LA Grant

There must be some reason why they haven't that I'm not aware of, but I would think someone who'd make a ton of sense is DeAngelo Williams http://www.nfl.com/player/deangelowilliams/2495979/profile

Mike Schopp is correct. Tyrod Taylor is good and he deserves more credit from fans. He's playing well. Enjoy it. Simple.

"Ohhh, do best! That's a good idea. We should focus on what our offensive linemen do best! Ya learn something new everyday in coaching, eh, Juan?"

One of the smartest changes the NFL made this year was not only loosening the rules, but encouraging players to get creative with their celebrations, and the custom cleats and such. I enjoy these glimpses into players' personalities. Compared to the NBA, football players tend to be dehumanized -- that's just the nature of the sport. The helmets, "next man up", etc. Basketball obviously is more focused on the players as individuals, and though the NBA isn't touching the NFL in terms of ratings, it's approaching it in terms of national interest. The NFL allowing the players to express themselves more is a good change. So, I think the celebrations are a small thing but emblematic of a shift I hope the league continues to take.

Next week I think will reveal the true identity of the defense. At this moment, I think today was somewhat of an aberration, a few missed assignments against a high-powered offense, and the lack of CB depth will definitely cost them a game if they don't get that in order soon. The Raiders have similar offensive potential through the air, and even though Carr isn't 100%, they will have had extra time to rest and prepare. If Carr throws for 300+ and a couple TDs next week, whether we win or lose, you'll see people here and nationally reconsidering their praise for the Bills D.

Zay will be fine in the long run, but they need to sit the kid and let him watch and adjust. With Deonte Thompson showing what he brings to the offense today, I'd much rather have him out there every play with Matthews & Holmes.

Ah, that makes sense. To compare, Sammy ran a 4.4 at the Combine. If Deonte is comparable in speed, and considering his history with Tyrod, he could very well be a difference maker in the offense. They need to bench Zay and just sub him in rather than leaving him out there on every play.

Deonte ran a 4.3 in the 40 yard dash? That's pretty nuts. To compare, Sammy ran a 4.4. Obviously the 40 isn't the be-all, end-all measurable for a receiver... but he caught everything thrown his way today and considering his history with Tyrod, if he's able to be a downfield threat... that could make a huge difference for the offense.

Catch most of his targets? Not sure what his stat line is, but I'm sure it's a better percentage than Zay Jones. Yeah, I'm glad to see some adjustments in the run game. Whether it's Dennison, or whether it's Tyrod individually deciding he's going to use his god given talents more (as Mike Vick referred to them on WGR last week) -- either way, I like it. If Tyrod keeps playing like he did today, if he continues to squeeze blood from a stone with his receivers, this is a 10-6 team; first double-digit season since '99. Give him a legit deep threat next year and a quick & shifty rookie RB to split carries with Shady, and they're a championship contender.

I would not be shocked to see Deonte Thompson replace Zay Jones in the starting line-up against Oakland. In fact, I think they should. Jordan Matthews, Deonte Thompson, and Andre Holmes is at least a competent trio. They need to protect Zay a little bit better, or they're going to wreck the poor kid. Zay needs to be able to watch from the sidelines more and adjust to the game.

Exactly. Tyrod's critics aren't taking into consideration what a sorry group of receivers we have this year. Yet they are getting it done. It's impressive. I agree, I thought Tyrod played more aggressive today — both with throwing to covered receivers, the downfield balls, and his willingness to run — than we've seen since the last game against Miami in 2016. It feels like his mentality has changed a little bit. I like it.

Sure, and how many games did he have all 3 healthy? Even just Tyrod and Sammy — how many? Then compare to how many games have Winston and Evans had together.

Jameis is a good QB, but how about the weapons he has around him? How good would he look throwing to Logan Thomas, Deonte Thompson, Nick O'Leary, Andre Holmes? Give Tyrod the likes of Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson, and people would be falling over themselves to call TT "elite."

Deonte Thompson was a stud today. How about that? Dude walks on and becomes one of the team's top targets, along with Logan Thomas, Nick O'Leary, and Andre Holmes. Household names, that lot. Yeah, I'd say Tyrod Taylor deserves some credit for getting 30 points with this second-tier group of pass catchers.

