Mikey152

I’m going on Saturday. Draft experience first, then second row seats...

Not something I can share...it was a “perk” for buying tickets to the draft. I was wrong, btw...it was Beane and Licht from Tampa Bay. Nothing ground breaking, but a good talk about the trade up for Josh, the importance of pro days (I guess two guys drove like 2 hours to catch balls for Josh at his, which stood out to Beane), and somebody asked if the players have takes on the draft. Beane said sometimes if they work out with or know someone, and Licht said never. Brandon Beane is a legit good dude. Super easy to root for.

This year, instead of having meet-and-greets at the draft, the NFL is offering 3 virtual sessions for people attending the draft (with tickets to the main stage). The first one is tonight, and is being hosted by Peter Schrager. As the thread title says, Brandon Beane and John Lynch are the main guests and will be discussing scouting and the NFL combine. If he says anything interesting, Ill be sure to reply to this thread. The fact that those are the two GMs they picked to discuss this topic tells us something about where Beane ranks in the overall GM hierarchy, IMO

I think it’s still disappointing for me because of one real fact. back when the Bills were bad and/or irrelevant , it was clear nobody was watching their games based on what was said about them. It was straight up lazy journalism. I just always assumed (and was even told) that they just needed to start winning...and in a certain respect they were right. People do talk about us more now, but it’s still pretty evident that most of them don’t actually watch the Bills play very closely (if at all). It really makes you wonder if any of these talking heads even actually like football. Peter Schreager said that the Bills are being led by Leslie Frazier and the defense and Josh hasn’t done anything in the playoffs less than one week after saying our defense is garbage and Josh single handed lyl led us to victory. It’s insane. week to week the narrative completely changes and there is almost zero context. So in a sense, I understand that we got what we asked for and the bills are relevant...but now that they are I see that just because people talk about your team, it doesn’t mean they actually know anything about your team. It might be even more frustrating.

Let me start out by saying that I don't think, at least at this point in his career, that Lamar is even an average passer. Having said that... I remember over a decade ago when I was living in NE, some guys from WEEI were interviewing Tom Brady and it was a great interview about playing QB in the NFL. He talked about how he was lucky to have continuity with the coaches. That while they had a new playbook each season, and a subset of those plays for each game, if a particular matchup called for a play from a previous season, it was always at their disposal because he had "been there, done that" so to speak. He then went on to talk about Alex Smith (who, at the time, was struggling in SF and had several OCs) and how he was never going to be successful if they couldn't lend him some stability. Then the talk shifted to Vince Young (this is where it is really relevant). If I remember right, this interview was maybe a season or two into Young's career. If you remember, he was pretty good as a rookie then sort of faded as teams began to defend his scrambling more effectively. Brady basically said that while his physical skills are amazing, the offense they were building around him there wasn't conducive to long term growth. That if he wasn't allowed to open up the passing game and make mistakes, he would never grow as a passer. He said that sometimes coaches are more interested in winning than they are in developing a QB, and with a guy like Young (or Lamar), you'd rather roll with a safe offense that takes advantage of his skills instead of suffering through some growing pains so he can develop new ones. I still think about what he said when I think about Lamar. Im not sure the Ravens are willing to take a step back, and Im not sure Greg Roman has the chops as an OC to develop a pocket QB. When he was in Buffalo, he even had a passing game coordinator.

my favorite part with Josh is actually AFTER he is done dancing...when he runs off looking like a kid that was in trouble after his dad said "quit goofing off and get over here".

I think that the harsh comments about his career leading up this year are a sneaky way for most of the pundits to save face: They weren't "wrong" about Josh Allen...he DID suck. But the Bills coaches did everything right and Stephon Diggs is the man and yada yada yada. Not that any of that is wrong, but they still have a hard time giving Josh Allen any of the credit. I think THAT is why it is frustrating. They completely gloss over the most important part...Josh was never a JAG. All the coaching and Diggs and everything else worked BECAUSE Josh is and always has been good enough to take those steps.

