Logic

I call BS on......pretty much everything you're saying. First, with regard to any notion that Ertz has a bad attitude or is any kind of loafer or diva or crybaby: No. Just no. Please find anyone ever saying one bad word about Ertz's character, locker room presence, leadership, or effect on a locker room. He's been a high character player and a team leader his entire career. Here's a quote from Ertz last year: "I kind of play with my heart as much as I can. Obviously it’s been frustrating at times, it’s been difficult. I said all along I want to be here for the long run. I don’t know for sure and if that feeling is mutual, but I know I’m going play this year like it is my last year, and I’m gonna leave everything I possibly have in the tank for this team and the city. It’s what this city deserves, nothing less. So I’m going into this year that I’m gonna leave it all out there, whatever happens happens. I’ll let the details be with my agent and Howie [Roseman]. But I’m going to do everything I can to give the city what it deserves, and that’s everything I possibly have even if it means playing with that lacerated kidney. Whatever it takes to win football games and do whatever I can to kind of leave a mark on this team and the city.” Sheesh. Really sounds like a locker room cancer. Despite being the Eagles' all time leader in just about every major category at the tight end position and setting the all time single season receptions record at tight end, the Eagles lowballed Ertz. He was hurt and disappointed. It's not as if the "Eagles front office is dysfunctional" rumors haven't been in full swing for two years running now. Still, despite the contract nonsense, coaching turmoil, and Carson Wentz's severe regression, Ertz played through multiple injuries and did NOT mail it in or complain. Feel free to post any video or legitimate piece of evidence to the contrary. I don't think you can or will, because I don't think that evidence exists. And one more thing, according the article at this link: https://phillysportsnetwork.com/2021/04/27/zach-ertz-trade-2/ : "...the arguments that Zach Ertz is slowing down are not backed by statistics. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Ertz’s top speed and separation on routes remained nearly unchanged. In fact, he created more separation on average per route this year than in 2019! This is shocking considering his lack of production and perceived athletic decline. At the same time, Carson Wentz regressed massively." If you don't want Ertz on the team, that's totally fine. I get it. You're certainly allowed to have that opinion. But to try to justify your position by spouting nonsense about a "pouty face" or Ertz being some kind of washed up malcontent, well...that's just absurd. All of it. He does NOT have a bad attitude, he DID play through multiple injuries, he (at least according to NFL Next Gen Stats) was STILL gaining separation, and he's about to turn 31, not 36 or something. This idea that he magically lost all of his athletic ability overnight -- which seems to be based solely on a down 2020 in which he faced multiple injuries and bad QB play and team dysfunction -- is silly. The idea that he's anything but a smart, savvy, high character veteran are not founded in reality. While he's not a Kittle or a Kelce, the fact remains: Ertz' 2015-2019 stretch would rank as the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th all time best tight end seasons in Bills history. Is he an elite game changer at the TE position? No. Is he better than any tight end currently on the Bills roster until proven otherwise? Absolutely. Is all of the stuff you said about him "pouting" based solely on your opinion and unable to be backed up by any facts, quotes, video evidence, or reality-based evidence? Yes.

Good post. While it is certainly possible for an "average-at-best" player to -- by sheer luck and coincidence -- stumble onto some top 10 defenses over the course of his career...at some point -- like when said player has been on six such teams in seven seasons -- it would seem reasonable to wonder if perhaps said player is CONTRIBUTING to this consistent success rather than merely remaining a starter on said good teams by sheer luck and coincidence. Put another way: for an "average-at-best" player, Star's presence as a starting member of a top ten defense in six of his seven seasons is surely cause to at least consider re-examining the "average-at-best" label. Either that, or it's just luck and coincidence. I know which possibility I find more likely, though I'm sure ScottLaw or BADOL will be along shortly to tell me how wrong and dumb I am and what a waste of oxygen Star is -- again.

What Greg said. The way offseason narratives get started and then blown up (and the hair-on-fire overreaction) in Bills fan land always cracks me up.

