BisonMan

On the other hand, a spectacular play there be Allen that wins the game would have a very positive effect on the perception of the Bills and Allen. Prospective FA WRs might have a different view of Allen when considering a landing spot. That pass/drop might have cost us a true #1 WR next year. Alternatively, Allen might have been more likely to play “hero ball” in later games if that play won the game and we’d be drafting 5th in round 1. Who knows...only the Shadow knows! EdW

Somebody ask Dion Sanders how important “good tackling technique” is for an NFL cornerback. He couldn’t tackle a guy who fell down in front of him!

The more pre-draft coverage I read, the more I liked Allen. I was both happy and concerned when the Bills picked him. He had high bust potential based on what I knew but, now that I’ve seen him play at the NFL level, I no longer worry about him being a bust. His size, smarts, mobility, intelligence, work ethic and competitiveness remind me more of John Elway than any other superstar QB. He is a lot smarter than Brett Favre. I don’t think Allen makes bonehead plays like Favre. He is inaccurate at times but isn’t throwing into triple coverage. The Bills have the potential to ruin any QB with the talent they currently have. The recent Beane interview tells me they probably won’t. On a scale from 1 to 10, I’m probably at an 8 right now. EdW

A few have noted here that the majority of the current NFL players from Alabama are relatively young (<4 years in the NFL) and point to that as a sign that the Alabama roster is getting stronger. That’s a really poor analysis. The average tenure of an NFL player is less than 4 years (3.3 years). So, it would be very odd if the majority of Alabama alumni are not short tenured in the NFL. A good point was made about high draft picks. After a couple of years, most draft picks, particularly in rounds 3 or later are no longer on the team that drafted them. By year 4, only about 3/4 of first rounders are still even on the teams. That tells us that 1st rounders aren’t very sure fire. If we look at the 5th year, where teams have to exercise their options, only about 2/3rds of round one picks even get their contracts picked up. So, being a high draft pick (round 1 or 2) is no guarantee of NFL success (i.e. quality). The Bills have players that have shown a tendency to stick in the league, even if they are poor for their positions. What we can probably say is that for every player on the Bills, they are highly likely to be among the best 64 players in their position in the league. You certainly can’t say that about the majority of Alabama’s roster as history shows, they don’t last in the league that long.

To quote myself from this same topic several weeks back... This is a joke. Today, there are a total of about 53 players from Alabama across all rosters in the NFL: http://www.espn.com/nfl/college This is taking into account all players from every year still young enough to play in the league. This likely spans upwards of 10-12 years of Alabama players. Take a look at that list and tell me how many STARTERS in the NFL are there. Sure, there are some solid players and a few stars but you couldn't field an entire starting roster with that list. Every RB on that list is an NFL backup but they dominated in college. The sole QB on that list was cut by the Bills because he couldn't beat out Peterman (AJ McCarron). It's easy to claim that every player on a current college roster is going to be a superstar or that their QB is a "generation talent". The reality is that across time, this is obviously not true. Also, looking at drafts of NFL teams, players drafted beyond the 3rd round rarely make the starting lineup. Across an entire draft only around 30-35 players end up as starters in the NFL. There is no chance the starters from a single college team could field an NFL caliber starting lineup. Every NFL team would crush the best college team in the country. The only way they don’t cover the spread is if the Bills decide to sit everyone they can to prevent injuries once they were up by 30+ points. Even then they couldn’t help but continue to run up the score. My 2 cents.

Crap! I’m off with the family this weekend on vacation so I’ll miss it. Maybe I can find a stick somewhere and jam it into my eye to feel like I’ve gotten the true experience. ?

