Mini-Camp: A James Cook Barometer

[NewEra]

5 hours ago, BillsShredder83 said:

Bingo. He is not a back that can run behind a weak line. 0 power. Hes only dangerous staying clean in the backfield and through the hole into the secondary... eating once in the secondary is a real skill set, just not one we have the luxury of paying for. 

 

Give that $$ to a WR or somewhere else next year. I'll die on that hill

It’s not his forte, but zero power is a massive exaggeration made in order to try and prove your side of the argument.  

[BillsFanForever19]

3 hours ago, NewEra said:

It’s not his forte, but zero power is a massive exaggeration made in order to try and prove your side of the argument.  

 

Exactly. 

 

It's fine for someone to have the opinion that they shouldn't pay him. But inaccurate exaggerations like "0 Power" or "Ty Johnson is our Best All Round RB" to argue that position are flat out ridiculous. 

 

People are allowing their hate to skew and diminish what kind of playmaker James Cook is in our Offense. You can have the opinion that we should let him walk without having to straight up lie to yourself and others about his qualities. 

Edited Wednesday at 11:08 PM by BillsFanForever19

[GunnerBill]

2 hours ago, Einstein's Dog said:

Where I think it is mostly likely to come into play is if J Cook is on an undefined (possibly 11 week) "hold-in" and misses games.   And if, during the initial weeks of the "hold-in" R Davis and T Johnson perform admirably, Cooks days could be numbered. 

 

I could see this type of "hold-in"  being interpreted as a nuclear, Diggs dimensional diss to our FO and team, where they will not have him suit up as a Bill ever again. 

 

He isn't going to hold out or hold in. And even if he did Davis and Johnson are not going to be like for like replacements in terms of production.

1 hour ago, NewEra said:

It’s not his forte, but zero power is a massive exaggeration made in order to try and prove your side of the argument.  

 

Yea it is just not true. His leg drive has improved enormously.

[3rdand12]

20 hours ago, Richard Noggin said:

 

I mean, rookie deals are heavily regulated and prescribed at this point. Guys don't have much leverage at first, especially outside the 1st round. And we all know the teams can cut a guy at any point, which means the player stops receiving paychecks. This is why players use leverage from past performance and with current offseason participation to seek new deals/additional guaranteed money. It's also a way to minimize injury risk while the player still has no future guarantees.

This is a great counterpoint.

 Rookie contracts have limitations. And the Team has most all the leverage. Absolutely

And as I mentioned at some point , its certainly expected that a player wants his new/ next contract to reflect his self worth.

 We have some more experts here who might chime in on injury guarantees on a rookie deal ?? But that sure aint me.

 I just gots opinions 😋

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

23 hours ago, Richard Noggin said:

 

Cook isn't going to sit out the season; that has never worked. Therefore, trading him now hurts the Bills for the 2025 season, which by all reasonable expectations is Super Bowl or bust. 

 

Would Beane make a move if someone absolutely wows him? I don't know, yeah maybe. But who would do that? And Cook is super valuable on the field to the Bills. They have a nice RB room with him. They're suddenly meh without him. Maybe if a RB with some degree of unrealized pedigree plus a day one draft pick are coming back, maybe that could work? No clue who and what teams fit that profile. 

 

My fear is too often when these guys sit out, then they finally show and get hurt real quick.  So how much will he help if he's hurt and then leaves in the off season anyway.

[Paup 1995MVP]

8 hours ago, transient said:

Not disagreeing on him getting his due, moreso that I think if he was still in his 20s he'd be getting closer to Saquon money. IMO, Henry's current contract is discounted for age.

This could be the year he hits the proverbial wall.  But I can’t see him falling off too much.  
 

What about the Ravens O line?   Did they make changes there this offseason?  Its not just the RB.  It’s the O line and the offensive scheme as well.  
 

I think Beane realizes that with the Bills.  And is not going to break the bank for James Cook.  

[RochesterLifer]

13 hours ago, Ed_Formerly_of_Roch said:

 

My fear is too often when these guys sit out, then they finally show and get hurt real quick.  So how much will he help if he's hurt and then leaves in the off season anyway.

