blacklabel

Fair point here. If you're running all over a team and leading there's no reason to start slinging the ball all over the place. And as per the topic here, I am optimistic that Shady could have a big season. I believe this OL is better and more experienced in a ton of different blocking schemes than the OLs in Houston and especially the OLs in Denver he worked with over the last two seasons. Shady can be a very dynamic player in this offense. Bucky Brooks and another dude from NFL.com both predicted Shady to be the rushing champ for 2017.

Thanks all for the positive responses and adding to the conversation. I really didn't think people would be too interested, I was just bored, haha. I did not take into account how many plays were called by RD. I'm not sure exactly what his roles were when he was with either Shanahan or Kubiak, we know both of those coaches definitely had themselves mixed into playcalling, I'm just not sure how often the decisions were on those guys or on RD and I'm not sure info like that would be found unless you worked with those dudes. I think it bodes well that RD was able to get some solid seasons out of Matt Schaub. I won't discredit Kubiak's influence there but RD, being the OC, clearly had a hand in identifying what Schaub could and couldn't do. A few of the reasons I expect an uptick in the passing game would be, I think McDermott and Beane would like to see Tyrod in certain situations where they have to throw the ball to see if he can get it done. Another reason would simply be the switch from Roman's offense to Dennison's. While Roman has always been known as a wizard in the run game and with blocking schemes, his passing concepts have never been good. So while he flourished because of the unpredictability in his run schemes, he floundered because of the predictability in his passing schemes. Teams weren't afraid to leave 8 in the box not only because they knew the run was coming and not only because they didn't feel any pressure from Taylor as a passer, but also because on film the route concepts and such were just very basic.

For whatever reason I wanted to take a look at how often Dennison called for passes during his previous endeavors in Denver and Houston. Perhaps because I think most of us would like to see them throw the ball a little more than 25 times a game and utilize the pass-catching weapons they have more often. Anywho, these aren't super-analytic numbers, I understand QB's can audible out of a run into a pass but I don't think there'd be anywhere or anyway to track those kind of stats unless you were a part of the team and they kept track of how many audibles their QB called. So, here goes. 2006 Denver QBs: Jake Plummer/10 games, Jay Cutler/6 games Average Pass Attempts Per Game (APAPG): 28.4 NFL Rank: 26th 2007 Denver QB: Jay Cutler/16 games APAPG: 32.2 NFL Rank: 21st 2008 Denver QB: Jay Cutler/16 games APAPG: 38.8 NFL Rank: 2nd 2010 Houston QB: Matt Schaub/16 games APAPG: 35.9 NFL Rank: 9th Houston 2011 QBs: Matt Schaub/10 games, TJ Yates/6 games APAPG: 29.0 NFL Rank: 30th Houston 2012 QB: Matt Schaub/16 games APAPG: 35.7 NFL Rank: 13th Houston 2013 QBs: Matt Schaub/8 games, Case Keenum/8 games APAPG: 39.6 NFL Rank: 6th Denver 2015 QBs: Peyton Manning/9 games, Brock Osweiler/7 games APAPG: 36.7 NFL Rank: 17th Denver 2016 QBs: Trevor Siemian/14 games, Paxton Lynch/2 games APAPG: 35.6 NFL Rank: 18th Overall Averages: Average Pass Attempts Per Game Over 9 Seasons as an OC: 34.6 Average NFL Rank over those 9 seasons: 15th So, just by looking at the overall averages you'd imagine he believes in a well-balanced attack. Now, some of these numbers can also be misleading. In 2013 the Texans went 2-14 so their attempts were obviously up likely due to throwing it a lot more when playing from behind. By the same token, the numbers in 2012 were pretty well-balanced and Schaub had one of his best seasons. Schaub also had better seasons before Dennison so who knows. Anyway, if anyone finds this interesting, neato. If not, also neat, but not neato. Overall I'd imagine they dial up more than the 29.5 average pass attempts they've called over the last two seasons.

