Phil The Thrill
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Posts posted by Phil The Thrill
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7 minutes ago, Sammy Watkins' Rib said:
Aslo, the Bears defense was head and shoulders above all other teams in takeaways and defensive points scored in 2018. Once those statistics fell back to the mean it made it much harder on Mitch and the offense.
Bills had a good defense last year but they did not dominate the league in takeaways and defensive TD's. A significant decline in those stats is much less likely for the Bills which means Allen and the offense will not have to make up for as much as Mitch and the Bears offense had to try to make up for last year.
That is a great point and outside of Lorenzo Alexander’s departure, you might be able to argue that the defense is actually better than last season. Plus, I think it’s reasonable to think that the number of takeaways on defense might increase and the number of turnovers on offense could decrease (if Josh limits bums fumbles).40 minutes ago, Sammy Watkins' Rib said:Passing numbers are very similar with Allen having a slim edge in efficiency.
But both are supposed to bring a big value to the game with their legs and Mitch fell off a cliff in that regard in 2019. Their rushing totals and efficiency from 2019 are not close. Allen ran circles around Mitch after running circles around him in 2018.
Again the difference is that Mitch’s offensive skill players got worse. Josh’s are better. Doesn’t guarantee a different outcome but there is a difference2 minutes ago, SoTier said:When a team gives up on a QB they drafted in the first round, that QB is finished as a starter. Teams simply won't give him a real shot. Minnesota gave up on Bridgewater because his severe knee injury appeared to very likely have ended his career, so he's a very special case.
I suspect that Trubisky vs Watson was likely the reason that Whaley was fired. The Bills didn't intend to fire Whaley early on ... or they would have done so when they cleaned house after Ryan rather than leave Whaley as a lame duck. The Bills ran FA much as they always did, too. The early FA signees, Poyer and Hyde, were typical Whaley guys -- talented players for a reasonable price who fit the HC's scheme well. They were significantly better than the any of the veterans the Bills brought in after the draft and through 2018, so I'm thinking it was while creating the draft board that Whaley ran afoul of one or both of Brandon and Pegula. I don't think that McDermott, as a newly hired defensive minded HC would have had the clout to get Brandon's pal fired.
I don't think that "it could be the year the excuses for Allen stop". I think that Beane has moved to prevent excuses even being raised. Keep in mind that the Bills very quietly added several more FA and UDFA OLers to their roster during FA and since the draft. That suggests that they're still looking to upgrade the OL if only from a depth standpoint. It's Allen year to step up big.
But let’s say he takes a Trubisky-like slide. I think the Bills bring in a veteran QB like Andy Dalton to possibly take the reigns. I think he still gets a 5th year but a bad season, puts a major major question mark on Josh as the team’s future QB-
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1 hour ago, C.Biscuit97 said:
Oh please. If anything, I’m the most honest and clear thinking poster on this board. If a move is good, I will call it good. If it sucks, I will say it sucks. Defensively, I pretty much love every move they have made minus signing Star and Trent Murphy. Offensively, they have struggled. The qb situation has been very weak to bad. They traded for scrubs like Benjamin and Matthews and passed them off as starters. And they love paying veterans rbs who were washed up millions of dollars.
Yeah, now you’re just making stuff up.
How am I making stuff up? You said they could have gotten more of a return by trading him the next season. This is a very presumptuous, and likely, an inaccurate statement -
1 hour ago, MJS said:
Because he's fast?
Part of the reason yeah. He’s flashed at times but has never been able to put it all together. He was off to a great start last year and averaged almost 20 yards a catch. I think he can definitely contribute -
1 hour ago, MrEpsYtown said:
Mitch obviously a bust, but Davis and Ross were huge reaches during draft time so that makes sense. I guess the Fournette thing is becuase they hate each other and probably don’t want to pay 8 million to a running back for one year.
I think Ross still has some potential. Maybe not as the top weapon but in a new situation he could be able to contribute -
6 hours ago, WMDman said:
Well this is a shocker...
