Phil The Thrill

I was happy to see KC beat Tennessee last night and overall I like the team. I think Mahomes is awesome and I like Andy Reid and hope he wins the big game. I also realized that the Bills could’ve drafted Mahomes and elected to trade out of the pick. It would have been nice but I understand the circumstances and moved on. At no time did I say “Ugh WE could’ve have Mahomes.” But then I opened Twitter and my timeline was bombarded with the negative revisionist Bills fans crying....literally crying because the Bills had a chance to draft Mahomes and he is now head to the Super Bowl. Then the media jumped in: I’ll say that if we could go back to 2017, I would definitely draft Mahomes but it doesn’t work that way. There were some huge fans of Mahomes in the 2017 draft but a lot of detractors as well. Give credit to Any Reid and KC for making the jump, but they were in a position where they could tolerate a high risk/high risk reward pick. McDermott probably wasn’t. Also the situation at One Bills Drive was still a mess. McDermott was hired but Terry didn’t want to fire Doug Whaley. It could have been because he wanted to protect their draft intel or because he simply likes Doug and was hoping he’d work with McDermott. He probably should have just fired Doug and brought in Brandon Beane in January. The 4 months before the draft would’ve been hectic as hell but it can be done. People who hate McDermott love to pin this pick on him. But if you are mad that the Bills missed on Mahomes blame Terry for keeping a lame duck GM in power and creating a less than optimal situation. Back to the 2017 draft, I don’t blame McDermott for not wanting to select a QB with his first career defining draft pick. Would you trust Doug Whaley and his staff who haven’t been very successful in the draft and who are on their way out? Or would you make a bold move by stepping outside of your knowledge/experience base and roll the dice on a QB, knowing that your career probably depends on the pick and that the hit rate on QB’s up until that point was low? Plus you have to remember that many analysts were saying 2018 was THE draft for the QB’s. It seems to me that McDermott predictably did the practical thing and traded down for an extra first. It allowed him to stay in his lane and draft an All-Pro cornerstone to his defense. It also gave the new GM a chance to properly evaluate all QB’s a year in advance and the capital to trade up for one. Also as Marcel pointed out, it’s important to remember they did pick up an All-Pro CB who will likely be playing in Buffalo for years to come, a Pro Bowl LB (ditto), and a QB in Allen who has shown promise - but ultimately the jury is still out on him. The bigger things to remember is in 2017, they went 17 straight seasons without a playoff appearance. They made the playoffs in 2 out of the past 3 years and look to be building a solid foundation. Plus there’s still the question as to whether Mahomes would have been been successful in Buffalo give the situation, offensive personnel and coaching from great minds like Rick Dennison and David Culley. He came into a perfect situation in KC and wouldn’t have that in Buffalo. So in 2020, should the Bills have taken Mahomes? Absolutely. But remember he’s go #1 overall if we had the benefit of hindsight. But in 2017 it was more nuanced given the situation and I feel that many people forget all of this when tweeting like they did last night. It was far from as obvious as people make it seem. While it looks like not drafting Mahomes was a missed opportunity, the Bills didn’t let it ruin their franchise and seemed to have faired much better over past three seasons than they have in the past two decades. I think Bills fans need to think about all factors before whining and crying about this. And ultimately....I think Bills fans need to move the F on.

Bingo! Not state income tax also nice weather year round. A smart move for Rivers who isn’t coming back to SD

Scott loves living in the past

Your joke is actually sport on. He led all TE’s in penalties with 8

One line from McDermott’s press conference seemed to stick with me. When asked about the past with Carolina, he said this: “On of the things that happened when we came off the Super Bowl in Carolina was, lessons that we learned… we let too many of the leaders out of the building. Some of that happens with retirement and other reasons that come with age. But overall, that’s part of what I meant with keeping as much of this team in-tact as possible. Each year and each team is different, but you give yourself a better chance with the more that you keep a team in-tact.” How do you interpret that quote? To me, it says that he wants as many process guys on the team as possible. And while fans may complain about the Frank Gores, Lee Smiths, and Patrick DiMarcos - I don’t think any of these players (sans Gore) are going anywhere. The danger there of course, is that at times late in the season and playoffs Frank Gore was hurting this football team. While he made many big contributions off the field (most with Singletary), there were times that many of us groaned each time he slammed into the pile for a 1 yard gain on 1st and 10. Gore reminds me of another process guy Mike “Pooh Bear” Tolbert. I think the larger point is that he wants to keep this team together, but to what extent? Clearly he can’t keep everyone and there are some positions that need upgrades. What do you make of his speech?

I really don’t think it happens. At least, I don’t think that they give Poyer a huge deal. I can see tbem resign him to a modest deal but not one that put him toward the top of safeties in the league. The reason why is because the team is very bullish on Jacquan Johnson. At some point, they are going to want to see what he can do on the field in relevant game situations. He has 3 more years left on a rookie contract and possibly a higher ceiling than Poyer. If they extend Poyer than Johnson likely won’t see the field much.

Yeah I never got that defense for Rosen and not Josh in 2018. Both had very bad OL’s. Both had a good RB who was largely ineffective thanks to the OL. Both had a defensive minded coach. The big difference is that Rosen had much better WR’s in an aging Larry Fitzgerald and Christian Kirk. Plus Johnson is a great receiver out of the backfield. If anything Rosen had better weapons....yet he gets the “lack of talent” pass, by the same Analytics crew who propped him up in pre-draft. Allen wasn’t getting the same leeway from the same analytics crew that thought he was bad QB. Confirmation bias at its finest!

