WideNine

As soon as Chucky sent that out, every opposing defensive back in the league checked their team's schedule to see when they play the Raiders - hoping he gets the nod to start and that it is early enough in the season that they get a shot at going up against him before Gruden gets back on his meds and is forced to hand him a clip board for the rest of the season.

Spend the draft capital on Tyler Biadasz C-Wisconsin next year. Might as well start grooming for the future - and how can you miss with a name like that?

Nothing beats NYC folks when it comes to colorfully inventive invective. Most of that string would look like this on TBD: What the XXXX, when your XXXhat XXXXXXX GM trades OBJ for a bag of deflated footballs and a XXX XXXX box of donuts. The XXX XXXX Giants are run by an XXX who needs to be XXXXXX with a vibrating porcupine. "Daniel Jones is the future of our franchise: a guy I personally witnessed lose 59-7 on his own Senior Night to WAKE FOREST. Our completely inaccessible stadium was the most expensive in the history of the world when it was built and looks like a cement truck took a big dump in a parking lot." Man, that did the trick - I needed a good laugh today.

The kid is quick and rangy - I think we knew that about him coming in last year and he is definitely an asset covering a lot of passing area in the shallow zones. There was a write-up on him that he was working on his speed and such in the offseason, but I don't think too many folks thought that speed was his issue last year, it was his read and react time vs the run. Against the run, he was caught too many times guessing the wrong gap, or simply caught on his heels and having to tackle a runner with a full head of steam from a stand still usually ends up as a bad-angle missed arm tackle or being dragged for 4 yards on top of the 5 he already gained. He seemed to be getting better at his gap "fits" towards the end of last year and that is where I will be looking to see improvement from him filling the Mike role.

I wonder how that kid out of North Carolina A&T is coming along... Daryl Johnson Jr. The Bills scouts tend to hit gold in their later round signings - the kid is raw, but has the height 6' 6" and the build that is in the mold of some of the more successful DE's, maybe not as tall as Jacksonville's Campbell (that kid is a sky scraper), but in the neighborhood. He has some solid guys to learn from, will be interesting to see if he sticks.

Didn't Allen completely smoke the Dolphins in our last game...was coasting to victory with ease and able to even get Kyle involved in the offense - talk about short-term memory loss.

This. They have a proven journeyman in Fitz who can come in a win some games if needed, or spell Rosen if his game goes completely off the rails. Always a balancing act between rebuilding and having a team that is good enough to get some fans to fill the seats.

I dunno, I have seen Allen stare down a few targets before, but remember how raw he was in regards to running a pro-style offense. Since that was an out with what looked like man coverage, with the other DB cleared out of the zone, there is little to be concerned about considering Allen's arm/velocity would place it where only Beasley could make the play. I think objectively what we are seeing is a QB who is starting to know where he needs to go with the ball in this offense with certain defensive looks and that is progress. Looking away safeties, linemen, or linebackers dropping into lanes watching his eyes will come with time. I have seen him do it more and more so I have some confidence that he will continue to hone that aspect of his game.

Outrunning an Allen pass... now that is some serious speed. Allen will adjust to it, as he did with Foster last season, then defenses better keep a few guys really deep.

Bottled water is 3 bucks - we're doomed

He would probably hate to make the switch, but intriguing idea considering his size, wheels, and knowledge of the game from a QB perspective.

Keeping one eye on how Hockenson is doing and my later draft TE favorite Josh Oliver - was pretty sure Oliver was on NE's radar with their trades to get in front of us in the 3rd, then hasty retreat from the 3rd right after Marrone snagged him. Not wishing any lack of success on our own boys - there are a few that take their personal draft boards all the way around the bend with the "I told you so" and you wonder which team they are rooting for. First and foremost I am Bills fan and I want to see the guys on our roster become players that make other teams drool. As tempted to rush things as they will be with the thin depth, they need to take the long view and give Knox's hammy the time to fully recover. Probably goes without saying, but Kroft is PUP bound and Beane's staff will be watching other team cuts and waivers to improve our depth TE. I just can't help but remain curious about some of the TE's that stirred so much pre-draft controversy to see if they realize the potential some of us saw in them. That being said, regardless of where a player is taken in the draft it only takes a single injury for any player to go from hopeful hero to goat - it is the sad reality for professional athletes and we fans of the game can then argue forever about the kind of player they would have become. Personally I will never forget the kind of incredible player Sam Cowart was becoming and the Frank Middleton cheap shot that I think ruined a pro-bowl career. I always root for the Bills to crush Tampa the rare times we get to play them even though we are a generation or two removed from that hit.

