billsfan89

I wouldn't say he looked like Peterman but Dak looked subpar against top defenses. If you are paying Dak you are paying him on speculation that he will improve his quality of play.

A bubble league is going to be very logistically difficult for the NFL. You are talking about probably 500 to 1000 people per-team that would need to be sequestered and possibly more if families are included. 53 players plus 12 to 16 PS players, dozens of coaches, dozens of trainers, dozens of equipment managers, dozens of grounds keepers and security for stadiums and additional general support staff. Plus add in the referees and the broadcast personnel and you probably have close to 500 people for one team. Toss in then the hotel and other service staff for those people and now you are talking about building a self sustaining society of 32k people in a bubble league. It's not impossible but it isn't easy.

A single NFL team probably has 1000 plus people involved in its operation during regular times take out the ticket takers and vendors during live games but replace that with the hotel and housing staff needed for a bubble league and that number probably hits 1000 or at least close. Bubble leagues are a logistical nightmare and we are seeing the NHL and NBA hit the wall with these reopenings. Both are still pushing through but it is being harder and harder to get players and staff sold on this. The NFL operating without fans alleviates some of the caution of super spreader events but it still leaves you with trying to isolate thousands upon thousands of people and implementing massive testing and safety protocols. It isn't an easy thing is my point. It sounds like an easy alternative to just do the NFL without fans but when you break down what that means it isn't easy.

For one that isn't true young healthy people have died and while rising case numbers aren't bad on their own the number of people in hospitals is rising in many states which is very bad. Arizona is reaching their capacity for ICU beds and hospitals are becoming dangerously close to being compromised. Other states like Texas and Florida are also hitting the 80% threshold and looking like they will shoot past it in days. This situation is being completely bungled by the US.

The idea of a bubble league sounds easy but the logistics are hard. The NHL NBA and MLB are all running into issues with these logistics and they aren't anywhere near the same logistical nightmare the NFL could be. And keep in mind it isn't just the players health you are looking out for. In addition to the 53 players plus the 12 Ps players you probably have 100 plus people that support the team. Dozens of coaches, trainers, equipment managers and support staff. Then you have the grounds keepers and security at the venues along with other staffs and personnel for the hotels and isolating venues players could be forced to stay at. Toss in the TV crews and you are easily looking at thousands of people. I think it is possible that they can do a bubble league but it is going to be a lot harder than people think

I don't think any teams had traded for a teams first that year but I do remember that any and all draft picks in the mid rounds stood. So if you traded for a team's 2nd round pick you got it. The NHL didn't have the same level of conditional picks that it does now so it was a bit simpler.

The NHL had a cancelled season due to a lockout in 2004-2005 they held a draft and used a weighted lottery system.

Not sure if this is going to end too badly for the Jets. They should be able to get at least a first round pick for him and their 2020 fortunes aren't resting on Adams as good as he is and getting a lot of draft capital and future cap relief might help them out more than Adams in the next 4 years.

Shady gave the Bills 3 good to very good seasons while Kiko went on to have a middling career as a mid-level starting caliber LB for Miami. Whereas Hughes has given the Bills a lot of highly productive seasons for the Bills (and is still a starting caliber DE) while Sheppard went onto have a fairly nothing career.

I don't understand how anyone here is rating this LB core as anything less than a B. Edumonds was named rightfully so for the Pro-Bowl and was playing at a borderline All-Pro level the back half of the season. Milano has been playing at a borderline Pro-Bowl level for back to back seasons. In the handful of games he missed in 2019 the defense definitely missed him significantly. Both of these young players could easily be named to the Pro-Bowl and one could be all Pro but you look at this core (which also added a mid-level at worst player in Klein to round it out) and go eh its a C or C+? The depth might be lacking but if having one possible All-Pro, One possible Pro-Bowl player and another average player makes you a C then point to another LB unit in the league that is an A?

I think fans in the stands is a pipe dream at this point. I think if the NFL hopes to start a new season it will be without fans

Some of the grades people are giving in this thread are insane. The D-Line had 7-9 starting caliber players on it and the 1-2 players you could argue aren't starting caliber players are high end rotation players. The linebacking core has 2 potential young pro-bowlers and a solid veteran in Klein. The front 7 arguably is one of the best in the league and people are giving it a C or C+? Do people really think Milano and Edumonds are just average players? Even Klein the weakest link is still a decent player.