I think he’s ruined

wait where did you hear the audio? We’re you listening online?

Better than I thought. It seemed like they were giving up a ton of points

Has Jerry said anything about you on the air?

This reeks of someone from the social media team (likely a younger member - hopefully!) trying to create a video to go “viral.” I’m pretty sure they’ll do a approving content next time.

Meh...a bad year for Wade in 2019

The article isn’t incorrect and I don’t believe he will return.

I don’t feel bad for him. He’s gotten a lot of chances in Jacksonville. To his credit he was able to build a good defense thanks to constantly drafting at the Top of each draft class. He had a terrible 2013 draft and his high picks never really materialized. Sans a ridiculously good 2016 draft class, his draft record is very spotty. His big whiffed big time on Blake Bortles which killed the franchise and the Nick Foles signing looks to handicap the franchise in dead cap space for years. How many botched attempts to find a coach and QB does he get? He probably should be fired.

There’s a few thing you might be overlooking. I think the biggest is on defense. While the defense was very good, they also didn’t generate that many turnovers and scored 0 defensive TD’s. One offense the Bills moves the ball quite a bit but drives got stuffed between midfield and the red zone - largely because of penalties or Josh Alen taking bad sacks But let’s not kid ourselves - 2020 is a huge year and it’s all on Allen’s shoulders. He makes the playoffs and shows he’s an improved QB and this team in excellent shape moving forward: - Allen negotiates a second contract - Beane/McDermott receive extensions - Brian Daboll is a legit HC candidate - Multiple members of the Bills front office are legit GM Candidates If this doesn’t happen: - Look for the Bills to finally bring in a veteran QB (like an Andy Dalton) to push Allen or possibly to take over. - Beane and/or McDermott go in a “make or break” Year 5. - Brian Daboll might not be OC Its a HUGE 2020

He’s putting up some generational numbers that’s for sure

No Hap is right, I’ve heard the coaching staff speak in glowing terms of Tyler. I can’t remember who, but one of the best reporters was answering a question whether the Bills consider signing ERIC Ebron this offseason. He responded by saying the Bills like what they have in the TE room and like what Kroft brings. I haven’t been overly impressed with Kroft but from what I’ve read, it sounds like they might want to give him another year

Yep. Seems like a random reference but I remember hearing he had one. That would make sense because EJ struggled quite a bit with confidence. It’s a shame because he never should’ve been in the position he was in

He was horrible in Buffalo and likely cost Chan his job. He’s been good in Minnesota where Mike Zimmer runs the defense And he probably doesn’t do a whole lot of work in Green Bay with Aaron Rogers calling the shots at QB

EJ Manuel actually had a sports psychologist...not kidding

LOL they will need to hire more than 1 position to get the fan base mentally healthy

Check this out. It looks like the Bills are hiring a Mental Performance Consultant. Basically they are looking for someone to help pliers learn better, foster team building etc, and to help them become mentally tough. I know that Health and Wellness and Social Emotional Intelligence are huge in the corporate world now, so I think this is an interesting position to open for the Bills If anyone is interested, here’s the info Description There is an opportunity for a qualified mental performance consultant to work with the Buffalo Bills and/or Buffalo Sabres organizations in Buffalo, NY. Desired candidates are excellent communicators, adaptive under pressure, able to thrive in complex work environments, and excel at collaborating with various stakeholders across a professional sports organization while maintaining an athlete-centered approach. Requirements Provide confidential individual meeting with players with the primary purpose of enhancing performance and well-being through application of evidence-based practices from the field of sport and performance psychology Facilitate group meetings and workshops focusing on education and team building Collaborate with performance team members by providing input on socioemotional factors to be integrated into medical, strength & conditioning, sport science, and nutritional interventions and education Collaborate with player development staff to establish comprehensive plan to identify technical, tactical, mental, financial, and life skills to be developed that incorporates psychosocial factors (e.g., personality preferences, learning styles, attention styles, personal/professional/career goals) Assist with curriculum and program design and evaluation to support player development pathways Assist with talent identification in draft-eligible prospects Support professional development for coaches and staff Promote integration and coordination among performance team, coaching, player development, and scouting staffs by facilitating the flow of communication and relevant information Skills and education Graduate degree in Sport and Performance Psychology (doctoral-level preferred) Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) preferred 4+ years of experience working in military, sports, or elite performance setting Training and experience in bio- and/or neurofeedback technology Experience evaluating and applying scientifically validated and theoretically grounded personality preference inventories Additional information Willingness to relocate to Buffalo, NY required Willingness to work some evenings and weekends required Qualified candidates should please send a resume or curriculum vitae to Katy Tran Turner

The best example I can think of is Ryan Tannehill and it was more of him needing to find the right offensive system. In the NFL you don’t get 5 or 6 years. Next year is HUGE for Allen, make no mistake about it All of those QB’s are from different decades

This is a very good question and I do think it makes a lot of sense. It’s just like a boss who knows one one of his employees has been getting his MBA - you start to build a contingency plan. I’m sure that McDermott is here, knowing that Daboll is probably one good year away from being a HC. The idea of Dorsey as OC is interesting. McDermott actually interviewed him in 2017, though he chose an underwhelming choice of Rick Dennison. So maybe at the time he wasn’t ready. But 4 seasons later and I think Dorsey probably would have been the choice if Daboll got the Cleveland position.