Cash

The Condo! Nicknamed as such because he was even bigger than 'House' Ballard. IIRC, we played a very early overseas game - in Germany maybe? And at some pre-game PR event, the locals requested not the biggest stars, but the biggest players. We sent House and Condo.

You can throw John McCargo and Kyle Williams into the same bucket. Who said he made Revis look like trash? That's massive hyperbole. It's more accurate to say that Revis didn't shut Stevie down the way Revis did most #1 WR options at that time. I.e., Stevie had some success against Revis, whereas plenty of better overall WRs had NO success against Revis.

I also expect a fair bit of chest puffing if NE starts anywhere near half-decent. Maybe more from their fans than the team, but guess what? Like 30% of national sports media are Boston fans. Any chest puffing will make its way to McD/Allen, and they tend to take that personally.

1. I agree Hancock isn’t relevant - I think he’s competing against Cam Lewis, J. Ingram, and backup safeties. 2. I think Tre is really competing against Dane Jackson for a roster spot. If he’s good enough to earn that spot, he’ll be competing against Hairston to start. 3. I’ll go on record and say two things. First, we will not cut Dorian Strong this year. (Maybe he goes on IR, so I won’t proclaim that he makes the team.) Second, Tre White makes the team if healthy - meaning he isn’t cut or traded prior to week 1. If I’m wrong on either, you have my permission to dunk on me. I will accept it with shame.

Interesting take. I disagree but I’m open to be convinced otherwise. From memory, I think Coleman’s non-40 measurables were pretty good, and I don’t recall Kincaid’s being crazy exceptional. I agree that generally TE is a slower-developing position than WR. But the other factor to me is age. Coleman is what, 3-4 years younger than Kincaid? That’s a big difference, both in terms of athleticism and development. Athleticism: Pro athlete-level men don’t usually peak athletically till somewhere in the mid 20s. Coleman probably (not definitely) has more room to grow athletically. Development: Again, granted that TE is slower to develop on average. But Coleman has a lot less time on task at his position, and a lot less football experience in general since he was more basketball-focused until recently.

Depends on who you ask. I’m not super active on the board, but I’ve seen a LOT more people writing Coleman off than people expecting him to break out.

Great point. It’s easy for us fans to just say “play the young guy, he’ll get better”, but if his teammates don’t trust him, that’s causing extra problems beyond just one rookie making mistakes. In a similar vein, there is a case for a Tre White or similar to make the roster as a backup over a better-below-the-neck young guy. Because we know Tre is a phenomenal locker room guy, and he came in with no expectations of starting.

The Bills, at least, seem to consider NCB and boundary CB as different positions, and also seem to think NCB and S are a lot closer to each other than either is to boundary CB. We've seen a number of S/NCB depth guys - Siran Neal and Cam Lewis both come to mind - but very few boundary/nickel depth guys. Jamarcus Ingram is about the only one, and even then he's only played on the boundary when there was no one else available. Both Neal and Lewis have also filled in at boundary CB, but only when there were multiple injuries in the same game. My guess is that Parrino has internalized that after a number of years covering this team, and was meaning "boundary corners" specifically. Also worth noting: Parrino isn't allowed to report on where players are lining up, but he is able to witness it and remember. It's possible that Hancock has been practicing exclusively at S all spring. If that's the case, Parrino would probably not think of him as any kind of corner at this point.

Agree with this. LB is one of the few spots where I could see us in the market for a veteran cut. Spector gets hurt every year and is in the last year of his deal, so they won’t hesitate to move on if they think a fading vet will be an upgrade this season. Bernard getting hurt is probably the biggest risk on the defense. Plus there could be a slight trade market for Spector - meaning maybe you get a low 7th rounder for him instead of cutting him outright. I have no idea if this Bungles guy would be an upgrade over Spector in 2025, but if any of the Football Knowers on the board have a take, please weigh in.

I don't generally re-watch a lot of games, and pretty much never re-watch losses. So for me, the list is more about which painful losses I HAVE re-watched. There are a few: -All 4 Super Bowls (I think; I was pretty young and maybe just rewatched 1 or 2 of them) -Bills/Titans wildcard Jan 2000, aka Music City Miracle. Really hit home how bad Rob Johnson was prior to the final drive. I also spent a LOT of time obsessing over whether the 'lateral' itself went forward or not. -Bills/Chiefs divisional Jan 2022, aka 13 Seconds - but I should disclose that I haven't rewatched anything that came after Gabe's final TD. Same. Any time it's come up, I tell people "I don't need to watch it; I lived it." I hear from reliable sources (Bills fans and non-Bills fans) that it's great, and I have no problem recommending it to other people. If we ever win a Super Bowl, maybe then I'll watch it, who knows?

Offense: More effectiveness when running 2 TEs. I'd also like to see more of a multifaceted gameplan, at least for the playoffs. What I mean is that we have Plan A, then we anticipate how the defense will adjust to stop Plan A, and Plan B is there to take advantage of that defensive adjustment. Defense: More multiplicity. In McD's early years, we had a lot more of guys moving around the formation and offenses not knowing what looks we were going to run. Lorenzo Alexander was particularly key in that regard. But the last few years, there's been less disguising and especially less-effective disguising. I don't know the stats, but it feels like ages since one of our zone blitzes or delayed blitzes resulted in a free rusher. Personnel-wise, we need guys to be better at defeating blocks. But scheme-wise, we need to be better at confusing the offense. This is extra important against good QBs who can get the ball out quickly and accurately.

