Shaw66

Knox makes a lot of sense to me. I think the model McBeane are following is to have a half-dozen, solid leaders. They change of course, but it's a half dozen solid veterans. Look at the captains. Josh, Diggs, Hyde, Miller, Morse, Edmunds, and Poyer. Miller replace Hughes, who was a leader last year but on the bubble. Edmunds and Poyer are on the bubble this year. Oliver needs to prove he can make it up to that level. White certainly will be on that list when he returns. Below those guys, you want a lot of solid guys in mid-career, guys who will be serious contributors but who may very well get replaced after their second contract. That's probably Poyer. And it's also probably Knox. He's very good and probably will get better over the next year or two, but he may never grow into a senior leadership position. If he becomes Kelce, okay, he becomes a captain and he stays. Otherwise, he's in Buffalo as a big contributor, and in the next couple of seasons the Bills begin looking for his replacement, just like they've been grooming Johnson as Poyer's replacement. In the meantime, he's a solid contributor to the Bills success, so they pay him nicely. The third tier of guys are on their rookie deals or one- or two-year vet deals. They like being on the team because they can be on a winner, and the young guys know that they can work their way into tier two. And they know they can work their way all the way to tier one, the captains. A guy like Benford knows today that the path is open for him to be in the new generation of leaders .behind White and Hyde. And it's not really about whether Knox is actually a top-five tight end. Maybe he's only top-10. Maybe the Bills had to overpay in a small sense. The Bills don't mind - it's absolutely essential to McBeane that they have top-tier veteran leadership (Allen, Diggs, Morse, Miller, Hyde, White) and that they have a half-dozen or more second-tier guys, like Knox, Taron Johnson, etc. So, for example, Bills may have overpaid for Star, and it didn't work out. They may have overpaid for Morse, and it did. You can't hit on every one, but I think that's the model. Knox fits perfectly in their second tier.

Very interesting to speculate. I think Poyer is gone. Excellent contributor but not a core player. Replace him with a younger guy. Johnson had a lot of time this summer grooming for the job. Oliver and Edmunds are, in my opinion, both wait and see at this point. To get a big deal and stay, each will have to emerge as a true leader, and each will have to show consistent positive contributions. As for Knox, every summer it seems Beane has at least one major extension to announce, and we've been speculating all summer that it would be one of the four. Now we know it was Knox, and the final deal probably was delayed by Knox's personal issues. Frankly, as the negotiations got put on hold while Knox was away, it certainly didn't hurt that Bills fans showed their love with a a couple hundred thousand dollars. That had to be one indicator to Knox that he ought to stay.

I have a big tvtoo, but I'd like to see how big the Bills crowd is. Thursday is a good teat. If it's alive, I will come back. No idea how food and drinks work. I'm planning on supper and a Coke.

Yeah. I've been amped up all day, even yesterday, and I didn't even know why. Then I realized it was the game. Very unusual for me. Imagine how the players are feeling. Especially the rookies. Cook at least played big-time college ball. And Elam, to just a little lesser extent, but Shakir and Benford, first NFL game coming out of nice programs, sure, but they never played in a game like this. Super Bowl champions, on the road, national TV.

Got it. Thanks. I think that's right. And I think that's what they think they can do with SIngletary and Moss, Kromer and Saffold.

It's always been understood that when you run for over 100 yards, there's a good chance you will win. It's hard to do all the time. It's very, very difficult. You've got to have a really special back and a good line. When you commit resources to being able to do it consistently, you neglect the passing attack. Then you're one dimensional; that's what we see with the Ravens. The thing about teams that can threaten to pass for 300 yards is that threat makes it easier to run. So, the teams that feature the pass become naturally balanced, because running can be effective without being great. So, not only does the team that puts up 300 yard passing games win a fair amount, but they also run over 100 often, too.

Right. The only game I rewatch is the comeback. And I'll rewatch 1964 and 1965 championship highlights. If I ever rewatch my big 4, it will only be after the Bills win the Super Bowl. My big 4 are just misery. They're only interesting if they're prelude.

Mad? Not mad, but the pain of it will always be with me. Wide right, Music City, Cowboys Monday night, 13 seconds, all are with me every day.

Maybe you're missing the point. It can be read two ways. It can mean "respect the process." Or it can me "we are about two things: Respect. and The Process. Respect for every else. Commitment to the Process. The place is a cult.

I'm going to Shea's on Thursday night. I hope other fans will show up there, too. It would be good to have a big crowd, if a big crowd of Bills fans is even possible in the center of Connecticut.

Right on the money. The depth chart isn't much more than an informal way to categorize and rank people. How they actually are used has little to do with the depth chart.

Does anyone know how many Bills fans show up at Shea's for games?

