MTBill

Good listen. Thanks. He pretty much nails it - with a Rookie QB you are going to see some good and some bad and lots of inconsistency. The one thing in terms of development, the 64 Million question is can Allen learn more on the sidelines or in the fire? I sort of look at it this way. Peterman looked bad last year, he did not really get a whole lot of game experience, but this preseason has looked better. Josh will likely do the same. He is going to get better by watching and learning - at least for now. We won't know "when" he's ready, it could be mid-season and depending on how the team is doing, that is going to maybe dictate that. (e.g. if we're somehow in the playoff hunt, I don't think they make a change, but if we're way out of it, and they think Josh is ready to start, I suspect he'll be starting). McDermott took a lot of (justifiable) heat for starting Peterman in San Diego last year, I don't think he'll do that again.

Here are a couple things I think: We had some bad years where we got good draft order - but squandered picks. Most of the time we have been languishing with middle-ish draft choices, hard to really reset a roster when you're not getting up to the top without sacrificing MORE picks to do so (see several moves we made during the drought). The NFL is constantly evolving - unless you have a real forward thinking front office/coaching staff, you are going to be constantly playing a catch up game. In our case we've had almost constant turnover in the front office and coaching staff. That makes it so difficult to have any real "building" going on when schemes change (how many times did we go from 3-4 to 4-3 and back again in the past decade?) This all adds to a further weakening of talent. I think we just had the perfect storm of garbage for a very long time. Constant turnover in the front office/coaching staff, a lot of busts in drafts or just picking players you didn't need. Don't get me wrong - I've enjoyed this team throughout, because I stick with the team. It has been difficult to see though, riding the rollercoaster hoping that this season will be different. I TRULY think that this has been settled. I think we are going to have this core of GM/Coach for a while - and that is going to equate to success, even if it isn't instant gratification. While the Drought ended with some help, it was important I think to throw that monkey off our backs and now we can focus on improving without constantly thinking "19 years, 20 years, ..." I'm excited for the future. I think Allen is going to improve and I am sort of OK with Peterman as a serviceable starter for now until Josh is ready. Peterman seems to have taken strides this preseason. The O-Line is really a problem - and we've seen that combining that with Josh right now is a recipe for disaster.

Something has definitely changed in his life. I wonder if the crux of this was the accusation he faced after the playoff game? I'm not saying he did or didn't do what was alleged - but maybe that was the start of the rails coming off. That and the surprise injury announcement by Eric Woods (who had formed a decent bond with him I think). I feel bad for him - I hope he gets the help he needs - if possible.

I suspect there was something said before the question period. Contract stuff is totally not McD's area - so maybe that's why it was treated that way? Or - maybe McD talked to Sal before the conference about it - and McD said no comment - then it was asked in public and that's why he got the reaction? I suspect things like injury settlements are probably taboo to talk about - especially if they have not been done yet?

I'll throw this out there... I wonder if this was the plan all along. Peterman got start 1 (did a solid job really). AJ got start 2 (did about as horrible as you could short of 5 picks). Allen is getting the start in game 3. I don't think he's penciled in as anything more than the preseason game 3 starter at this point - but if (when) he continues to play well, then there's no reason for them to hold him back. I am (was) firmly in the camp of start someone else and let him develop a bit from the sideline... but he showed a lot in Cleveland - poise, leadership, and skills. Peterman did an OK job running the 3rd string - but not really demonstrably better than Allen did week 1 and if he was the consensus starter, he should have capitalized on that. So kudos to the coaching staff for giving Allen his opportunity. Now it's up to him to make it real.

Hello Adversity - nice to meet you. We'll see how this pans out. It's preseason, I'm not worried at all. But - there are definitely signs of not being focused it seems.

And now the run D shows up...

I think this is some inspired Browns team which wants to win more than anything... Against a Bills team which is somehow flatter than a crepe.

Wowzers. I don't have a feed to watch it... but damn.

I intend to run this again after the 4th preseason game... Just to see how opinions changed. I find it interesting that the consensus is AJM "should" start - but the consensus is also that they want Allen to start. To me when you look at raw talent - it isn't even close... I'd rank them Allen, Peterman, AJM based on what we've seen - and it isn't close. When it comes to knowledge it is AJM, Peterman, Allen - and again that seems to be a wide range. Once Allen has a bit more learning under his belt - he'll be the starter. That could be mid to late this season.

Just curious to see how the wind is blowing this week.

I'll throw this out there. If Kelly would have signed with Buffalo out of college - he would have sat behind Fergy for a year. Just sayin'. I think why people want to have Allen start this year is because AJM/Peterman are not just "locks" as QB, both are effectively almost as green as he is. But - they are not as green as he is, and I think Allen is a better QB if he sits for at least part of the season, learning by watching. He'll learn more from Daboll on the sidelines (or Culley) as far as how this offense works. That is going to make him better when he hits the field, than it would if he was under fire trying to learn it from the field. I get both sides here - I just happen to be on the let him learn side.

What would be cool is if a "Topic" could have sub-threads. E.g the topic is "Embedded - then you could have different threads about different aspects/episodes. You could do it with Multiple Boards, but that is a PitA to navigate/manage too. Sort of like the old collapsing Thread where you tie Replies together to a thread. a Multi-Threaded topic. That would keep it Clean on the main page - with discussions about general topics being together. Like we've had discussions where someone goes off and a "thread" gets closed - but really, that can be because of 2 people arguing about some nuance and it get's nasty. The rest of the thread could continue.

