hondo in seattle

I agree we badly need a WR. But maybe Beane isn't enamored with the remaining WRs and thinks they're more Mack Hollins than Andre Reed. We can get a JAG later on in the draft, or cheaply in free agency, if that's what we're down to. I'd love to see Beane's board and how he's got guys rated. But I'd rather get a superstar safety or DL than a jag receiver if that's what's left.

I voted "yes" simply because I trust Beane (he's an above-average GM) and I didn't love the WRs available based on the little I saw and read. I'm really curious to see what he's going to do today, though. And I'd love to hear his reasoning. (I would have selected "wait and see" if Gugs included that).

The draft is like gambling. You play the probabilities and hope the cards come up right.

I once listened to an interview with a successful GM - I think it was Ron Wolf. He said that he considered a draft decent if he got one Pro Bowler out of it and it didn't matter if the guy came from the 4th round and the 1st rounder was a bust. A really good draft netted him two Pro Bowlers. That's how he rated his drafts. He explained that most players fill roles (i.e., they're JAGS). To win a SB, you needed players who were difference-makers. He said that it's better to get a difference-maker at a position you may not need than a role-player at a position where you do have a need. I rarely watch college football and am no talent scout. But if DeJean is truly a difference-maker when the WRs left are mediocre role-players, then I'm all for the pick.

I also have reservations about Ruff and maybe you're right that he'll have problems relating to younger players. But, again, thinking of Andy Reid... Reid was rated A+ by his players in the NFLPA survey after this past season - best in the NFL. And he relates well enough with his players to win championships. If Ruff fails, I don't think it'll be because of his age. nflpa.com/kansas-city-chiefs-report-card-2024

This was a bad trade for Carolina. The fact we were willing to make the trade pretty much tells them we didn't want Legette. If we wanted him, we would have made the pick and not traded it away.

As someone who's 65 and - arguably - physically fit and mentally sharp, no I'm not concerned that Ruff's 64. Why should I be? Andy Reid is 66. Age doesn't seem to interfere with his ability to coach a team to a championship. Hopefully things aren't so bad with the Sabres that we need Ruff to suit up again.

It depends. Let's say you're a CB playing press coverage in a zone defense. Jamming a smaller, quick guy is easy if you can get your hands on him. You'll push him back and disrupt his route. But once he gets away, he's gone - unless of course you're also very quick. In any case, in zone you probably have a safety backing you up. And let's say you're a smallish DB going against a 6'4" receiver with good hands, a big catch radius, and speed. And he's a talented route-runner. He's going to be hard to defend in any defense. I don't think you can say big receivers are either better or worse than small quick guys. It depends on the receiver, defender, and the defensive play-call.

When he was in college, I hoped he'd have a good career just because I liked his name. Amon and Ra are both Egyptian gods. But 'Saint' is a Christian concept. His parents seem ecumenical... or very confused. His brothers are named "Osiris" and "Equanimeous." Fun family.

Maybe I'm wrong but I don't think having Knox and Kincaid as our two 'ends' is a winning formula. Not enough speed to threaten defenses vertically. And what if one gets hurt? TEs are nice. But a team needs a diversity of weapons to challenge a good NFL defense. Let me daydream for a moment. Imagine we had our current TEs and wideouts and added Eric Moulds and Lee Evans to the mix. That would make for a dynamic aerial attack. We need to move more in that direction.

Pro Football News rates him a bit better... "Kneeland grades out as a fringe top-100 prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft. He could sneak into Day 2 or be a priority prospect on Day 3. Either way, he’s a quality addition in the middle rounds, with an intriguing mix of high-floor and high-ceiling tools."

My bad... I was looking at his playoff records. Feel somewhat better now.

Yeah, that quote was a nothing burger if we're using it to try to predict the draft. Every HC and OC wants receivers who present matchup problems. The comment told us nothing about the future, but it might have told us something about the past. I'm guessing McD didn't think we gave opponents enough matchup problems last year. I saw some analytics that showed both Davis and Diggs were below the NFL average in separation. I'm 65 but can still catch a football. If there were teams that didn't care about matchup problems and my 6-minute 40 time, I'd have a shot!

