Sierra Foothills
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Posts posted by Sierra Foothills
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4 minutes ago, Big Turk said:
Cook is a 2 down back who is terrible in pass pro.
You don't pay big contracts to players that don't perform at the same level or the same roles as 3 down backs like Barkley or McCaffery who are the leaders at the RB position along with Henry who is one of the best backs ever.
In the game James Cook missed, Ray Davis had 150+ all purpose yards.
You and others here are making lots of assumptions about James Cook, basically that he'll never improve as a player:
- Pass protection is below par
- Pass catching is inconsistent
- Cannot handle a heavier workload
- His career curve will be no better than his brother's
I don't make these assumptions. By all accounts James is a diligent and competitive player. He's 25 years old.
Last year he asked for and received goal-line responsibilities and knocked that one out of the park. He was the best goal-line back that anyone following the Bills can remember.
Many here seem to believe that were he to take snaps away from Ty Johnson that the Bills offense would be worse for it.
I feel the complete opposite. I believe the Bills offense would improve dramatically.
I also believe that Cook's best years are ahead of him. JMO.
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On 6/11/2025 at 5:48 PM, nedboy7 said:
I wanna try some pink drugs!
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12 minutes ago, Doc Brown said:
Beane's drafted four running backs in the top three rounds since 2018. So it's half of his drafts so far. It's the best way to get value out of a RB as you're likely drafting a first/second round talent a full round later who will usually be more NFL ready than any other position. He's already in his prime years physically and will shortly fall off a cliff after his first contract. Go get your Cook replacement in the 2nd or 3rd round next year and hopefully get a comp pick for him. Use him the same way as Cook and then four years later and then wash, lither repeat. I do agree that Beane should take more shots in both trading for possible #1 WR's and making it more of a priority each draft.
The downside of the strategy you describe is that the Bills got middling returns on Devin Singletary and Zack Moss and it's too early to say how Ray Davis will pan out.
The James Cook pick appears to be a home run and if they let him walk, he'll more likely be replaced with another Singletary/Moss/Davis than another James Cook.
The argument implied by many here is that the Bills can get 90% of Cook's productivity at a fraction of the cost... but that 10% productivity loss might be the difference between a true weapon and just another solid back.
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5 minutes ago, BarleyNY said:
I am going to lump the Bills’ signings of Palmer, Samuel and Harty together. I’m on record saying they were all overpays - though with Samuel it was more injury risk than ability. OTOH I think the Elijah Moore contract is a very good deal. The timing of those deals should be noted. The first three were done at the very beginning of free agency. Moore’s was after the market had settled. I think the Bills have been willing to overpay to make sure they fill the roles they want for their offense. They really don’t want to take any chances on taking a step back. They are one of the highest cash spending teams so that mitigates the issues overspending would typically bring. But they aren’t maximizing the use of their spending though.
So just to go full circle, the Bills have recently overpaid for wide receivers in free agency who have not yet panned out but they can't reach an agreement with James Cook who was a huge part of the offense and a homegrown guy who had 18 TD last year including runs of 65, 49, 46, and 41 yards.
I appreciate that a well-run team has to exercise contract discipline but if they're gonna overpay, who best to overpay?
Also, what is the projected return on investment for any given contract?
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On 6/12/2025 at 9:54 AM, oldmanfan said:
I hope the training staff puts all the guys on stretching programs from now till camp and thereafter.
On 6/12/2025 at 3:41 PM, MJS said:Have they scheduled the amputation yet?
I believe they want to try a splenectomy first to see if that works.
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6 minutes ago, Doc Brown said:
No. Trading for Metcalf for a 2nd like the Steelers did and signing him to a four year deal isn't going all in when they'll get him in a WR's prime years at age 27-30. Our offense after trading for Diggs at 27 went on to average the four best seasons in offensive yards in franchise history. RB was an afterthought.
Wow Doc.
I really respect your opinions but I'm not really sure what to say except, what do you consider going all-in?
If the Bills sent a 2nd round pick for Metcalf and signed him to a 4 year $132 million contract with $60 million guaranteed at signing, you wouldn't consider the Bills as going all-in?
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2 hours ago, Tuco said:
The language he's fighting against is exactly the same as the contracts signed by the players drafted ahead of him and behind him. Not sure how that would make him a Guinea pig.
If that's the case, can you please prove it?
On what basis are you contradicting the reporting of The Athletic?
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This discussion really doesn't work unless we're more specific about contract details.
Really the question is, what is a contract that is commensurate with the impact that Cook makes on the field?
That said I agree with the OP that there's this groupthink regarding running backs which causes teams (and fans) to be dogmatic and not diligent enough about running back valuation.
Philly and Baltimore are arguably the best managed franchises in the NFL and both saw the wisdom of a big money contract for a running back.
