GunnerBill

He was not a rugby phenom. He was an amateur rugby player. He is a hugely athletic massive man. He has tried about 5 sports without finding a place to harness that. Rugby didn't work out. Maybe football will. But I wouldn't use his short amateur rugby career as a sign of anything.

I think this is pretty close. I think Chase Lundt is going to make it. Been having a really solid camp and VPG is yet to emerge from PUP. Will be interesting to see how they juggle IOL in pre-season but if we see Grable or Lundt get some time at guard I think that spells trouble for VPG. I still think Hamlin is making it. I'd probably swap him in for Forrest. Finally if they are working Dane in at Gunner that makes me suspect they are trying to find him a route to the roster too. They could either keep just five linebackers (cutting Eddy O or Spector) or choose Jackson over Strong. Again will want to see how they shuffle resource in the pre-season games. Four or five days ago I would have had Jackson on the outs. But the fact Max is gonna miss so much time in camp plus the Gunner thing.... Im leanjng back the other way a bit.

Exactly that.

I didn't say the loss was on the offense. But at the end the defense DID get a critical stop and give the O a chance. Bills - Chiefs games come down to the wire. Every game but one in the last four seasons has. They are won inside of the final 4 minutes. The Bills are yet to prove that they can seal the deal whichever side of the ball is out there last. So while there is no doubt that the defense has been worse than the offense in our playoff losses I'd also say the last three times the O has had a chance at the end and it only did its bit one out of three (and the coaching, STs and defense didn't hold up their end). So we can't just say "improve the D and problem solved." The O has to get better to in those situations.

The defense did make that play to halt the drive hold them to a FG and mean the offense, with plenty of time, had a chance to go win the game with a touchdown. And they didn't get it done. We didn't score enough points in that game.

I'd have Johnson best of the rest. I do think he is very very good. I don't quite yet have him in the elite. He is similar to where I have Benford. I'm lower on Ward. I always have been. He has had one great year in the NFL but generally I have always found him a little overrated. When he is good, he is very good, but he gives up too many big plays for me and is too inconsistent at the catch point. That top 4 has separated pretty clearly to my eye. There are other good corners, don't get me wrong, and I have been banging the Benford drum for as long as anyone - he is excellent and the second best player on the Bills right now - but he is 6th or 7th best in the league for me. I am not saying he is stuck there. He might still be getting better.

A nice write up for my guy Chase Lundt and interesting to hear they are working Dane Jackson as a gunner. He has done bits and pieces of special teams in his earlier Bills stint but was normally the #3 outside corner and so could make the roster without needing to really commit to it. However, if he has Hairston, White and obviously Benford ahead of him in the queue then contributing on teams is likely his best chance of a leg up for one of those final roster spots and possibly a game day jersey. As we saw with Elam last year a backup boundary corner who doesn't play teams is probably inactive.

Yea height and consequent length is helpful outside - at tackle and edge. Where I do think @Paup 1995MVP has a bit of a point is on the interior it can be disadvantage because low man wins really counts inside. That said, David Edwards is a big man and he has been a good NFL guard in his career both here an with the Rams.

And the Commanders are the team that I can most justify giving him what he wants. He is already theirs, so there is no trade compensation to factor in, they know more than anyone about his physical condition and are best placed to take a view on how much of his peak remains, they know he fits in their offense and they have four more years of cost controlled quarterback play.

Yep. Literally all he did was say he wanted to get paid at the top of the market for a running back after a year where he led the league (jointly) with 16 touchdowns. His behaviour has been immaculate. I thought he'd hold out of mini camp and would have supported him in doing so, but he even turned up for that. He has done nothing at all to generate the hate he gets from some.

Sauce had his worst year in the NFL last year (was still very good) and Benford had his best year. Last year they were close, for sure. I can take an argument as I say that if you isolate 2024 alone your perspective isn't unreasonable. But Sauce has two absolute elite of the elite seasons under his belt. If you look at his PFF grades for 2022 and 2023 they agree with that. And when you look at catches and touchdowns given up and passes defensed Sauce still has a significant advantage. But the Sauce disrespect has gone way over the top. I know he is a Jet and we hate the Jets but he is an absolute stud.

If you want to argue that Benford played slightly better in 2024, I could take that as a reasonable argument. But Sauce's first two seasons were absolute elite of elite and he was still very good in 2024. He has also given up fewer touchdowns in coverage in his 3 year NFL career than Benford gave up in 2024. There is a gap after that top four for me. They have clearly separated.

He isn't. And I am the biggest Benford guy going. But Sauce is still an absolute stud.

The top four corners in football are Surtain, Sauce, Stingley and McDuffie (and it is Surtain #1 and the other three are close together). You can have an argument about who is #5 and the order thereafter. But anyone who doesn't think those four are the four best guys is simply wrong. And Benford is definitely in that 5-10 range as well. But low profile, 6th round pick, will take time for him to get all the recognition he is due.

I think McLaurin is an excellent player. But he turns 30 before week 2. I don't know that I see a team willing to give up both the draft capital Washington would want and the contract that McLaurin would want to a speed receiver entering his 4th decade. If he was a year or two younger, sure.

I don't really have any hobbies beyond watching sports. Im interested in sport and politics and not much else

Not yet.

It depends what you mean by "go either way." I don't think there is any chance barring major injuries that they are worsr than 4-13 in 2024. They are gonna be better than that. Now are they good enough to make the playoffs? Or even to be assured 2nd place in the division? Less sure. That remains to be seen IMO. I do think they are getting a bit overbet.

Yea that was my point. Don't think McDaniels is the first fired. Think Daboll, Steichen and Jonathan Gannon are very much on the 6 week hot seat. The Dolphins would have to be a tire fire to make a change that quickly I think.

My only slight pushback on this is Sauce is still very good. He wasn't as stand out in 2024 as he was in 2023 and 2022 but he is still a good player. I think the overreaction is at risk of going too far the other way on him now...... But I agree with every word on Benford. He is a top 10 NFL corner he is not just a 6th round overachiever who fits a specific type of zone scheme. He is one of the best cover corners in football. He deserves his props. I think if he puts up another year like 2024 he will get it. We saw with the likes of Poyer and Milano here that they had to be great for 2/3 seasons before they got the national recognition. And its the same here, not flashy, just does his job, wasn't a day 1 or 2 draft pick.... takes time sometimes for those guys to get recognised.

I like these. Think all of them have a good shot. McDaniels being the first one probably means he is gone during the season, which I'm not sure on, but him being fired and Miami missing the playoffs I definitely think likely.

I think he was on the PS last year? Seem to remember him from pre-season.

Hamlin does have instincts and he isn't "lost out there". What he lacks is the physical skillset to be an NFL starter. If he is half a step out of position it is over because he isn't enough of an athlete to compensate. He has to be perfect every time and even the greats are not that. I also hope Hamlin is not starting for us because he is not that level of talent. I think Rapp, at best, is a passable starter so Bishop developing is pretty important to this team. He was horrible last season. He definitiely DID look lost in coverage every time he stepped on the field. But his run fits did improve slowly as the year went on so hopefully with a full camp and pre-season he can show what he is about.

He was described as "the best player on the entire field" on Monday the day Max went down. At least 3 days so far Tre has had excellent practices. Does that translate? We will find out. But he couldn't do much more than he has been doing so far.

Atlanta leading it is very bold. They have not been top 20 since 2017 and have been bottom 2 in three of the last four seasons. But I just think they finally addressed some talent off the edge and schematically with Ulbrich arriving as DC there should be opportunities. Agree on paper the Giants are one of the favourites for that title.