BADOLBILZ

Yep........as do Butler, Zimmer and Obada.

Last year was different.......he improved greatly in general.........particularly in throws in the 21-30 yard range where he ranked #1 in completion % after finishing dead last in that category in 2019. And yet despite that and being the 4th most accurate overall passer.........per NFL Next Gen Stats he was only the 14th ranked in deep ball accuracy in 2020. https://www.facebook.com/nflnetwork/videos/211552707232333/?t=8 The link above was from prior to the Colts game. The Colts defense was very poor against the deep ball in 2020 and the storyline was predicting that Allen would not be able to take advantage of that because his deep passing #'s were much worse than the Colts allowed ON AVERAGE thru the season. They were right......he couldn't connect over the top that day. He ended up putting up a lot of crooked numbers overall and they eeked out a win........ but it was a struggle and he took a beating. Days like THAT are why he needs to be able to execute the deep ball like someone with both the strongest arm in the league and high level short-intermediate accuracy should. He may not get injured taking all of those extra hits but it will take its toll. I expect deep ball touch/timing/accuracy to be the big gain this offseason...........hopefully they have the personnel to maximize his improvement. So again, you are wrong in thinking it's not an area where he needs much improvement.

It's not an easy conversion but I am hoping we see more players try to make the move to football now that the salaries for good TE's are much improved. Canisius own Chris Manhertz has managed to be a 4 year active player in the NFL(plus his brief Bills tenure).........and there are much more impressive athletes than him in almost any major conference basketball game that also have no real shot at NBA money. Manhertz almost certainly made a lot more money in those 4 seasons than he'd have made if he somehow managed to have a good overseas hoops career(which was highly unlikely, IMO).

Well then shouldn't they be trying to fill that position? I get it, you feel harmed by my sarcasm so you are amongst a group who always like to jump into discussions just to be contrary.........I'm flattered, really..........but the entire point of this branch of the discussion is whether they need a deep threat option. So thanks for your support, I guess.

Wrong.......I did not ask for stats.......Doc made a statistical declaration.........that Allen was "8th in the NFL". He made up a stat to shout down a discussion..........much the same as you made up this narrative. I have a stat for you...........you have become the #1 most consistently wrong poster on this site. There really is no reason to be a truther about areas where the team or it's players can improve.

Again.........when it comes to key positions......LT being one of them........when you need them you REALLY need them. Desperately. Interior OL you can always patch up with free agents.

I like to say they are still a half dozen for a dime............but even the 1st round RB's for the past couple decades have been more miss than hit. The question is if your organization is comfortable turning over the position a lot. A guy like Jackson can probably give you some good football............he is a one-speed back though so it's probably not going to be a long tenure...........but how long do you expect to get out of guys like Etienne and Harris who have already put in around 800 touches in the past 3-4 years? Sometimes they arrive in the league already in decline nowadays. Not the same athletes playing the position anymore.

I am still waiting on the "he finished 8th in the NFL stat" you lead with.........8th in what? We all saw him overthrow or not put enough air under a significant amount of his deeper throws last year............the deep ball is not an easy throw to complete but he just made too many uncompetitive/uncatchable throws for someone with his ability. I expect he will clean it up..........I've compared it to a guy like LeBron entering the NBA with a jump shot weakness and he gradually turned it into a big strength and that took a ton wear and tear off his body over time. Allen getting a deep ball could do the same. If you followed Cover 1 last season Allen often pulled the ball down and ran for first downs when he had created plenty of time to square his feet and throw and knew his man had single coverage beaten deep. He knew that he could not trust his deep accuracy enough and instead ran the ball and took a hit to keep the chains moving. He has so much room for growth in that area and it could alter the trajectory of his career if he gains the kind of confidence that guys like Russell Wilson and Brady have in their ability to throw accurately over the top of defenses. Of course it helps to have huge target deep ball winners like DK Metcalf and Mike Evans and Gronk even. Josh has Diggs but he's a much smaller target and really is too good in short to intermediate routes to use too often deep.

Not much but that one clip of him catching that deep throw from Jimmy G for a TD versus KC was encouraging. He has the makings of a crowd favorite.............fans love players who are cheap and don't seem to have caught the breaks. If Breida stays healthy thru camp and plays well in the opener expect to be moderating an "extend Breida now" thread that Monday.

Every year some relative nobody RB(or multiple) that no draftnik was really too excited about comes into the NFL and produces like you'd hope your early rounder would. James Robinson for Jax was that guy last year..........everybody who hates drafting RB's early and was playing with mock drafts was at least occasionally throwing him into their 6th or 7th round.........never sooner........and he comes in and puts up numbers on a terrible team that you'd think only a player like that Najee Harris or Etienne could.

I don't really expect OL but we were in the "what would opposing DC's think about the Bills pick" realm of imagination. It's a relatively strong draft for OT and WR. Typically, positions of strength like that will lead to several instances in that draft where that position has the BPA when you pick. I could see them selecting an OL to compete for the RG position now and eventually be capable of succeeding Williams or Dawkins. Job 1 of this organization has to be to keep Josh Allen healthy and productive.........teams are going to want to load up on defensive pieces to pressure and disrupt Allen and his receivers.......the easiest way to counter a myriad of high quality additions to opposing defenses is to field an exceptional OL and continue to give him extra time to throw anyway.

