Kirby Jackson

Meh, none of them are any good. I don’t fault the Bills for trying something else. TE is forever a need on this team. I’m glad that they don’t settle on bottom of the league production as acceptable.

...and shut it down and suspend the OP forever

I thought McDermott started that?!?

This was an Insider article. I’m not going to post it but here’s the lists for discussion: Top 10 1. Saints Passing Game 2. Bears Coverage Unit 3. Chargers Coverage Unit 4. Rams Run Blocking 5. Rams Passing Game 6. Eagles Pass Rush 7. Steelers Pass Blocking 8. Saints Pass Blocking 9. Rams Pass Rush 10. Broncos Coverage Unit Bottom 10 10. Colts Coverage Unit 9. Lions Pass Rush 8. Cardinals Passing Game 7. Dolphins Pass Blocking 6. Bucs Coverage Unit 5. Jets Passing Game 4. Lions Coverage Unit 3. Cardinals Pass Blocking 2. Bills Passing Game 1. Raiders Pass Rush

Ed Oliver declares as well (not playing in the bowl game).

Agree on Thurm, he’s brought WAY more substance than most others.

Jimmy Spags

I’m devastated to report that I caught another one overnight!! The exterminator will be coming today and I am also looking at a new house at 10 AM CST (seriously).

The 2012 team has nothing to do with this group. The conversation and spread from Vegas was about THIS Alabama team. I’m not sure why anyone inserts any other program into the conversation? We are all aware that this Alabama team is an outlier. This is a culmination of a lot of hits AND an elite QB. They are different from their predecessors. It’s also a conservative estimate based on the most recent recruiting cycles. You are looking at ages and not pedigree. Jerry Jeudy is a true sophomore and arguably the best receiver in the country. I was just responding to your point on nutrition, “Bama guys are mostly on meal plans and studying while NFL players are eating at the facility Andy focusing on nothing but football.” I guess the point here is if you think an Alabama Football player has ANYTHING to worry about but Alabama Football, we disagree. It is certainly different at other programs. Yes, Alabama has a respectable graduation rate but 100% of their football needs come before anything else. If there were ever an academic issue that jeopardized the football program, someone would step in and make it go away. When you couple that with the lack of family, media and marketing commitments that pros have the “free time” isn’t that different. Football is all that matters in that state AND to the donors. That’s an underrated part of this. The donors hold the school hostage if they don’t like the direction of the football team. As a quick anecdotal side story I have a good friend that works in the athletic department at Auburn. The largest donor at Auburn has a $172M (think is the number) gift to Auburn. It is contingent on $38M of it being used to buy out Gus Malzahn. If Malzahn isn’t bought out this year, Auburn won’t get any of it. We are certainly in agreement about the age. It sounds like we are also reaching an agreement that the biggest challenge for Alabama will be the complexities. The mental side is the largest gap between pros and even Alabama. We just differ on how much the physical skills would offset it. It’s no problem though. This conversation has been interesting because 2 people can see the same things differently. It’s been an interesting conversation.

This pretty much sums up where I stand. Allen was never my top choice. I recognized his talent but the downside scared me quite a bit. He is ahead of where I thought he’d be and there are moments of brilliance. He always had a chance to be special. It is just a little more likely than I thought.

Some time between going to work at about 8:00 AM and coming home at 12:30 I got the mouse!! Finally!!! It was in one of those plastic snap traps with the jaws.

Good dude. That makes me really want this guy to succeed. I like when people do things without the cameras on. He didn’t do it for recognition. He did it because he’s a good guy.

Yeah, a lot of the best threads end up when the opinions are so vastly different. That holds especially true when there are valid arguments on both sides. As much as we are all over Tyrod discussions that’s part of the reason that there were so many. You could easily make a case that he was really good or really bad. There is evidence to support both sides. It depends on perspective.

It’s certainly an interesting conversation. There is a ton of evidence on all sides of the conversation. It’s infinitely more interesting than “Peterman sucks” and “Tre White is great.”

Dwayne Haskins up to 11 on Kiper’s big board.