McDermott and Frazier have both recently said that Dareus has 100% bought-in and that his excitement level is as high as anyone's. Playing in that 3-4 really miffed a lot of dudes on defense. Yeah yeah yeah, I can hear some people now clamoring about "they're being paid, they have to execute" I get it, I agree. But the problems went beyond those guys not buying in. It really started with Rex who tried his "hybrid" scheme in 2015 and then brought in Rob last season. And as we know now, numerous players felt that there were far too many cooks in the kitchen with the defense. I've always felt like it's the smart move to keep schemes simple, coach up to your players natural skills and let them go out there and play fast. You hear it constantly when coaches are asked to evaluate young players: "Well, once he has his head wrapped around the playbook and can just go out and play fast and not think too much then he'll be fine." Rex had these dudes thinking too much which didn't allow them to play fast or play the style of defense they're capable of playing. Now that he's back in a system he's more comfortable with and much better at, and he still has Kyle here to help him out, I expect a good solid bounce back year for Dareus.

I think Vic is exaggerating a bit on how much of a learning curve this is going to be for these guys. The OL definitely seems to have a good chemistry and it helps that they're going into their third year with no major changes. Aside from the RT spot, Glenn, Incognito, Wood and Miller all have two seasons playing together. Another thing working in their favor was having Greg Roman as OC for a while. The man utilized just about every blocking style there is so these guys are experienced in a wide variety of schemes. Of course there's change with any new coaching staff as coaches need to learn what their players do best and how to implement their system with these guys. But clearly they've ran the ball very well over the last two seasons so I would hope Dennison and his crew are wise enough to not completely overhaul every single thing. And these guys have seen coaching changes many times before, whether it's been here or somewhere else so I wouldn't expect many of them to be overwhelmed by the changes.

I don't see this situation as a big deal. Teams in the past have cleaned house and filled their vacancies. It's a business and there are professionals running the show. McDermott and Beane have most definitely already constructed a list of candidates they'd like to contact. They just hired their Assistant GM who has more contacts. Combine that with the fact that year after year there are always plenty of young, eager scouts trying to get their foot in the door or perhaps trying to move to a different team. With each front office hire they're going to get someone who also has contacts and people they know that could be potential fits. It'll happen quickly and quietly and then within a week or so we'll get a news-bite saying that they've filled out their scouting/personnel department and are prepared to head off the National or BLESTO scouting meetings. (For those that aren't sure what either of those are, they are independent scouting organizations that affiliate with NFL teams to assist/provide them with preliminary info on draft-eligible NCAA players). The Bills have been affiliated with BLESTO for quite a while. No idea if they'll switch, stay with BLESTO or choose to go independent (only five NFL teams aren't affiliated with one of these organizations: the Ravens, the Colts, Washington, the Raiders, and surprise surprise, the Pats. It'll be fine. I get a sense that this FO with BB & SM at the helm will be very streamlined and collaborative with everyone on the same page. That's not to say I expect them to hire nothing but "yes men" but they will want individuals who can fall in line with the overall team building vision they have and provide valuable feedback when asked. I'd love to be a scout but the reality of the job is that it's a pretty intense grind that doesn't pay very well. You spend a ton of time on the road, half your job is acting like a private investigator when trying to find out what players are like when they're off the field. You could spend a month hammering out details and writing reports on a number of prospects that might not even wind up on the board. And teams typically shuffle things in their scouting departments every 2-3 years even if they're winning so you're kind of always on the hot seat in terms of job longevity. As our old buddy Chan would put it, "it's a tough game fer tough people!"

He wasn't with Miami for that long. He spent most of his career in Carolina. They'll have a good portion of the scouting department filled out within a week or two. I'm sure they already have a list of names they're calling and they're probably getting a truckload of emails/calls/resumes from other scouts looking for a spot.

This is old hat for any NFL vet. Coaches always preach competition among the position groups to motivate the players. Taylor is the starter. There might be times during camp where one of the other QBs gets a few reps with the 1's but it won't be like the 2015 competition between him, EJ and Cassel.

I hope they would feel like, "Awesome, there's the kid everyone's been waiting for, now let's hammer out an extension."

Mahomes is an odd fit for an Andy Reid style offense. For it to work out successfully there I think they're going to need to come up with a compromise between the style of offense Reid likes to play along with the style of football Mahomes is naturally gifted at. Reid has Smith running that West Coast stuff with the short/quick passes and I'm sure Mahomes can be taught to do that but if that's all you're going to have him do, it's a complete waste of his natural talents. I would hope that along with the typical WCO stuff, they draw up some things that let the kid showcase his arm and sling it around somewhat. He provides a dimension that Alex Smith doesn't have, use it.

