Logic

If "gets it" means unrealistically ignoring a player's flaws and their potential downside, then sure. Having the strongest leg in the league does not automatically mean Araiza is going to be some flawless punter who presents no downside or who doesn't have room for improvement. Araiza has the upside to be the best punter in the league. Araiza is not yet the best punter in the league, and his potential flaws -- chiefly, lack of hangtime -- if not corrected, could lead to big punt returns, which would negate the benefit of having such a big leg. Both statements can be true. Pretending that Araiza is already a "punt God" and that he has no flaws is unrealistic. Again, I think he'll be just fine and will likely end up being a really good punter, but this "hang time doesn't matter" and "he'll just boot it out bounds every time" stuff is unrealistic over-simplification.

You're making some assumptions here that the facts do not yet support. The statement that "he will just kick it out of bounds or away from the return man" assumes that he's good enough at directional punting to accurately place the ball where he wants all the time. I'm not saying he can't do it, but we haven't YET seen him do it in the NFL. The reason he was drafted was his leg strength, but by all accounts, he still needs to work on directional kicking in addition to hangtime. For the record, I think he'll wind up being fine at both in time and will be a good punter overall, with a chance to be the best in the game. But to say that "hangtime issues are a complete non starter of a concern" or that he can just place the ball wherever he wants so that returns aren't an issue are simply not accurate statements at this point in time.

Yep. Prior to the Bills selecting Bass, genius Patriots GM Bill Belichick took a white supremacist kicker who is already out of the league. Gotta love it.

I thought I remembered one of the beat guys saying it was 4.22 seconds. My understanding is that punters aim for between 4.3 and 4.8. I do not agree with this. Even on the Araiza 82 yard punt on Saturday night, the ball did not LAND in the end zone. It landed in the field of play. If the returner had fielded the ball -- and as word gets out that Araiza can kick it that far, returners may be instructed to line up deeper -- he would have likely had some room to run. Punts with less hang time and a flatter trajectory give the opposition more opportunity to return the ball further. If Araiza could kick it into -- or out of -- the end zone itself every time, then great. But if the ball is coming down in the field of play, if there's a returner there to field it...yes, it's potentially a problem.

It's funny to me that two punters were drafted ahead of Araiza. On the one hand, I get it. Their directional kicking and hang time abilities were/are superior, and they represent safe options at punter who will likely have long NFL careers. There's more to being a good punter than just booting the hell out of the ball. On the other hand, Araiza has SUCH a powerful leg -- maybe the most powerful ever seen in the NFL -- that it would seem his upside was worth taking a swing on earlier than guys like Stout or Camarda. I guess maybe "upside" isn't something that NFL GMs give much thought to when it comes to punters. It is very emblematic of Beane's approach to drafting, though, that he selected Araiza. That is: he likes to take supremely physically gifted players with high ceilings but who have not yet reached those ceilings, then turn those players over to his coaches and entrust them to help said player reach that ceiling. Assuming Araiza can improve his directional kicking and hang time -- and all indications are that he's a humble, coachable guy -- he could be an unprecedented weapon as a punter. "Weapon"? Yes, weapon. The kick on Saturday was a great example. That kind of field flipping ability is a weapon.

I thought Spector flashed a few times on Saturday. I don't feel like third string linebackers often make plays that make me sit up and reach for the roster guide and go "who IS that guy?", but that's what happened with #54. Whether it was shedding a block and making a tackle in the hole, looking natural on a few coverage snaps, or timing his blitzes perfectly, I thought Spector looked like a guy with a future in this league. Certainly a roster-able player. Obviously the next couple weeks will tell us more, but based on camp reports and the first look in preseason, I hope Spector makes the team.

I didn’t forget Crowder. The question posed by the OP is who backs up the outside WR spots. Shakir and Hodgins and Kumerow are all more likely to do that than Crowder, who is solely a slot.

Nothing says "I'm a mature adult" quite like pointing out the action that you're choosing not to take in order to achieve said designation. 😜

Right now it certainly looks like Shakir is the fourth WR, i.e. the primary backup to all three of Diggs, Davis, and McKenzie. Hodgins could also earn a depth spot at outside WR with a couple more strong preseason outings.

Agreed. Hodgins' particular size and skillset aren't really matched by anyone else on the roster. Maybe they end up feeling like Crowder's skillset is redundant with McKenzie and Shakir, whereas Hodgins offers more unique abilities. Hodgins also seems to have the ability to both play outside AND be a big slot, whereas Crowder is pretty much slot only. Maybe it's not really Hodgins vs Kumerow. Maybe it's Hodgins vs Crowder. On the other hand, special teams locks Matakevitch, Neal, and Taiwan Jones didn't play on Saturday. Kumerow did. So Kumerow is likely not a lock.

