dave mcbride

Granted, they don't cover any of the Pats' bad plays, but on all of these sacks, Taylor has absolutely no one to throw to.

Not that I put much stock in qb win-loss records, but Luck had a winning record last year as the Colts' starting qb (8-7). I'm admittedly a fan of his and think that his ability to lead THAT garbage organization to 3 consecutive 11-5 seasons is one more impressive accomplishments in recent years.

Jake Delhomme fever - catch it!

Not a great comparison given the differences in play style. The best, in my opinion given the team he played for and the path taken by the player? Jake Delhomme. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jake_Delhomme

The Browns regularly end up with 1-4 wins and have managed to stay there for quite a while. Losing breeds losing.

The past is the past, though. The Steelers outplayed NE in the most recent game and should have won.

So much of coordination success centers around talent. The Bills had terrible defensive talent when he was here.

as bad as that call on the sideline was, the phantom PI call on Henry Jones took the cake. They never call PIs on hail marys, and they shouldn't. And it wasn't even PI.

Davis Webb is a guy who really impressed me in college.

This is wrong. Look at the replay in this thread again. Regardless of the poor view from that side re: the knee being down or not, it's clear as day that his body was being pulled back by defenders after he lunged forward. That is, he didn't retreat on his own. Just as importantly, there is no point in that long portion of the play where he is free of a defender's grasp. The play you described had a player escaping the grasp - hence its lack of relevance to this debate.

That's a fair point; they were both rated very highly (apparently, the Bills wanted Davis, btw). I'm a little biased because I thought Davis was a more elite talent, but time will tell.

Because with Davis the talent is obvious. He is stuck in a situation where a coach is wedded to smashmouth and the qb isn't hitting his deeper throws.

No I didn't. This is apples and oranges. The whistle wasn't the issue in the play we saw, and it would have been in the one you describe. Moreover, the play you're describing has a player exiting the grasp. That never happened on the actual play we're talking about. Your example doesn't apply. The ball crossed the white line, and he wasn't down. The view from the other side indicated that the knee didn't touch. The other call was a terrible overturn, however.

I agree, and look forward to seeing him play next year. The accumulation of leg issues does worry me a bit, however.

But while in the grasp the ball had extended beyond the first down marker. It wasn't as if he extended while free of Patriot contact. The fact that he did it willingly is what I think is confusing people - if a Bills player had pushed visibly the arm back, we wouldn't be having this debate because it'd self-evident that progress had been "pushed" back. But it doesn't matter because it's irrelevant where his body is being tackled. The only that is relevant is that he's being tackled while extending the ball.

How so? The issue wasn't the whistle; it was the ball placement. They're separate issues.

I can't see how anyone who follows the NFL thinks that Charles Clay is better than Walker or thinks that there is anyone half as talented as Corey Davis on the Bills roster. I like Benjamin too, but I like him healthy. Presently, he's running a 4.9 40 with no cut ability.

It depends ENTIRELY on whether the whistle was blown. If it wasn't, then forward progress hadn't stopped.

I dunno - he looks a little angry to me - getting his head down and preparing for a charge. On the other hand, Frederic Remington nailed the current logo in the late 19th century. I agree, however, that the naming of the team itself is kinda ridiculous. Not sure you know much about Buffalo Bill Cody (the most popular entertainer of the late 19th century), but it's ridiculous that a team is named after him. But whatevs at this point!

If he's being touched (and he was in the grasp of a defender throughout the process), then the forward progress is where the ball got to at its forward most point before he comes down. Which makes it a first down. Let's do a thought experiment: how would you have reacted if the Bills were on the offense there and Shady wasn't given the first down? I personally would have been apoplectic.

We'll have to agree to disagree. I had no problem with that reversal. The other one was ridiculous, however.

In that Bengals game, Cincy's front seven was essentially unblockable - they occupied the backfield on what seemed like every play. The Bills were outplayed as a team in that game. It happens - Cincy isn't that bad and they were playing at home. If I recall, they were favored too. Bear in mind that I think SD would have easily handled Buffalo regardless of who started. Rivers was on fire and the Bills' D had no answers. If Tyrod had started, though, the Chargers wouldn't have put up 50+.

I will. I know what you're talking about, but I haven't seen it. Maybe we're watching different games and it happens all the time in the ones you watch!

I have honestly never seen what you're describing. They always seem to place it where the hit begins. If it were to happen as you describe here, then yes, it's the wrong call. But I don't see it. From the other side it seemed pretty clear that the knee wasn't touching. This isn't the best angle.

Do you know who is on the Titans? Corey Davis is the best WR prospect to come along since the 2014 draft, Delaney Walker is an excellent TE (a multit-time pro bowler), and Eric Decker is five times better than any receiver on the Bills. Rishard Matthews is a decent possession receiver on a par with a healthy Ryan Matthews. Most importantly, though, Mariota hasn't exploited Davis because his deep ball isn't good enough. And Taywan Taylor (their Marquise Goodwin; he's also a 3rd rounder) hasn't been targeted enough. Some of this falls on the prehistoric approach of their HC (Mularkey), but a lot falls on the QB too.