Shaw66

First, I don't understand why anyone would be concerned about how many prime-time games the Pats have. Are you worried about how many the Titans have? The Broncos? Who cares? So what? Second, the news came out about three weeks ago that the Bills were going to get a lot of prime-time games. The reason was that all the networks wanted the Bills. Why did they want the Bills? Because they think they can get a lot of fans to watch the Bills, a lot of fans equates to a lot of advertisers, and a lot of advertisers equates to a lot of revenue. So, why did the Pats get a lot of prime-time games? Because the networks think they can get a lot of fans to watch the Patriots, a lot of fans equates of advertisers, and a lot of advertisers equates to a lot of revenue. But, you say, the Pats are going to suck and no one will watch them. To which I respond that it's a good bet the networks have a much better idea about what people will watch than you.

Kirby - I don't know how good the Pats will be. I don't pay attention to any team other than the Bills. However, I'll say the same thing I've been saying for years: The NFL game is about coaching and organization much more than it is about players. There is no salary cap on coaches, and there is a salary cap on players. The result is that the best coaches go where they want, but all teams have relatively similar levels of on-field talent. In that environment, having the guy who is unquestionably the greatest coach in the history of the game is a huge advantage. Belichick and his team of coaches win two or three or four games that just about all other coaches lose. So if his player talent is good enough to go 6-10, his team is going to win 8 or 10 games. As a consequence, I'm not declaring the Patriots dead until I see the stake through their heart. And I hope the Bills put it there.

No need to apologize. As I said in response to your post, you save yourself with this: I hope I am wrong but I just don't see this guy as having the goods. We're all just fans, and all we have are opinions. I get kind of argumentative sometimes and in retrospect wish I hadn't. One reason I come here is that I find that in the give and take some information perspectives on the team or players come out, and in the process I learn more. Even though it's in the wrong thread, I love this discussion about who you would trade Allen for.

I would want to watch a lot more film of Wentz before I agreed to that deal. I'd want to watch a lot of film on almost everyone. There are only two guys who, subject to film study, I'd trade even up for: Mahomes and Watson. Darnold is maybe. Mayfield, Lamar Jackson and Kyler Murray are nos, subject to some more study. My view about this is that these young guys have 15 seasons ahead of them, and the really great quarterbacks generally don't become really great until 6-7-8 years out. Russell Wilson may be the best exception, but it took Manning and Brady and Rodgers and Brees years to become real masters of the game. So the task with all these youngsters is to try to project them 6-7 years into the future. I can see Mahomes and Watson and Allen as being at that next level. I don't see any of the others there, but admittedly this is real crystal ball stuff.

Great, great coach and man. He will be remembered for a long time.

Yeah, but they're fun if your team drafted the guy. Plus, unless the coach is a jerk, he doesn't lie. People generally don't say things they don't believe. He could have said a lot of nice things about Moss without saying "he was the best running back in the draft." He could have said "he was my favorite running back in the draft." He could have said "he's as good as running back in the draft." He could have said "I like him as much as running back in the draft." All of those perfectly complimentary of his former player, offer a lot of praise. But of all the things he could have said, what he chose to say is that Moss was "the best running back in the draft." So sure, it's all coach-speak and fluff, I get that. Still, the guy's words mean something.

Well, high there. I see that you like to argue. The clear, and I do mean clear, absolutely clear, crystal clear premise to the sentence of mine that you highlighted in bold was that Allen's statistics had gone up in 2020. That's what we're talking about - what will people say if after the 2020 season if Allen's stats have improved. So it is colossally stupid to respond by asking what if Allen throws 30 picks. We aren't talking about what is the narrative if Allen plays worse. Please stop.

First, it's funny how a thread about the receivers inevitably turns into a thread about Allen, but it's to be expected. Second, I disagree with your opinion, but I really like your last sentence. At the end of the day, all each of has is an opinion, and yours is that Allen doesn't have what it takes to be a successful NFL QB. I think you're ignoring too much evidence to the contrary, but all that is is my opinion. There's enough evidence to support your opinion, so I get that you can feel that way. So I assume you also think that Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield don't have the goods, because they have performed demonstrably worse that Allen, and also that Kyler Murray is at least on your watch list, because his first season was not materially different from Allen's second. I think that means you must be in the camp that says if a QB isn't in the top 10 by his second season, he doesn't have the goods. So that would mean you wouldn't want Matt Stafford, Matt Ryan, Andrew Luck or Drew Brees, all of whom took more than two years to emerge. Josh Allen's 2019 passing stats were better than Tom Brady's for each of the first three years that Brady started. He didn't have the goods, either? So what is it, exactly that you think is missing from Allen's game, the thing that will keep him forever from becoming a top 10 quarterback, the thing that Stafford and Ryan and Brees and Brady showed they had in their first few years starting? Many fans fail to recognize that most successful NFL quarterbacks take multiple years, three, four, five years, to learn to compete at a high level in the NFL. They fail to recognize that early success of Mitch Trubisky, Derek Carr, Carson Wentz, RGIII hasn't translated into consistent success. Bottom line for me is that it's too early to tell about Allen. He improved through his rookie season, and he improved through his second season, so there's no good reason to conclude that he's done improving.