As a regular reader of this forum it's my opinion that James Cook is not valued as highly as he should be and I agree with the OP's thesis.
14 hours ago, Paup 1995MVP said:There are a LOT of solid RB's in the NFL. And James Cook falls into that category. He is reasonably dynamic, but certainly not a unicorn in his abilities.
Cook to me is much closer to a "unicorn" than he is a "solid player" in my book.
14 hours ago, Steve Billieve said:You can't pay top dollar at every position. There are absolutely running backs that can single-handedly take over a game. Do you honestly believe Cook is one of them?
I see where people here are devaluing Cook due to % of snap counts. Running back by committee is a widespread league practice which is ostensibly to keep the running backs fresh and reduce their injury risk. This is a legit reason for the practice.
However, limiting RB snaps also conveniently allows NFL teams to limit the contracts given to running backs and no one will ever convince me that the Bills aren't a better team with Cook in on 3rd downs instead of Ty Johnson.
How much is Cook worth if he's getting 300 touches per year? Well we don't know that because the Bills don't give him the opportunity. Could he "take over a game?" I don't see why not based on his elite 99th percentile yards per touch over 3 years.
13 hours ago, MJS said:Davis wasn't paid big money. Too much for what he was worth, but not some massive contract.
Gabriel Davis' contract was 3 years, $39 million with $24 million guaranteed at signing. That's big money in my book.
12 hours ago, Einstein said:That's a great point that I had repressed.
And its even more shocking considering Cook did this just a couple drives before that.
I'm not sure if @Simon was implying that the Bills don't trust Cook and have legit reasons to not trust him but it's unbelievable to me that in the Bills' biggest moment of need, that he was not on the field... and I don't chalk that up to to good decision making.
Final thought... there are plenty of posters here who want to go "all-in" to win a Super Bowl and cite actions such as trading for DJ Metcalf etc. If you want to go all-in to win a Super Bowl, how about simply paying James Cook a few more million dollars?
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Back to the topic at hand, The Athletic digest which I receive via email every day said this:
"Stewart and his agents asked for a standard, slot contract for his draft position (No. 17). Cincinnati wants to set a new contractual precedent with more aggressive language around voided guarantees. Stewart understandably does not want to be a guinea pig for all players that come after him."
I would agree with this characterization and Stewart's reaction, 100%.
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On 6/10/2025 at 10:57 AM, ChronicAndKnuckles said:
He had one of the most productive college careers in recent memory as far as rushing the passer/getting into the backfield. Led the FBS w/ 16 sacks in 2024. If you would've just showed me the tape, I would've guessed he was a 2nd/3rd round pick. His height will always be the biggest knock on him, but that didn't stop players like Von Miller or Dwight Freeney, the latter being the closest NFL comparison I can think of.
Player Height Weight Arm Length Wingspan 40 Yard 10 Yard Split
Elvis Dumervil 5'11.375 257 32.625" 76" 4.75 1.65
Javon Solomon 6' 246 33.875" 80.250" 4.72 1.65
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5 hours ago, Doc Brown said:
I don't think we'll ever see an MVP race be as fascinating as what we had last year. I could make a great case for each side. And yes, ***** Tom Brady. LOL.
In a nutshell (IMO), Josh deserved to win it in 2023 and was robbed... so last year was the makeup call.
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From the link provided:
"Mike Florio at Pro Football Talk was the first to notice and reached out to the Associated Press, who had this to say:
“AP removed an invalid ballot that was inadvertently included in its NFL Awards tabulation and adjusted its point totals to reflect 49 voters instead of 50. The correction does not impact the winners or the list of finalists distributed by AP, and the change to the vote total was communicated to AP customers and readers.”
So Josh Allen is still the MVP, but what about the missing vote? According to Florio, NBC Sports’ colleague Tony Dungy’s vote was not counted and Diante Lee of The Ringer was counted twice.
The Associated Press noted that Dungy had voted for Lamar Jackson for MVP, but Dungy denied that to Florio.
As it turns out, Josh Allen received 28 votes for NFL MVP to Lamar Jackson’s 22."
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17 hours ago, nucci said:
why does everyone assume vets will "mentor" younger players?
FWIW, yesterday from the horse's mouth:
“Physical. Downhill. Violent. Leadership. Encouraging others. Tone setter. Trash talker,” he said. “I’m a team guy first, right? I want my teammates to eat, whether that’s me blitzing and sacrificing myself for somebody else to make a play.”
11 hours ago, C.Biscuit97 said:Absolutely insane that a guy either one arm became a nfl player. Makes me feel like a complete loser with my 2 arms. 😔
2 hours ago, BobbyC81 said:How about the paraplegics and amputees that have climbed Mount Everest?
I also recently read about a blind guy that skied.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Abbott
"James Anthony Abbott (born September 19, 1967) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the California Angels, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, and Milwaukee Brewers, from 1989 to 1999. He was successful at the major league level despite having been born without a right hand."
