BADOLBILZ

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/39768770/dodgers-shohei-ohtani-interpreter-fired-theft So he first told investigators that he paid off $4.5M in bets to illegal gambling syndicate on behalf of his "interpreter"..............but then his lawyer says no the interpreter stole the money and has been fired. Interpreter says it wasn't bet on baseball and that he didn't know it was illegal and won't do THAT again, doggonit! Obviously, this is lifetime ban kinda' stuff we are talking about here. Ohtani can't be cutting checks to illegal gambling operations...........even if he wasn't the one actually placing the bets........which seems doubtful. Not that interpreters don't have unlimited access to all their clients bank accounts, I'm sure that's common. Very simple solution.........ban Shohei for 10 years. Only costs him $20M because all of his money is deferred. Win-win, in my opinion.

Junkarlo channels Reg-gie in game 6 of 77' and appropriately has what will likely be his signature moment as a Yankee.........in spring training.

It's slang so it's not a grammar issue. The point is that you are ignorant of the root of the term. Jambroni, jambroni, jambronibronibronbroni

I think you mean "jabroni". Gotta' be careful because if you use it but don't know how it's spelled then it makes you a jabroni. https://parade.com/living/jabroni-meaning

Metcalf was a pretty popular pick on this board for most of the 2019 offseason and there were plenty of people who wanted the Bills to select him even in round 1 and definitely in round 2. There were some very vocal anti-DK types who shouted a lot of them down. But Cody Ford was a good example of the "reach" player I am taking about.........he was a guy who wouldn't even be a consideration as a first or second rounder in a decent OL draft.........but in THAT weak OT draft he was viewed much more favorably than he deserved. If you thought taking him was OK with the ceilings of those receivers I guess you were on board with the then-green Beane about that..........but it never made any sense to me. RT is non-primo and Ford's ceiling with his limited athleticism(4 RAS) and lack of versatility was fringe starter. There are a lot of DL in this draft who some people are squinting at to look past their limitations and instead dreaming on being steals who are going to be on "free agent visits" still two weeks into free agency in 2028. We don't need another situation where a Ty Nsekhe type journeymen is beating out a trade-up-for second rounder like what happened with Cody Ford in that camp.

So would DK Metcalf and AJ Brown have been "reaching" late in the 1st round back in 2019? Or in hindsight OBVIOUSLY not? There are going to be some WR at the end of round 1 in this draft with better measurables/advanced stats than many WR who have gone in round 1 and subsequently had success in the past. On the flip side........there are other positions that are just weak. But at those positions the Bills might be able to get one of the top 3 rated players as opposed to maybe the 7th or 8th best WR. I could make a case in point of a non-premium position player..........but how about pass rusher in this draft? There are some years when a guy like Laiatu Latu would be a second or maybe even much later pick as a guy who had to medically retire from football for a couple years and enters the league with modest athleticism and turning age 24 in his rookie season. In THIS draft........some team(maybe the Bills) will almost certainly make him a first round pick. I think as an organization you have to have a list of priorities to help you make tough decisions in the draft. If it were up to me the deciding factor in any tossup situation is how does this help my incredible QB reach his ceiling? If you already have an offense that's putting up 33 points per game then........all else being equal........maybe it's time to take that pass rusher. If you are putting up 26-27 per game like the 2023 Bills did and your vast investments defensively keep resulting in losing shootouts or just getting speedboated on defense anyway.........then the answer is to defer toward WR or LT in round 1.

Worthy as well. 4 is A LOT of players at one position. I think if you take any of the rest of the WR that are bunched up around or behind them you probably better plan on taking one in both rounds. It's a GREAT draft for WR. It's also excellent for OL. Draft to the strengths of a draft. I don't buy into the idea that a strong draft at a position means you can just wait. If it's strong, get a good one early and then get another later. Not a good draft at all for DL. I had high hopes for this DT class a couple of years ago but the top prospects have really underperformed and there hasn't been even a normal amount of last-season risers. Definitely a bunch of guys who could use the motivation of only being day 3 picks.

To be clear I am definitely saying don't draft some positions. Safety........off-ball LB........DT 1T.......Guard......Center......RB. Never-ever in round 1. If that philosophy causes me to miss on a very good player at those positions so be it...........I will have to settle for paying on the open market a fraction of the market value of a premium position. Knowing QB is off the board due to Allen I can always get behind the right Pass Rusher, WR, OT. CB is becoming a tweener as a primo position as the salaries stagnate and as defense's make efforts to protect CB's with more safety help. If you can snag a great cover CB who can also play zone very well and you can maximize them within your scheme they are a primo. As far as not being able to predict immediate impact..........in general you can predict that the incoming WR class will outperform the DL class by a substantial margin. That's been the trend. The passing game has proven to be an area where more and more kids are arriving pro ready due to massive amounts of reps that are put in on the 7-on-7 level of the game. Pass rush still remains a position that tends to take much longer to get up to speed at the pro level.

