mjt328

The worst position an NFL team can be in, is being stuck with an average/mid-level Quarterback with a bloated contract. For example, see Miami/Ryan Tannehill, Cincinnati/Andy Dalton, etc. Teams like this don't have the cap space to build a strong roster around their QB. But at the same time, their QB is not good enough to win without a strong roster around them. To make matters worse, they usually get stuck in a 5-8 win rut, and are always drafting too high to find a good replacement. In today's NFL, it's also foolish to give big contracts to Running Backs. Regardless of how talented they are. The strongest offenses are generally those with efficient passing games, who use a RB-by-committee approach. By the time an RB reaches his first Free Agent contract, he's usually 25-26 years old with 4-5 years of heavy usage/wear. Very few will get through another contract with the same kind of production. In my opinion, Dallas should try trading Elliott. He will not be worth a second contract. Let someone else deal with the headache. If they can get anything for him, it will be a plus. And hopefully they will be smart enough NOT to draft another RB in the Top 5. With Prescott, I believe they should let him play out 2019 and see where he stands. Right now, he's shown flashes. But he's still too inconsistent. Unfortunately (if you are a Dallas fan), this may turn into a "Kirk Cousins" situation - a guy who puts up really good Top 10 numbers on the stat sheet, but can just never pull the team onto his back when it counts. Of course, I hate Dallas. So I'm really hoping they do the opposite of everything I just said...

It's fair to criticize a GM's moves. But you should take all factors into consideration. In the case of Mitch Morse, what other option would you have preferred? Matt Paradis was the only other Free Agent Center worth pursuing. He was also coming off an injury, and has yet to participate in either training camp or preseason for the Panthers. You can't criticize us for taking one guy with an injury history, while at the same time criticizing us for NOT taking another guy with an injury history. If we had gambled and waited until the draft, there were basically two good Center prospects. One was Garrett Bradbury, who went #18 to the Vikings. Drafting him would have either cost us (not getting) Ed Oliver, or a significant trade-up from the 2nd Round... very likely our 2nd rounder (Cody Ford) AND a 2020 first rounder. The second prospect was Erik McCoy, who went #48 to the Saints. OK, that sounds more realistic. But to draft him, we would have either passed on Cody Ford (who was a significantly higher rated player on most boards than McCoy) or swung some kind of trade, which likely would cost us Devin Singletary and Dawson Knox... in which case everyone freaks out because of Beane's failure to adequately address Running Back and Tight End. In my opinion, Morse was a calculated gamble. If the concussions end up becoming an issue, it will be due to bad luck, not mismanagement by our front office.

Agree with H2o. Sports and Entertainment used to be a way to escape from political issues. Now athletes and celebrities are drawing a dividing line, and forcing the fans to pick which side they are going to support. Most people would have been OK with Colin Kaepernick if he kept his activism off the football field. And truth be told, he would probably still have a backup QB job somewhere. But he (and many other players) screwed up when they decided to use the NFL as a platform for their ideas. The term "Social Justice" sounds nice and like something everyone should be able to get behind. But in reality, it's a partisan/agenda-driven set of ideals. If the NFL starts publicly supporting many of these initiatives, it's going to spark a lot of controversy and backlash.

I'm starting to think the same thing. Don't forget. This will also be the Raiders last season in Oakland, before they move to Las Vegas.

You said that Beane/McDermott have a history of showing favoritism to "their" guys... and that is one reason Zay Jones may have a better chance of sticking to the roster. What you gave are examples of them signing former Carolina Panthers in free agency. I'm just not seeing the connection. Not to mention, none of the ex-Panthers we've signed have been given preference for starting positions or roster spots. Most GMs and coaches go after veterans from their former teams. It's really not that strange. I recall Bill Parcells had the same 5-10 guys follow him from the Giants to the Jets to the Patriots to the Cowboys.

Do you have some examples of McDermott/Beane favoring "their guys" over someone else? Literally 90% of the roster is made-up of guys they brought in, and that includes EVERY SINGLE receiver we have. Robert Foster is one of "their guys" just as much as Zay Jones.

