Logic

I um...didn't write this article. Just re-posting something I found online. Thanks though. I believe it was specifically written in response to NFL Twitter (where the article's author predominately operates), where ANY discussion of Josh Allen's greatness as a player is immediately met by a chorus of people going "but his interceptions!". I don't think the author's intent is to say that Josh doesn't need to cut down on the picks, but rather that using his high interception numbers as a justification for denying that he's a great player (which a TON of people do on Twitter and elsewhere) is unreasonable, because it ignores all the other ways in which he is great (some of which the author points out).

I saw this article from noted Josh Allen defender (though not a Bills fan, per se) Jarrett Bailey. Thought it was fun enough to share, and what the hell, it's the slow part of the offseason, so...enjoy! https://atozsports.com/buffalo/buffalo-bills-josh-allen-turnovers/ The laziest argument in sports today is the one that Josh Allen naysayers make when they say "but... but... the turnovers." Yes, the Buffalo Bills' alien cyborg was second in the NFL in interceptions in 2023. However, when you look at interception percentage, he wasn't throwing much more interceptions per attempt than many other quarterbacks who many media members drool over because of their underneath passing efficiency. Allen threw an interception roughly every 32 attempts in 2023. For comparison, Tua Tagovailoa threw an interception every 40 attempts and was fourth in the NFL in picks. Brock Purdy hovered around the same number of interceptions per attempt. But, since most fans of opposing teams just like to point at turnover numbers, I'll give them a few more numbers to point at since they'll be too busy eating boogers to do the research for themselves. Since 2020 (including playoffs), Josh Allen has three seasons in the top 20 of all quarterbacks in that span in terms of touchdown passes. Patrick Mahomes is the only other quarterback with three seasons in the top 20. How about yards since 2020? Allen also has three seasons in the top 20 of passing yards since 2020. Only Mahomes has more with four. Allen's 137 touchdown passes are the second most in that span only to Mahomes. His 36 rushing touchdowns are second amongst quarterbacks with only Jalen Hurts having more. And his 174 total touchdowns in the last four seasons are the most in the NFL. What about game-changing plays? Well, if you look at PFF's big time throws, Allen led the NFL in that category in both 2023 and 2022. He finished second in 2021 and fifth in 2020- he is the only quarterback in the NFL to finish in the top five in big time throws in each of the last four seasons. Even when Allen is under pressure, he's still amazing. He has two seasons that are in the top 10 in terms of passing yards per game under pressure- Justin Herbert is the only other quarterback with two such seasons. He also has two of the 10 best seasons in terms of touchdown percentage against pressure. The only other quarterback who can say that is Russell Wilson. And while throwing past the sticks against pressure, he has two of the three best seasons in the last four years of any quarterback with at least 100 attempts against pressure. So the next time someone says something about Josh Allen and his turnovers, show them these numbers. Because it's evident they don't dig any deeper to see that there has been precisely zero quarterbacks doing what he's been doing over the last half-decade. And every argument against him is the same argument because there is nothing else Allen haters can point to. It's lazy. So. Damn. Lazy. Is Allen perfect? No. But he's a hell of a lot closer to it than just about every other quarterback in recent memory. And odds are if you are reading this and you aren't a Bills fan, your favorite team's general manager would trade their first born child if it meant having Allen as his quarterback.

Echoing others: I don't think Beane will be acquiring any players via trade, but I could see him trading away a player or two for draft picks. Kaiir Elam and an interior lineman (Will Clapp?) would be my most likely candidates.

Right. Hence my "context clues support this hypothesis" comment. My point is that this thread states it as fact. As yet, it is not fact. It is a guess and a rumor until officially announced.

How is this thread still a thing? The NFL refuted this. Jacobs admitted he was misinformed. Both teams will be wearing green.

...But in all seriousness...Shakir is about to have a breakout season, and thanks for posting the link.

As of this moment, this would be classified as a rumor. The official cover athlete has not yet been announced. MLFootball (Along with JPAFootball, Dov Kleiman, etc) are horrible content aggregators that just re-post things from other accounts with language tweaked in a way that is designed to get maximum engagement. Also known as "engagement farmers". They're trash. Everyone should unfollow them. Burrow may very well end up being the cover athlete -- context clues here certainly support that prediction -- but it has not yet been announced.

