Kelly the Dog

Love it. With our roster, and the money we will still spend, only 4-5 rookies will make the team. We don't need 9 picks. The REAL fun, however, is the thought of Diggs, Brown, Beasley, Knox and Singletary, along with Josh's legs and strong arm, running all over the field. This is going to be a fun offense. Diggs is very good. Great trade.

Another good thing about this is that OL is a position that 5th-6th rounders seem to be able to develop into quality players a little more frequent than other positions. Mostly, I assume, because athleticism is of slightly less importance there compared to most other positions. So with a solid starting line intact we can take a flyer on a guy later in the draft who is more of a boom or bust player and then not have to rely on him playing as a rookie.

It was substantially better than it has been but it was not "good" and far from great. What we don't know is if the extra year would really make a difference continuity wise, as well as how much Ford will improve.

Looks like a great deal for the Bills. He was very solid, and it's fantastic that we may have the same two decent quality guys playing next to each other on the left side for 2-3-4 straight years. Good job, Beane.

I don't like either of them very much and they would be huge upgrades.

Maybe. But if McD, Frazier, and Beane like him, he won't have trouble getting interviews and likely a job back in the NFL if he wants to later. McDermott and Frazier have a lot of respect around the league. Unless, of course, his lines and players in his college gig don't produce at all. He did well this year with the DL, it's inarguable.

Chauncey Gardener?

Both the coach and GM love Allen (as do I) and he is going to be here awhile. I think we need an immediate upgrade at backup QB, although I believe that Barkley has helped Josh. Mariotta or Dalton would be great, IMO, although I don't think we get them.

The NFL GM job, like HC and QB are extremely difficult jobs that requires all kinds of disparate skills. Brandon Beane, for a pretty young guy, is very good and we are lucky to have him. Has he made some mistakes? Of course. But the combination of philosophy, talent evaluator, drafter, salary cap management, team builder, staff hires, short-mid-long term vision, self and public awareness, and face of the franchise, is extremely impressive. Particularly compared to what we have had for a generation.

He definitely does in a dome.

Oh, I think he is a very good receiver. I meant it was easy especially for him because he is good. It's a routine drag. I really like him. That said, he and Beasley as a 2 and 3 would be excellent. They are just pretty good as a 1 and 2.

To me, watching it over and over, the toe-tap to Brown was an easy catch for a good receiver. He actually jumped at the last second when he didn't need to at all. He should have easily dragged his feet. Way bigger mistake by Brown than late throw by Josh IMO.

The two passes that were not intercepted were mistakes that had no consequence. That stuff happens every game. If he gets the ball to Knox who gets 10-20 yards he is incredible. I understand you don't want guys doing stuff like that all of the time but it didn't hurt us. In fact, it helped us. Was it really smart? Of course not. Was it overly risky? Yes, but only because it was from such a weird angle. But this is who he is. I'm very willing to take the good with the bad at this point, and I don't want to neuter him. It will hurt more in the long run. You want him to be Bret Favre. Bret Favre might have tried that lateral.

IIRC it was the second play of the fourth quarter and they kicked a FG off it, which made it 16-11.

I can only state my position three times in a row. I refuse to say the same thing four times in a row. I am only one person saying my opinion and trying to answer your questions. He had them in a bunch of plays in the fourth and even OT. i couldn't believe it.

Then they should watch the view from behind. The one above in this thread shows him open and behind the guy. It wasn't as good a shot as the other angle. But the poster that responded said he throught the defender would have made up the two yards with better speed, which may or may not be true

It's impossible to know this now, of course, but I would imagine, simply because it is the first season that this spectacular stadium is open that the demand for tickets will be big, and the prices may be pretty high. They went down to peanuts right before the Houston game, but the new team in the city and new stadium is going to make tix prices high.

Because it was a bad throw, too? Mostly I was just pointing out that at the moment Josh looked and threw to DiMarco, he was two yards past his defender and open by any definition If Josh hits him on the run it's a possible TD or 60 yard play. I thought like most everyone at first that he threw a stupid ball into double coverage that could have or even should have been caught. But when you see the replay from behind, that wasn't the case. It was just WAY short, which allowed the safety covering Lee Smith (LEE FREAKING SMITH!) to leave Smith and get in a position to make an INT.

I'm saying and I would bet on it that if DiMarco kept on running full speed, and Josh threw it ten yards further, it could have hit him on the dead run. I'm positive with a running start, in the time it took DiMarco to slow down, look for the ball, stop, wait, and jump, he could have run ten yards.

I said he timed his jump wrong and should have caught it.

He didn't really draw a double though. Lee Smith also ran a deep route on same side and as soon as Josh threw, the guy covering Smith left him and ran over to DiMarco. It was a stupid play.

It's ridiculous. And even the logic is stupid IMO. They think, and have said publicly, and a bunch of people applauded the idea, that they put him out there, and the defense has to adjust by putting in an extra linebacker to compensate. SO WHAT?! Then they split him out and is easily covered and never makes a play. How about keeping him on the bench and have an extra WR out there against an extra CB but who can actually make a play! The Lee Smith/DiMarco offense especially late and in OT was shocking, and stupid, to me.

Agree. However, that is who he is, a playmaker, and a playmaker makes plays. He misses a bunch of plays, too, which a lot of fans seem to gloss over. Because he is who he is, and was right there, he has GOT to make that tackle and he didn't. That's exactly the kind of play that makes him good to very good and he blew it.

It was a TERRIBLE throw and I am a huge Josh fan. He literally missed it by ten yards. From the endzone view, when Josh looked and threw, DiMarco was two yards past his one defender. It was way, way short. DiMarco had to completely stop, wait, and then jump. If Josh threw it well it could have been a TD, except he probably would have been caught from behind but maybe not. But when the ball was released he was open. That said, he did time the jump bad, and he probably should have caught it. But he's not at all a good receiver despite some claims and his 52 catches in 8 seasons.

Kubiak is a very good read and that was, as usual, a well reasoned analysis and good article. Personally, I differ a little after watching it a second time. To me, Josh made way, way more good, very good, and great plays than poor, very poor and inexcusable ones. His only inexcusable play was the sack/grounding from the 28. Kubiak was right on that he cannot take a sack here and he did. The intentional grounding though was completely immaterial. If he didn't throw it it still would have been a 10+ yard sack and loss of down. It was unconscionable not to punt on 4th and 27. That sack was not on Josh at all. The other terrrible play was the fumble, but that stuff happens. I agree with Kubiak's analysis that he may have taken off earlier, and obviously you cannot turn the ball over so that is a huge error, but he wasn't reckless, dumb for running, or try to do too much. The lateral didn't change the game. It was immaterial, and actually helped us. It could have been a game-winner. It may not have been wise but that's who he is and it didnt hurt us. Duke could have and should have caught a TD that was a great throw. John Brown blew an easy toe-tap that was a great throw and cost us four points in all likelihood. He picked u several third and longs. The pass to Duke that Kubiak mentioned and one to Singletary were insane. He had a good game but IMO too many people are equating the good with the bad. To me the good far outweighed the bad.