Richard Noggin

Levy wasn't really the Xs and Os guy, though. Ted and Walt were the real brains behind the on-field schemes for those early SB teams. At least to my understanding. It might have been Levy, however, who favored both sides of the ball relying on a small set of core personnel alignments and play designs, and running them repeatedly, to the point where players could execute and adjust without overthinking.

And if Cook has another productive, explosive season similar to 2024, I won't be angry or disappointed if the Bills meet his demands. But I DO think at that point it will already be too late, and he'll be priced out of Beane's comfort level. *I'd take Cook over Harris 8 times out of 10, easily. Harris is just not very dangerous, despite being well-rounded and physical. Just doesn't get up field with much urgency. Kind of Cook's opposite.

Monarch Beach basically looks like a sprawling, oceanside golf resort with a few high end gated communities clustered throughout. Makes sense.

See, I'd still (probably) argue against the Bills agreeing to the kind of contract I'm afraid Cook would demand. He's dynamic, no doubt, and a weapon with the ball in his hands. He looks really good in Brady/Kromer's rushing attack. A threat to take it to the house from anywhere on the field. My main reluctance is more philosophical with respect to roster construction: only way an RB should make WR money is if he's a 3-down beast who pass blocks and has reliable hands. The holes in Cook's game would need to be plugged to sell me on a top-3ish (for now) RB contract. And by that point he's gonna have other suitors. A team on a rookie QB contract could justify signing a guy like Cook, and it would be smart. Denver, Washington, Minnesota, etc.

I still need an explanation of what the heck the above bolded claim actually means, before we move on to sorting out what the below means.

Not blaming it all on Frazier at all, but rather offering that as a possible explanation for why the defense did not attack the same way McD's units had done in Car and Phil previously. Frazier was an assistant HC and a trusted and respected member of those teams. McD was very reluctant to intervene in overt ways. No doubt he provided feedback in real time, but I do wonder if he deferred final decision making whenever possible. We only have 1 season of tape to determine how McD calls this Buffalo defense. And it was a mixed bag, at best. He was even recklessly aggressive during a couple super high leverage end of game sequences, both resulting in losses. Had hoped Babich would infuse more d-line games and simulated 2nd and 3rd level looks...still hoping for it in '26.

Do we think his stubborn and persistent deference to the predictability of Leslie Frazier's high-leverage reliance upon passive, reactive off-coverage cushions and vanilla assignment/check/adjustment rules against pre-snap motions was a major failing that colors our perceptions of how he (McDermott) really wants the Bills defense to play? On those rare occasions when McD took over play calling from Frazier, the defense was demonstrably more aggressive and downhill. (I'll never forget McD taking Milano aside during that MNF NE wind/blizzard game and overtly gesturing/imploring him to see the hole and attack the hole, downhill. And then Milano going out there and stringing together consecutive TFLs that killed a drive (or something close to that).) McDermott sullied this interpretation of his own in-game desire for more aggression by calling consecutive zero-blitzes late against both Denver (Russ Wilson) and Philly (Jalen Hurts) who both exploited the gifts the 1st blitz in each sequence had prepared them for. Gotta simulate the pressure on one of those b2b play calls in each situation. Sprinkle in a tendency-killing wrinkle in the coverage behind it. Can't just go full Buddy Ryan twice against a modern NFL offense with a strong, elusive QB and competent offensive coaching, no wrinkles. That's a failure to setup and sequence the play calls. If the first all-out blitz works, but doesn't result in negative play, then you have to switch it up. Dammit, Sean. Sure seems to tighten up with the game on the line. Goes a little blank at the worst times.

I wear a counterfeit Bruce Smith Silver Anniversary SB25 jersey (but a home blue kit even though they wore white) to many home games...and after stretching it over winter layers and rambunctious tailgates for over a decade now, the seam up one side is split nearly to my armpit making the whole thing open like a smock or something. And even so, I'd rate the build quality above average. No piece of apparel should be subjected to this relentless level of BASF stress/durability-testing. It lives in a pile somewhere all offseason. Then I find and resurrect Lazarus in the dryer just in time to represent each September, with a little more bonus lateral venting each season. Gifted a handful of those Super Bowl 25 Bills jerseys (with the Silver Anniversary shoulder patch) to friends and family. Well, at least once they were released from their long customs delay at the Peace Bridge lol.

If we can sort of set aside his ridonkulous rushing TD total in '24, Cook was actually more productive overall in '23 in 3 fewer starts, and especially more productive in the passing game. In 2024, Ty Johnson really ate into Cook's passing volume following his own tantalizing 100% catch rate in limited 2023 action: 7/7 (LOL) for 62 yards, 2 1sts, and a TD. Johnson still has not recorded a dropped pass in 2 seasons with the Bills, despite an uptick in targets and a jump in depth of target. And he can pass block, apparently, at a higher level. The RB room in 2025 is probably as close to McBeane's ideal vision as we're going to get, unless there is some absolute RB UNIT (big Wisconsin/Alabama style back) available on late day 2/early day 3 of the 2026 draft...to replace Cook and spell Davis on early downs and short yardage.

Wait, what?

Yup.

