2003Contenders
-
Posts
2,810 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Gallery
Profiles
Forums
Events
Posts posted by 2003Contenders
-
-
3 minutes ago, stevewin said:
He had a PC after practice and seemed in a great mood. It certainly doesn't seem like it is something that felt bad immediately after practice (he did mention it was a hard practice in full pads)
Which makes me wonder if it really is an injury he sustained after practice. The injury report lists it as an ankle, so maybe he turned/sprained his ankle at home?
-
55 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:
It's the new NFL. The aggressive play, especially in a game where the opponent is a scoring machine, is to for it after penalty.
I get that on the first one. I can see the logic of leaving the points on the board -- or trying to get the extra point once the ball was moved to the one-yard line. That one is truly debatable, and I can respect the decision he made at that time.
Obviously, he had no choice but to go for 2 on the final one when the score was 40-38. Honestly, when we didn't convert that one, I was fearful that it was eerily similar comeuppance after Mark Andrews' drop on the 2-point conversion in the playoff game!
The one I take issue with is the 2nd one, when we were down by 9. I think part of the weighing of risk vs reward has to be what happens if you DON'T convert the 2-point try. That is why I would always wait until you really HAVE to get the 2 points over the more sure-thing in the extra point. I am sure that McD's thought was that you know that you have to get that 2-point conversion at SOME point, so he elected to do it then to put the team within 7. However, by not making it, the team was still down by 9 -- making it a two possession game. If they kick the extra point there (and assuming that Prater makes it), they are down by 8, still potentially a 1-possession game. Given that they failed on that later 2-point conversion, I guess this doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. LOL
In a weird way, maybe the failed 2-point conversions may have played to the Bills' favor. Assuming they kicked extra points on all three of those TDs rather than the failed 2-point conversions, presumably they would have been up by a point rather than down by 2 after that last TD. (I know scoring decisions on the part of the Ravens may have changed too based on the Bills' having done things differently.) As we saw, the Bills D did what they needed to do to get the ball back when the Ravens were in kill-the-clock/preserve-the-lead mode on offense. I wonder how differently things may have been if they got the ball back, down by a point with plenty of time and all 3 timeouts just needing a FG to win?
-
1
-
3
-
-
1 hour ago, BullBuchanan said:
A rookie WR wasn't a good move for us at that time, and I'd argue Diggs had a bigger impact for us than Jefferson would have due to veteran experience and leadership. Diggs stepped in and was instantly the most impactful WR the team ever had. Rookie WRs are a massive gamble.
I agree. Note that in Josh's first 2 years here he never passed for 300 yards in a game. He broke that mark in his first game with Diggs.
For all of the issues I eventually had with him, I believe that Diggs' veteran presence played an instrumental role in Josh's meteoric rise back in 2020.
-
1
-
-
I agree that it certainly isn't fair, given the responsibilities that are placed at the feet of RBs versus WRs in the NFL. However, I understand why the disparity exists:
1. More and more these days we see RBs who are specialized in their roles, leading to the now notorious Running Back By Committee approach. There just aren't many bell cow, 3-down RBs in the modern NFL.
2. Due to the wear and tear that RBs take (as opposed to WRs), their career-life expectancy is typically shorter. That also means greater risk for teams who are negotiating with a RB on his 2nd contract and beyond.
3. Much of this, unfortunately, is also related to pure genetics. WRs tend to be some of the finest athletes on the field in terms of size-to-speed ratio. There simply are not many guys that fit such a prototype walking around on this planet. Meanwhile, even in the modern era, quality RBs come in all shapes and sizes.
-
1
-
-
20 hours ago, Captain_Quint said:
I heard that they will probably start Flacco for the first few weeks due to the gauntlet of a schedule they have. So my guess is Gabriel and Pickett will back him up. Sanders waived, and picked up for someone practice squad.
My guess is that -- even if he is fully healed from his abdominal injury -- the Browns will "hide" Sanders on IR.
-
17 hours ago, BigAl2526 said:
Interesting to see this evaluation of Elijah Moore ("one of the most consistent performers in this training came) compared to a tweet reported in another thread ("Moore has been underwhelming").
Those negative tweets about Moore all appear to be coming from a single "source" whom I have never heard of named Mike Ross. Not sure if he is viewing things from a different perspective or if he is a troll.
-
These lists are so subjective!
I do think there is still some negative bias against McD thanks to that hit-piece article that came out in 2023.
I have a hard time ranking McD behind the likes of O'Connell (who has yet to even win a playoff game), LaFleur (who inherited a rich roster and has won fewer playoff games than McD; love how the author says LaFleur has led the Packers to 5 playoff appearances in 6 years -- McD has led the Bills to 7 in 8!) and Dan Campbell (who I love but is winless against McD and hasn't done much prior to the past 2 seasons).
Reid is obviously the superior coach. I would also find it hard to rank McD over McVay, given McVay's 2 Super Bowl appearances, ingenuity as an offensive mind and motivational aura.
