Kirby Jackson

Well it’s definitely an option: https://985thesportshub.com/2020/03/30/patriots-cap-space-nfl-rank-31st-fix-problem/ edit: NM, after reading @ColoradoBills post they only need about $1m

I believe that they are currently $6.5M over the 2020 cap when you factor in the draft pool. If you have a better idea I’m here for it. The obvious answer is to sign Thuney to a long-term deal. The next most obvious is cutting Sanu.

I hate prime time games so I voted for none. That’s not going to happen though. It just throws my whole day off.

Sanu may need to be released to get under the cap.

Seattle is at home so I suspect that the Bills will be the favorites. The same holds true for Rams and Steelers. We will likely be the underdog at Titans and definitely at 49ers. The Cards game will be close in terms of the spread I suspect. The leader of the AFC East may very well be 3-3 after week 6. It’s a really brutal stretch for everyone but Miami (they get the Bengals and Jags).

It sounds like it will be NFC West and then Steelers/Titans. I’d imagine that the AFC West follows right after and then the AFC East will be the last 6 games. If that’s the case get through the first 6 at 3-3. Go 3-1 vs. the AFC West (this will be tough) and 5-1 in the division. That leaves you a game (or maybe even 2) that you can drop and still win the division. 10 wins should win the division this year and maybe even 9.

Thanks for doing that. I had discussed it with a couple of fans but this brings in a much larger sample size. FWIW, I doubt that they are this bad for very long. They have a ton of cap space next year (assuming that the cap doesn’t take a big hit from Covid). They will have a read of their QB situation as well as their other young talent. If they get off to a slow start this year I can even see them unloading some quality vets for picks to expedite their timeline. As an extreme example could they get 2 firsts for Gilmore? That’s what Ramsey got and we know BB isn’t above dealing stars. If they aren’t ready to win now why not move your 30 year-old talent to help you acquire capital to get your next franchise QB? Just thinking out loud but those are the kind of moves that can jumpstart a rebuild. If they are 2 or 3 years from winning you’re better off with players that will be 25 then than 33.

Why? That’s the whole part of my argument. We are fine saying that other teams will take a step forward or back. We look at their rosters, schedules, coaching and situations. From there we form an opinion of the team will be good or bad. As an example, most believe that the Broncos, Cardinals and Dolphins will be much improved. We don’t just say, “they’re bad until the aren’t.” When it comes to the Pats we just say that “they will be good until they’re not.” It’s absolutely a double standard. Again, I have NO ISSUE if people think that the Pats will be good. There have been some well-reasoned arguments made here as to why they will. The one argument that I will continue to push back on is that “they will be good because they used to be good.”

Ha ha, last year I crushed it on the NFL season o/u. I had cashed some of them by like mid-November. Couldn’t collect for like 2 months, it was horrible.

I am pounding the under (especially if I get it at 9).

The restrictions are there because they are a crutch. What they did in 2008 is irrelevant. I believe that Matthew Slater is the ONLY player still on the roster (maybe Chung). Because they were good then doesn’t have any relation to now outside of BB, and a couple of players. You can use coaching to support your argument. Just don’t be lazy saying that other players were good when they played against other players 12 years ago. There is not correlation.

Fair enough but they did lose Richard Seymour, Mike Vrabel, Teddy Bruschi, Rodney Harrison and Junior Seau before the start of 2009. In a lot of ways that is feeding into my point. When they were really talented they won. This 2020 team IS NOT very talented.

100% agree. If you don’t see that it’s because you don’t want to. With that being said that schedule is difficult for the whole division. Miami is the only team that gets somewhat of a breather. The division was 34-30 last year. They won’t be this year.

If they add Cam and he is healthy I will think differently of them.

The point being they were 5 games worse when Brady was out. Everyone looks at 11-5 with Cassel as a success. Was that a success coming off of a 16-0 season? If Allen went out and the Bills were 5 games worse would we be raving about 5-11?

They were also were undefeated the year before Cassel played. I’d argue that team had WAY more talent than this team.

