racketmaster

I was impressed with the reports on Foster going back to mini camp but he was less than impressive once the pads came on in training camp. He clearly has speed and change of direction but appeared to have no ball awareness/tracking skills. I was actually happy when the Bills released him as he seemed lost whenever he was out on the field. But since being recalled to the team he has been our best wr option. I don't ever recall seeing anything like this before. Foster was downright awful just a few weeks before and has been excellent since. If he can continue what he is doing then Foster is a top 3 wr option for us next year. His speed is evident and it is necessary to have some speed on the outside. McKenzie has been another pleasant surprise. I think every team needs a player like him (gadget player). He can play special teams, run reverses and has done an excellent job of creating space and making catches. He is a nice asset and if he continues with his growth, I don't mind him being our 3rd or 4th option next year. Zay Jones was awful last year and he has made significant progress this year. But he still drops too many passes for my taste and does not make nearly enough contested/difficult catches (eg. back shoulder throw in Miami game on 3rd down of final drive and last week the missed opportunity in the end zone on 3rd down). Are those challenging catches, yes. But for a wr who does not possess game breaking speed, making difficult and contested catches on a weekly basis is necessary if you want to be a top 3 wr. Right now, out of the 3 (Foster, McKenzie and Jones), Jones is the most replaceable. Foster offers speed and has been much more reliable catching the ball and McKenzie is the gadget player. Jones is the possession wr that has had inconsistent hands. Again, no need to get rid of Jones as he could be a 4 or 5 and is still on a cheap contract. But if we could find an affordable wr option (Williams, Jones, Robinson type player) then that would be a good idea. Maybe even John Brown as I have no issues adding more speed to the outside. Then, upgrade the tight end and RB positions in free agency and/or draft. With Allen's continued development and those additions, we could have a solid offense next year. I just think after the season it would be best to move Jones down the depth chart which would be more in line with his play.

If true, Bills would be overpaying Clay by 4 million dollars. Need to move on from him as it would be a good idea to identify and draft a receiving tight end this year.

Bills need to move on from McCoy. They need to add at least 2 backs and 1 needs to be an explosive pass catcher. Look what McKenzie and Foster have done for the wr corps and offense. They gain separation and can make explosive plays and we are talking about an undrafted guy and a player signed off a practice squad. Bills need to make upgrading the rb position a priority. McCoy being on this team next year will impede the progress we can make as an offense. Because of his stature he would require a certain amount of touches whether he deserves it or not. This is an easy decision and a position that can be easily upgraded without having to spend too much draft capital and free agent dollars.

I'm shocked by how much better Foster has looked since returning to the lineup but he is not a number 1 wr and would best be suited for a number 3 or 4 role. I like his speed and he can be a nice option f he continues to improve.

The fact that most of us wonder if McCoy is even better than a journeyman like Chris Ivory should tell you all you need to know. McCoy will show flashes of greatness from time to time but he is not the same player he once was. Watch the league and you will see how many dynamic and explosive backs there are playing right now. Let McCoy finish the year but I would be looking for an upgrade next year. I don't want him back because veterans of his status will expect to play a lot (maybe still start) and it will be to the detriment of the offense. We need an explosive RB, someone who can hit the hole and rip off chunk yards or take it the distance and can also be a factor in the passing game. Too many times, McCoy dances around and is tackled for a loss of minimal gain putting the offense if 2nd or 3rd and long situations. This should be an easy fix as you can find cheap, talented runners deep in the draft.

We should have moved on. Watch the league and there are so many dynamic playmakers at the rb position. Shady is just a guy right now. Sure he will still make some unbelievable jukes but more often than not he is doing too much dancing and putting the offense in 2nd and 3rd and longs.

2 years ago this news may have been exciting.

Take whatever is being offered. He is on the decline and this offense is awful with or without him. We need some young fresh legs in this backfield next year.

Took that long to figure out Foster can’t track the ball and does not have reliable hands. Scary thing was that Foster had a game or two in which he was playing in the top 3.

Allen has not looked good so this injury gives the Bills an excuse to sit him down without making it about his performance and damaging his confidence as much as outright pulling him would have.

This is the challenge of being a defensive head coach in this era. McDermott must identify and hire talent on the offensive side of the ball which happens to be the most important part of football right now. Top offensive minds tend to have been elevated to head coaches at the NFL or college level or are locked up as coordinators waiting their turn. And even if McDermott finds a quality coordinator, any significant success will lead to that coordinator leaving for a head coaching position within a few years leading to another search and transition. As it stands, it seems much easier to find qualified defensive coordinators each year on the street. Plus, it is defense and the majority of innovation and creativity is happening on the offensive side of the ball. Ideally, it would be better to lock up a talented offensive mind and take your chances hiring defensive coordinators every few years. Is there really that much difference in the defensive coaching ability of McDermott, Frazier, Gregg Williams, Wade Phillips, etc. obviously, schemes can be different but overall production tends to be the same with decent to good defensive coordinators depending on their talent. But what about the offensive side of the ball? Mcveigh compared to Daboll or Andy Reid compared to Daboll. Shanahan, Nagy Perderson and others. It seems in this era that the offensive mind can make more of a difference to an organization.

The downside of character over talent is that if players are not completely on same page their talent deficiencies will be more easily exposed. Sometimes, great players can overcome a less than ideal play call or make up for a missed assignment. The Bills have almost no elite talent on the team making the margin for error very thin.