The Internet has created a generation of opinionated people who (instead of allowing themselves to change) will stubbornly defend their position, regardless of any facts/evidence they are presented with. Let's just face it. People are already "dug-in" on Josh Allen. Whether positive or negative. Their minds were made up by the second paragraph of his scouting report, or two minutes into his YouTube highlight video from Wyoming. Regardless of whether Allen becomes a regular Pro-Bowler or leads the Buffalo Bills to a Super Bowl someday, every inaccurate pass will be relentlessly scrutinized.

Like I said back in the spring... Coaches/teams are almost always willing to give multiple chances to guys who with off-field issues - getting arrested for DUIs or drugs, beating-up their girlfriends/kids, etc. If the NFL doesn't issue a suspension, they have no problem putting these kinds of players on the field indefinitely. They know that regardless of how bad these offenses are, they will have little to no impact on the team's success. But once guys start doing stuff like this, you can forget it. Teams (at least the smart ones) know they can't succeed with these kind of distractions. They bring down morale and divide locker rooms. Pittsburgh had absolutely no problem dumping Antonio Brown, and you can tell that Oakland is already starting to regret picking him up. Just something to consider when you see (for example) Brandon Beane trading away Marcel Dareus for scraps.

For those suggesting he will have trouble making the roster, I disagree. I think Wyatt Teller is pretty safe. Teams generally keep 9-10 offensive linemen on the final roster. The following six guys are pretty much locks: Mitch Morse, Quinton Spain, Jon Feliciano, Dion Dawkins, Cody Ford and Ty Nsekhe. I think Spencer Long would also be a heavy favorite, especially because of his versatility at Center. LaAdrian Waddle would have probably been next, until his injury. Being on IR, he won't count towards the 53. So the rest of the crowd is fighting for the last two... possibly even three spots. Teller basically needs to beat-out Ike Boettger, De'Ondre Wesley, Jarron Jones, Conor McDermott and Garret McGhin.

I may be in the minority, but maybe we should give Zay Jones a break on that drop. Nobody wants to get hurt in preseason, on a meaningless play that won't count. The defender was about to take his head off. You really can't blame him for bracing himself and losing focus. Don't get me wrong. I believe this is Zay's last chance to prove himself as a starter on the Bills. The talent around him is getting much better. If the drop problems continue into this season, I don't see him getting much playing time going forward.

How many roster spots do you think we have? And how many carries do you think he would get? Keeping more than 3 running backs would mean sacrificing depth at another position. Even at this point of their careers, I don't see TJ Yeldon being better than LeSean McCoy or Frank Gore. And Devon Singletary is apparently really turning heads at training camp. Sorry, but the numbers just don't workout for Yeldon.

Unfortunately, I also agree with those who say Mitch Morse. The most important thing for our immediate AND long-term success is the continued development of Josh Allen. And nothing is more important towards helping Allen grow as a QB than having time in the pocket. With any other position on the O-Line, we can do some creative shuffling and still put together a strong group of blockers. But I don't think we have a good enough backup center. Russell Bodine was terrible last season, and Spencer Long proved he really should have been a guard all along.

Training Camp (and Preseason for that matter) are fun to follow. But won't really know anything about Josh Allen's progress until the real games get underway. So much of what people are seeing has no relevance to what will happen Weeks 1-16. For instance.... Quarterbacks are not allowed to get hit during practice. So an observer is forced to "guess" when the defensive rush might have equaled a sack. Of course, when you have a mobile QB like Allen, that is impossible to determine. Many of his best plays come after he avoids pressure. At the same time, it's hard to tell how much Allen's pocket presence has truly improved when he's not worried about taking a real hit. Much of practice is also situational. That guy who keeps tabs on completion percentage and touchdowns is comical -- especially when the team is running Red Zone drills from the 10-Yard-Line. Are we supposed to be concerned that Allen didn't nail 60% of his passes during these plays? Are we supposed to be impressed that he threw 5 touchdowns during these plays? In a real game, he's not going to be running every play from the 10. Another thing to consider. Coaches (on both sides) are going to test Allen's limits in practice. If they see he is weak at a particular play/throw, they may keep making him work on it. Over and over. But in a real game, the coaches are only going to call the stuff he's good at and comfortable with. For example, I was reading that Allen struggles with fades into the back corner of the endzone. Hopefully he improves on that, because it would be a nice bullet to have in the chamber. But if he doesn't, there are plenty of other throws Brian Daboll can call when the real games are happening.

