Brand J

Yeah, that’s what I said when I heard Elam was getting the better of him: it’s way too early to arrive to any definitive conclusion. Elam was a former 1st round pick and has a high athletic ceiling, I wasn’t overly concerned Coleman was struggling against him in his first NFL camp. But bottom of the roster Jamarcus Ingram? Coleman doesn’t have to come in setting the world on fire, or looking the part right off the bat, but as your top WR selected you’d hope he already had the skill to toy with a practice squad CB.

I’m a Keon Coleman fan, I loved his highlight video more than most of the receivers coming out. With that said, Parrino also mentioned Jamarcus Ingram was holding his own with Coleman, even had the defensive sideline hooting and hollering. I wasn’t bothered when I heard Elam was getting the better of him on some reps, but now Jamarcus Ingram? Hmmm…

I forgot Deion Jones signed here. If he can recapture any of what he used to be, talk about quality LBer depth!

There was just an article in the Athletic about the “big four” now becoming the “big five.” The big four used to be QB, LT, DE, and CB, now not only can we add WR to that list, but there are currently no CBs making more than $22M/yr. There’s close to 20 WRs currently making over that amount (with more due to sign). Athletes that left RB to become CB will now leave that position to become WR.

But those RBs are still asked to do more than any other skill position on offense. They rush the ball, they block for the QB, they run pass routes, they touch the ball on average 2-3x more than any WR1. Their value has gone down because it’s such a passing league now, but a great RB should definitely be rewarded more than the $13M/yr they’re currently slotted. For all they’re asked to do and how many times they touch the ball, they have a real gripe with the salary cap. The list of WRs who out earn players like CMC, Saquon, and Jacobs to name a few is a tragedy.

$35M AAV, yikes. If I was GM I’d much rather take the Packers approach, where I have a stable of young, cheap, and good WRs, versus one commanding that amount. Jefferson is a great talent, likely a future first ballot HoFer, but that’s A LOT of money to tie into a position that’s dependent on the QB. Oh well, it’s not the Bills money. Receivers around the NFL rejoice!

How did I know this thread would devolve into talk about a rape charge he was acquitted for? Even though he’s been cleared, let’s run him out of town! Where are the Bills babes on this?

First thing he probably needs to do, besides working with a DL coach or at least an experienced player, is add about 10-15 more pounds. He’d be the same size as Aaron Donald and Ed Oliver, possibly a much better athlete, though with a whole lot less experience.

Bills were at max player capacity. Who got released?

Yeah I’m not concerned after one practice, just made the comment that you would’ve liked to see him come out dominating (even if rare out of first round WRs). He has plenty of time to become the player he’ll ultimately be.

Ideally you’d like to see Coleman dominate Elam, it’d suggest that our shiny new WR will likely be a problem for other corners as well, but maybe Elam’s game has taken a step forward? We’ll see how it plays out over the next couple months. We know no corner in camp could check Diggs and even Gabe Davis had tons of “he’s unguardable” notes.

I was going to write the same. I’ve heard basically all 90 names participating in camp, but haven’t once heard that one.

Soup or cereal, not so much.

I’ve never known why pigeons are so hated. I felt even more sorry for them after reading this story circulating on FB… (tried to post the picture at 134kb but the upload fails, so I extracted the text)

They include the TX Tech player with his wild conspiracy theory. He doesn’t believe in outer space or other planets. It’s the twilight zone, y’all.

Isn’t he the guy who doesn’t believe in birds? EDIT: Just found it. He’s the guy who doesn’t believe in wearing shoes - except on the football field - and doesn’t believe in using utensils “just eat with your hands.” One of the draft prospects this year doesn’t believe in birds. How or why, I don’t know.

This is generally true, Pete, most athletes are very good at many different sports, but they’re not so good that they could make a living in another sport. Take the fastest guys in the NFL, they all probably ran track growing up, but none are so great that they could make a living at it. Kyle Williams was an excellent swimmer, Marshawn Lynch was as well and thought he’d beat Williams easily, but Williams smoked him. That said, Kyle isn’t so great a swimmer that he could make money in the sport. He’s not competing with those top athletes. This is true across the board. Whoever the best golfer is in the NFL, I’m sure he’s an outstanding player, but he’s not making a living on a PGA Tour. I echo the knucklehead who said Josh couldn’t come off an NBA bench. He can’t. He might be a very good basketball player, one of the better guys in the NFL, but he’s not so good that he could realistically compete with other professionals in that sport. Same with Keon, which is why Izzo encouraged him to pursue football when they had a heart to heart chat. There's tons of guys in the NFL whose first love is basketball, they play for hours in the offseason, might have even been top recruits in HS, but there’s a reason why they’re on a field and not the hardwood. Even McDonald’s All American basketball players flame out. There’s levels to these things!

