JGMcD2

Yeah, the guy played in limited amounts during his rookie season in 2018 and showed flashes. Looked like a contributor early in 2019 and had a serious injury... as much as people dismiss how easy it is to come back from an ACL year... it’s really not... just because it’s common and the rehab is common doesn’t mean it happens the same for everyone. Has struggled early this year like the rest of this defense, so he’s sitting. It think McDermott has faith in the kid, he knows he’s working hard. I don’t think it’s coach speak... I think sometimes you can just take things at face value. Sometimes you ride the hot hand and create some competition.. that’s what is happening here with Zimmer. Epenesa was a healthy scratch early and now he’s seems to be turning the corner a little bit and contributing defensively, it’s not like the concept is foreign. I come from the world of baseball, so it doesn’t necessarily work here as a 1 for 1 comp in the NFL. But plenty of times guys are talented and have the tools but things aren’t clicking or they’re not 100% back from an injury, so you send them down and give them time to get right. That’s what this seems like to me. I’d be shocked if he gets traded... we’re likely going to be cutting some DL this off-season for cap space and Harrison can be a contributor.

I totally understand what you’re getting at.. but it can be argued Darnold was given a better chance to succeed from the get go. You seem to argue that 2019 was better because the Bills went out and got Josh some competent help... which I agree. Robby Anderson, Chris Herndon and Quincy Enunwa were much better options than Zay Jones, Robert Foster and a few games of Kelvin Benjamin in 2018. The Jets went out and got Bell and Crowder in 2019 when we got Brown and Beasley. It’s not like Darnold hasn’t been given weapons to use.

What about Newton? That wasn’t an argument when he was running for TD in the red zone? Why is that a negative for Josh?

Well you threw 5 stats out there. 2 of which aren’t impacted by per game stats and 3 of which are...that’s why I asked the question. You also left out Josh’s 631 yards rushing and 8 touchdowns there... we can add rushing to the mix because that’s a big part of his game. Darnold 230 Y/G, 3.6 INT%, 77.6 RATING, 57.7 COMP% and 16 total TD in 13 games. Allen 224 Y/G, 3.8 INT%, 68 RATING, 52 COMP% and 18 total TD in 11 games.

What are the per game stats? Darnold started and played two more games than Josh their rookie years...

He’s also hurt...

In terms of completion percentage Cam sits around 59% for his career... which is right around where Josh is at with 58%. Cam Y/G rushing is 39 for his career... Josh's Y/G rushing is 38. I guess Cam has a longer track record... but the main difference between the two is what the media tells you. Allen is inaccurate because of his footwork... not necessarily arm action. Josh's release is quick... so he can get the ball out quick if he needs to. It doesn't take a lot for him to be accurate... his feet just have to be somewhat set... he has kid of a hop motion to keep everything balanced. It's something he worked on for this year, he's more of a rotational passer. Newton has a pretty bad hitch in his throwing motion... which takes him a little longer to get the ball out. Couple that with his footwork which is inconsistent from time to time and you have a guy that really can't succeed in Belichick's style offense... or at least the offense they've run for 20 years.

Cam is better than any QB Belichick has started outside of Brady... but he doesn't play the game in a way that fits their system. It was a weird fit. His mechanics take a lot for things to go right... he's not very accurate... their system depends on it. With that being said... I'm fairly positive he will start next week and be used as a RB that can throw...

Yes, you are 100% correct. My calculations based on his contract extension he signed in August, Sean McDermott has 1,891 days remaining in Buffalo.

Great post. Everyone is going to have an opinion and someone outside the NFL can most definitely be more qualified and right more often than some GMs. I’m not necessarily going to buy the fact that all 32 FOs are incompetent. It’s simply not believable... it’s also easier to form an opinion and bang the table for certain players when at the end of the day your job isn’t on the line. It’s a lot harder when you’re there making those decisions with real ramifications, speaking from experience.

How am I reaching for a comparison? I gave you rankings from a 3rd party. They put those guys in the same category as Tre White. Which would imply that they’re more than decent veterans. It’s fair ask whether or not you’d trade Tre White for a 3rd round pick? Fine. If you don’t believe he’s the same caliber and a notch above, would you trade him for a 2nd round pick? In the pro sports world, if you make a scouting or personnel recommendation and your evaluation doesn’t actually match up with the recommendation... it gets thrown out. Your evaluation doesn’t match up with the recommendation.

I showed you that 4 of the guys you listed are ranked somewhere in the top 25 by PFF. None are ranked above Tre White (10) but Slay comes in at 11. They’re all roughly in the same range. Out of curiosity, if Brandon Beane traded Tre White for a 3rd round pick, what would you say about that?