It is a shocker. It’s not that expensive to keep a QB for a 5th year. Their declining of the option essentially means that Mitch is finished in Chicago25 minutes ago, Penfield45 said:my biggest fear for Allen is a Tribusky/Bortles like path
Tribusky's numbers are so similar to Allen's in his 2nd year. Bears fans were ecastatic about entering their 3rd year with him just like we are with Allen, and he crashed and burned.
Bortles went to the AFC champ game and now can't even find a job
Everyone who hates Allen has cited the Bears and Jags as examples. I think a big difference though is that the Bills actually upgraded Allen’s weapon in year 3. Not the case for a Chicago.
That’s why so much is riding on the 2020 season. It could be the year the excuses for Allen stop.
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1 hour ago, Bob in STL said:
Getting rid of that contract was huge. Dump it when you can.
Dareus helped them for one year, and then he went back to being the typically unreliable Dareus. Getting rid of that salary help us to rebuild.
He believes that if the Bills held onto him and traded him after the season, they’d get HOF’er value.
I believe It’s foolish to assume that if the Bills kept an underperforming Dareus on the team for another season it could have had an adverse effect.
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7 hours ago, C.Biscuit97 said:
I think you are missing the point. No one is arguing about trading Dareus. The argument is when they traded him and acting like it was some genius move. When they traded Dareus, they were 4-2. They finished 5-6 after the trade. Genius! It clearly sent an inspiring message in the lockerroom!
It saved zero money when if happened; the Jags went from a terrible run defense to almost making the SB; and our run defense was awful after the trade. If they keep Dareus for the season, he might help win a few more games and possibly the playoff game. He also may have been traded for better value in the offseason.
long term, they cleared cap room. But short term, no, it wasn’t a good move. You can still be a Bills fans and not pretend every move they make is genius.
If you read my comments here you know I don’t pretend every move is the greatest. But unlike some, I give this Bills administration a lot of credit for the job they’ve done. It seems like everything you write is critical.Im regards to trading Dareus being a “genius” move, I never said that. But if you remember in the summer of 2017, many in the NFL said it would be nearly impossible to move a slumping and lazy Dareus given this cap hit - if that’s why people are giving Beane props - that’s why.
I said it was the right move which you again dismissed failing to take into account the reasons why keeping him was problematic. Again, it’s about changing culture and it happens all of the time.
Also you can stop pretending that Dareus deserves the lion-share of credit for the Bills 4-2 record (he was playing less than 50% of the defensive snaps) or Jacksonville’s run defense who had already had a tremendous defensive line. To make either of these correlations is just using junk data for your confirmation bias
Your anti-Beane bias shines loud and clear through threads like this.
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1 hour ago, billsfan89 said:
The Dareus trade was addition by subtraction. Not only did the Bill's get rid of his contract a year early (which helped them have a ton of spending money for 2019 free agency) but they also got rid of a locker room problem when they were trying to establish a new culture. The actually draft pick compensation is fairly inconsequential.
I do think that the 2017 defense did suffer from Dareus absence in rush defense but long term it was worth it. It is unfortunate that Dareus never worked out. From 2011 to 2014 Dareus was a good to great player and even in the Rex and first McD years he still was a capable player. But you can't live up to that type of contract by simply being a better than average player.
This is what many including @C.Biscuit97 In this thread fail to understand. They think “Marcel is a better DT than Adolphus Washington, so the trade was bad.” That thinking is short sighted and the same logic that which hurt the franchise under Doug Whaley. Building a team is more than just adding talent.Also in any situation - whether it’s sports or business, when you’re trying to turn around the entire culture of an organization, you get rid of people who won’t get on board. Very rarely do you turn things around with the same exact team. The handling of Marcel was a great move and it sent a positive message to the locker room.
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2 hours ago, C.Biscuit97 said:
I still fail to see how the timing of the Dareus trade was a good move. It literally makes no sense to do a salary dump in the middle of a season when you are competing for the playoffs. Especially at a position that was a huge weakness.
