Shaw66

I agree all those things are suspect. I'd argue that they're all suspect with the other rookie QBs, too. None of them has ever been in an NFL game, and they haven't shown they can do anything. There plenty of explanations why Allen did those things less well in college, maybe the explanations, maybe they aren't. But Allen has a lot of talent that we DON'T have to worry about. He can throw every pass the NFL demands. He can throw deep, he can throw with touch, he throw bullets, he can throw the sideline out routes. He has a quick release. He's big and strong. He's faster than any of the others in the top four rookies drafted. In short, he has a lot the other guys don't have. Mayfield's not getting any taller, Rosen's not getting any bigger, Darnold's not getting any smarter. I'm just gonna wait and see.

Yeah, I agree it's an opinion, but it's based on fact. His trajectory is 1. Out of high school no D-1 team wanted him, so he went to Jr. College 2. Then a D-1 school wanted him, so that's upward. 3. Going into his first year starting, he wasn't on many people's NFL radar. 4. After his first year starting, he WAS on the NFL radar, so that's upward. 5. After his second year starting he was clearly in the top 4 QBs coming out, so that's upward. 6. Good Senior Bowl (yes, that's a small sample, but it's something), so that's upward. He's also had lower level coaching than most high-profile QBs. He was in a tiny high school, a junior college and a backwater D-1 school. Compare that to the other three - highly touted out of high school, no doubt going to big-time QB clinics and showcases, then multi-year experience at big-time football factories - Oklahoma. USC and UCLA. I think it's a good bet that Allen is less well-developed, technically, than any of the other three, so he has more room to grow, which also suggests that he's trending upward. Still, none of it means anything. Let's see what he looks like on an NFL playing field.

All I'm saying is this guy isn't worth reading. It's my opinion. Unlike the guy who wrote the article, I backed up my opinion with facts.

I'm not saying whether Allen make it or not. What I'm saying is it isn't worth reading someone who's so imprecise with his words that his opinion becomes untrustworthy. He said there's NO empirical emphasis suggesting Allen can make it. NO means none, zero. Well, that's nonsense. How's 6'5", 240 pounds? That's empirical evidence. How's a 4.75 40-yard dash? That's empirical evidence. How's a 37 on the Wonderlic? That's empirical evidence. How's the strongest arm in the class, and among the strongest in the league? That's empirical evidence. So Allen is bigger, stronger than all of the QBs in his draft class and has the strongest arm. It's pure nonsense to say there's no evidence. One thing above all else is clear about McBeane - they do their homework. They are NOT trading up like they did to take someone who doesn't have a shot, so for some bozo sitting at a keyboard, some clown who hasn't coached football for one day in his life, to write that stuff is truly not worth your time or mine. Maybe Allen makes it, maybe he doesn't. It is not knowable at this time, and it's especially not known by some guy who crunches numbers and thinks he knows something. Yeah, that's part of it. It's part of all that stuff Beane said recently about the due diligence they did. They watched every play multiple times, they met with the guy multiple times, they saw him play multiple times. They've sliced and diced Allen so many ways, it's mind boggling to the amateur. Does that mean Allen will be a star? No, it doesn't mean that, and Beane would be quick to tell you that they could be wrong. But to suggest that Allen hasn't shown ANYTHING that suggests he can be successful in the NFL is absurd.

Everyone's entitled to his opinion, but you'd like the opinion to make sense. He says "there's zero empirical evidence" to support him becoming a reasonable starting quarterback. What? He has one of the best arms in the history of the league, so that's some empirical evidence. He can run, so that's some empirical evidence. He had a 37 on the Wonderlic. That's some empirical evidence. His trajectory as a developing QB is trending upward. That's some empirical evidence. There is a very simple truth about college quarterbacks: If you aren't Andrew Luck, there is no reliable predictor of success in the NFL. These guys haven't even been to training camp. At this point there is no meaningful difference in the probabilities that Rosen, Allen, Mayfield and Darnold will be effective NFL starters at some point. None of them is a sure-fire starter; none of them is a sure-fire bust. Declaring any of these guys as certifiable busts now is pure guess work. Sure, it can be your opinion, but that just means you're opinion isn't supported by sufficient evidence to make it credible. Each of these guys has too many positive measureables, each of these guys has been vetted and found to be a quality prospect by multiple pro teams, to make a certifiable-bust opinion make anything but guessing.

