CorkScrewHill

I do not expect them to say he sucks ... but they do not say the generic things .. they go out of their way to discuss his future greatness. I did not see that with Rosen in either of his locals and saw that withBaker last year .. but not this year. I think you are misunderstanding what I stated. I was referring to giving up a top 5 pick in the draft .. I agree you could get a first for Baker ..but not necessarily one of the top 5 picks. Btw - for those of you have not taken a vow of celibacy as it relates to PFF ... they have a really good and I think fair analysis of the Bills offense here. Definitely worth a read. https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-how-the-buffalo-bills-built-a-winning-offense

I think the best way to look at this is would a QB needy team willingly give up a top 5 pick in the draft for these QBs. Lamar - yes, Josh Allen - yes, Darnold probably, Baker - someone might but his lack of maturity two years in would give pause ... Rosen and Rudolph ... maybe a 4th or a 5th rounder. I look at what coaches and players say and don’t say about a player...Josh’s teammates talk about him being a future superstar ...

I had been thinking about this a few weeks ago. One of the amazing things about the 1990s teams was they were remarkably healthy vs their competition... and a big part of that was Rusty Jones ( truly underrated asset). There are many ways to gain an advantage (superior cap management, excellence in scouting, analytics, cheating - looking at you Patriots, and training - including conditioning and nutrition). I am in certain how we are with analytics and we don’t seem like the cheating type ... but the others seem to be trending very favorably.

Any chance we can get a thread going on the other playoff teams .. it would be nice to have people provide insights on the Chiefs , Texans, etc. I am certain I am not the only one who cares zero about the J.E.S.T jests, jests, jests game

Cheatin’ it is what they do. Here is a look at the non-intentional grounding ... as there was a guy right near the pass ... he was just wearing his cloak of invisibility. Also nice twitter smack from Tre’Davious to a tweet from Tom Brady https://billswire.usatoday.com/2019/12/23/buffalo-bills-tre-davious-white-tom-brady-chill/amp/

Awesome twitter exchange between Tom Brady and Tre’Davious White .... and a nice visual of the “non-grounding”. https://billswire.usatoday.com/2019/12/23/buffalo-bills-tre-davious-white-tom-brady-chill/amp/ Tre is a baller even with Brady

Seahawks looking to sign Marshawn ... he would have been an interesting signing for us ... https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2019/12/23/seahawks-consider-c-j-anderson-robert-turbin-in-addition-to-marshawn-lynch/

Who is the source ... is there a link ... or is this one of those the cabbie that took my second cousin to the airport stated a fellow cabbie mentioned that someone who he believes is Bens agent was talking on the phone and stated that Ben was fed up and might quit?

Your statement “We have quite a few holes on thisteam, frankly I think our coaching staff is the reason why we’re 10-5.“. Kind of sounds like Pittsburgh and New England who move on from star players but keep a very strong culture. We are likely pieces away and I would not be surprised if we failed to win the first playoff game .. and I would likewise not be surprised if we won it. I would be surprised if we went further but once u r in the playoffs crazier things have happened .. e.g. okay Giants team takes down undefeated Pats. This has been a good building year .. and most people are fine with well thought out critiques ... but the sky is falling stuff is difficult to deal with with no corroborating ... here is a logical way to improve ... is maddening

Interesting opinion piece from the Browns fan board on the issues with Baker .... he has definite leadership issues .... https://dawgpounddaily.com/2019/12/23/cleveland-browns-baker-mayfield-lacking-leadership/...admitted didn’t put in the right level of effort this year ... when asked about Kitchens said whatever happens .. happens are the most recent examples. It is too early to dismiss his rookie year but he has to grow up.

You also need to take into account the financial ramifications... We can get better receivers etc with a lower QB cap .... One name that hasn’t been mentioned and could probably be available ... send Josh and a third round pick to San Diego for Tyrod Taylor ... undue that mistake and make many TBD posters happy because he is clearly a Super Bowl QB though Cleveland and SanDiego were too blind to see it

Incredibly well stated.. changed coaches and gm, eliminated “star” players with exorbitant salaries, replugged holes with youth and some lower end free agents ... have 90 million for next year to take to the next level ... It should be a great ride

1) 70 - 30 he will be our guy ... when they brought him in he was a boom or bust prospect. He has shown he can learn and improve. As much as people want to gripe that was one of the best performances by a QB against the Pats this year .. if you look at the stats. 2) He does not lead the league in fumbles .. he has lost 4 all year which puts him tied for 8th with Aaron Rodgers and Matt Ryan and just behind a long list of QBs with 3 each.

Josh is great scrambling and getting that tough 1 yard on 3rd or 4th and 1 .. but we do not get meaningful yards when we design run. Our first down play selection was abysmal .. we ran 11 times on first down (excluding a scramble when the play was intended to be a pass) and got 9 yards total on those plays. We threw 10 times on first down, but most of those were in the final minutes of the first and second half's and we got 36 yards and a TD. When we were not in those last minute drives everyone knew exactly what was coming .. which is why you got less than a yard per carry .. and you put Josh and company in obvious passing downs.

