dave mcbride

Agreed. He certainly passed the eyeball test last season and is a classic case of why RBs are regarded as a dime a dozen.

The fundamental problem with this argument is that having to be prepared to defend against the run forces suspect defensive lines to always anticipate moving laterally to get to the back, and if you can be run on, your d-line’s get-upfield-to-the-qb ability will be significantly handicapped. Being weak against the run means that you have to play two-dimensionally on d-line all the time, and that is NOT a good thing. Also, being weak against the run tends to create massive problems inside the red zone. This is why there is literally not one defensive coordinator or head coach in the NFL who would agree with this take (flagging @GunnerBill, who somehow bizarrely agrees in part with this argument.)

Paladin or sorcerer, though?

It's mystifying. Edmunds was the fourth highest-paid LB last year and received the fifth biggest contract in FA in 2023. Is it all based on position? If so, LB is below D-line, o-line, WR, and QB in terms of AAV paid. The fact that the Bengals only got sixths for losing two top-level safeties suggestions that positional worth might be a factor. Bengals got only sixths for the two very good safeties they lost. I am starting to think that overall positional value plays a role.

The idea that the Bills were not awarded a third round pick based on the minority hiring situation is false. There were 7 third round comp picks handed out last year and 9 the year before.

This is false. The NFL awarded 9 third-round comp picks in 2022. https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-awards-39-compensatory-2022-nfl-draft-picks-to-16-teams There were 8 last year too. Maybe when we aim to get a 3rd next time we'll let a WR walk. Honestly, I won't be shocked if Gabe Davis nets us a fourth given that he plays a premium dollar position.

https://www.si.com/nfl/2024/03/05/russell-wilson-broncos-breakup-inevitable Supports your take.

He played in two playoff games and lost them both. They blew a 16-3 lead in 1984 and lost 17-16, and they lost 22-20 to Birmingham the next season. Joe Cribbs was the lead running back for Birmingham (16 carries for 70 yards). In fact, you can watch the whole game right here:

Seems like the sort of study that’s going to be a classic example of the replication crisis in the behavioral sciences. I don’t believe these findings to be even remotely accurate.

Tyrod is now available and is ten times better than Trubisky as a backup. Just sayin' ...

Achilles tears are not the injuries they used to be — at all. I won’t be shocked if he’s fine by camp. We shall see.

I'll just point out that he had a pretty good third season - the year the Browns went 11-5 (95.9 passer rating and 65.5 QBR plus a 14 AV rating via PFR). Brady was actually very good last season. They couldn't run the ball at all because of line issues, and that killed their play action game. In the run game, they were literally 32nd in rushing yards, 32nd in rushing TDs, and 32nd in yards per attempt.

Mayfield has proven he's a pretty good QB. Why the Browns got rid of him remains a mystery to me. He was playing with a significant injury his final year there and gutted it out. The year before, he was good. And he was good this year. Almost rallied to beat the Bills after being down by a lot.

I am assuming no trade, which is the real issue because they lost a first round pick in the process. Not good.

Just to clarify, Mike Evans was gone by the time the Bills would have picked (at #9). Beckham was still on the board, however. He went at #11. I will say this about Sammy Watkins: before the injuries began to chronically diminish his game, Watkins looked as good as any of those other receivers. People forget how Watkins could at times utterly dominate opponents in his first couple of seasons.

I'd also add that in 14 non-Bills playoff games since Mahomes became QB, KC has averaged 29.1 points per game. And that includes a 9-point Super Bowl game when they were missing both of their starting OTs (take out that game and they've averaged 31 points over 13 playoff games against teams other than the Bills). Maybe, just maybe, they're a really good playoff offense.

Ugh! I was stupidly looking at the wrong column (first downs!). Thanks for the correction. The point about the yardage in the final five games stands, though.

The offense got worse over the season, though. In their final five games, they didn't get to 300 yards even once. And they had 10 turnovers in those five games.

He had bad numbers THIS YEAR and not because he’s bad at it. He’s had tons of great throws in that area over the years. But if you are 0-15, that’s not marginal, and it’s a big part of the field to surrender.

I get the design, but 0 for 15 is still pretty ugly.

It's now starting to make sense why the Steelers didn't cover Kincaid on his TD in the playoff game and why Shakir ran free on the second-down play on the Bills final possession in the divisional round game. The Bills proved all season that they're terrible at connecting on deep middle throws. The only success they had was the Kincaid catch in the playoff game! In the regular season, they were an unbelievable 0 for 15. https://www.buffalorumblings.com/2024/1/31/24055184/2023-bills-season-analysis-buffalos-deep-middle-passing-game

"The Jets lost five games by 20 or more points and extended the longest playoff drought in the four major North American professional sports to 13 years." The Sabres saw this and want their streak back.

He is.

Huh? Badgley is 37-48 lifetime between 40 and 49 and made 9 of his last 11 (and also 2 of 3 from 50+) going back to last season. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BadgMi00.htm

I see the argument, but I just don't see how you don't trust your kicker to make a 45-yard FG in moderate conditions that puts you up 3 scores. in a game where you're facing a defense that's perennially top 5. As for the drop, it was a moderately tough catch and Goff was pressured (and Goff was 0-8 under pressure last night). And as for the analytics argument (not saying you're making that, btw), I'll repeat what analytics OG Billy Beane famously said: "My sh*t don't work in the playoffs."