McBeane has done some really good things but I think people fall all over themselves to praise them. The Jags almost went to the SB with Dareus. The Bills lost to the Jags 10-3. Maybe if they have Dareus and kept Sammy instead of scrubs like Jordan Matthews and fat Kelvin, they win that game and go on a playoff run.
Shocking this C. Biscuit character takes the stance against Beane and McDermott.In this case, he fails to take into account the human element of a sports team. You had a guy like Dareus who was overpaid, unmotivated, and not buying in. They sent a message to the locker room by trading him, and it worked.
To assume that Marcel would suddenly become a model citizen and turn things around to help the Bills in a playoff run is pretty short sighted.
Trading Marcel was 100% the right move. The results and salary cap speaks for itself. So does Marcel’s current football team.
Great move by Beane and McDermott
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5 hours ago, GunnerBill said:
You were late on the bus. In the days when we used to have signatures on our posts around here I made mine "fire Rex" after the Jags London game in 2015. The man was a freaking moron. 2016 was like slow creeping death to me.
That was the game where fans lost all confidence in Rex. Also I legit remember fans burning EJ Manuel jerseys on Twitter -
7 hours ago, warrior9 said:
We initially traded Dareus for a sixth round conditional pick that turned into a fifth.
The initial fifth round pick turned out to be Wyatt Teller.
The Bills then traded Wyatt teller and a 7th for this year's 5th and 6th round draft picks.
When all is said and done the Bills traded Marcel Dareus and recieve
Jake Fromm, Tyler Bass
The bigger return is that they removed a terrible Whaley contract off the books.This happens all the time on in sports and business when new leadership comes in. You try to get your entire team on board. When it becomes apparent a few people aren’t on board, you get rid of them. That’s what Beane and McDermott did. It worked
2 hours ago, artmalibu said:And after the season, we will know if it was a good trade or not...
Seems to me that it already has been a good tradeFYI Marcel is a street free agent
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There were many frustrating seasons during the drought. For me, it would have been either:
1994: Coming odd 4 straight Super Bowl appearance we all expected the team to get “one for the thumb.” But this was an old and tired football team that really hadn’t been upgraded enough. Many of the players were on this team a year too late - especially on defense. Kelly and Reed had a pretty decent season but Thurman seemed to be a little and Frank Reich really played poorly. I remember being surprised that they wouldn’t play in the SB - it was the first time for me as a fan.
2003 - the Bills came off a somewhat disappointing year (9-7) hut seemed to be firing on all cylinders after destroying New England 31-0 in the opener. They looked like a bonafide Super Bowl contender. But then of course, it all came crumbling down. Terrible coach, terrible year. Very frustrating.
2016 - There was so much Talk this year from coaches, players, GM’s etc. When it was nut-cutting time no one backed it up. The best example was Rex Ryan. Like a lot of fans I was excited when Rex was hired but he wore out his welcome fast. By the end of the 2015 season, I was pretty sure he was fools gold but hoping I was wrong. The worst was listening to Rex every talk about how they were going to turn things around.
Of course, the other person responsible was Doug Whaley. Another example of someone who talked a big game but couldn’t do better than Tyrod Taylor at QB. He whiffed at EJ then wasted draft capital to trade for a “generational player” who never panned out.
The best thing Terry Pegula ever did was to move on from these two...but man was it frustrating.
Let’s hear your thoughts!
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14 hours ago, DrDare said:
please dont say Ty Nsekhe
I feel he was our most valuable backup last year, and we did not draft OL
I dont have an answer to the question though
They view him as a backup swing tackle and given his and injury history they don’t rely on him to start. I don’t think they want to trade him unless a big deal came aboutThe biggest option is Murphy only because he can play and because there’s a cap saving. The problem is that they won’t get much for him. Maybe a 6th rounder. They are probably better off keeping him.
I can’t see the Bills flipping any WR for anything more than a 7th because they are WR heavy and the entire league knows that.