This defense is going to be good. The pressure is on Daboll.

Long jump/triple jump means he can run. The emphasis in this defense is on speed. especially at linebacker. And hybrid players. McDermott is looking for interchangeable parts who can run.

The Bills want a MLB who can play Cover 2 and who can get get out to the flats, too. That's what they drafted him for. They aren't going to play him on the outside unless he shows he can't play the middle.

I DO believe Beane. Everything I have heard from him seems like he is completely straight when he talks. McD is all coach-speak, but not Beane. Particularly in this case. Beane is VERY serious about how he uses his picks, and if he had major problems with Allen, he wouldn't have moved up for him. It's obvious by where they took him that they really liked him, so what he says in this interview is totally believable to me.

This doesn't surprise me. I listen pretty carefully to what they say about the process, and Mayfield and Rosen each had issues that suggested they wouldn't fit. McB have been clear that fitting the system is a critical component in their decision making. So Darnold and Allen at the top of their board makes sense.

I agree, except that McD DOES say some things about the "process" that are revealing. Never anything about players.

I thought the same thing. People here really misconstrued what Beane said. However, I also didn't trust people here who said his accuracy problems, to the extent he actually has any, we're due to footwork. Beane confirms that that IS the problem and that he's already gone a long way toward fixing it. Thanks Yolo!

Thanks for the link. Feels good to be part of the Bills family knowing a man like that is in the family, too. The Lord knows he isn't perfect, but none of us is. But he is a stand-up guy, a leader and an inspiration.

Don't tell McBeane you can't tell who has it and who doesn't. A major part of their draft evaluation process is what we generally lump together as "character" or "intangibles." They put a lot of effort looking into the mental makeup of players: are they fierce competitors, do they hate losing, how do they react to failure, do they stick to their craft or take time off, are they committed to the right things. I think Beane said that those issues are among their first screens - if you don't have the kind of mental makeup they're looking for, you drop on their board or fall off completely.

Ej is a nice man. I like him. But - being a QB in the NFL requires some true mental toughness. Mental acuity and mental toughness. You've got to have the heart and the guts to make tough decisions in virtually no time and then to execute. Very few guys have it, and there's no shame if you don't. So I'm sorry to say, but I think it's true, that admitting he became depressed when he got benched is just his admission that he didn't have the heart and the toughness it takes to play the position. Tyrod Taylor could have gotten depressed when he got benched. He reacted differently. He said all the right things (which EJ did, too) and then we went back to work. He didn't let the benching change his attitude. As each year goes by, I'm more and more impressed at how tough players are in the NFL. They take incredible physical and emotional beatings and come back for more as if nothing happened. Taylor has that. Manuel doesn't. Edwards didn't. Fitz does. Being tough isn't all it takes, but if you aren't incredibly tough, you aren't surviving in the NFL. It's why it's such a brotherhood. Those are all real mean in the locker room.

This is an interesting rumor. I suspect there's some measure of truth in this. What I find interesting is that this describes the kind of detail that this leadership studies in making their decisions. Sure, everyone knew that Rosen had had a concussion and there was some general concern about how well he'll hold up in the NFL. But this suggests that the Bills tried to get an understanding of the probabilities of various QBs (Taylor and the draft candidates) having long-term careers as starters. That's not the kind of thinking that Rex and Whaley were doing, at least so far as we know. This kind of thinking is what the PROS mean when they talk about analytics. Was Taylor a concussion risk? I think so. We saw him get dinged several times. His style of play certainly leads to his getting hit more frequently than most QBs. Does that decide the issue? Of course not, but when you're evaluating the future of your team at this position, you consider all factors. Is he good enough to be a pro starter (in Taylor's case, marginally), and what are the chances you'll actually have him for the long term? Makes sense that a detail-oriented management would study and quantify things as the OP suggests. So why is Glenn gone and Benjamin still on the roster? The calculus is different in each case. First, they're position players, and their long-term futures are less important than QB. You lose a lineman or a receiver, you move on. Second, the Bills had an answer at left tackle, they didn't have an answer at wideout, so taking the health risk on Benjamin and not on Glenn makes sense. Third, the Bills had detailed information about the health histories of both, so they would have known whose injuries were more likely to be chronic. The same kind of probability analysis may have told them that Glenn's probability of being off the field a lot was greater than Benjamin's. In any case, the injury probabilities wouldn't have been the ONLY factor considered, but those probabilities likely contributed to the decisions. Thanks for the OP.