Good post. It appears that good defensive coordinators will become similar to the current running back, replaceable. -The NFL is about offense and defense and special teams are becoming less important as a result of rule changes. Expect this trend to continue as more rules that make game “safer” will help offense more than defense. And if that is the case, it would be wiser for an organization to hitch their wagon to an offensive “genius” rather than the defensive guru. Even if it is for the purpose of continuity. Players that fit the system will be developed and groomed over time and the system will remain in tact because the offensive leader will not leave the organization after any amount of success. That offensive coach will have plenty of defensive minds to choose from and the defensive side of the ball will not be as important anyway. On the other hand, if an organization tied themselves to a defensive coach, then there could be less continuity and talent on that side of the coaching staff. For example, if Dabol actually became a good coordinator he would be poached by another team. McDermott would either fill the position from the outside and risk losing continuity on the most important side of the ball or promote from within and risk not getting the most talented candidate for the most important side of the ball. It does not mean a defensive coach cannot work out, it just seems like they will have more challenges keeping top level coaching talent on the most important side of the ball.

That was an impressive 4th quarter. He kept bailing his team out after penalties and that left handed throw for the first down was unbelievable. Just tremendous poise and arm talent. That kid could be special and that won’t be a good look for McDermott passing on him.

Our wr corps is embarrassing.

I agree, there are a lot of problems when doing this but I still think it is useful to get an idea of what these guys will be. Think of it it this way, how much weight do you think an NFL gm would place on evaluating a qb prospect if they could magically see him play even just 3 NFL games. I think it would be huge in the evaluation but maybe that is just me. Yes. For sure. First, there has been limited supporting cast, at least EJ had Stevie at wr. But Allen has improved from his first 2 quarters of play and Allen was actually playing great football on the road last week. If you just walked in and started watching the game last week knowing nothing about Allen, one might ask who the heck is that big tall qb running past, jumping over and throwing accurate passes when extending plays. He was special at times and the best EJ ever was in his career was promising at the beginning.

Long story short, I think it is safe to say that when qb plays well early his odds of being a success are greater than if he plays poorly. So there are no guarantees but as more information comes in on these guys, the clearer the picture will be. Let’s just hope Allen continues to play well as that would be a great sign for the future.

That’s why I listed Goff as an outlier. But Manuel had an up and down season and never really made improvement from his first few starts.

I agree it is too early to make definitive statements but it would not be very interesting to wait 5 years to see how these guys are playing. Also, I think more often than not we can tell early on whether a qb can play or not. Luck, Wilson, Newton all showed well from the start. RGIII played really well but injuries caused him to rely less on his legs and he was not prepared enough as a pocket passer. Guys like Bortles, Manuel, Geno Smith, Blaine Gabbert have really been less than impressive from the start. One player that that drastically improved was Goff but he went from probably the worst offensive coaching to the best. But there still was a huge difference so nothing is set in stone at this point.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000967033/article/qb-index-week-4-ranking-qbs-from-past-two-drafts Here’s a link to NFL.com’s qb rankings of the quarterbacks from past 2 drafts. At least Allen was ranked ahead of Trubisky and Beathard. Personally, I’d go Mahomes (but he has a ridiculous amount of weapons so it is hard to say whether he could carry a team), Mayfield (was very impressive the other night but limited action), and then Allen. Watson is nice but seems to have regressed from last year. Never been a big Rosen fan and he has done nothing yet and Darnold was impressive week 1 but has been shaky since.

No, but maybe he can develop into a 4th or 5th wr on a team. He is lacking in ball skills. It's embarrassing that he gets regular playing time at this point in his career.

At least we can start to figure out what we have in Allen. Hopefully, the experience he gets this year makes him a better quarterback for next year. If he is unable to handle the pressure, then he most likely was not meant to be a franchise quarterback. The good ones can carry a team and you generally see that early in their careers. Maybe David Carr just lacked the mental toughness required of a franchise quarterback. -Peyton Manning played right away and took his lumps and ultimately was a much better quarterback in his second year. -Andrew Luck stepped in right away to a Colts team that had won 1 game the previous year and made an immediate impact. -Russell Wilson took over a below average Seattle team and made them a contender. -RGIII had his best season as a rookie before injuries took their toll. -On Monday night we saw how Darnold could elevate a Jets team on the road to a victory. Jets look to be decent with him and were thought to be a bottom feeder this year. There are so many more examples of good quarterbacks coming in right away and not being ruined by the experience. There is no one way a team has to follow, but I prefer to throw them out there and see what they can handle. NFL Quarterback is such a demanding position and those demands never seem to end. Early on a young qb has to adapt to the speed and complexity of the game as well as just being a pro. As a franchise quarterback enters the middle of their careers more and more responsibilities are thrown upon them (usually less weapons on offense and/or defense as their salary eats up more cap, increased media and community obligations as they are face of the franchise). And at the back end of their careers the franchise quarterback has to learn to adapt their play to reduced physical skills and learn to deal with and have rapport with players that may be 10-15 years younger than themselves. The pressure never ends on a franchise quarterback so I think it is good to see how Allen begins to handle pressure. There will be struggles but how he responds to it is what will be most important.

Looks similar to Anquan Boldin. Tough, physical, excellent body control, strong hands but not much in the way of speed. Seems to also have good instincts at tracking the ball and getting in the right spot to box out. He will need to have a big preseason as well.

Pat Shermur is said to have Allen number 1 as well. Also, Steve Fairchild ranked Allen his #1 qb. It is encouraging that NFL offensive coordinators thought Allen was the top qb.

Interesting that Ben McAdoo and Pat Shermur had Allen as their #1 qb from this year’s draft. McAdoo studied this year’s crop of qbs and ranked as follows: 1. Allen 2. Jackson 3. Darnold 4. Rosen 5. Rudolph 6. Mayfield https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost.com/2018/07/13/ben-mcadoo-doesnt-like-the-way-sam-darnold-throws-the-football/amp/