already here, apparently. Nice to see you again. But this is a dumb post. If I were a superfan, I'd say they were right and you don't need to look any further. You do. But as I said, it's just as dumb to be an unseeing hater and let the mere sight of the letters PFF trigger in your mind all the pitchfork stuff and superfan stuff. Saying they're worth consideration doesn't make me a superfan. It makes me a reasonable person. Again, the NFL teams I believe have a 100% rate of purchasing their services. That would not happen if they didn't know how to watch and understand tape and crunch numbers.

The Kincaid we saw when healthy in 2023? With the knowledge he's likely to have now? If healthy, I'd start him over more than half of them in the blink of an eye.

Take a look at the catchable ball percentage for Kincaid this year. Way way down from last year. As has been reported on here a lot. Here's more from the Rochester D&C on this: https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/sports/football/nfl/bills/2025/02/13/dalton-kincaid-josh-allen-trouble-getting-on-same-page-2024/78462826007/ Yup, exactly, Doc. There's no such thing as a perfect stat or rating. They all need context. This one is indeed a useful tool, but should not be treated as the final and only necessary word.

What more could Josh have done? Thrown it a bit better. Seriously, Kincaid was past everyone and wide open, with nobody in front of him on that right side. Throw that ball five yards further right and it is probably a TD. And it wasn't as if he had to hit a small window. There was a huge window. Should Kincaid have caught it? Yeah. But it was a very tough catch. He was wide open with nobody in front of him and had to do a 180 to get within a tough diving try. Again, he should've had it. But it was not an easy play, and could've been an extremely easy play with a better throw. And yeah, Allen was under serious pressure. But you asked what more he could have done? He could have made it a very very easy catch. Would that have required a terrific play? Yeah, but we're used to Josh making those. It's kind of what he does. Smart defensive call. And they probably should have had a different offensive call. And as we've heard before, Josh was the guy who called the protection, which did turn out to be wrong.

He and that #1 QB had a greatly decreased connection. Yup, that QB is still #1. But no, he was not doing Kincaid any favors last year, he just wasn't.

Yup. It's a damn good organization. As attested to by the fact that near 100% of NFL teams are signed on for their content. It shows that teams have great respect for their tape-watching skills and ability to put together stats and percentages and to understand the situations they see on tape. Does this mean that all their opinions are the gold standard and may not be disagreed with? No, of course not. But it's equally as ridiculous to say PFF said it so it must be wrong as it is to believe every single iota of what they say. A lot of the PFF hate in Buffalo comes from them saying we weren't very good back in the drought years when we weren't very good.

In this one. Depends how much you weight each of his two years, but it's completely reasonable. His first year he was top ten in receptions and yards. As a rookie, that's terrific. No doubt not as good in the second year and that appears to be somewhat from injury and somewhat from something being off between Allen and Kincaid and the play-caller. Dude, what you've got there is an opinion, not a fact, full stop. And a horrible analogy as well. Watching tape and evaluating it isn't listening to the notes they're not playing. Is he getting open, is he blocking downfield? Is the defense's coverage of his routes helping get other guys open. Is he blocking on the LOS and wherever they ask him to? If it were that impossible to evaluate tape, nobody would bother doing it. And they do. With great results and understanding.

Sorry to be unclear. That analogy hits me all the time, but it's more a function of my warped mind than something that would occur to others. Sorry. The desperation to find a scapegoat always bemuses me. We all ache for a championship. It's natural. But having a real chance every single year is a huge joy, one that most fanbases could never imagine.

First, it's not the "psyche of the Bills fan base." It's just not. It's the psyche of a significant portion of them, yes. And it goes something like one of those scenes from the original Star Trek where the actors are all trying to synchronize throwing themselves from side to side on the set as if they're all being battered by huge explosions and Captain Kirk is spitting out, to nobody, his thoughts, "Must ... reach ... the phase shift ... dilithium ... button ... reverse the polarity ... find ... scapegoat ... blame Bills losses ... pitchforks ..." This is one of the most common, basic ways to handle loss and disappointment among human beings. And most of the time it doesn't make sense. It's just the comfortable response. It's not "everyone" who knows the defense is a "fraud." It's mostly a small group of very sad people. Who mistake the inability to stop one sensational offense with the greatest QB since Brady, a guy who's likely to enter the GOAT conversation, with being bad. They certainly weren't good enough last year. But overall, the past four years before that they were damn good. And again, they have actually been damned effective in the playoffs. Except against the Chiefs. You're right, it's not just you. But it's closer to "just you" than it is to "everyone."

And the playoffs too. It's only against the Chiefs during the playoffs we've had consistent problems. Damn it. Oh, my God! Yes!!!!! This!!!! It's easy to forget. Thanks for the much-needed reminder.

This is my best guess also, but if Hailee starts shooting a movie sometime soon ... Her schedule, like his, has dates where she absolutely must be there. And plenty of unscheduled time also. I'm sure her schedule will also have to be considered.