mjt328

If you want to be competitive in the NFL, this is the kind of investment you need to make in the QB position. The only decent starting guys who aren't getting paid at least $20 million+ are: a) Playing on a 4-5 year old contract b) Playing on a rookie contract I will say this, however... If a team can manage to land their guy in the draft, it does give them a distinct advantage on the salary cap for 4-5 seasons.

Not sure this actually needs to be said. Despite the surprising playoff appearance, the 2017 season was the start of a roster tear-down. They let most of their free agents walk. They traded Watkins, Darby, Dareus and Ragland for draft picks. They would have let Taylor walk too, but he was literally the best veteran available on the market. This draft is the start of the rebuild.

If a "stopgap" quarterback is intended to make us feel more comfortable waiting until later in the draft (and thus getting a lesser prospect like Peterman was)... then I say no. If we are looking to sign a veteran just to help stay competitive, while the 1st Round rookie gets ready to play... then absolutely. The Bills can't wait any longer. This is the year. This draft has more QB talent than 90% of the classes we see. The Bills have more high picks/ammunition than any offseason I can recall. They need to do their homework, identify which guys they believe can be franchise caliber, and then trade up if they don't believe one falls to #21.

If this was related to breaking a minor team rule, Belichick was too hard-headed on this one. And it probably cost them the game. There are many ways to discipline players. Sitting him the ENTIRE GAME was over the top. Just starting someone else in the Super Bowl or sitting him the first drive would have sent a pretty strong message (in my opinion). Think about how that game changes if Butler manages to make ONE third down breakup. Or his coverage results in ONE important incomplete pass.

Actually, I don't think it works that way. Yes. If the time runs out, the next team can run and turn in a card. But I don't believe the clock resets. So if the Bills try and take another 10-15 minutes, I believe the team behind them (the Rams) can run up and do the same thing. I could be wrong, but I believe that's how it works.

Actually I was being sarcastic.

Looks parallel to the line of scrimmage to me! Also, the Music City Miracle was a backwards pass.

So according to the article, Bill Belichick just does a better job of understanding the rule book and studying the refs tendencies? Yeah. I'm calling BS. If that was the case, then why have no other Patriots coaches (who witnessed this brilliance everyday) copied this "genius" idea? Romeo Crennel? Charlie Weis? Eric Mangini? Josh McDaniels? How about some of the front office guys like Scott Pioli and Michael Lombardi? None of the 100+ players who left New England retained what he taught them? Why can't anyone else duplicate the "Patriot Way" unless they are actually IN BOSTON?

Alex Smith just had his career-best season at age 33. In most seasons he is a Top 15-20 type guy. This year, he was arguably among the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Odds are that Smith regresses back to his normal performance. But the Redskins are banking that he's made a jump into the league's elite. I think this bodes really very well for the Case Keenum market.

Obviously you don't "throw him in the trash heap" after one season. But you also have to understand that some prospects deserve more time than others. Guys with a very large ceiling, or guys who clearly seem to be progressing quickly need to be shown priority. You just can't give every quarterback on your roster 3-4 years to improve. It's important for coaches to understand a player's strengths and weaknesses, then watch how they are progressing during practice and during real games. And every player is different. Someone like EJ Manuel deserved more development time, because he already had all the physical tools to become a successful QB and the right attitude to work hard. For him, the biggest problem was mechanics (which drastically hurt his throwing accuracy). Once it became clear that his mechanics weren't going to get better at the NFL level, it was time to cut bait. On the flip side, Nate Peterman just doesn't seem to have the arm strength to make all the throws. It's a clear and identifiable ceiling to his game. That's why he wasn't a high draft pick, and why most don't believe he can become more than a good backup in the NFL. Bills coaches can spend the offseason helping Peterman work on improving his power and drive into throws. But if it doesn't take a big jump by next year, it's safe to assume it's not an issue that will improve.

Take two.

The best scenario is for Kirk Cousins to end up playing for the Giants. This keeps him out of the AFC East, and also helps push the better QB prospects down the board. Maybe it even allows them to release/trade Eli Manning to someone like the Jets or Broncos, and helps kick another one down to us.

We should have a MUCH better idea of trade targets after free agency. Where Kirk Cousins lands is going to shake up everything. If he lands with someone in the Top 6 like Cleveland, New York Giants/Jets or Denver, that will start pushing the better prospects farther down the board. We may be able to get by with just getting ahead of Arizona (sitting at #15) to get our guy. This would probably be the ideal scenario for us. But if Cousins lands with Arizona or someone totally unexpected, we probably need to squeeze into the Top 5. That means targeting Indianapolis or Cleveland's #4 selection, which is going to get really pricey. Probably both #1s this year, and some more.