I think the early season concern over the defense, while warranted at the time, was overblown in hindsight. Half the D line was new, they’d lost the two biggest defensive leaders to retirement in back to back seasons, both the starting linebackers were hurt (and the backups were banged up, too), and something was clearly up with tre early in the season. guys got healthy, the dline started figuring it out, and Jerry Hughes became a leader along with Jordan Poyer. They look far more like themselves, and in some respects maybe even better...they finally have a complimentary offense that can force teams to be more one-dimensional

probably one of Clements, Winfield or Gilmore...but pre-injury Spikes is a strong contender along with any of the Williams boys

I can see it now... Up 10 with a minute to go, 4th and 27, and Mcdermott brings in Stephon Diggs to defend the hail mary. Chargers run a bunch of clear out verticals and dump the ball off to Ekler, who proceeds to weave his way up field. Right at the sticks, he is met by Diggs...levels him and gains the first down. Diggs needs to be helped off the field with an injury because he doesn't know how to tackle. This board is bananas because they had a WR on the field in that situation.

Dolphin's schedule isn't all that much easier than ours over then rest of the season... If you Give them the jets game to get to 7 wins, exclude Pats and Broncos (both teams play those games) and ditch the Bills vs Dolphins game, that leaves the Dolphins with Cincy, KC and Vegas and Buffalo with SF, Pitt and SD. I don't think that's all that different.

What seemed evident to me is... The Bills finally built a defensive gameplan using AJ Klein and his skillset at LB, instead of just building it like Milano was going to play and swapping in AJ like he is the same player. Milano being out for sure instead of questionable probably helped a ton. So did the Seahawks being forced to be a little more one-dimensional...less thinking more playing really helped the defense with all the new pieces.

I think that the "$20 million" is arbitrary...as it's really very recent that ANY quarterbacks have made that much money. What you really need to look at is a QB's salary as a percentage of the cap...I'm sure there are plenty of examples where top-flite QBs not on their rookie deals (or before the rookie cap) won the SB. I'd also wager those teams are far more competitive year in and year out.

People that didn’t like Josh Allen scouted him with stats. But all it really takes is to really watch him. Even in college, you could see he was not inaccurate...he was inconsistent. He’s a natural athlete and a natural thrower of the football who just needed some coaching up on his mechanics, mostly from the waist down. When he is right, he has always been extremely accurate. Like, one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the nfl accurate. To all levels of the field. That’s what people miss when they only choose to look at the numbers or his bloopers and why they underrated his potential for improvement

Ok, time for a little fun: Player A - 25 Games, 417/648 (64.4%), 4904 yards, 47/9, 2083 yards rushing at 5.9 ypa with 12 TDs and 24 fumbles Player B - 23 Games, 379/634 (59.8%), 5011 yards, 31/11, 939 yards rushing at 6.1 ypa with 9 TDs and 18 fumbles Player C - 28 Games, 532/849, 62.7%, 6403 yards, 36/17, 1304 yards rushing at 6.3 ypa with 7 TDs and 23 fumbles Player A is Lamar Jackson, Player B is Colin Kaepernick through his first two seasons (not counting the year he sat) with the same OC (Roman) and player C is RG3 in his first two seasons. Lamar is still TBD, but what I can tell you is subsequent years for the other two were BRUTAL. IMO, both of them have much better arms than Lamar, too. While I don't think the "ERA" is over, I do think there is a reason this style of offense and this style of QB play is not sought after...it is not sustainable and never really has been. It remains to be seen whether Lamar will stay stagnant and become one of these afterthoughts, maybe evolve a little or at least have staying power like a Cam or Randall Cunningham, or eventually become a real QB like a Steve Young... I have my own doubts, and it's mostly because when I watch him he just doesn't look like a natural thrower of the football. Eventually it is gonna hold him back.

This is not true at all...Most QBs have a QB coach they work with in the offseason that isn't employed by the team. Like Brady went to Tom Martinez for years and considered him his mentor. Now he and a bunch of others work with 3DQB, which was started by baseball pitchers.

100% agree...he literally punched him in the midsection.

