Dan Darragh
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Posts posted by Dan Darragh
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The Bills get a linebacker for their defense
Last week Buffalo played without four starters on defense, and a fifth, edge rusher Von Miller, played sparingly. Defensive tackle Da’Quan Jones, cornerback Tre’Davious White and linebacker Matt Milano are on injured reserve, and their best defensive lineman Ed Oliver missed the game with a toe injury. It was clear they could not hold up against what had been a feeble New England Patriots offense. The Patriots got 11 first downs in the fourth quarter alone and pushed the Bills all over the field. Bills QB Josh Allen actually had regained his team the lead late before the defense faltered again and gave up a game-winning drive.
I don’t think the Bills can go on like this, and they are going to be forced to make a deal. I would start in Denver with the much-maligned Broncos, but before you laugh and say, “Why would we want anyone off a historically bad defense?”, remember that even bad defenses have players with effective individual skill sets. Against the Patriots, the Bills started two young and unproven inside linebackers and replaced one in the second half with a college free agent — hardly a recipe for long-term success.
Denver inside linebacker Josey Jewell, at age 29 and in the last year of a contract, makes some sense as a rental for the rest of this season. Broncos coach Sean Payton has made it clear he will listen to any and all offers. Jewell is a steady traffic cop who can get everyone lined up and has consistently shown a very good nose for the ball. And he might have a calming effect on a group that is reeling right now.
Additionally, if the Bills are willing to part with a little more compensation they should ask for defensive tackle Mike Purcell as well. Purcell is a versatile nose who can also play 3 technique and is also in the last year of his deal. He is playing 36 percent of Denver’s defensive snaps and holds the point of attack very well, gets off blocks and plays with a consistent motor and pad level that the Bills are really missing with Jones and Oliver out of the lineup.
Both Broncos can be expected to get a shot of adrenaline in coming from the chaos in Denver to a really good Bills team, and neither has an exorbitant salary, so they should fit in under a tighter cap. I would make either or both of these deals in a heartbeat. I’m not sure that the Bills couldn’t acquire them both for a fourth- or fifth-round pick. The Bills have to be somewhat desperate and not quibble at this point.
Just now, Dan Darragh said:The Patriots got 11 first downs in the fourth quarter alone and pushed the Bills all over the field.
I did not realize this. Shocking!
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9 hours ago, LABILLBACKER said:
And tell Settle/Ford to play better.
You see, this is why our coaching staff sucks. Such an obvious thing but the coaches NEVER TELL THEM TO PLAY BETTER.
Terry, put this guy on the payroll. He's a bargain at whatever price he demands.
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8 hours ago, FrenchConnection said:
Ken Dorsey doesn’t answer to Diggs and Allen. They can’t fire him. The man he answers to is a control freak.
Josh hired him, Josh can fire him.
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5 hours ago, Just Jack said:
For the rest, here's the link to the FB post
NFL Memes - Every NFL team's stadium reimagined using AI 😯 | Facebook
Where's the tailgating?
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3 hours ago, Dr.Sack said:
We need more DTs any All Pro 1 Tech’s on the trade market?
Suh is a free agent
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Of course he's injured, and of course he's lying to us about it just like he did last year.
Transparency is not valued at OBD.
Personally I'm still waiting for them to come clean about how the 13 seconds happened. We all know the coaches screwed up, why haven't they owned it?
Transparency!
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Hard to imagine Jim Schwartz was available and we didn't bring him back to Buffalo.
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He DOES have 2 scepters though
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It sounds like Joel Wilson time!
Who can tell me who he is without looking it up?
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4 hours ago, Hermes said:
At this point in the Bills "window" they already know what the score is.... winning a superbowl or bust.
Now, I know a division game should probably mean something..., but at the end of the day the Patriots are not a threat to the Bills playoffs chances, in the least. The team knows this (unfortunately) and doesn't view these weaker teams as threats, either. Which has led to the lackluster performances we've grown so (dis/un?)fond of, the past 2-3 years.