So you’re going to disagree that Metcalf was the 9th receiver taken and last pick in the 2nd round... which shows what NFL GMs thought of him as opposed to blog writers. Primarily because he went viral in a photo on Twitter. Makes complete sense. Ford was talked about as a RD1/RD2 pick by those same websites, that’s not my argument, but if you want to rebuttal my Metcalf points and continue to dismiss Ford... I’ll just lock you up with your own logic.

I can’t see current season ranking because I don’t subscribe to PFF, but going into this season Slay, King, Fuller and Robey-Coleman were all rated as top 25 CB in the NFL by PFF. I understood the point, I don’t think you understand the value of the players you gave as an example.

You’re not trying to say we were going end up with a future starter, but right before that statement, you go on to list some of the better cornerbacks in the NFL as trade candidates. I totally follow.

Metcalf was the 9th WR drafted and the last pick in RD2. Please stop acting like he was a can’t miss prospect. All of the Ole Miss skill players had serious question marks because that offense was brutal despite having talent everywhere. Mario Addison has been one of the most consistent defensive ends over the last 4-5 seasons. He’s played better than Ngouke and wasn’t going to cost them $20mm with an extension.

I know what you're saying. You want the team to go for it... we all deserve that. I mean yes the Steelers and Patriots traditionally have strong talent but they have a culture that allows them to do almost anything and compete year in and year out. These quick fixes, band-aid types move can pay off and get you a chance at the Super Bowl... or you can look like the 2011 Dream Team Eagles or the Los Angeles Rams that have no draft picks, no cap space and no Lombardi trophy. The point is to have sustained success... the longer you keep your window open... the better chance you have of winning. That's the thought process... I wouldn't say it isn't working... they've had success with it... it just doesn't happen over night. That's the difference between the two methods.

Well no, you are stating that the trade for Diggs was an overpay and that a deal like the Hopkins deal should have occurred. Primarily because the Bills didn't address the WR position the year before. I was also showing that even though teams addressed the WR position the year before they STILL gave up assets to acquire Hopkins... so your point just doesn't hold up. DK was a mystery... he wasn't a can't miss stud... or else he wouldn't have fallen to the last pick in RD2. I was showing you there that it wasn't possible. Teams didn't even know Hopkins was being moved... it's hard for someone to acquire Hopkins when they don't have a chance to acquire him. Back to your dead cap qualms. We can release Lee Smith, Vernon Butler, Quentin Jefferson and Tyler Matakevich to save $17.5mm with only $2.8mm dead.

Sure. Either way they’re not lacking draft capital. They have 7 picks. 3 in the first 3 rounds. It’s not like they’re in a dire position. They’re able to move picks if they want to. Every team starts with 7 picks. What do you mean other teams didn’t have the need the Bills had? I literally just told you DK Metcalf was the 9th receiver taken in that draft and you completely ignored it. Those teams undoubtedly had a need based on the fact that they drafted a receiver and in drafting a receiver they opted to not take Metcalf. That was a great deal for Arizona, but they were able to take advantage of O’Brien. I’m sure AFC teams weren’t even given that opportunity. The whole league knows the deal was a joke. There’s a very high chance most teams didn’t even know Hopkins was on the market, and O’Brien was just going rogue. It was an unprecedented deal, and one that other NFL teams didn’t have an opportunity to make. “No, we had no sense he was on the market,” Rivera told Washington reporters Wednesday. Asked if he was surprised that the Texans, led by coach and executive Bill O’Brien, traded Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals, Rivera responded with the affirmative. “Yeah, just like everybody else,” he said. “We were all surprised. Here’s a talented player playing for a team he had played very well for and they traded him. It was a decision that was made on another team.” “It is amazing in the NFL that some trades are so lopsided still,” said an NFL executive, according to Mike Sando of The Athletic. “The Hopkins thing was a joke. How the David Johnson contract was included in the deal just astounds me.” “The ability to get out from Johnson, I can’t recall if another one like that exists, where a team acquired a high-level player and also was able to divest itself of a negative contract.”