Kap believes he can start somewhere. Teams feel differently. Nobody knows if the guy has received calls or not. For all we know, he has, but the team on the other end is saying, "Here's our offer, and you're going to be the backup." If Kap says no, then that's why he's still without a job. On top of that, if he were to agree to be a backup, no team is going to deal with any kind of distractions from a backup player, regardless of the cause. People gotta remember that he's representing a professional organization and although he has a right to free speech and a right to state his opinions, he isn't entitled to use his employer as a platform to share those opinions.

To me, all of this has been in the works since January. From what I've read/listened to, the Pegulas were leaning towards a change in the front office as it was but Brandon, who was Whaley's biggest ally in the building, pushed for him to stay and that's where the contract extension came from. Then they keyed in on McDermott while still considering a complete FO overhaul and maybe McDermott said, "Hey, I can work with Doug if you want me to, but if you want to make a switch, I've got a guy." From everything we've read/heard, McDermott left the Pegulas extremely impressed with his vision and approach towards running a team and that probably swung them towards making a full-on change. They had seen the friction with Marrone and Whaley, and while I don't believe Ryan and Whaley had that same friction (I've read that they actually worked pretty well with each other) they just weren't satisfied with the traditional setup of "coaches coach" and "GMs pick the players." They wanted a collaborative effort and to have the HC and GM be synonymous with each other. So McD & DW worked together in FA, they worked together in the draft and then that was that. Doug and his crew knew they were out but they're professionals. They aren't going to sabotage anything because they still want a chance at a job elsewhere. So they finished their work and then it was time for the change. Beane was the guy all along. The other interviews were formalities. Chris Brown said on the Murph Show yesterday that the Pegulas did have a list of names they contacted about the position but at the end of the day, I think it was all pretty much set from the get-go that this was going to be the end result. It's fine by me. I appreciate the job Whaley did while he was here. He had some hits and some misses but he did put together one of the more talented rosters they've had in quite a while. He did work in sync with the coaches he had despite the friction with Marrone and the defensive overhaul Rex wanted. I think Doug was in a tough spot from the start. He gets the GM job in 2013 and within less than a year, he's working under new ownership who, at the time, couldn't decide to keep things as they were or start fresh. They decided to give him a chance (I'm guessing at the behest of Russ) and things just never panned out. I would expect this partnership to be around for a little while even if they don't make the playoffs in the first couple of years. This is 100% their show now (the Pegulas) and any leftovers from previous regimes are now up to SM and BB to decide what to do with.

Did you read the article at all? The judge has no legal recourse and there are no legal requirements by law for him to be there.

Vic is alright. He's well-respected in the community, he's been doing this stuff close to 30 years, he has a laundry list of contacts and sources, I'm sure. The one hangup I have on him are his broad generalizations which aren't always accurate. Example: In explaining the Watkins/5th year option stuff, he stated, of Watkins, "the receiver has missed most of his games in his three-year career." This is just flat out false. Out of 48 games, Watkins as missed 11. That does not constitute "most" at all. If anything, he's played in most of his games. The other thing that doesn't thrill me with Buffalo media is the sheer amount of content they put out. This isn't necessarily the fault of the journalists, tho, it's likely directed from their employers who want consistent pieces being slapped online daily to bring in those clicks. And the Bills are just in a weird spot when it comes to the media. There are so many different outlets reporting on the team. You've got the Buffalo News crew, you have the WGR guys, you've got Rochester guys, you've got the Fairburn kid from Syracuse (he's actually pretty good), you've got Rodak as the national reporter, then you have the sports news crews from the TV stations, and each station has like, three or four sports reporters. I follow a lot of these guys on Twitter to stay up to date and sometimes it's just nuts when they get a hold of some news. The timeline gets flooded by 47 different reporters reporting the same thing. I read somewhere that for a small-market team, the Bills receive an inordinate amount of media coverage.

