Logic

Thanks all for reading and for the constructive criticism. Go Bills!

Yet took the time to reply. Cool. Thanks for reading. It’s not longer than most Bills articles by Fairburn, Parrino, Graham, etc. It’s an article. A piece of journalism — albeit amateur. It’s not meant to be a quick blurb on a message board. Nevertheless, thanks for the critique.

I write for Buffalofambase.com, which is run by our old BBMB friend WYO. this is my latest, which I will paste in full here. Let me know if this violates any rules. http://buffalofambase.com/2020/10/02/josh-allen-franchise-quarterback/ Maybe you’re not ready to declare it just yet. Maybe you’d like to see a few more games. A bit more consistency. Maybe after being burned too many times by the JP Losmans and EJ Manuels of the world, you’d like to wait for more of a surefire sign. I understand the hesitation. I understand the inclination to lean into the defense mechanisms of lowered expectations and cautious optimism. Really, I do. But I’m hear to tell you that the wait is over. As far as I’m concerned, the verdict is in. After a quarter-century in the football wilderness, the clouds have parted in Orchard Park, New York, and the blinding light enveloping the Buffalo Bills owes its glorious luminosity to a now undeniable conclusion: Josh Allen is a franchise quarterback. You may think I’m jumping the gun. You may be encouraged, but reticent. You may be saying “he’s looked good, but ‘Franchise Quarterback’ is a loaded phrase”. That’s fair. Before you conclude that I’ve simply consumed a bit too much of the blue-and-red Kool-Aid, though, allow me to make my case. A franchise quarterback needs to be able to make all the throws, sure. After dozens of physics-defying Josh Allen lasers have cut through the winds of autumn the past two-and-a-quarter seasons, captivating viewers and flummoxing defenders, there should be no doubt that the Bills quarterback checks this box . Think of Allen rolling to his right and delivering an on-target dart to a crossing Cole Beasley for the Bills’ first touchdown of the afternoon in last year’s Thanksgiving day game against the Cowboys. Picture Allen tossing up a jump ball to John Brown against the Steelers on Sunday Night Football while the echoes of “Renegade” could still be heard reverberating through the bleachers at Heinz Field. Think then of his ensuing game-winning touchdown pass to Tyler Kroft in the corner of the end zone, stamping the Bills’ ticket to the playoffs in front of a national audience. Ponder the difficulty and improbability of converting a 3rd-and-22 against a professional NFL defense in crunch time of a tight contest, then see in your mind’s eye the fleet-footed Allen retreating from All-World tackle Aaron Donald and firing a rocket to Cole Beasley in the midst of four Rams defenders to convert the yardage and gain a 1st down. Yes, Josh Allen checks the “make every throw” box — and with room to spare. What marks the difference between a physically gifted quarterback and a true Franchise Quarterback, though, cannot be illustrated by statistics. It cannot be quantified, measured, or explained by mere illustrations of athletic talent. Indeed, “Franchise Quarterback” is a designation given only to the rarest breeds of passers. Those whose leadership, heart, unflappability, and command of the offense and the moment are sufficient to again and again pick their team up, put it on their backs, and carry it to victory. Picture number 17 picking up a botched snap on 4th-and-1, powering it across the line of scrimmage, colliding with a defender, carrying him ahead for four yards, and then bouncing up and powerfully signaling “1st down” — firing up an entire roster and giving it the confidence to charge ahead to victory. Envision throwing first a go-ahead score against a red hot Fitzmagic-led Dolphins team in the fourth quarter, then following it up by launching a fearless, magnificent bomb to a streaking John Brown for an insurance touchdown. Recall the sickening and all-too-familiar feeling from this past Sunday of what once seemed a sure victory slowly but steadily slipping away against the Rams. Now recall what came 11 players and 75 yards later: The 3rd-and-22 conversion. The 17-yard pass to Stefon Diggs that gave the offense at least a prayer for victory with under 30 seconds remaining. The game-winning touchdown pass to Tyler Kroft. The replacement of that old, sickening feeling with one of jubilation and awe. Time after time, with his team on the mat, all but defeated, all but hopeless — with the battered Bills Mafia muttering “here we go again” and the football watching world counting him out –Josh Allen has picked his team up and carried them to victory. That — not any QB rating or Pro Football Focus score or Player of the Week award or highlight on ESPN — but the heart, the gall, the tenacity, the sheer will and stubborn-ness necessary to repeatedly ***** victory from the jaws of defeat and to carry a team, against all odds, to victory — THAT is what makes a Franchise Quarterback. The pundits repeatedly told us that this couldn’t happen. They told us Josh Allen was too inaccurate, too wild, too sloppy. They told us he was a “parody of a quarterback prospect”. They snickered. They mocked. They posted videos of errant passes and wayward laterals. They told us he could NEVER be a Franchise Quarterback. They were wrong. After piloting his team to a 3-0 start, becoming the first Bills player to score 12 touchdowns through three weeks, winning Player of the Week and Player of the Month honors, and displaying much improved accuracy, touch, and decision making, the pundits had no choice but to concede, one by one, that they were wrong. After rallying his team to victory when all hope seemed lost the past two weeks and tying Russell Wilson for most 4th quarter comebacks in the league since 2019, the doubters were silenced. The snickering stopped. One dizzyingly masterful pass, one improbable comeback, one incredible display of fortitude and leadership at a time — Josh Allen has forced the pundits to confront an undeniable fact: They were all wrong about him because they all lacked the capacity to understand what made him special: There is no tool or statistic or analytical grading system that can measure the heart of a man. So, Bills fans — remain hesitant if you want. Cling to your caution. Wait for more signs. Me? I’ve seen enough. I’m sticking to my guns. I’m shouting it from the rooftops. I’m buying the jersey in every color. I’m pouring a giant glass of blue-and-red Kool-Aid and raising a glass to the bucking bronco of Firebaugh and Laramie and now, thankfully, of Orchard Park. Here’s to Josh Allen, Franchise Quarterback. Long may he reign.