The hype absolutely is getting a little ridiculous. They were 0-16 only two years ago, and won only 7 games last year with probably the easiest schedule in the league. I'm definitely not buying that Cleveland is suddenly a powerhouse and deep playoff contender in the AFC. With that said... - Pittsburgh's locker room has been in disarray since last season, and many players have shown discontentment with the head coach. They lost a key piece (Antonio Brown) to the offense for the second year in a row (they basically lost LeVeon Bell in 2018), and added very little help in the offseason. Big Ben is 37 and has taken a beating over his career. And they lost 4 of their last 6 games in 2018. All signs point to a franchise in decline. - Baltimore (like us) is pinning their hopes on a second-year QB. But while many consider Josh Allen/Lamar Jackson to be in similar situations, I don't see it. Allen has shown steady progression as a passer, and the Bills are clearly training him to do most of his damage from the pocket. In contrast, the Ravens seem to be building a run-heavy scheme around Jackson's legs. Their offense hit a wall in the playoffs, and don't be surprised if that carries over into 2018 if Jackson can't get better throwing. The defense also lost several key pieces. - Cincinnati has been a below-average franchise for three years running (6, 7 and 6 wins during that time period). They have a first-time head coach with no experience, will be installing a new offensive system and the roster has already been totally decimated by injuries. This is a team screaming for a rebuild, but is just reluctant to start the tear-down process.

True. But I can also understand why many Bills fans are very worried. Mitch Morse was our #1 target in Free Agency, and a HUGE piece of our rebuilding effort. He's not really a player we can afford to lose. If he went down with a leg injury and it appeared to be an ACL, everyone in Buffalo would be justifiably freaking out. There are people trying to downplay this, because it's "only" a concussion. But this is 2019. Not 1999. Concussions have become the #1 long-term concern for professional football players, and are no longer taken as a joke. The fact that suffered another one (5th recorded since entering the league) without even making it to padded practice... it really has to make you wonder about how long her can play this sport.

Too bad that Marcel Dareus was only in his "prime" for about two seasons before he got fat and lazy.

There are some key signs that signal a team is going to take a step back (or will be unable to take a significant step forward). 1. First and foremost, any team planning to start a rookie QB should definitely expect to have a rough season. It's very rare that QB can play at a consistently high level during his 1st season in the pros. Arizona (Murray) and Washington (Haskins) will both likely get significant playing time from their first round picks. I wouldn't be surprised if the NY Giants (Jones) and Denver (Lock) join them, if their veterans flounder early. 2. Second, pay attention to teams who spent the offseason shedding veteran talent for draft picks and cap space. Sometimes this is a clear sign the front office is thinking about rebuilding. Sometimes the vets are easily replaced, and it makes no difference. Miami is the most obvious, but Tampa Bay and the NY Giants really weren't far behind. Some under-the-radar teams who took heavy vet losses include New England, Pittsburgh and Baltimore. 3. Third, it's never too early to be concerned about the injury bug. Cincinnati has been devastated by injuries, and we haven't even gotten to August.

Terrible idea. Two games of the season you are FORCED to keep your best players on the bench, and FORCED to play backups? Imagine being in the midst of a playoff race... and league rules forbid you to play your starting QB. This concept is a recipe for disaster in so many ways. Change is not always a good thing. The NFL had a perfect formula 20-25 years ago. But they keep tinkering with stuff that doesn't need to be messed with.