My point being it isn’t totally random. There is such a thing as harder or easier. Entering last year the Bills had games against some bad teams. As it turned out, those teams projected to be bad (Dolphins, Giants, Redskins, Jets, Broncos Bengals) were bad. Those teams finished with a combined record of 28-68 with none of them reaching 8 wins. We thought that they’d be bad and they were. They had some games against teams that were supposed to be good (Cowboys, Patriots, Steelers, Browns, Ravens, Eagles). Those teams finished with a combined record of 57 - 39. The Browns were the outlier in that they were the only team projected to be good that wasn’t (6-10). I didn’t include the Titans in either group because they were projected to be average. They finished 9-7 (so as projected). There is obviously some variance but it isn’t random. The Bills play a bunch of teams this year projected from average to elite. The only bad teams that they are expected to play are the teams in the division and the Raiders. We shouldn’t expect all of the teams that are supposed to be good to be bad and vice versa. There will be some people that overachieve and underachieve but most will look like they are expected to.

I agree that it changes some from year to year but it’s not totally random. The AFC East was 34-30 last year. I’d bet ANYTHING that the division has a worse record this year. The AFC West and NFC West are better than the AFC North and NFC East. SOS at this point isn’t idiot proof but it’s not irrelevant either. If you look at team numbers team you’ll see a tough road for the Bills and the AFC East. They play both Super Bowl teams. They play 2 teams that appear to have taken a big step in the offseason in Denver and Arizona. The Seahawks won a playoff game. The Rams played in the Super Bowl the year before. The Steelers get Ben back. The Titans played in the AFC Championship. That’s not interchangeable with the Bengals, Redskins, and Giants.

I agree that he was/is certainly on the decline. I do wonder though how much of that is playing with the worst group of skill players that he ever had? The only guy that he trusted was Edelman. The lack of talent around him is a part of the reason that he left IMO.

Ha ha, I’m trying to be generous so it doesn’t look like I’m pushing through an agenda. That passing attack SHOULD be horrendous.

In a down year Brady completed 61% of his passes, threw for 4,057 yards with 24 TDs and 8 INTs. If Stidham duplicates those numbers, with that lack of talent, they’ll throw a parade. I think that he will be closer to Trubisky (about 3,300 yards, 18 TDs, 11 INTs).

I don’t necessarily agree but thank you for having a reasonable explanation. Fair enough....still think the odds of ALL of that happening is unlikely

I think that you’re referring to the Bills here? If so, it makes the division title easier. It doesn’t have a massive impact on a shot at the only bye imo. The rest of the Bills schedule is too tough to get to the 12 or 13 wins likely to get there IMO. With that being said, playing a lot of good teams will serve the Bills well when they do make the playoffs. They should be hosting that first playoff game as well. Even if the Bills are like 9-7 (a low end estimation) I still think that’s enough to host a playoff game. They can have a worse record and be better positioned to win a title. Hope that rambling makes sense...

Flores still has a lot to prove but his 1st year has to be considered a massive success. That team was AWFUL and traded away 2 of their best 3 players. The other one missed most of the season with injury. The Dolphins did everything in their power to finish last and they won 5 games. They played hard, were prepared, disciplined and overachieved. They just had no players. Their coaching staff did a really nice job last year. Now that they have a lot more talent and some expectations let’s see if it continues....

So, I’ve been posting this in numerous threads for a few months. I know there are some people with me on it and some that think it’s crazy. The Pats are a bad team. They will win 6 games (and that’s with the greatest coach ever). Someone please make a case as to why they are a threat in the division? Please don’t use some lame reason like, “because they are king’s until they are not” or “because they are always good.” Give FOOTBALL reasoning as to why they are good!! My reasoning as to why they are bad is that they have no talent on offense. Their OL is pretty good but lost their legendary coach. They have, at best, a massive question mark at QB. At worst, they have the worst QB situation in the league. The Pats likely have the worst set of skill players in the NFL as well. Some people are saying that they are going to run the ball and play defense. Their backs aren’t good and they will be forced to run against loaded boxes because no one fears their passing game. How does this team generate offense?!? Please, someone, tell me... The secondary is really good. The pass rush isn’t. They lost Collins and Van Noy this offseason as well as Danny Shelton. That’s 3 starters in their front 7. That defense is no longer elite (although it could still be a top 10ish unit). Add that to, statistically, the hardest schedule in the NFL and explain to me what I’m missing? Again, no “because they always are” responses. This team has different players and coaches. I’m asking why THIS team is still a threat? https://www.ourlads.com/nfldepthcharts/depthchart/NE I’m hoping that this thread inspires some thoughtful conversation. I suspect that the trauma of 20 years of being the nail has people living in fear for no reason. They will hide behind “because Belichick” because that’s the ONLY thing to stand behind. I’m not sure how many games, against that schedule, a great coach is good for? I think that they win 6 because of Belichick. That’s a 4 win team otherwise IMO. I’d love to hear a real football argument those as to why they can win?