I foresee coaching in his future when he retires. I think he'd be a heck of a coach.

McCoy should introduce him to his ex.

That was impressive. Talent and habit. Truth there. I can't wait to see the next one. What a great Idea someone had to do this web series. How do you connect to the kids? Have them get up in front and play Madden 1 on 1. That was cool too.

I'm not in the camp of starting him week 1. This is lest based on Josh Allen - and more based on Peterman/AJM. As much as I don't think either of them is a long-term legit starter in this league - they are more prepared than he is for now and he will learn a "lot" watching the game for some period of time. That said, I hate to see other teams with rookies starting them. They should start Bridgewater in NY, they won't. So it just reinforces in some people's heads (fans/media/opponents) that Josh is less prepared. I think Allen is prepared enough to struggle through as a starter beginning in week 1. I just think if we have him not start for a while - that does not hinder his development greatly. He'll start when he starts and I'm OK with that. I also want to be damn sure that the o-line is not porous enough that he'd be constantly running for his life. I don't want him to develop bad habits. If there was an over/under on his # of starts in 2018 - I think I'd say he starts at least 6 games and maybe at most 12. I just don't think McD is willing to throw him to the wolves like the Jets are going to do. It'd be great if he could get some garbage time experience - but I highly doubt that's going to happen. Yeah - imho 1st string defense in the Preseason is a bunch of vets and strong rookies just avoiding injury. The 2nd string guys are hoping to make enough plays to maybe get a starting role. The 3rd string guys are trying everything possible to make plays so they can make the 53. They bust their asses.

Haters gonna hate. I agree this seems an awful lot like a lash out at white QBs. It's just lockerroom garbage at this point. Shut up and play the game. I'd say the same thing to KB when dissing Cam & the Panthers... I get that a reporter asks you a question and you feel you have to go off a bit... I think this was one of Levy's strongsuits - he was able to manage the personalities which were numerous and varied.

I hope that Shady learned from this that he has to pick better people to be around - both his entourage as well as the woman he chooses to have a relationship with. It seems like he has his head on straight - we haven't had the "girls only party" news since he signed - and he hasn't been around any bar fights in a while. To me this sort of came out of the blue - but I think it's in his favor that he'd already had eviction proceedings and a police report on the jewelry. It shows he was being straightforward about it. Two mysteries obviously provide insight: 1) Will the assailant ever be found? Doubtful at this point unless they say something to someone who rats them out. 2) Will the jewelry ever be found? It certainly could have a tale to tell (was it cut off - how did the person having it acquire it?) Shady indicated in his complaint to police well before this crime that she had jewelry which was on loan to him - that owner is going to expect it back or have it paid for, regardless of the circumstances of it's disappearance. Something happened - we may never know exactly what. Those bruises don't just show up on their own.

Also - probably a good idea to not tear up the ground on campus - they probably have to pay for any damage to it as part of their contract. No need to rip it apart needlessly.

Uniformity can be good - unless it's garbage.... And it has now become garbage.

Is that a tailgating table? I am not going to pick nits around Blue versus Black - I think both of those colors are in the 53 (or are at least trade-worthy). I think they keep 3 QBs - but at least one guy thinks it'll only be 2. Your thoughts? Out of the folks in Red, who are you pulling for?

Her credibility is going to be heavily called into question here - and 'character' witnesses go both ways. I served for a week on a hung jury trial which was solely based on testimony. It was a criminal trial - but there were multiple jurors who simply could not convict based solely on testimony alone. They stated they believed at least some of the testimony of the victim, but in the end could not convict someone based strictly on the testimony. One of the important things on this if it ends up in court is jury selection. I don't know whether Shady gets to choose Jury vs. Judge like a defendant in a criminal case would. In this case, a judge is probably a better choice. They are going to have a better sniff test than a group of "peers".

Yes - they probably won't do this pro bono unless they really feel there is a chance of winning. Otherwise it's waste of their time. To 26CB - Her testimony is admissible, it's just up to the jury whether they believe it or not - and that can be weighed against what others say or prove. I'm damn curious why we have heard squat more from her kid who apparently went out the window... is it because he doesn't support her story?

Testimony is evidence. It has equal weight with physical evidence. What comes into play is each jury member determines if they believe the witness (or the testimony specifically) is credible. This whole thing is just a time sucking distraction. I am not going to say she has made the whole thing up, but I certainly feel this is a definite possibility. SO FAR all we have (at least heard about) is her story (not implying fabrication) and evidence of violence to her. No other accounts by any other people. Including the "friends" she was beaten in front of. Capital punishment is not a crime for children - child abuse is. There is a line there. This certainly has ZERO to do with her and does not belong in a lawsuit by her. The way this thing has been communicated by her and her twitter "friend" certainly sounds like fabrication to me. I won't say it is impossible for it to be true. I'm really trying to not be jaded as a fan of the Bills and what this could do to that. It just really is a weak sounding case at this point - as a criminal or civil suit. The key difference in a civil suit is it does not have to be "beyond a reasonable doubt" to find the defendant guilty. Easier for the plaintiff, but she has to convince a jury of the injury. A promise of buying a home and not doing so is not an injury to her.