I can see strong debates pro and con for any of the following over/under McD:
Shanahan (2 Super Bowl appearances but has struggled against McD)
Payton (past glory with Brees, but forever perhaps overrated thanks to a single gutsy call in his lone Super Bowl appearance)
Tomlin (yes, past Super Bowls -- but little playoff success in the last decade)
Jim Harbaugh (like Jerry Glanville, makes an immediate positive impact but jerk personality wears out his welcome everywhere he has been)
Sirianni (appeared in 2 of the last 3 Super Bowls; many were calling for his termination back in 2023 around the same time that article came out on McD)
John Harbaugh (past Super Bowl winner, teams are always well-coached and competitive; similar to Tomlin recent poor showings in the playoffs)
So, I can't see how a fair and reasonable evaluator would rank him higher than 3 -- but I also can't see ranking him any lower than 9. I think those 6 debatable guys (along with McD) all have to be ranked pretty closely, depending on what you value in a head coach. So, it is hard to argue with him being ranked anywhere from 3 to 9 IMHO.
Personally, I would probably rank him around 7th (after Reid, McVay, the Harbaughs, Sirianni, and Payton).
If he ever wins a Super Bowl, he catapults into the top 5, possibly top 3.
-
15 hours ago, NewEra said:
Same. The defense never knows where the ball is going on any given play. Brady keeps them guessing and that puts a lot of pressure on the D. Everyone on our offense, even the backups, is capable of making huge plays. Last season, Mack Hollins made more big plays than any WR not named Shakir. And he made quite a few of them. Massive plays vs KC beating man coverage even though he wasn’t a known man beater.
Sure, I’d love to have a superstar, but he’d be due 35M+ a year and would be the focus of every defense. We had a super star in Diggs and Spags found a way to minimize him playoff loss after playoff loss.
Also, I think this also contributed to Josh's major improvement in the turnover department last season as he was no longer trying to force the ball to a "WR1" target a la Diggs.
-
1
-
-
Cook plays a position that historically has a very short shelf-life in the NFL, and there is a good chance that this is his one-and-only shot at a huge payday -- so it is hard to fault him and his agent for playing hardball and try to get every penny they can.
Meanwhile, Beane has to be fiscally responsible and look at the entire roster structure and contend with a tight salary cap. We're mercifully pretty far removed from the Russ days of the front office going to the press to demean players during negotiations to preemptively cast them as malcontents or greedy in the public's eye (and hope fans view the player as such when he inevitably signed somewhere else).
The good news is that Cook did show up for mandatory workouts, so hopefully that is a sign that both sides are working in good faith.
-
1
-
3
-
-
I've always likened that 2008 draft in which Stevie was drafted out of Kentucky as an almost after-thought in the 7th round -- but became a much more significant part of the team than the higher profile (and unfortunately late) James Hardy, who was drafted early in the 2nd round -- to what happened in 2022 when the Bills whiffed on Elam late in the 1st but made up for it by landing Benford in the 6th.
Regardless of how you view him after all these years, one thing is for certain: Stevie certainly way out-played his draft position.
-
IIRC that was the “hug and make up” game for Kelly and Reed. The previous game, the offense struggled, and Jim and Andre had a very public and heated altercation on the sideline.
This GB game showed them clicking on all cylinders, and I believe Andre set the record (at that time) for the most receptions in a game.
Showed what a leader Jim was.
Such a shame that Jim went down with a knee injury a few weeks later in a comeback attempt against the Vikings. The Bills lost the remaining 3 games without him and failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1987.
-
With two of the recently acquired DL on the shelf for the first several weeks, Solomon should get some opportunities. What he does with those opportunities is up to him.
-
2
-
1
-
-
22 hours ago, DJB said:
Considering his size and basketball background, I could absolutely see Keon being successful in that role if he toughens up and uses proper leverage and nuance to block out defenders. I also thought that -- admittedly with a limited sample size -- he was somewhat effective as a rookie with screens/bubble routes. That is an element that had been missing from the Bills' passing game in recent years (Diggs was terrible at them)
-
1
-
-
1 hour ago, gjv said:
I'm not sure in today's NFL, Cook is a 15 mil/yr back. But I do believe that the Pro Bowl player on our offense with the 2nd most touches of the ball, 2nd most TD's, 3rd most receptions, and rushed for over 1000 yards is worth at least Josh Palmer and Khalil Shakir money. That would put him at a minimum in the 12 mil/yr, 60 mil 4-year contract range.
And this is probably the range in which the two sides will wind up -- $12M to $13M per year -- unless Cook and his agent prove to be unreasonable.
-
1
-
-
1 hour ago, The Wiz said:
Welp. Already started. 🤣
Maybe I am missing something but Shakir, Coleman and Samuel were all on the team last year.
Hollins is gone and has ostensibly been replaced by Palmer. Amari Cooper is gone and now potentially replaced by Moore.So not sure why Clay seems to think there is not enough room for all of them.
-
3
-
2
-
-
3 minutes ago, buffaloboyinATL said:
He was originally projected in the 2nd round, so slipping to the top of the 3rd round was not much of a slide. I think his not getting picked sooner, was more about teams evaluating value at positions of needs at the time of their pick, etc.
