Beck Water

You are correct, McConkey played primarily from the slot.

I'm not challenging the truth. I'm asking for the data which establish what IS the truth If it's truth, you should have no problem providing the source of the data which establish that. You started out talking about 3rd and long. Now you're talking about 3rd down conversions in general Where are the data about 3rd and long? How do you define 3rd and long (since you reference your eyes watching the games), and how do the data about 3rd and long define it? Last, since you mentioned what a "casual observer" would be able to tell, I asked what a casual observer tells you about the Chiefs 3rd down defense results?

Hmmm. Wondering if there's a free source for these data? Also how you define "3rd and long"? What does a casual observer tell you about the Chiefs 3rd down results? I want to respect you, but I'm struggling to respect someone who puts lemon ginger kombucha in their cup. Do you drink it after you put it there?

I disagree on the "not a huge one". Morris is 6'2". I think the Bills hope was that he'd develop as an in-line blocker, but he never did. So the problem became, with Morris in the game there were a limited number of plays the Bills might run, and defenses had enough film to decode that. Rookies are almost never NFL quality blockers out of the gate, but Hawes has pretty glowing reviews as a blocker. https://www.nfl.com/prospects/jackson-hawes/32004841-5706-0991-3db0-4aa9a5a35e4b https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/Player/Jackson-Hawes-TE-Yale

Q was a converted WR. So he actually had release moves off the line - just not the suddenness and speed to compete as a WR in the NFL. And while he stayed on the team as a core STer, he never became a good enough blocker to see more than cameo appearances. But he could run a route and had good ball tracking and hands. I remember watching a OBL segment with Greg Cosell where Q ran a route and caught a TD in the end zone and Cosell was like "who is that tight end?" clearly impressed by the quality of the route, and Tasker told him he was a converted WR and he was "oh, that would explain it." That would apply if he'd attended Harvard.

Yeah, I think it's pretty inevitable. They used a 5th round pick on a TE who looked comfortable in rookie minicamp, Knox Kincaid and Hawes are gonna be their 3 TE. Question is gonna be how Hawes does on ST It's the TBD version of <EOM>

I honestly don't think so. I do think he manipulates teams to move on, but I don't think it's coldly calculated to add bank. I think he starts out great in each new situation. Then he starts to feel unhappy about this and that, and instead of working it out or letting it go, it builds to a big grievance in his mind, while his own behavior is never under an internal microscope and he never feels he has to apologize or make amends for a thing. So then the grievance has one solution: GOT TO MOVE ON. I think he misplayed his hand a bit with Houston. He accepted a 1 year deal because he was so certain he'd have a magnificent, 2020-like year with Stroud then be able to "make bank" this year with a final big contract. Well, thanks to the Patriots, he did get a big contract, but looking at the details, it's not what he would have gotten had he had a big year. It's basically like a 1 year, $16.8 M contract with a team option to keep him 2 more years. Don't get me wrong, it's still great money for a 31 yr old WR coming off an ACL injury. It puts him 25th overall as an "average salary", so he's still being paid as a #1 WR. But he was expecting, I think, to be paid as a top-10, maybe top-5, WR again.

That's basically what Dion said, and what Dion said about how Josh would feel about it: "I would never make my QB that uncomfortable" Dion said in the video, the guy's legs are too small and his stomach is too small and he could never protect Josh Allen

Well, we disagree and it sounds as though we're gonna stay disagreeing. It's not a matter of "devalue" and "trash" it's a matter of Cold Hard Football Facts. Cook has had 66 and 63 ypg the last two seasons. That puts him 18th in the NFL for Y/G rushing in '24 and 11th in the NFL for Y/G rushing in '23. Cook simply hasn't come close to the same offensive production numbers as Henry, or as Saquan Barkley for that matter. You seem to want to look at Cook's age vs. Henry's, and his agent's asking price as the only relevant numbers, but teams negotiating contracts are going to look at his performance on the field. I don't doubt that some team will pay - there's always a team that over-pays. But Cook is under contract to the Bills for next season, with the potential for being franchise tagged for lower $ than he wants in a contract right now. Unless he wants to play on a 1 year contract (he might), he and his agent need to come up with more than "pay me $17M per year because I'm talented and younger than Henry".

