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Shaw66

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Everything posted by Shaw66

  1. Thanks for the compliment, and I'll return it. I really enjoy talking about what's going on with the Bills, and you're one of the posters who regularly advance the discussions. I agree with all that you say, particularly about it not being about who wins. I never got around to listening to the press conferences at the end of each draft day, so I didn't hear the things that you're referencing. I need to go back and listen to those. What you say he said, and I don't doubt it, is contrary to what he said and implied in the podcast that's linked here. He didn't literally say Epenesa was BPA, but he describes the process as one where given the talent that was on the board at the beginning of day 2, he expected that what would fall to him was offense. He didn't say he intended to go offense; he said that's what he expected he would get. The clear implication was that he was taking the best player on the board when it was his pick. He literally said Moss was BPA. He literally said Davis and Fromm and Hodgins were BPA. So he seems to have changed his tune over the week. I'm with you about the draft. I don't see how it could have gone better. Diggs in the first round was an outstanding move; yes, he gave up a little draft capital, but as he's said, there aren't many openings on the team for later round picks to make it. Epenesa and Moss filled perhaps the two biggest needs, rotational players at edge and running back, and filled them with guys who have the potential to be really good players in the league. Fromm fills a need - the guy could be the ideal back up for four years. I'm a Hauschka fan, but if Bass is a marginal upgrade, I'm good with it. I like receivers and no one on the roster behind the first three has shown that he can be a quality #4 guy when the Bills go four and five wide. It was a really good draft.
  2. He was very clear that Epenesa, Moss and others were BPA. He expected he was going to get offense in the second round, but the early round 2 picks took the offense off the board. Fromm and the receivers all were BPA. That's what he said in the interview.
  3. Nothing new here. Interesting how with almost every pick, Beane says "he stood out on our board." He's taking BPA over and over. They thought they were done at receiver, but Hodgins was the BPA. They weren't looking at QB, but Fromm was the BPA. Epenesa wasn't necessarily someone they targeted, but he was the BPA. Moss was the BPA. He says it over and over.
  4. Fitz was my most lovable Bill of all time. He was just so much fun!
  5. I've seen 'em all (although in the late 70s and early 80s I wasn't as in touch with the team was I was early and since), and for me, it's Fred and Kyle. Then Talley. My favorites had an incredible fire burning inside them, a fire to win and win as a team.
  6. Dalton being released caused me to have this reaction: One thing that impresses me about Beane (and McDermott) is that Beane is patient. He thinks about all the opportunities, and he understands what opportunities may be coming down the road. So, for example, Beane (and probably every GM in the league) knew there was a good chance Dalton would be released. Cap circumstances and team-building logic suggested that the time was coming for the Bengals to move on. Now, the Bills probably have no interest in Dalton, and I'm not suggesting they should. He's a better player and probably a marginally better mentor for Allen than Barkley, but neither of them is the future. Plus, Dalton probably wants a realistic chance to start, and he'll cost too much. The point is that a good GM is patient. A lot of things change around the NFL in a few weeks or a few months, and change brings opportunity. GMs need to wait and be prepared to take advantage of opportunities as they present themselves. When the Eagles called and asked if the BIlls were interested in Shady McCoy, Rex was ready. When it looked like the Vikings might be willing to move Diggs, Beane was ready. Beane didn't overspend on Diggs mid-season last year - he waited. Beane didn't trade up in the draft - he waited and Epenesa fell to him. He didn't chase a running back - he waited and Moss fell to him. And so it is with Belichick. He has the confidence to wait. He didn't chase after a new QB in the draft. He's taking his time, checking options, and if he thinks that Dalton is right for his team, he'll move. Patience.
  7. I'm pretty sure he was the guy waiting for the ball, and I was surprised too. Commentary on the Bills skill position talent. I mentioned the 6-3 Browns game. The best offensive play of the game was a nice deep pass to Royal. He dropped it. The good news was that by then he was playing for the Browns.
  8. I tell people it was the best football game I've attended. Unbelievable excitement and energy from the very start. XXV is there, too. Both better than 1964 AFL Championship. On the other, I also was at Browns - Bills 6-3. That was the worst.
  9. Like, I watched bits and pieces. I remember the Edwards INT and didn't happen to see it last night, but I remember it exactly as you say. Raw, inexperienced QB, big game, take the field goal and go home. Incredibly dumb move to let him throw it in that situation. The other coaching killer was that the Bills absolutely invited the Cowboys to throw two quick sideline passes and get into field goal range with two seconds left. Jauron was so wed to the Tampa 2 it was ridiculous. Week after week, all game long, standard 4-3 with a seven-man drop that was great at stopping the big play. All the Bills needed was one tackle in bounds to end the game, but on both receptions there wasn't a defender in sight. Brutal.
  10. If you watch the replays carefully, only one Cowboy got to the 50 yard line, the guy who touched the ball as it crossed the 50 and forced the ball downfield. All the other Cowboys coming to the point of attack were blocked on about the 47. All of the blockers had moved forward on the kick, as they were supposed to, except one. He held his ground at the 50, and he was trying to block the Cowboy who touched the ball. He was out of position. He was supposed to have moved up to form the wall at the 47, but he was new to special teams and didn't know or didn't execute his assignment. The size of the guys was irrelevant. One blocker missed his assignment. If he'd done his job, the ball would have crossed the 50 untouched and the receiver, I believe it was Robert Royal, would have had a clean shot at catching the ball against his chest.
