K-9

Just to be clear, I’m not anti Nelson. Not at all because, like you say, he drives some positive stats. But Miller, Montour, Bogo, and Risto are just better. Agree. Cut Scandella and keep Nelson as the seven.

While I think this “most likely” sets up a Risto deal because he’s a RHD, I’ll also say, “not necessarily.” Miller gives us one legit top paid D in Dahlin, and then five other “legit” top four. Both Scandella and Nelson can either be moved, cut, or sit in the box. We won’t miss them at all. I only pointed it out because McKensie pointed it out first.

So this is the last piece of the ROR deal. Sobotka, Thompson, Johnson, Miller. Still a chance three of them pan out.

?

I entirely agree with your larger point about seeing every facet of a completed pass improving across the board. Per the bold text, I’m not sure I can buy that knowing that the potential exists to throw 10 perfectly accurate passes and not completing any. Again, that alludes to the other facets involved in completed passes, but it makes it hard for me to buy into the concept of accuracy being a subset of completion percentage because of those other aspects.

Hats off to the French squad, they pressed it all game. That said, the US side deserved it entirely. Should have been a finals matchup.

Absolutely. Josh’s running threat is gonna force teams to counter and leave something else vulnerable in the process. The old take what they give until they adjust and then start taking what you want. And we both know Allen isn’t gun shy like the aforementioned timid one.

If not with us, then with someone else. Hope he sticks here though.

Per the bold, good point. I wonder how often teams are gonna turn their back on him. He killed teams on scrambles vs. man coverage last year. Especially after he came back from injury. And I think that was with Dabolls’s blessing, too. Our sieve of an OL got him beat up before his injury and I think Daboll told him if it breaks down early, GTF out of there and go. And our added speed at wideout is gonna give defenses more to think about in terms of man to man coverage as well.

Up hill both ways?

Agree entirely. The debates around here could be legendary as well.

Well that clinches it; Risto must be traded. The potential for a Ristolainen and a Ruotsalainen in the same lineup on a game night, even if it’s just a preseason game, is just too much of a stroke risk for RJ.

And I’ll just add, no matter how much you don’t want to hear it, Robert Woods was GONE the moment the season ended. For two main reasons: he wanted to go home and play AND he was tired of playing with Taylor as his QB. We now return to your regularly scheduled YukFest.

Legend? No. An indelible part of Bills lore? Absolutely.

Per the bold, I think there’s a difference between earning it and justifying it. You’re right in that Sammy’s raw production may not suggest he’s earned it, but his enormous potential certainly justifies it. Sammy has shown many glimpses of the talent that made him the best WR prospect coming out. It is understandable why teams would choose to invest in that potential moving forward, especially those teams that aren’t dependent on him to be the focal point of their pass offense. If he can only stay healthy, he will have a great year. Big if, but I can see why a team would take the gamble.

And I suspect if you look, you’ll find a strong correlation between first downs allowed and the other stats mentioned. Stands to reason. I like the new age of analytics and the metrics being measured and the context they help to provide, but all I really need to know is contained in the stats we are discussing here.

Sammy is the egg man. Goo goo g’joob.

Average number of rushing plays allowed per game, average yards per rush against, average yards per pass against, QB rating against, average yards per play given up. That’s all you need to know about what defenses are good or not. When we improve our rush against metrics and red zone defense, we will be dominant. Right now, we are a very good defense.

That clinched it for me. Barkley needs to be our starting QB. Thanks.

That’s a valid point. Some just aren’t worth the give and take. Intractable myopia is impossible to have honest give and take with.

More Peter Pan dude, please.

I've answered it up thread but I'll say that in addition to all the positives he brings, he also brought his self admitted immaturity and the injuries that limited his availability to a new coach seeking to create his own culture with his own philosophies and his own "process" which is his prerogative as a head coach. And a new coach trying to do that requires total buy in from everyone, especially his best players, and Sammy wasn't about a team first mentality which, again, he admitted to. So while I would have preferred to keep Sammy, I can totally understand why he was traded and even though I didn't like it, I can respect the decision.

We have a lot of players with poor 5v5 numbers that don't mitigate that with as many positives as Risto. Risto's ginormous gaffes are so conspicuous when they occur, as they are for most D men, that I think there's a tendency to magnify them. At any rate, while I understand the desire to see him off our favorite team, given JBott's screwing of the ROR pooch less than a year ago, he simply cannot give Risto away for anything less than a great deal. Vatenen and Boqvist simply aren't enough.

No doubt. And I can understand why you might sit on the fence. I'll just say that losing Risto hurts us more than acquiring Vatenen and Boqvist helps us at this time.