Rocky Landing

I would think quite a few Cleveland fans would be feeling nostalgic for Baker right about now.

So, who do you think is going to be starting in Indianapolis? Or Denver? It's not even training camp yet. Mayfield is going over his new playbook right now... as we speak. There is no way that: a. A five year vet, who has already played under multiple head coaches, can't adjust to a new playbook. b. Mayfield won't be given every chance to compete for the starting job. c. Mayfield wouldn't have a better than 50/50 chance of outplaying Darnold. d. Carolina didn't acquire Mayfield without the general intention of him being able to start week one. EDIT: One thing I will agree with, though: The amount of guaranteed money Carolina was able to get Mayfield for does put him in "flyer" territory.

Pretty interesting that in week one, Mayfield will be playing against a team that will be paying him twice as much as the team he is playing for.

The losing culture that McDermott walked into-- ya know, the 17 year playoff drought. That didn't immediately end in McD's first season when they backed into a wildcard spot. It took a bit of work. Just my opinion. Hell yeah, that was a great game!

Game Pass has to be my favorite streaming service. Really worth the money, IMO. Anyway, I’ve been re-watching condensed versions of old games lately. It's the best way to get through this long gap in the off-season. Today, just out of curiosity, I re-watched the 2018 season opener at Baltimore, where the Ravens placed a 47-3 shellacking on the Bills in Josh Allen’s first NFL game. I laughed. I (would have) cried (were it not the beginning of a glorious era). And, I thought I would like to post a few of my observations of that game in, uh… no particular order… Tremaine Edmunds. (Why not start off with Tremaine Edmunds?) It was his first game of his career as well, and ya know what? For a raw, 19-year-old (!) rookie in his first start, he looked pretty damn good! He got a sack, had decent lines to the ball, and damned near got two interceptions. In fact, had it not been raining, I believe he would have hauled in at least one of those. Matt Milano. In the first of only a few instances where Milano did something noteworthy, the commentator referred to him as “the undersized Matt Milano…” That made me laugh. TOP and the Defense. One might think that a defense that allows another team to pin 47 points on them would be an unmitigated disaster. And they were bad, but they weren’t as bad as all that. I lost track of all the three-and-outs by the Bills offense in the first half, but suffice to say— there were a lot of them. Poor Bojo punted ten times. And for the defense, it’s hard to stay fresh when you don’t get more than a few minutes rest between drives. By the end of the game (a full third of which the Ravens played as garbage time, and the Bills, themselves, were actively running out the clock) the Ravens had the ball for over ten minutes longer than the Bills. Offense. What a crapshow. It’s not like there wasn’t some talent on that field, but you can really see the effects of a losing culture in a performance like that. Shady McCoy. By 2018, he had already lost a step, IMO. But, he still had great vision. Kelvin Benjimin. 🤮 The O-line. 🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮 Nathan Peterman. I remember very clearly being one of the posters on TBD who went into the season pounding the table that Peterman shouldn’t be in the league, much less starting in the season opener. He was straight-up terrible. But here’s the thing about Late Nate: He’s still in the league!!! He’s currently employed by the Chicago Bears! HOW??? WHY??? Josh Allen. I’m not just being a homer when I say this (the color commentator even made this point within a few plays of Allen taking the field) but when Josh Allen took over at QB, the entire energy of the offense changed. Even though there was zero chance of a comeback by that time, they just appeared willing to make plays, and put themselves out there. Josh did a bunch of Josh things— scrambling for a couple first downs, taking some hits, etc. He certainly had a fair share of rookie issues, and was sacked twice. But you know wasn’t an issue? Accuracy. In fact, especially considering the wind and rain, Allen threw some ropes. It was interesting watching this game in retrospect to where we are now. You can see the potential in Josh Allen. You can see the poisoned culture that McDermott was working to change— the lack of effort, the lack of focus, the lack of inspiration. And a few minutes into the third quarter when Allen takes the field, you can see the tide change in Buffalo.

Kaiir Elam probably already has a drawing of the Bills logo in one of his notebooks.

That you would even define that game by the final 13 seconds of regulation, much less the entire team, and their season is the kind of "logic," and trolling more commonly employed by Patriots* fans. Perhaps you should change your affiliation? I'm sure you would find a welcome home with that dwindling fan base.

OK, Pats* fan.

https://www.nfl.com/news/former-all-pro-running-backs-adrian-peterson-le-veon-bell-to-box-in-exhibition I hope Le'Veon beats the snot out of Peterson.

No, it's just semantics.

Ms. Pegula, If you happen to be laying in bed reading TBD, I hope this "Get well soon" meme with a kitten on it helps you feel better. Sincerely, Rocky Landing

You do you!

I did not realize how weird you are...

Did you have the acquaintance in college who vacationed in Jamaica during the summer and magically came back with a Jamaican accent?

You mean like Quessenberry, Mancz, and Van Roten?

Starters: Dawkins Saffold Morse Bates Brown Backup/developmental: Doyle Quessenberry Mancz Van Roten If a tenth spot: Tenuta Injured Reserve: Boettger I would put all of those guys above Ford at this point, even Tenuta.

I think Cody Ford is going to really have to fight to make the 53, and it will be an uphill battle. With the addition of Saffold, and depth additions they made in FA, and the only departure being Daryl Williams, I have to think he's pretty far down the depth chart at this point. IMO, he's the most likely to go. Moss, in my opinion will be competing with Duke Johnson for a third RB spot (not including Taiwan Jones in this equation). I believe Motor, and Cook are locks. The one thing Moss might have to his advantage is his ability in pass protection. I don't know the stats for '21, but in '20 he was the the best RB in pass pro in the league. That is not a small consideration. Personally, my money is on Moss winning the competition, but I wouldn't put odds on it. Epenesa, in my opinion, isn't going anywhere. The Bills carried 11 D-linesmen last season. The D-line rotation is a hallmark of this defense. I would be pretty shocked if there Bills carried less than five DEs. After Miller, Groot, Lawson, Boogie, and Epenesa, the drop off is pretty large. Could Mike Love, or Eli Ankou, or Kingsley Jonathan beat out AJ? I suppose it's possible.

So, she would touch him with a ten foot pole..?

There's more cameramen there then there are players. Kittle's using one of them like a cone.

Fitz on Amazon is great. Can't wait to hear his insight. I'm sure after a season or two with Amazon, he'll probably move on to ESPN, and then Fox Sports. Probably CBS, NBC... NFL Network...

Even during the era of Patriots* dominance in the AFCE, I often said that I was glad I wasn't a Pats* fan. From a recent ESPN article on Patriots* fourth round pick CB Jack Jones: "Jones began his college career at USC, was arrested for breaking into a restaurant in 2018, and a plea agreement reduced the initial felony charges to a second-degree misdemeanor charge of commercial burglary. After Jones was dismissed from USC due to academic issues, he transferred to Moorpark, a junior college. He ultimately landed at Arizona State, where in 2020, he was also suspended for fighting during practice. “It’s a good spot for him [New England], as there will be people there to keep the thumb on him," Edwards said in an interview with ESPN.com." Not worried about our guys in the least. I'm more worried about my own behavior over the next five weeks, to be honest.

Oddly enough, I worked on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia for four seasons, and I have no idea what you’re talking about.

Wow. What an unhinged response…

I think this is a good take. I would add that JA now is a much more mature and confident QB than JA in Beasley’s first season in Buffalo. I would hope the relationship could develop a bit quicker with Crowder.

Did I argue that Beasley wasn’t more productive than Crowder last season? No, I did not. (That qualifies as a straw man argument, btw)