I agree with those who say it’s way too early to tell if this leadership team is good or bad. Things they’ve done that I think any winning coach/GM would do to turn the franchise around: 1. Get rid of overpaid players and those players they knew they wouldn’t be able to keep in free agency. This includes Darieus (overpaid), Watkins (overpaid and too expensive in FA), Woods (too expensive FA). 2. Have a plan and stick with it. This includes getting rid of players that don’t fit the scheme/culture you are trying to create. This includes Darby (scheme mis-match), Darieus (culture), Woods (scheme, the Bills seems to be looking for speed at WR). 3. Don’t overpay for Free Agents when your are starting the rebuild. The Bills didn’t overpay for a FA QB or FA WRs even though some were out there to be had. Similarly for OLinemen. Signing Star and Trent Muphy were exceptions because they fit the scheme. 4. Don’t sign aging veterans as part of the early rebuild process. Sure, once you are making a push for the ring, you can sign these types of “temporary” players but it makes no sense early in the “process” (sorry, couldn’t resist). 5. Build through the draft. By all accounts, McBean have picked up some gems in the draft including players like Milano, Phillips and Johnson. They’ve also used early picks for key positions including MLB, CB and QB. OT and edge rushers are the other keys that I think they’ll likely look to fill next year. I doubt they draft a WR in RD1 next year unless a no-brainer superstar falls into their lap. 6. Draft a “franchise” QB. The jury is out as to whether Allen is going to be a star, serviceable starter or dud. The point is to draft a QB you believe can be a star. Allen’s physical talent, intelligence (high Wonderlic) and work ethic are what you look for. 7. Fix the cap. The Bills were in terrible cap hell before McBean. They’ve made the hard choices, which likely cost the team wins over the last two years. Nonetheless, it was the right move. Time will tell of they choices they make with the new cap space are the right ones. 8. Stockpile draft picks. McBean has done this as well. This gives the team flexibility on draft night to move around and to find additional talent in middle or late rounds.This also allows them to take some risks in the draft knowing they have the capital to make safer choices as well. I can’t really argue with the strategy but I’m sure some could/will argue with the specific choices. Specifically, I haven’t been thrilled with the pro-personnel choices they’ve make at times and I think they’ve showed a Carolina bias (Tolbert, Benjamin). Nonetheless, the framework looks right to me. I’m giving them a couple more years to see if this plan works. EdW

Bree’s came back and started the next season and was very good but his “career ending” shoulder injury made SD release him with the unproven Rivers on the bench (worked out for both). NO took a chance on him. Smart move. So, ignore the other examples I gave? Elway was benched his rookie year, wasn’t traded, HOF. Alex Smith as well but the new regime though Kaep was the future. Smith is still a starter in the league. It’s not hard to find these examples as this is more common than you might think. I haven’t scoured the entire “history of the NFL”.

Actually, Manning came in for Warner, who was in his 30s. Manning wasn’t benched that year. However, there were a number of QBs with great careers benched early including Bob Griese, Ken Stabler and Roger Staubach (I think). Most recently, and topically, Drew Brees was benched for Doug Flutie his second year in SD. He ended up with a pretty good career, I think. ? https://es.pn/2bkYpSo

Benjamin already does this or Josh wouldn’t throw a pass to him at all. ?

It’s been more than 4 hours since the game ended. Call your doctor. ??‍⚕️

Those are big pieces for the Packers to be missing. Hughes or Murphy might have a field day chasing down a hobbled Rodgers without Bulaga. Their line is beat up. Missing Muhammad Wilkerson puts a big hole in Pettine’s D-line. Ivory might have a big day running inside. Finally looking forward to a Sunday this year!

This is a joke. Today, there are a total of about 53 players from Alabama across all rosters in the NFL: http://www.espn.com/nfl/college This is taking into account all players from every year still young enough to play in the league. This likely spans upwards of 10-12 years of Alabama players. Take a look at that list and tell me how many STARTERS in the NFL are there. Sure, there are some solid players and a few stars but you couldn't field an entire starting roster with that list. Every RB on that list is an NFL backup but they dominated in college. The sole QB on that list was cut by the Bills because he couldn't beat out Peterman (AJ McCarron). It's easy to claim that every player on a current college roster is going to be a superstar or that their QB is a "generation talent". The reality is that across time, this is obviously not true. Also, looking at drafts of NFL teams, players drafted beyond the 3rd round rarely make the starting lineup. Across an entire draft only around 30-35 players end up as starters in the NFL. There is no chance the starters from a single college team could field an NFL caliber starting lineup. Every NFL team would crush the best college team in the country. My 2 cents.