Let's say C+ is average for a good reference point. QB - C Plus - I put Josh right at the average mark, he played about a mid-level QB last season and yes there is a ton of room for Josh to improve and progress but there is room for regression too. The risk is there in both directions. I like Josh but I can't put him above average until he actually proves it. The backup QB situation is OK Barkley and Fromm aren't tragic but nothing to write home about. O-Line B Plus - I know a lot of posters on here will look at the O-line and think it isn't an impressive unit. However I know that despite the lack of an All-Pro type talent along the unit I see a unit that returns all 5 starters (a key factor for o-line performance is continuity, has the best depth in the league (3-4 starting caliber players coming off the bench), and has no blatant weak link. All 5 O-line starters in my opinion are at least average starting caliber players at the position (I think Ford ended the year playing decent and I think progression is likely from him.) I like this unit as they have both continuity and depth. RB - B Plus - Singletary had a good rookie year and I think he is due for a breakout. Moss was drafted high up for a RB and I think he plays a good role as a complement. TJ Yeldon is a good backup as I think if Moss or Singletary goes down he is a decent third down back. I would give them an A but Singletary has to prove it, Moss is just a rookie third rounder and Yeldon is a nice but not spectacular backup. WR - A Minus - Diggs adds a capable WR1, I think Diggs is at worst a bordeilne top 10 receiver (He was 17th in receiving yards despite being 46th in targets and sharing targets with another top receiver.) Brown is a good to very good WR2, and Beasley is one of the top 10 slot guys in the league. I would give them an A or A plus but while I liked the drafting of Hodges and Mackenzie as a gadget WR 5 I am not too sure they have good depth beyond their first three WR's. TE - D Plus - By Far the worst unit on the team. I like Knox but he is a raw player who I think is a year away from being a starting caliber TE. Kroft is often injured and nothing special, I see Sweeney as a good backup at best and Lee Smith as an overpaid specialist. If Knox develops faster than I think this unit is at least a C Plus but right now that is only an optimistic scenario. Realistically I would say they are a significantly below average group whose potential is a lot higher. D-Line - A Minus - Easily one of the deepest units in the league. Nine starting caliber players on the unit. AJ adds some good depth to the edge which was lacking. They do lack a front line edge player as while I like Addision and Hughes both are older and more secondary edge rushers. Hopefully Ed Oliver develops as a beast on the interior rush and sets the tone for the team. Deep and talented across the board. A bit older but they just spent their highest draft pick the past two seasons on the unit so they aren’t tragically older. Linebackers – A Minus – Edumonds was emerging as a Pro-Bowl and even All-Pro type player last season, Milano to me is tragically underrated as he is a Pro-Bowl caliber LB. AJ Klein offers a solid third LB in the non-nickel situations and is decent depth to flex into the MLB position. I could also see Addison flexing out to play LB if needed. However the depth behind them is lacking. V.Joseph is an interesting depth option but there isn’t much depth if Milano or Edumonds got hurt. Safety – B Plus – Hyde and Poyer are one of the top 5 starting safety tandems in the league. However I am not sure what depth they have behind them and Poyer did have some bumps in the road last season. Still I am very confident in the tandeum to deliver at least above average safety play. This unit is a bit concerning as this is a relatively older unit. Hyde will be 30 by seasons end and Poyer 29, while not ancient by secondaries standards it is a bit concerning. Corner Back – B Flat – One of the best in the game in White but then a lot of uncertainty behind him. I think T. Johnson is a good slot corner but he has shown a propensity to be banged up. They signed Josh Norman coming off of a down year and still have Levi Wallace who is decent but nothing special. Neal is also still on the roster and could develop. They also kicked the tires again on EJ Gaines and drafted Dane Johnson late. It’s a very weird unit. White is a stud and I like T. Johnson out the slot when healthy but outside of that it is a lot of uncertainty. Special Teams – B Plus – The ST unit last year was a fairly average unit. The return game was good as I think Roberts is a top 5 return man in the game (no worries about a muffed kick and a solid returner), the coverage unit last year was decent, but the kicker lost his range and the punter was inconsistent as hell. Well this year they sured up the coverage unit with two top notch specialists and they drafted a kicker with a big leg to compete with Haush. They also signed a punter to compete with Bojo. I think given the fact that the unit last year was a C Plus B Minus unit it is easy to project significant improvement from the pieces they added. Overall you look at this team and you see a lot riding on just how good Josh can be. Yes there are some other questions like can Knox develop and how will the corners behind White play, but overall this is Josh’s team to navigate. He has the players to throw to, a good RB combo and an effective O-line. The defense should be at the worst a top 10 unit in the league and could easily be top 5 again. The ST unit should be above average at worst. The questions will always be can Josh take that next step?

He reached the playoff with the Bears in 2005 and 2006.

I would agree it is risky, it is much more likely to be outdated than a throwback. However if you are going to buy one go with a guy like Tre White who has proven himself over 3 seasons and is still young.

The union would defend him unless the rules say specifically otherwise. So it mostly is going to come down to the letter of the law.