/Thread. https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/josh-jacobs-apologizes-for-misinformed-statement-about-wearing-green-in-brazil Packers running back Josh Jacobs has apologized for spreading misinformation about the NFL’s preparations for the Week One Packers-Eagles game in Brazil. Jacobs said on Chris Long’s podcast that players weren’t supposed to wear green while they’re in Brazil, as a safety precaution because it’s a color associated with violent gangs. The NFL has said that is inaccurate, and now Jacobs has acknowledged as much. “Damn I was misinformed,” Jacobs wrote on Instagram. “Sorry Brazil see you soon.” The misinformation apparently stemmed from the game’s venue, Arena Corinthians in São Paulo, where the home soccer team Corinthians tells its players not to wear the color green because it’s worn by rival Palmeiras. But it doesn’t apply to American football teams playing in the stadium, and there will be plenty of green on the field and in the stands for the Packers-Eagles game on September 6.

You and me are on opposite pages here, Mup. The Penn State away jersey is my favorite in all of football, with the home jersey being close behind it:

I don't know much about Xs and Os. I'm just excited to drink a quart of moonshine, play dizzy bat, and sacrifice myself to the pit.

With how much the league has relaxed the alternate jersey and alternate helmet rules... Every day that the Bills don't get in on the act somehow is another day that they're pissing away free money. Whether it's the 90s throwbacks or some alternate, Oregon Ducks style one-off, the team has a great opportunity to do a thing that's fun for fans and also allows them to sell a bunch of new merch. It makes too much sense NOT to do, and yet, so far, they haven't done it.

To hear Dolphins fans tell it, Claypool lit it up in practice there, too. It was when the pads came on that things changed. It's nice to hear he's been doing well in the OTA settings, but I won't get excited until I see him doing the same thing in camp and preseason.

Fair point about the finances alone, but given how McDermott and Beane are already raving about Hollins' influence in the locker room, and with Beane calling him a "glue guy", I'd still bet my bottom dollar that Hollins is very close to a lock.

Looking at the contract/guarantees given to the free agent WRs tells us that the first five you listed are roster locks. They're not cutting Hollins or MVS. That leaves: Claypool, Hamler, Shavers, Shorter, and Isabella ...fighting for the final one or two spots, depending on whether they keep six or seven WRs on the 53. As others have mentioned, health and special teams contributions will likely wind up being the deciding factors.

I hope he does. He's the best outside corner on the team, he's a great locker room guy, and a Douglas/Benford duo for the next few seasons would be very good. I suppose it's possible they're waiting to see how Elam does this year, but even if he suddenly breaks out, he'd still be on a cost-controlled deal for three seasons (assuming fifth year option is exercised), and you can never have too much depth at outside corner.

Awesome, thanks. You're gonna have a marvelous view. Enjoy!

It's been a decade since the team that won the Super Bowl had a dynamic, big-contract running back. The Chiefs are in the midst of a dynasty with guys like CEH and Isiah Pacheco toting the rock. I just don't think that spending money on an elite, big-money running back is the way that most very good teams are going about things these days. Re-signing Cook to a second contract is certainly not the foregone conclusion that you think it is -- particularly for a team who seems to regularly spend day two and three picks on running backs and who just drafted an RB with a three down skillset a month ago.

It is my destiny to be arrested for fighting a police horse during a Bills Super Bowl parade. My life will not be complete until this happens. It's a tough goal to have, because it requires not only a Bills Super Bowl victory, but also a less-than-amicable police horse. I'm not just gonna pick a fight with a NICE horse, ya know?

It's already been said a few times in here, but I agree with it and will reiterate: The only time you give a second contract to a running back is if he's either a big time threat in the receiving game (like CMC or Kamara) or is so elite that he's the engine of your offense (Derrick Henry or Jonathan Taylor). And even in the latter case, it's not always great business. Generally speaking, and with very few exceptions: Draft, employ for four (or five) years, let walk, repeat. All of that said, unless Cook ups his contributions to the passing game considerably, I don't think the Bills should (or will) re-sign him.