If you work with an organization for six years, you're going to gain an intimate understanding of the kinds of players they prefer. Collusion has nothing to do with it. McDermott may have had an idea that the Panthers had an eye on Dawkins but that's why you see teams trading up all the time. They get news, they hear something, they get some kind of information that Team X is going to take Player A and if they covert Player A, they need to find a way to get ahead of Team X so they can get their guy. I'm pretty sure that's how the draft is played every year. Inevitably, a person coming from one team to a new one is going to know a few things about his previous team. That doesn't indicate collusion. That doesn't indicate any sneaky, behind the scenes deals being made. And Doug knew he was out shortly after his year-end press conference. But there was no way they were going to cut him and his staff loose at that point in time. It's a bummer for Doug and his crew but they knew they were there to finish their main focus (the draft) and then after that they knew the team was headed into a new direction. This new direction is much more in line with what more and more teams are doing these days. Not that every team is naming a new coach and handing them the keys to the entire operation, but the separation between coaches and the front office is much smaller than ever. Coaches have always talked with their GMs to give them an idea of the kinds of players they would like for their system and GMs take that into account and try to pick guys that'll fit what their coach is looking for. However, the old tradition wasn't like that. In the past it was "coaches coach" and "GMs pick the players." This traditionalist approach is what kept the Bills from hiring any prominent head coaches in the last 16 years. Ralph Wilson was very much a traditionalist in this sense. He considered the coaching staff and the front office staff as completely different departments. It was the front office's job to get players and it was the coaches job to find a way to fit that player into their vision. That's why they ended up with first-timers like Williams and Mularkey. It's why the ended up with re-treads like Jauron, Gailey and Ryan, those guys all agreed with the traditional structure. Marrone did not. Marrone wanted some form of control in personnel. When he didn't get that, he asked for the opt-out language to be put in his contract. It's why guys like Mike Shanahan, Bill Cowher, Mike Holmgren, etc. never really considered Buffalo a real option because they wanted a structure that allowed for more say from the coach. The Pegulas, upon entering the league, appeared like they wanted to continue that approach. I believe part of what made them so sold on McDermott is that he probably outlined and explained how these newer structures work. I don't see it as simply as some do, like "Oh, he's a dictator and he wants full control." No, I believe he explained to them that the most successful teams have much more collaboration between coaches and the front office than the teams who prefer to keep those things totally separate. Whaley did his best to provide the coaches he had with the types of players they preferred. But, at the same time, he had the ability to make the final call on any pick. So if it came down to something like, "Rex likes Player A because he fits the scheme and can do this and that" vs. "Doug likes Player B because he's the better athlete and you can coach him into your system, so I'm taking Player B." The Pegulas and McDermott want a structure wherein McDermott and the GM don't end up in those debates because their visions are so aligned and the GM understands what McDermott wants and McDermott understands that the GM will side with him more often than not. On top of all this, the one dynamic Terry and Kim hadn't changed in an effort to improve was the GM and scouting staff. I was a big Whaley fan. When I heard they hired him from Pittsburgh to groom him as their next GM, I was excited because he was a younger executive coming from one of those most stable and successful franchises in all of sports. Unfortunately, I don't believe Doug was ever given 100% complete control over football operations. He didn't hire Gailey, he didn't hire Marrone, he supposedly wanted Hue Jackson instead of Rex Ryan but Ryan's charisma fooled Terry and Kim. Apparently he wanted Lynn but I think the Pegulas felt like that move would've been seen as lateral and just "business as usual." They made a tough decision to "clean house" as so many have clamored for and now that they do, people question their motives. To me, it's just the new dynamic between HCs and GMs that has led to the organizational restructuring being done at OBD.

Whats the slogan? Or was that just sarcasm in the OP? Brandon is here for however long he wants to be or until he does something that truly upsets Terry or Kim, and I don't see that happening any time soon. If there's a leash on this guy at all, it's extremely long. I've said this in other threads/comment sections - RB is Terry's go-to guy. He was instrumental in transferring ownership from the Wilson trust to the Pegulas. He stood in for Ralph at owners meetings for the last few years of Ralph's ownership. He's been the guide for Terry and Kim as they've navigated their way through the league as new owners. And in the process of all this, he was promoted to oversee business operations on the Sabres end. I think we all agree that the man shouldn't have any business in personnel decisions (for either franchise) but it's not that difficult to see that he still has a voice in those discussions. His opinion may not carry as much weight as before but Terry and Kim value the man's input and opinions and they will discuss whatever they please with him, personnel included. Tim Graham recently wrote this: http://buffalonews.com/2017/04/24/tim-grahams-power-take-thank-russ-brandon/ which highlights some of the positive things Brandon has done. I'm sure he understands fan frustration as much as any of us and wants to help produce a winner but given his tenure and the fact that he's remained a constant through numerous coaching/front office changes and an ownership change would indicate, to me anyway, that the dude is firmly planted on the "safe" side of the Pegula sh*t-list.

