Sierra Foothills

Great post. Thank you. It's sad that so many Bills fans here need to publicly state their negative beliefs about him. The one thing you didn't mention... Virtually no one would argue that McDermott is a DB Whisperer and that Beane is a great talent evaluator. No one would argue that NFL football is a bottom line, results-oriented, high stakes business. So if Hamlin is as bad as his critics here insist, why would McDermott and Beane put the fortunes (wins and losses) of a billion dollar enterprise in the hands of someone who sucks?

@LabattBlue, you might as well re-sign yourself that it's just not gonna happen. 🙂

The lack of objectivity and the negativity and sensationalism in today's media is often unbearable. It's nice to see a story like this. Thanks for posting.

Mathematically your point is inarguable. Since the expansion to 14 teams, only 1 team in each conference gets a bye whereas it used to be that 2 teams in each conference did. I can't argue with your point. Interestingly though in the 4 years since the expansion of the playoff field the Super Bowl winners (as @Beck Water pointed out) have been the #3, #1, #4, and #5 seeds. So only 1 #1 seed has won in the last 4 years. We were talking about "at all costs." Is being the #1 seed worth it if you lose Dion Dawkins? James Cook? Gregory Rousseau? It's a rhetorical question but that's the point of the discussion... at what cost?

Yes Patrick Ricard... the 6'3" 300 lb fullback. He was second team All Pro in 2023 with zero carries and 5 receptions. The fullback on those Patriots teams was James Develin... 6'3" and listed at 275 lbs. He was voted to the Pro Bowl in 2017 with zero carries and 6 receptions. If Belichick could run the ball on a team, he wouldn't feel the need to throw it. During his time as Patriots coach they had 20 games where they rushed for 200 or more yards. This adherence to the run was a big reason he won 6 Super Bowls as Patriots coach. His teams could throw and run.

The ideas of... "must-win" and "win at all costs" games raise some interesting questions. I took the time to do some research. Since the NFL expanded the playoff field from 10 to 12 teams in 1990 (they again expanded the playoff field to 14 in 2020) there have been 34 Super Bowls. Keeping in mind that both conferences have a #1 seed, a #2 seed, etc, that means that every year there are 2 #1 seeds, 2 #2 seeds, etc): Here are the seedings of the last 34 Super Bowl Champions #1 seed: 15 (44%) #2 seed: 8 (24%) #3 seed: 2 (6%) #4 seed: 5 (15%) #5 seed: 2 (6%) #6 seed: 2 (6%) Findings: No #7 seed has won the Super Bowl in the 4 years that there has been a 14 team field. 44% of the Super Bowls have been won by teams seeded #1. 56% of Super Bowls have been won by teams that were not the #1 seed. 45% of Super Bowls have been won by teams that were seeded #2 thru #4. So... when you look at these numbers it makes you suspect that at some point, teams weigh injury avoidance (aka load management) in the form of resting your starters, versus winning at all costs. We know all too well how injuries arguably doomed the Bills in the divisional round against KC last year.

There's 40 times (Davis' is very good) and there's play speed. As was pointed out upthread: Fastest In-Game Speeds among RB/WR Prospects Dynasty Discussion 2024 RBs Player Top Speed Jaylen Wright 22.2 Blake Corum 22.1* Trey Benson 22 Bucky Irving 21.8 Ray Davis 21.7 Kimani Vidal 21.3 Audric Estime 20.9 (estimated) Jawhar Jordan 20.7 Rasheen Ali 20.7 Dillon Johnson 20.7 Tyrone Tracy Jr. 20.5 Emani Bailey 20.3 Braelon Allen 20.1 Jase McClellan 19.7 Kendall Milton 19.5 Marshawn Lloyd 19.4 Dylan Laube 19.4 Jonathon Brooks 19.3 Isaiah Davis 18.9 Davis' play speed is also very good/excellent. Adding the receiving: Braelon Allens - 18 targets 12 receptions 97 yards 1 TD, Total Yards 337 Total TDs 3 Yards per touch 4.3 Ray Davis - 12 targets 11 receptions 153 yards 1 TD Total Yards 495 Total TDs 4 Yards per touch 5.4

Exactly what I said is this: "Because of the free agent signings of Rapp and McGovern, 2019 ended up being a good draft year for us." I suggest researching the difference between sentences and paragraph use.

Dion's having another great year... on and off the field. Super glad he's a Buffalo Bills stalwart.

On the other hand (pardon the pun), consider hand size: Josh: 10.125" Mahomes: 9.25" Burrow: 9" Remember Purdy's unforced whiff pass in last Sunday's snowstorm? 9" hands. Josh is uniquely built to play in snowy conditions. You sure?

"Lost the opportunity to develop a younger player?" Rapp is just 26 years old. The other thing about Taylor Rapp that many seem to have forgotten (or never knew) is that he was a 2nd round pick (61st overall). Furthermore he was taken in 2019, the year our top 4 picks were Ed Oliver (9), Cody Ford (38), Devin Singletary (74) and Dawson Knox (96). That was also the year that Dallas took Connor McGovern in the 3rd round (90). Because of the free agent signings of Rapp and McGovern, 2019 ended up being a good draft year for us. Not only are they not the same thing... they're virtually opposites. Perhaps then you should change your name? Actually it's R&D. 😄

Then what happened? I've heard rumors he's going to the Giants... He might consider changing his name to Joe Hines-Brady...

I thought someone here said it was a spleen? You sure?

Davos? Davos Touchdownopolous?

On his TD run Josh shrugged off Warner's tackle attempt at the goal line and looked down at him like "nice try, peon."

$42 million in career earnings: https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/player/earnings/_/id/29102/diontae-johnson

It's a community mea culpa for the bad behavior of one of our own. And it's voluntary.

Both of you make a good argument for the Rams having some success scoring points and eating the clock. What that argument ignores is the question of how successful the Rams will be in stopping the Bills offense. Bottom line, can the Rams really outscore the Bills? I have a hard time seeing that happening.

O-line isn't great. I think that's the greatest limitation on their offense. I would say that the Chiefs don't have any easy games remaining. I could definitely see them losing 2 or even 3 as the the pendulum of luck swings back the other way on them. Two things can be equally true. Believe me, I know.

To the first bolded, not only "healthy and available" but also familiar with the offense. I'm referring to Amari Cooper (he's been with the Bills just 7 weeks as of today) and the rookies Keon Coleman and Ray Davis. Also Curtis Samuel and also Mack Hollins are in this offense for the first time having signed with the Bills in March. All 5 of these players can be reasonably expected to more fully integrate into the offense over the final 5 weeks of the season and beyond. To the second bolded, I disagree with you. I think the contributions from the 3 players you named could make a significant difference. Is it clear that the Lions are better than the Eagles?

I have it on good authority from many experts here that emotional exhaustion is a myth.

Ruben Brown would like to have a word with you...

You know you've been watching NFL football for too many years when you realize that: In both of these teams' histories, they've had defensive units nicknamed "The Orange Crush." I'd better go to sleep now.

Incrrnect... that is the proper spelling.