The issue is that the Bills aren't some up-and-coming team that other teams are caught offguard by. They have been a juggernaut for the past 4-5 seasons, regularly taking the lunch money of the weaker teams, especially those in their division.. At this point, every team that the Bills play against look at this roster as a litmus test, of sorts, to see where they rank in the NFL hierarchy. While the Bills, are trying to do what they can to play their best football in the late season and playoffs.
It's a stark difference from the games games they played against the Patriots as "our superbowl" from the drought era. And that's the learning curve that the team has fallen behind on. For a lot of the teams in the league it's obvious that the Bills are their superbowl. They want to say "Yeah we might have finished 2-15, but one of those wins was against the Bills!" The other team's players get extra jazzed up to make a play against Allen (or Diggs, et al). It's easier to do that, than say, Allen or Diggs getting up to make a play on some JAGs. They'd rather make plays against the top teams and top players (it just means more).
What we are watching is a team that is trying to work through the kinks early in the season rather than later and I'm all for it. I'd rather see them lose on the late TD to the Pats instead of the Chiefs. Let them work things out now and head into the bye at 7-5 or 6-6 (or better). I'm sure it wouldn't surprise anyone to see them finish 12-5 or 11-6 in either scenario. Unless you have no faith of course. But I digress.
What I've seen from this team is a concerted effort to win games in a variety of ways. To be able to go on long clock draining drives (even, at times, to the detriment of the offense) and control the game a different way. Sure, the offense could go no huddle and score almost at will, but at the end of the day how sustainable is that really. I'm sure teams will figure it out or the offense will burn itself out eventually. Why not save the squeeze for crunch time?
When it comes to the defense, it has almost certainly been as disappointing as the offense as of late. (Although they get a minor pass with the injury situation). But, It's frustrating to see all of the blitzes and manufactured pressures not hitting home and then Mac and cheese making the defense look like swiss. Hopefully this is less of a trend and more of an aberration for the rest of the season. The true test for the defense is coming up soon and I'm excited to see how they respond. If they're still sucking hopefully the offense can regroup and pave the way for more wins.
It's almost time to turn on the gas and see what teams can handle the pressure. I know the Bills can, and hopefully will, ramp up the intensity when it comes down to it, and I, for one, can't wait for these late season games to separate the cream from the crop. I know things seem dire but of all the teams the Bills are behind in the standings only the Chiefs have a true game up on them. On top of the fact that the Bills themselves are still in position to make the playoffs if the season ended today. I like those odds. Go Bills!
Really. Why put a game away by halftime when you can leave your starters in there for 60 minutes?
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4 hours ago, Giuseppe Tognarelli said:
If my name were Terry Pegula, this is what I would do this offseason:
Fire Sean McDermott
Keep Brandon Beane
Hire Ben Johnson (you now have arguably the best young offensive mind in the league for Josh Allen's prime and you'll never have to worry about losing your offensive coordinator)
Then, if my name were Brandon Beane, this is what I would do:
Let go (via cut or trade) Von Miller, Tre'Davious White, and Jordan Poyer, taking all the bad cap medicine necessary (yes, I know it's a lot, but stick with me); possibly add Dawson Knox to this list if he's not excited about a backup role
Re-sign A.J. Epenesa and DaQuan Jones; let every other major free agent go, including Gabe Davis and Micah Hyde
Leverage your 10+ picks (probably even more after trades) to maneuver and get the best WR available, then heavily prioritize defensive line and offensive line picks
Fill in the gaps at non-premium positions in free agency.
Offense built around Allen, a dominant line, Cook, Diggs, Kincaid, and the future WR1 you drafted.
Defense built around a dominant line, Milano and Bernard, and a young secondary.
Bills are suddenly a young team but still scoring a lot of points and the future is looking exceptionally bright.
With the old guard gone, you can grow with your young team. You'll probably even make the playoffs in year 1. Allen is going to be reinvigorated.