Game four of the 2017 season against the Falcons. Why? First of all, that game put as at 3-1 with a roster that -- frankly -- had no business being 3-1. We were giving significant snaps to guys like Mike Tolbert, Brandon Tate, Malachi Dupre, Ramon Humber, Adolphus Washington, and Shareece Wright. McDermott had elevated THAT roster to a 3-1 record! That third win came against a 3-0 Falcons team with Matt Ryan and Julio Jones, in their house. It was ABUNDANTLY clear watching McDermott's team that they were disciplined, well coached, played hard, and played as a TEAM that was more than the sum of its parts. Watching Rex Ryan's circus and then watching McDermott's Bills was like night and day. I thought to myself, if this guy is coaching THIS roster to play this well and this disciplined and to win football games, just wait until he gets some actual talent to utilize. Furthermore, he was coaching a team through a full-on rebuild in a way that did not de-emphasize wins. At no point did they ever "tank" or disregard the idea of trying to win. It's a big reason that I think players and fans alike bought into McDermott's process.

If the Bills bring in Jones, they’d have to give him a new deal. Then, if they did that, they’d DAMN sure have to give Diggs a new deal, too. Between those two guys, Beasley, and Sanders, they’d be shelling out a TON of money on the WR position, to say nothing of all the draft capital that would be invested in it, too. I’m not denying that it would be a fun offense to watch, I’m just saying that it’s not very realistic and likely not very responsible.

I heard Jimmy uses frozen pierogies.

The same thing happens to me. When I attempt to enter the forum (I’m already logged in) in my mobile device, the full screen ad pops up. This does NOT happen on my laptop, only my mobile device. **I do not mind the ad. Small price to pay. Takes only a minuscule amount of effort to close the ad. I’m only chiming in to point out that it’s happening to me, too.

I can't tell if you're being facetious or not. If not, what type of answer would one hope to obtain by asking one player about another player who is not present for a voluntary workout?

Hey Adam,

Five is still less than Tom Brady has. Weep.

I should have known that despite everything I discussed in my post, you would devote fully half of your response to condescendingly teaching what you deem a "lesson" about the logic of tied rankings. I'm not even a little bit surprised. You consistently display a tone of arrogance, condescension, and know-it-all-ism that makes you generally unpleasant to interact with, as evidenced by your reputation points relative to your overall post count. And yet, for some reason, I still try anyway. You usually waste no time in reminding me why I more often don't bother. We're all fans of the same football team, and it certainly seems possible to have discussions that don't involve personal insults and arrogance. You don't seem to have the least bit of interest in that, though. Same as it ever was. As for the portion that followed: You did absolutely nothing to defend your notion that run defense doesn't matter. In your flippant dismissal of the Bucs as a "super team", you completely neglected to mention that the run defense -- which is what the entire discussion is about -- had nothing to do with any kind of "super team" transactions. All those came on the offensive side of the ball. By dismissing the Bucs' success as merely that of a super team, and not discussing whatsoever their first in the league run defense (which, again, was acquired by honest means -- draft and fair value free agent deals, same as everyone else), it's almost as if you were -- to use your line -- "intentionally or ignorantly skewing" the facts to fit your narrative. Look, I get it. You think Star Lotulelei is a worthless player (you've only said it 4,678 times and in as many different ways), you don't think stopping the run correlates to wins (but refuse to acknowledge or discuss the fact that last year's Super Bowl winner had the number 1 run defense in the league), and most of all: You've never, ever been wrong about anything. Any time someone presents an opinion different than yours, you'll condescendingly and stridently explain why they're an idiot and your version of things is the only reasonable one. So go ahead and respond if you want, don't respond if you don't want, click the "laugh" emoji...do whatever you want. I'm done trying to have respectful conversations with you. I find you deeply unpleasant and, in a word, insufferable. Every now and again I try to wade back in to the pool of discussion with you, and you immediately remind me why it's not worth the time or effort. Good day.

