Rocky Landing

That is incorrect. The context of "alligator arms" started with the post above from GunnerBill, who has apparently been hacked by BADOLBILZ.

Is it NextGen Stats that has the metrics for catch radius? It’d be interesting to know what Shakir’s stat is in that regard, because it’s not just a measurement of his arm length. I’ll guess his catch radius is actually pretty good for his height.

Before this week, I really didn't know a lot about Marquez Valdes-Scantling. So, I decided to get in little tape on this guy, and I went to the all-22 of weeks 7, 12, and 13 of the ’23 season (Chargers, Packers, and Bills, respectively) because those were the games that MVS had the most targets (mostly focused on week 7). And I gotta say… he looked rather pedestrian. But it wasn’t all bad news (at least from my eye. I'll admit, I’m not the most knowledgeable fan on this site— but I’m not the least, either…) Here’s what I saw: The Cons: The drops are a real issue. I was assuming, as some others on here were, that his high drop rate was a function of his deeper routes, and sure… not all drops are created equal. But, that really didn't seem to be the case. His drops were reminiscent of the drops that Isaiah McKenzie used to make (a Bills player whom I loved, btw). Bone-headed stuff. This is easily the biggest knock on the guy, IMO. He does not have reliable hands. His burst off the line is slow, and he does not have quick acceleration. Once he gets going, he can build up some speed— not uncommon for a big guy— but it makes separation in shorter routes an issue. He does not cut well, even for someone his size. Obviously, that makes separation an issue, as well. The Good: He knows how to use his big body. He seemed utterly un-phased by press man, lack of burst notwithstanding. He can brush off a bump at the LOS with ease. He’s a very, very good blocker. In fact, one of the primary ways the Chefs seemed to use him was to stretch the field ahead of Kelce, and then block for him to get Kelce those YACs. Through much of those games, with several of Kielce’s receptions, #11 was about 5-7 yards ahead of him, drawing coverage. IMO, if he makes the 53, this will be the biggest reason. He knows how to run a fade. It’s the strength of his game. And that works well for the Bills, since Josh Allen knows how to throw one. He knows how to extend a play. That’s important if Mahomes is your QB. And, obviously, it’s important if Josh Allen is your QB. One other little bonus I got from watching the all-22 from week seven, was that Will Clapp was the starting center for the Chargers, and I focused on him, as well. I had more or less assumed he was JAG… but now I’m not so sure. He seemed like a competent, well rounded center in both pass pro, and the run. In the run game, he seemed to follow his assignments well— drew to the side the play called for, and finished his push to the end. In pass pro, he held his own all game. One thing I really liked was that when a gap opened up, he would maintain his block, but extend an arm out towards the gap, and a couple times took on a double block— and he did it pretty well. But even when the double block wasn’t there, he was able to narrow the gap that had opened, and at least slow the pass rush. I thought he looked pretty decent— at least in what I saw of him. Don’t sleep on this guy. He could be our next center. And I’ll admit— I don’t have a ton of faith in David Edwards as a LG. Obviously, he’s not a better option over Connor McGovern, or he’d have had that role last season. And I have no idea how McGovern will fare at center. GO BILLS!

I mean… I suppose…. But why does this read like an optimistic justification to not feel bad about a pedestrian WR corp?

But will that receiver that they will want to move be Aiyuk? Their SB loss must still be stinging. I have a hard time believing they're going to trade away the guy who caught for over 1,300 yards if they have aspirations of returning to the SB.

The Bills playing on Thanksgiving gave me a welcome respite from my obnoxious, Patriots*-fan in-laws. Now what am I going to do to get them to leave me the ***** alone for three hours???

How much trade capital do we really have, though? Fans act like Brandon Aiyuk, and DK Metcalf are just sitting on a shelf waiting to be sold. Should we have mortgaged the future in the draft a la Sammy Watkins? The Diggs trade worked out for us spectacularly, but Diggs wasn't even the Vikings #1WR at the time, and was reported to be a locker room distraction, complete with his signature tweets. But google trade rumors for either Metcalf, or Aiyuk, and articles with speculation involving multiple teams will come up. And neither of those players have moved... at least yet... June 1st is approaching, and we'll see what happens. But even after this WR-rich draft, the competition for a stud WR will be robust.

Maybe it's the homer in me, but that does look like one helluva roster... It's unclear if we even have the capital to land either of those guys. If we did, it would surely be steep, and our cap situation is not the best. Is spending that much on a single player (and I assume the cost would be considerably higher than what we paid for Von Miller?) a sound strategy? The Bills aren't the only team that might covet players like Metcalf, and Aiyuk. And neither of them have moved. Of course, there is that June 1st, Tre White cut coming up...

His brand of condescension is nothing special.

That's a good one. I believe he got AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for that play.

Reggie Gilliam does several things pretty well, which makes him valuable in terms of his versatility. He blocks well, both in the run game, and pass pro, he is often used as a blocking TE (and was even designated as a TE for at least a season iirc), he's a reliable check down option, and most importantly, he's an exceptional special teams player. The Bills have had other players on ST who were basically ST-only. Taiwan Jones, Matakevich, Siran Neal, to name a few. These players were considered elite ST players (especially Taiwan Jones), but rarely saw the field otherwise, except in a pinch, or in garbage time. Gilliam is every bit as good on ST as those players, but he is also useful on offense, and gets plenty of snaps. Considering how shallow the Bills are at several positions, the idea of having ST-only players on the roster has probably fallen down the priority list. If Joe Brady decides he doesn't want the luxury of a FB, then maybe this is the year they cut him... but I doubt it.

But they got Curtis Samuel to replace Cole Beasley!

No, I certainly don't expect them to say that....

Well… he wouldn’t be the first reclamation project to arrive and thrive in Buffalo. It would be nice, and fun to witness. But if he falls flat, he’ll be on a much longer list of players with unrealized potential who came here and didn’t make it, than of those that did. Just in this year’s WR room alone, in fact.

As has been stated throughout these boards, the Bills not only lack a true #1, they lack a one-two punch at wide receiver. But they do have one of the best one-two punches at TE in the league. Not only fans, but Beane, and McDermott, themselves, have talked about the expectations of 12 personnel this season…. And you think they want to move on from that???

Depends on the quality of the kibble. Maybe this is why Beans was looking for draft picks with “that dog” in them?

True. The NFL has been keen on making late season games count in recent years, and considering how close these teams were last season, I can well imagine they'd like a repeat of that relevancy.

I actually like this. It will be hot, and muggy, but both sides of the field will be the same (as opposed to the ±20˚ difference in the '22 loss), and it's early enough in the season that the shallowness of our secondary will not be exposed. That's an important factor vs. the Fish, IMO.

Typical TBW for an idea about starting a "question of the day" to spinout into "justification to adopt the draconian measure of limiting discussion..."

They're called "moderators," actually.

Because people would enjoy it. Don't know why this would be an issue for anybody.

Sentimentalism.

Seriously, what kind of perspective is this? There's nothing complex about it. There's no problem being searched for. It's simply a moderator who runs the site trying to initiate something that he thinks would be enjoyable for other Bills fans. Why would you be "searching" for a reason to be against it?

This isn't anything groundbreaking, it's just an experiment to see if the mods can get the board moving in a better direction. Participation isn't required. You're not going to have to fill out a TPS form, or anything...

yuk...