Logic

"Spoke to someone earlier today about Bills/Clowney, person shook head no." That's "couching his words" to you? Believe whatever makes you happy, but I'm sticking with "wishful thinking".

There are, however, no CREDIBLE reports of the Bills working on a trade. We've heard it from three different no-name Twitter posters trying to make a name for themselves by discussing vague conjecture. Until someone halfway worth a darn reports anything about the Bills being interested, I won't believe they are. The only person who DOES have credibility that has weighed in on this idea is JW, and he specifically stated twice now that he was told there's nothing to it. Believe what you want, but I'm filing this one under "wishful thinking" by Bills fans.

There are a few potential downsides: 1.) Clowney may not want to re-sign here long term. Due to the contract language of the tender he will be signing, the Bills can't work out a new deal with him until AFTER the season. That's a big risk to take with a guy that you're also going to have to give up draft or roster assets for. People say "well obviously they wouldn't do it if Clowney says he won't stick around". But in that instance, you'd be taking the guy at his word. There would be nothing legally binding him to your team past this season. 2.) It's true, the Bills DO have lots of cap room and no one to pay yet. But they WILL have people to pay in the coming years. They have said repeatedly that they want to draft, develop, and retain their own players. Guys like White, Edmunds, Milano, Oliver, Wallace, etc. The Bills are in no hurry to get themselves back on the path to cap jail. Handing out a top-three-in-the-league defensive contract to a guy they didn't draft and who hasn't always been a paragon of good health and dependability is one potential way to start back down that path. This brings us to item three: 3.) Clowney has a history of injuries. He has had five surgeries in the past five years: 2018: knee surgery, lower back injury 2017: knee surgery 2016: elbow sprain 2015: ankle sprain, lower back injury, lisfranc sprain 2014: knee surgery, microfracture surgery, sports hernia surgery I'm not going to be unhappy if they trade for Clowney. I'd welcome it. I DO think he could be a transformative force for Buffalo's defense IF he can stay on the field. But to pretend that the move doesn't carry some risks and potential downsides is silly. I'm genuinely 50/50 on the move. If it happens, great, I'm sure Beane will have done his homework. If it doesn't happen, no skin off my back, and I'll be happy to see the Bills pay their OWN quality players in the coming years. I also happen to believe Wawrow and others who have stated there's nothing to this rumor.

Agreed. I also think that the play of the EDGE guys this offseason and preseason has made it so that Beane likely doesn't feel the NEED to give up draft or roster assets AND pay the big contract it would take to lure Clowney. They just extended Hughes, who is still playing well. They've been raving about Trent Murphy since he returned to health. Shaq Lawson has played well this preseason and is still young and ascending as a player. Darryl Johnson looks like an immediate contributor, and even Mike Love has been making plays. I'm not disagreeing that Clowney would improve the Bills defense. I'm simply saying that I don't see this move as likely for a number of reasons, including but not limited to the huge contract and other assets it will take to acquire and sign him.

Thanks, John. Not sure why 9 pages worth of people are so willing to trust something called "Profootballnetwork", but that's 2019 sports journalism for you.

Every single year, football fans across the league discount the importance of special teams contributors. There's always some running back or wide receiver that makes plays in the preseason games but doesn't contribute on special teams, and fans always want those guys kept over the special teams players. Then, when said special teams players are kept instead, people whine and gripe that the "better player" got cut. With McCoy, Gore, and Singletary all set to get serious snaps at running back, I just don't see how Yeldon's 2 or 3 snaps a game on offense would be worth more than the contributions of Sinorise Perry, who plays all four special teams units. Unless a trade happens or the Bills decide to keep all five backs, I don't see how Yeldon makes this roster.

For how short a time he has been with the team and how much they're asking him to do on the fly, Bates has looked OUTSTANDING. I don't just mean "lifetime bench player outstanding", either. Dude looks like he could be a starting offensive lineman in this league some day. What we all originally wrote off as a throwaway trade may, in fact, turn out to be a real find by Beane and his staff. I don't know too many NFL linemen that can play all five positions on the line. That is insanely impressive versatility, especially for a rookie UDFA!

Brian Daboll recently said that the first ingredient to being a good receiver is getting separation. It's the one thing that Williams struggles with. He blocks well, he catches well, but he doesn't get much separation. Josh Allen has showed thus far in his career that he's more likely/willing to throw to a receiver who has separated from his defender. If you notice, all of Williams' success so far has come with Barkley at QB. If Williams makes the team, it will because he is a great blocker and because they know they need at least ONE big target in the passing game. He could be a red zone specialist, that sort of thing. On the other hand, if he DOESN'T make the team, it will be because he can't separate from starting level cornerbacks worth a darn. I can't help but wonder if he'd be better off at tight end, though it's obviously too late in the offseason to start THAT conversion, and we wouldn't have room on our TE depth chart any way.

Two things: First of all, Bleacher Report has changed quite a bit over the years. It now features quite a few nationally known, reputable reporters and analysts. It is not the amateur site it once was. Second, as I stated in the original post, the article is written specifically by Mike Tanier. He is a well known football analyst on Twitter who has been one of the most vocal Allen haters out there. The fact that HE of all people wrote the article is significant.

You won't be sorry, especially once the season starts.