This is what I gathered from the situation as well. There are a lot of "technical" details that need to be worked out behind the scenes. It's possible that Wood's language and wording at the press conference could have caused problems with either: a) Receiving the guaranteed money he is due b) Allowing the Bills to structure his cap hit the way they want That's why he made it clear that he won't be playing anymore, but never used the actual word "retire."

Unless a team already has the 10-Year Answer already on the roster, they need to make scouting quarterbacks the #1 priority in every draft. It would probably be smart to draft one every year as well (unless you just don't think any in that class will be successful). The worst thing that happens? You end up with two good QBs, and have major trade bait down the road.

This is a great question. Fans have been talking the past 8-9 months like getting "our guy" was going to be a slam dunk, especially with one of the "best" quarterback classes in history coming in 2018. But now that the college season has ended, the prospects have declared and draft order is pretty much set - it's starting to become pretty clear that we are still in a really tough place. First of all, I don't see us keeping Tyrod Taylor. No way. Not a chance. That ship has sailed. It's crystal clear our coaching staff doesn't believe in him. Last offseason, they exhausted all other options before reluctantly taking him back with a pay cut. Then they benched him in the middle of a playoff race for a 5th Rounder who wasn't even close to ready. Now we are clearly looking at draft prospects. Taylor wants to start. The guy took less on the market to sign with us originally, just so he could have a chance to start. He has renegotiated his contract for us twice, instead of hitting free agency. I think he'll just let the Bills cut him and hit the open market. By my count, there are 6 teams (all ahead of us in the draft) who are desperately in need of a QB: Cleveland (1 & 4), New York Giants (2), Denver (5), New York Jets (6), Washington (13) and Arizona (15). There are rumblings about Indianapolis looking for a QB, but there is no way they move from Andrew Luck unless they know his shoulder is done. There have been talks about Miami doing the same, but I think they give Ryan Tannehill one more shot before throwing in the towel. Baltimore is probably blowing smoke, hoping for trades to push more talent down the board. Jacksonville saw enough from Blake Bortles to let him play out 2018. Most likely, one of these six teams is going to sign (or keep) Kirk Cousins. Maybe it's us. But probably not. I just have a hard time seeing us get into that bidding war. Watching the teams who go after Cousins will tell us a lot about how GMs/Scouts see this particular QB class. Either way, his signing will knock the number of "needy-QB teams" to five. Ideally, he will go to one of the teams in the Top 5-6, giving us a much better chance to trade ahead of Washington or Arizona. By my count, there are 5 quarterbacks getting serious consideration for 1st Round status. Josh Rosen, Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, Baker Mayfield and Lamar Jackson. All of these guys are flawed prospects. And based on past NFL history, it's highly unlikely all these guys are going to succeed in the NFL. Maybe 2 or 3 at the most. It's also questionable if the Bills even like all of these guys, so you can't just assume they would be happy taking anyone who falls. It all depends on how many QBs the Bills like, and where . Hopefully they see starting potential in more than a couple guys. If they only see that in 2-3 guys, then Buffalo will probably need to sell the farm and target a trade with Indianapolis (3) or Cleveland (4). If one of the top 6 teams gets Cousins, and/or our staff likes 4-5 guys, then we can probably just look to getting ahead of Washington or even staying put. It will also be very important to watch how the veteran QB market plays out in March and April. The best thing for the Bills is for some of these teams to get themselves sold on a veteran option. It's quite possible some other team could weed themselves out of the discussion: It's possible that one of these teams trades for Alex Smith... though I'm skeptical, because I've heard the price tag is a 2nd Rounder. It's possible that one of these teams is happy taking whoever the Vikings don't want (Case Keenum, Sam Bradford, Teddy Bridgewater) and making him a starter. It's possible that the Giants cut or trade Eli Manning, which may cause his new team (assuming he doesn't retire) to be comfortable waiting until a later round. It's possible that teams really like AJ McCarron, and he causes more noise in free agency than anyone is expecting. It's possible that Nick Foles will become a popular trade target. His contract voids after the 2018 season, so the Eagles may be eager to get something in return. It's possible that after we cut Tyrod Taylor, and another team thinks they can salvage him as a starter.

Let's see how long Case Keenum can sustain success. One year wonders happen quite a bit in the NFL. A few years ago, Ryan Fitzpatrick had a career year and looked pretty good for the New York Jets. He followed that with one of his worst seasons ever. The Vikings managed to pull a pretty good season from Sam Bradford last year too. Did the light click on for him too, or do they have a system that works well for average quarterbacks? It's something for teams to consider if/when guys like Keenum, Bradford or Teddy Bridgewater hit the market this offseason.

Yeah OK. Go back. Read it again. The start of the New England dynasty "run" is generally considered 2002, when they won their first Super Bowl against the Rams. I was clearly not referring to the entire history of the New England Patriots franchise.