This is what I am worried about. If Cook shortcuts his preparation (not saying he will, just watching from afar), his body may not be prepared for the season and could break down.

[Big Turk]

I could care less. Just show up and perform during the season. Less time doing drills means less chance of getting injured.

[BillsShredder83]

20 hours ago, NewEra said:

It’s not his forte, but zero power is a massive exaggeration made in order to try and prove your side of the argument.  

Fair, I was a understating my true point.  Hes gotten better since his rookie year w/ contact but i see too many shoe string tackles.  dudes "power" is that he is hard to get a hand on, a very valid skill set, i just dont think its going to lend itself well to a team with even a middling OL.  if we put a good OL out there like we do, theres no need to pay a one-dimensional RB that kinda money.  if he can become a pass blocker and see the field on 3rd down more, AND he proves that he can produce, or we find a way to get more production passing to him, you could possibly defend paying him... but he has not been the 3rd down back we thought we were signing up for when drafting him. do i think he can be better in the passing game, i do.  for whatever reason it hasnt materialized. even if he does have significant upside to that skill, if we cant scheme it and find a way to use it.... that skill doesnt help us.

 

if brady wants us to retain him, he better find a way this year to materialize it.  id be more than happy to pay him IF (or watch someone else do it if he completely prices himself out w/ us) he can turn into a true dual threat. we've had very weak outside WR play as of late, we need a guy to stop the defense from being able to narrow the field horizontally.

 

i obviously like having the guys talents around, i just cant justify that kinda money for what he currently brings to the table.  thats not even necessarily on him, but i think we can get very similar production at significantly cheaper prices... and Davis looks like he'll be an upgrade in the passing game to me. i also certainly think we can make up for the production drop off through Josh throwing the ball a touch more.  I think we could find out Ray-Day is better suited for this offense!

[DrDawkinstein]

 

[FireChans]

42 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

Go get him and give him Cook's money please. 

[DrDawkinstein]

1 minute ago, FireChans said:

Go get him and give him Cook's money please. 

 

Another "cancerous malcontent"?

[FireChans]

4 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

Another "cancerous malcontent"?

Terry has played good soldier for 6 years in Washington. We just need 1.

 

JMO, but i would rather have McLaurin + Cook in 2025, then McLaurin in 2026 and beyond than just Cook in 2025 and beyond. I'm willing to trade at least a second rounder to do so. 

 

It's time to stop building for the future. 

[dpberr]

If he doesn't report to training camp on time, I suspect there goes the remote chance the Bills offer him another contract. 

 

IMO, I don't think the Bills have a desire to offer *any* running back a second multi-year "big" contract.  I just don't think that's in their business model of allocating $$$ to positions, regardless of how good the running back is as a player.  

Edited 22 hours ago by dpberr

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

5 hours ago, RochesterLifer said:

This is what I am worried about. If Cook shortcuts his preparation (not saying he will, just watching from afar), his body may not be prepared for the season and could break down.

 

I don't think it's that these players shortcut things, just that there's a big difference between being at all the team practices, mini camps, etc compared to "working out on your own".   They don't realize it, or not intentionally doing things different, but just see too many of them get hurt after holdouts. 

[RyanC883]

2 hours ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

trade.  Get it done.  Use Davis, Ty, and sign Dobbins from FA.  

Edited 20 hours ago by RyanC883

[SoonerBillsFan]

3 hours ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

Trade them cook for him.

[Pete]

 

[DrDawkinstein]

1 hour ago, FireChans said:

Terry has played good soldier for 6 years in Washington. We just need 1.

 

JMO, but i would rather have McLaurin + Cook in 2025, then McLaurin in 2026 and beyond than just Cook in 2025 and beyond. I'm willing to trade at least a second rounder to do so. 

 

It's time to stop building for the future. 

 

Just now, SoonerBillsFan said:

Trade them cook for him.

 

LOL, there is 0% chance the Commanders trade him. It's just another example of a player skipping team activities in order to apply leverage on his contract negotiations.

[SoonerBillsFan]

1 hour ago, Pete said:

 

I have no problem starting Davis