Nihilarian

Big disagree on Tally as he would make all those tackles on the RB's that would run right by Bruce Smith while he was on his way to the QB. The guy was asked to make the tackles on that right side while Smith rushed the QB and he did! The guy was a playmaker doing a mop-up job and he made the pro bowl in 90, 91. 1990, 123 tackles,(which led the team) 4 sacks, 2 INTs, 1 FR 1991, 117 tackles, (only Conlan had more) 4 sacks, 5 INTs, 4 Forced Fumbles, 2 Fumble Recoveries. 1992, 106 tackles, (which led the team)4 sacks, 2 FF 1993, 136 tackles, (which led the team)2 sacks, 3 INTs, 1 TD, 4 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries.

From what I can recall the weakest part of each super bowl loss was all the injuries except perhaps against the NY Giants in that first SB. Against Denver, in that AFC Championship game, the O line was so decimated that the TE Pete Metzalaars needed to play tackle. What a lot of fans forget is that Thurman Thomas was about 70% of the offense in those years in running and catching the ball out of the backfield. Sure they had the highest scoring offense in 1990 but look at the numbers 425 passing attempts vs 479 rushing attempts. The point here is that QB Jim Kelly called his own plays and they came out throwing against the Giants in that first SB. OC Ted Marchibroda set up the old Redskins "counter trey" run scheme and Thomas made his cutbacks brilliantly. Ole Ted used to be the Colts head coach and taught Bert Jones to call his own plays like he did with Kelly. Later on, with the Colts, it was Ted Marchibroda who used Marshall Faulk like he did with Thurman Thomas and the result was another HoF RB. The thing is, that just before the Redskins super bowl the Colts made it known that they were interested in hiring Ted back as head coach and he did indeed depart for Indy right after the game. Looking back, I asked myself if he put 100% in that offensive game plan considering he was going to be a division rival head coach. Yes, back then the Colts, Dolphins, Jets, Patriots, Bills were all in the same division. Back then the Bills had that juggernaut offense that ran the no-huddle/ run and shoot and not many teams could contend with how fast the offense got to the line and ran a play. This limited defensive substitutions and had the opposing defense gassed very quickly. The Bills had an elite S&C coach in Rusty Jones and when they would travel to Miami in 90-degree weather it was the Dolphins who were all gasping for air vs Bills who were superbly conditioned. (I disliked Mularkey for getting rid of Jones) As for the two Cowboy loses 52-17, 13-30 The Boys just had a younger, stronger better team. The Bills defense was 27th in yards given up in 1993 that year and the Bills no longer had OC Ted Marchibroda. Lets also not forget that Bill Owner fired Bills GM Bill Polian after that 1992 season. In 1990 the Giants had just shut down Joe Montana at Candlestick in the NFC championship game and held that HoF QB to 18 of 26 for 190 yards. The Niners also only ran the ball 11 rushes for 39 yards. The Giants had the best defense in the league that year. In 1991 the Redskins finished the year 14-2 and they had the highest scoring offense in the league that year, #1 in PF, #4 in yards and their defense was almost just as good #2 in points allowed, #3 in yards allowed. 1992-1993 the Bills faced a 13-3, 12-4 Cowboy team that was the best of the NFC with several HoF players. On a side note, In 1993 the Bills beat the Cowboys in Texas stadium week two, 10-13. In my view, there were a lot of reasons the Bills failed to win a super bowl. Coaching, injuries, lack of quality depth at certain positions and they faced some really strong NFC teams those years. It seemed to me that after that first SB those Buffalo Bills teams were all beat up just winning the AFC the next three years.

To me, it wasn't just what Schwartz did with the Eagles pass defense. Brady has seen it all and usually beats a blitz by making them pay with a big play. In the SB Schwartz didn't blitz and only rushed the front four all game while rotating those D linemen. Most teams the Patriots played against they are owned in the fourth quarter because their defense was gassed trying to get to Brady all game. This didn't appear to be the case with the Eagles and in fact finally got a sack, fumble on Brady at the end. I know Foles did a great job and got the MVP. However, In my view If Brandon Graham doesn't get that strip, sack most likely Brady marches down the field and scores while winning the game and getting that MVP.

This maybe goes back to the hate between the Colts vs Patriots with Manning, Brady vying for the AFC Championship year after year. Robert Kraft stepped in and probably told McDaniels that he would take over as the Patriots HC next year. Thus keeping that high scoring offense with Brady intact this year for continuity. Greedy bastards want more rings and to keep the lock on the AFC EAST going as long as they can. Anyway it shapes up I know I wouldn't want to work for Jim Irsay either

Yeah, Kiper stinks. Although, McShay also has the kid going early at #6 to the NY Jets (if they don't sign Cousins). I still think the kid doesn't last past #5 with Denver. I think as time moves forward to the combine, pro days and draft Josh Allen will climb those draft charts as scouts really look at what he did this past year and the talent on the team he was on. I can't wait to see the value Mike Mayock puts on the kid. In any event, I don't see Allen getting past the Cards at #15. So, if he is still on the board at #12 when the Bengals pick I'd think the Buffalo Bills would be smart to move up to get him. I also think Miami might start drooling over him with their #11 pick if he is still there.

