BigAl2526

Benford is no burner for sure, but he actually timed a lot better than Levi Wallace at his pro day. 4.53 in the 40

I heard on the radio that Mekhi Becton is likely out for the season. Fractured patella? (kneecap)

A lot of urban, predominantly minority neighborhoods are tough places to grow up. The lack of opportunity breeds drugs and violence. Put the kid in a different neighborhood and he might grow up as a model citizen. Sometimes kids escape. Athletics is one of the avenues that allows some to get find a different life. I feel for both Dalvin and James. It's got to be tough to have a younger brother get in trouble like that. I don't know if the younger half-brother has any football talent or not but he can probably kiss any hope of a bright future goodbye.

We're getting some mixed vibes about Kaiir Elam. Some say he's doing fine. Some think he's struggling. I think it will be really helpful to see him working againts WRs from another team. I'm ready for the preseason game versus Indianapolis. I think Elam is going to get plenty of reps

From what I could see in the quote, the author seems to be spot on. I think it is clear that Beane and McDermott have followed a carefully thought out methodology in building the team and facilitating the development of Josh Allen. It's also clear to me that a lot of franchises have screwed any chance for a young potential franchise QB to succeed. The New York Jets is exhibit A.

When Allen was drafted, it was clear he had amazing raw talent and insane measurables. Of course, it was always a question of the accuracy and the things he didn't do well. Conventional wisdom in the league has always been that QBs can't outgrow inaccuracy issues. I always wondered about that in Josh's case. The reason was Josh's incredible rawness. I never had anywhere near the level of coaching that is typical of highly drafted QBs. In terms of his development, he was a lot closer to a high school QB than most QBs coming out of college hoping for a shot in the NFL. To me, that meant he had a lot less time for bad habits to become ingrained. The other issue with Josh Allen is his internal make up. Internal makeup ("heart," "drive") or what ever you want to call it is impossible to objectively measure or quantify. Scouts and evaluators do their best to try and figure out what's happening inside of a player, but they can't know for sure. I'm sure Brandon Beane would tell you they thought they might have a gem in Josh Allen, but even he was probably pleasantly surprised at just how "right" Josh's mental makeup and heart seems to be. Lots of people place great stock in their own ability to evaluate young talent, and even when they prove to be wrong, they hold on to their perceptions for an inappropriate amount of time, looking for every scrap they can to justify their preconceptions. I just don't think they matter any more.

They are in a major market area with plenty of wealth. They can, and do, charge whatever they want for tickets and have plenty of local corporate advertising revenue. Those factors go a long ways toward determining franchise value.

Of course, it's against NFL rules. The question is whether or not one can be sneaky enough to get away with it. If you're Robert Kraft and Bill Bellichick youo might try to get away with it, then just bully Roger Goodell if you get caught.

I think there were positive comments about him today.

Of course, the Bills have control about what gets out there if they want to exercise it. All they need to do is have closed practices. Ultimately, I don't think the stuff that gets published by fans on practices reveal all that much about what the Bills will do in the regular season.

One of the criticisms of Araiza coming out of college was that he got punts off so quickly, that combined with his poor hang time, it was very difficult for his teammates to get downfield and cover effectively. I know with some punters the problem is just the opposite. They become vulnerable to having the punt blocked because they take too much time getting it off. If today is any indication, his hang time is improving. I would guess the Bills can help him adjust the time he takes to get a punt off so that it will be advantageous for the Bills. It all hints at the notion that Araiza is a kid who is loaded with raw talent but did not have great coaching on the finer points of punting. The lack of certain qualities (hang time etc.) is why Araiza was not the first punter to be drafted and he lasted as long as he did. The Bills are gambling that they can coach him up quickly.

You're right. I was going by memory, and my memory was faulty. He ended up at Notre Dame.

I would say that Araiza won, but it had more with Araiza improving his hang time than anything Haack did or didn't do.. I'm pretty sure the Bills would love for Araiza to be the clear winner. Haack has been in the league long enough that his production in the regular season is pretty much a given. He's not going to make a quantum leap in his leg strength.

I think the Bills like Doyle. He was behind Brown in his development, but if he has to play this season, I would expect his performance level will be similar to Brown's a year ago. It won't be mistake free, but I think he would be OK against average opposition. I just wouldn't want him lining up against Von Miller if Josh Allen's health depended on Doyle having the upper hand.

Jordan Miller this time. Jordan Miller is a young cornerback-came out of college in 2019. He had some promise as a college student. He ran a 4.4 40 as a junior but got injured. He ran OK at the combine (4.49) though he had not regained his earlier speed. Concerns seem to center around injury risk as he is somewhat slender ( 6'2" and 190 lbs) His strength is said to be his ball skills. Obviously, this is tweaking of the back end of the roster, and Miller faces long odds of ever making it on the field in the regular season, but there is some potential and some nice traits there.

Could be a family matter, parents or sibling or something.

Nick McCloud was known to have outstanding athleticism and size/speed ratio coming out of Ohio State. For whatever reason, his production didn't match his physical profile. When the Bills signed him as a free agent, it was with the hope that with time and good coaching he could develop into a solid NFL CB. He's been with the Bills now for two years. It looks like the Bills' investment may be paying off.

If you don't like it, Nagee, give Brandon Beane a call when your rookie deal expires and sign your next contract in Buffalo. He would be a nice complement to what the Bills have at running back now.

I was told after my appendectomy that appendicitis is one of the hardest things there is to get a firm diagnosis. The classic symptoms are low grade fever, elevated white blood cell count and "rebound tenderness." Rebound tenderness is when you press down on the area and then release the pressure quickly. It hurts for a moment when the pressure is released. The emergency room physician, who had terrible bedside manner, sent me home once saying my fever must be from a mild ear infection. My primary care guy followed up with a phone call a few hours later to ask how I felt. At that point, I had a fever of like 104 and felt like death warmed over. My doctor had me go back to the emergency room. This time a surgeon looked at me. I had a high grade fever and rebound tenderness, but my white blood cell count was absolutely normal. He decided the odds that I had appendicitis were high enough that surgery was indicated. After the surgery, he told my wife that my appendix may or may not have lasted until morning without rupturing.

If they aren't present already, at some point the Bills will have NFL game officials present at practices. Part of teaching him will be to help him understand how much physicality is likely to be tolerated by officials and what will get you a penalty. My guess is it's harder to teach a young CB to be physical when he naturally shies away from it, than to get a physical cornerback to dial it back a bit.

Methinks there are a bunch of us here who were born somewhere around the middle of the last century.

My guess is they will play him for a drive or two in one preseason game.

I was 30 in 1982 when my appendix came out. As it happens, my appendectomy was 2 days before Thanksgiving. They discharged me after serving a Thanksgiving dinner. It was disgusting. My wife and I celebrated Thanksgiving two days after the actual date.

If OJ can figure out how to flip the switch, Buffalo may decide they will need to go with their no names as backup tight ends.

I had my appendix out in 1982. Even then the whole issue was resolved pretty quickly. I was in the hospital 2 days and had to take it easy for a couple weeks. I imagine the hospital stay is even quicker now. It might even be outpatient surgery. I would guess he'll be starting to ease back into practice by mid August.