timekills17

Pressure on other QBs you say? Note that the Bills are also highest in QB hurry rate by a significant margin, and the lowest in blitz % by a significant margin.

Agree that with most offenses being pass heavy and especially against the Bills most teams try to get rid of the ball quickly, having a tall, fast LB like Edmunds is a must. Even when playing the nickel defense which the Bills typically do. I kind of wonder if they couldn't play a traditional 4-3 with Edmunds ability to play against the TE or slot but also give them more bodies to defend the run. It's fine to just accept the shorter typical run plays in order to prevent the pass, but there are two teams that either isn't or might not work against - the Titans and the Patriots. Not that either of those two teams should concern the Bills... I almost think Klein's one "strength" over Edmunds would have made him a better choice against the Titans. But that's about it.

Already discussed in other posts - including you - but it's a combination of both taking the "checkdown" and instituting/taking the quick, short pass. JA17 took the checkdown against the Jags. A bunch. Problem is it was often: 1) taking too long to get to it, leading to pressure and bad throws. 2) A CHECKDOWN. If plays were designed for more of the *short* crossers (*cough* pick plays *cough*) they'd allow for at least an opportunity to get YAC. So it's a combination of JA17 and the play. I'll also add we're saying our run game sucks which doesn't help - and blaming the RBs and Oline. Both could be a LOT better, sure - but JA17 needs to improve his RPO choices too. He almost always keeps it to run himself when there is an opportunity, and waits so long when he gives it to the RB that there's no chance for a gain. This delay in the hand-off is supposed to help in the play-action, because it makes the defense bite. But if you notice, the PA is always a quick fake. It's obvious to the defense who have to choose what to key on when the Bills are actually going to run. It also makes it VERY hard on the OLine because they have to stay in a pass block until they're sure it's a run due to protecting JA17 and ensuring they don't get >1yd past LOS if it's a pass. If they did a few PA snaps with the RPO delayed hand-off and then he either bootlegs (or preferably moves the pocket with a pass) - but the Oline *knows* that's the play rather than an actual RPO - we might see the RB and Oline look a lot better at run blocking.

That's what s... Never mind. Don't want A-Rod's fans to come after me.

-Bills have no one on IR as an obvious move/drop. -Bills can roll-over the ~$6M for next year to offset loss of talent or acquire actual needs vice a sexy but questionable move now. -Bills need to retain draft picks to offset increased cost of retained talent if they want to sustain success. -Areas of potential need: (IOL, IDL (maybe), CB, DE/rusher). Of those, IDL and CB could be available for draft picks and fit in cap space that could improve the team THIS year. Debatable if any long term improvement, short of losing new player in FA and acquiring comp picks. IOL of any worth isn't available NFL wide and DE/rusher...well the two I'd even consider were Gordon and Miller. Honestly not sure Gordon provides an improvement over current team and reduces playing time for younger players. I'm not sure there are players that better than we have that are worth losing a current player and a draft pick and decreasing available 2022 $$$.

Just to play devil's advocate... The Bills have zero wins against a team with a winning record. The Jets have only two wins, but both against AFC division leaders, and teams that can or did beat the Bills (Cincy and Tennessee.) I don't hold any wins inside the division lightly. Pats beating the Jets counts just as much as our two wins against the Dolphins. Arguably more so, since I'd say the Jets might be better than the Dolphins right now. Recently in the division, the Jets and Patriots have matched up much more closely to the Bills than the Dolphins have, and we have yet to play either of them. Any given Sunday for a reason. The Bills on paper should sweep again. Let's see.

Meanwhile Brady throws a pick-six to lose the game to a division opponent. The real MVP would never...

I 90% agree with you. "Sure, but they're their backfield overall quite inept..." and I'd 100% agree with you. I don't think anyone is going to mistake 2021 Saints Ingram for his Pro-Bowl prior days with the Saints. But Alvin Kamara would look like a crippled version of Devin Singletary (at best) if he were playing for the Texans right now.