I've thought about this often since Diggs arrived. I think there will be two predominant narratives. One is that the receivers will be said to be carrying Allen. The other will be that Allen has made this miraculous leap. Both will be wrong. The correct narrative almost certainly will be that Allen has been making steady progress since he arrived in Buffalo and his third season simply demonstrates the cumulative effect of all of the progress he's made. Diggs will help, no doubt, but Allen's continuing progress will make people think something miraculous has happened. Unrelated topic, but the other narrative that I've seen developing is that Fromm's football smarts will benefit and push Allen. The unstated assumption in this newly developing narrative is that Allen isn't smart enough to play the position, that he is an out-of-control guy who needs someone to reign him in. We're going into year three of the media making up stuff to justify their continuing conclusion that Allen isn't good enough. It's an extension of the running narrative that the Bills suck and always will suck. Eventually, these narratives will change, because Allen will consistently be one of the best QBs in the league, and then the narrative will be "who would have thought that this out-of-control gunslinger ever would have evolved into this?" The truth is that Allen is a smart, hard-working, intensely competitive young man, team oriented and a great natural leader. On top of that he's blessed with great pure physical skills. The people promoting these narratives will be surprised at his success, but the people who have been paying attention to who he actually is aren't going to be surprised at all.

I'm all on board with the notion that Allen needs to get better, but to say it's all on Allen is simply wrong. Allen has shown very good ability to hit open receivers, particularly if he's in rhythm in the pocket. He hasn't been consistent enough, to be sure, but he's thrown a lot of beautiful, catchable balls to a lot of open receivers. The percentage of plays where Allen has an open receiver is going up, because in addition to the guys he had to throw to last season, he now has Diggs, who actually is better at getting separation than any other receiver on the team. So Allen is going to have more open receivers, and more open receivers in their primary patterns. Allen is going to have many more opportunities to throw in rhythm to guys who are open. If Allen is exactly the same as he was last season, his completion percentage will go up, his yards will go up and his touchdowns will go up. Why? Because his throwaways will go down and his throws to covered receivers, that is, the number of 50-50 balls he's forced to throw, will go down. So by all means, Josh, get better. Be better at every aspect of the game. But if you just do what you did last season, this offense is going to be noticeably better. And, by the way, when Singletary goes to the sideline, Josh, you'll still have someone you can hand the ball to. Yes, and Brown and Beasley will be taking catches away from McKenzie, Foster and Duke. And the Bills will throw more.

Every player gets a number grade. 0.0 to 8.0, I believe. Their board is listed in order of the grades. Guys are removed from the board as they are taken, by any team. The guy whose name is on the top is the bpa. I've seen a few discussions of the grading system. 8.0 is Hall of Fame lock, or so.ething like that. Based on that system, it's quite likely that AJ wfsb on the top of the board when the Bill's picked. Moss, too. From certainly.

Right. And in this case, most everyone has moved on. That's what the data is.

The guy being interviewed, who certainly sounds like he knows his stuff, says he has tape of just the throw you want. He says Jake doesn't have a great arm, but he has an nfl arm. I don't think he's taking Josh's job, bit he could be a great backup for three years or so. The guy compares him to Case Keenum. I will take Case all day as a backup.

Zactly.

Actually, it's not incorrect. The use of either singular or plural verb is correct, and it seems that modern style manuals prefer the singular. There slightly different connotations depending on whether the singular or plural is chosen.

all of this is just CBS looking for something to write about. Since the new CBA, it's been clear that compensation was going to go up. It happens every time the salary cap goes up, and it happens every time there's a new CBA. It has very little to do with the fact that two teams traded for big names who happened to be in their contract years. You can be sure that Beane has a very well defined idea of where salaries are going and how much Dawkins and White are worth to the Bills and how much their worth on the open market. Beane's going to do what he believes is in the team's best interests, and that's what is going to determine whether those guys stay in Buffalo or not. Those two contracts don't change anything.

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.

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.

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.

You've got em now!

Fitz was my most lovable Bill of all time. He was just so much fun!

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.

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.

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.

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.