To me, the entire history of the New England Patriots run has been suspect from the start. Bill Belichick had losing records in 5 out of his 6 first years as head coach. Tom Brady was a 6th Round draft pick, who really wasn't that great in college. To this day, even after 15+ years of absolute dominance, you probably can't name even ONE long-term player on those Patriots teams (outside of Brady and probably Rob Gronkowski) who will be a lock for the Hall of Fame. You would be hard pressed to find any long-term Patriots who even have a chance. Maybe Randy Moss, who was there for 3 seasons. Probably Darrell Revis, who was there for 1 season. Front office people find success in New England, then go elsewhere and fail. Coordinators and coaches find success in New England, then go elsewhere and fail. Players find success in New England, then go elsewhere and fail. What is it about the Patriots culture/system that is so impossible to duplicate? Every other successful dynasty in the history of the NFL has yielded copycats. Every successful dynasty has also eventually been figured out, or fallen victim to players retiring, leaving or getting older. The Packers, Steelers, 49ers, Cowboys lasted literally half this time on top. But nothing has stopped the Patriots from rolling. Not even having a 40 Year Old Quarterback. What we are witnessing is unlike anything that has EVER occurred in NFL history. It's not just an underdog beating the odds, or the natural process of records being broken. It's completely obliterating every standard and limit that has existed since the NFL was created in 1920. People try comparing Brady to Michael Jordan. But basketball has always been a sport that could be dominated by a single individual. Football has always been an ultimate team sport. But the Patriots are consistently unstoppable with a bunch of no-names poached from other teams. It's ridiculous. The first comparison that comes to my mind is when baseball saw Roger Maris' home run record stand for DECADES, only to be suddenly destroyed in 3 straight years by Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds. It was logical that someone would eventually break the record. But when it suddenly became easy, you knew something was off. You knew something was wrong. And sure enough, those players were all using steroids. Even before Spygate and Deflategate, there were tons of rumors about the Patriots CHEATING. There have been questionable calls from the refs coming in their favor since that first season and the Tuck Rule. I think part of the reason people HATE the Patriots is because they know (even if it hasn't all been found and uncovered) that something is NOT RIGHT about what we are witnessing... You can find it all over this message board. You can find it all over Twitter. You even hear players and announcers utter it sometimes. Someday we are going to learn the truth about the "New England Dynasty." It might not be pretty.

This is what I saw yesterday: 1. Nearing the two-minute warning (27 minutes of action), the refs had called exactly 2 penalties. One for each team. The Jags were up 14-3, and driving yet again. 2. After completing another big throw on 3rd down, the refs called delay of game on Bortles. They did not blow the whistle before the play to kill it dead. Strange for a delay of game. 3. On the next play, the refs immediately threw a flag for holding. Jags got sacked anyway, but the penalty would have taken away anything they may have gotten. 4. Pats got the ball back with just around 2 minutes. Two straight penalties, totaling 47 yards to put them at the 13 yard line. Boom, game is 14-10 instead of 17-3. 5. No more penalties are called the entire 3rd quarter, and then the first 8 plus minutes of the 4th quarter. Jags still lead 20-17. 6. Suddenly, another iffy pass interference penalty puts the Pats into Jags territory. The defense holds and forces a punt, but the field has been flipped, and Brady has gotten all the assistance he needs. I watch tons of NFL games every season. Bad calls happen quite a bit. There are many times teams get screwed by the refs. But why does virtually EVERY Patriots game have huge momentum swinging calls/penalties at key points of the game? Why do teams always play totally clean for almost an entire game, but then somehow manage a backbreaking holding, PI, illegal contact, etc. penalty that either takes important points away from them, or gifts the Pats important points? Not to mention, the clearly BAD CALLS that go in favor of New England. Just this season, you have the Jenkins/Jets touchdown that was taken away, the Cooks touchdown against the Texans that shouldn't have stood, the James/Steelers touchdown that was taken away. Not to mention the Benjamin touchdown taken away from us - once again, just before halftime (which is absolutely a KEY POINT in every football game). So just off the top of my head, I can name 4 regular season games THIS SEASON where the Pats were assisted heavily by the refs. Tony Romo's shocked and excited tone did not represent the majority of NFL fans yesterday. I think most of us have seen this story before, and saw the predictable script playing out just like it always does. When the Jags got up 14-3, I told my wife it wouldn't be long before the refs start getting involved. At halftime (after my prediction played out perfectly), I told her that the game would remain close in the second half and Brady would lead a winning touchdown drive late in the 4th quarter. Not sure why I even stuck around to watch it happen.

Kirk Cousins is a very good quarterback. Not as good as the elite pack (Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, etc.) -- guys who can single-handed elevate their teams to a championship level. I put him more on par with the next tier down (Matthews Stafford, Phillip Rivers, Matt Ryan, etc.) The question is... how good is that tier worth? Notice that none of those guys have won a Super Bowl, and only one has actually made it. Whoever signs Cousins is going to have a hefty chunk of their salary cap tied into exactly one player. That means a relatively average supporting cast, alongside a pretty good QB. I'm not sure that's enough to win a championship.