The determining factor in whether or not Hodgins makes the roster will be his ability to effectively play special teams. Like it or not, that's what a WR6 needs to be able to do to be worth his roster spot. Hodgins got special teams snaps on Saturday against the Colts. Kumerow got none. If Hodgins shows that he can be a reasonably good special teams player, his apparent offensive superiority over Kumerow, younger age, and the fact that the Bills drafted him may all combine to secure him the last roster spot at WR. It's all going to come down to his special teams performance the next two weeks.

I’m reading that it looks like an MCL sprain, not an ACL tear, which would mean 3-6 weeks rather than the whole season. Still, with how difficult the first six weeks of the Jets’ schedule are, I don’t have high hopes for them being contenders.

Out here in Oregon where cannabis is fully recreationally legal, the people in the industry all tell me that the thing that drives them nuts is that people all just come in wanting to buy the highest THC product available, without regard to growing practices, terpene profiles, other cannabanoid contents (CBD, CBG, CBN, etc), flavor, or overall quality. It would be the equivalent of walking into the liquor store and saying "give me the highest proof alcohol you have!", rather than searching out specific spirits from quality producers, things that taste good and are of high quality, etc. The end result of focusing only on THC content is that a lot of the nuance and variety and enjoyability of cannabis is lost, and a lot of people -- particularly newer users -- end up having unenjoyable experiences. Even the experienced smoker is probably going to enjoy a strain less if its only focus is maxing out THC content, and it pays no mind to other factors. Long story long: it turns out there's a lot more to a strain of cannabis being enjoyable than its THC content, but many consumers have not yet caught up to that fact. They're still essentially walking into the liquor store and saying "give me the highest proof! That's all I care about!".

Eastforkandfriends.com East Fork Cultivars is an Oregon based company, but I'm fairly certain they can ship to anywhere in the States. Disclaimer: my wife is the director of operations for the company, so I can't claim to be unbiased. That said, I've been to the farm where the cannabis is grown and seen the extraction processes in action. High quality flower, high quality extraction processes, high quality final product. The thing I've learned over the years about CBD is that it is definitely NOT all created equally. There is essentially no regulation or oversight, so all sorts of snake oil salesmen are able to make outrageous claims and sell bunk products with almost no actual CBD in them. It's actually pretty difficult to find high quality CBD that will actually be beneficial to you. East Fork is the real deal. They are as legitimate and as high quality as exists anywhere on the market, I'm convinced. I swear by the CBD oil. I have terrible TMJ that causes splitting headaches and jaw pain. A dropper-full under the tongue relieves it pretty quickly. CBD has inti-inflammatory properties, so if whatever aches or pains you're dealing with have to do with inflammation, then CBD is a good bet. They also have gummies, candy bars...you can even by the dried flower itself or a pack of pre-rolls, if smoking is your preferred method of delivery. If you want a CBD based lotion that you can apply directly to sore areas, I recommend Empower products, available at Empowerbodycare.com. They use CBD grown by East Fork in their products. I can vouch for the effectiveness of these products, as well, at least in my own personal experience.

I was absolutely shocked when I saw that Beane traded away Watkins and Darby. It seemed immediately clear that he was clearing the decks to rebuild the roster and the culture and that he was obtaining draft capital to go after a quarterback. On the other hand, once I saw that he also immediately replaced the positions he traded away (WR and CB) with Matthews and Gaines, I thought "hmmm....he may be rebuilding this team, but he's also not going to tank". Sure enough, that notion proved true. The Bills rebuilt on the fly, but never stopped trying to win, as evidenced by their making the playoffs in year one under McDermott. People can say "oh, they backed in, it was total luck"...whatever. In order to even be IN POSITION to "back in" to the playoffs, you have to win enough games to be on the cusp. The Bills did. I was immediately impressed by McDermott because he was able to get so much out of a roster that was so lacking. I was immediately impressed by Beane because he both acknowledged the reality of needing to rebuild basically from scratch, but also committed from the beginning to doing so in a way that didn't involve purposely losing. Make no mistake: the Beane/McDermott rebuilding program was massively impressive, rare in its vision and execution, and is THE model that other teams in the NFL should try to follow when rebuilding.

