dave mcbride

Trent Murphy. But he has Stanford character!

No, my initial response referred to the three years (see below), but as I said above, I did not change the subject from that three-year assessment. Others may have, but I didn't. Evaluating Taylor, who is still young, requires taking a longer view and not simply looking at last season when he had awful receivers and a terrible OC. He didn't play well himself either (although he least took care of the ball), but 2017 is only one piece in a larger body of work.

Apparently not as hard as reading what I was initially responding to. Via an attack on Taylor, he flat out stated that the Bills had the worst passing attack in the league for three seasons. That is unequivocally false. That's what I was responding to, and the fact that he shifted the conversation to his fantasy league because he didn't have a legitimate answer doesn't obviate the initial (flawed) point that was made. Anyway, you're arguing with me for sticking to my guns regarding a longer body of work, which was clearly part of the conversation -- until it wasn't. I'm not letting that go because the argument about Taylor (from both sides, pro and con) hinges on a longer view.

I don't think Gilmore went on strike; I actually thought he played well. Mario didn't go on strike so much as check out. He was a terrible teammate and while Rex didn't use him correctly, I don't fully blame Ryan for the terrible performance. That's on Mario, who literally didn't even try in many games.

Gamers are players who gut it out and play hurt, don't complain, and don't cause internal problems. Clutch players show up for big games. I never said he was a clutch player. It's a flaw of his and makes him average instead of good.

Um ... no. The person I'm responding to (not you) cited a record of failure over 3 seasons. See the previous page and my initial response. That's what I'm reacting to. That poster than shifted the goalposts and starting referring to his fantasy draft as a source of authority.

I go back to Rex using the media to go after his GM in NY. He does note appear to be an easy guy to work with, which is no surprise. I'm not here to defend Whaley, who I had major issues with, but put yourself in his shoes - he's constructed an excellent defense that was #2 overall in DVOA in 2014 (behind Seattle), and Ryan comes in and forces an inappropriate scheme on the group. Next thing you know, they're #24 and #27 in defensive DVOA the next two seasons despite real talent.

Rex also undermined Whaley. The two were toxic together. Rex is not a terrific guy either.

I'll take PFR over your opinion. His AV value was 23rd overall in the NFL in 2016 - a season in which after 15 games the Bills' offense ranked 7th in yards, 10th in points, and first in fewest turnovers given up (he of course was benched for the final game). This occurred in a season in which they Hogan had left, Watkins was mostly hurt, and Woods was playing with a torn groin. The Bills' offense was 9th in DVOA in 2015 and 10th in 2016 -- their best showings since 1999. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/play-index/psl_finder.cgi?request=1&match=single&year_min=2016&year_max=2016&season_start=1&season_end=-1&age_min=0&age_max=99&league_id=&team_id=&is_active=&is_hof=&pos_is_qb=Y&pos_is_rb=Y&pos_is_wr=Y&pos_is_te=Y&pos_is_e=Y&pos_is_t=Y&pos_is_g=Y&pos_is_c=Y&pos_is_ol=Y&pos_is_dt=Y&pos_is_de=Y&pos_is_dl=Y&pos_is_ilb=Y&pos_is_olb=Y&pos_is_lb=Y&pos_is_cb=Y&pos_is_s=Y&pos_is_db=Y&pos_is_k=Y&pos_is_p=Y&c1stat=&c1comp=gt&c1val=&c2stat=&c2comp=gt&c2val=&c3stat=&c3comp=gt&c3val=&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&c5comp=&c5gtlt=lt&c6mult=1.0&c6comp=&order_by=av&draft=0&draft_year_min=1936&draft_year_max=2015&type=&draft_round_min=0&draft_round_max=99&draft_slot_min=1&draft_slot_max=500&draft_pick_in_round=0&draft_league_id=&draft_team_id=&college_id=all&conference=any&draft_pos_is_qb=Y&draft_pos_is_rb=Y&draft_pos_is_wr=Y&draft_pos_is_te=Y&draft_pos_is_e=Y&draft_pos_is_t=Y&draft_pos_is_g=Y&draft_pos_is_c=Y&draft_pos_is_ol=Y&draft_pos_is_dt=Y&draft_pos_is_de=Y&draft_pos_is_dl=Y&draft_pos_is_ilb=Y&draft_pos_is_olb=Y&draft_pos_is_lb=Y&draft_pos_is_cb=Y&draft_pos_is_s=Y&draft_pos_is_db=Y&draft_pos_is_k=Y&draft_pos_is_p=Y I realize you're an anti-Taylor crusader, but come on. I wish him well. He's a decent, likable player who is a true gamer despite not being elite.

