hondo in seattle

I want Dorsey to have a burning passion to win. But his breakdown was childish.

So easy that 31 highly knowledgeable GMs fail every year

This was a good analysis but entirely focused on the good stuff. But the run game Thursday was a mixed bag. Why no analysis of the plays that didn’t work? The video felt a little like a Bills PR production - all optimistic and laudatory- without any balance.

51-3

I think it’s weird to call Edmunds a MLB even if that’s his official position. The Bills typically only play 2 LBs so neither is in the middle. And Edmunds doesn’t play the old run-plugging, halfback-destroying Jack Lambert, Dick Butkus MLB role. Edmunds is not as physical but he’s more agile and better in coverage.

Maybe 300 yards is the wrong threshold for passing. I wonder what the win percentage is for teams with 320 yards passing? 350 yards passing?

I hope the new stadium minimizes wind and maximizes crowd noise - the way Seattle’s stadium does.

The refs do offseason training and certain rules get emphasized. I think that will influence the flags far more than any hype about either of the two teams.

Listening to player interviews, I think they're handing the expectations well: focus on the grind, one game at a time, etc. I worry more about other things: our cornerback situation while Tre is out, the development of Boogie and Groot, the depth on our offensive line, will even the starting OL be good enough? The Lombardi isn't being handed to us. I expect challenges we'll need to meet.

When I first saw the poll, I thought the results would be 100% for the Bills. Then I remembered there are always people like wjag who feel compelled to escape from the herd.

OJ, the man, is an evil monster. But OJ the running back: poetry in motion. He played back in day when defenses were designed to stop the run, DE's were tackling edge-setters, linebackers were killing machines, and the very best athletes became halfbacks anyway. And OJ was the best of them all. The youngsters here may not remember that at USC, OJ was part of the relay team that set a 4x110 world record. OJ was fast and, as far as I know, he's the only Bill to own a world mark for non-football athletics. But as good as a track athlete as he was, with his size, agility, strength and insane elusiveness, OJ was born to be a running back. While backs like Cookie ran over people and backs like Barry jitterbugged his way away from people, OJ drew graceful curves in the gridiron that left defenders impotently grasping at the demigod that just blew by. He had tremendous vision and a remarkable innate understanding of geometry that allowed to see opportunities before they even developed. In the 1970s, thousand-yard seasons were the benchmark for greatness. The season, of course, was only 14 games long back then. And it was hard to average 71 yards/game when stopping the bell cow back was typically Job Number One. Still, in 1973, both John Brockington and Calvin Hill managed to rush for 1140 yards or so. Given the defensive schemes and priorities of the time, it was a great accomplishment. Yet OJ ran for over 2,000 yards - 75% more than the nearest competitor. When has any other Bill produced 75% more yards, sacks, receptions, TD, INTs, or any other meaningful stat than his nearest competitor? OJ, in his prime, was beyond comparison, beyond words.

I know wealthy people who are wealthy because their parents' money bought them business opportunities that the rest of us don't have. Nice to see Jessica succeeding on her own. Seems like a good young lady.

I'm struggling with my Top Five. But I'd put OJ #1. I think it's crazy that some RB rankings have him #8 or #13 or some other lowly grade. Either the author focused on career stats or took away points for OJ being evil. But in his prime, he was other-worldly. Bruce would be my #2. After that things get murky. But I do believe Josh is scary good. Brady's presnap reads are uncanny and he throws the ball amazing consistency. But Allen makes plays with both his legs and his arm that make you think, "Wow!"

CSH, good post. Roster turnover is inevitable. When only one, maybe 2, of our six lost starters is still starting in the NFL, it doesn't sound like we got weaker. Especially when one of the newly gained starters is a future HOFer. My only concern is that neither of our starting CBs from last season will be playing against Cooper Kupp and the Rams.

It's a valid question but, for me, a little too granular. We can hyperanalyze Beane's hit and misses but the fundamental truth is that he's built the best roster since Polian was here. All GMs make mistakes - player evaluation is not an exact science. But Beane's overall body of work has been strong.