It's literally the only NFL football video game, so...for people who want to play an NFL football video game, there's not really much choice.

Dan Le Batard really has a face for radio.

Had no idea. Cool beans.

I found this incredibly interesting. The difference has certainly been notable. It will be interesting to see how teams adjust to the "new NFL" as the season wears on. https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/30003263/how-nfl-manipulating-scoring-2020-fewer-holding-calls-faster-games-way-more-offense How the NFL is manipulating games in 2020: Fewer holding calls, faster games and way more offense by Kevin Seifert, ESPN Staff Writer In its entire 100-year history, the NFL has never opened a season on the kind of scoring tear we've seen in 2020. Teams are averaging 24.7 offensive points per game during the first three weeks, 16% better than 2019 over the same period, and 22% higher than their average during the previous two decades. There are a number of theories for the surge, from high-level quarterback play to the coronavirus pandemic-related loss of home-crowd advantage. All have merits. But there is another direct correlation, an inorganic root emanating from the league office. At the direction of its new leadership team, on-field officials have changed the way they enforce penalties -- especially offensive holding -- in a way that is too dramatic to ignore. The decision has not only helped offenses, by cutting their penalty yards in half, but it also has led to slightly quicker games and certainly less public discussion about officiating....

Nobody's throwing at him. Because he's good.

Mike Florio of PFT pointed out to Peter King recently that in the past decade, the MVP is almost ALWAYS from one of the top two seeds -- usually the top seed -- in either the AFC or NFC. In other words, "Most Valuable Player" has REALLY come to mean "The best player on the best team", or even more accurately "the quarterback of the best team". So in addition to Josh continuing to put up good numbers, the Bills likely need to be one of the top two seeds in the AFC for him to have a good shot at MVP. And even then -- even if the Bills are the AFC's #1 seed and Josh has a great season -- it's possible Russell Wilson has an even BETTER season down in the NFC and wins the thing. Lord knows the national sentiment this year seems to be "It's Russ's year!". And hey, if they named an MVP tomorrow, I'd have to vote for Wilson. His stats are better across the board than Josh's. I mean...he just threw 5 TDs in back-to-back weeks!

We have two pieces of information to go on. One: The recent report that the Bills were talking with the Dolphins about their gameday process for admitting fans. Two: John Wawrow of the Associated Press stated that prior to the start of yesterday's game, there were instructions on the video boards explaining to fans how to safely get into and out of the stadium in a distanced way. A trial run, I'd guess. These two pieces of information combined lead me to believe that -- barring a massive spike in numbers in New York State -- there will be fans allowed back at the stadium at some point this season.

I mean..hey...even elite corners sometimes get beat for touchdowns by...*checks notes*....Lee Smith. Ahem.

Picture of the day (From the Lee Smith TD): Jalen Ramsey. LOL.