Makes sense to me. You sound like I'm pining for Cousins. Don't know how you got that impression.

This is the article that convinced me he was perfect for McB. 24-7-365 and a religious family man. I think he was made for McDermott and I would have expected Cousins to value that. I guess not.

Hapless - Good info about what Cousins was thinking. Thanks.

Ohhh. I wasn't at all a Cousins fan in the draft. That's an interesting take. Maybe you're right about Cousins in free agency. I have a different take. I think Cousins is all about system, and I was guessing that therefore McDermott was high on his list. I guessed that Cousins didn't care so much about any of the short-term issues - he wasn't in win-now mode. I think he wanted the right place for him and his family, right including a serious shot at long-term success. I think the Bills took themselves out of the auction. Beane is very clear that he believes that the opportunities come to you, and you shouldn't make moves that put you in a hole because you believe there's some great opportunity out there. So, for example, he was clear that he was willing to make moves in the draft this year, but he was NOT willing to give up 2019 picks to make a move. That is, even if there was a guy he wanted, he wouldn't mortgage the future to get him. And he's also been clear that he believes the draft is where you can good talent cheap. (I think he and the whole league learned an important lesson when they saw the success the Seahawks had accumulating a lot of low-priced talent in the draft.) I put all that together, and I think Beane decided he wasn't going to be a player for Cousins. He didn't want to put himself in a much deeper cap hole than he already was in, and he had confidence that good things would happen in the draft. Probably when he decided to pass on Cousins, he also decided to trade Taylor, because he'd long since decided Taylor wasn't their guy, and trading him then would position Beane even better in the draft. Your clever use of the past tense was clear. Your clever use the past "tends," on the other hand, was just a bit befuddling!

Me too. I was beyond excited when the Bills traded up in the third round, because I was sure they'd take Wilson. And I was convinced Cousins was the right move. I never ran the numbers, but I think they simply concluded that they couldn't afford to bet it all on Cousins, given their cap situation. Tyrod shines this year and the Bills are on SOME logical path at QB, I'm okay even if 2018 is somewhat ugly. I've convinced myself the defense is going to be very good this season, and I'm expecting the team to be .500 or better.

I'm kind of surprised at myself, but I have supreme confidence in McB. I don't know if Daboll is the answer, but McB have a process, as we know, and we've already seen that if a guy doesn't fit the process (Dennison, Dareus, Watkins, Taylor) he gets moved quickly. So I think if Daboll isn't the answer, the answer will arrive soon enough. Yes, 3 would be hard to swallow, but would it be really that much worse than 4? McB failing would break my heart. Absent a major disaster, McB will be with the Bills another four years. I'm getting old, and the thought of starting over then with another leadership group what's tough for me to swallow. So maybe it isn't that my supreme confidence is rational; it's simply that at my age they look like the last best hope, so they'd better be the ones.

I liked Taylor but I don't mind that he's gone. Maybe his ceiling is higher than we saw, and I think it is, but I still don't mind. Why? Because I trust McDermott and Beane. They decided that Taylor didn't fit what they're trying to do, whatever that may be. Maybe he didn't fit because TT couldn't ever be better than we saw. Maybe he didn't fit for other reasons. I don't know. What I do know is that McD know what they want and Tyrod wasn't it. There are four possible outcomes: 1. McB are winners and TT is a star. .2. McB are winners and TT never emerges. 3. McB bust and TT is a star. 4. McB bust and TT never emerges. I'm great with 1 or 2.

But how could a rookie left tackle play so well if Castillo didn't know what he was doing?

If Dawkins was good as a rookie, why do people think Juan Castillo sucks? And if he sucks, why didn't McD fire him?