Loved seeing Tyrod run more today, especially those clutch third down conversions. I wonder if his conversation with Mike Vick factored into his mentality. He seemed more aggressive today in his style, and I like it. His overthrows only make me more annoyed about trading Sammy... we could've still acquired Matthews and Gaines without dealing him, I think. If we had a receiver who could accelerate and catch up to those deep bombs like Sammy could, people would be talking about Tyrod as elite. Imagine if we'd given Tyrod the weapons like Jameis has. Like everyone, I've been up and down on Tyrod... but the dude is showing grit, he continues to not turn the ball over, and he's getting it done with guys like Logan Thomas, Andre Holmes, and Deonte Thompson. He deserves praise.

Tyrod Taylor + Sammy Watkins and this team is undefeated this season. They could've still acquired Gaines and Matthews another way, they were both on the block. I'm optimistic about Tyrod's chances the next two weeks against the Bucs and Raiders. We'll see what happens. Besides Shady, his top targets will be Zay Jones (approaching a record number of drops already), Nick O'Leary, Logan Thomas, and Andre Holmes. If we're lucky, an injured Jordan Matthews will be out there, too. But damn, what could've been, if they'd kept Sammy and used a scheme that let Tyrod be Tyrod, basically Mike Vick Jr., and use more rollouts, bootlegs, options -- get Tyrod out of the pocket more with a threat to run, with Sammy deep and Shady with a short/mid route... that would be a tough attack to defend.

Almost midway through the season, and I'm still going back and forth on the trades. At this point, it reads to me like the reason they moved on from Sammy was his attitude and injury history. I think Sammy was not expendable but he was a valuable asset, and McDermott was more convinced with getting the defense right in the first year. Next year they have 6 picks in the first three rounds (not gonna get a particularly high first rounder from KC, turns out) and that's where you'll see them rebuild the offense, imo. To that end, it's a win. The defense is great and it's because of the secondary, of which all four starters are new. That's not nothing. I mentioned in the Matthews thread that he hasn't even done anything for the Bills and I'm kind of already a fan of him based purely on what I've heard from him in interviews and on WGR. Talk to any Eagles fans, they're all high on him. He has the exact same personality as from what I've seen/heard from McDermott and TreDavious White; McDermott this week talked specifically about White's mental toughness as a reason they valued him. Watkins has more talent, but clearly less mental toughness. He alienated fans with his instagram, his demand to his agents for more targets, his "me" focused attitude and willingness to publicly blame others. People have pointed this out, and it's also been pointed out that Watkins was never specifically wrong necessarily, he should've received more targets and been more involved, but his approach wasn't great, and he didn't have the production to match his talk — it was all potential. Matthews makes more sense, and he had a better injury history — ironic since obviously he's dealing with injury and Sammy isn't. Aside from the TNF game against the Niners, Sammy hasn't done anything with the Rams, so even though Matthews and the Bills offense have produced worse than last year, partly because you're without Sammy, it's not like Watkins has embarrassed the Bills by becoming a huge superstar in LA. Its not out of the question, though, because their offense is doing really well, and if Goff continues to improve, he has a lot of weapons around him. Is it more likely that Sammy becomes a megastar and makes the Bills look foolish, or do Matthews & Tyrod get into a rhythm and get things moving while Sammy deals with injuries and primadonna-ness on targets? Even money, I'd say. The worst thing about the trade is how it screws over Tyrod, most of all. He and Sammy showed flashes of developing a rhythm. This offseason, you saw stories about Tyrod flying Sammy and others to him so they could practice and work on their dynamic. Now his top 2 receivers (on the depth chart) he's just meeting. That's going to make a difference. And of course Tyrod's strength is the deep ball, which is where you really miss Sammy's potential for big plays downfield due to his speed. It's very frustrating in this regard, because Matthews may end up being a great fit, enough so that they resign him (the idea of the trade being primarily about Watkins' contract doesn't work, since Matthews is also in a contract year). He fits McDermott better, and probably the type of offense they want to run better, but he doesn't fit Tyrod Taylor as much as Sammy Watkins did. That has to be a factor when you talk about the offense's lack of production in the passing game, as much as the o-line replacements or the new coach/scheme. In a sense, you're trading offensive production for a better locker room. No doubt to me the locker room is better — the players have clearly all bought in, and especially on defense, you're seeing how that mentality translates to the field. How many penalties has the defense taken this year compared to the two Rex years? They're more like the Jim Schwartz defense with how they swarm to the ball, always go for the strip, and good tackle technique.

