fergie's ire

I think we largely agree. Need to stagger so you aren't paying two #1s at their peak. I guess I don't believe Gabe will ever be a REAL #1. Think he is good if he's healthy and could put up monster numbers and seem like a number 1...so that some lesser team will covet him as a number 1. Very much like Pearless Price back in the day. Hopefully they can develop Shorter or someone else to stagger as a #2 and then invest in a future #1 soon.

Yeah, I think once you pay a franchise quarterback, given what the market has been for receivers lately, the best case scenario is to draft a receiver who is a good number 2 who you can develop into a 1 and then let him walk. I was really hoping that Davis would ball out LAST year and we could've traded him as a 1 and gotten a haul....but just getting the comp pick might have to be enough.

What? You don't miss the days of "original" drafting like picking a run of the mill safety with the 10th pick of the draft or moving into the first round to pick a DT who was the third best DL on his Maryland team? Or what about having zero talent on the team and being in desperate need of constructing a legit NFL roster and so using your early 1st round pick to get a "waterbug" running back. Ahhhh, yes. Original drafting. Those were the days.

Yeah, hearing this makes me very happy because I've always felt this team plays better when they are having fun and being loose. Haven't seen as much of that end of last year and start of this year. Hoping the fun bunch is back.

I think there's evidence that Kraft is not crazy about Belichick and he probably blames him for losing the great love of his life: Tommy. So, I think he could be on the hot seat and has a shorter leash than expected for a coach with his record. https://nypost.com/2021/09/29/robert-kraft-called-bill-belichick-the-biggest-f-king-a-hole-in-my-life/

Think it rhymes with Byron. .....or Myron.

Yep. Now lets hope both jobs go the same way.

By that you mean that he had a track record of Aaron Rodgers liking him and that hiring Hackett might lure him? I think that is all the track record they looked at. It couldn't have been his track record at Jacksonville and Buffalo.

Exactly. Dane and Benford have outperformed their perceived ability which probably says a lot about their work ethic. Do you want to keep them engaged and reward them by giving them a start against Cincinnati or KC? Instead, give them the start in training camp to make it clear they are valued even if you don't want to have to rely on either as CB1 which we did, at times, last year.

Maybe..... However, it seems to me that McDermott likes to use the depth chart as a motivational tool early in camp. I remember Phillips getting all the 1st team reps in the first half of camp the year we drafted Oliver. McDermott seed to wanted to A) congratulate Phillips on the good work he had done for the team the year before (particularly since he felt unloved in Miami) and B) Send a message to Ed that he needed to work and earn his position even as a top 10 pick. On offense, guys like Kincaid need to get in there to learn scheme and timing, but, particularly on defense, I think McDermott likes to use these positions as carrots and sticks and doesn't necessarily relate to the players' talent level or eventual place on the depth chart.

A big problem in NFL is sample size. There actually aren't a huge number of coaches who have gone to the super bowl. Also, what to make of a coach like Andy Reid? On the thread about preferred coaches, I think he was number one. Okay, so he made it within 7 years (his sixth year). So I guess that makes him a good coach who can make the Super Bowl. But after that he went 15 (yes, 15) years before reaching another one. Is he still a good coach who demonstrates he can reach the Super Bowl because he got to one early? Or is he a coach who can't make because of all those years in the middle? Would it have been significant if the 15 years were in the beginning rather than the middle? I'm just not sure.

Exactly. It is a great story to create when there is no news because the wording alone creates the story. EVERYONE can be traded for the right circumstances. If Kansas City could cobble together a couple of extra first round picks for next year's draft and were to offer us Patrick Mahomes, those 3 first round picks plus their first rounder for the next five years, would we take that for Josh Allen? I would think so. So, Josh Allen is available for trade given the right circumstances. I once heard a former GM being asked about a similar story and he said any decent GM is always willing to listen to offers for ANY player. It would just take an awful lot (more than would be practical) for some players...but, any reporter can claim that they are willing to listen to offers.

Agreed. Here's hoping with the retooled line and a healed elbow, we see it.