Regarding the first bolded sentence: I'd consider that a matter of linguistic preference, but even using your preferred ranking number, a drop from 14th to 22nd IS significant, in that it indicates going from "slightly above average" to "below average". Painting the Bills' decrease in effectiveness in stopping the run as "modest" and "not a significant difference" is not accurate. Going from slightly above average to below average IS significant. Regarding the second bolded sentence: total rushing yards allowed is not nearly as accurate an indicator of the quality of a team's run defense as yards per carry allowed. Teams with high powered passing offenses like the Bills often give up less total rushing yards sheerly by virtue of opposing teams needing to pass more to keep up on the scoreboard, and thus compiling less rushing yards. Regarding the third bolded sentences: I see your Chiefs' 2019 run defense statistic and counter with this -- The Buccaneers won the Super Bowl in 2020 allowing 3.6 ypc -- best in the league. It is as reasonable to conclude that the Buccaneers being elite at stopping the run was important to their championship season as it is to state that the Chiefs won the title in 2019 despite bad run defense. It comes down to this: there are lots of ways to skin a cat. All things being equal, I'd rather that the Bills NOT have a below average run defense. While I would not classify stopping the run as the most important defensive ability in the 2021 NFL, I would certainly not cast it completely aside, as you seem to want to do in the above post. Waving the white flag and saying "to hell with run defense" seems unreasonable and unnecessary. I'm fairly certain that Sean McDermott, Leslie Frazier, and Brandon Beane would all agree.

Don't discount the possibility that part of the reason the OL was beaten so badly and so often is that Josh wasn't able to properly relay protection changes to them due to crowd noise. Sure, they were just beaten physically in many instances, but we also can't assume that an OL and QB that got used to being able to communicate clearly all year weren't suddenly a bit worse for the wear once that communication was negatively affected.

I just don't understand the thinking behind taking a big, strong guy like Epenesa, whose best attribute is his strength, and who does not have an elite first step and does not seem to be an edge-bending speed guy...and asking him to slim way down, lose power, and try to become Jerry Hughes. It doesn't make any sense. Then again, I'm just a rube on a message board. I'll trust the professionals on this one, but I'm definitely in "wait and see" mode, because the plan with Epenesa seems bizarre.

I think this is a very interesting question. Personally, I expect a regression from Josh Allen this season. Note, I'm not saying MAJOR regression. I'm not saying he's gonna be BAD. I think he'll still be very good and will still lead the Bills to the playoffs. I just expect a drop in completion percentage, passer rating, and touchdowns scored. I think the lack of crowd noise definitely contributed to Josh's success in 2020. The return of a loud, large, hostile crowd sure seemed to negatively affect him in the AFC Championship game. I just hope that the experience and confidence he gained from having such a great year will carry over, and he'll continue to be the elite franchise QB that he appeared to be last season.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/category/rumor-mill/ The NFL’s plan is to have all of its stadiums open at full capacity for the 2021 season and almost all of the stadiums have already been approved to return to that level. NFL executive vice president Peter O’Reilly said on a call with teams on Tuesday that 30-of-32 teams have been given approval by local authorities to plan for full crowds in the fall. The Broncos and Colts are the only teams that have not been given the green light to move ahead at this point. O’Reilly said, via Tom Pelissero of NFL Media, that “both have a clear path” to getting that approval in time for the season. Protocols for fans attending the games, including masking and vaccinations, will be determined by teams in accordance with local guidelines. With plans also underway for fans to attend training camp practices and preseason games back on the calendar, the 2021 season continues to look like it will play out against a much more normal backdrop than the 2020 campaign.

Yeah, I hear ya. Picturing what "the great Rex Ryan" (lol) was going to do with our already loaded defensive roster, not to mention such offensive studs as LeSean McCoy, Charles Clay, Sammy Watkins, Cordy Glenn....I just knew we were about to return to glory. Then Rex went and had the photo shoot at the Big Tree Inn with Jim Kelly and the whole bit. Fuhgettaboutit! I was totally sold. It didn't take long into Rex's first season to see what a disorganized shitshow the team had become, or to see that he had ruined the defense. You can SEE the effects of bad coaching in how the players play. It was very evident under Rex Ryan. Conversely, to go from that cluster%$&* to Sean McDermott -- it was like night and day. You could see in game one under Sean McDermott that good coaching and attention to detail had returned. It's been all uphill since then. Thank God.

"Is this thing on? Because it's about to be!"

He looks ready for the season.

I don't disagree that Epenesa looks really slim in this video. Like a completely different guy than the one who suited up at Iowa. On the other hand, McDermott had this to say about Epenesa today: “He’s in great shape right now, he looks as good as I’ve seen him look. Credit to him for being here, he’s been here most of the offseason . . . He’s in a great spot now. He’s in shape, and he’s on track to have himself ready to go for training camp. What I’ve seen to this point is very encouraging.” So...huh. Who knows?