dave mcbride

This really puts things in stark perspective: https://mobile.twitter.com/ScottBarrettDFB/status/1166607550822981633

A different question: do the Bills have a top-15 player at any position on the offense?

Lynn had success with Shady ...

Also, a FB has always been a contributing component in a Pats-system offense, and that’s what the Bills run.

https://mobile.twitter.com/ScottBarrettDFB/status/1166607550822981633 I suppose Shady’s new twitter handle could be @CutforaDime25 ...

No, just no. In the 9 games he played with Flacco, he had 34 receptions for 601 yards (prorated over 16 games - 60 receptions for 1,068 yards, 17.8 ypr, and 7.5 TDs, which is obviously very good). 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. ALL of his decline last year can be attributed to Jackson. Jackson threw 31 passes his way, and only 8 resulted in completions.

About 8 minutes in: https://www.nbcsports.com/video/will-chicago-bears-have-nfls-best-defense-again-2019?ls=pftvod

Well, to be fair to Jones, he has the ultimate "Scoreboard!" response to Bill fans. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199301310buf.htm#all_player_defense https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199401300buf.htm Um ... Jones was a really good player. Defensive rookie of the year in 1992, the years the Cowboys obliterated the Bills 52-17. The quote about Benjamin is genuinely funny.

Yeah, he doesn't really impress me.

In all of my posts, when I have raised this issue? Save it for the ones you're arguing with above, not me.

Courtney Brown, who was actually sensational early on, but quickly suffered a ceaseless cascade of injuries - which drove him out of the league. He didn't bust because he wasn't good. He had an OK rookie season (although he had nice total of TFLs - 16), but was absolutely on fire in his second season when he suffered a season ending injury in game five. Up to that point, he had 4.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries, 4 TFLs, 1 TD, and 4 passes defensed. Those are great numbers.

As i added above: My ENTIRE point is that a) this starts a lot earlier than the NFL and b) players get tracked very early, usually with the prodding/strong encouragement of their parents. It's as if you assume 14-year olds are fully formed and fully autonomous actors who are impervious to suggestion and punishment/reward psychology.

One of the ways to succeed as opposed to rot in a dead end career then? Let's compare - he got a job at McDonald's his senior year (a potential way out!) but also got a scholarship offer to Alabama to play football. Choice!

Dude - who are you even talking to? That's hardly my point. You're giving an answer to me for an issue I didn't even pose. My ENTIRE point is that a) this starts a lot earlier than the NFL and b) players get tracked very early, usually with the prodding/strong encouragement of their parents.

You appear to be deliberately missing my point. It's as if you assume 14-year olds are fully formed and fully autonomous actors who are impervious to suggestion and punishment/reward psychology.

Easy. Todd Marinovich. He hated it. But he was good at it.

Well, "force" isn't really the best term. How about "pushed by" and "strongly encouraged to"? He was born in Indiana, his dad died in a car accident when he was 6, and his mom moved him to Alabama, where he played at Tuscaloosa County HS. My point is that the pathways for these guys get set early, and if you're good, you're expected to stay on that track - and that goes double for kids from less fortunate backgrounds. It's one of the only ways out.

I'm not talking about that; not sure why you think i'm talking about liability (I'm not). I'm referring to the idea that guys entering the league in 2007 "knew what they were signing up for for" when they chose this path. News flash: if you're going to Alabama to play football, you are choosing at a young age to try and make it as an NFL player. People don't play for Alabama in order to rest on their laurels after a 4-year amateur career. LOL. In a word, yes. Do you know anything about big time youth sports in America?

For a lot of these guys who were elite players starting at age 15 or so and who were tracked to football factories like Alabama, "choice" is a shaky concept.

Bear in mind that he was likely playing at a high level of HS football beginning in 1999. Plus 4 years of AAA semi-pro ball at Alabama. 2007 ain't when he started.

Agreed 100 percent on this.

Fair points.

Interesting, useful stat and chart; thanks. That said, I think you’re cherry picking a bit because in the top chart, which covers everything, shows the Bills to good to great nearly across the entire board.

If he has turf toe (ie, a torn toe ligament), that’d explain a lot. It’s a bad, lingering injury. Given that it happened in spring, i wouldn’t be surprised if that’s what it is.

Um ... https://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/teamdef/2018 Also, check out opponents’ collective team passer rating against the Bills last season. It is regarded as the most indicative stat of defensive successfor good reason, and the Bills were third, just a hair behind the number two team. As for points allowed, the Bills offense was epically abysmal in every way and put the defense in bad situations all season. That has a huge impact on points allowed.