He's been - by far - the Texans most effective back. Admittedly that's been a low bar. Their coach specifically spoke to Ingram's place on the team earlier as critical, not just for his running ability but his leadership. That's probably part of what prompted Cooks' response....

Having a tough time agreeing with that assessment for two reasons: 1) His four initial years with the Steelers amounted to less playing time than any one of his years with the Patriots, and was at a time when the Steelers notably were not all about tough D and run the ball. 2) If I were to pick a team that cycles through assistants and continues to play with the head coach's format, I'd be hard pressed to find a more analogous example than the patriots under Bill Belichick's reign. Also; my impression of @Shaw66's comments was that Vrabel is not from the Belichick coaching tree as a player. I think that was the point; he wasn't saying he's from the Belichick tree as we've seen most (all so far...) of his "disciples" that coached under him fail.

After reading the comments, I'm not sure if he realized he was actually dancing on Sean Taylor's memorial or not. What I realize is that as much as I bash on Patrick Mahomes, I'm actually more impressed that he has turned out as successfully as he has, given the impression his family makes. It's not easy telling your family to get the hell out of your life because they're ruining it for you. (And yes, I know he chose to associate with his wife, but as anyone married knows there are always dumb things that your spouse thinks you do and vice versa.)

Read somewhere (*cough*) - and again, these stats are subjective, but at least they're measured consistently - that "Washington pressured the Bills on 40.4 percent of the 47 passing snaps, the sixth-highest single-game pressure percentage this season. The Bills are the only team to have allowed a pressure rate of over 37 percent and still won the game." So even the best OL wasn't great, if you buy into that.

Joking aside, as long as two of them aren't in the next three weeks... And by next three weeks I really mean the two weeks after this, if not immediately obvious. (P.S. Although often mistaken for one, I am not a member of the Buffalo Bills, and thus is completely acceptable that I look past the Texans game.)

As a Pats' fan, I wouldn't expect you to recall that three of the four HOF members of the SB-era Bills all departed for other teams. As much as we like Jim Kelly, you'd be hard pressed to say he was more important than the combination of Bruce, Thurman Thomas (who went to the FREAKING DOLPHINS) and Andre Reed. Arguably Bruce and/or Thurman alone were just as important to that team's success as Jim Kelly. (P.S. Wasn't happy that Bruce and Andre went to a team that beat the Bills in a Super Bowl, but at least it wasn't in AFCE. Or the Cowboys.) Now- I'll admit it wasn't still Levy as the coach then, and possibly some of that anger led to later frustration with Wade Phillips. Also, none of those three won a Super Bowl after departing. But although it differs in that regard, we also didn't have a coach that had won one, much less six Super Bowls either. And our fans didn't respond with a ridiculous billboard. Yeah, maybe it doesn't represent all Pats' fans. Or even the majority of them. But the Bills' fans didn't have even one fan put up a similar billboard. And that was when there wasn't an Internet to complain for free. 2003 yearly home attendance of NE Patriots: 547,488 (SB winning year) 1994 yearly home attendance of NE Patriots: 472,718 1992 yearly home attendance of NE Patriots: 308,409 2003 yearly home attendance of Buffalo Bills: 567,996 (6-10 record) 1994 yearly home attendance of Buffalo Bills: 595,543 1992 yearly home attendance of Buffalo Bills: 623,332 I see some difference there.

I dislike this thought process more than I dislike the potential for "overpaying" Edmunds. Every time I here this I think "No one who understands the NFL and salary caps is concerned about overpaying a player because it will cost *them*. It's because it means money isn't available to pay OTHER BETTER/DESERVING players." It has *nothing* do to with whose money it is. This is like people saying "The owner is rich; he can afford to pay X$ to some player." That has absolutely zero to do with. All owners are rich, and all have the exact same amount of money they MUST spend and CAN spend - and no more than that. If we pay more to Edmunds than he's actually "worth" then we have less money UNDER THE CAP to spend on other players. Which might mean we miss out on acquiring or keeping another player a firm market value who can help the team win. Just stop with the discussion about whose money is being spent. The discussion is what % of the total amount a team IS ALLOWED to spend makes sense.