I know - I said that, in fact.

Look at the 2019 crop. Not that impressive, and many of the good players here (OBJ, Clowney) will likely be retained. https://overthecap.com/free-agency

Agreed. It was a jailbreak on nearly every passing play.

Oh - OK. So we're really 60 million under and OTC is adding the 11 million to that number? What happens if trade for Mack?

Well, obviously, the Bills would have to give up a high draft pick and possibly more. But it is the case that McCarron is his kind of backup and he doesn't like EJ and Cook.

Hmm ... Gruden is not happy with his backup qbs. Check it out: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000950939/article/jon-gruden-unsure-if-raiders-have-backup-qb-on-roster. He also sees McCarron as a Brad Johnson type (that's a compliment coming from him): http://www.espn.com/nfl/draft2014/insider/story/_/id/10839518/2014-nfl-draft-jon-gruden-shares-observations-aj-mccarron. Mack?

Delaying the inevitable is not a bad approach, and many good organizations subscribe to it. And Peterman undeniably gets rid of the ball a LOT faster than Allen.

Highly drafted QBs (1st or second rounds) who didn't start right away and were eased in: Carson Palmer, Philip Rivers, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Brett Favre, Jared Goff, Eli Manning, Jimmy Garrapolo, Alex Smith, Brady Quinn, Paxton Lynch, Daunte Culpepper, and Donovan McNabb. On the other side, here are recent QBs who started from day 1: Sam Bradford, Matthew Stafford, Russell Wilson, Ben Roethlisberger, Cam Newton, David Carr, Derek Carr, Carson Wentz, Jameis Winston, Andrew Luck, Payton Manning, Joe Flacco, Matt Ryan, RG III, Brandon Weeden, Blaine Gabbert, Tim Couch, Mark Sanchez, Andy Dalton, and Ryan Tannehill. (DeShaun Watson, Blake Bortles, Christian Ponder, Mitchell Trubisky, and Marcus Mariota only sat for a small number of games before being taking the reins.) What's the best path? My own two cents: I think the Bills should sit Allen given how awful the line and the receivers are. Getting beaten to a pulp and putting up negligible numbers out of the gate on the path to a very bad season won't do him any favors. Peterman, who is a much lesser talent, plays the sort of game that mitigates these massive weaknesses.

Castillo has actually had a lot of success in the past. I don't even blame him for last season -- that falls on their garbage OC.

I disagree because Peterman's game -- quick-release and tempo/rhythm -- is the best antidote to a truly atrocious line. He really should be starting in the first game. Allen's game -- and why the Bills drafted him so high -- relies on longer-developing plays, and is the sort that will get him killed early and often behind the current set of turnstiles. Also, do not underestimate the impact of the fans turning on him assuming he really struggles. You know fans: when he struggles (and he assuredly will with this line and this group of bad receivers), many will turn on him, and they'll be very loud. That's as predictable as the rooster crowing at dawn. Bills fans are like that too. It'll create a bad scene for the long term, with the coaches always defending him to the press, and the national media (which predicted he'd fail) circling like vultures. It won't be good for his career.

The problem is talent, not Castillo. Castillo coached the Eagles' offensive line from 1998-2010, and they finished in the top 12 in points in 9 of those seasons and the top 11 in yards in 7 of those seasons. Using Football Outsiders' DVOA metric, from 2001-10, the Eagles' offense finished in the top 12 nine out of ten years and the top 10 seven out of ten years.

A lot of people really loved Warmack when he came out, and he's not even 27 yet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chance_Warmack . I don't think it's a bad gamble to go after a player who clearly has the physical talent to excel. Why he hasn't excelled yet I don't know, but I think he at least has the capability to be league average. The Bills' guards are very far from league average. John Miller should not be starting for any NFL team, and while Ducasse is a solid run blocker, he is an absolute liability in pass protection.

If you click on the 2019 tab here, outside of Rodger Saffold, I don't see much in the way of average-to-above-average o-line talent coming on the market next season ... https://overthecap.com/free-agency

OTC has us at nearly $71 million under the cap next season: https://overthecap.com/salary-cap/buffalo-bills/ . What do you mean when you refer to carrying over $10 million?

Yup. Benoit is a worthy successor to King. Very good football writer.

On what planet were the Bills the worst passing offense in the league the last three seasons? And please don’t say it’s all about the yardage. That on its own is a horrible metric to judge a passing game by. Also, saying that Taylor, a bona fide league average qb, isn’t in the top 30 makes me really question your judgment.