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1 hour ago, /dev/null said:
Speaking of Landry Jones, when Ben went down the Steelers contacted him about returning, but the XFL refused
Doug Whaley ladies and gentlemen.... -
8 minutes ago, Chandler#81 said:
Off the beaten path a bit, but the all time most comical Bill was and still is Paul McQuire.
He hosted a fun show on Empire back in the day -
Dalton has been pretty good against the Bills. Hopefully he doesn’t sign
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1 hour ago, BobChalmers said:
Pretty annoying since Deshaun Watson was widely praised for nearly an identical play - the difference was Watson was pitching to a veteran TE who was heads-up, Josh Allen was tossing it to the not-quite-ready-rookie Dawson Knox.
So kind of Jerry Sullivan with a slightly different shtick. The main difference that Sully trolls his own fans.
A little different than Sully. He’s more gimmicky where comes up with stupid names for everyone -
34 minutes ago, class_of_2012 said:
Kind of a ridiculous opinion piece by Dan Shaughnessy. I had fun laughing at it. Here are some excerpts:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/04/30/sports/worried-about-patriots-standing-afc-east-dont-be/
"How can Belichick be so Bird-like, cocky and calm, while the Patriot dynasty seems to be crumbling?
I give you three words: Bills, Dolphins, Jets.
Meet the New Tomato Cans. Same as the Old Tomato Cans. The Jets, Dolphins, and Bills are still Moe, Larry, and Curly. They are knuckleheads, porcupines, and lamebrains."
"Have pity on those poor folks in Buffalo, Miami, and East Rutherford, N.J. They are naive, innocent, and foolish. The pathetic Bills Mafia and New York’s Fireman Ed actually think the Patriots are going to fall from their perch atop the AFC East this year."
"The Bills went 10-6 last season and are the flavor of the month now that Brady is gone. Sorry. Not buying. Mistake-prone quarterback Josh Allen is not the answer. Allen is the Joe Kelly of NFL QBs and will lose his job to 167th draft pick Jake Fromm."
"Meanwhile, based on what we saw from his choke job against the Texans in the playoffs in January, it’s safe to say that Bills coach Sean McDermott will dissolve whenever he looks across the field and sees the Hoodie. The Bills over the Patriots? I don’t think so."
This is his gimmick. He’s like a cartoon character. He always calls players or teams “tomato cans” and openly cheers for the Patriots.
I think at one time he was a good sports writer but now Danny boy basically just trolls for attention. He’s the equivalent to Jerry Coleman. Even people in Boston hate him.
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What are the odds that he makes this team?
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1 hour ago, Nihilarian said:Re-read what I wrote. I never said anything about giving Allen a free pass. However, asking a young, inexperienced QB to face the onslaught of that ferocious Baltimore blitz was downright moronic. Especially when the run game with Singletary was working very well and the Ravens couldn't stop it.
The definition of stupidity is doing the same thing over and over when it isn't working. That is exactly what Brian Daboll did against the Ravens, the Browns, the Texans by asking Allen to throw so often when the run game was working. I don't think that there was an opponent that managed to stop Devin Singletary all season. So why not run more and throw less?
Go back and re-watch that Thanksgiving day game against the Dallas Cowboys to see how Josh Allen performs with a good complementary run game. 34 rushes for 124 yards by Buffalo and Allen had the best game of his career. 20 of 25 for 231 yards, 1 TD with a 120.7 rate.
The thing is, Bills OC Brian Daboll in his six seasons as an NFL offensive coordinator has NEVER fielded a passing offense better than 22nd in yards, 20th in points. Even Chan Gailey with a total crap roster on offense still managed to get to 14th in yards, points in 2011 with smoke and mirrors.
Josh Allen is going into his third season as a starting QB. Daboll going into his 7th as an OC. With the talent on this offensive roster I think the onus is on the OC to develop that young QB and get that offense into the top 15.
This is a weak argument which again, is designed to scapegoat and not to highlight some of the deficiencies in Allen’s game, which are great.
Say what you will about Daboll but he’s gotten moire out of Allen than a lot of people thought he would. If you are happy with Allen so far as a QB, then Daboll deserves a lot of credit.