Yeah if someone's philosophy is 3 players or bust at #28 six weeks before the draft then that's a narrow approach. And if there was a pass rushing DE at #28 that I thought projected to become a star and make a difference in beating Patrick Mahomes or Joe Burrow in the playoffs the next couple of seasons that would be great. I don't see that in Chop Robinson. He's an OLB with a ton of holes in his game at this stage. In a good edge draft he's a 2nd or 3rd round pick largely based on his combine numbers. Upside but not a lot on tape to love. Dejean is a safety and it's just too easy to find cheap talent at safety so using a $30M aav kinda' asset like a first round pick on a safety makes no sense to me. I like VanDemark too but it's a limited sample size. Young LT's are $30M worthy assets. The draft is about building the foundation of your team long term. As that applies to the big X receiver position.........well that's also a $30M worthy position as well. The fact that the Bills have only expended 1 pick in the first 3 rounds on a WR in Beane's 6 drafts(the 1st traded for Diggs) just so happens to have lined up a premium position with an immediate need.

There are always people who want to throw a first round pick at any perceived position of need. Even if it's devalued. There is a very vocal minority that often suggests RB in round 1 every year so any position outside of ST only will please some people if it's a perceived immediate need.

Again...........what position do you think promises more immediate help that also promises *comparable* long term value than WR? It's easy to come up with a reason to not draft any position. What's difficult is to compare and separate the options. I understand that we have people who are borderline frantic about patching every hole on paper...........not saying that's you but anyone who thinks that drafting a center or safety in round 1, for instance, is a good use of such a limited resource(1st round pick) is obviously coming from an immediately needy perspective.

You don't appear to have any real philosophy or game plan wrt to drafting on day 1. Is it just immediate need-based and no regard for the value of the position or, say, how it impacts by far the most important player on the team? For instance, why would you be upset with a tackle? Spencer Brown is a free agent next winter. Suppose he plays well........do you really want to pay him $20M aav? If there is a future star LT that you could put at RT for a couple seasons and then switch him to left if and when Dawkins flames out or needs to kick inside then why would you be upset? I'm not saying that would be ideal because I think the WR position is both a need and a place that is likely to provide BPA and also best player as a rookie at #28. But the draft is a process, not just an annual event to patch perceived immediate needs in the lineup.

But WR is more about the future than what? The targets and path talk is the same at any position. What late first round DL from the draft figures to garner the same or more snap share as the Bills returning 5 of Rousseau/Jones/Oliver/Epenesa/Miller? A first round guard or a safety would have an obvious path to a starting job right away if that's the criteria but otherwise any rookie figures to have to share snaps/targets for this team "unless they really hit on the players".

Can you explain what you mean by "more about"? More about future investment than a DT would be? That wouldn't track. You are much more likely to get big rookie production from a WR than a DT. The top 6 rookie producing WR combined last year averaged 1,040 yards. Nacua skews that data up but you still had a bunch of guys averaging over 50 yards receiving per game and making huge impacts for playoff teams........not just also-rans padding stats. The Bills still need a WR2 now and going forward.

I think drafting a DL in round 1 has proven to be a recipe for early exits from the the playoffs..............so fans are ready to try a different recipe. Investing the biggest personnel chip of the offseason on a WR and trying to get the offense back to that 2020 level where they invested that chip in Stef Diggs and then scored 31 points per game and went the farthest in the playoffs that they have in 30 years.

I like that comp. Reminds me of how much more in-tune with player capabilities the average fan can be now with all of the metrics that separate player strengths and weaknesses. Because most of TSW would have insisted Kelsay was a run-stuffing base DE back in the day just because he didn't get many sacks. I am assuming that's a link to his RAS.........which won't open on my apple products for whatever reason so here is a link: https://ras.football/2020/02/11/casey-toohill-ras/

What fans should take away from this is the importance of positional value in the draft. That's what a 25 year old WR with the *potential* to play any of the 3 receiver positions but who has still only averaged just a bit less than 800 yards and 3 TD's per season is worth on the open market. The WR the Bills draft in round 1 could have a market value in excess of $30M in year 2 and then you at least have the option to pick up his 5th year at a set price or use it as leverage to extend his deal with some savings. If you fnd yourself warming up to the idea of using your first round pick on a center like Jackson Powers-Johnson or a safety/CB like Cooper Dejean........just don't.