Heard somewhere Josh was spending extensive time with McGovern, everywhere from the training room to the field, so that dampened my hope for VPG a bit. McGovern still has to outplay him, but he and Josh are making conscious efforts to learn and grow with one another.

Josh is freakishly athletic for a 6’5” NFL QB, but he’d be a marginal athlete on the hardwood, next to other 6’6” NBA guards. I grew up playing the sport as well so anything I offer is from that perspective. I spent hours and hours and hours on the court, but alas, was never special/didn’t have the mind that makes the game easier. Rivers is definitely wrong about his 30 player projection, there’s no chance for the majority of those lanky athletes to transition, but there are Zion Williams, Russell Westbrooks, Derrick Roses, and a few others with the build and explosion that transfers. I will agree to disagree with your assessment that there are multiple NFL players who could’ve been NBA players had they chosen that path. Taking Peppers as an example, basketball was his favorite sport growing up. He wanted to be the next Michael Jordan out of NC and never cared for football much. When it became clear he had a much brighter future in the NFL than as an NBA prospect, he quit basketball and put all his efforts into football. You were right to include “at that time” because the game has certainly changed. Perhaps he could’ve served a role as a bench player, but I don’t see it. His statistical averages at UNC and his style of play didn’t suggest his game would transfer well on a professional level. Who in the current NFL has a chance to run a team as a point, or has a shot good enough to play the 2? I only reference those two positions, because I don’t see any of the taller athletes transitioning to the 3 or 4. Ochocinco said Xavien Howard was “super nice” at basketball, but his definition of super nice against an NBA professional is quite different. Anyone you name, from TO to Puka Nacua, at their height, could you realistically see any of those guys having the skill to compete in the NBA? They chose football for a reason, there’s far more opportunity. Less headache pursuing their first love. Less headache trying to stick on a bench somewhere.

If Claypool had signed with the Chiefs, we would’ve collectively shrugged that off and not expected anything from him. But sign with the Bills? We’re all hoping against hope he becomes a main contributor. Perspective. Funny how that works.

And apparently that’s one of the plays they use to show referees what doesn’t constitute a crack back block. Just unreal to get the personal foul call and later Cody’s fine upheld only for the league to completely reverse track well after the fact.

Yeah, many professional athletes grew up playing multiple sports, BUT basketball requires much more ball skill compared to football. Dribbling, passing, shooting, rebounding, defending, it’s much more specialized where all 5 players on the court have to have the ability to do it all. Not necessarily well, but well enough not to be a complete liability in any one area. There are much better overall athletes in football, but none of those guys are 6’5”+ moving silky smooth and coordinated like basketball players. Peppers wouldn’t have had a chance in the league, not even the G league. Maybe overseas, but he’d be undersized for his skillset there too. Ditto for Moss. I think some of you guys don’t understand or truly appreciate the skill level of NBA players. Like Brian Scalabrine likes to tell street ball players (and even collegiate ones), “yeah I might suck in the NBA, but I’m much closer to Lebron James than you are to me.” The best basketball player in the NFL likely wouldn’t beat the 12th man on an NBA bench. There aren’t numerous guys that could’ve played either sport, they all went where their projection was best, same thing Keon Coleman did.

NBA players are a product of their environment. Flopping has ruled the sport since Sabonis brought it in and Divac took it to another level. Prior to those two, flopping was only seen in soccer. You’re delusional if you think professional athletes from another sport - grown men not China dolls - would fold at first contact in today’s NFL, much less make it through a quarter. The amount of former collegiate basketball players who went on to play in the NFL and have long, successful careers renders your argument silly. But I guess NBA players are softer than collegiate players… right?

I keep hearing the same argument, but how many big hits happen in the NFL nowadays? There are no more crack back blocks, you have to give receivers space to land (defenseless), there are no helmet to helmet shots - all the “ooooh” hits of the 80s and 90s. Most “jacked up!” moments now are offensive players delivering hits to defensive players (cue Brandt’s “angry runs”). It’s adaptation. Lebron James, all 6’8” 260lbs of him, acts like the biggest crybaby on the basketball court because he knows the flailings gets him foul calls. Do I think he’s physical or strong enough for today’s NFL if he didn’t have those dramatic antics to lean on? Absolutely.