Logic

Off-topic, but seeing that injury report... I think the Bills absolutely signed Damien Harris with the intention to have him be the direct backup to Cook and to get the most playing time at the position behind him. With that said, his continued health struggles -- a career-long trend for him -- and an impressive summer for Latavius Murray have me wondering if it will actually be Murray that winds up #2 on the depth chart, not Harris.

Tecmo Super Bowl FTW

Haven't read all 7 pages, but Dalvin Cook probably still has some juice. He's not a nobody, and I don't believe he's completely washed up. My prediction remains the same. I have felt, and continue to feel, like this "Rodgers to the Jets" thing reminds me of when Favre went to the Vikings. One amazing year, and then the wheels came off. I believe the Jets will be very good this year. They already had a very potent defense last year. They beat the Bills with Zach Wilson under center. They have since added Aaron Rodgers and Dalvin Cook. I expect they'll win a good number of games and make the playoffs as a Wild Card. Maybe even win the division. I only expect one year of success in the Aaron Rodgers era, though. He seems to be too moody and mercurial of a guy for this arrangement to last long term. Whether it be health, Rodgers having a contentious relationship with the NY media when things go poorly...whatever it may be. I think it's one really good year and then it falls apart and they're back in the "no franchise QB" pile.

Gambling on preseason games. Say it with me now. ...Don't be offended. I say it with love. It takes one to know one.

I have not. That would reeeeeeally suck. Now I’m gonna look into it before I purchase Gamepass for the year. Thanks!

I don't know the answer to the "Use the VPN to look like he's in Buffalo" question. The VPN I use -- ExpressVPN, which is a good and reputable paid subscription VPN -- only allows you to set country, not city and state. There would be no way for me to set my location to "Buffalo, NY", only to "USA". Perhaps other VPNs are different. I'm not sure, as I've only ever used ExpressVPN. I CAN answer the "how's the experience using NFL Gamepass International with a VPN" question. The answer is: Excellent. I've done it every year for at least five years now, and never had a single hiccup. I use the Netherlands as my location (though I've heard that using Brazil makes Gamepass cheaper) and it works like a charm. Nothing is ever blacked out. I can watch games either live as they air or after the fact. I get the coach's film, the "game in 40" (Where they remove all down time between plays and commercials, and you can watch every play of a game in 40 minutes), Red Zone, NFL Network, an archive of all games going back several years, and an archive containing ever Super Bowl ever in its full form. I never have issues with buffering or picture quality. I use an HDMI cable to hook my laptop up to my TV and have had nothing but great experiences the whole time I've done this.

This board really needed a fresh, compelling new villain. Thanks for all that you do.

I remember last year there was a frenzy to get these things. People desperately trying to get ahold of sets. People selling them online for triple their worth. It was madness. Amidst all of it, I happened to be in a Wegman's location in Rochester and see a sign for them, so I wandered up to the customer service desk and asked and the lady said "you're lucky! we just got some more in". I snagged a set, thought for a moment about keeping it and displaying it, then remembered that I'm a grown adult man who doesn't have a "Bills man cave" in which to display such a thing, and gave it to my nieces instead. They're neat in a weird way, I'll admit.

Always loved Howard. When I was younger, I'd watch the half four televised version of his show on the E! network and loved it. Then, as the years went on, he left behind the "let's throw hot dogs at lesbians in a kitty pool" schtick and became a first rate interviewer. Some of his interviews over the past decade or so have been really phenomenal, with him mining nuggets of information from musicians and actors that no one else could get. That said, it's been some years since I've listened.

Sad news. Garth Hudson is now the only surviving member of The Band. Crazy. RIP, Robbie.

Thanks for making this post. Obviously, Rodriguez's death will be overshadowed by Robbie Robertson's, and many likely don't even know who he is anyway. Such an utterly fascinating story. For those that aren't already familiar with the story and with his music but like singer/songwriter, folk rock kind of stuff, I highly suggest watching the doc and listening to the album. I enjoyed his music immensely, and wish that I had been able to catch him on tour over the past several years. Very, very talented writer and musician.

He is not playing the X or Z position long term, though, which brings us back to what I just said about Gabe Davis. They can line Kincaid up in the slot, in the backfield, or split him out wide. It doesn't change the fact that he's listed as a tight end and will continue to be listed as a tight end. It doesn't help make the decision on Gabe Davis any easier or provide extra depth at the X or Z positions, and that's the point I was making as far as people's desire to see them draft a true WR high.

Regarding the "should we pay Gabe?" talk... It's the reason a lot of folks wanted the Bills to draft a round 1 or 2 receiver this year. That way, if said rookie looked the part, they could let Gabe walk and spend the money elsewhere. That said, obviously the board just didn't fall that way, and they wound up taking an impact pass catcher at a different position. I'm fine with that, and I understand their line of thinking. HOWEVER....it doesn't really alleviate the "what do you do about Gabe Davis?" question. As for the notion someone floated earlier about drafting a WR reasonably high every year like the Steelers and churning through them as a matter of organizational practice...I'd be fine with that IF this Bills front office had shown any hint yet that they now how to find and cultivate WR talent. As far as I can tell, Gabe is their only WR "find" in the draft to date. Different organizations have different positional draft strengths. The Steelers seem to know how to find and cultivate WR talent. The Bills have not shown that they do.

