eball

Good! Didn’t want to see him in Baltimore or Cleveland.

I’d take a locker room full of guys just like him. Dude is competitive as hell and wanted to win. Plus he had talent.

Dude did you even read the post directly above yours?

No, I wasn’t criticizing the thread, I was criticizing the source. All good.

Ahh, that elusive "it" factor...

Straw almost killed me in '85. I had seats down the leftfield line at Shea with my buddies; we were walking out to our seats from the concourse and Straw lit a laser beam foul that hit the concrete directly above our heads.

Nice of the Bills to let Jimbo hang around and humor him...

I didn't dislike Watson and thought the Bills might take him, which would have been fine. It's just frustrating to hear some act as though there was only one "right" choice for how McD (and then Beane) chose to go about things. Here we are, two seasons later, and it appears as though some good things are on the horizon with a roster built the way our head coach and GM prefer. Now, it's on them and the players they chose.

2nd link to a story re-quoting what we could all read on buffalobills.com a week ago.

Wait, a college coach hyped his own player? Stop the presses! C'mon, Bill. I'm pretty sure Pat Narduzzi raved about Nate Peterman too.

I don't know why you keep these conversations going. Pay him? He's one of the highest paid players in the league. And he's not a vet of the Cleveland Browns. It's pretty simple -- there are a ton of reasons why it would have been a good look for OBJ to attend OTAs, regardless of whether anyone thinks it means anything in September. Name one good reason for him not to attend, besides the fact that he's not contractually required to.

I'm really tired of everything the Bills do being connected to Carolina.

I just don't think 2017 was viewed as a franchise-changing draft at the QB position, regardless of what Mahomes and Watson have done. I remember reading lots of pre-draft stuff both for and against those two players, and there was certainly no consensus on them as "can't miss" franchise guys. I mean, after Trubisky at #2 they went #10 and #12 -- and the next guy drafted at the position wasn't until #52. It's easy to see how McD was looking ahead to 2018 to draft his QB, and thought he could make do with Tyrod for a season (which he did, and they made the playoffs). I know you think this is crazy but I'm still not sold on Lynn. Is it difficult to walk into a HC job when a likely HOFer is still playing QB for your team? They looked downright awful in the biggest game of his coaching career last January. As I've indicated many times, the "there were a lot of blowouts" characterization of the last two seasons is not indicative of how the Bills played; it's indicative of the dearth of offensive talent, which is systematically being addressed. The Peterman thing is and always will be on McD. None of us understand it. But what's done is done. I know you probably read and listen to a lot of NFL stuff -- McD is almost universally praised as a great hire by Buffalo. It seems odd that you continue to act as though that was a questionable decision by the Pegulas.

No, they won't. That's why it's debatable in the first place. If OBJ is successful some will say "OTAs don't matter" but nobody knows the true value because you can't place a tangible value on "building chemistry" other than to say it's arguably better to have it than not.

Yeah, you're just nitpicking. The bottom line -- and I don't see how anyone could disagree -- is that it's more likely the Browns and OBJ would benefit from OBJ's participation in OTAs than from him not attending.

Did I miss something in the NFL ownership manual giving the league authority to force an owner to relocate?

I think they could have gone either way. But knowing McD the way we now think we do, I can understand from his perspective why he wanted to come in and change the culture first. I dunno, one could argue it's a small miracle Allen played as well as he did last year, what with the crappy QB room to start the season and an old WR coach as his QB coach. The bottom line, at least for me, is that I don't think we've endured two years of "suffering" under McD the way some make it seem, and I'm really excited about the prospects moving forward.

You apparently ignored the very first sentence of my second paragraph? The one that reads "I'm not saying OBJ failing to attend OTAs means he won't be successful with Cleveland?" This is not about saying OTAs are the key to OBJ's (or the Browns') success. It's about saying that OBJ is missing an opportunity to show he gives a damn, and if I was the coach I'd be a little miffed about it too. That's not a "silly" argument when people can take reasonable positions on both sides.

George was the classic case of "million dollar arm, 10 cent head." Never exhibited the desire or competitive edge to be one of the best. Physical talent was All-Pro caliber but just didn't have the drive. I'm not aware of substance abuse issues.

Their argument will always be that the new coach/GM could/should have drafted Mahomes or Watson in 2017.

In my mind, there is a better argument for byes in sports like baseball, basketball, and hockey because the teams at the top have earned those records over the course of 80+ games...not the 16 played in the NFL where one or two "bad weeks" can significantly impact the standings. Anyway, we disagree on this point and that's fine. But I think you'll see an expansion of the NFL playoffs before long.

The "wild card round" in baseball is one game to determine the wild card, isn't it? That's not exactly a "bye" for the other teams. And no, I have not for one second contemplated that byes for the top two teams in the NFL playoffs have anything to do with the sport's popularity. I don't even know how one would come to that conclusion.

Because the Giants were a great team with OBJ? I'm not saying OBJ failing to attend OTAs means he won't be successful with Cleveland. What I will say is that he is doing both himself and the team a disservice by not attending. There is a world of difference between (a) a veteran player on an established team with a stable coaching staff and (b) a player going to a new team with new coaches and teammates. If I'm a coach I don't have a problem with a player in situation (a) skipping OTAs because the credibility and chemistry are ostensibly already there. I do have a problem with a player in situation (b) skipping because an opportunity to learn the system and bond with teammates/coaches is not being taken advantage of. This is particularly true in this day and age of limited practice time. I'm certain you completely disagree with this take and think attendance at OTAs is meaningless, which is your prerogative.

The NHL, NBA, and MLB don't give teams byes. The NCAA men's basketball tournament doesn't give byes. Why should the NFL?

Give the teams more of an ability to practice and/or scrimmage with other teams, and remove 1-2 of the preseason games. I think coaches would be fine with that and as a fan, I'd appreciate shortening the preseason. While we're at it, add two playoff teams in each conference (4 division champs, 4 wild cards) and get rid of the byes for the top two seeds.