Logic

I see a lot of very heralded, fully on the radar players being mentioned in this thread. Anyway... For some reason, I really liked (and occasionally still think about) the 2003 Minnesota Vikings running back trio of Michael Bennett, Mo Williams, and Onterrio Smith. Beat that!

I'll be honest, I've smoked a lot of weed in my day. I simply forgot him. Right now, he'd probably be in my tier 3. He hasn't had a good season since 2021. He could easily move up to tier 2. It would take a miracle for him to become a tier 1 guy again, in my opinion. See above. Weed. He'd be at the top of my tier 5 right now if I had remembered to include him.

I thought about adding him. I do not feel that he is better than any of the quarterbacks I listed. If I had to add him, I'd put him at the bottom of tier 5. Just my opinion, and I know many are higher on him than I am.

Generally speaking, I love Red Zone channel. Perfect for a day like yesterday when there is no one game that commands my attention, but there are aspects of each that are interesting to me. Also great for fantasy football purposes. When a bunch of games are close at the end and Scott Hansen is jumping around to game-winning field goal attempts and dramatic endings all at once, it can make for pretty hectic and exciting TV, and it can make that early window of games into a much more exhilarating viewing experience than just watching one of them or, worse yet, reading the box scores. I will agree that, at times, I wish for a little less quad box. Sometimes a really big, dramatic ending -- say, a game winning field goal attempt six minutes into overtime -- gets quad-boxed along with a less important or less compelling play, like a red zone passing attempt in a two score game. BUT, I have to bear in mind that not everyone's priorities and viewing interests are the same as my own. Due to things like different rooting interests and fantasy football and gambling, Red Zone has to try not to play favorites so much and to show everything equally. How I prioritize interest and importance may not be how others prioritize it. Long story long, despite some imperfections and small annoyances at times, Red Zone remains an elite viewing experience. I wish it existed for college football.

My List. Note: There is a large tier break between Tier 1 and Tier 2. No one is close to those two. Tier 1: Patrick Mahomes Josh Allen Tier 2: Joe Burrow(s) CJ Stroud Tier 3: Lamar Jackson Justin Herbert Tier 4: Kyler Murray Jalen Hurts Jared Goff Matthew Stafford Dak Prescott Jordan Love Tier 5: Kirk Cousins Baker Mayfield Derek Carr Trevor Lawrence

Benford is the best cornerback in the AFC East. Benford-Douglas-Johnson (when healthy) is the best cornerback trio in the NFL. There, I said it.

I have to ask this. I'm not trying to be mean or rude or anything, I just genuinely want to know. How are people still putting an "s" on the end of Joe Burrow? He's been in the league for five years now. I'm so confused.

The NFL is a league where a trend dominates, then teams figure out how to counter it, then teams figure out how to counter THAT, and it goes back and forth, on and on. Most recently, rule changes and the migration of the spread and Air Raid offenses to the NFL (as well as the proliferation of 7-on-7 camps and private QB tutors) had passing production way up, so teams got lighter and faster on defense and started employing two-deep shell coverages to take away the passing game. Offenses, in turn, beefed up and focused on their run game and short passing game and finding tight ends that are difference makers. As defenses get bigger to combat THIS evolution and have to begin squatting on the short stuff and stopping the run again, more new offensive innovations and evolutions will push the needle back in the other direction. And on and on, ad infinitum.

Considering the Chiefs won by a toe against an 0-2 team that just lost at home to the Raiders, and then won on a ticky-tack DPI call against a Bengals team missing Tee Higgins.... And considering that the Bills came from behind to beat what looks like a hot Cardinals team and then absolutely destroyed the Dolphins in their house in September... I'm going with the Bills. Oh, and the Bills are scoring more points per game and allowing less points per game, too. The cherry on top is that the Bills' QB is playing better than the Chiefs' QB right now.

I don't think this is Tepper move, personally. I think it's Canales. The quickest way to lose a locker room is to play an obviously inferior quarterback who isn't up to the task. The players have eyes. They can surely see that Dalton is better than Young, and that Young isn't good enough right now. If you're trying to build a winning culture and earn the trust of the players, the LAST thing you can do is keep playing Young just because he was a high pick. He's been SO bad that Canales had no choice but to bench him. If anything, I'd think Tepper would be pushing for Young to KEEP starting, so that they could try to see some return on their draft capital investment. Furthermore, starting 36-year-old Andy Dalton isn't exactly a needle mover in terms of ticket and merchandise sales. No. To me, this is a Canales move.

I tend to think character/leadership/intangibles played a part in choosing Ray over Braelon. Davis WAS a very productive college running back though, putting up 1,000 yards with three different teams and posting 7 receiving TDs last season. Crucially: It's simply too early to make any kind of judgement call on this one. I'd at least like to see their entire rookie seasons play out first.

Outstanding stuff. Thanks!