Now they’re light in draft capital? They have 8 picks next year. They’re also light on promising young talent? That’s an interesting take. Tre White, Josh Allen, Devin Singletary, Diggs, Dawkins, Gabe Davis, Ed Oliver, Edmunds... I won’t list anyone too controversial because it seems like you don’t believe player development exists and players just are what they are. The amazing thing about these contracts and dead money is that there’s a very insignificant amount of dead money if players are cut... because Beane structures those deals that way. Great example. DK Metcalf was taken with the 64th pick in round 2 (last pick in round 2). He was the 9th receiver off the board in 2019. Flame Beane all you want but it seems to me the entire league decided Metcalf wasn’t worth being taken sooner. Some of the teams that took receivers instead of DK Metcalf... Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco 49ers, New England Patriots, Tennessee Titans, Kansas City Chiefs. Interesting that they’re all teams people have been puffing up as front offices so much smarter and better run than Buffalo... and many passed on Metcalf twice, including taking other receivers instead... Another team that took a receiver instead of Metcalf was Arizona... maybe they wouldn’t have had to give up any capital for DeAndre Hopkins... if they didn’t make that significant error they wouldn’t have had to spend even more draft capital to fill that void the next year.

Well it’s actually useless to point out throwing in extra assets because he only gave up 1 2021 pick to acquire Diggs. So, that decision to “include extra picks” literally had no impact on being able swing a move this year. Absolutely zero impact. It was a 2020 1st, 5th and 6th along with a 2021 4th. He created record amounts of dead money in 2018 for a reason... I don’t understand what’s so hard to comprehend about the fact that those cap hits would have continued beyond 2018 and 2019 and made things more difficult in the years we needed to sign key pieces like Tre, Dawkins, Josh or even acquire a guy like Diggs. I’m not so sure what’s hard to comprehend about that.

Yes, the Ravens front office is great. They really are one of the best run organizations in sports. I think everyone can agree that the Hopkins trade and the Diggs trade were made under two totally different circumstances. Beane paid that price for Diggs because he had to.. people want to keep comparing the Diggs and Hopkins trade because they happened around the same time, but O’Brien was never trading Hopkins in the AFC and he was running rogue... using that as a way to diminish Beane’s decision making is silly.

Cody Ford played all of last year at RT.. not RG. Feliciano started every game at RG and Spain literally played every snap at LG... so it’s impossible for Cody Ford to have had played RG all of last year. He played 169 snaps at RG last season. Low and behold, he’s started 6 games at RG in his professional career. He’s played 369 snaps at RG this season. Wyatt Teller didn’t start regularly until the end of 2019 with Cleveland and didn’t breakout until this season, which is his 3rd NFL season. Well for starters it looks like there were disciplinary issues with Spain. Teller was a 5th round pick who was uneven as a rookie and he was traded away in favor of Spain and Feliciano at G. Teller didn’t start for the Cleveland Browns for the first half of the 2019 season. Hindsight is a really cool thing. Say what you want man... It was essentially a 1 year deal with two option years. Yes, it was written as a three year extension but there’s only $1mm in dead money next year and nothing in 2022. Spain has played more than 6 games at guard in his career. Ford has not.

Yes, Brandon Beane is extremely afraid to part with underperforming players that this regime has drafted and missed on. He’s totally never traded one away, the coaching staff has totally never benched one. They’re just thick skulled with no ability to assess anything. He must be so embarrassed and so stubborn that it impacts his decision making. Such a horrible leader. Yes, Cody Ford a player who has 6 career starts at guard is below average and has no room for improvement and is an absolute bust. Idk. Ask Belicheck... he does stuff like this all the time. His culture sucks over there in New England.

If you seriously think that they had no intention of procuring skill players, I don’t know what to tell you. They were just gutting the team... the goal wasn’t to win. It wasn’t a real issue, it was part of the plan they had. They wanted to rip things down and they still won enough games to make the playoffs... primarily because of McDermott’s coaching. If they’re going to get rid of players to get the cap under control and build something more sustainable in the future, you don’t go out and drop money on skill players that year. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense from a team building standpoint. In 2018 they had no desire to compete... again... they were had like $60mm in dead money from guys like Tyrod, Cordy Glenn, Eric Wood, Richie Incognito, Dareus, etc. they simply didn’t have the resources to go get absolute studs like you were hoping for... it wasn’t the plan. In 2019 they went and got Brown and Beasley on very friendly deals once the cap was under control. Then went and got Diggs and Davis the year after... now they have arguably the best WR corps in the league... because that was the plan. It’s not madden, it’s not fantasy football... you can’t buy and sell at the same time... it just doesn’t work. Take it from a guy who works in a professional sports FO. It wasn’t a fast change there were 1-2 years of dead cap associated with all of that. Watkins had his 5th year option declined and we weren’t about to give him a big contract... we were avoiding that at the time for a reason.. all of those guys were approaching needing new deals.