Serious question: Is our O-Line terrible mostly because they are (1) physically overmatched or(2) technically challenged (don’t know basic skills) or are (3) making mental mistakes? If it’s number 1, I’d say the only solution is new blood...which is highly unlikely for this season. If it’s number 2, we’ve had the same O-Line coach for 2 years and he still doesn’t have basic techniques down? Fire him! If it’s number 3, there is an overall problem with the coaching staff that goes beyond the O-line coach and likely carries across multiple position groups. If that’s it, it’s on McD. I think it’s mostly (1) at this point and that is causing the other issues (2) and (3) because guys are overmatched and getting ahead of themselves and not using good technique and making mental errors. A lot of the sacks I saw from the last couple of games looked like mental errors by various players failing to pick up their proper assignments. In particular, the backs (mostly Murphy) missed unblocked players. Shady and Ivory would fix that just by playing more. EdW

OK, calling Allen “great” is a bit premature to say the least. However, as I’ve watched the pundits and football analysts, they are so consumed with his arm-cannon that they can’t see what traits will make him truly a great quarterback. In no particular order… The Poise Watching Allen in his limited pre-season action and some of his college games, something has struck me. He seems to be very poised for a young QB. He’s had poor offensive line play in front of him for the last several years, but he doesn’t seem to have the “happy feet” that a lot of young guys have. So far, on the surface, the NFL stage does not appear “too big” for him. “Panic” does not seem to be in his dictionary. We haven’t seen “live bullets” yet but early indications look good. The Smarts It’s well reported that Josh Allen scored very highly on the Wonderlic test before the draft. He comes across as a very intelligent guy in interviews. Even the recent Jalen Ramsey comments were sloughed off as “he doesn’t play for my team”, so gives a f#$K what he says. Allen should have no problems taking in an NFL playbook and knowing exactly where everyone should be on every play. This is not something to take lightly. Knowing the playbook innately makes it easier for young QBs to focus on other areas of their game, like calling audibles and reading coverages. It appears from just the Cleveland game, that Josh Allen is well on his way in doing this. That was not an easy defense to read pre-snap or post-snap. He seemed to handle that with ease. He also showed the Poise to take what they gave him instead of relying on “that big arm”. The Work Ethic This is one area that all NFL quarterbacks are expected to excel. A strong work ethic is critical to NFL QB success. First in, last out every day is the way of the NFL QB. Josh Allen’s background (growing up on a farm) and his struggles to improve enough for college teams to take him seriously shows a strong work ethic. People knock Allen for his accuracy issues in college. The one factor that will most likely lead to a QB correcting this fault is work ethic. Combined with his Smarts, Allen could be a more ready to take the reins that a lot of pundits give him credit for. That work ethic will help him for his entire career. The Chip Tom Brady was drafted in the 6th round. He never forgot that. That chip on his shoulders continues to fire him up to this day. Josh Allen received his chip four years earlier than Brady. With no Division I college willing to offer him a ride, Allen was forced to play “small ball” for a year. Even after success there, only one college gave him a shot, Wyoming. Overcoming doubters is now ingrained in Josh Allen’s psyche. I’m guessing, like Brady, he’ll be carrying that chip around for a long time and making NFL defenses pay for it every Sunday. It's very rare to have a young quarterback with these four intangibles as well aligned as they appear to be with Josh Allen. What’s more shocking is that these traits look to actually be combined with a QB with Allen’s physical traits. Imagine a QB with the arm of Matthew Stafford or Big Ben combined with the work ethic of Drew Brees or Matt Ryan combined with the “Chip on his shoulder” of Tom Brady combined with the legs of an Carson Wentz or Aaron Rodgers. This would be a very rare breed of QB…I hope.

This guy is a hoot...

I doubt they sign a vet this late just to dump him in final cuts. They’ll sign a camp arm 1st or 2nd year player for late game 3 and all of 4. Maybe somebody who’d fit on the practice squad. That makes more sense to me.

Nate’s getting a taste of that third string OLine. Yet another out route that was almost a pick six on Peterman. Take that out of the playbook if he starts!

More poised play from Allen. Nobody will be jumping out routes when he’s playing. The ball gets out there way too fast. I’m waiting for a double move where somebody jumps a route and gives up a chunk play.

Teams looking for a starter due to injury or a backup will trade for Bridgewater over McCarron. He’s already on the trade block and has looked better than McCarron. Better to make him play all of game 4 to keep Peterman and Allen healthy and potentially put something good on tape in hopes his stock rises. maybe get a lineman that isn’t waving a red cape as the defense runs by...

From what I’ve seen so far, the only reason I wouldn’t start him game 1 is because our OLine can’t stop a nose bleed.

Allen looks good. Calm. In command. Finding the open guy. Not staring down guys. Lots of positives.

Dumb penalties put the Browns behind the chains. Putting the offense on Tyrod’s arm. Recipe for failure. Buffalo Bills 2017. Allen getting rid of the ball fast. AJ could learn from the rook.

Kyle injured. Ugh. ?

HYDE on HYDE violence! Nice play.