Allen scared me too at first glance when seeing the 50% completion percentage vs the 70% for Mayfield. Then I took a closer look at the teams surrounding both players and Allen played on a very bad team this past season with receivers that dropped a ton of balls. The guy was running for his life in games against superior teams. Then I watched him in that second half of the senior bowl and he disproved everything bad the scouts were saying about him. He threw the ball with accuracy and touch and he shed sackers like Big Ben does. I came away thinking that this kid should be a top-five pick in this upcoming draft. Mel Kiper has Allen listed as the first player overall to be selected in his recent mock draft. http://www.espn.com/nfl/draft2018/insider/story/_/id/22134110/nfl-mock-draft-2018-mel-kiper-first-round-pick-rankings-draft-order

I agree. A lot of Bills fans just don't realize how important offensive coordinators are to a QB. Foles went 1-5 under OC Marty Mornhinweg in his first year in Philly. Foles went 8-2 under OC Pat Shurmur in his second year in Philly. Foles went 8-8 under OC Pat Shurmur in his third year in Philly. ** the offense wasn't the problem as they were #3 in PF, #5 in Yards. The defense, however, was near dead last. Foles went 4-7 under OC's Rob Boras, Frank Cignetti in St Louis. QB Case Keenum was also there that year and went 3-2. Foles went 1-0 under OC Brad Childress with Andy Reid calling plays. Foles is not the type of QB that you can send anywhere and be successful. When he has a quality OC and knows the scheme he plays brilliantly.

I think Reid called all the offensive plays like he did midway through this season. Then Reid turned the playcalling over to Matt Nagy and the team went on a winning spree. Probably why Magy was hired as the new Chicago Bears head coach.

Exactly, and although he doesn't turn the ball over it's not because he is successfully aggressive, like Foles, like Brady. It's because he won't throw the ball unless the receiver is wide open. I think this team is headed for change at the QB position. I just hope that the new OC is up to the task of calling a game like Pederson.

Frank is getting a ring!

Great job by him to get a backup QB to MVP is just crazy good stuff. The play calling had Ole Bill going bonkers half the time.

Happy for Frank Reich! Gilmore, Hogan

STICK A FORK IN THEM! If McDaniels leaves they are screwed. If he gets the HCing job they are screwed

WOOOT My hero, Nick Foles!

You kinda made my point for me. Peyton Manning was also carrying the team in 2010. The thing is, at least Manning had all-pro center Jeff Saturday who graded as the best linemen on the team in 2010. Saturday was still there in 2011 when the team went 2-14 because of bad QB play. They also still had RB Joseph Addai, WE Pierre Garcon, TE Dallas Clark, WR Reggie Wayne and they still went 2-14 because of bad QB play that season. 2012 When Luck arrived with TY Hilton in the draft WR Reggie Wayne was the only one of those guys still there for Luck. The defense was in the mid 20's and Vick Ballard was the Colts starting RB. Hilton did nothing his first year so it was all Luck and Reggie Wayne. That year the Colts were 14th in rushing attempts, 22nd in yards, 18th in TDs. 11-5 and luck carried a hapless Colts team. O line graded 31st overall, 31st in pass blocking, 31st in run blocking. 2013 Look at the team again and the only players on offense worth anything were Hilton and Luck. Run game and defense weren't very good and again Luck carried a pretty bad team. O-line graded as # 25th overall, 28th in pass blocking, 22nd in Run blocking. 2014 the defense got a bit better-going 19th in points for and 11th in yards allowed with three players making the pro bowl. The run game still in the 20s, 22nd in yards, 24th in TD's and the passing game? #1 in the league in passing attempts, #1 in passing yards, #1 in passing TDs. O-line graded #17th overall, 21st in pass blocking, 13th in run blocking 2015(8-8)Luck played in 7 games-2016(8-8) Luck injured at times both years! Now fast forward to 2017 with no Andrew Luck and the team goes 4-12. They beat the 0-16 Browns. They beat the Texans with Tom Savage starting at QB. The beat the 49ers with Brian Hoyer at QB. they beat the Texans again with TJ Yates at QB. The Colts were lucky they didn't face DeShaun Watson or Jimmy Garoppolo this year or perhaps they just beat the Browns and go 1-15. This is a bad, bad team with the QB Andrew Luck carrying them when he is fully healthy. The HC Pagano and GM Grigson should have been fired years ago when they failed to properly protect arguably the very best QB prospect of this decade. The Colts owner Jim Irsay is an idiot and hesitated in firing these men when he should have after the 2015 season.

Jeez, Dude, the guy has only been in the NFL for 5 years now and he took that hapless Colts team to an 11-5 record in his first three seasons. The Colts run game and defense have been pretty bad his entire time with the Colts not to mention the offensive line protecting him has been just as bad. No QB in the NFL can win without a decent team around him and AFAIC Luck has carried that team on his back his entire NFL career. Besides TY Hilton name me one player on offense that has made the pro bowl other than Luck.

