dpberr

My issue with the Ken Dorsey era was that his game plans seemed to pay no attention to 1) weather or 2) what the defense was giving, and that made his strategy predictable as defenses had more "tape" to watch, especially against the more astute DCs like Lou Anarumo.

Surprise cut: Mike Edwards (S): Availability is the best skill to have in any profession, and he missed all of minicamp, most of OTAs, and is now out for a week with a hamstring injury.

Case in point - the near hero that day for the Dolphins - Skylar Thompson - grew up in Jackson County, Missouri, played for Kansas State. Plenty of cold and snow.

Love it from a Bills perspective. That's a lot of money for Mr. Just September All-Pro. Stupid from a Dolphins perspective. They need a quarterback that can perform in cold weather. Hell, they need a whole team that doesn't curl up in the fetal position once it hits 32 degrees.

Josh Shapiro is too moderate, hetero and Jewish to be the Harris VP. He's doing a good job here in PA. A pleasant surprise, and he speaks well. He can run his own campaign in 2028.

Irrational as it is, my biggest pet peeve (and fear) about commercial flight is the *super* young flight crews. I was on a Delta flight recently and both Captain and FO looked barely drinking age and it made me uneasy. The weirder thing was the flight attendants were both older women who could be their mothers. I think all airline pilots should look like 70s Efrem Zimbalist Jr. or Sally Ride.

Although the owner doesn't deserve the praise, I'm happy to see the Pirates at 52-50 this year, and although I'm a Twins fan, the Royals also competitive at 56-47. Pirates haven't had a winning season since 2018, Royals since 2015.

I suspect another quiet NFL story is Jackson has chronic health issues, and staying healthy is a more difficult task for him. I think that's why Baltimore was reluctant to throw a $$$$ contract at him.

6-7 wins. Solid defense, skilled position players, solid head coach. Even if McCarthy is less than stellar, they will be competitive. I don't think anybody is out-tanking the Patriots this year. The 2024/2025 Patriots season is all about seeing what they've got and the 2025 draft.

Journalism is so lazy today. 90% of it is just shotgunned freelance content for content's sake or journalists who'd rather be columnists so all their energy goes into their opinion pieces. That unnamed executive could be working for the Dolphins or could be out of the league for 20 years. That NFL executive also could be the assistant HR director. Or simply fiction.

The defensive lineman who shows up in the 4th quarter to make the game changing play. Throwing fresh bodies at the problem doesn't get it done. I don't' care if this lineman does absolutely nothing for three quarters, or hell, doesn't even play in the first half. The talent, the skill, how the money is made is in making *the* plays in the 4th.

Over. The league this year will feel like a throwback to the 90s with all the rushing plays. Bills and other teams will run it a ton.

My vote is Dawson Knox. Not so much an outright cut, but a win-win trade to a team where he'd see starter snaps and for the Bills, get out from under that contract. Yes, there are plenty of footballs to catch, but perhaps one of the pass catchers not named Kincaid, Samuel or Coleman outplays him and they don't need to pay that much for a blocking TE.

Jim McMahon. Just liked the way he played football. For me, his most memorable season was one of his last - his 1991 season. He was with the Eagles, and the Eagles were expected to compete for the Super Bowl that year behind what would become one of the greatest defenses in NFL history. Randall Cunningham is lost for the season with a torn ACL in the *first* game, and McMahon, as the backup, piloted the Eagles to a 10-6 record and into the playoffs, despite himself sustaining multiple serious injuries, including five broken ribs and barely being able to move his arm.

I was a big fan of Colorado hiring Sanders as coach, as I thought he was legitimately talented at not only coaching football, but also guiding young men. He's disappointed me - especially with the complete lack of self awareness that the first season wasn't great, and his propensity to blame everyone for the 4-8 season but he and his kids. All that said, I don't think the school cares about his antics or the team's record as long as the stadium seats are filled.

Absolutely not. I think if his kicking looks fragile in camp, they need to execute the Plan B at that position.

I think if you put both quarterbacks on the worst team in the league and asked them to win a game running their plays and their OC calling those plays, I think Josh Allen wins a game before Patrick Mahomes does. I think Allen is the better quarterback both physically and tactically, and I think he's more adapt to working with what he's got on offense. I think Patrick Mahomes has benefited *greatly* from Andy Reid's genius for football. He's a generational tactician and strategist.

Von Miller. I think a lot of people - including Bills brass - expect this resurgent year. I don't. I think you'll get a season that a 35 year old player, with 173 games on the body can provide. He'll give it his all, but there's a limit. The battery will wear down quickly. His season stats will be front loaded into September-October. I want to be completely wrong on this opinion. I think this is his last season playing football, and I'd like to see him go out with 10+ sacks.

My vote will be for MVS. Let's say he has a great camp and makes the team. Season numbers won't excite you, but he will show up in one or more of those must have late season games with a fantastic catch or one-off 100 yard game.

Center. Critical position. They have to get a lot right consistently. Kicking is a close second. I sense a kicker who has lost confidence.

Another vote for Eric Moulds. 6'2, 210lbs. He'd have 1,000-1,200 yard seasons every season.

A lot would have to go wrong for the Bills not to win the division this year. I picked the Jets because the Dolphins, until they prove otherwise, are not a cold weather/bad weather team and will always backslide come December, and this year, after Thanksgiving, they play at Green Bay, at Cleveland, at NYJ. That's likely three losses. They also play the Bills at home November 3. Jets ride and die on AR's health and the defense, which mitigates the mediocre coaching. I suspect this is AR's last season playing professional football, so he may give it his all. For the Patriots, this is a tank year for learning and restocking for 2026, which would be Maye's third pro year.

Great actor. I always found his bit part in JFK some of his best acting.

ESPN's salvation is embracing ABC's old Wide World of Sports mindset, covering obscure sports few know or watch and competitions in America and across the world. The Gay Bowl, to me, is something people would watch. Reasons why they'd watch would vary. Perhaps this league has a team that is the best flag football team in the country. Who knows? Dodgeball the Movie showed ESPN the way. Need to embrace The Ocho.

I need to learn more about how I can write the hottest of takes *and* get paid for it. I'm not even sure Gary's work on that one qualifies as educated guess. The Bills would never do this deal. Let's say in the world of possibilities, that they were interested, they would do the deal in 2025 as a rental for a playoff run and only take on a portion of the last year of salary under his contract. The Bills would not sign the then 31-year old player to a new contract.