CincyBillsFan

Did anyone else notice how the WR's on both teams played only a minor role tonight? The leading receivers for both teams were TE's - Gronk & Kelsey. The leading total yards from scrimmage guy was a RB. IMO the fact the Bills won 15 games; had one of the top 3 offenses in the NFL and that Allen had an MVP caliber year without effective RB or TE play is amazing. It's clear what the Bills have to do - at least on offense.

The fact is that the refs are enforcing the rules like they were enforced the entire season and KC is rightly getting called. The real issue is why were the rules NOT enforced two weeks ago. As for Brady I stopped hating on the guy years ago and I'm certainly not going to hate on him when he plays for a team in another conference. The reality is we are watching something extraordinary - a 43 year old QB on his way to winning a Super Bowl MVP. Think about that for a moment.

I would switch Allen and Watson based on the fact that probably a third of Watson's passing yards/TD's came against prevent defenses. I wonder if that even enters the assessment of PFF but IMO it's a huge factor as we've all seen how many garbage time yards & TD's a QB can pile up down by three scores. In fact a close examination of Stafford would probably show that his career numbers also have benefited greatly by the Lions having a bad defense.

It's possible for multiple things to be true at the same time: * Mahomes is the best QB in the NFL. * Allen is closing the gap fast and may catch Mahomes next season. * The Chiefs have more talent then the Bills. * If the Chiefs continue to be the better team then even if Allen catches up to Mahomes KC will go further in the playoffs.

The idea that Allen was "meh" at Wyoming depends on you having only looked at his stats and not watched any Wyoming games. Years ago I stumbled on an Allen/Wyoming game late on Saturday night (it was 2 years before he declared for the NFL) and couldn't believe what I was seeing the WY QB do. Some of his throws and sack escapes defied logic to my football mind. I started making it a point to catch Allen's games after that night and the first thing you came to understand was that Allen's stats meant nothing. He was doing things that no other QB in college football was doing. And I watch a lot of college football. I remember thinking wouldn't it be nice if the Bills drafted this guy in the 4th round in a couple of years as an experiment. Little did I know. Needless to say I was thrilled when the Bills made him their pick. I wasn't sure if Allen would work out in the pros but I damn sure knew it would be entertaining.

So does this mean that the market would support 10 first round picks for Allen and 12 for Mahomes?

I refused to eat pizza with pineapple on it for years. I thought it was an unnatural act practiced by only the most primitive creatures. Then I tried a slice of ham + pineapple and it's now my second favorite topping on pizza.

Any deal is likely to be CAP neutral in 2021 & 2022 so covid should not be a factor here. If the Bills don't sign him this off season you will begin to see a rot spread through the organization. Allen will wonder if he really is the guy here. Soon we'll start to resemble the Dallas Cowboys QB saga where franchise tagging Allen every year is our only option. Now that's how you blow up the CAP. But not to worry. Bean will get it done and Allen will agree to a very CAP friendly deal. Nothing we've seen or heard on this topic from any of the key players would lead anyone to believe differently.

I think there is merit in this position. Tua was the 5th player taken in the 1st round last year and now he is at the epicenter of a possible trade for Watson. Darnold was the 3rd pick and Rosen was the 10th pick in 2018 and one is a bust and the other is on the brink of being a bust. Goff was the 1st pick in the draft not that long ago and now he got swapped for Stafford. I could fill this page with more examples of this.

Let's face it folks threads like this one and the multi page threads on Watson & Stafford only confirm that Bills fans have a bad case of off season speculative syndrome. For the last 25 years we have approached every off season like a gambleholic approaches a poker game. We have months to scheme preseason moves that will finally land the Bills a franchise QB and a playoff birth. But damn, this years Bills have spoiled that fun and now we have to exist in a world where we have a franchise QB and the Super Bowl is a legitimate goal. Where's the fun in that? I'm envious of Detroit fans who now can imagine all the pro-bowlers those 1st round picks will garner. Or how Goff will return to his super bowl year. And imagine how much fun the Rams fans are having as they speculate on how their almost elite new QB, who never won much in Detroit, will lead their elite defense (the one Allen and the Bills torched but I digress) to the Super Bowl. And I can only guess at the ecstasy surging through Miami & Jets fans in anticipation of landing the Watson. Who cares if they have to give up their first born child to get him. Think of all the awesome scenarios for any team that lands a top 5 QB like Watson. The outcome is guaranteed just like when the Bills landed Bledsoe!

And maybe the Rams are worrying that the Chargers and their great young QB are poised to jump past them in the eyes of the LA sports fan. Herbert is going to be a star and McVay is going to feel the heat if he doesn't get top level production out of his QB.

Absolutely there is IMO. And when you throw in 2 first round draft picks I take the picks and Goff EVERY time over Stafford.

