dave mcbride

You just know he's gonna be fine in NE. They might not win a SB this year, but they will probably clobber the Bills twice given the talent there.

My point is that they had a good roster. It was quite talented. They probably would have gone 13-3 if not for the fact that Carr got hurt in the second last game of the season. More precisely, is it a good idea on any planet to get rid of Mack - one of the best players in the league - for draft picks?

They were 12-4 two years before.

If AB stays, Mayock basically needs to resign, if only for self-respect reasons. EDIT: ... and it looks like Brown might be playing in game one: https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2019/09/06/report-real-chance-antonio-brown-plays-monday/ .

This is both well-reported and really, really damning: https://www.si.com/nfl/2019/09/06/raiders-jon-gruden-mike-mayock-antonio-brown-mark-davis

I will go to my grave thinking the Bills wanted Darnold above all else. They liked Allen too, however. I don't believe that they had Allen #1. The fact that Allen was first was perhaps he was the only one who they could likely get at #5 because the other two would surely be gone.

I don't this is quite fair. In Flacco's final start, Brown was targeted 6 times (3 catches for 15 yds) but he also was the beneficiary of a DPI call on Pittsburgh on a bomb that moved the Ravens 33 yards down the field. In the second final start (v. Carolina), he had 7 targets, 3 catches, and 28 yards, but in the start before that (v. New Orleans), he was targeted 7 times and had 7 receptions for 134 yards and 1 TD. As you well know, NFL receiver production is very spiky from game to game. Basically, he was targeted 7 times in all three of these games, and if you treat the PI as a completion, he caught 14 of 21 balls thrown his way for 210 yards (10 yards per attempt). That also averages out to 1120 yards per season. In the game before the NO game, he had only 2 receptions for 28 yards, but it's also the case that the Ravens completely dominated the game from the outset and won 21-0 (vs. Tennessee). Anyway, I think it's fair to say that ALL of his decline last year can be attributed to Jackson. Forget for about about the small number of passing plays the Ravens were running; Jackson threw 31 passes his way, and only 8 resulted in completions.

Well, there are only a handful of Julio Jones-type players in terms of physique/speed, but there are a LOT of elite receivers who are elite because they're absolutely fantastic at certain important things (e.g., Adam Thielen). The Bills simply don't have one of those guys. Off the top of my head: OBJ Juju Smith-Schuster AJ Green DeAndre Hopkins (arguably the best receiver in the NFL) Keenan Allen Antonio Brown Tyreek Hill Amari Cooper (Dallas version) Alshon Jeffrey Brandin Cooks Michael Thomas Julio Jones Mike Evans Adam Thielen Josh Gordon (when not suspended) Guys who are either just below that level yet better than anyone on the Bills, or who are on the cusp because of massive talent: Corey Davis (incredible talent) Sammy Watkins (massive talent; still only 25) Mike Williams (talent; 10 TDs last season and over 15 ypc) Robert Woods (great route running, hands, production) Tyler Lockett (great route running, amazing hands, ever-increasing production) Davante Adams (incredibly hard to cover because of quickness; production) Calvin Ridley (route running; production) And then there is the TE position, which is a big part of any passing game. There are a lot of very good ones, but the Bills TE situation remains lousy. Maybe their third rounder, Knox, turns out to be OK. I certainly hope so, but I'm not holding my breath given the Bills' long history of weakness at that position.

Why would they PO'd? The money has be spent. People need to remember that increases in the money being spent are MANDATED by the annual increase in the cap. Players get a guaranteed portion of the league's revenue. If you're going to pay someone, pay the very good and productive #1 overall QB who is still only 24 years old. (Also, and not that you're claiming this (someone else did), a big salary for Goff has ZERO to do with ticket prices.)

He's undoubtedly been helped by good coaching, but the numbers he put up in the second and third years of his career are phenomenal relative to average early-career QB production totals: https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/G/GoffJa00.htm. There are a lot of great coaches out there who fail to generate production from their QBs. The player matters too. Also, he is still only 24 years old.

I actually didn’t discuss stats.

I think he's good - don't get me wrong. There's a reason he was drafted in the second round. But he has missed a LOT of time in the last two seasons. As for it being a "freak play," it still happened regardless of the team's excuses - and it's his fourth concussion. I'm concerned.

I disagree about Beasley being an elite slot guy based on his production in Dallas (he was pretty mediocre there - a JAG starter, basically, with one good season (2016) in seven years there), but I do agree that he has the potential to become an elite player at the position given that Daboll knows how to maximize the production from that position. Re Morse, he has played in 18 games over the past two seasons. Availability is huge when assessing player performance. The fact that he got a concussion early on in camp is not a promising sign. I'd say he's pretty good (not elite), but I also think he was a good person for the Bills to gamble on.

Yeah, I usually agree with all of this except for Kuechly. But he's truly unique - one of the best players of the decade at any position and just phenomenal in pass coverage. Edmunds will never be as good as Kuechly in that area.

Yeah, I'm not saying they're bad players or anything like that. They're just not elite. The Bills don't have any top-15 level talents on offense (except for maybe Morse, but I worry about his injuries), which is why people are downgrading their offense. Maybe a couple of players break out this season (Singletary, Allen, maybe even Beasley), but based on past performance, the offense looks average at best.

Isn't the best and most important LB on Carolina - their true difference maker - the MLB?

Exactly.

yeah, that's right. The way I see it, it's a more important than usual game - i.e., more important than the Steelers or Cowboys road games - given that it's a divisional matchup against a team that is beatable, but also because I will not be surprised that we end up battling the Jets for a final playoff spot. We shouldn't lose sight of that last possibility. But if they lose, it is just one game and not the end of the world.

They're fast and can make big plays, but they're definitely not elite - the sort of player like AJ Green, OBJ, or Julio Jones who are both fast and regularly win contested catches. The Bills haven't had player like that since Eric Moulds in his prime from 1998-2002. Watkins had that potential (and, frankly, still does), and while he flashed it, he was hurt too much and the organization didn't keep him around.

I think this is a fair assessment.

All joking aside, Benjamin went unsigned and may well be out of the league for good. He's only 28.

They are a LOT more talented on offense and have a better QB. Their top tier D-players are all as good as anyone on the Bills too (Garret, Ward, Vernon, Richardson). The Bills D is better overall, of course, but the disparity isn't as great as the one separating the offenses.

I don't think they're going to the SB or anything like that. That said, I think that beating them in Cleveland is a very tough ask, especially given that they're more talented than the Bills.

THis is actually my thinking. Outside of perhaps Morse, who on offense is a top-15-at-his-position player? I can't think of anyone.