Logic

I'm not sure about Elam, because -- as discussed in this thread, I've been reading mixed reports -- but it seems like I'm reading about Terrel Bernard, Baylon Spector, and Christian Benford just about every day. Beane may have very effectively fortified the defense in this draft. If Elam and Cook live up to his draft slots, too, it might be a home run draft.

It's so weird to read how two reporters can watch the same practices and come away with wildly different conclusions. Here's Joe Buscaglia about today's practice: https://theathletic.com/3478869/2022/08/04/bills-camp-observations-james-cook-zack-moss/ Jackson typifies cornerback struggles One mostly underwhelming spot for the Bills this summer has been boundary cornerback. Of course, the top cornerbacks have had to deal with dangerous receivers Stefon Diggs, Gabriel Davis, Isaiah McKenzie and MVP-candidate quarterback Josh Allen throwing them the ball, but the cornerback group has had a tough time making an impact. Third-year cornerback Dane Jackson is among those struggling. The 2020 seventh-round pick fell in coverage in a one-on-one rep against Diggs after the receiver put on a juke move. On another rep, he sensed a receiver winning the route, got grabby and was called for defensive holding. Later in the session, Davis beat him clean deep down the middle. Jackson has made some plays sparingly, but his struggles, as well as those of first-round pick Kaiir Elam, have opened the door to others. Siran Neal worked against Diggs and Davis early in camp. More recently, it’s been sixth-round pick Christian Benford getting time against the Allen-led offense over the last three days. The Bills must hope this trend is a product of going against an elite passing offense or that star cornerback Tre’Davious White will be ready to play relatively soon. Either way, the Bills need more from their top available boundary cornerbacks.

Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic is the guy primarily beating the "Elam is struggling" drum. I've read elsewhere -- including from Matt Parrino yesterday or the day before -- that he's getting better and better as camp goes on. We're talking about a rookie going primarily against Stefon Diggs every day -- one of the best route runners in the league. I would EXPECT him to struggle at this point. I think it was Thad Brown who recently said that so far, when Elam can get hands on a receiver, he can stone even Stefon Diggs. When he DOESN'T get hands on a receiver, he can be beat by bottom-of-the-roster guys. That was the book on him coming out, too: needs to learn to be less grabby and to win more without his hands. Its why they had him in boxing gloves for a practice or two. John Butler, Leslie Frazier, and Sean McDermott is as good a trio as a corner could ever hope to learn from, and he's going against elite WRs every day. I expect him to be just fine in the long run. That said, it DOES sound as though sixth rounder Christian Benford might be outplaying him to this point, which is exciting.

Your dietary preferences and your name/avatar do not square in my mind. When I think of the Italian diet, I think of fresh fish, vegetables, olive oil, fresh pasta, red wine....The Mediterranean diet is one of the healthiest and most renowned in the world. Unless you're one of those Ameri-Italians, where it's more like a chicken parm cutlet the size of a soccer ball, not visible on the plate due to being drowned in spaghetti, red sauce, melted cheese, pork sausage, and meatballs, with sides of tripe and arancini and a jumbo Diet coke. *****, now I'm hungry.

I love that this camp discussion has devolved into a discussion of the comparative merits of fast food and fruit. Good times. This has to be sarcasm, right?

So does McDonald's.

Ooh yeah. That would be a good one. The only problem there is that Mike is visibly getting up there in years. Depending how far back they wanted the prequel to go -- and one presumes it would be centered around his time as a cop -- they might have to use that weird de-aging technology.

While I don't think the writers are going to do this, I was thinking about it after the episode a couple weeks back: A Gus Fring prequel spinoff. Again, I know it won't happen, but he's the most compelling character remaining. Diving into his early life and learning what led him to the life we know him to lead in Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad would be cool. With what we now know regarding an apparent repressed homosexuality, it sure seems like there'd be enough material in this character's backstory to get a few seasons' worth of good TV out of.

As to your first statement: Watson was eligible to play last year and collected his full paycheck. So no, it is NOT "easy to argue" that last year was a de facto suspension. As to your statement regarding sexual assault: Watson has been accused of ejaculating on women without their consent, and of forced oral penetration. Both are considered sexual assault.

I see the "12 games" guess thrown around a lot today, and it seems like a likely outcome. The sad thing is that even THAT is not enough. Nothing less than a full season's suspension feels like enough. The dude's actions and his violations of the personal conduct policy were pretty egregious.

I hope that the NFL is aiming for indefinite suspension. I think the league views growing its female fan base as an important initiative, and recognizes that public opinion is in the corner of a lengthy suspension for Watson.

As they used to sing to the players back in Marv's days as head coach.... Hooray for Marv, Hooray at last! Hooray for Marv, He's a horse's ass!

How did you know where to send the letter?

Twitter? Yes. Twitter Spaces?

Sometimes. Riley Ridley, Jordan Palmer, and Trey Edmunds are nowhere near as talented as their older siblings.

