twoandfourteen

I took issue with a comment in the thread and the discussion evolved from there. I enjoy the engagement and testing my opinions against ones different from my own. That said, I do see your point and agree with you. I will show myself out.

I don’t know. If you actually go through rosters team-by-team, you start to realize just how weak overall the Bills skill positions are relative to the rest of the league. I did the AFC earlier today and it’s eye-opening. Allen really is a supernatural force out there when you look at the scraps Beane has given him to work with. The sad part is that this approach to “juice the defense” and avoid a big, stud WR contract would work wonders if any of the defensive draft picks or FA acquisitions actually became true impact players. Ed Oliver has had his moments, for sure. But outside of that, none of the recent early draft picks or big money signings have amounted to much more than “good, but replaceable” players. The Jaguars, Seahawks, and Titans basically are the same thing as the Dolphins, Jets, and Patriots. I don’t think you’re really helping your argument here.

Sure helps to have arguably the best QB to ever take an NFL snap and a clown car division to juice those numbers every year. Now imagine him on a roster with a true elite superstar WR riding shotgun. It would be the greatest QB/WR duo in NFL history. This team needed a clutch reception two years in a row in the playoffs and in both instances, the QB was let down by "Beane’s Busts".

Ok. Let’s do this. Where would any one of Coleman/Shakir/Palmer (CSP) rank on other AFC rosters: MIA — Hill/Waddle. CSP - #3 NYJ — Wilson. CSP - #2 NE — Diggs/Hollins. CSP - #1 CIN — Chase/Higgins. CSP - #3 PIT — Metcalf. CSP - #2 BAL — Flowers/Hopkins. CSP - #2/#3 CLE — Jeudy/Tillman. CSP - (even) KC — Rice/Worthy. CSP - #2/#3 LA — McConkey/Johnston. CSP - #2/#3 LV — Myers/Tucker. CSP - #1/#2 DEN — Sutton/Franklin/Mims. CSP - #2/#3 JAX — Thomas/Hunter/Brown. CSP - #2/#3 IND — Pittman/Downs/Mitchell. CSP - #3/#4 HOU — Collins/Kirk/Dell. CSP - #3/#4 TEN — Ridley. CSP - #2 Maybe I’ll get around to the NFC later on, but just in the AFC alone — Beane’s WR room easily ranks in the bottom 1/3rd. The only team the Bills are clearly ahead of is the Patriots, which ironically is starting two former Bills “star” WRs.

I need to remember that only blind loyalty and “thank you sir, may I have another” takes are welcome around here. There is no room for honest criticism or legitimate concern over the fact that the coach and GM have not managed to even appear in a Super Bowl over the course of 7 seasons with one of the most incredible talents any professional sports team has ever had. Mismanaged playoff games and a roster void of elite talent and cap space. All of it held together by Superman and a clown car division that annually awards a playoff berth after week three.

Coleman, Shakir, Palmer is absolutely not a “lethal” trio. It’s in the bottom five of the NFL. Not one of those guys would be a #1 on any other team in the league. On most teams, none of them would even be a #2. They are nice players and fun to watch here in Buffalo because of 17. But until one of them has a true “breakout” the reality is that they are all JAGs at this point. You can include Knox and Kincaid as well — Beane should be fired for that Knox contract. A primarily blocking TE is the third-highest cap hit on the team? Absurd. Cook had one very good season, but RBs are a dime-a-dozen. Ty Johnson is an excellent niche player on 3rd downs, but doesn’t give you much else.

You can have your .7 of a yard. I’ll take 33 more rushing TDs. Allen also comes with 6,000 more passing yards. By the way, Michael Vick absolutely escaped near-sacks the way Jackson did Sunday night. I don’t know how old you are, but youtube has plenty of Vick highlights that prove he was the “OG God-tier Rushing QB”. Lamar is the flashier runner, no argument there. But Allen produces on the ground AND in the air at a rate that has never been seen before.

Are you sure about that? Allen averages under a yard less per attempt (0.7) than Jackson — but has 33 more TDs in 250 less rushing attempts. That one yard difference is primarily short yardage situations, which Lamar Jackson is not suited for. I’d say he’s much better rushing the football in key scoring or short-yardage situations than Lamar Jackson. Lamar has more elusiveness and “video game” highlights when escaping pressure — but when you need a yard or two, it’s no contest. Josh Allen can hold his own with Jackson in the open field, as well.

Lamar does not possess the power or physical running game that Allen does. Not even close. Show me a play where Jackson is dragging a couple of NFL defenders for a first down like Allen did in Dallas a few years ago. Or stiff-arming an NFL linebacker into the turf like Allen did against Kyle Van Noy when he was with Miami. Jackson is 6’2/205. Allen is 6’5/237. Allen has enough speed and elusiveness to at least be in the same world as Lamar. He’s essentially a hybrid of Jackson/Henry. Allen also has more arm talent at the position. Lamar Jackson is “Michael Vick 2.0”. The NFL has never seen a "Josh Allen" before. Both are all-world talents, but Josh Allen is “the guy”.

