dave mcbride

You mean to say that 26 CB isn't a sentient bot?

Exactly.

You and Badol have both missed the obvious guy that they should have taken at 19 - Tyreek Hill. (just kidding!) Seriously, from 19 onward (when the Bills picked) that draft SUCKED. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_NFL_Draft Outside of Dak Prescott, Hill, Jordan Howard, and (of course) Jack, no one stands out. It really tells you that it was a bad draft that two teams drafted LBs in the 30s who had serious knee problems. Also, to own up to my own mistakes, I was shocked to see how bad Connor Cook was. I thought he was a very good and accurate medium-deep thrower in college (I threw out his completion pct because he tended to make harder, pro-oriented throws at MSU), but boy is he bad.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/prehistoric-college-football-coaches-are-killing-players-its-past-time-to-stop-them/2018/08/21/5b0f67c2-a53b-11e8-8fac-12e98c13528d_story.html?utm_term=.63f387a9e702

Um ... backup qbs are really important. Ask minnesota and philly about the importance of a good backup qb.

You said “most.” He was actually at least moderately complimentary to most of the qbs in the piece (i.e., more than half) — garrapolo, goff, cousins, brady, carr, brees, mariota, tyrod, rogers, prescott (to a lesser extent), watson, foles, wentz, Wilson, etc.

This isn’t true. He took shots at a few qbs, but said postive things about the majority of qbs he discussed.

Just read the whole piece. Much of what he says about other players is logical and makes sense.

Huh?? They obviously liked Allen. From everything I read, though, it was pretty clear that they coveted Darnold. There is a reason he was taken before Allen.

I was a huge fan of Darnold as a prospect and fully expect him to be a very good player for a long time. If the Bills had had a chance at taking him, they would have sprinted to the podium to draft him. Don’t think otherwise.

?? He's been hurt a lot already, and he might want to quit. He wouldn't be the first player to quit early.

Has Mack schooled Jordan Mills yet today?

From Albert Breer's MMQB column today: 5. I think analytics are a very useful tool for NFL teams, but Corey Coleman’s failure to make any dent in Cleveland is probably a good example of relying too much on numbers. He ran a sub-4.4 40 at his pro day, and was incredibly productive at Baylor—he notched 74 catches for 1,363 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2015. It was a priority for Cleveland to find guys who could get in the end zone, and Coleman clearly showed he could in Waco. But on the flip side, there were questions about his football IQ coming out of a simple offense, and his route-running ability, and that’s why there are more than a couple teams that aren’t very surprised at how his time in Cleveland ended, with Sunday’s trade to Buffalo for a bag of pylons. https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/08/06/dak-prescott-cowboys-training-camp-2018-mmqb-breer It sounds like it's quite possibly a dumb-as-a-box-of-rocks issue (and he did get a 10 on the Wonderlic, which is freaking terrible). He has physical talent, though, and the Bills basically got him for free.

212 TDs in 7 years is very far from mediocre.

Donald is a better player than Whitworth, who is still good. He's also better and more impactful than every other player here outside of Goff. Indeed, he's probably the best defensive lineman in the league, and he gets to the qb too (40 sacks in 4 seasons). Spending money on a borderline-unhinged thug like Peters over Donald seems crazy to me. I suggest looking at this. Note Whitworth. https://theramswire.usatoday.com/2018/01/07/nfl-los-angeles-rams-falcons-playoffs-pro-football-focus-grades/ Donald had 11 pressures!

I think people are missing the point here. DTs are actually quite important (they're a major league reason why the Giants beat the Pats in the '08 SB and Seattle annihilated Denver), but you need multiple elite players. The cap actually allows for that if you prioritize wisely. Who else are the Rams spending their money on? Last I checked they franchised a decent safety who is less than half the player Donald is, and the gave Brandin Cooks $49 million guaranteed. Goff and Gurley are still on rookie contracts. Michael Brockers has an $11 million cap hit too, as does their 36 year old LT. https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/los-angeles-rams/cap/

This. Reid is a great offensive coach. Let's not forget that the Chiefs were absolutely robbed last year in the playoffs by the refs.

His knees are big, big problems. He looked slow as molasses last year. No arguing with that; that's what he's good at. He's huge. But he simply can't beat anyone deep. Throwing it up for grabs like that will result in a completion 1 time out of 4, an INC 2 times out of 4, and an INT 1 time out of 4.

As I've said elsewhere, I'm guessing that Benjamin's 40 time is now in the 4.9 neighborhood. I'd bet good money that Charles Clay is faster than him.

It's an interesting topic. I'm going to pick the truly elite QB's team almost every time, but I see your point. I guess it comes down to the following for me: over the past 9 years or so, the Packers have won a LOT more than they lose when Rodgers starts -- and regardless of his teammates are. The Pats are similar. Rodgers and Brady are THAT good.

Rogers is the best QB in the league (at least in the regular season), full stop, and I expect GB to win that division this year. It's a QB-drive league, and he's 88-38 as a starter from his second season onward. That's why I'm projecting a downward shift for Minnesota. The Bears are going to be a lot better too.

Including one postseason victory, Rodgers is 13-6 against Minnesota and has won 11 of the past 14 games. He has completed 68.3 percent of his passes for 4,810 yards, 40 touchdowns and just six interceptions, with a passer rating of 111.7.

??????? Brandon Cooks is a very good player! They had to shell out more for him (in terms of years; the per-year numbers are the same) because they failed to re-sign Watkins. They also *traded* for him, and had to give up a first to get him. That trade was done partly out of desperation (as the LA Times reported, they misjudged the exploding market for WRs this offseason) because they are built to win now and are going to have to face off against a vastly improved 49ers team this season plus a Seattle team that will pretty much always get to 9 wins given who their qb is. Anyway, two players can both be really good, you know. 62.5 percent of Watkins salary is guaranteed, and 60.4 percent of Cooks' is guaranteed. Watkins will go on the open market again at age 27 in three years, and if he produces, he will make a lot more money in five years time than Cooks makes in his five years.

Minnesota may well get swept by GB with a healthy Aaron Rogers. Plus they play three of the best teams in the league besides GB. That's why you predict regression.

The Rams didn't let him go. His contract was up. The Chiefs outbid everyone else. If you think they offered that contract sans any competition for his services, you'd be wrong. To wit: http://www.latimes.com/sports/rams/la-sp-rams-sammy-watkins-20180313-story.html