Coach Tuesday

Did Gary Bettman die (again)?

Who said anything about a MOVE? He's threatening them with a competing team up the road. Maybe it's an empty threat but that's the message and it seems transparently designed to get the WNY officials to open their coffers.

In the same PC he answered a question about Toronto by saying that he's open to the idea of a Toronto team but that they'd need a state-of-the-art stadium. So there's your "threat" right there - as I read it, he's threatening WNY/the Pegulas with an overture to Toronto if they don't improve their stadium situation. Goodell is just doing his job as a fig leaf for The Lucky Sperm Club. That said, I despise the man.

I understand the hesitancy to spend on a guard and agree that ex-Patriots often don’t replicate their successes elsewhere - but Thuney was the best or second-best guard in the league in 2019. He’s objectively great.

Just keep building the trenches fellas!

Not only that the Bills gave him an extension with new, added money for no reason other than his vague promise to act like a team player and leader. He was very well-treated by OBD.

More interesting is his comment that he was trying to leave and they wouldn't let him. Wonder if that went back to 2018.

I’m most concerned about Shenault’s apparent unwillingness to run block. That’s a dealbreaker for me.

<ignores 100+ page TSW thread for weeks> <decides to check in on it, sees someone comparing Josh Allen to Mike Glennon> <closes web browser>

Weaver, Dugger and Jefferson seem to be standing out based on the reports I’ve been reading.

Beane's view, I believe, is that as long as you're willing to move around the draft board to get the guy you want at a "value," it's ok to draft for need. That's probably correct, for the most part - but you've convinced me that Rounds 1-2 need to also be about premium positions that aren't available in free agency. The fact that Ford was picked relative to where he *should* have gone doesn't mean it was a sound resource management decision.

.500 career winning percentage and (correct me if I'm wrong) never led the NFL in passing during his career. No way.

Moreso positional value versus upside. You can find a good right tackle/guard combo in the 5th round or free agency. Trading up in Round 2 for that position was asinine.

Higgins needs a ton of time in the weight room before he’ll be able to get off press coverage. He is really slight in his shoulders. He’s got a Justin Hunter or James Hardy body (RIP).

Yeah Ruggs is gonna be a monster in the NFL. After the testing I bet he goes top 15.

Dude threw what, 8 passes? I don’t have any thoughts.

Sammy has not lived up to his contract in KC and I expect they’ll move on this offseason (and I also suspect he ends up back in the AFC East). He has never lived up to his draft status and remains a high ceiling player who doesn’t seem to want to or know how to be great. Those things are true. It is also true that the McBeane regime royally screwed up the offense and roster by failing to exercise his option and ultimately trading him away with nothing to fill the void - they still have not filled the void. All of these things can be true. Sammy is long gone and probably never coming back and probably never achieving his potential so that aspect of this discussion is moot and should be closed forever. What remains relevant however are legitimate concerns about this regime’s priorities and competencies when it comes to building an offense. Simply put the jury is still out. Can they scout and draft good players on offense? Other than Singletary they’ve mostly struck out. Does their pro personnel department know how to find hidden gems like Mostert? Do they have a sound and sustainable approach to winning games, which includes scoring points? McD continues to give lip service to the need to score more points then insists on roster decisions that favor “leadership in the position groups” over talent on offense. These guys were very fortunate not to screw up their raw rookie QB with the borderline criminally negligent supporting cast they surrounded him with (no line, QB coach, vet QB mentor in camp, decent WR, etc.) - Allen is an extremely tough, intelligent, resilient player and person which saved their hides because many other young QBs would’ve been permanently screwed up after that sh-show. So that probably saved McBeane’s job. We all need to hope they make the most of their mulligan and not mistake their good luck for skill or sound strategy.

Well yeah but if you’re still employed in California...

Odd choice. He once clubbed a teammate nearly to death with a folding chair during a film room session. Not the guy I’d pick to be put in a room with!

I was high on Shenault but if he doesn’t block on running plays forget it, I’m out. That’s really just a deal breaker for me.

I would posit that you also have to be able to do at least one thing really well, as your go-to and your fallback. The Bills' offense didn't have that kind of bedrock strength.

My man Corta bringing it as usual.

...he asked the witness, holding pictures of Nate Peterman and Kelvin Benjamin he was about to mark as exhibits for his cross-examination.

IMO the biggest issue with the Bills' line is that they're being asked to do too much in Daboll's "multiple" attack. They're talented. Tennessee's line is talented, too, but they're in a much more simplified scheme. That said, regardless of scheme, there is no excuse for letting a jailbreak happen against a 3-man rush late in the game in Houston - that was some combination of fatigue and confusion.

My biggest playcalling issue - purely anecdotally, I may be 100% wrong - is that he seems to lose his feel for the game between the 40s. He's great a scheming them out of it when they're pinned deep, and his redzone play calling for the most part is good. But midfield is where things seemed to stall out last year, to my untrained eye. They'd work hard to cross midfield and then he'd inexplicably call some stupid end-around or two straight power runs with Gore and the drive would end.