Scoring is up across the league. Lack of offseason and preseason and lack of fans in stands is hurting defenses more than offenses. Things will even out over time. I'm not the least bit worried that a McDermott/Frazier coached defense with almost the entire roster back is suddenly terrible. Ain't happenin.

The entire D is not up to snuff. Hell -- defenses across the entire LEAGUE are not up to snuff. For whatever reason, the lack of offseason, preseason, and fans in the stands seems to have hurt NFL defenses more than offenses. Things will even out over time, I think.

It's so weird to me: When the Bills used to play conservative in the second half and run the ball and run the clock, everyone said McDermott and Daboll were "too conservative" and needed to have a "killer instinct". Now that the Bills seem to have DEVELOPED that killer instinct and the urge and willingness to go for the throat, I'm hearing that McDermott and Daboll are too aggressive and should stick with the run. Ya just can't win.

The coaching staff who -- during a complete rebuild -- managed to bring the Bills to two playoff berths? The coaching staff who -- now that the rebuild is just about complete -- has a 3-0 squad, with the latest win coming over a legit Super Bowl contender? The coaching staff who has schemed an offense that scored 94 points through three weeks? You're entitled to your opinion. I just disagree with it. The coaches are not immune from criticism, and there are things they could have done better today -- as is the case with MOST games. If you're angry with the coaches after today's game, though, you're barking entirely up the wrong tree. This is what makes America great, though -- the freedom to have wrong opinions.

Good point. Once upon a time not so long ago, players cut by the Bills usually washed out of the league completely. Nowadays, they start for other teams or catch touchdown passes on Monday Night Football. Overall, a great indicator of the depth and competition level of the Bills roster.

The truth is this: Right, wrong, or otherwise, he would have been cut by Buffalo if he wasn't traded away instead. At least we got a 5th back instead of nothing at all. Also, good for Teller. Seems like a good dude and is fun to watch. I'm rooting for him in every game where the Browns' opponent is not the Bills.

In that case, it is my opinion that you should make that deal. The keeper/round forfeiture aspects you described push Drake over the finish line for me as the better option. Then again, I'm the guy who was just in here asking OTHER people for advice, so what the hell do I know?

Just like I would like to say to the real Josh Allen: Slide! I am with everyone else here in being irritated by the lack of ratings boost for Allen. In my opinion, he should have gotten bumped to 80. That seems fair to me. On the other hand, even with his ratings just as they are now, I do pretty well online controlling the Bills. He has 1-3 bad misses per game for me, but then, that's pretty reflective of how Allen actually plays! Diggs is absolutely, positively dominant in this game. It's beyond easy to rack up receiving yards with him. Likewise, Tre White is a beast. I always use the coaching adjustments to select "matchup based on overall ratings" to ensure that White follows the opponent's best receiver around. White and Diggs are winning me games, man. *Edit* And yes, I agree with everyone else that Madden, in general, has suffered from the lack of competition and has gone downhill. I, too, wish 2Ksports was still allowed to make simulation NFL games. They're not, though, so I really only have one choice if I want to play video game football. That being the case, I try not to worry myself too much about it and to just enjoy the game. Even with its deficiencies, it's still MILES ahead of what we were playing 10 and 20 years ago.

That's a tough one. I tend to think of good running backs as harder to come by than good receivers. Drake had an ADP at the top of the 2nd round. Godwin at the bottom. I suppose it would depend on what else you have at each respective position. This website has it pretty close, too: https://www.lineupexperts.com/football/trade-analysis?trade=chris-godwin_for_kenyan-drake

Thanks for the response, but may I ask WHY you suggest not doing it?

Wish I could. 12-team league with more bench spots than usual. There is nothing -- and I mean nothing -- on the waiver wire at RB. Conversely, I could land sneaky waiver wire TEs like Jordan Akins (2nd in targets on Texans) or Drew Sample (2nd in targets on Bengals). It feels like I'm leaning yes...but trading away a guy like Kelce is tough to pull the trigger on. Then again, getting a guy like Chubb back is hard to turn down.

Yes, which I realize limits Chubb's upside. Still...I can't stress the terribleness of my current running back depth chart enough. lol. Gibson is still a total wild card, and Singletary's floor is really low most weeks. Hmmm...

I mean...Chubb out-carried Hunt in week 2. Hunt is clearly the preferred receiving back, and will see more work if the Browns fall behind. On the other hand, The Browns under Stefanski are poised to have one of the run heaviest attacks in the NFL. It's a tough one...