If anyone is listening to the John Murphy Show today, Steve Tasker is on and he's laying down some knowledge. He talked about how difficult it was to get a willing HC in here during Ralph's later years (mostly during the drought). The big name coaches were concerned about the inevitable change in ownership. They were viewed as an unstable organization which is why they ran the gamut on different coaches. Gregg Williams and Doug Marrone, the disciplinarians. Williams jumped at the chance because it was his first chance at being a HC. Marrone only signed on if they included the opt-out clause. Gailey and Rex, players coaches that were retreads. Ralph handing the keys to Marv and Russ, etc. A lot of work went into convincing these coaches to take a chance in Buffalo given the instability of the franchise. Now with stable ownership in place things have started to turn around for them a little bit. McDermott says all the right things but of course he isn't going to divulge valuable info to the media. And I think that's a calculated effort coming straight from ownership. Pegula, by nature, is averse to being in the spotlight. He doesn't do a lot of interviews, he would prefer to install the right people in his organizations and let them lead the charge while he works behind the scenes. Unfortunately they made a bad choice with Rex and I definitely think that hire was influenced heavily by Russ. They viewed Rex as someone who would create hype, which he did but he didn't create wins. I think with McDermott they said, let's find a pure football guy, we don't need to be flashy, we don't want leaks in the media, we need to turn it down and just work. And that's what McDermott personifies, he's here to work. And I was a Whaley supporter and I understand they felt the need to change that dynamic in the organization. They had changed every other dynamic except that one so I think, for them, it may have been a last resort type of thing. Based on what Pegula said, I don't think he personally wanted to fire Doug, but I think he felt it was needed and that a completely fresh start in that department was one of the only things they hadn't tried to get things turned around. The only thing that bothers me is that Russ Brandon has remained a constant throughout all of this chaos. They can say he no longer has a role in football operations but he does. It's not a defined role and I'm sure they will continue to downplay his involvement but he's involved. If they wanted a completely fresh start, Russ would be gone as well. But, Russ is in their ear, he played a big role in transferring ownership to the Pegulas and has surely helped them navigate their way through the NFL as new owners. But anywho, there's a lot to like about McDermott. My one hang up with him *might be* his preference for high character players. I understand there's a line, I mean, Dawkins had a prior incident and they still drafted him but I would hope in the future that character won't be the main thing that determines their decisions about players. I don't think he's in over his head. He's been working towards this opportunity since he started coaching and he's taken in knowledge from some very well respected coaches. I can only hope he was the right decision but right now I'm on board with him. I haven't been able to say that about any coach they've had since Wade.

The tanking stuff is just nonsense. There are so many more negative factors working against it than positive ones. For starters, there's no guarantee that this "incredible" QB class of 2018 is going to live up to the hype, nor is there any guarantee that any underclassmen QBs will elect to enter the draft. Rudolph and Falk are the only two out of the group that will be seniors this year. McDermott just showed us how much he values experience as every player he picked was a senior or had already graduated. I also don't think a first-time head coach wants to kick off his tenure with an abysmal season played by backups and rookies just so a higher draft pick can be procured. Coaches plan to win, they could care less where they wind up in terms of a draft slot. I don't see this team in a rebuilding mode, either. They are clearly confident enough with the current roster to make a run this season. Should that fail, that's when I can see them unloading heavy contracts, trading some of their players near the end of their contracts, clearing space, collecting picks and definitively rebuilding. Regardless of what McDermott says in terms of earning a starting job, Taylor is the starter this season.

I'm gonna go with the things that long-time, successful head coaches and other league personnel have said about the guy. Cam Newton tore up the 2015 season, sure, but before Newton and with him, McDermott was fielding defenses finishing in the top ten in five or six seasons he was in Carolina. I firmly believe some people aim to nitpick simply for the sake of it. Aside from those that have worked with him, no one knows how this guy is going to turn out as a HC.