I watched a ton of football yesterday. I watched Red Zone in the early window, Chiefs-Bengals, then Bears-Texans. There's nothing quite like a relaxing Sunday of football when your team has already won and are 2-0. My takeaway from watching so much football was this: The Bills -- and specifically Josh Allen -- are really friggin good. During the drought years, I used to watch other games and think "this looks like a completely different sport than what the Bills play", but the feeling was that those other teams were so much better and more productive and more advanced. We looked like a JV squad comparatively. Now I watch other games around the league and I think "this looks like a completely different sport than what the Bills play", but I mean it in reverse! The BILLS are the ones who look to be playing the sport on another level, and most of the other teams look like JV squads. In particular, it highlights just how amazing OUR quarterback is, and how almost no other quarterbacks (save for Kermit) can hold a candle to him. Watching Josh Allen every week, you grow to expect certain plays to be made -- sacks to be evaded, throws to be made on the run, frozen ropes to be thrown to beat cover 2 zone. And then you watch other QBs and they just...don't make those plays. Allen is one of one. Nothing like watching the rest of the league all day long to remind you how great your quarterback is and how good your team and its coach typically are. GO BILLS!

Josh Allen causes more analysts to throw their hands up, shake their head, or just laugh out loud than any player I can ever remember. Especially guys who have played pro football, and especially former quarterbacks. They know firsthand how insane the plays he makes are, how impossible those plays should be to make, and how ridiculous it is that he makes them. This video also highlighted at least two occasions where arm strength really does matter in the NFL. There's a common misconception that it's about how far you can throw it or how good your deep ball is, when that's not it at all. Arm strength is about fitting it into tight windows, making far hash throws, hitting a receiver in the honey hole between the corner and safety, those types of things. The down-the-middle throw to Shakir in the middle of three defenders and the throw to the far hash hitch to beat the blitz illustrate exactly why arm strength matters. So, incidentally, did Tua's failed throwaway attempt that went for six Bills points. Josh is one of one. Unicorn.

Others have said it already. Both the percentage of 4th downs on which McDermott goes for it, and the frequency with which he goes for it on 4th when he "should" (as shown in the chart above) are high. Consistently top five. So that notion of "this seems out of character for him" is simply wrong. It's not out of character. As for the decision he made against the Dolphins: I like going for it on 4th down early in the game. I believe it sends a message to the players that says "I believe in you, and we're better than these guys". At the point at which coach decided to go for it, Bass had not yet missed a kick on the season, so I don't think lack of faith in the kicker had anything to do with it. I think the analytics said go, coach's gut probably said go, and he believed in his guys. What followed was the perfect play call and great execution. TD Jimbo.

This is what makes fantasy football great. I'll have interest in just about every game on the docket due to fantasy football. Also, aside from that...looks like a good day for the Red Zone channel.

I drafted Jordan Mason (even though I don't have CMC) because CMC had a lingering calf injury and because of all the camp reports of Mason surpassing Mitchell as the locked in RB2. Snagged Mason off waivers in both my dynasty leagues, too. Dude has "league winner" written all over him. As for those that took CMC early and DIDN'T draft his handcuff, well....

I've said it a bunch and I'll keep repeating it: McDaniel is closer to the end of his tenure as head coach than the beginning. He's an excellent play designer but he is NOT a head coach. His schtick is gonna wear thin on players and fans alike. I've also said, and will continue to say, that Tua wilts in big moments, and he's not the guy to lead them to a championship. So long as one or both of those guys are leading the team, I will not fear them.

Literally?

I think you just said it about as well as it can be said. And it sounds just exactly right to me, too. Good stuff. Thanks for that.

Thanks for the great writeup, as always. Three things stood out to me: 1.) Team defense. Yes, there were some great plays by individual players (Oliver, Ingram, I'm looking at you), but by and large, the defense simply looked good AS A UNIT out there. Pre-play checks were made, communication was good, players were passed off when they were supposed to be, defenders rallied to the football once a receiver caught it, gap integrity was mostly kept. It was a "do your job" night on defense, and everyone pretty much did theirs, and the total result was defensive dominance. 2.) Winning both lines of scrimmage. Our offensive line opened up big lanes in the running game and also kept #17 clean all night long. Our defensive line penetrated into the Dolphins' backfield repeatedly, harassed Tua, and generally looked like they were vastly superior to the Dolphins' o-line -- which they were. Winning the lines of scrimmage is, was, and will always be how you win football games, and the Bills did it on both sides last night. 3.) Khalil Shakir is Hines Ward. That's who I see. A thickly built route technician who just knows how to get open and make big catches, and who can also run after the catch, and who is also a tenacious blocker. He will never be the big highlight reel, cover-of-Madden kind of guy (though, to be fair, he's already had a highlight reel play or two this season). But what he WILL be is a dependable option, a chain mover, and a tone setter. And at the end of the season, you'll look up and see that he quietly accumulated over 1,000 yards and was the Bills' most productive receiver. Added bonus: How 'bout them UB boys, eh? Jamarcus Ingram looks like a FIND at corner, and Cam Lewis has taken a lot of the sting out of losing Taron Johnson. The Bulls-to-Bills pipeline looking strong in 2024!

I saw a Dolphins player doing the "tipped" hand motion immediately after the kick when watching it live. Cannot confirm whether it was or not, but at least one Dolphins player seemed to think it was.

I would like to be the first in this thread to exercise a time-honored message board tradition: PUMP THE BRAKES.