Shaw66

All true. But it sure is nice to root for a team that isn't so obviously disorganized. It's nice to root for a team that is going to get the most out of its players. It's nice to root for a team that says - and believes - that every position is subject to an open competition. It's nice to root for a team with the courage to say, "You know what? Sammy just isn't doing it for us. Let's move on."

First, you keep saying I'm confident. I didn't say that. I said the Pegulas have put the house in order. Second, it's okay if you want to take the position that no move is a good move until it turns out to be a good move. However, it's impossible to be a GM with that philosophy, because you have to take chances all along. Most fans at least evaluate the decisions along with the GM. Your method means NO 2018 draft pick was a good pick, because the guy hasn't played yet. Fine, if you want to do that. Most people, however, look evaluate as they go. So, for me, Benjamin is a starting receiver with two 1000 yard seasons under his belt (well, almost, and a particular valuable guy in the short- to mid-range passing game, which is about all that works in the NFL these days. For me, Zay Jones is an open question, because most receivers, include first-round guys, don't produce much as rookies. So Benjamin doesn't look bad, just hasn't worked out yet. Jones doesn't look bad. Allen doesn't look bad. Ducasse? First, I'm not sure why you think Miller was better, when the Bills coaches so clearly liked Ducasse. This site: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2755358-nfl1000-ranking-the-top-offensive-guards-of-2017-season#slide0 says Ducasse was the 33rd best guard in the league, which would make him solidly average, and ranks Miller at 50. So I'm not buying that Ducasse was bad. To each his own.

This regime hasn't done ONE thing that proves they know how to build an offense? Really? I think you're wrong, pal. One way you build an offense is you draft a great QB prospect in the top 10. That's how the Falcons did it. That's how the Steelers did it. That's how the Eagles did it. Now, maybe the Bills drafted the wrong QB, but the way to build an offense is to draft a highly rated QB, and this regime did that. They also acquired the best wideout the Bills have had in years. So that's two things they've done. Give 'em a little credit. Marrone and Ryan This is right on the money. I say all the time that McDermott is following the Belichick model. Belichick doesn't need two shut-down corners, he plays most seasons without one, let alone two. When he can get one, he takes one, but he doesn't want to pay for them. He can without them. So when the Bills realized what they had in White, Darby, no matter how good you may think he is, became expendable. The more time left on his rookie deal, the better value the Bills could get in the trade, so they let him go. You're right about about front-seven. Look at the past four months - four important acquisitions for the defensive front seven. The most important positions play closest to the ball. And if you can afford to work on only side of the ball at a time, fixing the defense makes your team more competitive quickly than fixing the offense. If you hold your opponents under 20, you have a chance to win every game.

Meanie That's a good take on what Beane did to get a QB. But I think you're wrong when you say he got outmaneuvered by the Jets. As you say, he got to pick one of his top 3 QBs and he paid less to do it, so how is that outmaneuvered? Beane gave up less than the Jets to pick from his top three, so he did better than the Jets. Ultimately, the Jets got to pick from the top 2 and maybe even got their favorite. The Bills got to pick from their top 3, and probably their top 2, because I'd guess that they didn't rate Mayfield high - I'd guess they had Darnold and Allen one two. The Jets and Bills each got a QB they wanted, and the Bills still had a first round pick and a pick at the top of the third, along with all their 2019 picks. Bills ended up much better off than the Jets. As for negatives you might add, I have negatives I might add, too, but that wasn't the point. Of course there are negatives. The world isn't perfect, and the Bills aren't going to do EVERYTHING perfect for 16 consecutive months. What they did do is go from what appeared to be total disarray to being under control and moving forward. And that came from the top. That's something you never heard me say under the prior ownership.

Absolutely. The best case scenario for 2018 is a top-10 defense and an average offense, in which case the Bills will surprise me and a lot of people. I think it's unlikely that both will happen that quickly. I think it's more likely that the Bills are one year away from a really good defense and one to two years away on offense.

I don't think so. Since the Bills will be implementing a new offensive scheme, Peterman just isn't that far ahead of Allen in terms of his development. He has a bit of an edge, but not much. Allen's superior physical skills will pretty quickly put him ahead of Peterman. I think it's a two-man competition. McCarron's experience and demonstrated ability to win at any level against Allen's physical ability. I think Allen takes the starting job from McCarron later in 2018 or training camp 2019.

It's the magnitude of the change that has me feeling good, not the moves. I, for one, wanted the Bills to keep Dareus and have McDermott make into a real man. I cared less about Darby. But I mention them because the point isn't the individual moves. Like all coaches and GMs, McBeane are going to get some correct and miss on some others. I think they figured they just weren't prepared to invest the energy in Dareus, and I think they coveted the pick so much that they were willing to let Darby. They could afford to release him when they discovered White is the real deal. Teams can't afford to keep two star corners, so they knew already that they were going to lose Darby in free agency and keep White. I've gotten high on Allen. He has a winning attitude, which is why the Bills wanted him. I'm guessing you'll be really happy about the pick in less than 24 months.