I forgot that he existed.

You are making my point. They’ve had 34 drafted over the last 3 years and this is the most talented team yet. Again, there are nfl starters now that weren’t drafted (and didn’t start at Alabama). If you think that ‘Bama guys are on meal programs like college kids you really don’t know big time college football. Here’s a look at their $14M nutrition facility: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sportingnews.com/us/amp/ncaa-football/news/alabama-football-crimson-tide-video-photos-twitter-nutrition-facility-college-football-ncaa/1smhonxn9x1cf1mxh1so8mc0b0. They employe 5 performance chefs and 4 dietitians. With all due respect, at Alabama and some other major programs football is their life. It is the minor leagues. That is their responsibility. Lifting programs start younger and younger. The high school football programs around here employe full time strength coaches just for the football teams. If you were to look at the strength numbers of the Alabama players and stack it next to the Bills it would be virtually identical. Again, the entire conversation is about THIS Alabama team. I’d bet any amount of money that you wanted that 30+ guys on this roster go to the NFL. They are not similar to “insert solid program here.” This is an evolving machine. It is the top recruits with the top coach. It is at an all-time high. They’ve won every game by over 20 points. This is the outlier. I still say 30-10.

This probably belongs in the embarrassing sports take thread but I thought he was going to be an elite pass rusher. I honestly, got a little excited when I saw Moore on this list. Da Monster was a double-digit sack guy imo.

Ha ha, I actually learned the rules of cricket on a cruise ship from an Aussie. It was funny because the Australians, the people from India and the West Indies all said that the others didn’t know what they were talking about. I’m by no means an expert but have a working knowledge of what’s happening and I kinda like it.

I watch every game that way and have no issues.

This is appalling. Foster belongs in jail not on waivers. I guess that we shouldn’t be surprised the team that signed Junior Galette wouldn’t have an issue with a guy that beats women.

I too hate Alabama but respect the hell out of them. What Saban has been able to do, with such a small margin of error, is absolutely incredible. I’m hoping that they get knocked off again this year but I just don’t see it.

I think that this is fair. I don’t think all 11 starters on the Bills offense will be long-term starters either. Many guys are there out of necessity not raw skill. They are starting a guy this year that couldn’t start at Alabama last year. There are multiple guys on Alabama’s offense that could start on ours tomorrow (Williams, Pierschbacher and Jeudy) without question. That doesn’t even get into their RBs or QB who are all considered ELITE prospects. I think that their offense could score once against us. The point about them not being near their ceiling is fair. As good as their defense is, I still have the Bills scoring 30 and winning by 20. I just don’t see the places where the Bills are dominating them. The most natural spot is between the tackles and Alabama is starting 2 1st rounders against Miller, Teller and Bodine. The interior of the Bills defense is the biggest mismatch but Tua sets up quicker than any QB I can remember. The Bills would give them a very hard time but they would still make some plays based on their elite talent. Harris, Jeudy, Tua, Ruggs and the other Harris is an incredible skill group. It is reminiscent of when the U had Andre Johnson, Portis, Gore, Winslow and Willis.

I just gave you the reason that you have to take a multi-year sample. Their careers overlap. Quinnen Williams, Raekwon Davis and Deionte Thompson will go in the 1st round this year. Patrick Surtain cannot go into the draft. He’s a future NFL player on this defense, this year. You can look at the 2018 Alabama defense as a unit but you can’t only count the guys in the NFL, in 2019, as all of the NFL players. That is kind of Gunner’s point. This isn’t Syracuse, UB, or Boston College where the top guys make the NFL. The backups on Alabama were WAY more highly recruited than the top guys at a program like BC (or literally anywhere else). They are a roster of future NFL players. It’s just a matter of when their time to go to the league is. Over the most recent 5 year cycle (a full college career) they had 20 defensive players taken in rounds 1-4. That doesn’t count guys like Levi Wallace that didn’t get drafted or Shaun Dion Hamilton drafted after round 4. If anything, Gunner was very conservative when giving that list. There are plenty more guys that can be added to draw the line on “NFL player.”