That's the thing...Pitt has maybe even a better front 7 than Baltimore, but they don't have the kind of man cover DBs Baltimore does. They play a lot more zone. There will be similar pressure, but the windows won't be as tight. NE is the opposite. They have a similar secondary (maybe even better), but their front 7 isn't nearly as fast or explosive, so there will be more time and chances for Josh to escape. They are still bad matchups, but I take some solace in the fact that neither of them can do to the Bills what Baltimore did.

I remember reading an article about Aaron Rodgers where they asked him about the "art" of the deep ball and why he was so good at it. He said when he first came into the league, he was awful...mostly because he was trying to throw it as hard as he could, and in a game situation with his adrenaline pumping he would constantly overthrow it relative to his timing in practice. Ultimately, he fixed this problem by focusing on repeating his mechanics, including how hard he threw it, every time. Make it more of a calculated process than a wing and a prayer. His placement is focused more on which shoulder, not how far, and he uses timing and mechanics to control distance and trajectory. I think Josh has the same issue...the there is no rhythm. He just kind of heaves it out there and it's usually too far... I honestly think he just throws the ball too far for a normal 5 or 7 step drop. He either needs to hitch, give it more air (mechanics) or take something off (tough due to adrenaline ina game situation)...maybe all three

I don't disagree...I was speaking more from an "on the surface" perspective

Daboll really only calls the plays...once the play is called, it's josh that makes the reads and throws the ball. For all we know, there were easy throws to be had, or the defense was taking them away. The fact of the matter is, those deep shots were the right read against cover 0...the bills just can't hit one for the life of them, and it's killing them against teams that man up and blitz. When you couple it with a crappy screen game, there's just not a lot Daboll can do aside from trying to coach them up so they execute better. I think what's most frustrating about it all, is the deep ball SHOULD be our bread and butter...strong arm and fast WR with ball skills should be deadly, but the timing just isn't there.

Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan, Philip Rivers, even Tom Brady and Big Ben completely changed as a QB well after their first two years in the league despite early success...Half those guys didn't even START after two years, let alone max out. In fact, the whole point with QBs is they keep getting better over time as passers as they see more and get more comfortable. Historically, though, all the big hits also accelerated their clocks with regard to degradation of skills. That has obviously changed. The exception is the more gimmicky guys that rely on an offense or running ability...those guys tend to see success earlier in their career, but even they change over time

I know you were making a joke, but as for your point...you're right. Ordinarily you wouldn't play nickel against 2 TE and a fullback or 3 TE. But lets be real...nobody is really all that worried about Ingram grinding away between the tackles. It's by far the lesser of two evils against the Ravens, and you can take it away with your offense (by getting in the lead). I think the Bills, as far as the good defenses in the league go, match up well against this kind of offense. They can put speed on the field without completely selling out thanks to their speed at LB and having 4 safeties (counting Neal) that can cover AND play close to the line. Their versatility will be extremely useful in this game, as will the fact that they are comfortable in zone, which is key against Lamar so you can rally if he breaks contain. Maybe I'm wrong and the Ravens steamroll us...but we all saw a version of this offense with Roman here, and there was even a time where ours was almost as dynamic. The league caught up. Just like they did in SF. As creative as the run game is...the passing game is basic at best. The BEST way to stop the Ravens is to get out to an early lead and make them play against the clock.

That's the "problem"... You can't match up with the Raven's big package with your big package, or Lamar will run circles around you...The Bills need to combat that heavy personnel with speed. We should have 5-6 linebackers and safeties on the field at all times. Those guys can guard the perimeter and run around blocks in space...a S would make a 300lb fullback look silly on the edge.

The NFL is a matchup league. The 49ers have a great defense because their defensive line is full of studs. The pass rush they generate, on top of playing strong run defense, is formidible for a traditional offense. But as others have pointed out, that fierce rush and playmaking ability left them out of position a few times against the Ravens, as they were trying so hard to make a TFL they didn't always do their job and it cost them. That said, they only gave up 20 points. The Patriots defense wins with aggressive man coverage and creative pressure packages. The two things they are most susceptible to are QB runs and passing over the middle.