Yeah. Mr WEO mentioned this, too. My response is the same:

I obviously don't want to see Jordan Poyer miss any time at all. He's an All-Pro and a bona fide stud at safety. That said, if -- IF -- he has to miss any time, I'm excited to see what Jaquan Johnson and Damar Hamlin can do in his place. It's possible that one or both of them are in line to be the successors at safety in the coming years. Both have made plays at times and garnered praise from the coaching staff. Heck, even behind them, the Bills have Nick McCloud and potentially Christian Benford. Two talented youngsters who came into the league as corners but have either seen time at safety (McCloud) or been discussed as an option to get snaps there (Benford). Might be time for the youngsters to step up and show their stuff.

Agreed. He DOES have a quality left tackle and center, and it looks like they may have hit on a right tackle. The guards positions have admittedly been revolving doors. Regardless of the fine details, it's hard to argue with the larger point that the Bills put a system in place to support Allen. Not every aspect of it has been perfect -- the offensive line, as you mentioned, as well as lackluster WR2 production at times from John Brown and Emmanuel Sanders and lackluster running game production at times -- but overall, they surrounded him with enough talent and good coaching that he was able to elevate his game and become a top 5 passer. It hasn't always been perfect or even pretty, but one need only look at what fellow '18 draftees Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, and Josh Rosen have been through in order to appreciate the stability around Allen.

No need to get testy, buddy. We're all friends here.

I'll post a snippet, but its a bit long. It's a great read, though, so I suggest just checking out the whole thing yourself. https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2022/8/2/23288239/buffalo-bills-josh-allen-ken-dorsey-new-offense How Josh Allen and Ken Dorsey Are Shaping the Next Wave of the Bills Offense The first-year offensive coordinator is trying to craft a system that will keep Buffalo atop a stacked AFC—and he’s working closely with his star quarterback to do it By Kevin Clark Aug 2, 2022, 9:12am EDT Quarterbacks fail in the NFL, sure. But more often they are failed. This was the epiphany Bills general manager Brandon Beane had while studying quarterbacks prior to the 2018 draft. Beane scrutinized the careers of former top prospects who made it, along with ones who didn’t, and found that, overwhelmingly, those in stable organizations with more continuity were more successful. “We’d look at ‘Why did this guy fail?’ Well, three head coaches, or two GMs, it’s crazy,” Beane said this week. “Constant turnover, different coordinators every year.” There is probably a chicken-and-egg conundrum here, in which a bad young passer might get a staff fired and create his own turnover. But even considering that, the evidence was clear: Give a young quarterback the runway to improve, and he usually will. So Beane’s goal ahead of the 2018 draft was simple: Build a steady foundation, then select a quarterback who was good enough to grow on it. Turnover would come eventually, Beane found in his research, but only once the team had won enough that other franchises wanted a piece. It is obvious now that the Bills accomplished their GM’s objective. Four years later, they are the model for building an organization where a quarterback can thrive. They drafted Josh Allen seventh overall in 2018, constructed an offensive line and skill group capable of supporting him, and gave him a coach who could propel him forward. Brian Daboll, the team’s longtime offensive coordinator, was in Buffalo for the first four years of Allen’s professional career, and together they developed a relationship between play caller and quarterback that was among the best in the NFL—and formed the backbone of one of the great turnarounds in recent NFL history. All of those pieces allowed Allen, a quarterback as physically gifted as any in the league, to improve more than nearly anyone outside Buffalo thought possible. But now, after Daboll departed for the Giants’ head coaching job last winter, comes the hard part: Replacing part of the foundation that made the franchise a Super Bowl contender and helped Allen become an MVP candidate. It’s one of the most important jobs in football in 2022, and it falls to Ken Dorsey. I went to Western New York last week to find out what happens next...

Would you have preferred the Bills spent on a couple killer offensive guards instead of, say, Von Miller?

Yep. I believe 3TDT is one of the positions that McDermott views as pretty vital to the success of his defense. Combine that with the Bills' "draft, develop, retain" team building strategy, and it's hard to picture Oliver going anywhere. I suppose if Oliver has huge, unreasonable contract demands and, say, Tim Settle balls out and shows that he can provide the same productivity for less pay, then maybe Oliver leaves. I find that scenario unlikely on multiple fronts, though.

This type of conversation is why the NFL and its analysts have moved away from the "OLB vs DE" debate and instead simply label players like Von Miller "Edge defenders". A 3-4 outside linebacker and a 4-3 defensive end both do the same thing, generally speaking: they set the edge in the run game and rush the passer. Now that's not taking into account the minutia of their responsibilities, their rush technique, etc. It's simply pointing out that whatever scheme they are a part of, they will essentially be doing the same thing. The old "3-4 OLB vs 4-3 DE" discussion becomes even more antiquated and obsolete when one considers the fact that the majority of NFL defenses use nickel as their true base defense anyway. So what, generally speaking, will Von Miller be doing? The same thing he's always done: he'll be an edge defender. Setting the edge and rushing the passer. The question of whether or not he'll rush from a 3-point stance or from a standing start is a valid one, and I would imagine he'll be rushing from a standing start most of the time, as he has done the majority of his career. I also imagine that -- though the coaching staff has said he'll play both sides -- he's ultimately going to wind up lining up on the defensive left the majority of the time, as that is his most effective spot.