That's the point. There is no solution to this problem. If you're famous, you give up a lot of privacy. There's simply no way to avoid it. It doesn't mean you're obligated to talk about your private life in public, but it does mean people are going to inquire incessantly about it, because that's the way people are. Brady hasn't said much, but he's already said more publicly than most people would like to put in the headlines. All kinds of celebrities talk about it. Bills players don't want to put down Bills' fans, but once in a while they'll be frank and admit that almost anywhere they go in town they're recognized. You and I can go to Duff's, buy a pitcher and a bucket of wings, watch a game, and hang out. It's a whole different experience for them. I used to think that celebrities were just showing off when they got married on an island somewhere and flew in 50 or 100 guests. Finally, I realized they do it because it's the only way they can have a party that isn't crashed by paparazzi and fans. I'm curious about Luke. I'm curious about Kim. But if the families don't want to talk about it, I'll try to curb my curiosity and recognize that they're human beings and it's my fandom that needs to be controlled.

Bottom line is that Connecticut is not thick with Bills fans. It's the heart of Giants and Patriots country, with some Jets fans thrown in. The cost of living is pretty high here, so most people leaving WNY for a better job don't find CT to be an affordable destination. Still, wear your Bills stuff and you get a "Go Bills!" from time to time. We were in Newport a couple of weeks ago and met Bills fans from Newington. A few years ago I met James Lofton's cousin, a big Bills fan who lives in Meriden. I've never been to Shea's. They advertised on TV a lot a couple of years ago, because they have a big patio, so they could support a lot of outdoor dining in good weather during the pandemic. I definitely will drop by to see what the action is like, and may even catch a game there. The problem is, I've been spoiled by the Harp. An hour and a half drive to be in a big place packed with Bills fans is worth it compared to a 15 minute drive to a place where half the patrons are Pats and Giants fans. But maybe I'm wrong - if we can fill Shea's for Bills game, I'd be a regular.

I didn't know about Tavern House. It's certainly worth a try. It's probably 40 minutes from Meriden. I didn't know Anna Liffey's was still there, or that it still had the Bills games on. Small, but the times I was there the fans were ardent. I used to go to Chicago Sam's in Cromwell - not a Bills bar, but plenty of TVs and a fun place to watch games. I don't know what their crowd will be like on Thursday. A lot of Giants and Pats fans in the area, so some will naturally be rooting against the Bills.

I agree about Moss and Singletary blocking. They're all round backs. If Cook ever becomes an allround back, he will need to improve in multiple areas. I think the Bills drafted him to be a weapon, maybe a third down back, but not an all round back. If he becomes more, great. It's why the Bills may always find their starting running backs in the third round. Good, all round backs but not stars. Cook was drafted to be a weapon, like a receiver, and that's why they used a second him. Another way of saying it is true running backs aren't going to be stars on this team.

This is an excellent argument, and it may be right. I don't know what's right. But, to argue the opposite. First, assume the kind of back McDermott wants. He's not begging anyone for a first-round running back, because he wants a passing attack and isn't willing to give all those touches to Saquon. Singletary and Moss are similar in that regard: they're both kind of multi-purpose-good-at-several-things-but-not great-at-any backs. They're big enough to take the pounding of a #1 back, but they aren't power backs. They're fast enough, but they aren't breakaway backs. They can change direction in the hole, a key skill in the NFL, but they aren't really shifty. They aren't guys who are going to be the premier weapon in the attack. Where do you find backs like that? There aren't a lot of them in the league, precisely because they aren't really good at one thing. Plus, even, say, Duke Johnson, who might fit that bill, well, he's got a lot of years on him, not as a lead back but he's at an age when athletes begin to break down. So, are you going to invest in the guy knowing he's likely gone in a year or two? With Singletary and Moss, you've got guys who really know the system. The point is, I think investing in a third-round running back once every three years may be the best way to find people to carry the running back duties. The Bills have gotten three nice years out of Motor, and with luck they'll get a fourth. If he wants to chase big dollars then, great, go for it. The Bills will stick Moss out there, probably never another guy in that mold, and meanwhile keep focusing the skill players you really want to feature - the receivers and pass catching running back, which is where they put draft capital this year.

