Rockinon

Growing up, you could always count on Americans to stand for the national anthem and to put a hand on their heart. That tradition has always been a unifying symbol to every American regardless of color. Americans stand because we do not kneel to anyone who would try to divide us, subjugate us or attack us. The very reasons people stand for the flag and the anthem are uniquely American reasons. And the people that kneel at that very moment know it is divisive. You can argue all you want that we have the freedom to kneel during anthem and while we fly the red, white and blue, but the truth is that this does not help to unite us. It angers me to see Americans intentionally putting barriers up that divide. Pretending to say that it is for a just cause is utter BS. There are millions of other ways to fight for a cause. This way is not how you win people over and it will never will be. It's no wonder we have riots in the streets. BTW, believing that black lives matter does not mean that you have to support the movement called Black Lives Matter(Which sends all it's donations to democrat candidates). Just as believing what happened to George Floyd was horrible doesn't mean you have to support de-funding the police. The very problems we are facing in America right now are because there is no middle ground. There is no place where everyone can unite. You are either on my side or you are the enemy, so to speak. We can't even come together under something that once brought us all together. Sorry, I kneel for God. No one else deserves that privilege.

Really excited about the running attack this season. The passing attack too. The beauty is that the two compliment each other. I'm thinking the offense takes a big step this season.

I think the Republican owner of the Patriots says "It will be a cold day in hell before Kapernick joins my team"

Diggs can talk to anyone he damn well pleases. And he doesn't need our permission either. Has everyone forgotten what country we live in?

I watched it a couple of weeks ago. Some of Marshawn's friends were running the place and basically they ran the place into the ground. I've watched a bunch of bar rescue episodes where the staff was disfunctional. Marshawn's friends took it to a whole other level.

Have to disagree. Run stuffing LBs are a dying breed. LBs are smaller, quicker on most teams. Those lumbering guys that would crash down on running lanes are hard to find today. Moss is big enough to take them on. I do agree about the blown tackle. That LB was caught completely flat footed, something you won't see in the NFL often. Moss though is a guy who is fearless and when he commits to running through someone, he's definitely going to win some of those. We now have 2 RBs that are leaders in making yards after contact. Singletary is smaller, and slower but is still among the best in the league in the same category.

With the additional weapons at Allen's disposal, I believe his job will be easier. He has grown and will continue to grow. Brown also makes a valid point about Knox. He is going to take on a bigger role this year. People like to point fingers at the drops, but when he gets more reps, he'll improve. Add in a strong running attack and RB's who can also catch, this offense can become dominant. I don't expect KC dominant, but maybe top 10. I am excited. Top 10 offense and a top 5 defense....the possibilities!!!

Would be hilarious if he made the team. Seeing Cox Sr. at the game to watch his son would be too.

Speed rushers are over rated. What gets you to a QB faster? Running all the way around the tackle or running through the tackle? There are different ways to rush a a passer and a speed rushers isn't necessarily going to get there faster. So we have an undersized DT in Oliver and now an over sized DE in Epenesa. Being good at football isn't all about size. Oliver is good because of his speed. Epenesa is good because of his strength. Both are explosive but for different reasons.

Is there a position on this team that doesn't have someone competing to take his job?

Tryout player from last year. Safety, converting to Linebacker. 6'3" and now weighs 220lbs. A linebacker with coverage abilities.

We picked up 3 UDFA OLmen. Let them fight for a roster spot.

I keep thinking about all of the top defenses we faced last year. Many of the top teams are there more because of their offense than defense. Those team don't scare me because I think our defense can slow them down. If our offense consistently puts points up, it's game over for many teams we'll face. The real question is can we score better against those top defenses? I really think our defense matches up well against the Chiefs offense and I think our offense can perform like it did against Dallas when playing the Chiefs. Maybe even better.

I like to break it down by offense and defense. Everyone is so focused on our improvements on offense which by no means is nothing to sneeze at, that the defense has been overlooked. We had a top 5 defense last year and we may have actually improved to possibly 1st place there between FA and the draft. There is depth, and the DLine is going to be an absolute handful. Maybe as good as the secondary. On offense, the front office has added some competition to the OL, but it feels like they want another year to see how last year's additions will improve going forward. Diggs is a huge get. A couple of big WRs in the draft, a solid RB and a TE that can also be a fullback(really underated signing IMO). With all of these weapons, the only other consideration is "will Josh Allen continue to improve?" I think, just the weapons alone will make the offense better. How much improvement is still on Josh. If the defense improves to #1 and the offense moves into top 10 territory, we might just have something here. Man it sure feels like we are getting close.

We're trying to move forward now. Put on your sneakers and try to keep up.

The theme for these draft picks is production. At nearly every position the collage production was there regardless of how highly they were ranked. Epenesa is not a speed pass rusher, but he is very good at winning his matchups with power instead. Moss is similar to Singletary in a very important stat(yards after contact). Both are incredible in this stat. I wonder if that is what Beane was looking at. Are we still crying over that?

This is a nice thread topic. Beane gets a lot for the money(draft capital). Amazing draft but how do you measure the value of the guys he picked up in free agency. The Diggs trade at first seemed expensive, but when you consider what he is (a proven #1 WR, in his prime, with 4 years left on his contract), maybe the price was still a steal. It should be noted that he is doing pretty damn good there too. He's still not done either. There are still some roster spots to fill going forward.

WR & RB in one pick.

Maybe not. But under that coach? Seems players running for the hills to get away from him.

Nice post. Now to make it a completely perfect draft, you'd not only add a couple of starters, you'd add starters at positions that currently have old guys filling those roles. The objective is to build a team that consistently is in the playoffs over the next 10 years. DE is good example. We have 3 DEs over the age of 30. Get one that is good enough to start and add another starter or two, you've basically pulled off a hat trick. If you did this and added 3 other starters you probably have god-like powers at your disposal. Another thing that keeps teams consistently winning is knowing when to cut your losses. When contracts come up we want to keep our best players of course, but you can't pay everyone top dollar. There isn't enough money. Finding quality to replace older talent helps, but sometimes young studs are let go because the contract demands are too much of a drag on the rest of the team. Consistently finding replacements in the draft is the best way to keep from losing those young studs. Tre comes to mind. It will be interesting to see how Beane handles this draft because this is basically his most difficult one to date. I like that he went out and got a proven talent at WR. The price was hefty so now he's really going to be under pressure with the few picks he has left to pull off that hat trick mentioned above.

I'm less concerned with specific positions. If the team is improved with better starters or increased depth, mission accomplished. That's going to be hard to do if you are focused on just a couple of positions. If it just so happens that a couple of weak positions are also improved, then I'd say the draft was not just successful but damn near perfect.

Probably asked to be traded. If they can't find a trade partner, they may just cut him. That would be the time to pounce. Giving up draft picks though?

That's because their coach thinks he's an OL genius when he's not.

Agree, except for the bolded. The order is going to be dictated by how the draft falls and who they like. I do believe that DE is a big concern because there is no youth there, but if one of the top WRs, RB, or even CBs fall to our 1st pick, you have to take them.

Agree with most of this. Adding youth is also important because no team can afford to pay everyone when contracts come up. Sometimes the best way to prepare for the future is to stack good players behind good players. Yes, we all ready have two very good safeties, but will Buffalo be able to pay both their worth when their contracts are up? We have some very good WRs and some decent RBs. The same would apply there too. Or DE.....we have two of the best at disrupting the QB though they are getting a bit long in the tooth. Need some youth behind them. Need a plan for the future. Don't really agree with the trade up scenarios though. Maybe after the 2nd round but not before.