The Dolphins have more holes to fill then their 10 - 6 record indicates. Unless the Fish expect to get gifted a slew of turnovers in key games next season they need to upgrade the talent level significantly just to get back to 10 - 6. Signing Watson upsets the Dolphins salary cap limiting the number of high impact free agents they can sign. And giving up those premium picks robs them of trade bait on draft day and the chance to accumulate even more picks and stocking their team with young, low cost talent.

I wouldn't. How many playoff games has he won? A lot of Stafford's stats were generated trying to overcome 3 score deficits. Prevent defenses are kind to a QB's stat line. But even if Stafford is better then Goff, he's not close to being TWO first round picks better.

IMO if Miami pays what it will cost to land Watson it will be the ruin of their team. Watson is a great QB but the cost to the Dolphins would cripple them and we know that when not surrounded by a lot of talent even great QB's like Watson will go 4 - 12. And this is why the NFL will not become like the NBA.

As others have noted the cost to land Watson just got inflated like a Weimar Republic Deutsche Mark! It's easy to throw stones at Goff but is Stafford really that much better? Put Goff in Detroit for all those years and he's more then capable of putting up Stafford's numbers. On paper this trade is a huge win for the Lions.

I can see Miami regressing with Watson at QB. First, to get Watson they'll have to give up most if not all of their first & second round picks this year. Second, the Dolphins won a lot of games because the ball bounced right for them. If they get only half the TO's next year they got this year they'll be hard pressed to win 10 games with Watson at QB. IMO there was nothing scary about that Miami team the Bills beat 56 - 28 in the last game. The Dolphins win that game and they're in the playoffs. The Bills sat a number of key players for the game and sat the rest in the 2nd half. What that game showed was that Miami is not as close as people think. They have a lot of work to do on that roster. The type of work that benefits from having a QB on a rookie contract.

I remember a couple of brave souls (I was NOT one) speculating that Allen's top end would look like the Miami game to end the 2018 season. Those few posters were torn to shreds by the still strong "wrong Josh" crowd. It turns out they not only were right but may have been underestimating Allen's upside.

This point needs to be repeated over and over again. Beasley AND Diggs had the best seasons of their careers. Gabe Davis, a rookie, catches a boatload of TD's. A guy the Bills lose on waivers catches a TD in the game that clinched the Bills a division title. When looking at who is and who is not an elite QB talent the ability to improve the play of others may be a distinguishing factor. In Allen's rookie & second seasons he showed he could do that (Foster anyone) but this year he took it to ridiculous extremes.

Are others as awe struck by Allen's numbers through 19 games (including 3 playoffs games) as I am? I mean think back to January 2019. Anyone posting these numbers for Allen's 2020/21 season would have been laughed off this board. Over 68% completions; just shy of a QB rating of 105; nearly 5400 yards of total offense and 52 TDs! Are you kidding me.

First off I don't care who is labeled the favorite in the East or the AFC in the preseason. It has no real impact on how things actually turn out. Second, I believe that the idea that Watson going to Miami turns then into a Super Bowl contender is premature. Sure he would be an immediate upgrade at QB but there would be other ripple effects in the Dolphin organization. I happen to believe that Miami overachieved in winning 10 games this season. Watson could arrive, significantly improve their QBing and they still only win 10 games next year. I agree with you that the NFL needs to squash this. Unless folks think the NFL would be better served mimicking the NBA Watson signed a contract, a good one, and he should be held to it.

To be fair Watson was throwing against prevent defenses a lot more then Allen. I suspect that at least a quarter of his stats were generated in that way. While Watson has been better then Allen over the last 3 years I'm one of those who think that RIGHT NOW Allen is better then Watson.

Can we all agree that setting Watson aside the Texans still had more talent on their roster then the Jets and probably about the same talent on their roster as the Pats? Yet Watson QBed them to a 4 - 12 season. Considering what a team will have to give up and the CAP hit of signing Watson he may not have as many suitors as people think.

I agree 100%. The gall of this clown. He could have been GM for 25 years and would not have sniffed an AFC championship game.

I'll bite. The process of signing your franchise QB to a big contract at the end of year three is designed to achieve much of what you want. That is to lock up our guy in a CAP friendly way. With the Ravens working to restructure Jackson and the precedent set with QB's like Mahomes, Watson, Goff & Wentz the Bills can not afford to not restructure Allen's contract now. Frankly I'm not going to risk the relationship between the franchise QB and the franchise should they choose not to sign Allen to a new contract. I'm confident the new contract can be structured to gain all the CAP advantages you describe while locking up a generational talent for the foreseeable future. It would be gross malfeasance on the part of the Bills not to sign Allen to a new contract this off season.