I hope Jordan Matthews gets more involved with the offense and increases production. I think he will get in rhythm at some point this season. I've only seen some of his highlights from Philly, but talk to any Eagles fans, and they're all high on Matthews. Listening to him on WGR talk about his mindset with overcoming the injury, how he's been working in the meantime to work with his left hand for catches, his eyes and focus, and his overall competitive and positive mindset about it... you love to hear that from a player. Completely different from how you'd hear Sammy talk about injuries and production. Jordan has made me a fan before he's even done anything with the Bills, but his optimistic is contagious. Hope he gets going in the next two weeks.

Both the AFC East and NFC South are home to last year's Super Bowl teams — the Pats and the Falcons — yet both divisions are among the most wide open in the league.

Okay, Boyst, I have read through this comment a few times now. Let me point out once again, because you have a hard time processing this — you are borderline incomprehensible, not because you're an undiscovered genius, but because you write at a grade school level. It looks like your argument is "this is bad journalism" and "the reason it is bad journalism is because Tyrod is criticized only for his play, if he won, he would not be criticized." So, first of all, no, it's not bad journalism. It's an interview. We're reading to learn what Tyrod Taylor thinks about different things. You think it's bad journalism because you disagree with what he's saying. Attack the messenger. "Fake News." To the second point, you are correct that players are criticized less when they are winning. Tyrod says this in the interview, by the way. But that's adjacent to the point he was making that is upsetting you, which is that black QBs tend to be labeled and perceived differently — historically, and yes, presently as well. Any sensible person can see that is true. You bring up the fact that there are more black QBs in the NFL now than in the past as though that means that perception does not still persist. You're correct that people are less resistant to the idea of a black QB than they were when Warren Moon went undrafted, but you are incorrect in assuming that there is no resistance or racism today. Tyrod was speaking from his experiences, and again, it's no secret that he's had to battle the idea that he's a "run-first QB" unable to pass from the pocket. Obviously yes, some of that is deserved — it's not made up from whole cloth. I haven't seen anyone saying Tyrod is a Top 5 QB — I think we all agree he's middle of the pack with strengths and weaknesses. It seems like you think Tyrod was suggesting he is only criticized based on race — that's not what he was saying. It was a more general observation about perception that he's had to deal with his life and career, and then he said he uses it as motivation to be better. Now, why this has upset you so much to post 20, 30, however many times you've laid your droppings in this thread... I can't help you with that.

No, see, this was and is my point in responding to you — you don't have a point. Part of the reason you're unable to articulate your point is (a) you're inarticulate and (b) you have no point. That's why all of your posts look like they could've been written on a bathroom wall.

Wait a second, weren't you JUST trying to play the moral high ground, like, ONE post ago? Something about you being offended that I "went personal"? Anyway, it's nice to see you admit that you don't know what you're talking about. The next step for you would be to apply that observation. Try listening and reading and thinking before you start typing. Because you are filling this board 33,000+ posts of pure garbage.

Glad you stopped. First sensible decision you've made today. Sorry I hurt your feelings by "getting personal" — not sure if you saw your last dozen posts in this thread, but they were extremely obnoxious.

Yeah, you can disagree. Go for it. I'm sure your experiences as a black NFL athlete are more credible than Tyrod's. He should be listening to you!

You're an idiot. You've demonstrated it here over 33,000 times. You've probably heard "you're an idiot" at least 66,000 times. There's no complicated argument here, and I can assure you, you're no MENSA candidate. Tyrod made an observation about general perception of black QBs and black NFL players in general being held to different standards and being labeled differently. It's not a revelatory observation. He says as much in the interview. Now, as a fan, you can either respond to that as "He has a point," or "Shut up, you suck." We can all see where you stand. You're not blowing anyone's mind. You're just not smart.