hondo in seattle

To paraphrase Sun Tzu, "The skillful leader attacks only what's left undefended."

If Fords hold his blocks .3 - .5 seconds longer, JA won't have to run for his life and will get passes off quicker.

I think Beane's done a nice job of bringing a lot of competition to camp. It used to be you pretty much knew the final 53 before preseason even started. Now there's real competition. I wonder if anyone has the stats on this: how many guys we cut each year make other rosters?

My hope is that the OL improves this season with fewer injuries and the continuity from last year. I'm just not sure there's enough actual individual talent on this line for it to be a great one.

McD does love versatile players. I found this on a Seahawk website... Jefferson, soon-to-be 27, has quietly been a strong part of Seattle’s defensive line in each of the past two seasons. In 30 games (24 starts) Jefferson racked up 29 solo tackles, 25 quarterback hits, 6.5 sacks and five passes defended from 2018-2019. His versatility was key for the Seahawks, as he was capable of lining up at five-tech and rushing the passer and also lining up at three-tech and plugging holes up the middle. Seattle is likely trying to save their money to bring back defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, but even if they are able to bring him back they will have another hole to fill following the loss of Jefferson. https://seahawkswire.usatoday.com/2020/03/17/former-seattle-seahawks-dt-quinton-jefferson-reaches-agreement-with-buffalo-bills/

Listening to Belichick talk, I don't get the impression this is a guy who feels like he has anything left to prove. But if he still loves the challenge of coaching, he'll still coach. If was going to retire prior to the 2020 season, I think he would have done so by now.

Beane screwed up trading for KB. But, boy, he's made amends since.

I don't know, man. Diggs is a proven NFL talent. Too many 1st rounders don't end up as good as their projections/draft position.

Saints perspective.... "Klein’s veteran presence will be missed on the Saints defense, as he was solid, if unspectacular, in defending both the pass and run." https://www.canalstreetchronicles.com/2020/3/16/21182870/new-orleans-saints-free-agent-lb-aj-klein-to-sign-with-buffalo-bills-contract "Linebacker A.J. Klein has been a steady player for the Saints since he arrived here in 2017. He’s stout in run support, improved in coverage and can get after the passer as a blitzer. This season he finished with 69 tackles and had a career high 2.5 sacks. He also got his first career pick-six in the season finale against his former team, Carolina. Klein enters free agency as a quality, consistent starting linebacker that can still be very effective. "

Knox dropped an astounding 10 of 50 passes thrown to him. His 20% drop rate is ridiculously high. Who knows what this upcoming season will look like. But if Know lacks natural hand-eye coordination, that's not coachable. https://www.foxsports.com/nfl/stats?season=2019&week=100&category=RECEIVING&opp=0&sort=10&qualified=1&sortOrder=0

Knox can't catch. Kroft can't stay healthy. Smith can't get open. Croom hasn't done much in his short career and Sweeney has done even less. I'm agreement with everyone who says we need another TE option.

Where did I complain? Where did I suggest people can't talk about it? The well-known importance of continuity is already being discussed in the Spain thread. FO has been discussing it since at least 2007. I asked why we had a new thread - wondering if maybe there was a new angle since no link was given.

The importance of OL continuity is not a new insight. Why a new thread?

This is true - but it would be irresponsible of Beane not to bring in some OL competition. We did not have a Super Bowl caliber OL last year.

I scored him 91 to 100. We earned a playoff appearance last year and we're still something like $90 million under the cap. That's remarkable. I may change his grade depending on how well he drafts this year and how well he spends that $90 mil but so far I'm really happy with Beane. I especially liked how Beane decisively disassembled the team before reassembling it with the kind of players he and McD want. That took some cojones. Beane has had his misses but I don't expect any GM to bat 1.000. Even talented guys swing and miss sometimes.

With pot becoming legal in more and more states, I'm not surprised. But let me be the scorned minority and say I'm not a fan of the NFL's new tolerance. While marijuana is good for pain management, it comes with a lot of health concerns. I don't think athletes should use it though I grant they're adults and can make their own informed choices. My concern is more about the kids they influence. I wouldn't mind the NFL getting tougher on off-the-field behavior rather than softer. Playing in the NFL is a privilege, not a right. Because of the influence celebrity athletes have on kids, I think the NFL should have a demanding code of conduct that they enforce.

For everyone applauding the promotion, let me ask: why? Certainly the D has played well under McD & Frazier. But how much of that can we attribute to McD and how much to Frazier? As far as that goes, how much do we attribute to Beane for getting the right players? I'm not knocking Frazier. I actually tend to think highly of the guy. I just don't honestly know how much he contributes when the HC is a defensive guy.

Josh's background at Wyoming wasn't typical so why expect him to have typical progression? Anyway, each QB is unique and progress in their own individual way. Jim Plunkett, for example, was a mediocre NFL starter until he went to Oakland and led them to the Super Bowl where he was named the MVP. I'm not sure how good Josh will become I'm more hopeful than afraid about next season.

Weird how many Bills fans are/were Browns fans.

My mom was from the Paris area - the suburb of Drancy to be precise. She met my dad at the conclusion of WWII and moved to Buffalo. And while she adopted a lot of local customs, I could never convince her to become a Bills fan. She thought American football was barbaric and only grudgingly let me play. The Bills Mafia is a great reason to be a fan!

Similar history... Although I grew up in Cheektowaga, my family were not BIlls fans when I was a kid. The first NFL game I ever watched on TV was the Cleveland Browns versus the Dallas Cowboys - back when the Browns were in the old Century Division. The Browns, led by Bill Nelson (QB), Leroy Kelly (RB) and Paul Warfield (WR), were losing badly so of course, being 10, I started rooting for them. When they came back to win, I was hooked. I was a bigger Browns fan than Bills fan in my childhood though OJ became my favorite player. It was only when I went out of state for college that the Bills surpassed the Browns in my heart because they were the hometown team and a way of connecting with my friends and family back in Buffalo. When the Browns moved to Baltimore, my Brownie fandom ended forever.

GMs have a bunch of talented scouts who talk to coaches, interview players and watch hundreds of hours of game tape. Some GMs use private investigators. As Thurman#1 points out, they get doctors involved as well. Even a good ex-GM like Gil Brandt can't come close to the analytical work of a real GM - he just doesn't have the massive resources at his disposal that they do. NFL teams literally spend millions of dollars on talent evaluation. While all that cash doesn't buy any team a crystal ball, it's largely money well spent. When the media talks about a guy rising or falling on draft day, what they're really saying is that they under- or over-valued a player. The amateur/media evaluation of the player didn't match how the professionals evaluated him. I'm interested though in how well GMs mock each other. Guessing who other teams will pick is an integral part of the draft process. While GMs are much better at evaluating college talent than the media, I wonder how much better they are - if at all - at mocking other teams. I'm not sure how they do this.

I was only a little kid when James Harris played. But I still remember him getting brutalized one game. One play stands out: it's either 3rd or 4th down, Harris was getting slammed but somehow he still got the ball out for a first down completion. I decided right then that he was a warrior and I was a fan.

You try composing a poem extemporaneously on an old fashioned typewriter and see how many spelling mistakes and typos you have! Wite-Out was my best friend in college. Not just a weirdo street poet. He's a soothsayer: "the super bowl a dessert... not far off."

My first thought was to skirt the rules and say Eric Moulds - given our need for a #1 WR. But I'll play nice and say Freddie. His football character is often praised but I think some fans under value his actual talent. In his prime, he could make yards out of nothing.