If you are going to hold out you also need to have more than 1 good season. If Cook was coming off of back to back very good to great seasons and had one more year left on his deal I would say you could at least hold out under the idea of "I have proven what I am." Cook hasn't proven he is able to stay on the field consistently and produce yet he wants a new deal? The gaul to say you want a deal after one good season at a less than premium position is just laughable. If you were a QB who had one really good season a team would want to see you sustain success, a RB hoping for a big deal after one good season is just barking up the wrong tree.

Steve Hutchinson is also in the HOF. I would say that Faneca (the other guard on the NFL's 2000's All-Decade Team) definitely deserves to be in ahead of Ruben Brown. I think Brown is in the range of a guy like Jahari Evans (1 more All-Pro selections a few less Pro-Bowls) instead of All-Time guards like Hutchinson and Faneca.

Was Ruben Brown ever in the conversation for the best guard in the league at any point in his career? Genuinely asking, because I was just getting into football when Ruben was at his peak. I know guys like Hutchinson and Faneca were routinely among the top guards in the league in the 2000's. Now in the past 10 years Marshal Yanda, Zach Martin, and Quinton Nelson (albeit recently on Nelson) have been the top guards year in and year out. I don't know if Ruben was the dominant guard for as long as others who have been in the HOF were? Would 1-2 more All-Pro Teams made the difference? I don't know it is all arbitrary but I think with a position like guard it is often times hard to tell.

Cook might be an upgrade over what we have he might not. But I am not paying him a sizable deal and giving up a draft pick for him. Moss and Singletary will do just fine. With one coming of a productive rookie year

I think a lot of what makes Tom Brady so impactful is that he avoids sacks and turnovers so well and he rarely wastes a down. The Pats under Brady would rarely find themselves in third and long situations. Part of what makes Brady so efficient is the fact that he is almost always getting production out of a down even if it is just a 2-4 yard dump off. Brady also prefers a safe 8-9 yard throw that would produce a first or a 2nd or 3rd and short to a riskier 25 yard gain. Which results in less turnovers and incomplete passes and still moves the ball forward productively even if it cuts down on the bigger plays. I think Josh and Daboll need to learn how to make each other more efficient. Josh as 2019 went on learned to avoid the turnovers a bit more but he still took a lot of sacks which tend to be drive killers. If Daboll can put Josh in a game script that allows Josh easy plays on first and second down I think Josh can get more comfortable and feel the need to “make something happen.” I think that it is good that Josh can make some plays here and there but if he is asked to do that too often he will make mistakes and develop poor habits. Whereas if he is in a position to make good decisions often he will develop that. I have no problem with a run heavy offense but the short pass should be a big early down component to any offense.

Faneca was an absolute beast, he was an All-Pro First Team player 6 times and a Second team All-Pro twice. He was a key reason why the Steelers had one of the best rushing attacks year in and year out in the early to mid-2000's. He also was a Pro-Bowl player from 2001-2009. Even in his two years with the Jets he was still a dominant player and one of the reasons they had a good rushing attack those seasons. I think Faneca being arguably the second best guard of the decade behind Hutchinson puts him in the HOF for me. Ruben Brown on the other hand I think falls into the category of a guy who isn't HOF worthy (although WOF worthy for sure in my book.) Ruben Brown was never a first team All-Pro his two career accolades are 4 Second Team All-Pro selections (1998-2000 and 2002) and a gaudy 9 Pro-Bowl selections(1996-2003 and in 2006) at a time when the Pro-Bowl still somewhat relevant as a bonafide. So while Brown was always near the best at his position for a long period of time I never considered him to be among the best 2-3 guards in the league at least not for a long period of time. He was a very good player for a long time and at his peak flirted with being great. Even factoring in his good run with the Bears in 2005 and 2006 where he returned to being a very good player I can't say that he cracks the HOF for me.

WR 1-3 The Bills have a complement that is as good or close to any team in the league. While having Mac a decent gadget WR and some interesting depth. TE - The Bills lack here unless they can get a big leap in production from Knox. O-Line - Upper Mid-Level O-line at worst in my opinion with depth to sustain more injuries than most O-lines in the league. RB - A good up and coming RB in Singletary being paired with a high draft pick in Moss. Overall around Josh I say he has a top 10 supporting cast, and if Knox can be an above average TE this season than look out because then the Bills could be looking at having all the pieces in place.

I love the aggressiveness Josh shows on third down. However I think on first and second down he needs to take a check down a bit more. The easiest way to get in third and long situations is to not take the 3-4 yard or even 2 yard dump off on an early down. So yes be aggressive but not stupid on third down but be smart on first and second down so you don't have to be aggressive as much on third down.

Adding Diggs will help Josh a lot, it gives Josh 3 legitimate high quality professional passing outlets while using Knox, Singletary and other receivers as complementary options. But Josh has to have a lot of growth in his game if the Bills want to go from a good playoff team in the 10-11 win range to a 12+ win team that is seriously contending.