dave mcbride

Foles is the relevant comparison, not draftees. Take a look at Foles' religiousity (he plans on being a minister) and then think about Frank Reich - his ultra-religious OC from last year, after all. The Bills don't have a credible qb on the roster. Something is up, I suspect, although I don't know what's going to happen, obviously.

I think he ends up in NE, Bill. Brady has been dropping hints in the last week that this next season will be his last.

I don't think he is. In fact, I think he's fine, and there's more than meets the eye to his current injury status. The injury he had is hardly career ending. Kim Jung Un is a lot more impressive at playing his particular international relations game than you imply in all of these posts.

That's not really fair. As I understand it, the scenario is that the Bills get Luck and Reich gets Foles. I'm not saying that trade makes perfect sense for Indy, and I don't expect it to happen. That said, I do believe that all is not right in the relationship between Luck and the franchise, and the changes they just made might not be enough; it may be beyond fixability at this point. The other thing I go back to is McDaniel backing out. Why would he do that? It could be duplicity and/or second thoughts, but perhaps he learned something about Luck not being there for long because he's demanding to get out of there. My guess is that Luck is perfectly fine (it's a common enough injury) and I wonder if he's playing a game with the franchise to force his way out. I guarantee you that he's unhappy with how things went down there in the last couple of years. P.S. I also think that the franchise is unhappy with Luck's will-he-or-won't-he status for the first half of last season. His absence and the haziness surrounding his injury cost a bunch of people their jobs. There could well be bad blood on the other end too. Bear in mind that elite qbs can do this. Palmer forced his way out of Cincy because he despised the organization.

Caveat: I don't think this trade happens for a host of reasons. But you're leaving out one potential factor: the possibility of a completely broken relationship between Luck and team management, including the owner. There have been signs that their relationship has nosedived despite the fact that they're saying the right things now. My hunch is that Luck doesn't trust Irsay and is suspicious of what is in truth has been a terrible organization for years. They may get better with a new gm/coach, but the damage may be done.

Has he passed a physical for the Bengals yet, or does this have to wait until after the deadline today?

See the link above. If the Bills want to trade every pick away, they will win against anyone. But I don't think they want to do that. And you're right: the players matter. People forget that.

Um ... I thought the draft picks that the Bills possess was common knowledge here. No? Also, see the chart here. https://forums.jetnation.com/topic/136311-bills-trade-for-the-12th-pick/?do=findComment&comment=3632207

To repeat, 6 is way better than 12. 6, 37, and 49 are also better than 12, 22, and 53, at least according to both of the main draft charts that are out there. After that, the Bills take the advantage, but then the question becomes how many picks will the Bills be willing to deal.

The Jets' assets are as good as the Bills. #6 is worth a LOT more than #12, and they have 37 and 49 too (plus 72). They are the main competition, as far as I see it. Denver has 5, 40, 71, 99, 106, and 109. That extra Jets second puts them ahead of Denver. Miami (11, 42, 73, 111) and AZ (15, 49, 79, 97) simply don't have the ammo at all relative to the Bills. The Jets are the main threat here, with Denver not too far behind given the #5 pick. There will be elite players that fall to 5 that the Giants/Colts may covet, like Chubb and Fitzpatrick. Those guys will not be there at 12.

A comment that reflects my worries: "Yeah, but not by much. I know the value chart isn' exact, but both of the Bills firsts (#12[1200]=#22[780])= #6[1600] + 380 points which is the 52nd pick (isn't that the Hackenberg pick?). Our 2nd 2nd is #49 and worth 410."

My recollection is that Foles was a helpful contributor to the Eagles this past season in his backup role. I don't see why they wouldn't keep him given their firm desire to go back to back. They are not playing for the future. All the bridge qbs are taken -- until someone gets injured. Which will happen.

I agree about that first step. But if you get rid of him, who is gonna play the position? He's a JAG at the very least, and as we both know there are a lot of sub-JAG players populating NFL rosters. I don't think the WR position is more important than the DE position, and Bryant comes with a LOT of baggage that shouldn't be overlooked.

A little more on Hughes. He ranked 13 out of 75 qualifying pass rushers this past season: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2751016-nfl1000-ranking-the-top-4-3-defensive-ends-from-2017-season 13. Jerry Hughes, Buffalo Bills Pass Rush: 23/30 Run Defense: 15/20 Snap Quickness: 14/20 Tackling: 14/20 Position Value: 8/10 Overall Grade: 74/100 Jerry Hughes is one of the best speed/bend pass-rushers in the sport. After playing as a 3-4 outside linebacker for Rex Ryan, Hughes transitioned back to a full-time pass-rusher role as a 4-3 defensive end for Sean McDermott. With Lorenzo Alexander's move from 3-4 outside linebacker to 4-3 outside linebacker, Hughes had to be "the guy" for Buffalo this season. With little to no holes in his game, he should be considered an above-average starter for the position.

Lawson has been a disappointment, but come on. Give him a third year in the system. Players do get better, and while he's never going to be that explosive, he has some skills/assets that are valuable. Also, he came out as a junior, so he's still young (23). And he's missed time in both seasons with small-ish injuries.

Regardless of how good he was or wasn't, he was better than Adolphus Washington, who appears to stink.

More on Hughes and pressure. He had *45* pressures yet only a small handful of sacks! That's kind of unheard of. http://buffalonews.com/2018/01/02/advanced-stats-jerry-hughes-erupts-for-bills-against-backup-left-tackle-vs-dolphins/ Man, Hughes is an underrated player.

This is not true. A guy who can tie up interior blockers and push the pocket even without getting sacks is very valuable. Carolina has typically gotten excellent DE sack numbers, and if you look at Hughes' pressure numbers last year, something was wrong. Too many times QBs escaped from him by simply stepping up in the pocket.

As of December 3rd this past season, Hughes was 5th in the league in QB pressures. Yet he had only 3 sacks. This signing helps change that. http://billswire.usatoday.com/2017/12/03/tom-brady-bill-belichick-jerry-hughes-nfl-week-13/ Hughes, who is 29-years old, has racked up 3.0 sacks, nine tackles for loss and one forced fumble through 11 games. He’s registered only three sacks but has racked up 10 quarterback hits and according to Pro Football Focus, his 34 total pressures rank fifth-most among qualifying edge rushers.

Good comments from Sal C. How many times did a qb slip out of Jerry Hughes' mitts at the last second last season by stepping up in the pocket? I felt like Hughes had a massive pressure season that went unrewarded with sacks.

Good piece, but this is why the grading system is flawed, especially for qbs: The greatness of Rodgers’ performance last night was in the intangibles. Recognizing the blitz, drawing the defense offsides, catching the Chiefs in bad situations and exploiting those scenarios with simple passes to open receivers. But you cannot — and we do not try to — quantify intangibles, or what comes pre-snap. Our system grades what can be graded — the execution of the play post-snap — and in that regard Rodgers did not stand out in the same way that his statistics did.

yup. https://www.catscratchreader.com/2018/1/5/16852940/pro-football-focus-2017-final-ratings-for-every-carolina-panthers-defensive-player

Carolina's defensive ranking in rushing yards per attempt the last 3 seasons: 2015: 7th 2016: 9th 2017: 11th

The Bills need to move up to 2 to get the qb. At 4, they will be out of luck.

The last question is real, but at the end of the day it's not rational to want to stick it to the Jets simply they're a NY team. They're in the other conference and aren't a rival.