Miami building the LEAST gritty team in the league. Tua probably the toughest guy on the squad...

LOT more accessible now, so it will likely find more people whose predilections would have otherwise never been unearthed. The idea that it's regulated now, and therefore somehow more controlled, is a nice concept I hope could be true. But that seems unlikely. Either way, sports and sports betting can never be uncoupled now. So they will coexist as long as sports media contracts continue to prop up the insane appetites of all professional sports ownership groups. There is still much room for growth, provided the proposed new markets will continue to accept what we're selling. Seems likely to go on for at least a bit longer, innit?

Seems like Mahomes got robbed a little, compared to Allen. From a cursory/high level skim. (Not that I agree with that conclusion.)

Or something some of you pervs have already watched online.

I could make it look pretty sweet on an 8' rim. (maybe)

I've never criticized giving Klein the start/snaps in that game, but I will always criticize the gameplan that had Klein trying to cover Kelce 1:1 in several high leverage down and distances. Part of the failure could be placed on the DL for not speeding up/disrupting the offense, but expecting a semi-retired AJ Klein to man-up a HOF TE is begging for repeated exploitation. If Tre White makes the 53 to be a one year player/coach/mentor and the Bills lose a promising Dorian Strong, for example, as a result, by failing to sneak him onto the PS, then that's poor, short-sighted roster mismanagement. Tre, as others have noted, should be a PS handshake (IF he shows consistent limitations in camp). They could guarantee him a couple call-ups and some likely-to-hit escalators perhaps? However, might be a bunch of dead cap involved in cutting him? (2.2M guaranteed, so...) Best case is clearly Tre enjoying a comeback season that sees him make the roster and provide valuable depth and subpackage snaps throughout the season while Hairston, Hancock, and Strong also flash when tested. (Hancock might not be relevant to this specific convo.)

It's all super fair to consider, but by your own admission is an unknown level of improvement across multiple points, and the Bills obviously are not BANKING on Cook making all of these improvements suddenly entering year 4. So...he kinda should NOT get his number until he proves he's already somehow made these strides. Right? He's not asking for a team-friendly number, so the Bills shouldn't be willing to gamble on a few vital areas of growth that they apparently haven't seen signs of, imho.

Does James Cook project as a guy who will physically hold up with a higher enough workload to justify the big extension he seeks, year after year? Does he project as a guy who will dramatically step up his pass pro reads and physicality so he can stay on the field enough to justify the $$? Will he continue to improve the concentration issues: unforced drops and ball security concerns? Lots of questions. The bolded is the core of this debate. In 2026, is a RB room taking up ~15M cap (Cook on a reasonable, friendlyish first year of his extension, plus Davis and Johnson) that much better than a room taking up ~$6M (Davis, Johnson, and day 2/3 rookie)? Maybe Johnson is gone in this scenario? Not to mention how Cook progresses and what they owe him in future years; Cook's number would have to count more fully against the cap eventually, and that could be about when he's already breaking down or falling off. His brother didn't last long into his 2nd deal, as we all know. Less mileage on this Cook, though. It's a fascinating question. I think I know Beane's most likely answer.

If established, starting NFL vets (minus evergreen speed freaks like Darrell Green) are demonstrably slower after several years in the league, doesn't that legitimately deprioritize combine and pro day 40 times overall? Modern pre-draft speed training isn't exactly correlated with on-field impacts. Losing weight and training 3-point get-offs to trim hundredths off your 40 isn't exactly preparing these rookies for the rigors of an NFL campaign. The fact that NFL vets are potentially several tenths slower than their younger counterparts actually proves that 40 times are arbitrary, provided those vets are still legitimate starters. One can run a "meh" 40 but still have more than enough speed. NFL history is filled with 4.5+ guys who consistently dominated.

Lot of talk about 40 times in this thread. I get that it's not a useless data point, but it's also arbitrary and blunt as an evaluation and projection tool. The 10 yd splits + overall 40 time + agility times + explosion numbers + gauntlet top speed (wink) = a more holistic and comprehensive measurement. So basically, RAS lol. I've seen 4.5+ guys make defenders look like they're standing still, and we've seen 4.3 guys have difficulty getting behind anyone. It's part of the puzzle, but not so meaningful outside draft evals.

Cook is very dynamic with the ball in his hands, and has consistently improved in his career. That being said, you can't just say "Pay the man" without acknowledging that "the man's" publicly stated AAV expectations ($15-20M) are unrealistic and would be unwise for the Bills to agree to. I think Cook's running style mirrors his public personality in that it looks too relaxed and loose to be taken seriously by many observers. That dude is so much faster than he looks, in part because of how loose, and low, and forward-leaning his stride and posture are. He destroys angles and makes the field look a lot bigger than it is at times. All while seeming to glide about. Compare it to Pacheco, who is a tight, explosive spaz as soon as he gets the ball. High knees and chugging arms and head. That dude looks like he's doing more than he is, whereas Cook looks like he's doing a LOT less than he is.

The poster above you (and below this) has a believable theory on that juxtaposition. Also, Allen was working with a lesser supporting cast. The expectation was for significant regression, and instead the offense improved.

Can confirm.