I love coaching people in my day job. And, as a former combat leader, I love strategy and tactics. If I had 10 lives to live, I'd spend on of them as a football coach.

I don’t think our opening day roster will be as good as last season’s. But I think McD is a solid coach and Josh is an exceptional QB. Brady is my biggest worry. But if we’re healthy at the end of the season, we can make a run.

These guys are all either fast-but-small or big-but-slow. Not encouraging. Then again, Steve Largent was neither big nor fast and still did okay in the NFL.

Generally speaking, you're right. But it doesn't mean Beane is lying. Clearly, he's not going to share his board with the media. But it seems like he's decided there's no harm in talking about generalities in regard to his draft philosophy this year. He was sufficiently vague that he didn't give any other teams an advantage. We were left with some hints about what he won't do but very few about what he will do. He gave enough clues to get the mafia's cerebral juices flowing without giving away anything definitive. And my cerebral juices tell me Alpha is right and Beane's not moving into the top 10. If that's right, it's not a surprise given our lack of trade capital.

35% of UDFAs don't make the Pro Bowl - not even close - so it sounds like scouts are doing a good job.

Also, I think OJ's less famous lawyer, Barry Sheck, convinced the juror that a lot of the forensic evidence wasn't credible. And while some might dispute Sheck's forensic competency, let's remember he was performing for a juror that did not think police officers or forensic experts were particularly credible in the first place.

The draft pool may be more shallow this year but solid starters will come out of every round. Good GMs and scouts will find them. Hopefully Beane and his guys are looking at the right things.

Obviously, I'm interested in seeing who the Bills do and don't draft. But I think Brady is the biggest wildcard when it comes to the production of our wideouts. If it turns out he's good at scheming guys open, something he did not prove last year, we'll be fine. If he's not, even drafting one of the better rookie's won't optimize Josh's potential.

Absolutely agree. "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts..." That's exactly how I see McD's defense. I don't think he gets enough credit for our excellent regular season defensive performance over the years. He creates elite defenses with a paucity of elite players. That - and injuries - is why we don't excel in the playoffs. McD's magic fails when we lose too many one-on-one battles against elite players in the playoffs. Somebody mentioned Poyer and Hyde as a freakazoid combo. I agree. I don't know if either was individually elite but, man, they played well together. I think a number of things contributed to that: their communication and teamwork, the fact they were interchangeable, their football IQ, and McD's defensive scheme. Tre was freakazoid but drafted right before Beane came onboard as I recall. But Beane is trying. Diggs was a freak but expensive and possibly a distraction. Von should have been a freak but he was also expensive, and injuries have limited his impact. We can't keep paying top dollar for game-changing players. We need to draft some. Beane did draft Allen but that was in 2018. I want Beane to be good enough to draft one freak each year. That would get us to the Super Bowl.

100% agree. And I think that's been Beane's problem thus far. He did pick Josh. And he builds good rosters with solid depth. But Josh is the only elite player on the roster. Beane needs to get us more game-changers in the draft because he hasn't left himself enough cap money to do it any other way.

Good catch. The Bills drafted just 1 of the 10 players they visited most with last season. The chart doesn't seem to be much of a clue.

If he was innocent, which I sincerely doubt, it's a shame he was never exonerated. If he was guilty, it's a shame he was never appropriately punished. I've seen lists of the NFL's top all-time RBs that didn't include OJ in the top five. At first blush, that's insane. But I get that his post-career crimes will always taint his career achievements - and rightly so. But I also remember the divinely gifted athlete he was before his devilish acts. OJ played in the Golden Age of Running Backs when America's best athletes wanted to tote the ball and defenses were focused on stopping them. Yet in 1973, OJ rushed for 2,003 yards when the next best Golden Era RB only produced 1144 yards. OJ nearly doubled the back who would have worn the rushing crown that year if not for OJ. Tom Brady, the Golden Boy of the Passing Era, never achieved that kind of relative production. Not even close. If not for his crimes, OJ would be in the GOAT conversation. Instead, he's a chapter of NFL history most would like to ignore and forget. It's sad for me because he was my first, and last, football idol.