Alphadawg7

Bills Predictions: Josh Allen has his highest rated season and wins MVP Dorian Williams locks down the starting MLB position Elam breaks out and locks down a starting corner position Bills finish the season top 5 in sacks with Rousseau reaching double digits Bills defense and offense both rank in the top 2 of the league Predictions for rest of NFL: Watson returns to being a top 10 QB Giants regress to below .500 Sam Darnold starts at some point in SF Nick Chubb leads the NFL in rushing and touchdowns Miami finishes with 9 or 10 wins but misses the playoffs

I mean, lets not forget about Spygate and the Rams claiming it was like the Pats knew all their plays. The NFL as a whole was already a full blown passing league at that point, that Super Bowl wasn't indicative of the entirety of the league and all its games. There have been plenty of physical Super Bowls since as well. I don't disagree that they are even more ticky tack with PI calls the last few years compared to back then, but that game had a lot of layers to it and many of the rule changes and enforcement emphasis to support QB's and the passing game had already been implemented. I have been a die hard NFL junky since the 80's, and the league, rules, how they called rules had long been evolving into passing prior to that Super Bowl.

No disrespect Gunner, but Patriots did the same thing to the Rams vs McVay where the beat them 13-3 in the Super Bowl. That was two potent offenses that combined for 16 points with BB shutting down what was considered the best offense in the league. The greatest defensive mind in NFL history disrupting a potent offense in the Super Bowl, something he did many times over his career both as a DC and HC, and still does, is not indicative on its own that it was a "different era". In fact, the Rams had already become one of the most high flying offenses of all time prior to that year and a Super Bowl Champion already.

No disrespect, I already answered this in the post you are responding to. You compared the 2002 QB stats to the 2022 group of QB stats. For example: QB A averaged 3000 yards per season over 3 seasons with 2 pro bowls. Guess that means he played in a different era right because of the stats as if it has nothing to do with the player? Well QB A is Tyrod Taylor stretch with the Bills. Not a different era, just a guy who wasn't very good. You posted stats without context as if the players on the field had nothing to do with the stats, and only the rules did. The unequivocal facts, and the only thing that are 100% facts and not subjective to variables such as talent, team makeup, coaching, and talent around players are the rule changes. And the rule changes to boost the passing game began in 1995. And arguably the most significant rule changes to boost the QB's performance and passing game was the move to make the QB's significantly more protected with the roughing the passer changes in 2001 and 2002, Mannings 3rd and 4th year. So, once again, the point is that Manning played during an era where the NFL was emphasizing the passing game. That is factually indisputable. There of course have been more rule changes, and there will continue to be more rule changes. But the leagues transformation to push the passing game and scoring started before Manning entered the league and made its biggest strides early in Mannings career towards that. No disrespect, those are just the facts. I mean the league will always have some differences even going back 10 years, that will always be true. But this notion it was a "completely different era" as if the passing game wasn't emphasized across the league by both the rules and teams is just a gross over exaggeration of the differences.

It wasn’t massively different. The rules began being adopted before Manning got to the NFL and over Mannings first 4 seasons. Again, if people want to isolate a tiny portion of Mannings career and say “it was a different era”, then that’s their prerogative. But the facts are, the rule changes to help WRs happened before Manning got to the league, and the hands off the QB rules (one of the most significant changes, if not the most significant change) came about in his 3rd year and doubled down in his fourth year. The league was centered on high octane scoring and passing pretty much the majority of Mannings career. So like I said, the different era stance is an over exaggeration. The majority of Mannings career the NFL was, and still is, focused on passing the ball and scoring points.

You guys and your cherry picking stats with no context. What you are talking about refers to the quality of the league, not the era of football. It was a "passing league" MOST of Mannings career. To say it wasn't just isn't factual. I mean you have to be kidding here comparing the QB group of 2002 to the one in 2022. NFL leading passer with 4700 yards was a journeyman backup QB in Rich Gannon who came to life end of his career for a few seasons. NFL leading passer in 2022 was what might be the greatest QB to ever play the game when he is done in Mahomes. In 2022 Kerry Collins and broken down Daunte Culpepper were top 5 in yards. In 2022 the top 5 consisted of Mahomes (might end up GOAT), Brady the actual GOAT, Herbert (one of the best young QB's to enter the league in 10 years), Burrow (even better than Herbert), and Cousins who would have probably been a top 4 QB in 2002. Just saying "it was an entirely different era" because you think its been long enough to say that doesn't make it true. Doesn't take much effort to find the actual facts of the evolution of the passing league through google: Since 1995, the NFL has allowed a WR forced out of bounds by a defender to return in bounds and make a play. This helped eliminate the move of "chucking" a WR out of bounds to remove him from a play. In 1996, the NFL announced they'd actually enforce the illegal contact penalty, created in 1978, more stringently than before. The rule was no longer just a recommendation. In 2001, the NFL announced Roughing the QB penalty would be enforced more strictly and specifically targeted late hits. By 2002, they protected the QB even further by barring helmet-to-helmet contact with a QB at any time, even after a change of possession. The NFL again tightened down enforcement of already existing rules for illegal contact, pass interference, and defensive holding in 2004. QBs received even more protection in 2006 when the NFL barred hits to the QBs below their knees unless the defensive player was blocked into the QB. The NFL began trying to elevate the passing game and give WR's more options and space in 1995 and 1996, prior to Mannings arrival in the NFL. The NFL furthered the efforts towards the passing game in 2001 by protecting the QB with strict roughing the passer enforcement. In 2002, no helmet to helmet contact allowed with the QB. All of these rules were designed to improve scoring and passing offenses, and it all began BEFORE Manning entered the league and continued with big changes in Mannings 3rd and 4th seasons. Sorry...no disrespect, but Manning entered the league at a time the NFL had ALREADY been transitioning to boost scoring and passing specifically, and many of the biggest changes were adopted before he got in the league and early on in his career. To say it was a "completely different era" is an over exaggeration.