I also think Ford needs to work on his footspeed against outside speed rushers. But he is a rookie with a high ceiling. An NFL-level nutrition and training regimen will help fill the gaps. IT TAKES TIME AS your name suggests so a bit early to say what he can or can't do. The competition needs to remain open though for the best player on the roster now. Regarding Josh, I will adjust my rose-colored glasses and respectfully disagree. Some forget that he is going up against the NFL's #1 pass defense last year and the coaching staff want him to go through progressions. Iron sharpens iron and he is moving the ball. The coaches are looking for him to take his outlet option after going through his reads. He is doing that so folks complain that he is holding the ball too long. I think his overall game is trending in the right direction and his ability to buy time in the pocket is an asset not a terrible thing.

Yep. Tore mine completely when I played in school...could even see where the tore ends of the tendons bunched up on either end behind the leg. Never was the same after that...that is why I advocate caution, ice, hydration, and time to fully heal. Super easy to reinjure if rushed.

As an advocate of the Bills investing more into the TE position for years, I get what you are saying. Just taking the glass half-full position of being able to get more starting reps for that Boston kid who I don't think is all that bad of a player. That, and Daboll likes to feature a lot of 2-TE sets so this can build into having two young TE's becoming long term starters for us down the road. Will hit the pause on the panic button till we learn more about why Knox came up gimpy and how long they feel he has to rest it - may only be a week or so kind of deal so we will see what OBD comes out with in their next presser.

Not if it is just a mild strain - then it is some ice and mild rehab to recover. That, and Knox has been getting all the work with Kroft out, so if you work in the kid from Boston you start to build your depth in the off season. TE's get dinged - a lot. They have the size and speed that puts a lot of strain on the joints, they get tangled up blocking, and when receiving defensive players (smart ones) always take them low. The Bills need to work building the depth.

Time for that hard-nosed kid out of Boston to step up - not a bad thing this time of year and when a hammy starts to go, you have to give it time to heal or it will be a lingering issue. Just ask Shady.

I know there is a lot of excitement around Cody Ford, but based on some of his highlight reel work I hope they never ask him to pull. Looked like a Star Wars AT-ST trying to run behind center and line up someone to block. Not his thing - has a great range and long arms pass blocking, and is a nasty bull when plowing straight forward in run blocking. You get an idea of the drop in coaching talent between college and pros when you see coaches completely misuse players like Ford and Oliver.

As crazy as this thread seems as we endure our NFL drought, with more states legalizing gambling and looking to curb underground illegal gambling, there has already been some federal hearings regarding oversight of the industry. If there ever is state or federal oversight, I imagine they will use techniques like Nevada's gaming commission claims to use to spot irregular betting. Of course the existing institutions in Nevada, and the few Indian organizations that have grown fat and happy with their virtual gambling monopoly sans transparent oversight are strongly opposed to that idea. Our government of course sees money flowing that they have not tapped into?

Where I am at. I can go along with a close call gone wrong, but that was blatent no call with nothing in the way of viewing it. And our boy Nickell seemed completely fine doing something that normally would draw a hail of laundry and put the Saints on the doorstep of the goal line with a fresh set of downs. He did not even pretend he was looking back for the ball.... It is entertainment, and there is betting, viewership, and new stadiums to build. It is not that far fetched that some games are fixed. I still enjoy watching my Bills play.

On paper? we are better, but I agree OBD took steps to infuse talent and Allen needed a better supporting cast. Really hoping it all comes together this year. Been a while since we had an offense we could get excited about.

I get where you are going, and for me as a fan of those Bills' teams I feel they were elite players that had the misfortune of hitting a perfect storm of NFC Superbowl teams. I often wonder how many good players become great players because they land with the right team with the right coaching around them, vs players that make average or poor teams better because they bring elite skills... The truth, like most things in life, is probably somewhere in the middle and some positions carry more impact than others.

True. I think most of us hope that Allen becomes that QB who can elevate the play of guys around him. Takes time, but I think today's game plays into Brees' strengths.

Dunno, I would definitely add playoffs and championships won as part of any pro-athletes resume and impact analysis. I mean that is why they are paid millions of dollars, to help their teams win games not to pad stats. As great as our SB Bills teams were, those players will always be rated lower than players with similar stats on teams that won the big game - it is just the way winning and losing either adds to or diminishes the perception of a player's impact on the game. In today's spread offenses I think the concept of a number 1 receiver is giving way to role players ala NE and New Orleans. Just scheming guys open, whether they are slot, perimeter, seam, or RBs releasing. I wonder how much it would change their offense for a team like New Orleans, that likes to dink and dunk down the field, to have a stud player like Julio Jones? Would he be featured less and have less yards than he has had with Atlanta? I think good teams with solid QBs make good receivers look great without tying up significant cap signing so-called "elite" receivers. On poor teams elite receivers often disappear and the prima donnas tend to implode. It will be interesting to see how AB fares this year and how the Steelers perform without him.

Had some meat on a stick once in Nawlins that the vendor said was Gator - not surprisingly, it tastes like swamp.