eball

Serious question: is this guy "all there" mentally?

Wow. Is that site hard up for content or what?

Man, that is one sad story. I have a really hard time resolving the conflict between upholding one's commitment to the military vs. upholding one's commitment to family. We praise guys like Kalsu for honoring their military commitment and their integrity, but what about the commitment to his wife with a young child and another on the way? It becomes even more blurred when you look at the particular military commitment involved -- a senseless war that accomplished nothing. There are no easy answers here -- I'm sure many agree wholeheartedly with what Kalsu did, while others have the same struggle I'm dealing with. I am not a "military" guy so in many respects I'm just living off the fruits of others' labor -- perhaps that disqualifies me from commenting. But it's sad.

I suppose the way to answer that question would be to look at the same QBs in non-Gase systems...and I "ain't got time for that." Anyway, I think Gase is an egomaniac without the goods to back it up, and the Jets will soon learn that the hard way.

Bill, there was a time (I think) when I used to look forward to Biscuit's posts. I don't know what happened to him. He's completely afraid to express belief or optimism in anything the Bills do now. Everything is an expectation of failure or bemoaning that the Bills "settled" for less than ideal players/coaches. I hope he snaps out of it because I feel like this is going to be a fun season for us.

"Need to get better in all phases." "Josh knows what he needs to do and is putting in the work." "Excited to have new pieces in the offense." "Frank Gore is a pro's pro." "Can't talk about the players who aren't here but we hope to have them back by training camp." "We'll build upon concepts introduced last year and fit the offense to our strengths." That should just about cover it.

Allen doesn’t have a classic NFL QB pedigree. He had to fight to get a D-1 scholarship. His physical talents alone make that a curious conundrum. Why did no big college programs want him? You don’t think these schools would have loved to work with a kid with Josh’s talent? They whiffed. Allen’s stats in college are what they are. It’s irrelevant to me what other QBs in his conference did. But those stats are being used by some as “evidence” he will not succeed in the NFL, rather than as one piece of a much larger puzzle. The analytics crowd want so desperately to turn the prediction of success/failure into a series of data points, but that’s not the only (or even the best, perhaps) way to predict NFL QB play. What do I see in Allen? A - physical attributes that are in the top 10% of all NFL starting QBs B - evidence of being a “smart guy” (i.e., high Wonderlic score, presence in public/media situations) C - evidence of strong leadership skills (i.e., teammates gushed about him last year; took initiative welcoming FAs this year without prompting) D - evidence of a strong desire to improve (continuing work with Palmer in offseason) Remember when Whaley tried (unsuccessfully) to sell us on EJ Manuel having the “it” factor? Josh Allen has the “it” factor in spades. That’s no guarantee he’ll succeed, but after seeing his first season and the way he has conducted himself I now believe there is a more likely chance than not he will be a successful QB for the Bills for years to come, and it will be shown that college analytics failed miserably to predict his NFL career.

If it works it’s because said undersized DT will beat the OL to their gaps and disrupt plays before they ever get to the LBs. Oliver was not drafted to be someone who occupies blockers. Do people really not understand this?

The blame rightfully belongs on the manager, who should have had a defensive replacement in the game. Buckner could hardly walk and yes, he knew he needed to hustle to beat Mookie. As a young Mets fan that still ranks as one of my all-time favorite moments. Sucks Buckner had to put up with that schitt for the rest of his life. The Sox could still have won game 7. Norwood has it tougher.

I think Josh gets this. In his first press conference post OTAs he mentioned “consistent ball placement” as his number one area of focus. He understands he needs to get the ball into the hands of his playmakers so they can make plays. Last year he was learning on the job and didn’t have many playmakers. This year we see just how smart Josh is and what he has learned.

I maintain that Allen is an analytical unicorn. The stats used to measure him in college do not take into effect factors like what sort of coaching he received, the skill of his teammates, and his experience playing the position. If you want to respond that “all D-1 QBs are measured the same way” that’s fine, but I’ll assert that statistics used in that way are flawed. I think nearly everyone who questions Allen as a “valid” NFL starter has solely relied upon those flawed college statistics. Allen’s low completion percentage during his first season in Buffalo appears to them to be proof of his expected failure. They are making the same mistake. Give me one good reason why a player possessing Allen’s physical and mental characteristics couldn’t get a sniff from any decent D-1 program? That, by itself, is evidence of a flawed system. You’re really telling me the top college programs wouldn’t want a talent like Allen in their system? They just “missed” on him because he didn’t have the right pedigree, so he went to a crappy Wyoming program where he still elevated those around him. This kid may be the most unintentional victim of “analytics” in sports history. It’s going to be a joy watching him shut all of the doubters’ mouths.

Correct, and many have talked about how much more simplified offenses were and that the position is different now.

The gist of the Wonderlic, with respect to QBs, is that a high score doesn’t necessarily predict success but a low score (i.e., under 15) is a pretty reliable predictor of failure (since the 90s, if memory serves).

This is falling upon deaf ears with @C.Biscuit97 and others. Sacks are all that matters and we sucker Bills fans are “settling” for Hughes on a true hometown discount contract! Oh, to be a damaged Bills fan!

Some of the comments to that article are pretty humorous. I’ll maintain the position I’ve held since last year...Jackson will prove to be no better than the 4th (if not 5th) best QB taken in the 1st round last season.

But...but...but...why are we as Bills fans willing to “settle” for this?

Kyle is the dude who will beat you at golf, pool, darts, bowling, or whatever game you bring up. Just one of those guys with great hand-eye coordination who is a sneaky good athlete. Plus he has that competitive fire. It’s a shame he only got one playoff game as a Bill but he will forever be a tremendous ambassador for the franchise.

You predicted Peterman would be a good NFL QB, right? You’re either a troll or an idiot. In either case, bye bye.

“Historic” would be the Bills trying to put the finishing touch on a 16-0 regular season.

Nice job. The “realists” will continue to assert “I’ll believe it when I see it” and live in their world that consists of fear of failure. They’ll also continue to point out every draft pick and free agent signing that didn’t pan out (as if even the best franchises don’t have boatloads of each). I say screw ‘em. It’s much more fun as a fan to see where this team is headed and enjoy the ride. Edit: sorry for complaining, but do folks really not know how to respond without copying the entire long post?

The “analytics or bust” guys are going to be lukewarm on Allen until his play forces them to rethink things. Even with his progression through last season they can still point to stats like completion percentage, and even if the Bills win a lot of games behind Allen you know they will come up with reasons beyond his play for that happening. That’s how it goes in today’s world in which everyone needs to be “right” and only a small few are willing to have reasonable conversations and change their perspectives.

Cheers, Jimbo!

...but you won’t be shocked if they are wrong. Sorry, just completing what we all know are your true thoughts. Your keyboard must have jammed up while you were composing your post. You really should read McD’s interview from a couple of days ago, talking about the media using sacks as the key stat but specifically talking about forcing incompletions and picks by getting consistent pressure, which is exactly what Hughes does. This “Bills fans settle” nonsense makes you sound like a fool. Name a fan who doesn’t want the best players at every position?

I snipped most of it but you spent an awful lot of time to prove what exactly? Are you conceivably making an argument the OL will be worse this year? Because that’s the question the original post pondered.

Poor Blake Hance. He looked so happy in his Bills press photo.