I never said Lamar wasn’t great. He is one of the best to ever do it. But he cannot make all of the same plays that Josh Allen can. Allen combines arm talent, speed, and power in a package that has never been seen before. He is the best pure football player in NFL history. That’s not to take anything away from Lamar or Patrick. But they have advantages that Allen does not — HOF teammates, SB winning coaches, and GMs that can identify top-end talent in the draft, for starters.

Josh Allen can do everything Lamar Jackson can do. Lamar Jackson cannot do everything Josh Allen can do.

You can keep your “vibes”. I’m after “Rings”.

“Why did it take so long for Terry to fire Beane and McDermott?"

He turns 30 next May. The way that kid plays, he has two or three years (if he doesn’t get hurt) left in his “Superman” window.

I had no idea that stat existed. FIRE MCDERMOTT. Honestly, that is unforgivable. EDIT: It just occurred to me that those numbers are impossible. Twenty-nine TDs in four games would be an average of 7.25 TDs per game.

Karlaftis has the same number of sacks in three seasons that Rousseau has in four. He’s a more impactful DE, that’s inarguable. You make a great point about “giving McDermott an excuse” — I agree completely. At the heart of this is what the Chiefs are able to do in the draft vs what Beane is able to do. In 2022, the Chiefs spent two first round picks and walked away with CB Trent McDuffie (traded up) and DE George Karlaftis. Beane traded up for Kaiir Elam, with the pick of Greg Rousseau the year before. The Chiefs walked away with two foundational pieces for their defense. The Bills picked yet another first round bust in Elam and a “good-but-not-great” DE in Rousseau. As for your first two concerns, take that up with Brandon Beane. As for the third, the Chiefs, Ravens, and Eagles seem to have no problem finding impact players every now and again — and they draft later than the Bills do.

Karlaftis is a much more impactful player than Rousseau. He was also a back-of-the-first round draft pick who has developed into a game-breaking talent for the Chiefs. Rousseau is a JAG, just like the majority of Beane’s roster.

I’m with you 100% on McDermott, but I’m very much on the “Beane Needs To Go” train. I would argue that Beane’s many failures in the draft and free agency have been more detrimental to the team than the head coach. His approach to roster building and cap management is borderline negligent. In my opinion — without Josh Allen turning into Superman and a “ten-ply soft” AFC East, McDermott would have found himself as the Defensive Coordinator in Jacksonville and Beane would be back in Carolina as the Director of Pro Scouting. EXACTLY. The “benefit” of a defensive, um… “genius”, head coach is that it should free up the majority of resources for the offensive side of the ball — the coach’s schemes and gameplanning are supposed to provide a competitive advantage. Well, the past half-decade of defensive genius coaching and most of the draft and cap invested has resulted in a defense that has been not just awful in the playoffs — but historically the worst playoff defense in NFL history. McDermott arguably should have been canned after 13 seconds. He absolutely should have been fired after the debacle against Cincinnati.

Ok, well you clearly have nothing worthwhile to contribute and you are now resorting to ad hominems. Take your “L" and be on your way.

Go back and read what I wrote again — I already said that those guys were out. Think before you post. No matter what, it doesn’t change the fact that Beane has spent a ton of money and draft picks on a weak, thin and expensive roster that doesn’t have a single game-changer outside of QB. The teams standing in the way of a championship for 17 have several of those guys.

Dawkins is a very nice player but he does not impact a game at all like the guys i mentioned. Nearly all of them are future Hall of Famers or at least in the conversation. Maybe Karlaftis and Higgins are out, but most of that list will be in Canton one day. The Bills don’t have a single player on the roster outside of Allen that would even be considered for a gold jacket in the future. Also, just because Andrews had one bad game it doesn’t discount how dominant he has been at the position for his career. Higgins is a great player and miles ahead of any WR the Bills have currently or have had since Eric Moulds.

None of the guys you mentioned are even on the same planet as Chris Jones, Travis Kelce, George Karlaftis, Derrick Henry, Mark Andrews, Kyle Hamilton, Jamar Chase, Tee Higgins, Trey Hendrickson, AJ Brown, Saquon Barkley, or Jalen Carter. I don’t have to rationalize or make a case for anyone on my list the way you have to desperately do for yours.

Now, just imagine what Josh Allen could achieve with a competent GM, a better Head Coach, and one or two more elite, blue-chip players.

Because no Head Coach/QB pairing has ever made it to a Super Bowl after not doing it in the first five seasons. History says that if it hasn’t happened by now, it’s never going to happen with these two together.

Notice, I said “arguably”. Josh is definitely in the conversation and a legitimate case could be made for it. Swap Allen and Mahomes — give 17 Andy Reid, a competent GM, and elite receiving options and Allen would have 3-4 rings as well. Allen can do everything Mahomes can do. Mahomes cannot do everything Allen can do.