Who knows, it might even go as well as it did for the Chiefs last year when they went with a youth movement.
I'm willing to bet my plan is better than what they will get by keeping McDermott.
Reminder: Sean McDermott traded Patrick Mahomes to the Chiefs before Brandon Beane got here.
Other reminders:
Every coach/QB combo in NFL history that has won a Super Bowl has done so within their first 5 years together. McDermott and Allen are in year 6 and things seem to be falling apart. It seems that things have grown stale and a change is needed.
No player has ever won the Super Bowl with three different teams (Von Miller), unless you count Matt Millen who was inactive for his win with the Redskins.
I liked your other solution better, which was the Bills plane crashing on the way to London. Would be a lot easier on the cap hit.
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Do they have authority to fire the coach?
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Let's offer KC a 6th rounder for Kelce.
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46 minutes ago, Your Brown Eye said:
Bon Jovi could be the owner of this team
Or Trump! If Trump had bought the team, we'd never lose! We'd be tired of winning!
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I think we're still owed answers going all the way back to 13 seconds. That was a total failure by the coaching staff.
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2 hours ago, Pete said:
3 personal foul penalties = 1 personal foul penalty! What the hell kind of asinine rule is that?
Another stupid rule- a personal foul and holding penalty offset.
NFL is all about player safety LMAO
We should have had a 2-man advantage for two minutes.
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On 10/21/2023 at 1:04 AM, Motorin' said:
Maybe it was $25 😂 And this is the kind of frenzy that place created. I give you 2008's week 3 win over the Raiders:
That's about how I remember it from my first visit there which I think was in 2011. The Bills had a great start that season and McFaddens was so crowded that the overflow went into the bar next door.
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Art Schlichter. He finally found himself when he made the All-Penitentiary team at Chillicothe Correctional.
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22 hours ago, Dan Darragh said:
The MENSA level comments usually include gems like "This is really very simple!" or "This has been explained countless times on this board!" or some expletive or other (or a personal insult, which I find especially funny).
4 hours ago, SoCal Deek said:Well your proposition is ridiculous.
I forgot "ridiculous" in the list of MENSA level comments.
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14 hours ago, Prospector said:
You don't have to quote me, and then say you guys, like I am one of those guys you're talking about. I know my route trees... ran them in college, and coached them. There are a couple WRs who struggle to master their trees that don't involve running a flag or post, though.
I was actually endorsing what you wrote
14 hours ago, SoCal Deek said:Hey Dan
If you already knew the answer you were looking for, why not just tell us? After all YOU’RE apparently the ‘smart’ guy. No?
My point was that there is no answer because the proposition is unknowable (except of course by the "smart guys")
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18 hours ago, Prospector said:
I like the way this thread is titled... just incase you weren't expecting confrontation, well, you're outa luck smart guy! Now let's see your uninformed smart guy response, you genius! Way to not use your head, you MENSA chapter president!
So I was away from this for a day or so, and came back to find THE BEST ENTERTAINMENT I'VE EVER HAD on this board.
Half of you guys proved my point, which is that a lot of the commentary here is not very smart. Never mind those of you who don't know the difference between "your" and "you're". The MENSA level comments usually include gems like "This is really very simple!" or "This has been explained countless times on this board!" or some expletive or other (or a personal insult, which I find especially funny).
Half of you guys wouldn't know a route tree from a tree root. You're the guys I posted this for, and you were up to the task. Thanks for the entertainment.
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Better a bad win than a good loss, IMHO
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51 minutes ago, SoCal Deek said:
Two important qualities:
1. Catch the ball when thrown to you.
2. Hold onto the ball after catching the ball thrown to you.
Any questions?
Yes.
If you can't do either one, does that make you a decent WR3?
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Purdy in Concussion Protocol. Likely OUT this weekend.
in The Stadium Wall
Posted
Tua played after a concussion. Like one minute after a concussion.