The Rockpile Review – by Shaw66 Credit Where Credit Is Due Late May is a good time in the NFL off-season to take a minute and reflect on the importance of management. This year, 2018, particularly. Can we all just stand and put our hands together for Terry and Kim Pegula, for Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott? I mean, what these four have done over the past year and a half makes them candidates for owner of the year, GM of the year and coach of the year. Seriously. Before recalling how the Bills have gotten where they are, let’s state the obvious: the Bills haven’t won anything, and it’s quite possible they won’t win this time. Making the playoffs after all those previous regimes had failed was nice, but making the playoffs was only a short-term goal. The Bills probably aren’t close to winning a lot for at least a couple of years (although nothing McDermott does will surprise me) and, again, they might not get there at all under this leadership. I get that, and I have doubts aplenty. I’m not anointing anyone, not yet. But. Look back to the beginning of 2017. The Bills had just missed the playoffs, again. Their head coach quit before being fired. He was the second head coach in a row to quit. Think about that: one of the most coveted jobs on the planet, NFL head coach, and not one but two head coaches had quit in the previous three years. The Bills were holding one embarrassing press conference after another, caused in part by the ineptitude of management and in part by a mad-dog local press corps that nipped at the heels of any representative of the team who dared speak a word. They had a quarterback who, it seemed, the team needed but didn’t want, or wanted but didn’t need, depending on your point of view. Once again, they would be in an off-season contract renegotiation. One of the most commonly used words in columns about the Buffalo Bills was “dumpster fire.” Given recent history, whether you call “recent” one year or three years or five years or ten, there was little reason for optimism. That’s when the owners took charge. Everyone knows the Pegulas are successful people, as in really, really successful. Success like they’ve had doesn’t happen by accident. That kind of success is the result of a lot of hard work and some luck, to be sure, but most importantly, it is the result of making good decisions. The Pegulas never would have been in a position to buy the Sabres and the Bills if they hadn’t made a lot of good decisions. The Pegulas had made a remarkably bad decision hiring Rex Ryan. They were determined not to repeat that history. They changed the process, they changed the criteria and they probably changed the people who were key participants in the process. A lot changed in the first few months of 2017, a lot behind the scenes. It changed because the Pegulas demanded change and, no doubt, were instrumental in implementing it. Outwardly, the change was apparent the day Sean McDermott was hired as head coach. This man couldn’t have been more different from Rex Ryan: on his way up instead of on his way out, buttoned down and buttoned up instead of just sayin’ whatever, disciplined instead of, well, instead of behaving like a 13-year old. Who knew, who knows, whether McDermott was, is, destined to be a great head coach? What we knew, immediately, was that the man would die trying. That was refreshing. If there was any doubt that things had changed within the organization, it ended with the dismissal of Doug Whaley. The message was clear: whatever the Buffalo Bills were going to be, they weren’t going to be the old Bills. Then, Brandon Beane came aboard, and everything came into focus. It wasn’t just the head coach; this entire organization was going to be buttoned down and buttoned up. The Bills were going to be professional and business-like from top to bottom. The Pegulas were successful before and they completely intend to be successful again, doing it the way they know how. The off-field evidence of the new Bills at work is their relationship with the press, particularly the Buffalo News. By 2017, open warfare had broken out between the Bills and some members of the News sports staff. Rex Ryan was cowed by them, often introducing thoughts in his press conferences with phrase like “I know you guys won’t like this, but ….” Pieces in the News openly demeaned the abilities and intelligence of front office personnel. Writers asked leading questions, trying to catch people in contradictions, and when they did, they wrote about it repeatedly, claiming that the Bills front office was lying. For the News, it seemed like they were exposing their own little Watergate. The Bills began limiting access of writers to players and management for interviews. The Pegulas know it’s bad business to have a bad relationship with the local press. As first McDermott and then Beane came on board, there was a true honeymoon with the press. Only four months earlier, the press had second-guessed every move the Bills made – no, they didn’t second guess the moves, they trashed them mercilessly within hours of the decision becoming public. Now, McDermott and Beane were getting nothing but softballs in their press conferences, and several positive articles appeared about them. When Beane decided to give details of the run up to the draft, he gave the co-exclusive to Chris Brown within the organization and to a News writer. In his press conferences, McDermott calls News writers by the first name and often responds with comments like “that’s a good question, Vic.” Is this an accident? I don’t think so. I would wager a large sum that the Pegulas had a heart-to-heart with senior management at the News, a conversation about how it was important for the Bills, for Buffalo and for the News to return to a more level-headed relationship. In turn, the Bills would be sure the News got quality access. Unspoken, I’m sure, but lost on no one was the simple fact that the Buffalo News may be, I say MAY be, more powerful than the Buffalo Bills, but the News is definitely not more powerful than the NFL, whose presence was felt in every conversation. How ever they got there, the Bills and the News are in a better place. The Pegulas no doubt decreed that it would be so, and they worked to accomplish it. We’ve seen calm, deliberate, methodical progress rebuilding the team: Purposeful and incisive moves in free agency to rebuild the defense. The Taylor and Glenn trades, cleaning out quality players from the old regime that didn’t quite work and adding to draft capital. The bold moves in the draft to acquire the keystone players for the future offense and future defense. All this, and no hysteria. What’s the last piece of news that Bills fans in general would describe as a disaster? Not drafting Allen; although certainly some people believe it was a mistake, no one’s calling it a disaster. Not the Taylor trade, or the Glenn trade. The last disaster was the decision to start Peterman, and McDermott recovered miraculously from that. Other than Peterman, the last disaster was pre-McDermott. Things have changed, and Mr. and Mrs. Pegula deserve the credit, right along with their GM and Head Coach. GO BILLS!!! The Rockpile Review is written to share the passion we have for the Buffalo Bills. That passion was born in the Rockpile; its parents were everyday people of western New York who translated their dedication to a full day’s hard work and simple pleasures into love for a pro football team.