On the one hand, I agree, Diggs will be trying to show he's a great teammate and a veteran leader. On the other hand, I think Diggs can't help being a problem

Nah. I think he's stump-simple. He's a narcissist with a big ego. He legit thought he "made" Josh as a QB and that he was right and Josh was wrong on every miscue. Diggs was going to play with Stroud and put up just as big or bigger numbers, while Josh with a rag-tag receiver corps and a new OC would falter. That's behind his "You sure?" response to a tweet about Josh not needing Diggs Now that Josh won League MVP and the answer to "You sure?" was unambiguously "Yep" while injured Diggs missed half the season, it's in Digg's self interest to promote his successful years with Josh to say "hey, I played with the guy who was last year's league MVP and put up big numbers year after year, Pick Me!"

Nice narrative, but people on this board who do have some sources say that the 2022 season problems started well before the Hamlin game. If you search, you can find here. Things that have been heard are: -Stef would go after Josh for his perceived mistakes after practices and games to the point where it made the rest of the WR room uncomfortable, and Josh finally had enough and stopped taking it. At one point during that fall, Josh and Diggs relationship was so bad they were reportedly barely talking to one another. -Keep in mind that Josh tore his UCL in the '22 Week 9 Jets game and the initial assessment going around was that he would miss at least as many games as he missed his rookie season (4). Palmer said after the season that it was a worse tear than 2018 where Josh missed 4 games. There's a Marino podcast talking about how it impacted the Bills passing game. Josh was listed as "limited" in a number of practices and there are reports he was limited in throwing (or not throwing) for weeks. -It was said that Diggs was late for meetings and the team gave him a parking spot by the entrance and other special handling to try to keep him in line -Also said that Diggs pulled some stunts that "hurt the team". As far as "Josh played poorly" vs Cinncinnati, please keep in mind that the whole team played poorly - starting with our defense, which looked as though they were on skates. Specifically, Diggs was targeted 10 times and had 4 receptions for 35 yds. While some of were off-target, others of them looked to be catchable balls. There were also balls where it was pretty clear Allen and Diggs weren't on the same page.

If he wants to play like a WR then he needs to work on his freakin' release moves because he can't release like a WR

Did it? Henry contributed 124+ ypg for Baltimore last year - 113 Y/G rushing and another 11.4 receiving yards. Almost half those yards were after contact. Played 17 games and....only 57% of the snaps!!!! Add in 270 yds in the playoffs He's a beast, and stopping him must have kept DCs up at night. Bills called it good, to limit him to 84 yds in the playoffs. I don't mean to dunk on Cook. He's a fine player. But apparently part of his team's argument for why he should become one of the highest paid backs in the NFL is that he's capable of being a 3-down player, but the Bills are limiting his touches to <50% of the snaps, causing him to only rush for 63 ypg vs what he could theoretically contribute if he were allowed to be the 3 down player he's capable of being. When you look at Henry's contributions almost 2x the yards with only ~15% more snaps, that argument kind of gets shredded...like the defenses Henry runs over

"Coming in Hot" is an apt description. Wow. Beane very defensive about the WR room.

Signed with the Rams

Kid is obviously intended as the Lee Smith of the future

Wasn't he drafted by Detroit at Pick 28?

I'm just curious, how much alcohol do you have to consume before making a post like this?

I thought "don't tip picks" meant if you learn the actual pick before it's announced on the air, don't spill the beans?

We'll never know, but a trade up to 12 would have cost A Lot.

That's what I said when the Bills selected Kaiir....

Yes, he was. There is probably something worse than watching the bodiesl of two people you love continue to breathe and eat (kinda) and excrete, while everything that made those people who they are, slips away due to dementia and you're dealing with the wreckage of your loved one's mind. But right now, having watched that go down with my late FIL, I can't think of it. And Flaz was in the thick of it every day as a daily caregiver.

RIP FlAz. A good man went home. He dealt with A Lot for a long time, and did as well with it as anyone could and better than most. He was largely a Shoutbox resident.

You're right about the risk of injury while working out independently, but most of these athletes only take a short time off before they start to work out again in one or another way (rehab or trying to improve themselves) so the few days that voluntary OTAs last don't really matter in the big scheme of things. I think the answer is insurance. They take out insurance to cover the salary they'd lose if they suffer what gets called a "non football injury" while training. I don't think the insurance will cover them jet-skiing or snowboarding or stuff, but it will cover if they tear a muscle or tendon doing workouts to maintain or improve their athletic value. I don't understand about the "draw fines": no team is going to fine an athlete for working out with a private trainer. That might be the spot on the depth chart the draft pick occupies going into training camp, but there's nothing to say he won't occupy a different spot coming out of training camp. See Elam, Kaiir and Benford, Christian. Of course I agree with your point that Cook missing VOLUNTARY OTAs is a non-issue. I think in this first phase, they're just doing strength and conditioning and "dead ball" drills, not even position-specific drills or working with coaches.