Frank Ragnow retiring (Belinda!)

[billsfan89]

7 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

No the value of an All Pro is absolutely position dependent.    Centers have help on both sides and often spend the most important downs blocking air.  

 

And physically at least,  Tate Ratledge is an upgrade on Ragnow.    When you pick an interior offensive lineman in round 2 like that you are thinking he is going to be  a stud.    It's not like they have Colin Brown taking over at center.   Maybe you thought the Eagles would miss Kelce too but they didn't.   Jergens was just fine.    I know the outside opinion was that losing Mitch Morse last offseason was huge but he was easily upgraded upon.   

 

Last year I thought losing Mitch was gonna hurt not because McGovern wasn't gonna come in and play well at center but that it would leave a hole at guard that I wasn't certain David Edwards would fill. Of course Edwards filled it solidly so there was no loss. The Eagles basically did the same thing. What made the Eagles not miss Kelce as much was that Jergens was a good guard who was a good center and then they plugged in Becton at guard who had a career year. Had they had some issues plugging in that guard spot then yes it would have 

 

Losing an All Pro center can hurt especially if you don't have a quality player to plug in. The Lions drafted a cetner/IOL in round 2 they probably feel like they can plug them in there and be fine but rookies can have growing pains. 

[BADOLBILZ]

4 minutes ago, billsfan89 said:

The Lions drafted a cetner/IOL in round 2 they probably feel like they can plug them in there and be fine but rookies can have growing pains. 

 

 

Yeah the Bills have tried to immediately fill premium positions with their top pick in the last two drafts.

 

 Didn't work out well with Coleman as a rookie.

 

Hopefully Hairston does better but wouldn't be surprising if he struggles mightily and teams attack him as a rookie.

 

Because you are much more on your own on those islands.

 

It's much easier to get acclimated at center with help on both sides and a veteran QB to help with protections etc..   Especially in a league where there aren't many true nose tackles playing right over the center anymore.     

[GunnerBill]

1 hour ago, billsfan89 said:

Dude isn't even 30, big loss for the Lions dude was an All-Pro center multiple times over and entering an age where you figured he had at least 3-4 more quality high end years left. But these dudes know they have to take care of their health. I hope this is a precautionary measure and not a response to some specific life altering thing. 

 

He was being held together by tape the past two seasons. This really isn't a big surprise.

[FireChans]

54 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

No the value of an All Pro is absolutely position dependent.    Centers have help on both sides and often spend the most important downs blocking air.  

 

And physically at least,  Tate Ratledge is an upgrade on Ragnow.    When you pick an interior offensive lineman in round 2 like that you are thinking he is going to be  a stud.    It's not like they have Colin Brown taking over at center.   Maybe you thought the Eagles would miss Kelce too but they didn't.   Jergens was just fine.    I know the outside opinion was that losing Mitch Morse last offseason was huge but he was easily upgraded upon.   

Yeah Morse was felt to be a loss because McGovern hadn't played C since college. Obviously, he played better than Morse, so it wasn't a big deal.

 

The Eagles success on tush push would argue they did miss Kelce a bit, despite Jergens being quite good.

 

Ultimately, I'm not very interested in parsing this further. I'm not arguing the loss of Frank Ragnow is the difference between the Lions winning the Super Bowl and finishing last in the division. They just lost another very good player in an offseason where they've lost a lot of other pieces. Maybe it won't matter and they'll go 20-0.

 

 

[TBBills Fan]

3 hours ago, stevewin said:

A proper Belinda post has no message text - Mods need to start flagging improper Belinda use

You are my sworn enemy now   I've always wanted to have a Belinda thread added to my history and you have now ruined it. 

 

Edited Monday at 08:38 PM by TBBills Fan

[JerseyBills]

7 hours ago, Royale with Cheese said:

It was this....

 

 

damn that's a beautiful rep

[Beck Water]

7 hours ago, PetermansRedemption said:

Reminds me of an Eric Wood type of retirement. Where there was some external factor that nudged him to that decision. 

 

That could well be.

[T master]

Only 7 Yrs in the NFL and calling it quits probably has a lot left in the tank but good for him I hope the experience has afforded him a good future !!

 

Enjoy !!!!!!!!!! 

[GunnerBill]

8 hours ago, T master said:

Only 7 Yrs in the NFL and calling it quits probably has a lot left in the tank but good for him I hope the experience has afforded him a good future !!

 

Enjoy !!!!!!!!!! 

 

I'm not sure he does. His body is broken. He has had a toe injury he has been dealing with for a number of years where one of his toes swells up like a balloon the day after games and he can hardly walk. He also has had the meniscus removed from one knee, has a chronic back issue and he played last season with a partially torn pec. 

 

Anyone who really follows the league (aside from the Bills) in any detail has known this was a possibility all offseason. It is not a surprise at all.

Edited yesterday at 11:20 AM by GunnerBill

[The Firebaugh Kid]

Belinda! 
I understand you’re trying to cite the source of the information, but it just looks super weird and makes me think of the go-go’s

[T master]

3 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

I'm not sure he does. His body is broken. He has had a toe injury he has been dealing with for a number of years where one of his toes swells up like a balloon the day after games and he can hardly walk. He also has had the meniscus removed from one knee, has a chronic back issue and he played last season with a partially torn pec. 

 

Anyone who really follows the league (aside from the Bills) in any detail has known this was a possibility all offseason. It is not a surprise at all.