Fans like you you want to blame Daboll for everything offensive related...but guess who didn’t - Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane.
The truth is, many of the “bad playcalls” that Bills fans love to hang on Daboll, were calls that Allen actually audibled into. Again, trying to blame Daboll over Allen is futile. Also some of the reasons certain play calls were made was because Allen struggled with reading defenses.
The truth is the lack of scoring on the Bills offense can probably attributed more to Allen than to Daboll.
Whether you like it or not....that’s a #fact!
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21 minutes ago, Nihilarian said:
Man, well said.
I can't emphasize enough how crucial it is having a top offensive coordinator in building a top offense. Daboll did some really good things last season and like you stated in outsmarting himself and at other times just went into a daze on how to beat certain teams.
The 2019 Buffalo Bills had a really really weak schedule in facing bad teams in the division 2x, 7-9 Jets, 5-11 Dolphins, and other bad teams 2-14 Bengals, 6-10 Browns, 8-8 Steelers, 3-13 Redskins, 4-12 Giants, 8-8 Cowboys, 7-9 Broncos.
Now look at the teams they lost to 12-4 Patriots 2x, 9-7 Eagles, 6-10 Browns, 14-2 Ravens, 10-6 Texans in the playoffs.
The Eagles game stands out to me as the Bills were dominated on both sides on the lines in that 31 to 16 loss, the Bills never had a chance as the Eggles ran the ball down the bills throats 41 rushes for 218 yards, 3 rushing TDs. The Bills defense inability to stop the run along with the inability to run the ball is why they lost...Singletary with only 3 rushes for 19 yards! One of those games in which Daboll had his head firmly stuck up his posterior. Allen took 4 sacks, 9 QB hits and was under tremendous pressure all game and yet played well considering the line failed him.
The Ravens game, the Bills had a Thurs night game against Dallas so they had extra time to prepare for Baltimore. And yet the Bills offense fell so hard on its face that it looked like someone putting their face under a forge hammer! The Ravens defense didn't have a dominant pass rusher so they blitz 50% of the time to counter that. The Bills OC had to know this, had to see this and should have had multiple plans to counter all that blitzing. Instead, Daboll called for 4-5 deep passes to beat that cover zero blitz...and when Allen missed on those deep passes the Ravens stepped up their blitzing to 65% plus!
Devin Singletary, 17 rushes for 89 yards a 5.2 YPC avg and 6 receptions for 29 yards. This was a player the Ravens couldn't stop and by running the ball it would have taken away their constant QB blitzing. Instead Allen 39 passing attempts, 6 sacks, 12 QB hits under constant pressure every drop back! This is more than an OC outsmarting himself! This was downright moronic to see how much pressure Allen was under and keep calling for pass plays. Stupid is as stupid does... Frank Gore was useless in this game, but Singletary was tearing it up and should have seen the ball 30 plus times. Motor was underutilized again with Daboll so narrow mindlessly focused on passing the ball.
The Browns, This was a game in which Brian Daboll was outsmarted by a now fired HC in Freddy Kitchens. In week 10 one of the top pass rushers, sack leaders in the league this season was Browns DE Myles Garrett. The Bills were playing the 3-6 Browns in Cleveland and that point in time the only thing the Browns had going for them was that pass rush by Garrett.
The Bills game plan should have been mostly running the ball to keep the Browns pass rush in check and Singletary underutilized 8 rushes for 42 yards a 5.3 YPC avg. Meanwhile Allen was asked to throw 41 times...why? After the game Daboll gave the excuse that the Browns were stacking the box against the run! Which was pure bullcrap because when you look at the game log Singletary 1st qtr 4 yards, 2nd qtr 9 yards, 8 yards, 3rd qtr 1 yard, 10 yards, 4 yards, 5 yards, 6 yards. Singletary didn't even touch the ball in the 4th quarter? Yes, Frank Gore sucked again and you have to ask why is he even seeing a hand-off, 5 rushes, 12 yards a 2.4 ypc avg.