On offense, we need to sign a strong veteran Quarterback who can keep us competitive while a rookie develops. Our passing offense ranked near the bottom of the NFL in virtually every category, and just isn't up to par with other teams around the league. People keep saying we need better Wide Receivers. I don't believe this is true. The problem is not who is receiving, but the guy who is throwing. If we had a better QB who was more aggressive with throwing downfield, our WRs would magically look better. Kelvin Benjamin was a very good player in Carolina, and can continue being one here. Zay Jones struggled his rookie year, but was apparently injured. I think guys like Andre Holmes and Deonte Thompson could be good enough that we don't necessarily need an upgrade. Our rushing offense was 1st in the NFL in 2015 and 2016. We were middle of the pack last year (4.1 ypa was tied for 14th in the league). I believe the scheme change was a very big factor. If we move back to a power run game, I believe John Miller may be a decent option again at Right Guard. We need Cordy Glenn back healthy. We've needed an upgrade at Right Tackle for years now, and maybe we can move Dion Dawkins to that spot permanently. Last year, coaches were forced to play him on the left side to fill in for Glenn. It's also important we get a better #2 behind LeSean McCoy. If everyone is freaking out when a player gets hurt, then the depth is not good enough. Defensively, we ranked 23rd in rushing defense (4.3 ypa). And our ability to generate pressure was poor most of the season. The Front 7 needs to be revamped. Even if Kyle Williams returns (I would like to see him come back in a rotational role), we could really use two new starting Defensive Tackles. I would like to see Lorenzo Alexander moved as a pass rushing specialist behind Shaq Lawson. Outside of Matt Milano, who showed lots of promise, the entire Linebackers corps needs to be revamped. This position has always been vital in Sean McDermott's defenses, and our lack of speed hurt us too much last year. The only thing that save them was excellent play by the corners and safeties. In order, I would like to see us address these positions first: 1. Quarterback (Veteran in Free Agency, Rookie in 1st/2nd Round of Draft) 2. Defensive Tackle (One in Free Agency, One in Draft) 3. Middle Linebacker (Let Preston Brown walk and get someone capable of playing sideline to sideline) 4. Strongside Linebacker 5. Backup Running Back

Weren't we already discussing this in another several page thread?

It's all about consistency. Think about this logically. The more often a team makes the playoffs, the more often they win their division, the more often they get a first round bye, etc, etc. - the better odds they have at winning a Super Bowl. If a team has a quarterback like Tom Brady or Ben Roethlisberger, they have exactly ONE PLAYER they need to keep under contract to be a yearly contender. Even if the rest of the team is mediocre, they will still be fighting for a playoff spot year in, year out. And based on the current NFL rules, quarterbacks take less hits than in the past, allowing them to play 15-20 years in many cases. Compare that to a team like Jacksonville or Minnesota. Teams that are built mostly around defense. Those teams need to keep 10-11 elite players under contract and healthy to remain contenders. Every year, those teams will have 2-3 key pieces looking for big deals in free agency. Before long, the salary cap starts pulling the team apart. There is a brief window of 3-4 years (at most) before that "elite" defense becomes a "very good" defense and can't carry them to a championship anymore. There is a reason the 1984 Chicago Bears won only one Super Bowl. There is a reason the 2000 Baltimore Ravens won only one Super Bowl. There is a reason people are saying the Seattle Seahawks' window has closed. Yes, it's possible to win a Super Bowl without an elite quarterback. But it's very rare, and those teams disappear quickly. Also notice that when it does happen, the non-franchise quarterback in question is pretty much always playing at a franchise level. We can argue all day about whether Case Keenum is actually a franchise QB. But the only thing that really matters is... he's playing like one right now.

Not sure if anyone has noticed, but Marcel Dareus hasn't even been starting for the Jacksonville Jaguars. He has been on the roster for 11 games (including the playoffs) and has started exactly 2 of them. So the team and coaching staff that apparently values him so much, has him playing behind Malik Jackson and former undrafted free agent Abry Jones. Not to mention, when put on the trade block and made available to the ENTIRE NFL, the best offer Buffalo could get in return was a conditional 6th Round Pick. I was always pulling for Dareus to turn his life around. But it's clear the guy will never take responsibility for his own actions. There was a time when Dareus actually WAS an All-Pro, WAS worthy of $100 million and WAS extremely valued by this franchise. You would think that getting traded (at 27 years old, during what should be the peak of his career) for basically nothing would have been yet another wake-up call. But nope. He thinks Sean McDermott and the Bills had it out for him. Sad to say, but it's probably only a matter of time before he makes another stupid move and ends his NFL career.