Logic

Also, teams are only allowed to go for the "onside kick conversion" either when they're down by 17 or more points, or when they're trailing with 5 minutes or less left in the 4th quarter. Those two added provisions means teams won't be doing this unless they absolutely have to. Personally, I think 4th and 15 is the perfect distance for this play.

More sage wisdom from the guy who likes being pessimistic about the Bills so much that his screen name is "BADOLBILZ". Thanks for all you do, bud!

Gronkowski still bothers the ***** out of me. A team that has literally NEVER had an elite tight end had one fall into their laps -- one who was FROM Buffalo and raised as a Bills fan, no less -- and they passed on him due to supposed "lingering back problems" to reach for a Nose Tackle that had to retire due to, you guessed it, back problems. Meanwhile, the tight end went one pick later to the hated Patriots and helped extend Brady's career by several years. You can't make this stuff up.

Hamp Cheevers is pretty awesome and hard to beat, but... Lil'Jordan Humphrey gets my vote. The funny thing is, he's not even lil.

Same. Never been so happy to (apparently) be wrong.

In some of those plays, the unreal height/length/athleticism combo of Edmunds makes the difference in the play. The interception against the Dolphins, for instance. Human beings aren't supposed to be able to MAKE those types of plays. You can tell by watching Tannehil that Edmunds isn't even a consideration for him in that play, but because of Edmunds' wingspan, the result is a turnover instead of a completed pass. It's true that Edmunds needs to improve mentally. What 20 year old player doesn't? But his physical gifts give him the POTENTIAL to be an all-time great. One thing I'd like to see in year two: The development of a 3rd down sub-package that has Edmunds lined up as an edge rusher. He did this a bit in college and was successful. You can see in the last play of the highlight video that he has legitimate pass rushing skills. I think with his size, length, and athleticism, he absolutely has the ability to contribute as a pass rusher to an uncommon degree for a middle linebacker.

Wait...Anthony Barr, Kwon Alexander and KJ Wright are free agents? Woah. Any one of the three would really enhance Buffalo's defense.

That, I think, is the right attitude to have about Duke Williams. Expect little, hope for a lot.

We are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively. "We" are in fact the One with no second: A single and continuous field of energy, condensed into a collection of slow vibrations. Duality is an illusion. Space, time, and causation are illusions. We were never born and will never die. Suffering is caused by desire. Detachment from desire and recognition of our true nature leads to Satcitananda: Existence-knowledge-bliss eternal. I don't find that very controversial at all, but I presume many would.

I was excited that the Bills signed Williams, and I have high hopes that he can find a way to make the roster and contribute. HOWEVER... We need to temper our expectations a bit. All the jump-ball and high-point ability in the world won't do squat if he can't separate from defenders. For evidence of this phenomenon, go watch some James Hardy or Dez Lewis "highlights".

The thing I'll be keeping my eye on is the fact that THREE DIFFERENT football leagues are getting set to kick off. The AAF, kicking off this weekend, has the advantage of starting first. In the months to follow, the XFL and Pacific Pro League will also be starting. That's a lot of competition for potential non-NFL football players. The AAF wants to become a minor league to the NFL. The XFL DOESN'T want that, they want to compete with the NFL. The Pacific Pro League wants to give college-aged kids an alternative to the NCAA where they can actually get paid for their services. Three different "mission statements", but all non-NFL football starting up around the same time. Will be interesting to see who sticks.

To start with, I believe that's his big board, not a mock. I did read it, yes. But the opinion that Brown is DeSean Jackson-like and can play outside has been around long before Jeremiah's big board. I do agree with the notion, though.

I agree. Mayfield and Rosen just didn't seem like they had the personality traits that McDermott and Beane were looking for. I will personally always believe that their board was: 1. Darnold 2. Allen 3. Rudolph

I'll watch. Minor league football > no football.

Yeah, not sure what happened there. That was weird. Fixed it, though, so thanks!

Is this thread's purpose to dispute the fact that Bill Belichick is a coaching genius and probably the greatest coach in the history of the NFL? If so, y'all are crazy.

