dave mcbride

Perfectly stated.

The story has been updated. Robinson is fine.

That's a different stat than the fourth quarter one. Regardless, you'll get no argument from me that Mahomes isn't the best.

Chicago’s passing yardage was 31st in yards and 31st in net yards per attempt, and they were 25th in passing TDs. The offense was dead last in total yards and 28th in points scored. He didn’t throw many picks, true, but he was sacked an ungodly 68 times (11 percent sack rate, which is just unacceptable for a qb) and fumbled a lot. Unless he starts to to read the field more quickly and get the ball out, he has a pretty grim future in front of him: repeated poundings that increase the risk of injury. Not saying he can’t do it, of course. From the Athletic’s qb tiers analysis: ‘Williams entered the 2024 draft as the consensus No. 1 quarterback. He enters his second season facing questions about his ability to process and play quickly after taking 68 sacks, third-most in NFL history. "I think that will come in time," a GM said. "Maybe it is a little bit like Josh (Allen) early in his career, where he has so much good other stuff that you will live with some negative plays, and as he gets more snaps under his belt, that part will come." Most evaluations reflected some skepticism. "He's got the talent to go up, but in terms of processing ability and getting the ball out of his hands, it was the worst we played against," a defensive coordinator said. "He just holds the ball forever. I'm thinking, 'The ball should go right there! Throw it! Throw it!' And he did not throw it." Voter after voter raised the same concerns. "He is definitely a 1 talent," a head coach said. "I just think it's going to take him longer than Jayden Daniels. He is not playing fast right now. There is something there. His processing to me was alarming watching the tape." Some thought new coach Ben Johnson would have to adjust expectations accordingly. "You saw signs and ability, and I also think you saw signs and ability that scare you," another coach said. "Nervousness in the pocket, inability to see and play on time. But I do not know yet if that was him or coaching. Parts of me wondered if you could get it done with this guy, but it's good enough to make you think you have a chance." Voters aren't necessarily betting against Williams, but they aren't betting on him, either. "He's very talented," another defensive coordinator said. "Ben is more under center. Caleb is more of a gun quarterback. That dynamic is going to be interesting to me. I would not be shocked if the kid plays well. Ben is good. He can adjust. I'm sure they will find a happy medium somewhere."’

Maybe. It also suggests that the Chiefs are pretty much never down by more than one score late in games. So much of this stat depends on point differential going into the 4th. If you’re down 23-10, you’re likely to lose no matter how well you play. 13-10? Not so much.

Josh Allen is 3-14 in the same situations. It’s mostly a meaningless stat.

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/james-cook-will-practice-on-tuesday

It's only four games, and he's not going to playing the first couple anyway given the injury recovery and missed practice. It opens a roster spot for four weeks, which is a (small) silver lining.

Burrow is not only amazingly good, he literally has the highest completion percentage in NFL history. He is not the same player as Allen or Mahomes, but he is as good as them, more or less. At a certain point, it becomes a matter of personal preference.

The tier rankings are based on interviews with dozens of NFL GMs, head coaches, coordinators, position coaches, and scouts. There is simply too much here, so I apologize for no clips/quotes, but for those who can access it, enjoy. It’s my favorite Athletic feature of the year. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6514160/2025/08/11/nfl-qb-rankings-tiers-2025-jackson-daniels/

Wawrow says he'd certainly entertain a Kyren Williams deal:

That might explain why the best defensive lineman since Aaron Donald fell to the early second round!

Chris Jones is one of the 10 best players in the NFL. He happens to play for the Chiefs because he was drafted by them. What is the basis of your animus?

Cook is really good. And with regard to physical talent (speed, change of direction, receiving ability) he's elite-level.

According to John Wawrow (AP), who is in the know, he’d take the deal that Kyren Williams got (3 years/$33 million with $23 million guaranteed). He’s eighth best according to a survey of nfl scouts and execs: https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/45589580/ranking-nfl-top-10-running-backs-2025-execs-coaches-scouts-make-their-picks-best-rushers "Dangerous and explosive," an NFL personnel executive said. Added an AFC exec: "He's perfect for that offense, with a quarterback that spreads things out. He's good in the passing game, catches the ball really well, good in open space. Not sure he's elite yet, but he's really, really good." He's averaging 222 carries per season as the starter, and some teams are curious about how he would hold up as a 300-carry No. 1 back at 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds. But either way, he has earned leaguewide respect at a time when he's seeking a contract extension from Buffalo.

A thought: the player most like Cook in recent years (in pretty much every way) is none other than his brother, who is four years older than him. Both were second round picks, both went to Miami Central High, both ran 40 times in the 4.4s (James is a little faster), and they're roughly the same size. Like James, who just finished year 3, Dalvin had a breakout season in year 3 (AV of 15; 53 receptions for a 9.8 ypr [great for a RB]; 13 total TDs, and 1,135 rushing yards for 4.5 ypc). In his next three seasons Dalvin C had one truly elite season (year 4 -- 111.2 rushing yards per game and a 5.0 ypc rate), one good season, and one decent season. In that sixth year, he averaged 4.4 ypc (1,173 rushing yards), but that 4.4 ypc was bolstered by none other than his longest run ever: the 81-yard TD rush vs Buffalo right after Edmunds went off the field (he was having a great game) in one of the most brutal Bills losses of recent times. Take away that run, it's 3.8 ypc, and if you make it a 25 yard run because 81 yards is so spiky in the statistical sense, he averaged 3.87 ypc on the season. Still, it was a decent if not great season. The thing is, the Vikings wanted no part of him after that season, and he moved onto the Jets, where his production fell off a cliff. If we assume he's a good comp, should the Bills pay James $33 million ($23-$25 million guaranteed) over 3 years for 88.4 rushing yards per game on average, 4.72 ypc, 45 receptions for 7.65 ypr, and 12 rushing and receiving TDs per season on average? Sure, you're buying some decline, but from my perspective that's OK if you get two upper-end years plus one decent enough season.

Bishop played in 16 games last season plus all three playoff games.

That's fair. In 2023 - his one full season - they went 10-1 against teams with losing records and 1-6 against teams with winning records (including the playoffs). That said, that playoff game was one of the coldest games ever played and they did have the number one offense in the league in yards (2nd in points): https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/mia/2023.htm. The defense was just ok and that didn't help.

Production-wise, they're almost the same player, but Cook's explosiveness shows up in the ypc and ypr numbers, which are both higher than Williams's. Williams scores a lot of TDs, although that can be a deceiving stat.

They are pretty similar players in terms of productivity. The big difference is that Cook was a late second round pick and Williams was a fifth rounder, but draft status doesn't matter anymore for future planning.

Cleveland's handling of an injured Mayfield who gutted it out for them has to be one of the worst cases of QB malpractice by a franchise in a long time.

He probably would have thrown for 4,000 last year if he didn't essentially sit out the final game of the season. If that game mattered and was close, he would have gotten there.

Very!!!

Tua is a good QB, and arguably very good based on the numbers (especially QBR, passer rating, and wins-losses). His sack percentage isn't bad either. The hatred of his game here is a bit laughable:

Super interesting. Pretty much establishes how good Leonard Williams was last year.