The Texans playoff game. Even with a lead for most of the game this OC had Singletary 13 rushes for 58 yards a 4.5 ypc avg and Gore saw 8 carries for 22 yards a 2.8 ypc avg. With Josh Allen being the leading rusher 9 carries, 92 yards a 10.2 ypc avg along with Allen throwing 46 times!
Big difference between saying that Daboll outsmarting himself with bad game calls and him being a complete moron with bad game plans. Even when he sees that throwing the ball isn't working and the run game is working with a particular RB, he keeps calling pass plays?
Like with the Nathan Peterman debacle in which this OC couldn't see which is the better QB before the regular season. This OC doesn't see when a RB has hit the wall and just keeps using him when there is nearly nothing left. Frank Gore was basically useless for the second half of last season and yet saw the ball more than he should have.
Now, think back to when Chan Gailey had a burnt out journeyman QB behind center and ran five WR sets with a 7th round draft pick at WR. Now THAT receiver corps really sucked and yet Gailey managed to get those guys to a #14 in points, #14 in yards. The 2019 Buffalo Bills had a much better offensive cast and this OC couldn't get them better than #23rd and #24th. Brian Daboll should have been held accountable after least season. The way this OC leaves the QB to hang out to dry so often and abandons the run game is a big reason as to why he should have been replaced this off season. JMO
The problem here is that you are scapegoating Daboll and giving Allen a free pass. This is what a lot of the Bills fan base who doesn’t want to blame Allen. The Allen stans, as they say.Could Daboll have been better. Yes. But ask any NFL analyst and the majority have said it was Allen’s performance that held back the Bills offense last year, more than coaching.
So in short, if Daboll goes down this season, Allen probably isn’t far behind. It’s a huge year
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8 minutes ago, Dr.Mantis_Toboggan said:
Nope, just on my soap box.
I love comedy, and respect those for trying.
Never did I say I found it hilarious, but there were some things he can build on going forward.
I just don’t understand why people can’t be respectful of others while critiquing their work.
Just a basic human decency issue...
Rather than crap all over it, why not just let it fade away into the obscurity of the inter webs?
Again, though most of the comments weren’t that harsh. Take a look at this thread “more comedy gold from Chris Collins.”I think the overall takeaway was that we didn’t find it to be that funny. I think you are going a tad overboard. You have not problem criticizing the Bills coaches or players but when it comes to watching videos labeled “comedy gold,” it’s rude to say it’s not funny?
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21 minutes ago, pop gun said:
I guess 10-6 and the playoffs is still at the kiddie table huh? Does the rest of the league eat off the floor? Geez!
No but I know what he means. Josh could be very inconsistent last season. While he made improvements and had plenty of good moments, he also struggled and hurt the team with poor play - specifically in the 2nd half of playoff game.
I think he means, we need Josh to step up in the way other QB’s in this league have. It’s a fair point
4 hours ago, Bangarang said:
He may stick around for his entire rookie contract just like Mariota and Winston but if he doesn’t elevate his game then I doubt BB and McD are going to sit patiently and pretend that he’s good enough.
I don’t understand why people assume that Josh has done enough to warrant a 2nd contract after finishing only his second season.
Like you said, there are plenty of examples where Beane and McDermott have made a tough decision in the interest of their team. They won’t hesitate to move on, it things go south
Bears decline 5th year option on Trubisky
in The Stadium Wall Archives
Posted
Glad your not my GM....because I can. These are from from the best group in the NFL. Robinson had a great year but he’s far from a #1 WR. The rest of the guys are pretty average for their positions and before last year I’d put Robinson in the average category.
Chicago didn’t look to improve this group. They didn’t bring in anyone new who could compete. To pretend that this is a stellar group is unreasonable.
I’m not making excuses for Trubisky but I’m just saying that the comparison between Allen and Trubisky is not completely equal. Allen is getting a major upgrade at WR1 and RB2 in his third year. Trubisky was not afforded this luxury