Murphy and Fitzy were great. Now I have to go find the video of other presenters. This gives you a look at the lives of these guys from the inside. What they're thinking and saying to each other. Fitz was painfully pointed about Whaley. It was only funny because it was so outrageous that if was startling that he would say it. And the costume changes were fabulous. Fitzy is one cool guy.

What does EP have to do with roster decisions? My understanding is that all NFL teams run more or less the same plays, regardless of nomenclature. They run the same routes. Receivers have same opportunity to get open or not. What does EP have to do with it? I've said this before: If EP were so obviously better, why doesn't every team use it? Until someone has explained it better, I don't see what the big deal is.

Great! Bring back Brandon so the bills can play in Syracuse!

No, the offense won't be designed to suit what Allen does best. It will be designed to defeat NFL defenses, and whether Allen makes it or not will depend on his ability to execute the offense as designed. The offensive will be designed to take advantage of deep throws when the defense is deployed in a way that make deep throws possible. Same as always.

Waiting for his further analysis. EP is just a naming system. It does afford the opportunity to run the offense faster, but that alone doesn't make an offense successful. What matters is scheming against the defense and execution. That's where Belichick's offense excels. I'm interested in how Daboll will do in those categories. This is the important point, not talent on the roster. Can he design an effective offense and can be adjust it week to week to take advantage of the defense he's facing?

I don't hink we're talking about separating the greats. We're talking about the busts. A guy with bad mechanics has a very high probability of busting.

I share your viewpoint to a point, but not all the way. I"m one of the first to decry all these online "experts" who are analyzing this and that. Very few of them were players, fewer still were coaches and none either played or coached in the NFL for a serious career. A lot of these arguments about accuracy, throwing guys open, throwing over the middle are being written by seriously under-informed people. I agree. However, some people are better at what they do than others. I, for one, find the Cover1 analysis generally pretty good. Not perfect, and I'm skeptical because it isn't a guy with 15 hears experence coaching offense in the NFL, but I find when I read what he says and look at the video he presents, his judgments about what's going on are pretty good. And I think you're wrong about footwork, or mechanics more generally, and accuracy. Yes, guys have different styles, arm angles, etc. However, there are some fundamental things about mechanics that you find with all successful quarterbacks, like how the upper body opens up on the throw. So you can start with that. And some QBs succeed despite themselves - no coach is going to teach his 10th grade QB to throw like Rivers does. That motion ust isn't very effective for throwing the ball; Rivers makes it work because of outstanding athletic ability, but you aren't going to teach your kid to do that. Favre, too. But if you watch Rodgers on the run, even though he throws from all different positions and arm angles, the fundamentals of throwing motion are always there, and always pure. Finally, if you don't want to talk about this stuff, fine, don't. But there is SOME merit to it and SOME people do want to talk about it. If the conversation has to stop because none of us is a true expert, because none of us really knows what we're talking about, well, then the entire forum has to be shut down. I mean, all I could post is "I like Allen." If I write "I like Allen because ...," then everything that follows should be deleted because I'm not an expert.