Awesome! You'll have an amazing time. Just out of curiosity, where will you be sitting?

indefatigable Bucatini schmohawk I couldn't pick just one.

I suppose it really comes down to subjective opinion. Put simply, when I look at the fact that Josh Allen was responsible for the highest percentage of his team's offensive production of any QB in the league last year by a fairly large margin, it indicates to me that the team is asking him to do too much. All I'm asking is that it be more common for the Bills to perform well on offense on a more consistent basis WITHOUT Josh Allen having to be a total alien. I'd like it to not feel like he has to put the cape on every single week for the Bills to have a chance, which is what it has felt like all too often to me the past few years. If the end result of this new offensive build is that Josh can spread the ball around more, play point guard, distribute to his playmakers, and save the heroics for the late-season and playoffs, then great. But from where I sit, it seems just as likely to me (if not more so) that the end result of this new offensive build is that Josh doesn't have enough game-breaking talent around him and STILL has to put his cape on darn near ever week for the Bills to succeed on offense. We can go around in circles on this for days. Ultimately -- time will tell.

Thanks for the response. I guess my answer would be that the "Josh Allen needs more help around him" narrative is not just my own, but one that seems shared by many unbiased reporters and national media, as well. https://www.nfl.com/news/hall-of-famer-jim-kelly-believes-bills-need-to-get-qb-josh-allen-some-rb-help-jo https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/apr/05/the-buffalo-bills-and-josh-allen-need-to-change-but-will-they-be-able-to https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/39385819/buffalo-bills-quarterback-josh-allen-supporting-cast-wide-receivers-running-back https://www.the33rdteam.com/analyzing-every-nfl-playoff-team-projecting-their-futures/ Just from a quick Google search, there's a sample of different forms of the "Josh needs more help" narrative. From Chris Simms to Jim Kelly (whose quote admittedly came before Cook broke out) to Bill Parcells to reporters for ESPN and the Guardian, there are articles and quotes from over the past couple years talking about the Bills needing to do a better job putting help around Josh Allen. This stance is summed up well by Bill Parcells, who said "you just can't play Solitaire in the NFL and expect to win". Now to be clear, I don't think that the cupboard has been bare by any means. Diggs is/was a legitimate number one receiver, Cook just had a breakout season last year, Knox was a pretty good tight end even prior to drafting Kincaid, etc. HOWEVER...yes, I DO think the Bills can and should have given Allen even more help than they did. The writing has been on the wall that Gabe Davis isn't a good WR2 for a couple seasons now. When veterans John Brown and Emmanuel Sanders and Cole Beasley left, effectively NONE of them were replaced. I like Khalil Shakir a lot and think he may have a great third season, but he's not there YET. One need look no further than the Bills counting on big offensive contributions from the likes of Trent Sherfield, Deonte Harty, and now potentially Mack Hollins. But if one DOES look further, they see an offense which counted in big contributions from 34 year old Latavius Murray last year. An offense which had to bring back the ghosts of John Brown and Cole Beasley in the playoffs the year before that because they didn't have enough depth at WR to do anything else. So no, I'm not a "the Bills haven't given ANY help to Josh Allen" guy. But I AM a "the Bills haven't given ENOUGH help to Josh Allen" guy, and I stand by that opinion. He has made chicken salad out of chicken ***** for a while now. Too often, the Bills' offensive gameplan has seemed to RELY on Josh Allen to be superhuman. That is, unless he was pulling on his cape and doing crazy Josh Allen things, the Bills offense has not often enough carried its own weight. Anyway...all of this is rehashing the past. Leading into this season -- as I have gone over ad nauseum and no one wants to hear any more -- I continue to see disconcerting warning signs. I don't want to talk about them any more. You and I each know where the other stands on this issue. Time will tell if the Bills have given Josh Allen the necessary weapons to succeed in 2024 and beyond. But to respond to your insinuation: Yes, I believe they have failed to give him good enough weaponry in seasons past, and I don't believe that's a minority opinion. As I showed with several of the links I posted, it's a pretty popular and not at all radical notion.