This thread just won't go away and randomly flares up out of nowhere...its basically TSW digital herpes at this point.

Talk about over dramatizing...you are cherry picking stats while ignoring the context. Tom Brady and the Pats set the NFL all time scoring record in 2007, long before his "career high in attempts" which has literally nothing to do with the type of "era" it was and everything to do with the circumstances of the team and offense he was playing in at that stage of his career. Furthermore, you literally proved my entire point in your own post...the "passing league" and the shift to offensive focus and passing offense specifically had already long been in effect. You literally posted a quote stating that 2011 FURTHER cemented the modern NFL's reptuation as a "passing league", which once again, was something that had been true for a while. Hence them referencing the fact is was already an "era" by referring to it as the modern NFL period. Point is...the Era Manning played in was not much different than the one Allen is playing in. An era that saw Tom Brady and the Pats establish the highest scoring offense of all time in 2007, only to be broken by none other than Peyton Manning in 2013 as just another accolade in a career where he amongst the leading passers every season he played and with mostly gaudy stats and a butt load of offensive weapons, HOF level weapons, around him almost his entire career. Meanwhile, Allen has just Diggs as top end talent, and only had him 3 of the 5 seasons he has been in the NFL. Manning had Harrison, Wayne, Faulk, Edge, Welker, Thomas, etc. Allen had to start his career more raw than Manning, for a team that gave him Kelvin Benjamin and Zay Jones to start as his initial receivers. This whole it was a different era thing is just so over exaggerated and pretty irrelevant.

WHy did you go all the way back to 1984 to talk about an era of a player whose rookie year was 1998? I literally said that when Manning entered the league, there was already a big push by the NFL for passing and offense. The era of Manning and Allen are not that different...they were both passing era leagues for MOST of Mannings career. This whole line is a bit exaggerative if I do say so myself.

People keep saying this, but it wasn’t “vastly” different when Manning played. It was vastly different when say someone like Montana played, but by the time Manning got here the league was already pushing offense and passing. I mean this is the same era Brady played in and no one is saying the game was vastly different when Brady played.

Apologies, I think you took my post wrong. I wasn't trying to come across as criticizing your post or throwing shade at you, more just ranting on Fitz just cuz Fitz name came up in general. And I was more just making it clear that the defense really wasn't an excuse for him as he just wasn't good enough himself. Fitz had his own short comings as a player was the only point I was making. Not denying he didnt have a great defense hear, but Fitz failed to hold a starting gig more than a year every stop before and after Buffalo. No one wanted to depend on him because he was just good enough to keep your team from getting a good draft pick, but not good enough to get your team to the post season.

Tyrod was better than the fan base consensus is around here, so I understand where the OP is coming from. At the same time he wasn’t as good as the OP is writing here either. Does TT deserve more appreciation from Bills Mafia? Yes, I think so. He still wasn’t a very good starter, but he was the best post Kelly era QB we had until we found Allen. And that isn’t to say TT was that good, that is just how BAD the other QBs were during that span. But…up to that point, the TT led era was the second highest 3 year scoring period in Bills history, 2nd only to the first three SB years. He made 2 pro bowls, had a winning record, and was the only QB to reach the playoffs in 17 years. Cons: He was too much reliant on players being open to let the ball go because he lacked anticipation and vision. He would run too soon rather than let routes develop. He became risk adverse in moments we needed him to take chances. TT had the talent, he could actually throw the ball well. He just didn’t have the vision or mental toughness to take chances and push the ball down field. And that made him a below average starter overall. Still, I appreciate the fact he helped us break the streak and his 3 years was less inept than the years prior.

