Kirby Jackson

That’s an antiquated way of thinking. Schools used to recruit regionally. That died maybe 15 or so years ago. Now, the biggest programs have a national recruiting base. That basically erased that narrative. Caleb Williams isn’t some “California surfer kid” (a la Leinart, Barkley, Rob Johnson). He is an Oklahoma transfer from Washington DC. The arguments you’ve made to this point were MAYBE relevant 20 years ago but the game has changed. The schemes have changed. The college game now influences and dictates the pro game, not the other way around. The spread and RPOs have all moved to the NFL game. There has been a consolidation of talent at the college level with national recruiting. I’m an Ohio State fan. Their starting offense right now by state: QB - PA RB - VA WR - PA WR- WA WR - PA TE - OH LT - CA LG - TX C - WI RG - NY RT - IN This is why the narrative of “_____ school doesn’t produce ____ positions” is dead. The best players now go to the best fit, not the closest big school to home. USC starts 1 skill player on offense from California (an elite football state). The “history” of a school with a certain position has never been less relevant. NIL will continue to make this even more of a reality.

The same system is potentially relevant (or at least somewhat). In this case it would be a bonus playing for Reilly. The rest of it seems like a stretch. That’s at least true for the teams with a national recruiting base.

I don’t know who said that college and the NFL were the same? Equal shot? What does that even mean? It’s COMPLETELY irrelevant how previous players played at a school. You ONLY evaluate the player. The history of the school at a position means nothing. That holds especially true with a different coaching staff. In terms of the Heisman, it wasn’t a great indicator of pro value for years. Guys like Jason White and Eric Crouch won. Over the last 16 years, 15 Heisman winners have been 1st rounders (Derrick Henry as the exception). 7 of them went first overall (Williams will be 8). The Heisman is a decent indicator of draft position in 2023. That’s how NFL teams view these guys.

Lol, one has nothing to do with the other!!! The PLAYER needs to be evaluated not PLAYERS THAT USED TO PLAY THERE!! This is so simple!! It remains the dumbest argument in sports. Don’t be so simple. I’m not going to appease your ridiculous argument but what kind of success have Lincoln Riley developed QBs had? That’s INFINITELY more relevant in this discussion. If that happened, he’d be, without question, the greatest college player ever. He already has a decent shot at a 2nd Heisman.

Name the last great Texas Tech QB before Mahomes? Wyoming before Allen? Miami (OH) before Ben? That’s the stupidest argument in football. There is ZERO correlation. If you don’t think that he will be good, fine. You’ll be wrong, but if you have football reasons, fine. If your reason is because he went to USC that’s stupid. If it’s because other highly-touted guys failed, that’s also stupid. There is zero correlation. He has ELITE traits and plays the exact style that the best players play currently. Lol, in 2023 do people really care about that? I care if they win, not if they graciously hand the ball to the official. Deion took a trash program, went on the road, and knocked off the National Runner-up. That’s what I want in a coach. I want winners. I don’t care how they act when they win. I also don’t care if NBA players have a dress code when they show up to a game.

I’ve met a bunch of them. It’s an underwhelming group 🙂.

Well said!! I was coming here to say something similar. The Bills missing the playoffs isn’t asinine this year as it has been in past years. They have an extremely difficult schedule and 2 potential contenders in their division. I still think that this Bills win the division but it isn’t the lock that it has been over the last couple of years.

I’ll be there (at the tailgate at least). We are staying on the Upper West Side and driving in at like 2:15-3:00. Looking forward to it!!

“I hate college football so much that I’m going to start a thread, on a football message board, to tell internet strangers, how much I hate college football.” That’s sad. Anyways, for those paying attention, the first month contains weekly matchups with playoff implications: LSU - FSU, Texas - Alabama, and OSU - ND. OU - Tennessee and OU - UGA were both called off because of OU entering the SEC. Speaking of which, conference consolidation will do wonders for college football. There will be more “best-on-best” matchups before determine the playoffs.

I don’t know much about the PSE situation. I’ve always thought that it was stupid to operate both brands with the same leadership/people. The NHL and NFL are completely different business models with different revenue streams. A lot of teams combine their staffs but their roles are different.

Malik Willis? Davis Mills? Andy Dalton? Case Keenum? Jameis?

https://x.com/adamschefter/status/1695214383729717550?s=46&t=aIi6rXjE4r9_s--847m7fQ

I’ve seen enough of Kyle Allen and Matt Barkley to not believe that they are more than scrubs. Lance has elite tools and basically no experience. I KNOW that they can’t play. If we had Keenum or Trubisky still, I wouldn’t care for Lance. I’d buy the lottery ticket because I believe that if Kyle Allen, Matt Barkley and Trey Lance each started that Lance would have the best results. The bar is VERY low IMO with the current guys. It’s as bad of a backup situation as there is in the league.

Well of course!! Lol, who said that it raises the ceiling? Your ceiling is the Super Bowl. It raises the floor!! If Josh were to miss a month, “could you go 2-2?” That is what you are trying to get to. I believe that it is more likely with Lance than Allen/Barkley. You also get the bonus, if he looks good in those games, of one of the best trade chips in football. It isn’t about a season!!!! Every team is done if their QB misses the year. It is about if your QB misses a week or month.

Fair question: I should have rephrased to “improved backup situation.” I do not believe that he could be worse than Allen/Barkley. I just don’t. I think they’re scrubs. If he is “not very good” it’s an improvement. His talent / style give him a floor as a decent backup IMO. Remember we wasted a 5th on Fromm and he had NO CHANCE to even be a decent backup.

Maybe, maybe not, he is in a similar situation to when Trubisky came to the Bills. He does need to rehab his image as apparently he is playing behind Darnold. MAYBE, someone like Atlanta, looks at him as a potential starter. If not, he needs to go to an established program and rebuild his value. Right now, the perception is, “he must not be very good.”

I would if I could but it would be contingent on a 2 year extension (acceptable base with lots of upside). Worst case scenario you have a solid backup for a few years. If he plays and succeeds, you have an elite trade chip. I think that it raises the floor on this team (he is better than Kyle Allen and Barkley). It potentially raises the ceiling if he shows out and they trade him.

It isn’t just in hindsight that it was a bad pick. Many of us were critical of it from the jump. He was, and is, a scrub. I have no issue with the Bills using a late round pick on a backup. DTR would have been great late in this draft. I have an issue using it on a guy that was never going to be any good. Fromm is an XFL QB (maybe).

I don’t want to overreact to the preseason. I had 2 big concerns with this team: OT and #2 QB. They are both worse than I was worried about. Add in the MLB situation and there is reason for concern.

I agree. I don’t think that the swing tackle is currently on the roster

This can’t be real: https://x.com/matthewfairburn/status/1692862483566854346?s=46&t=aIi6rXjE4r9_s--847m7fQ

Jason Peters would be the 2nd best tackle on the Bills. That’s pretty sad. If you have a chance to sign him, you should.

Ask yourself this, “who do I have more confidence in Ryan Van Demark, David Queesenberry or an old Jason Peters?” If the answer is Peters, you should sign him. It is for me.

I agree with @Tipster19 that OT depth is a major concern. I’m not sure how to solve it. The Beachum thought has always been appealing. He isn’t great but would make me feel much better.

The Bills to me are probably somewhere between 10-15 at this point to me. Diggs is a top 5 WR. Gabe is a top 40ish guy. Knox and Kincaid are a top 7 or 8 TE room (and potentially better). Harty, Sherfield and Shakir are middle of the pack depth. Cook is a top 15 receiving back (and potentially even better).