Thank you. By the “only a Super Bowl matters” logic, none of us should ever watch a regular season game. Or playoff game pre-Super Bowl, for that matter. Just show up for the one game that matters. That would free up a lot of my time, but I don’t think it would enhance my life. And again - yeah, I very much want the Bills to win a Super Bowl in my lifetime. (Preferably if it’s also in my dad’s lifetime.) But while the end of each season in the Allen era has been rough, the first and the middle parts have been great. Watching these teams week in and week out has been a true joy and an absolute delight.

I love it! I’ll be watching.

https://ras.football/ Hairston: INCOMPLETE, but on pace for 9.63 pending agility drills. (And based on his highlights, he probably would've done well on the agility drills.) Hancock: 9.82 - and that's at CB. Likely would be even higher at S if that's where he winds up. Strong: 8.34

I think we’ll have to wait for the Swimsuit Competition to find out. Is that in OTAs or training camp this year?

My two cents: because Jordan Poyer was in a fairly similar boat when we first signed him.

Yes! Finally an area where I can weigh in as an expert. Here's my rankings: Jackson #94 - A+. Scorching. One of the best EDGE numbers, should look great on him, and I don't mind the connection to the Aaron Schobel legacy. Hancock #37 - A+. Oh my, yes. The Nate Odomes Classic is one of the best numbers for the secondary. It works great for boundary CBs, nickel CBs, and safeties. Which also fits well with Hancock, since he'll probably play a bit of everywhere early in his career. Prather #81 - A+. Great fit for a fairly tall deep threat WR who isn't super fast. Just looks right. Great choice, Kaden - no notes. Hawes #85 - A+. Excellent choice for a blocking TE. I would've also accepted 87 or 88. Hairston #31 - A. Solid number, although I wouldn't have minded a number in the 20s for such a fast guy. I'm somewhat of an old curmudgeon on numbers, but I think Hairston could also pull off single digits. Still, 31 should be a nice fit for his frame, and I like that we don't have a lot of prominent #31 already. Opportunity for Hairston to own that number. Walker #96 - A. I was worried he'd try for a single-digit number like in college, which would've been an absolute disaster on his giant frame. (Zero was salvageable because of roundness, but Keon has that locked down already.) A giant like Walker needs a number that won't make him look silly. This might have been the best options available - I think only 99 would be real competition. Lundt #77 - A-. Good fit for his frame; those 7s look good on a tall and lean guy. Very solid choice! I tend to prefer 77 as a defensive number, but it'll look good on a RT as well. Note that my rating will drop to a B+ if Lundt moves inside to G. Sanders #98 - B. I don't love 98 for a quick, penetrating DT, but it's not awful. Would've preferred most other options in the 90s, but at least it's not in the 70s or something gross like that. The 70s are for DEs, not for DTs. Strong #43 - C-. I'm sorry, but 43 is a safety's number. Unless he's planning to switch positions, I can't get behind this.

For the record, I never complained about the lack of prime time games. One of the few nice aspects of the drought was having nearly every game be Sunday 1pm Eastern.

Cook is a tough prospect for armchair GMs, because he's clearly a tier below the truly elite guys, which last year was Barkley & Henry, but he's also good enough that he's very hard to replace. Contrast that with Singletary, who was (and is) a good NFL RB, but ultimately doesn't give you much more than a guy off the street. A lot of those runs where Cook got into the secondary untouched weren't just due to the O-line. It was also Cook using his vision to pick the right hole, then using his elite acceleration to burst through before the defense could get there. We've seen a ton of outside runs the last couple years where Cook just turned on the jets and was able to turn the corner on the edge defender. They didn't all go for long runs, but every one of those was a significant swing for the Bills. Turning a potential -1 to 1 yard play into a 7 yard play makes a big difference, especially when it keeps going our way over and over. In summary, I would love to have Cook back beyond this year. I'm also weary of paying money to any RB, and extra weary of paying Cook elite money when he's been a step shy of elite. I'm hoping that he balls out this year, and either we re-sign him longterm, or we get some real compensation for him in like a tag-and-trade scenario. (By which I mean something better than a 3rd-round comp pick in 2027.)

I've heard some of the same speculation, and I'm with you on Carter. From the way Beane was talking in post-draft, it sounds like Carter is going to "move" to primarily 1tech instead of primarily 3tech. Sanders and Ogunjobi are primarily 3techs, per Beane. Walker is a little different in that he played more 3tech in college but it sounds like the Bills want him to play more 1tech for them, maybe. But in any case, they need at least 2 guys capable of adequately playing 1tech on early downs. If Carter just bombs out, then sure he might be cut. I don't see that as super likely, and frankly it's bad business to cut a 3rd-round pick in year 2 unless you're certain he can't play. Regarding Jones, any cap implications if he's cut in week 6? His salary would be guaranteed by then, so Pegula would have to eat that, but that aspect doesn't impact the cap.

Just for that, I'm starting another one.

And he *should* be better. Last year was his first year on the job and I expect him to have learned some things.

Interesting! Did he say why he thinks that?

Big if true.

My take is a little different: I think they're taking a swing at having a real superstar for once, and being relevant. No one cares about the Jags. No one's ever cared about the Jags. Trevor Lawrence is a good(?) QB, but not cool enough to be a major star without major wins. Hunter is potentially the coolest player in a long time. And as a bonus, he's from Georgia and appears happy to be playing close to home. A potential superstar who actually wants to be there? That could be a game changer for a franchise like Jacksonville. If Hunter makes it as a two-way player in any meaningful capacity, he will be the favorite player of a whole generation of young fans. And it could work on-field as well. I assume the plan is for Hunter to shore up the pass defense at CB and be functionally the WR2 to BTJ on offense. (I know the GM has said they're going to lead with WR and ease him into defense. In the interview I watched, that sounded like an onboarding plan with the goal of Hunter playing both ways this year and beyond.)