While I get your point, I'm not sure being elected to *both* the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and the NFL Hall of Fame is the definition of "underrated" or "forgotten about." See: Bills vs. Pittsburgh, 12 SEP 2021. or... AZ Cardinals the first few games after Murray was drafted. Dabes has already mentioned Mouse Davis as an influence. I think influence is the correct level to use in the NFL. Even in today's much more pass-heavy offenses, it's very hard to have both an offensive line that can hold up long enough for receivers to get open without specific schemes creating that *and* the WRs that are capable of reading and adjusting to defenses to get open. I'd argue it's actually harder now than during the Moon/Oilers' heyday when defenses were much more geared toward stopping a running game. The default defense back then wasn't a nickel.

Reminds me of my brother-in-law yelling from the bathroom "DOES ANYONE HAVE SOME ICE?!?!?"

Was back in Buffalo for my grandfather's funeral in OCT 2018. I hadn't been back in Buffalo since the early 90's. I and my second cousin decided to drive by the Ralph and took some photos on the logo and then drove around back where we walked up to the fence and the team was practicing outside. We watched for about 10 minutes; eventually one of the personnel - didn't seem like security, but I didn't recognize him so not a coach - walked up and let us politely know they didn't want people watching the practice. He was col about it, and polite as I said - probably helps that we were both dressed nicely and I was in my (*cough* late *cough*) 40's. But flying back from overseas for a funeral was made a little better by being able to visit hallowed ground that day.

Mr. Pink, I mean Shady, says it's overrated.

Relative importance to successful execution Higher ---- -----------------> Lower Availability talent scheme continuity player continuity I'd rank them in that order. Mostly because as you go back up from right (lower importance) to left (higher importance) the lower import factor doesn't matter if the higher import matter doesn't exist.

FWIW, on "The Athletic" there are two highlighted articles: "32 NFL staff predictions" and "Ranking the 12 most interesting games on the 2021 NFL schedule" The cover photos for those two articles are: and I guess the draw there is they both show the Chiefs?

LOL at the last Raiders' slide. Don't forget - FTR! Family Trust Respect

Perfect opportunity. "Hon, I think it's high time I took you on a vacation to show how much I appreciate all you do for me. We can spend some time together, and get some good food in a place known for it, and you won't have to worry about Thanksgiving dinner." Of course, if you already live in New Orleans this doesn't work as well.

Would you rather fight a Rousseau sized McBeane or 100 McBeane sized Rousseaus?

I gave you a "thumbs-up" because I thought you were being sarcastic. If you're serious...that's as wrong as saying we traded Teller to keep Matakevich. Trading Marcus Peters in NO way was influenced by whether they wanted to keep Kelly. If they could have kept and paid Peters, now that might have influenced them not keeping Kelly, (or maybe they cut some other scrub.) Obviously the same for Jones and Slater. As good on ST as Slater was - and some deem him HOF worthy (*cough* WTF is Tasker then? *cough*), no one was keeping him over prime Chandler Jones, including BB. I hope your point was to agree with @ytownblofan that the ST *only* players don't take anyone else's spot. No one the team thinks will see the field on a regular basis for playing or development is cut for ST players. But when it comes to keeping someone who the team THINKS won't see the field, ever, better to keep someone who will and can influence potentially critical parts of the game. (Emphasis on thinks in regard to the Teller discussion. As above posts, that was (arguably) an error in talent judgement. Not a decision to keep a ST player over him. He was going because we had the OL we thought we needed and he wouldn't play and could get us a pick in return. If there were another person who they thought WOULD/COULD play on offense or defense, they would likely have taken Teller's spot on the 53 before a ST. Since there wasn't...again, may as well fill it with someone who can play.) I guess the argument would be who is more important to the team's success, a third QB or a third RB vs a ST player? It's a risk either way, but you're more likely to find a replacement RB that can learn a few blocks or "run through that hole in this game" then a premier ST player who knows the formations, blocking schemes, and is good at it.