CincyBillsFan

What is frightening about the Cook extension was that it almost didn't happen - at least from my admittedly distant vantage point. As another poster noted it's almost as if the organization thought the offense could still excel without Cook.

The good news is that a lot of these problems can be fixed.

I would take it a step further, how many times does an "everybody eats" concept actually work in the NFL when you have a great QB and team with Super Bowl aspirations? Last night just reminded all of us that a great QB requires a couple of great skill players to have the type of O that wins SB's. The Bills SB years featured a HOF QB and 2 HOF skill players in Thomas & Reed and a 3rd in Loften for a couple of seasons. Like a lot of people I fell for the "everybody eats" concept because I very badly wanted it to be true. After all looking at the Bills collection of skill players in the preseason it was the ONLY option available. But reality has bit me in the butt and I can't ignore the fact that an "everybody eats" offense isn't likely to be a SB winning offense. So what to do? Either someone jumps up and becomes consistently elite AND stays healthy - Cook, Kincaid & Shakir - are our best hopes or the Bills make a big time trade.

Last nights Bengals/Steelers game reminded me again of how flawed the concept of "everyone eats" is. Everyone didn't eat - Chase and to a lesser extent Higgins bellied up to the buffet and gorged themselves. And over the decades this is how teams with great QB's win championships - they have elite skill players that eat all the food. Just go back to the Bills Super Bowl years - you had a HOF QB depending on the production of Thomas & Reed and for a couple of years Loften - all elite HOF skill players. Sure Metzalars, Beebe & Davis could explode but the notion of "everyone eats" would have been bizarre to those teams. The basic nature of high end NFL offenses works against the everyone eats concept if that concept means that a lot of average skill players can take turns putting in HOF performances on any given night. The reason a Beebe could have a 200 yard receiving game against the Steelers was because the Steelers were doing everything in their power to keep Thomas & Reed away from the buffet.

I suspect that by the end of the season they will be well above 500. And while I hate to defend the Chiefs I think their record over the last 7 years, how many Super Bowls have then been in, speaks for itself. As an aside while I have concerns about this seasons Bills team I also think that they are in a strong position to rebound and go on a run after the bye. Last season they were 3 - 2 and a lot of fans thought they were down for the count before they went on a 10 - 1 tear.

There is nothing in Beanes quotes indicating that Allen has much influence on who they pick or sign as FA's. If anything the tone of Beane's comments are more along the lines that Allen is a bit of a pain in sending him opinions on potential players. This is not the same thing as Allen playing a significant role in who they draft.

I was responding to a point that over the last few years, not just this season, Mahomess has often looked very pedestrian yet the Chiefs won the game. As for this season I would speculate that the reason the Chiefs are only 3 - 3 is that they've played a very hard schedule to data.

Fluff pieces or after the fact cheer leading by Allen. Nothing in any of these articles convinces me that Allen was instrumental in picking these guys out of a list of dozens of candidates.

Beasley would like a word.

And what rumors are you talking about?

A lot like the Houston game last year. It happens.

And I'm confident that over the course of the whole season Allen will make those plays, just like last season and the seasons before that. What isn't reasonable is that Allen will make those plays in every game. As Greg Cossel frequently notes its just not realistic to expect Allen to pay like Super Man every week.

And much better coaching.

He did not throw Shakir out of bounds on that 3rd down play. It was a great throw on 3d & long with Allen under a great deal of pressure. Most WR's would have gotten that 2nd foot down as there was more then enough room to do so. To be fair Shakir's strength is not making boundary toe tapping catches. But thatb throw was elite under the circumstances.

Wait, so on Friday, on the day Coleman was drafted when the Bills had the first choice that night and Bean had decided to pick Coleman Allen sent him a text? The 20-year-old said he received a text from Allen on Friday, before he was drafted that said (via the team's official website), "You're the guy that I want. I watched a lot of receivers and I want to play with you." Clearly the two-time Pro Bowler gives his stamp of approval on the pick. This looks like Allen trying to make Coleman comfortable about being picked by the Bills. Or maybe this is what you're referring to: Allen was involved in the team's selections, Bills general manager Brandon Beane revealed, saying his quarterback is "crazy about the draft process" and "loves it." "If I get a call from Josh in the offseason, it's usually him seeing somebody on a highlight, running into somebody, throwing with somebody -- just something to ask me what I think about this guy," Beane said. "He called me at the Senior Bowl [to ask] what do I think about a couple of guys there. So he loves it." Beane said he was curious about what Allen saw in certain prospects, asking him to watch film with coaches and talk about how he would utilize certain players in a game scenario. The GM said he wanted to hear what Allen saw in these players and it was Coleman who stuck out as one of the players the 27-year-old admired. Seriously? This is the level of involvement any top veteran QB is going to have with their teams draft. And this places into perspective Allen's role in all this: When Beane revealed that the team was likely going to take Coleman, Allen was "pretty pumped." So Allen didn't even know Coleman was going to be picked until Bean told him. Which is exactly how it should be.

Allen and Diggs had an issue between them. To extend that problem, whatever it was, to how Allen would view any other elite WR is not believable to me.

No I don't. Do you? You will have to excuse me for my ignorance as I'm not on first hand terms with Allen, Bean or McD to know this. Nor was I in the room when they were discussing these two players. Were you? Now I could believe that as the picks got close, Bean might have asked Allen what he thought abut a potentially elite pass catching TE like Kincaid or a physical 50/50 WR like Coleman. And at that point with a LIMITED set of choices Allen may have favored them over other options.

Damn jumping to conclusions are we? So Allen is a "huge weakness" because he's afraid of of a "giant personality and head case" at WR? Allen strikes me as the kind of person who was taught to make lemonade from lemons. That's why he's all in on "everyone eats". The idea that Allen would not be thrilled to have Chase & Higgens as his top 2 WR's is insane on it face.

What "reports" are you talking about?

Everyone keeps throwing Allen's name out there like he has any say in who they bring in on the O. Sure, AFTER they decide to go after a guy they might bounce the idea off Allen who MIGHT be able to veto the idea. But the claim that Allen is involved in who they bring in seems farfetched to me. After all if he was making personnel decisions wouldn't he be trying to get ELITE WR talent and not borderline JAG's on the Bills?

I guess this moron has never heard of Mahommes.

Yes, pending the results of this season.

I don't disagree with you but how disappointing is it that the one thing we thought was his strength - making those 50/50 catches - is not a strength? Your argument makes sense but it leaves me wishing the Bills had taken Worthy or McConkey whose strengths are what we thought they were.

Okay if this is true then we should not have drafted and Coleman and took McConkey instead. The logic behind taking Coleman, which made sense to me, was that he had the big frame and BB background to enable him to shine snagging 50/50 balls. Something the Bills did not have.

Bingo. That sideline pass by Allen was perfect and as you said most boundary savvy NFL receivers keep their feet inbound. Shakir is the best version of McKenzie that can exist. Not sure I put this on Brady. Over the last couple of games Allen has thrown some very catchable balls to Coleman along the sideline only to see incomplete passes as Coleman doesn't get his body set to make the catches expected from a big man. Typically a much smaller DB gets in close and knocks the ball away and Coleman looks at the refs and complains there wasn't a flag thrown. I watched a lot of college and pro football this past weekend and saw a lot of big WR's effectively box out the DB on the sideline throws and make those catches.