dave mcbride

@Bill from NYC - I think you need to differentiate between CBs and safeties. A lockdown CB is as important as a good LT in today's NFL. The problem with drafting McKelvin wasn't a positional one; it was drafting him over Aqib Talib. Now I know that Talib was and still is a borderline criminal, but he is an elite player who has helped multiple teams get to championship games and Super Bowls (NE, Denver, the Rams).

You really should read this, GB, if you haven’t already: https://torontosun.com/sports/football/nfl/kryk-most-top-nfl-qbs-played-shortstop-growing-up

It’s not an argument, or it least it shouldn’t be one. He has been objectively great since entering the league and had one of the most efficient seasons ever for a qb this year.

Um ... I think it's more about the drinking on a Sunday night and having to go to work the next day ...

Awesome stuff. I love the point about getting more height on the deep balls. It'll give the receivers more of a chance. not an emoji, but good enough: https://giphy.com/gifs/yeaaaaaaa-pkY4ra5dhljDW

Interesting fact: Lamonica started the Immaculate Reception game and was benched after going 6-18 for 45 yards and 2 picks. Stabler wasn't much better, going 6-12 for 57 yards, 3 sacks, and 2 fumbles. Still, the Raiders absolutely should have won that game and would have if not for the craziest (and arguably most controversial; it's up there with the tuck rule and the Robey-Coleman play) play in NFL history.

Newsflash: Frequent and longtime posters on a Bills fan board are disproportionately more likely than casual fans to care a lot about franchise history and raise it as a topic of discussion. Embrace it.

Not really true about Kelly. Rating+ (scroll down) measures how you stand against the league-average for QB play in that season, with 100 being average. Kelly was above average (and well above average a couple of times) every season except for his final season: https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/K/KellJi00.htm. Manning, who SHOULD ABSOLUTELY get in, was above average 8 times and below average 8 times. He was never well above average: https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/M/MannEl00.htm. It's a great measure because it allows you to get past comparing QBs from different eras. An 85 rating in the early 1980s was very good. Today, it puts you near the bottom.

Don’t forget the 2011 road playoff win against a 15-1 team featuring a qb who had just had one of the greatest seasons ever (122.5 QB rating). Or the road win in the January 2008 NFC championship team as a heavy underdog in sub-zero weather.

That's a good question. He really was a sensational postseason player (10-5) and 98-73 as a starter. He has over 40,000 yards. That said, I doubt it. It's closer than you might think, though! Also, if Lee Evans hangs on to the freaking ball, he may have had 2 rings. Also, @C.Biscuit97, Flacco has one of the greatest stat lines ever for a QB getting credited with a "win" in what was actually a total blowout of the Pats by the Ravens. Check out his passing stats in this game: https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201001100nwe.htm Regular season? Maybe 2-3 seasons - 2011, 2012, and 2015. Maybe on the outer edge in 2008 too, but that's debatable. That's it, as far as I can tell.

They weren't really lucky. He played well.

Yes, he won two MVPs - in championship games against the greatest franchise in the modern era.

Don't forget this game either. Many thought the 15-1 Packers were unbeatable in 2011. He lit them up in Lambeau. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201201150gnb.htm In the postseason, his winning percentage was .667.

The postseason: believe in it. It is, and should be, determinative in borderline cases. It's what the game is all about.

Postseason counts -- and it should count.

The announcers, if I recall correctly, said that there were gusts of up to 30 mph during the game. That said, I take your point and thanks for the clarification. Regardless, it was windy. The Broncos kicker said it was the hardest environment he has kicked in. https://www.denverpost.com/2019/11/24/brandon-mcmanus-wind-kicking-broncos-bills/ Re getting hit, he didn't get hit AFTER he threw it; he was being hit pretty much WHILE he threw it: .

The odd thing about this is that is two best deep passes (in terms of accuracy) later in the season were both to John Brown in the Denver and NE games. In the Denver game, the ball was right on the money, but the important context is that he was throwing directly into a ~30 mph wind. In the NE game, he got hit hard as he threw it. In almost every instance, such passes end up short. Neither did in this case.

Between 2014 and 2019, the Patriots played in 12 playoff games. Brady threw 50+ passes 4 times, 40+ passes 9 times, and never below 35 passes. Over that timespan, Patriots won 3 SBs, played in 4 SBs, and played in 5 AFC championship games. They have been the gold standard postseason team for a very long time.

'Good on Dolphins coach Brian Flores, letting a couple guys go for promotions. Jerry Schuplinski gets to be the quarterbacks coach with the Giants (removing “assistant” from his title) and join a guy, in Joe Judge, whom he was to join in Indianapolis as part of Josh McDaniels’ staff two years ago. And DC Pat Graham gets to add “assistant head coach” to his title in New York. Allowing guys to seek career advancement, and make personal decisions, has a way of giving a head coach a reputation of being the kind of guy people would want to work for. That, in the long run, will be of benefit to Flores.' (also @Hapless Bills Fan) https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/01/20/nfl-playoffs-super-bowl-liv-49ers-chiefs-patrick-mahomes-kyle-shanahan-mmqb

Also, the backup RB who did play vs TN totally flubbed a hot route that saw Mahomes' pass hitting in the back of his jersey. Mahomes was clearly irked by that.

There were two coaches who were all in on Mahomes: Andy Reid and Sean Payton. That tells you all you need to know. (KC traded with us to get ahead of NO, who drafted next).

Honestly, with regard to those teams’ fast rebuilds, it is literally ALL about their QBs. They are all basically .500 to sub-.500 teams without those QBs (ie, SF last year). Allen isn’t nearly as good right now as Wilson, Garrapolo (who is incredibly accurate and a great processor), Wentz, or Goff (who, lest we forget, was great in 2017 and 2018). If the Bills get to the next level, it will be because Allen begins to excel and improve upon the major holes in his game. After watching Mahomes and Wilson continually hit on deep throws, I believe that Josh A will never become a true franchise QB if he continues to be notably poor deep thrower. It is up to him.

Yes, Hyde. Duh! My bad.

Poyer led the NFL in td returns on attempted onside kicks!

To be clear, I am a very hardcore Yankees fan. The Yankees overperformed in the postseason a bit that year relative to their regular season performance because Tanaka -- a truly league average pitcher the last three seasons (and slightly below league average in 2017) -- just dominates in the postseason (1.76 ERA and 0.78 WHIP over 46 postseason innings).