Great first post! I agree with a lot of what you said. Adam Gase is a big old open book, as far as I'm concerned. It is entirely possible that he gets more out of some Jets players that were "wasted" under the previous regime. It is also possible that he shows more of what he showed in Miami: a consistently .500 level of football, a proclivity for certain players to either tune him out or go to the press about their frustrations, and a below average offense despite his pedigree as an offensive genius. Time will tell. It's simple to me: If Gase turns out to be a good coach, and the Miami stint was an aberration, then the Jets will be really good immediately. If he proves to be the guy we all thought he was when he was with Miami, they'll be just good enough to eek out Wild Card spots but not good enough to be elite. The Jets have the QB in place, they have some weapons, they have some cornerstone defensive players...it's all about the coach. Welcome to the boards! I've started posting over at JetsNation as JoshAllenSZN (which is an admittedly obnoxious screenname), in an effort to talk some X's and O's with the opposition in a productive fashion. I quite like most of the people I've encountered over there so far! Hope you stick around. Enjoy the season!

For all those saying "it's only preseason" or "he hasn't done anything yet", well...you're both right and wrong. On the one hand, you're right, preseason doesn't mean anything. On the other hand, he already HAS started to prove the doubters wrong. The book on Allen was that yes, he could hit the amazing, improvisatory play or the long bomb, but he couldn't consistently read defenses, adjust his protections, find the open man, and deliver the ball accurately in the short passing game. As the second half of last year wore on and then the preseason games started being played, we began to see that yes, Allen IS learning how to read defenses, set his protections, and find the open man in the short passing game. He's learning to take what the defense gives him. He's showing that it's not "long bomb or bust". That he perhaps CAN operate a standard, modern NFL offense. That's the whole thing with Allen. We already KNEW he could make the extraordinary plays. But could he make the ordinary plays? It's starting to look like the answer may be "yes", and that alone is indeed proving many doubters wrong. Already, it seems quite obvious that Allen's FLOOR as an NFL QB is much higher than the analysts stated. Already, he is doing things they said he wouldn't be able to do. Yes, it's only preseason, but there's no law against being encouraged by a young QB's progress. There's no rule against cautious optimism.

So you're saying everyone should just pump the brakes?

The following article was written by Mike Tanier, noted Josh Allen hater. And when I say "hater", I mean that the publication he co-authors called Allen "A parody of an NFL quarterback prospect". Anyway, it's a pretty fair article, and points to cautious optimism that Allen may just turn out to be good after all, despite the hot takes of so many "draft experts". https://syndication.bleacherreport.com/amp/2850542-buffalo-bills-josh-allen-starting-to-prove-doubters-and-haters-wrong.amp.html "If Allen develops a decent short game, remains a rushing threat and can hit on the intercontinental ballistic launches just a little more regularly, well, that's a pretty darn good quarterback. And a lot of folks, including me, will be eating some old takes. Allen may still be a work in progress, but he's no punchline. In fact, he's what the Mayock types told us he would be: the high-upside guy with a lot to learn. The upside is still there, the learning continues, and Allen looks ready to help the Bills win a few games during his on-the-job training. Maybe the old NFL guard really does know what it's talking about now and then. Imagine that."

The Dolphins are going to be SO BAD this year. Like 2-14 bad. Will they draft Tua or Herbert? I don't really care either way. They should represent two easy wins for Buffalo this year.

Japanese wrestling. What?! No, seriously. I've been spending an inordinate amount of time this summer watching New Japan Pro Wrestling's annual G1 Climax tournament. Don't ask.

I'm with you on this. The Bills can survive just about any other injury and still win some games. If Allen is hurt, though? Not so much. And lest anyone say that Allen is a special case because he's a raw youngster: Lamar Jackson isn't playing tonight, and he DAMN sure needs reps as badly as Allen does.

I'm seeing more and more coaches not play their starting QB in the third preseason game. I know Allen needs reps, but should the Bills follow suit?

I don't blame anyone one iota if they want to see more from Knox before believing he'll be a good player. I mean, he literally hasn't suited up for a single down of NFL football yet. I'm admittedly an eternal optimist, but I happen to think he's going to be very, very good. I thought so before the draft, I was THRILLED when the Bills traded ahead of the Pats to pick him, and I was not surprised when he was tearing up camp prior to his injury. He and Sweeney are going to form an excellent 1-2 punch for the next several years in Buffalo. But again, I fully understand why people would want me to #PumpTheBrakes on Knox.

I think it's that we're SO CLOSE to the regular season. We've made it to within one half of a football game from entering the regular season relatively healthy. Also, the starters often play for 2 1/2 quarters on the 3rd preseason game, as opposed to just a series or two in the first two preseason games.

It's honestly one of the more reasonable discussions I've ever read from an opposition's message board. Points various posters have made over there: The Jets need to bring well disguised coverages to confuse Allen, they need to get him on the move by bringing pressure up the middle and forcing him to make difficult throws across his body, they need to pay big attention to Cole Beasley, they might need to spy Allen...all pretty reasonable to me. Various people have also admitted that their corners stink and that their run game may be slow to wake up with a few new o-linemen and a rusty Le'veon Bell. I mean, sure, there's the usual dose of homerish enthusiasm over there, but find me a football message board that ISN'T optimistic about their team this time of year. All in all, I find MOST of the discussion to be pretty reasonable. There's some silliness, sure, but more reasoned football discussion than I would have expected.

Chris Ford. 100% I'm hoping we get a good, long look at McKittrick, too.

I google image searched "Prep school douche" and the first results that came up were the above photo and a few of Brett Kavanaugh. ?

I think Dawson Knox is going to be an excellent player for the Bills for years... But it's hard to think of a name that makes me want to punch a guy in the face more than "Dawson Knox". Sounds like a prep school villain from an 80s movie.

Absolutely. I'm putting the over/under on number of "pump your brakes" responses at 4.