I like Metcalf a lot. However, I can't shake the feeling that with the rules as they are now in the NFL, and with the offense Daboll likes to run, that speed/quickness WRs who can gain almost instant separation are the best weapons an offense can have. Tyreek Hill, for instance, was basically uncoverable this year. Add in having a quarterback with the arm strength that Josh Allen has, and a dominant deep threat becomes even MORE of an asset. Furthermore, Josh seemed to have better chemistry and success with WRs whose main asset was speed.

Fair enough. I seem to see a lot of DK Metcalf, and even Kelvin Harmon lately. I also see Marquise Brown going in the 2nd round in a lot of mocks, which is just bananas.

Contrary to popular belief, I feel that Marquise "Hollywood" Brown will be the first WR off the board. Players with his speed and explosiveness always tend to go earlier than analysts predict. I also don't believe the scuttlebutt that he's just a slot WR. I see him as another DeSean Jackson, with the ability to singlehandedly change on offense. Tyreek Hill lite. Not only do I think Brown will be the first WR of the board, I'd also be thrilled if the Bills take him at 9. I realize they desperately need O-linemen and tight ends, but a player like Brown can really change an offense, as I said. With Brown on one side and Foster on the other, the Bills would be taking full advantage of Allen's arm strength, and defenses would have a HELL of a time stopping that much deep speed. Thoughts?

It's not often that a team's needs align so perfectly with the strength of a coming draft. The Bills desperately need offensive linemen and tight ends, and this draft is rich in both. Call me crazy, but I'd like to see the Bills draft TWO tight ends this year. It can be reasonably argued that it's a bigger need than WR. At WR, we at least have Foster and Jones and, to a lesser extent, McKenzie. At tight end we have oft-injured Clay (who may be cut) and then a bunch of JAGs. On top of that, a quality TE is a young QB's best friend.

Oh, and one more thing: Saquon Barkley dropping all the way to 23rd or whatever is just silly. He had 2000 all purpose yards as a rookie, right? And now he drops 21 spots in the re-draft? Nonsense.

In terms of the young influx of QB talent, I see the AFC playing out as a set of divisional duels over the coming decade: AFC East: Allen vs Darnold (some guy named Brady is still around for at least another year, too) AFC North: Mayfield vs Jackson (some guy named Roethlisberger is still around for at least another year, too) AFC South: Watson vs Luck AFC West: Mahomes vs....nobody, really. Once Rivers retires, it's an ugly QB division outside of KC. I'd be willing to bet the Raiders draft a QB with one of their three 1sts, though.

They have Levi Wallace going 20th to Detroit, too. So not one but TWO of the Bills UDFAs would now go in the 1st round in this hypothetical re-draft. If Allen and Edmunds turn out to be the real deal, then you add in Taron Johnson (who looks like a steal at nickel), Harrison Phillips (who looks to be, at worst, a quality rotational tackle), Wyatt Teller (who I'd be willing to bet will get a shot to start the coming season at LG or RG) and Foster and Wallace in UDFA...it will be considered one of -- if not THE -- all time great rookie classes for the Bills.

The holding call stunk. HOWEVER... Football is and always has been an imperfect game. It is subject to human error by the officials, whose jobs are much harder than they appear to us who get to watch the game from our couch in super slo-mo HD. The refs pretty much "let 'em play" all night long on Sunday, for better or worse. The play you mentioned was one exception. The bad holding call didn't cause Goff to throw too late to a wide open Cooks, negating a touchdown. The bad holding call didn't force the Rams to come out in base defensive personnel on four straight plays against the Pats empty sets, leading to an easy Pats touchdown drive. The bad holding call didn't cause Wade Phillips to choose not to double cover Julian PEDelman on numerous critical 3rd downs. Even DIRECTLY after that holding call, on 2nd and 22, the instant replay showed that Robert Woods got WIDE open for first down yardage on a deep square in. Goff missed him and chucked it deep to the well-covered flanker instead. I could go on and on. The bottom line is that blaming the entire outcome of the game on one bad offensive holding call -- when the Rams had NUMEROUS opportunities to win that game, needing only to score TWO touchdowns in four quarters -- is bogus. The Pats earned the win, the Rams earned the loss.