Hopefully he's okay, but the first thing I thought of was... Is it the fatwa?

Yeah, I'm one of them, actually. Paranoid, anxious, and bizarrely self loathing. There's a scene in Curb Your Enthusiasm where Larry David smokes some of his elderly father's cannabis that he has to treat glaucoma. Larry ends up staring in the mirror the whole time, making faces at himself and screaming "I hate you! You bald *****!" It's kind of like that. I was a daily user for 20 years. Not so much any more. Never thought I'd give it up, but here we are. It's not quite as bad if I consume the right KIND of cannabis, like a low THC indica. That high THC stuff and any kind of sativa, though? No way in hell. That said, I've grown to really enjoy high quality CBD. Not that fake, unregulated, garbage-y stuff they sell at shopping malls and Seven Elevens. I'm talking the real, high quality, lab tested CBD. Great for minor pain relief, anti-inflammation, and relaxation, without the zany THC effects.

Makes sense. No vomiting, no hangover, no liver damage, makes cookies taste amazing, music sound awesome, and comedy more hilarious. What’s not to like?

I can't help but wonder if Julio Jones' 2022 season will be a lot like Emmanuel Sanders' 2021 season. That is: he'll have a dynamite first six games or so, where he seems fresh and fast and like his old self...but then age and aches will catch up with him and he'll start to look slow and old. It's okay if that DOES happen. Jones really just needs to give them a strong first quarter to half of the season. By that point, Godwin and Gage should be back to full strength, and Gronk may or may not have come out of retirement and gotten back up to speed. One thing's for sure: anyone who counts out Tom Brady or any of his receivers does so at his own peril. He's got a giant horseshoe up his ass.

Regarding Elam vs Benford: It seems clear to me that the Bills want to get Elam out of his comfort zone and teach him to play off-coverage. Throughout his college career -- as acknowledged by Beane on draft night -- Elam was most comfortable in press-man. I think they already KNOW he can do that capably. The book on him was that he was pretty grabby and relies on his hands to win in coverage. As such, forcing him to get better at the thing he's worst at from day one by having him in off-coverage, throwing him out there on an island against Diggs and Davis and coaching him up on his weakest points...that's what I think is going on right now with Elam. Benford, meanwhile, is a less athletic corner who is ALREADY well-versed in off-coverage, and whose strengths are zone spacing and anticipation. Given that our defense employs a lot of that kind of thing, I'm guessing he has looked more "natural" a lot of the time than Elam. He's like Levi Wallace: big, physical, smart zone corner who can play within the scheme and be successful, but who is probably going to struggle when asked to stick with receivers in man coverage. The preseason games will certainly tell us more, but I have high hopes for both guys. Benford seems like he has a high floor but lower ceiling. Elam seems like he has a lower floor, but much higher ceiling. White, Jackson, Elam, Benford has the chance to be a really good depth chart at outside corner.

There were other high quality quarterbacks during the era of Brady-Manning, too. Roethlisberger and Rivers are both future Hall of Famers, and both were active in the same AFC as Brady and Manning. That didn't stop the dominant Brady-Manning from being the dominant and defining QB battle of the decade, though. Maybe it's more like the 80s and 90s, where you had Marino, Kelly, Elway, and Moon all active in the AFC. The 2022 AFC is maybe as stacked at quarterback as it has EVER been in league history. Still, I think Mahomes and Allen are the cream of the crop. I CAN see a world where Herbert usurps Mahomes.

I mean... If the discussion is "two future Hall of Fame quarterbacks going at it for a decade+, constantly playing for AFC titles, and spurring debates of who really is the best", I don't really care whether Josh's name is listed first or second. The mere fact that Allen is now being mentioned as the Brady or Manning of this generation is pretty astonishing. What a time to be a Bills fan.

Scarily enough, I DON'T think Josh is done growing and improving. I DO think his best football is still ahead of him. I know that's an outlandish notion, but I believe it. I haven't seen any signs that he has hit his ceiling yet.

At the following link, you can find several different links to listen to the podcast, from Spotify to Apple, etc. https://www.theringer.com/2022/8/9/23298232/patrick-mahomes-josh-allen-new-tom-brady-peyton-manning-nfl-football Is Mahomes-Allen the New Brady-Manning? Lindsay Jones and Kevin Clark examine Kansas City’s revamped receiving corps and how they’ll affect Patrick Mahomes’s QB play before discussing Buffalo’s new OC, Ken Dorsey, and speculating whether he’ll be able to elevate Josh Allen’s game to the next level this season.