  11. It was a blown play by the Bills. On that play four or five guys are supposed to move forward on the kick and block the coverage guys. They all did but one. The one had just joined the team and didn't understand his assignment. He wait on the fifty, and the man he was supposed to have blocked got his hand on the ball. With just ordinary execution the ball sails right to Royal, who was waiting to catch it.
  12. Great stuff, Gunner. Thanks.
  13. Huck - I think the value of the Megatrons and Joneses is overstated. At the end of the day, there is only position that makes a dramatic difference, multiple points per game, and that's QB. But having said that, I look at the video of Diggs and can't imagine a player who can make the offense better to a greater extent than Diggs. What I like about him particularly is that he is a threat all over the field, in every aspect of the game. Johnson and Julio Jones don't run the jet sweep, Diggs does. They can't run the quick dig routes that slot guys thrive on; Diggs does. (Not that those guys don't run quick slants, and their size admittedly makes them better targets.) They don't go deep better than Diggs. He does everything. And I watch that video and see him devouring the best corners in the league on press coverage. And then I imagine that kind of talent added to the current receiving corps and as I said, it's hard to imagine a player having a greater impact. He will make Brown more valuable, he will make Beasley more valuable, he will help Allen significantly. Defensive coordinators will have difficulty scheming against them, but you're right, it's not a mystery. They will have plans. The problem they will have is personnel. They can scheme, but if they want to play man coverage, how does their number 2 corner look against Brown? How does their nickel man match up with Beasley? If they want to play zone all day, fine. Can't play zone and blitz a whole lot. That's why I think it's all on Daboll and Allen. These skill position players should be tough to stop.
  14. Yeah, he's not Watt. He's not quite the athlete that Watt is. What I like best is that he plays with Watt's intensity. And he was a three-sport star in high school, and a five-star recruit. He's a football player, for sure.
  15. It sounded like a lot when the deal happened. In retrospect, it's easier to see. What would the Bills have done with a 5th and a 6th? They would have added another Jake Fromm and another Tyler Bass. Both could make the team, but only because they are special cases - Bills needed a young back-up QB and decided to take a shot to improve at kicker. Chances of finding a guy who would crack the 53 at by competing for the usual positions was pretty small. Instead, the Bills traded those two picks to upgrade from a rookie receiver with a learning curve ahead of him to a young veteran who already knows it all. You know, it's kind of amazing that Beane and McDermott were working in Carolina a little over three years ago. Today, they're in Buffalo doing wonders, and Carolina has a new GM and a new HC. An object lesson of how an owner can make a difference.
  16. If you want to get excited about Diggs all over again, watch this. Diggs is what we thought Sammy Watkins was going to be. Look at the names on the backs of the corners that Diggs leaves in the dust: Slay, Gilmore, Sherman. He undresses guys. And then he catches the ball, wherever it is. Oh, and he's fast.
  17. I think most of us in January and early February expected the Bills would take a receiver at 22, maybe even move up to get the guy they wanted. Rookie receivers rarely are major impact players - it happens, but not that often. Drafting a first round receiver would have said "this team is still building, still growing. Josh and his new number one will grow together into a great tandem." That is, I believe that drafting a receiver in the first round would have said that 2021 was the year they expect to win. Sure, if Justin Jefferson turned out to be the rookie OBJ, great, but there's not reason to expect that a guy taken at 22 is going over 1000 yards in 2020. Getting Diggs says something different. Getting Diggs says "we're not waiting for our receiver to grow up. We've got a grown up receiver right now." Not only was getting Diggs a challenge to Daboll and Allen; it was a vote of confidence. It said "we believe you can do this."
  18. The first thing I wrote when the Bills traded for Diggs was that it was a message to Allen and Daboll. The message said "w\We plan to win now. It's up to you." That's the kind of statement that keeps a guy from the second round of interviews for any NFL GM job.
  19. Your last sentence is what I think McBeane envision. Be alert to opportunities to draft or sign a star here or there, have a solid team with no glaring holes, then just stick to you knitting in the draft, and you'll have a good team year after year.
  20. I agree he isn't Scholes. He has better power than Denney. In another thread someone mentioned Hansen. Hansen was quicker, but Epenesa seems to play more of a power game.
  21. I'd suggest listening to McBeane. They have been pretty good at doing what they say. They say they are building for sustained long term success. Their intention is to be the Pats, not the Falcons, Packers, Chatgers or Saints.
  22. He seems to play like Watt, who also doesn't look like a classic DE. He's just a relentless big athlete. Not Watt's strength or quickness, but similar style. Who knows? I just like the size and intensity.
  23. I really haven't been paying attention. That guy looks like something more than Lawson, and he has a better attitude. That was a great day 2.
  24. Absolutely it all depends in Allen. Heck, I can wait three, four more years. If Allen keeps progressing, he will be a star. If he becomes a star in four years, he still has eight or ten years left. If thats how long it takes, and it's followed by an eight year championship run, I definitely can wait.
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