Yeah, it irritates me when posters write "Josh has NEVER taken the short stuff." He has. It's been sporadic, which is annoying but it's been there. Most consistently was the end of the 21 season and start of last year. Against NE, KC, LA (prompting Collinsworth to comment that he was Brady-esque), Miami (prompting half our offense to vomit from heat exhaustion because we had the ball so long), etc. Then, I don't know what happened. I remember speculation that the Pitt game spoiled him and Josh started looking for 98 yard bombs. There was the injury...and as mentioned above I do think there was a lack of trust with his receivers. I don't think Knox (also a good short to intermediate target in 21) was ever quite right after the loss of his brother. And, maybe it was scheme from Dorsey. It was probably a combination of all those things and I just hope they remember how effective Josh's short game can be and it gets back on track.

Yes, that too....and having to deal with a blizzard...and a mass shooting in town before the year. There were just so many things that I think had a cumulative effect as the year wore on and players talked about having nothing left by the time the playoffs came around. I just hope they have a better year this year and can re-find that joy. Not only do they seem to play better, but I really enjoy that fun loving team.

I actually noticed this during the year last year. Part of it was probably expectations and part was a lot bad stuff going down (Kim, Knox's brother, the breakup), but early in the year Josh was laughing when he got knocked out of bounds, he was getting lifted like the girl in Dirty Dancing when he came off the field. The whole team was the fun bunch and I think they played much better when they were loose like that...and seemed tighter as the year went on.

And even if he DOES care about the money, he's getting 22 mil not to play for Arizona, so he can afford to play somewhere cheap.

Last year, the Bills had a TE group that consisted of a player with a history of concentration problems who had just suddenly lost his little brother, an undrafted free agent, and a 7th rounder that they eventually let go. It is shocking that Dorsey could not do more with that group and he should have been fired immediately.

Not only cutting salary but also providing development potential. Metakavich, Jones, and Kumerow are what they are at this point and aren't going to develop into starters. Shavers and Shorter, however, might. Good teams that can't afford to bring along players on the regular roster do this all the time....Think Julian Edelman. He wasn't ready to be a starter, having previously played QB, but he could contribute on special teams and as a backup while he learned the position.

Yeah, it's weird and I don't the know what to make of him. I see some analyses that say that the good thing about him is that he never drops the ball. Then I see others that say the problem with him is that he has too many drops. It's one thing to have polarized opinions on whether a pick is good or not, but another to have polarized opinions on what his qualities are. Very strange.

Didn't we have a tight end a couple years back who had trouble holding onto the ball when he came into the league but learned well enough to receive a big extension?

He is different than our current lineman. However, imagine it's 3rd or 4th and 1. Josh Allen is under center but at the snap slides to his right. This guy pushing in front with Josh pushing behind him? That difference may be a difference we could use in such situations....and such situations were an issue.

I have. I have Hulu with ESPN+ so I didn't need ESPN for just Sportscenter. I had the other (blue I think?). Most games are available on plus, but I think it was the first game (Rams) that was not. So, I just went online to my account settings and switched my package from Blue to Orange and then went back to Blue the next day. I had actually messaged with customer service and they said I could, in theory, change back and forth every day. Since the monthly charge is the same and it switches instantly (unlike other subscriptions that make you play out the month), it just stays the 40 buck charge. Actually, just remembered it was the second game that was on ESPN that was that weird double header and the other game was on plus, not the Bills.

I use SlingTV instead of YTTV. It's cheaper (40 bucks a month). You have to choose between a package that includes ESPN which can only be used on one device at a time, and a package with NFL Network that can be watched on multiple devices. What's nice is you can switch packages any time instantly and there is no fee. So, if you like NFL Network and have that every day but there is a game that is only on ESPN, you can switch to the ESPN for that day only (or vice versa). If you want Rezone channel, that's like an extra 10 dollars a month.

I would have posted earlier but I've been lying on the floor in the fetal position. Something about hearing of a first rounder with a "quick first step" puts me in convulsions.