For an amateur operation, Cover1 is really nicely done. I'm never sure he's completely correct on this stuff, but his analysis is always sound. Here's my take: 1. You can't throw the ball with the velocity and, often, the accuracy that Allen does without having fundamentally good mechanics. All his measurables in the throwing area are excellen - release time, velocity, etc. The guy has fundamentally good mechanics. So the mechanical problems are not problems with his THROWING, which is what you find with plenty of guys who have mechanical problems. 2. Allen's problems shown in this article and videos are that his footwork in advance of his throw is sometimes flawed, which leaves him in the wrong position when it's time to throw. Then he delays the throw and misses the window or he hurries the throw and his mechanics then suffer, affecting his accuracy. I think the difference between those two points is critical. I agree with those who say changing mechanics in an athlete at this level is very difficult. You can try to remake the throwing motion, but when the pressure is on in game situations, most athletes revert to the muscle memory they've developed over several years. What they practice on Wednesday goes out the window on Sunday. That's why most QBs with mechanical issues in their throwing motion, guys in category 1, never overcome the problem. Allen's not in category 1. He has a great throwing motion. Allen's in category 2. Essentially, the problem Cover1 describes is that Allen hasn't learned the steps to the dance. Sometimes he's doing the cha-cha when he's supposed to be waltzing. That's a different problem, and an easier problem to correct than being in category 1. Any athlete can learn the dance steps. In fact, teams spend a lot of time teaching that. On most NFL passing plays, the ball is released quickly, and QBs are taught to take precise steps preliminary to the pass. THey're taught which foot takes the first step, how far, etc. Step, step, step, pass. It's all choreographed. Allen can learn that. Where Cover1's analysis is more relevant is when Allen is forced to move or scramble. That's not most plays, but it's enough to make a difference. Then, Allen's ability to set a good base with his feet, not spread too much, feet moving, etc., becomes more important. Those things can be taught, but like the throwing motion, the question is whether the teaching will hold when he's under pressure. For that, we'll just have to wait and see.

I like the glasses.

Nice job. Good length. Reasonable stuff to say. Great video. You might think a little more about what to say about the video, and replay some of the video as you explain your points. The plays were going by faster than you could say something meaningful. I like that your level-headed about this. I like that you have solid basic knowledge plus you've dug and found some information not everyone might now. I like how you show a lot of video from one game. It doesn't fell cherry-picked. I like your tone. You're good on camera, because, I suppose, you're a seasoned performer. Keep it up. It's worth watching. As for Allen, I always do this (get more excited from week to week about any big move the Bills make), but I'm really liking the Allen decision. Picking a QB is a crapshoot, but .... I watch your video and see one magnificent thrower. As good a thrower as you'll ever see - accuracy, touch, arm strength. He's the entire package. At least on the video you show, I also agree with about accuracy. There is no accuracy problem on display in those replays, and I'm guessing you're showing just about every throw he made. Plus, he's smart, he's a hard-worker and he's an intense competitor. I kept watching the video and wondering what the Browns, Jets and Broncos were thinking. I think everyone is going to talking about Josh Allen, if not this season or next season, certainly by 2020. Thanks for the work.

Good list with good reasons.

Man, Shady wishes he could do what OJ could day. That said, as I've said in this thread, Shady is underrated around the country. If he gains 2000 yards more in his career (barring injury, he should make it no problem), he's 16th on the all-time list, right there with Thurman. He's 27th on the yards per attempt list, right there with OJ. 15 more rushing touchdowns in his career (also quite likely), he's 18th all-time, right there with Marshawn. The guy is special. And, once again, not many teams have had running backs like Buffalo. OJ, Thurm, Lynch, Shady, Cribbs and Cookie. And Freddie. Wow.

Right. That plus his injury are why he wasn't drafted. But he looks like a hard worker, knows his assignments and executes. That's the kind of guy McDermott likes. They'll work on his technique.

Thanks for posting this. I wasn't in Buffalo in those days and never saw Hooks play. Some fantastic running in this video.

Watch the video. He looks pretty good. Gets pushed back into the QB too much - doesn't look strong enough to hold his ground. But watch how he's mastered his assignments. He's good at handing off a pass rusher to the guard and picking it up the outside rush. Also gets to the second level nicely in the run game. Kind of guy who will do his job.

I really don't recall what he did in pass protection. Probably not much. Making guys miss? OJ was one of the best all-time. Maybe top five. Good as OJ was, I might give Shady the edge. Shady is the only guy I've seen who approaches what Sanders could do. Pass receiving? Outstanding. Great hands. Incredible after the catch. Plenty of Bills fans say Thurman was a better receiver, but I don't think so. The Bills ran a different offense and threw more to Thurman, but Simpson's averages were better. Simpson had more yards per catch and more touchdowns per catch. OJ was a top 5 all-time running back. Shady is underrated, but I doubt anyone who saw them both play would take Shady over OJ.