He was still healing from his injury that had him miss the 2015 season. Chris Brown was on the Murph show today and spoke about how he talked to JW during last year's mini-camps and JW explained that he still wasn't 100% and was taping it up and trying to do his best. He was at the bottom of the depth chart likely for those reasons. There's ability there. And this system is very RB-friendly. Not gonna say hopes are extremely high but can he be a capable replacement for MG? Yeah, and hopefully he's 100%.

Ask anyone close to the scouting community or one of these online guys that have made a name for themselves over the years: none of the players really bother trying very hard on the test and it ultimately doesn't count for much towards the overall grade a team places on a prospect.

I don't get that vibe from him at all. All coaches have a system, obviously. But he's said on numerous occasions that he plans to fit the scheme around the natural talents of his players. Jerry Hughes just said yesterday it's a defense tailored to the strengths of his players. To me, he's a polar opposite of Rex who believed so heavily in his scheme that it's cost him his last two jobs.

EJ had some decent moments in 2013, he has his flaws, no doubt, but I've always felt the tandem of Marrone and Hackett was a terrible combination for developing a young QB. Marrone preferred the inside zone runs and was not very flexible in what style of offense he wanted to run. I forget who said it but it was an OL during a minicamp in Rex's first year and he was asked the difference between the Marrone/Hackett offense and the Roman offense and the guy said all Marrone wanted to do was run inside zone whereas Roman was implementing the wide variety of blocking schemes he likes to use. And then of course, Marrone and Hackett are both first timers at their positions in the NFL. They have a QB who trusts himself the most to make a play which leads to him leaving the pocket early, dropping his eyes off his reads and taking off for a scramble. Normally, coaches want to teach a young QB that he's going to have to hang in the pocket and wait for the play to develop and not take off at the first sign of trouble. However, I remember quite distinctly that Marrone/Hackett both encouraged EJ to run whenever he felt like the play wasn't there. They preferred EJ take off and gain a few yards rather than throw an incompletion or an interception. As a young QB you've gotta let the guy take his lumps and learn from his mistakes. Given EJ's slower processing time and the fact that he didn't trust himself to fire the ball downfield into tight windows or throw receivers open, telling him to scramble rather than try to make the throw simply reinforced bad habits EJ already had. In near-perfect situations EJ showed real NFL ability as a QB. And by near-perfect I mean a clean pocket, his footwork is in sync with the routes his receivers are running and the pocket holds up long enough for him to correctly apply his mechanics and accurately deliver the ball for a completion. Unfortunately, those types of situations don't happen very often during a game. QBs need to be able to work in a muddy pocket, avoid pressure, look off the safety, go through the reads, make a decision and throw all within about three seconds. After that, things start to fall apart and improvising comes into play, and EJ's improv was just to give up on the throw and take off. You can see as he went from the system used in '13 and '14 to the ones used in '15 and '16 that he was trying to become more of a pocket passer without his first instinct being to run as soon as trouble arose. There's no doubt about his athletic ability and his work ethic, unfortunately for him, his biggest hurdle is the mental processing aspect and how quickly it needs to be done. Perhaps that's why Marrone/Hackett encouraged the running? Maybe they knew it was going to take the guy quite a while to adapt to the speed of the game so maybe they thought they were keeping it simple for him by giving him half-field reads with a near-constant option to run, I dunno. He's a good dude, it just hasn't happened for him. However, with Oakland's OL, I kind of expect him to beat out Cook for the backup job out there based on how good the protection is from the Oakland OL. Carr was sacked only 16 times last season. Granted, Carr makes his reads and decisions faster but the more time EJ has the better simply because he just doesn't process things as fast as needed in the NFL.

Yeah, once I saw he was still at ECMC I started to figure it wasn't as simple as that. He still could've been physically ill in some form, not mentally as so many have speculated. Or high, as has also been speculated. Either way, he seems like a good kid. I don't think he had any red flags concerning his character, he seems pretty humble and reserved. For all we know he could've already been getting treatment for something and he had some bad side effects from medication.

Wasn't there supposedly an accident on the 400 that he was near? I mention that because I know one article made mention of the fact that he was not involved in the accident on the 400. Maybe he got caught in traffic behind the accident and had to drop a deuce and knew he wasn't gonna make it home or to a bathroom any time soon.