He was already pretty productive at Arkansas, but I believe he is still considered a raw prospect in many ways who needs to continue to develop counter moves, get comfortable with his recently added weight etc. It is his potential upside that makes people say he is a great value in the 3rd round, because If he hits his full potential, he would be a first round player.
We all know that there is no guarantee that he will reach that potential, but even his current production (6.5 sacks last year, 2nd team all SEC etc) combined with his elite combine performance, make him worth the pick, in my opinion. It is if and when he gets closer to his ceiling that he will become a true "steal".
Yes.
The biggest knock on Jackson appears to be that he was wildly inconsistent -- he would rack up multiple sacks in one game and then be MIA the next. Similar to some of the issues we have seen with Groot. Kiper referenced this at the time of the selection. Hopefully the coaching staff can get the most out of him.
-
I don't think we need to worry about the Bills drafting him -- remember, the front office does not draft prospects who played at Texas.😛
-
While Amos may not be an exciting pick, I think he is a great fit for McD's defense (reminds me in some ways of Tre). He's a guy we draft, don't get much hype about it -- and then just sit back and watch him play at a quality level for the next several years.
-
1
-
-
How much of that $ is dead cap?
-
11 hours ago, Another Fan said:
I have to admit I don't remember him very much as a player
He was Bruce's understudy his first couple of years in the league. In 2000, the season after Bruce/Andre/Thurman were unceremoniously released, Wiley moved into the starting position and played pretty well in a contract year. When John Butler headed to San Diego the following off-season he snagged Wiley as a free agent. Even when he was backing Bruce up, he was a favorite of reporters' for quotes as he was very engaging and articulate -- which stands to reason, coming from Columbia, I guess.
-
1
-
-
First and foremost, Beane has done a remarkable job of retaining key players, and even re-signing many of them to long-term extensions. That alone, gets the front office a passing grade IMHO.
Compare to last year where, due the salary cap restrictions, the team lost some key players. This year the only noteworthy players who have left are Hollins and Martin -- and neither of them were a great loss. As much as we will miss Hollins the character, I think Palmer is an improvement at WR.
Bosa and Forrest are low risk/high reward rolls of the dice. Dane Jackson is familiar with the system and will probably enter the season as the starter at CB opposite Benford. Getting anything at all for Elam, I think was also commendable. I would still like for Beane to bring in another corner -- and there are a couple of familiar faces still out there in Gilmore and Douglas.
If not for the PDE issues with Hoecht and (especially) Ogunjobi, I would say the off-season has been Excellent rather than merely Acceptable.
Let's not forget that the draft is coming up too!
-
1
-
-
3 hours ago, eball said:
So first, a mea culpa -- I was on vacation last week when all of this went down and wasn't spending much time on the board. I haven't -- and won't -- read through 36 pages of this thread, but here are my thoughts:
- I don't have a problem with the Hoecht signing at all, since Beane knew about the suspension and it's a 3-year deal; they obviously wanted the guy.
- The Ogunjobi situation bothers me. Who is that guy's agent? Did he know about the pending suspension when he started negotiating with teams? If so, the agent should be blackballed and/or have his credentials revoked -- that's 100% unethical and bad faith. Beane says he went through with the deal because the DT market had been picked through -- ok, I guess, but not a good look at all when the guy you signed to a 1-year deal will only play in 60-70% of your team's games.
The Ogunjobi situation really bothers me as well. I noticed that Beane chose his words very carefully when talking about how the team did not know about his situation at the time that the agreement was made vs. at the time of the signing. I will say that there is some precedent with Ogunjobi and his camp in regards to proper disclosure of information prior to working out a contract: After his career year with the Bengals, Ogunjobi agreed to terms with the Bears but failed to disclose a foot injury, which the Bears uncovered when they did a physical. The Bears were able to get out of the contract thanks to the physical, and Ogunjobi signed with the Steelers instead.
-
1
-
1
-
Let's just assume for a moment that Diggs has had something of a epiphany -- that he is willing to be a good soldier, bury the hatchet with Josh and the team, and return to the level of play he exhibited in his prime. Is that good enough to help the team get over the KC hump?
Well, even in his best years, Diggs historically had problems against KC. In three playoff games against them (2020, 2021 and 2023), he failed to haul in a single TD pass. His overall numbers in those 3 games were terrible: 12 receptions on 25 targets for 106 yards and 0 TDs. That is over 3 games, NOT a single game. His average for a single game in the playoffs against the Chiefs looks like: 4 receptions on 8.3 targets for 35.3 yards. Not exactly worthy of the drama.
-
1
-
-
11 hours ago, Aussie Joe said:
Ok …who do you like?I like CB Trey Amos out of Ole Miss, who would seem to be an ideal fit for what McDermott looks for in a corner. He may even be there in the 2nd round.
-
3
-
What does a "Walk Through" consist of? What is the typical practice schedule during the season?
in The Stadium Wall
Posted
Each team handles walk through's differently. But typically they consist of running through the plays at half-speed (with no pads) with a focus on what the overall game plan is for offense/defense/special teams.