It's certainly possible that Robert Foster is running as the #4 WR by the time Week 1 comes around. Observers say that John Brown has been operating as our #1 guy in practice so far, which should not be surprising. Cole Beasley will be our slot receiver, and will possibly lead the group in targets. My assumption is that Zay Jones and Robert Foster will then be competing for snaps on the outside. They have completely different skill-sets. So unless one really shows tremendous improvement and progression, it's very likely they will rotate depending on offensive situation.

Quarterbacks generally don't have "sophomore slumps" because very few have great success as rookies to begin with. I find that most QBs who come out of the gate HOT, usually do so with their legs and not their arm. Guys like Vince Young, Robert Griffin III, and even Tim Tebow to some extent. The general rule against a rookie QB is to send lots of pressure. And it probably works 90 percent of the time. But the guys with some real athletic ability may be able to escape from the rush and do some damage. By Year 2, defensive coordinators have generally caught on. Instead of heavy blitzing, they play contain, force running QBs to stay in the pocket and win by throwing. At the same time, there is usually lots of pressure on the offensive side for the young QB to show some progression as a passer. So instead of just letting him "make plays" the coaching staff also pushes him to stay in the pocket and win by throwing. Opponents are going to have a plan to keep Josh Allen (same with Lamar Jackson) in the pocket this year. It's very likely his rushing numbers take a big hit. Let's just hope he's gotten better as a passer.

Oh well. The Bills aren't going to get any respect until they prove it on the field. Everything starts with the QB. And the Bills have a guy who wasn't a big name in college, was generally disliked as a draft prospect by most of the sports media, and statistically was among the worst passers in the league as a rookie. Bills fans have more optimism, because we actually watched Josh Allen play last year. We saw his progression as the season went on. We saw the help he got from the supporting cast. And many of us believe he will take a significant jump in Year 2.

The main reason the Bills lost Super Bowl XXV was because of poor tackling. People like to say that Bill Belichick shut us down, since we only scored 19 points. But our low scoring output had more to do with ridiculously lopsided time-of-possession. Our offense was having a decent day. Unfortunately, the defense couldn't get off the field on 3rd Down.

Trump haters think he's a total buffoon, and on the surface his comments do sound pretty stupid. I mean.... He is finally cleared of Russian collusion, and then tells everyone that he would be willing to accept dirt from a foreign country. But Trump is calculating on everything he does and says. At the end of the day, the Mueller report shows he actually DID NOT accept dirt from Russia during his 2016 campaign. And when it comes down to it, I'm sure Trump wouldn't be foolish enough to do it during his 2020 campaign. However... By making these comments, he is getting the Democrats and the National Media into a total uproar. And it's happening just as the Attorney General is bearing down on the Steele Dossier, Adam Schiff, Hillary Clinton and the origins of the Russia investigation. It's very likely that Trump is setting everyone up. All this hysteria about a campaign accepting information from a foreign power, just before the Attorney General goes before the public and details everything that Clinton's campaign was up to in 2016.

If Cody Ford sits the bench as rookie, it probably means the vets we picked up are performing exceptionally. Not being forced to put rookies into the lineup is a great sign of depth.

That's not an easy question to answer. He's an extremely young player, who had a lot of development needed to succeed in the league. At this point, he's only had 12 games and 11 starts. His supporting cast was terrible last year. And although the front office made massive upgrades in the offseason, that also means we've got 8 new starters going into mini-camp. As the season progresses (training camp, preseason, then Weeks #1-16), I think you will start to get a feel for where Josh Allen is headed in the NFL. - Is he taking steps forward? Staying stagnant? Or have defenses figured out how to contain his scrambling, and he's going backwards? - Are his mechanics and accuracy improving? Or is he still missing too many easy throws? - How does his decision-making look? Is he getting better at reading defenses, or is he constantly looking lost and confused? I know a lot of people are going to be disappointed if Allen isn't a finished product by Week 4, and playing at a Pro-Bowl level by mid-season. But at this point of his career, I don't think we need to be setting deadlines. We just need to be watching for steady improvement and progress. If he reaches a point where that stops, then it may be time to start worrying.