Think about it! The Colts have the #3 pick overall and could land whichever QB the Browns don't pick. Not to mention that the Brownies don't have a track record of ever getting it right. They could have had Mitchell Turbisky, Patrick Mahomes or DeShaun Watson last year and passed on all of them. Should the Colts trade Luck for a bunch of picks Josh McDaniels could groom whichever rookie QB he wants (Darnold, Rosen, Mayfield, Allen) and with those extra picks build a solid team around that new QB. The only way this works out is if Luck is completely healthy and if he is I'd find it hard to believe that the Broncos wouldn't get their Elway involved.

If that is the case then great then I'm open for a trade. The Colts do own the #3 pick and could easily go after Rosen or Darnold while getting extra picks for Luck. Think about the past situation if you are Andrew Luck. You want to win but are surrounded by morons who depend on you playing great to keep their jobs. Meanwhile, they don't have the mentality to build a proper team around you. The Colts were last in the NFL in pass blocking for 2016 and while they got slightly better in 2017 they were the very worst run blocking team last year. Plus, they have had a bad defense for years. Without Luck playing, with no run game, they were just as bad on offense as they have been on defense and the result was 4-12. Tough to hide the incompetence without Luck carrying the team. The Colts have a new GM in Chris Ballard after finally firing GM Ryan Grigson who should have been fired years ago. Ballard is a rookie GM after being director of player personnel for the Chiefs. Luck could still be pissed at Jim Irsay allowing Pagano and Grigson to stay so long and wants off that team. There was a time when John Elway refused to play for the Colts because of Jim's father Robert Irsay. The trouble is I think it would take more ammunition than the Bills currently have to secure Luck and even if they did somehow manage to get him to Buffalo It would kill the resources to properly build a better team around Luck.

The thing is I'm more leery of Mayfield than I am with Allen and his supposed inaccuracy. At first glance, yes Mayfield stats look better but then he played on a much better team. Allen played last season with an offensive line that really struggled to protect him and open holes. His receivers really stunk and dropped a ton of catchable balls. For all the negatives I read about Allen he disproved with his play in the second half of the senior bowl as the kid looked like Big Ben out there breaking away from sackers and throwing with both accuracy, touch. I would really like to see how Mayfield, Rosen or Darnold would have played like on that 2017 Wyoming team. I'm actually hoping that those other three get picked before Allen and the Broncos sign Cousins. That would leave Buffalo to contend with Arizona at #15. Shoot, Mel Kiper thinks the Browns might draft Allen at #4.

Oh yes, he does! He hears voices from the heavens! Telling him that the only QB the Bills like has a long, loopy throwing motion in Sam Darnold.

Yet this fan base was mostly Okay with Whaley giving up two firsts and a fourth for a WR that is now gone and didn't pan out as expected. This was as little as 2014 and it didn't set the team back for five years. The good thing about the Alex Smith to Washington is that now the Redskins are out of the QB in the first round. Rosen and Darnold would be cost prohibitive in trading up for it might take next years first plus more too. Besides, Darnold has a slightly longer throwing motion. The Bills might need to get up to the #4 pick to beat out Denver, the NY Jets on Baker Mayfield, Josh Allen. Then if they want Mason Rudolf, Lamar Jackson they might need to trade up with Cincy or Washinton to beat Arizona to the next pair of QBs. I think Josh Allen really elevated his stock in the Senior Bowl. Or they could stay put and look at guys like Luke Faulk, Mike White, and others. Let's hope these new Buffalo scouts and GM know their stuff in evaluating NFL QB prospects. BTW, Denver or the NY Jets landing Captain Kirk will really change things too. Buffalo could still be in that running and if so a QB will no longer be a top priority.

There were reasons as to why both Kelly and Marino fell so late in that year's draft. Kelly had a shoulder separation so bad in his senior year he needed pins inserted to keep it together and was told by doctors he would never have a full throwing motion. Kelly would have been a top 5 pick or even competed against Elway for that #1 spot if not for that injury. As for Dan Marino, it was said he partied way too much at Pitt and it was mentioned he smoked weed which caused quite a stir back then. Tony Eason actually went to a Super Bowl with the Patriots and the playoffs in years after. What didn't help was he was one of the most sacked QB's in the NFL at times and also led in INTs. Steve Grogan and Doug Flutie were also in the QB mix. The guy really only had one good year. Blackledge was another story as even though he won a national championship at Penn St, he never did step up his game to the NFL level.

If you were McD would you trust Whaley or his scouts to get it right with the QB position? Shoot, they might have recommended DeShone Kizer in the 1st. They didn't see Alvin Kamara or Kareem Hunt and instead got Zay Jones who couldn't catch a cold last season. Time will tell if these new scouts/GM know what they are doing with this year's picks.

Right! I wouldn't gloat too much at this point because Mahomes may end up as another Jay Cutler. We will see this season and should he fail you have Tyler Bray. This new coaching staff wanted to see what they had in Tyrod Taylor and clearly, they didn't trust Whaley or his scouts with their past QB evaluations. Kinda why they are no longer with the team.

I agree! I also think Smith has been in a better offensive scheme under Andy Reid with a better roster.