I don't think that's true. My impression watching various preseason games was that there are a lot of different advantages that come to the good teams. One of them is that you don't have to play your starters much, so they start the season rested. Another is they can run only the part of their offense that they want, because they already know it works, and they already know they can execute it, so they don't need to run it. But the teams that aren't so good, like the Lions, they've got their first teams on the field for a lot more snaps than the good teams, because they're trying to find something that works. And I think they're running more of their offense, for the same reason. Think back to pre-McDermott. Man, every preseason, watching video from camp and watching preseason, hoping you're going to see somebody, anybody, who can be a consistent producer, passer, runner, receiver, someone, anyone. Hoping you're going to see some scheme or theme in the offense that promises to be effective in NFL games. Those teams we watched then were trying to do their stuff in preseason, because they had to find out if it worked. And what they found out, year after year, was that it didn't work. And then the regular season started, and we saw the same stuff, and it still didn't work. The result is that it's easier to stay good than to get good, because part of getting good is having to run your whole offense in the summer.

I think it's all this and more. It's not dump offs to Cook - it's Cook running patterns in the flat, on curls, off fake running play. The defense is going to have to account for him, which makes it easier for everyone else. Cook allows the Bills to attack places on the field that they didn't attack effectively last season. That's what the Bills DIDN'T show in preseason, except maybe one play in the first game, a pass that went left, a quick throw to the flat where the Bills could get a blocker and numbers.

I'm with you on all of this except Blackshear. You can see good football quickness, and he has it. In fact, he made cuts that I didn't see from Cook. (Not saying he's better than Cook; just saying Blackshear has NFL-level quickness.) That's always useful. He may be too small to be able to stay healthy, and he may be too small to take the pounding that any running back gets who's getting even seven-eight touches a game, but that kind of quickness is an asset I think the Bills want. That's why they drafter Stevenson, and that's why they drafted Cook. I went into the preseason games not expecting much of anything from him, despite the hype in camp, but I was impressed watching him on the field. I'm glad they were able to keep him, because I think he's a talent the Bills can use on the field in the future, including this season. I'm sure the Bills want to keep him around to see if he can be special somehow. Maybe he's punt and kick returner. Look at how McKenzie's role has changed and evolved. I'm not predicting it will happen, but I think it's quite possible, that If the Bills get an injury in November at the wrong position, Blackshear could find himself on the roster. He's the kind of guy who can bring a different juice to the offense, or to kick returns. I'm just talking about what he could be, not what he will be.

This. The Bills weren't showing how he will be used. The open question is how well his skills will transfer to the NFL. CJ Spiller had a great skill set, it was fully on display in college, but it wasn't enough in the NFL. That could be the case with Cook, too, although I doubt it. The Bills are going to throw the ball to him in space, space that's created by scheme, and he's going to catch it and run. Whether he jukes guys or not, he's going to have a lot of plays where he gets the ball in space. I hope he'll be great, but we have to wait and see. He at least will be adequate in that roll.

It sure does. Lance is very clearly a work in progress, and there are going to be days where he will look like the biggest contributor to a loss. Fans are going to get upset. When you decide to go with your high draft-pick, instead of a guy who looks like a quality starter, you've got to get rid of the other guy. These guys aren't Favre and Rodgers, but when it was time to go with Rodgers, it was time to get Favre out of town. When the Bills decided to go with Manuel, Fitzpatrick left town. Jimmy G is an interesting problem. He's about as good as a QB can be without being a certifiable franchise QB. He and Cousins. Difficult to trade.

Obviously, they'll trade anyone at the right price, but I think what this says is that the Bills have a plan for their running game, and Moss is part of the plan. They may be deep at running back, but that doesn't mean that all running backs are trade bait. The guys who are on the block, if any, are surplus, not guys who are part of the core plan. Moss isn't a true power back, but he's the best the Bills have; Singletary is a pretty distant second, and none of the others fits that mold at all. Gilliam isn't a true running back. Moss may be the least likely guy to get traded. I'm not on twitter and wouldn't know how to find these rumblings. Can you link to any of them? I hadn't heard anything, but probably for the reason you say.

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Thanks for clarifying the willful thing. I don't think they knew more and ignored it. Yes, they could have done those things, but my point is that they were all pretty low probability things. Plaintiff's lawyer is unlikely to permit contact with the Bills, at least not under any conditions the Bills would accept, and the police aren't going to be sharing the results of an ongoing investigation. So, sure, there were things that the Bills could have done that they didn't, and it would have helped in their media relations this week if they could point to all those things if they had done them, but at the end of the day it doesn't really matter. No publication is going to go to the mat over why the Bills didn't pursue the lawyer. It just isn't a story that has legs. The real bottom line is that the whole thing is just like a football play. Ask everyone to perform as well as they can, run the play, and then move on. Avoid turnovers, sacks, tackles for loss. That's exactly what happened here. Beane and McDermott and others did their jobs. Some guys didn't execute perfectly, but on plenty of successful football plays guys don't execute perfectly, and the play still succeeds. This was a situation where there wouldn't be a touchdown, but they avoided a turnover, a sack, and a tackle for a loss Move on the next play.