For those that haven't seen Barbie or don't plan to... The basic premise of the movie is that Barbie lives in perfect Barbie World, where everything is perfect and harmonious between men and women, and everything in life is perfect in general, all the time. Cracks start to show (like Barbie spontaneously pondering the notion of death), and she ends up venturing out into the real world (our world) to try to find answers. Once there, she discovers that things are not as harmonious as they are in Barbie World. That men and women do not seem to be on equal footing in society, that sexualization and mistreatment of women seems to happen frequently (for instance, she's cat-called by construction workers, leered at by a few male passers-by, etc), and that the real world features a patriarchal society -- a notion and term with which Barbie was not familiar. She is quite miffed and discouraged by this turn of events, and the movie proceeds from there. Now, I'm not going to get pulled into a socio-political discussion about this premise or about feminism or the patriarchy. I have no interest in doing so in this setting. I WILL say that I understand why the filmmaker went this route. The Barbie toy line has a long history of promoting the idea that women can do anything, be doctors, lawyers, astronauts, presidents, etc. Even at its inception, it was the first doll for young girls that wasn't a baby doll. It switched the mode of play from "let's pretend to be moms" to "let's pretend to be stylish, beautiful women". It has always pushed a sort of empowerment of women. Having this empowerment butt up against the modern western world is an understandable filmmaking impulse, however you may feel about the specifics. If you're reading all this and thinking "This doesn't sound like it's for children", you'd be mostly right. There are certainly lots of funny moments, bright colors, identifiable Barbie related sight gags, etc, but I'd imagine a lot of kids, especially young ones, will be bored or lost. Anyone who was familiar with the previous work of Director Greta Gerwig and co-writer Noah Baumbach, though, could have told you that it was going to be a bit weird, reflective, and melancholic. Nevertheless, the filmmakers must have done SOMETHING right, as it has topped $1 Billion at the box office and continues to do well, weekend after weekend. It's a sensation.

The only thing I'd point out is that the Bills' first depth chart that was just released lists Shakir as a slot receiver and Sherfield as an outside receiver. Now maybe that's just academic, but reports out of camp have consistently stated that Shakir gets almost all of his work in the slot, while Sherfield gets most of his on the outside, as the first guy in after Diggs and Davis.

I was just thinking this. Shavers and Shorter are essentially competing directly against each other for the "size/strength specimen, special teams ace, developmental WR" role. Both are 6'4". Shorter is 11 lbs heavier. Both are presumed to have the skillset to be ace gunners on ST. I doubt both make it. I also think that whichever one doesn't is at least reasonably likely to be poached off the practice squad by another team, as NFL teams are always looking for quality gunners. One of the more underrated and underappreciated battles of camp. And we may not see much of what really decides the race between the two during the preseason games, because it's hard to follow special teams play on TV broadcasts.

Yeah. The Bills never gave Allen an elite #1 receiver and drafted an athletic specimen tight end in the 3rd round. Oh wait. They did both of those things. And no, I'm not saying Knox is on the level of Kelce, but both were drafted in round 3, and the Bills gave up MORE draft capital for Diggs than the Chiefs spent on Hill, so this "Bills haven't invested on the same level as the Chiefs" thing...I don't buy it. As for your mentioning Juju and MVS as evidence of the Chiefs giving Mahomes a bunch to work with? I dunno, man. Sure seems like a big stretch to me. Where Mahomes has had the advantage over Allen is in two primary and very important areas: Play-calling and offensive line. THOSE are the things Mahomes benefits from that Allen does not. Receiving corps, though? I just don't agree.

Looking at that roster, I'm wondering if Alex Austin will be the latest late round gem CB whose size, strength, and zone awareness allow him to thrive in the Bills' system despite other physical limitations and lack of speed. They seem to be really good at finding those guys. Christian Benford, Levi Wallace, Taron Johnson, etc.

It's been very divisive. Some people really love it. Count me on the side that thinks its 🤮

Kelce and Hill are elite talents. Nobody disputes this. Beyond them? The Chiefs WR roster has been a bunch of nobodies and dime-a-dozens for years. Mecole Hardman, Marquez Valdes Scantling, Demarcus Robinson, Justin Watson, Byron Pringle, the ghosts of Josh Gordon and Sammy Watkins... Like...none of those guys are scaring anybody. Journeymen and replacement level players, all.

Literally haven't read one thing about him this whole Summer. This year, it seems to be Shane Rey and AJ Epenesa getting most of the D-line plaudits.

I have been to several other teams' forums. No other forum can match the mix of constant/consistent activity, quality posters, quality posts and quality moderation that this forum offers. Any other forum that I've seen that has as many quality posters, posts, and moderation, lacks the activity level. Sometimes whole days go by between new posts or replies. Likewise, any other forum I've seen that matches that activity level of this place, fails in at least one of the other three -- and sometimes all three -- categories. The oft mentioned Chiefsplanet is a good example. Very active, but HORRIBLE posts, posters, and non-existent moderation. I will also echo the sentiment that it's an awful, toxic cesspool in general, and should be avoided at all costs. All factors considered, and having poked around many corners of the NFL message board world, I believe I can truly and honestly say, with no hint of exaggeration or hyperbole, that this is the best NFL team message board in existence.

That reminds me. I tried this particular thing in the bedroom last night and my wife said she was "not sure" I shouldn't be sleeping on the couch the rest of the week.

You're right. You accurately listed the two primary pockmarks on an otherwise mostly sterling upbringing of Josh Allen. You're not wrong. I'd say those missteps represented the exceptions rather than the rule.