Fitz played miserable every time the game mattered…here and everywhere he went. He is one of those guys who can get hot for a little bit, usually against lesser competition, then completely fold and give the game away with multiple turnovers when it’s late in the season and trying to actually make the playoffs. Love Fitz in terms of the person, but he was a backup QB lucky enough to find his way to an inept organization to dumb and cheap to find a better option and got paid. Again, he is awesome and hilarious, but our defense during his time here had nothing to do with him being a weak full time starting option.

I agree with you, I want to just hate them too. And that was the key for me “up to $33M” which means that if he performs he is making $11M per and that’s not bad for a contributing WR in todays market:

With the defense and run game, they don't need a dynamic pass attack to be a tough opponent. I don't think they are a contender or anything, but they can be a tough out this year, especially later in the season in poor weather where defense and rushing are of higher value. So if they land Hopkins and Mac Jones can just be solid, they won't be the easy win a lot of people expect every week.

Because he is actually a solid player. His down season are not related to his talent, it had more to do with the situation he was in. And given the price of WR's these days, his deal is reasonable. To be honest, if Pats land Hopkins still (and most the talk still seems to lend towards them being the more likely spot), they could have a sneaky good offense this year if Mac Jones can just be solid or better now that he has a real OC again with O'Brien. Pats are one of those teams no one is thinking too much about right now, but if they land Hopkins, they could be one of those sleeper teams that end up being a tougher opponent than people think this year. Not a real contender per se, just not the roll over opponent I think people assume they will be.

This feels like another thread designed to steer towards criticizing coaching and be back hand slap to McD again the way you set up your poll.

No offense, this post makes so little sense I don't even really know how to respond to it. You don't seem to understand the difference between a player keeping his grievances private with a team and other people who aren't the player revealing information to people outside the team, creating rumors, theories, etc. Diggs didn't go tell the media he left the locker room, other people not named Diggs did that. Diggs didn't reveal what he and Josh discussed on the sideline, media speculated on that. Diggs didn't say there was anything wrong between him and the team on social media, that was speculation. Diggs didn't remove any Bills information from his Twitter, only his IG where he already did it before and mostly uses his IG for fashion. Media over exaggerated it and formed their own theories, none of which were ever once stated by Diggs. Diggs didn't reveal anything about camp, McD did. Diggs didn't not report to camp or sit out, McD excused him so they could all take a break from what they were working through. Diggs kept the issues private between him and the team. The fact there was a speculated issue may not have been private given what transpired, but he never once took to the media to share any dirty laundry publicly and kept all that in house between him and the team, where it STILL remains in house and NO ONE outside the Bills actually even knows what it was about even.

You conveniently ignore that the Diggs drama was rampant before that...I mean you yourself have been hammering Diggs drama for months. But more importantly, nothing you just said has any logic in it. The comment I made was that Diggs DID keep in IN HOUSE. Which he did, McD publicly stating something is NOT on Diggs. McD excusing Diggs is NOT Diggs going to the media and airing his grievances. Is pretty shocking how people are so confused on the difference of Diggs personally keeping it all in house and not going to the media with it...and things leaking to the media or being stated by other people not named Diggs.

The media dramatization existed long before that. But yes, McD comment didn’t help But main point remains…Diggs kept it in house was the point in my previous post

I own the movie…so thumbs up from me in this one.

Agree with most of this, but he did handle it in house, Diggs didn’t go to the media and air any dirty laundry or grievances. This outside drama has been created by the media over speculation because of frustrations he showed during and after the Bengals loss. He kept what the issue was, and all he he dialogue with the issue between him and the team.

I totally agree

Sorry, no disrespect intended here, but I think you are kind of looking at this wrong, even though you aren't really wrong about any of it. I get its "only $3M difference"...but that is $3M difference between getting a top 5 WR on the field with Josh and having $45M cap space chewed up with no top 5 WR on the field with Josh. There is no way the Bills are going to tie up $45M of cap space over 2 years on a player who is on another team because they traded him while they are in the midst of a Super Bowl window. If they trade Diggs, they will take a significant step back in offensive talent while still tying up $45M in cap space. And lets not forget the Bills restructured him recently putting themselves in this difficult to trade position. If they truly had any concerns that a move might need to be made, they never would have done the restructure. At the end of the day, there is absolutely no reason to ever do that unless A) The team is headed towards a rebuild or B) The situation with the player gets so toxic that it eclipses his value as a talent and the team can no longer sustain him remaining on the roster. You're not wrong overall, anyone and everyone is moveable. But without points A or B above, this type of move just won't ever happen. And right now, we are pushing for a SB, so no rebuild on the horizon and there is no evidence suggesting the situation with Diggs has gone nuclear, in fact, all signs point more to its over with now.

It was 1700 yards, it’s been a while. Still he fooled me after a 1700 combined yard season. And don’t make me laugh with the rest of your stupid post lol. I will put my track record up a thousand times over against your ridiculous resume of terrible and comical takes.