Yeah he should be more than adequate at center. Penn State and Dallas probably both wanted him at center because the way the game is now the guards have more "opportunity" to block. It's almost a waste putting the better blocker at center. I guess it's kinda' dirty to say it aloud or something but with defenses getting smaller and faster you don't need centers to take on 350# NT's head-up much anymore. Few teams play much true O tech. It's mostly 1 techs and then on obvious passing downs half the time the center doesn't even have anyone to block. Creed Humphrey leads the league in "air blocks" every year on his way to All Pro status. Not a lot of Dexter Lawrence types to really make it necessary to have a true beast at center.

Out of curiosity, why would you all say that you are worrying about a specific number when they could dig up another $50M or more of immediate space if they REALLY needed to and could sign the most expensive free agent left on the market for $5M or less cap hit in 2024? Is that not understood? I suspect it is related to the phenomenon of fans believing that ownership/management that they are satisfied with are of the same mind as them so knowing this very malleable number gives you a clear idea of exactly what they will do with it. Which is a futile exercise for a number of reasons. But are McBeane still in enough of a honeymoon phase with fans that this is still the case? It seems like they've had to have made enough unexpected turns that didn't pan out at this point that after 7 years you'd understand that you aren't of one mind with them.

Yeah Rasul is at the point now where age alone will likely lower his market value. No real advantage to extending him now. Draft another traits guy on day 3 and see if Benford and Elam elevate their games and then decide on Rasul next offseason.

Glad that Cole doesn't have a UCL tear. If platelet rich plasm injections are so good it makes you wonder why pitchers doesn't just get them periodically during the portion of the offseason when they aren't throwing at least. I guess we will see if he makes it back to form this season. On the positive front Luis Gil had a second straight strong outing today against Toronto. This 8K outing was from last week against most of the Phillies "A" lineup. Looks like he could be a very important bullpen arm for them at least. Maybe fill that Michael King role from prior to his switch back to the rotation. Curry and Lorentz were talking about Jonathon Loaisiga being a multi-inning option this year on the broadcast today. GTFOH. Lasagna is lucky to face 3 batters before his arm gets sore. I've been waiting for a month to see this game. Most of the Yankees top prospects from their 6 US minor league teams going against the Blue Jays top prospects. Spencer Jones hit 2 monster HR. I am tempering my enthusiasm for him because I know these big players can struggle to put it together but it's hard not to be impressed. After striking out 30% of the time in the minors last year he went 120 pitches into spring games before he even swung and missed. Seems to have made huge progress. Yankees lefty pitchers Brock Selvidge and Henry Lalane looked great. Jorbit Vivas looks like a legit potential Gleyber Torres or DJ LeMahieur replacement in 2025. Fun to watch, big swing but rarely misses. 2023 first rounder George Lombard looks like he belongs playing with these guys even though he's only 18. Probably the 3B for Yanks at some point in 2026. Caleb Durbin is promising as well and might help the Yanks this season even. The two most "ready" pitching prospects, RHP's Will Warren and Chase Hampton, will pitch tomorrow against the Red Sox.

The Bills averaged 26.5 points per game on the season and missed a chip shot field goal at the end to finish the Chiefs loss with 24. The Chiefs really didn't stop the Bills offense from getting all it was capable of. The Bills just couldn't generate big air yard completions so they had to nibble the Chiefs to death. They stupidly attempted to complete the longest air yard pass tiny target Khalil Shakir would have had on the season on 2nd and 9 after the 2 minute warning instead of just matriculating to the end zone against a tired Chiefs D over 5 to 6 more plays and finishing off a physical domination of the Chiefs defense with what would have been about 40 minutes of possession and 400 yards.

I would have done A LOT of things before I brought Trubisky back. He is certified useless at this point.

Good move for the Steelers. Young, athletic backup with upside. I am sure they think they will be drafting in the 20's next year and not be in line for a top ranked draft eligible QB so they get a chance to see if Fields is a fit and perhaps have an edge in his free agency next offseason. No way he gets that $25M option picked up.

Man, the Bears front office is so reminiscent of the Bills drought braintrust. @PromoTheRobot would be like a pig in sh!t shouting down rightfully angry fans and defending that clown show. 😂