Listening to 1 Bills Live while I'm reading your post, Browny just said that he thought he felt good but when he really thought about how he felt he didn't truly feel good enough to play at a high performance level for a full year so he called it a career .

[Pete]

On 6/2/2025 at 1:02 PM, QB Bills said:

I should know this but what is the origin of this Belinda thing again?

In the early days of Two Bills Drive, there was a poster named Belinda, who did not like when there was a post with no message, Belinda would freak.  
We used to post:

 

Go Bills!  NM

 

but from then on, it would read 

 

Go Bills!  Belinda

 

Indicating just a header, no message.

Belinda, Combo spearing matches versus John from Hemet, Picklejuice, last post wins, NJ wondering where to find currency exchanges…..being old has some advantages 

[BADOLBILZ]

22 hours ago, FireChans said:

Yeah Morse was felt to be a loss because McGovern hadn't played C since college. Obviously, he played better than Morse, so it wasn't a big deal.

 

The Eagles success on tush push would argue they did miss Kelce a bit, despite Jergens being quite good.

 

Ultimately, I'm not very interested in parsing this further. I'm not arguing the loss of Frank Ragnow is the difference between the Lions winning the Super Bowl and finishing last in the division. They just lost another very good player in an offseason where they've lost a lot of other pieces. Maybe it won't matter and they'll go 20-0.

 

 

 

So you weren't interested in parsing it further.........but then you parse it further and finish with 20-0hyperbole.    Only way we know @Alphadawg7  hasn't hijacked your account is there was no ✌️at the end. 

 

Like I said, a lot of non-Bills fans(and some Bills fans) thought the Bills were poised to take a step back after losing Diggs, Davis, Morse and basically all of their captains.    I couldn't care less if the Lions win or not.   But as a fan I'd love to have just earned the #1 seed(something the McBills have never done) despite all the adversity they had and then to have difference makers like Aidan Hutchinson coming back after a lost season and Jameson Williams playing for a contract etc..   That and arguably the most favorable schedule of any NFL contender.  

 

We will see if the coordinator losses undermine what should be an otherwise improved team by default.    Not having any of the top 4 QB's in the NFL in your conference certainly helps.

 

 

 

[FireChans]

16 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

So you weren't interested in parsing it further.........but then you parse it further and finish with 20-0hyperbole.    Only way we know @Alphadawg7  hasn't hijacked your account is there was no ✌️at the end. 

 

Like I said, a lot of non-Bills fans(and some Bills fans) thought the Bills were poised to take a step back after losing Diggs, Davis, Morse and basically all of their captains.    I couldn't care less if the Lions win or not.   But as a fan I'd love to have just earned the #1 seed(something the McBills have never done) despite all the adversity they had and then to have difference makers like Aidan Hutchinson coming back after a lost season and Jameson Williams playing for a contract etc..   That and arguably the most favorable schedule of any NFL contender.  

 

We will see if the coordinator losses undermine what should be an otherwise improved team by default.    Not having any of the top 4 QB's in the NFL in your conference certainly helps.

 

 

 

I think there's a higher chance the Lions miss the playoffs than make it past the divisional round, honestly. I definitely don't think they are gonna win their division.  The difference with the Bills is that they had a QB who could play his best ball with maybe the worst team he has had around him since his rookie year. Jared Goff is good, but he is not a "succeeds despite surrounding adversity" type QB.

 

The 2023 Eagles are a classic example of brain-drain and loss of both OC and DC that derailed an otherwise pretty talented roster, and they barely .

 

That and the Lions flying in the face of positional value when they took guys like Gibbs and Campbell in the first. Those short-term moves can come back to bite you. 

Edited 17 hours ago by FireChans

[BADOLBILZ]

2 hours ago, FireChans said:

I think there's a higher chance the Lions miss the playoffs than make it past the divisional round, honestly. I definitely don't think they are gonna win their division.  The difference with the Bills is that they had a QB who could play his best ball with maybe the worst team he has had around him since his rookie year. Jared Goff is good, but he is not a "succeeds despite surrounding adversity" type QB.

 

The 2023 Eagles are a classic example of brain-drain and loss of both OC and DC that derailed an otherwise pretty talented roster, and they barely .

 

That and the Lions flying in the face of positional value when they took guys like Gibbs and Campbell in the first. Those short-term moves can come back to bite you. 

 

 

Yeah, the brain drain in the coaching staff is the primary concern.  

 

On paper, they have a better combination of physical talent and prime age skill than the 2023 team that had the lead on SF in the second half of the NFCCG.

 

And I tend to expect that either they or Washington ultimately end up with Trey Hendrickson.   It's gotta' be one of those two......right?

 

As much as I don't like that positional value for guys like Gibbs and Campbell........Tyliek and Ratledge weren't premium position players either.   But they already have a lot of high end talent at premium positions.  

 

The Bills have the greater QB and that's the most important thing........but the Lions have upgraded versions of a lot of the Bills other best players.   Hutchinson > Rousseau.  Lions OT's > Bills OT's.   St. Brown > Shakir.  

 

 I'd expect those more recent, questionable day 1/2 picks to take a few years to catch up to them.   Like when they gotta' replace a Jameson Williams, for example.

 

The Lions aren't at the Eagles personnel level of course, but I think their starting 22 is more talented than they might get credit for on a Bills board.

Edited 14 hours ago by BADOLBILZ