I am a Buffalo Bills fan not a player fan as well, and as part of that I like to see the Bills draft players and let them develop. Josh has CLEARLY gotten better. You may be unhappy that he threw for barely 200 yards .. but then again the Patriots have held teams to under in all but 6 of their games so far .. both Bills games + 4 others. This was just the 2nd game the Pats D did not get a turnover (they are averaging over 2 takeaways per game, Did he miss some he should have had .. sure, but we scored the fourth most points against the Pats in a game this year and if they had only been up by 3 we would have tied it. Do you seriously want to go into the free agent pool - the best player in the last decade that has come via that route is likely Cousins .. and there is not much otherwise .. or the draft hoping to find someone better than Allen (Darnold, Rosen, Mayfield ). Not trying to be confrontational .. but you need to let a quarterback develop. I do not think the following is bad for 2nd year stats: Cmp Att Cmp% Yds TDs Int Yds/G sck sck Yds GW Drive 4Q Comeback 318 522 60.9 3303 19 24 206.4 30 199 3 3 Now you may notice that while these numbers are similar to Josh's , they are not his... this person had 300 more yards than Josh (but includes a 16th game, had one less TD than Josh and a ton more interceptions, and less yards rushing. He also has a bust in the HOF .. not saying Josh will or will not be better than Brett Favre .. but to say we need to get rid of him is premature and likely the best way to kill the momentum that is building.

It is easy to explain the Nathan Peterman experiment ... 1) they were not satisfied with the Tyrod Taylor experiment ... which was born out when he quickly lost the starting job in Cleveland; 2) He had an excellent preseason the 2nd year and many QBs take a big step the second year. They quickly realized that he was not regular season capable mentally and moved quickly to replace. AJ McCarron has done nothing since being traded .. so he was not the answer either. All teams make mistakes... the good ones quickly realize and alter their approach. We are not there yet, but the arrow is definitely trending up

How dynasties came crashing down: Attila the Hun invades Germania to begin the fall of Rome; Allen invades Foxboro to begin the fall of the Patriots

Very well done article from the Boston Herald .. on the Big brother relations between Pats and Bills.. https://www.boston.com/sports/new-england-patriots/2019/12/20/little-brother-bills-are-growing-up-but-the-big-brother-patriots-still-know-how-to-take-them-down Some highlights: "Brady is clearly ailing — when Belichick acknowledges, as he did this week, that the injury has cost Brady practice time, you know his elbow issue isn’t an excuse but rather a serious problem. Josh McDaniels and Belichick are not going to ask Brady to carry them, or do anything close to that. He’s not capable of it right now. Instead, they’ll try to keep Sony Michel (89 yards against the Bengals) and the running game trending the right way " " I don’t believe this is the week the Bills get that meaningful victory and the “mafia’’ comes out on top in the end. I can’t pick against Belichick and Brady in December, when something real is at stake. But it’s not going to be easy for the Patriots to prevail this time. The Bills are good. " and a stat I found interesting: " Allen has significantly cut back on his mistakes since the Patriots game: Since the loss, he’s thrown 15 touchdown passes to just three interceptions in a 10-game span. In the same stretch, Brady has 14 touchdown passes and six picks. "

The likelihood is small, but the Bills could still get the #2 seed if 4 games go there way .. they need to beat New England, we need to beat the Jets, Pats need to lose to the Amish Rifle, and the Chiefs need to lose one of their last two games.This would be a improbable outcome but not by any stretch impossible. Having recently seen the lowly Bengals surprise the Ravens who needed a victory to make the playoffs .. I am not writing off the opportunity ... BILLieve! Go Bills!

Shaw66 you write like an old school sports reporter ... you have facts but you intersperse them amongst a compelling narrative that makes your words impactful. You have opinions but they are part of the overall story not a banging gong that focuses on how smart you are and less on the story itself. I only joined in early October but the Rockpile Review is must reading ... truly appreciate you putting these together!

Christopher Johnson thinks Gase is an excellent coach .. in other news he thinks Mark Sanchez just needed a little more time to develop, Ringo was the best Beatle, Eastman Kodak had a great Digital Photography strategy, and Rex's foot fetish was awesome. Keep Chris in Christmas as this guy is the gift that just keeps giving.

A very nice listen from PatsPulpit podcast. The guy breaks down Josh Allen and his development through the year from the eye of the opponent .. his main point is that Josh Allen is not the same QB that they faced in week 5 and discusses his progress. definitely worth a listen. https://www.patspulpit.com/2019/12/20/21029855/the-scho-show-episode-54-josh-allen-bills-patriots-nfl-week-16

Right ... the line for the Bengals at the ravens week 17 in 2017 had the Ravens at home favored by 8 .. and I think we all know how that turned out. If we beat the patriots we go all in vs the Jets .. and if we lose to the Pats we rest for the play-off game is the logical stratagy. I would also assume they would have someone watching the Pats / Dolphins game and would adjust if it becomes clear in the 4th quarter the pats were going to win .. in which case we may elect to start pulling the starters.

Really nice article from the Boston Herald about how this game is about Buffalo trying to topple the Patriot Dynasty https://www.bostonherald.com/2019/12/19/the-patriots-can-feel-the-buffalo-bills-nipping-at-the-heels-of-their-dynasty/ some quotes “Buffalo’s brand of football feels familiar: smart, sound and defensive. The remade Bills are built to thrive in the modern NFL” ”If the Patriots win, they will have won their division for the 11th year in a row, a streak that would match the longest ever in the professional history of the four major American sports”

If we beat NE .. which I think there is a good (maybe not great) chance .. we need the Dolphins to win the next week. Thankfully they have committed to keeping Fitz in the starting role through the end of the year (have seen enough of Rosen). If you get good Fitz they have an outside chance to take them down .... https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2019/12/17/dolphins-have-no-interest-in-another-josh-rosen-audition/