Again........8th in what specifically? The intended air yard stat in the Mile High Report article doesn't mean much wrt deep ball touch, timing and accuracy. That average IAY number is 9 yards and Allen is as good as it gets at throwing passes 20-25 yards on a rope. When you can do that with the harder intermediate throws you are going to average 9 IAY. Throwing catchable deep balls has been the biggest weakness in his game.

8th in what specifically? Allen is great on 20-25 yard throws......maybe the best in the NFL.......his arm strength allows him to throw them on a rope, not requiring much touch. But putting air under actual deep throws of 40+ yards has been a weakness despite his great arm. I believe it was going to be a focus this offseason and that he was going to close up that weak link in his game. All the more reason to give him a target or two that can just blaze a 9 route past a teams #2 CB while Diggs works the short to intermediate. They don't have that guy.

Oh offseason fantasies that never translate to the field...... In reality those DC's are saying thanks for not picking a top quality OL who might actually improve their line of scrimmage deficiencies of 2020 and instead drafting yet another 4.5-4.6 speed runnin' back who is now so invested-in that you will feel inclined to take the ball out of Josh Allen's hands more often than you should.

I'm a fan of Sanders but not a fan of the "same-ness" of their WR corps. We all know that Allen isn't yet adept at deep accuracy/touch/timing but they had a greater need for a legit deep threat with either an extra gear to get an overthrown ball or a huge catch radius.......or preferably both. That would complement the existing talent so much better, IMO. More room for RAC and less contested throws underneath. Probably create more running room for the backs.

Again.......you are putting yourself in the shoes of Watson. Upwards of 40% of NFL players are evangelical christian...........and the majority of players are christians of one denomination or another. Watson isn't an atheist like Aaron Rodgers.........he's a guy who has gotten a good deal of mileage out of being a man of faith. Faith In Action award winner.........baptized in the River Jordan........I'm thinking maybe you aren't the same guys.

He's very Jordan Mills-esque. It wouldn't be good if he were starting but it's certainly no worse than getting caught playing Mike Remmers at tackle. Hopefully Hart is getting the minimum. Remmers somehow got $3M in this market.

"It was an odd thing to bring up in this context".........GMAFB GB. When it came out that Watson was demanding a trade people, like yourself, RUSHED to defend him with the logic that the Texans management were lesser quality human beings ("Jesus Freaks!") than him. He deserved to work with better people. My opinion was stand by what you actually know about the situation. You really knew nothing about either side personally...........but you filled in A LOT of blanks to contrive an argument for one side. It's a common mistake.......you will probably insist otherwise because you are stubborn.........but I suspect next time you might be more inclined to realize that you don't know what you don't know rather than just auto-filling.

Another lesson for people who rallied behind Watson under the premise that this "poor guy" shouldn't have to play for "Jesus Freaks". You don't know these guys. Stick to what you ACTUALLY know about them..........which in Watson's case was that he signed a huge contract that nobody forced him to.......knowing that the organization was under intense criticism for their decisions.......and 5 months later was demanding he be traded.

"they were going straight down the toilet but ran out of schedule." They are making the most of their runway this year.............congrats on tying the record with your 18th straight winless game Sabres! Yeah........their situation is not like the Bills drought........the Bills were just mediocre for most of that period.........the Sabres have been the worst franchise in sports in the period the Pegula's have owned them. It's crazy bad.

With the 4 and 5 star recruits though............these kids families have dollar signs in their eyes..........those kids don't always get to choose what THEY want. I remember reading a story about Patrick Peterson years ago and how he had desperately wanted to be a RB but his father said no way..........the money is at CB.......and the rest is history. Peterson is the kind of athlete that might have run for 8k-10K yards 20 years ago........those guys aren't even playing the position now. It's a shock when you see a guy like Derrick Henry who has a $20M per year pass rusher body but somehow ends up staying at RB.

I have a sneaking suspicion that Toney won't run the 40 on Thursday at the Gators Pro Day. His is probably the biggest 40 in the entire draft.........1 tenth of a second could turn the 4 years of his rookie deal from $12M to $4M. If he isn't blazing in his private 40's he might just decide to feign a hammy and stand on his tape and hope someone still takes him in the top 40 picks.

No he's not as fast as Parrish. Toney reminds me of a poor-man's Peter Warrick. Warrick was seen as the most elusive WR college football had ever seen.........but he had only 4.56 speed(which today would probably read as 4.5 flat speed). He was a good player but generally considered a major disappointment because the lack of speed didn't translate to the pros. And that was a couple decades ago.........the back 7 of defenses are much faster now. To me, I wouldn't touch Toney in round 1 unless he runs a sub 4.4 40...........not worth the risk.........tons of good WR prospects in this draft it would be foolish to get yourself beat on day one.

Yep. Back in the 90's I used to say that the 3rd best athlete on most NFL teams was the 3rd string RB(who basically never played back then). Evolving into a pass-centric league has actually put the best athletes on the field. What the league needs to do though is figure out a bonus system or different pay scale for players who run the football.........those dudes take too much of the abuse for too little pay. As I pointed out Travis Etienne touched the ball over 800 times in 4 years in college...........Steve Largent and Shannon Sharp caught 819 passes each in 14 year NFL careers........the beating RB's take relative to other skill positions is substantial.

You don't get to 40K posts by actually reading posts you are responding to.