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12 hours ago, Johnny Bravo said:
How are they ripping you off? The NFL offers a product that comes for a price they are charging. If you think the product is worth the price you buy it. If you don’t, then you don’t.
Again, the "whatever the market will bear" doesn't necessarily equate with "fair market price."
There are millions of people who helped the NFL build itself into what it is today... now many of those people are priced out.
What is a fair market price?
12 hours ago, Johnny Bravo said:I live in Virginia where I don’t get every Bills game for free like Buffalonians do. I want to watch the games live so I pay for the Sunday Ticket. In the past when I couldn’t afford Sunday Ticket I watched the recorded games on GamePass through NFL.com.
So you can afford NFL Sunday Ticket, and before that GamePass.
That's nice. Not everyone can. It's quite a coincidence that the people who think this is much ado about nothing are the same people who can afford to pay the price.
As I said upthread, I can afford to pay to watch games and I do. But I don't like the direction that the owners are choosing and I will walk away when/if it gets to a certain point. And I don't blame those who choose to pirate games. Some of them are protesting what they believe to be unfair business practices and believe that piracy is a legitimate reaction to greed. I don't disagree with them.
12 hours ago, Johnny Bravo said:Lastly. Why is it that the owners are considered greedy? I notice it is always the other person who is being greedy. I’m certainly not greedy when I try to maximize my salary from my employer and I would assume no one here would consider themselves greedy for doing the same. But an NFL owner wants to maximize the return on his BILLION dollar investment and he is condemned for being greedy. An owner doing the same thing I do-trying to maximize a return on investments-isn’t more greedy than I am just because his net worth has a lot more zeros than mine does.
The late Jim Irsay paid $4 million for a guitar. These owners own private yachts and airplanes, private art collections, etc.
That is absolutely their prerogative but if you are not content to simply be wealthy but aspire to be ultra-wealthy... well you just might possibly be greedy... or do you think greed doesn't exist?
There's a difference between wanting to maximize your investment and being so selfish that you are price gouging and alienating those customers who helped you build your business.
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Never in his career was Jaire Alexander a player that could be counted on to stay healthy:
9 hours ago, boyst said:In cornerback years that's 37.
In dog years... never mind, he's not "a dog."
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4 hours ago, BruceVilanch said:
From pellisero and pft:
The Bengals are moving on from Germaine Pratt.
1 hour ago, Fan in Chicago said:Serious question cos I don't follow the Bengals closely - is he worth kicking the tires on? I wouldn't mind an experienced LB on our team.
I've heard of him so there's that!
4 hours ago, JP51 said:*me sitting waiting for the "gitter done Beane"... LOL
Git 'er DONE BEANE!!!!!
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I've heard of him!
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5 minutes ago, Ridgewaycynic2013 said:
Goes both ways?! Offense and defence?! 🤔
Not that there's anything wrong with that...
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55 minutes ago, dayman said:
Peacock is what drives me up the wall. Who the hell has Peacock?!
Peacocks drive a lot of people up the wall.
Many counties now prohibit ownership of them because of how noisy they are.
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7 minutes ago, Capco said:
I saw an image generated by Chat GPT of an 80-year old Rodgers in a Steelers uniform and I can't seem to find it anywhere lmao.
That's what happens when you get old.
😆
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Wishing Kim a continuing and substantial recovery.
All the best.
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2 hours ago, Buffalo716 said:
He does have some underrated cornerback skills
He played on an island at UB.. literally a one-on-one Island like revis a bunch
Undersized and undermanned out wide... 5' 10 with cleats... And he battled against 6 ft Plus division 1 wide receivers for years getting the best of 90 plus percent of them
While dealing with a terrible infection which could have made him lose part of his arm.. played with a club at UB ... Was a team leader on and off the field
I've had his back since day one here because spend many days around the UB program and nothing would make me happier than to see him succeed even more
Then you'll be happy to know that he's made $5,824,929 in his NFL career.
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2 hours ago, Bills!Win! said:
Who would everyone rather have back, Miller or Poyer? Not that they will, but it’s a fun conversation to have
You should start a new topic... but for the best responses, make sure it's vague or misleading.
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On 6/6/2025 at 6:54 AM, T master said:
According to FB Von is coming back and he told Beane that he wanted to play 1 more season with the Bills and to just fill in what ever price on the bottom of the contract and he'd sign it, this is according to FB ... Oh and it was breaking news too !!!
Someone should tell Reggie Gilliam to focus more on football and less on leaking stories to the media.
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RB and WR markets are actually insane.
in The Stadium Wall
Posted
I'm not gonna go in circles on this... I have much better things to do. Just as a minor, parting rejoinder,
As ALWAYS @BADOLBILZ, the last word is yours.
Enjoy the carousel guys.