starrymessenger

Edmunds hasn’t looked good of late but much more than last year he’s having to deal with offensive lineman instead of mostly just running backs. No Star seems to be part of the problem. And we are unable to set the edge. Shaq did that quite well. We cant pressure the passer. Philips could do that. Looks to me like we miss those guys. We need an ILB, but that wont solve all of the problems on D.

As for his grade in the game I guess I’d give him a B-/C+ type deal. The second pick was awful especially because Davis had a step or two on the DB so a missed opportunity. A couple more throws were off target (notably one again to an open Davis on a slant) and things only seemed to get worse rather than better as the game went on. A couple more throws could have resulted in picks. There were also a number of really bad drops however. And for whatever reason he didn’t get much help from the run game the (too) little they turned to it (gameplan/playcalls?). And his stat line wasn’t terrible, especially since one of the picks was on the receiver. Game grades aside I was quite pleased with his performance because it actually continued to confirm to me that his spectacular improvement this year is probably legit. The throw to Yeldon for six and the TD throw to Davis that was called back for a penalty that in no way affected the play are big boy throws that some NFL QBs just dont make because you need all of field vision, anticipation and arm strength to do it. One of the CBS crew members made I thought a good point that Allen is beginning to see the field and anticipate the action the way Mahomes does coupled with the athleticism that they share that enables them for example, to roll out to their left and throw a laser across their body to a receiver breaking in the opposite direction. I was expecting Allen to improve this year but frankly I’m amazed by his progress. Like all teams the Bills have their warts but the evidence is to my mind fairly clear that Allen is definitely a franchise guy and on his way to being one of the best. So be happy.

No doubt in any do over of the Bills draft DK gets selected before Ford. Ford has an option on becoming a good guard. DK gives every indication of being not only an elite WR, but the kind of rare elite talent that can single handedly dominate and determine the course of action and results of a contest. DK is like TO in his prime ( except he’s not crazy). If the draft were held today DK would be taken somewhere in the top five. So lots of teams, including the Seahawks, passed on him. I was expecting DK to go in Ford’s spot, partly because the Bill’s brain-trust had shown a tendency to pick the raw but clearly extraordinary athlete - Edmunds, Allen. In fact Allen is sort of the DK Metcalfe of quarterbacks. A guy with unparalleled athleticism whose game has proven to be capable of the refinement required to excel at playing the position.

Maybe what he meant was that the Bills will now dominate the Division in the same way the Pats did - mainly because of their QB - and not that Allen is a clone of Brady. Allen has always reminded me of John Elway. But at the end of the day Josh will be Josh and maybe in the future people will be comparing other players to him.

Or maybe Bill and his OC are more comfortable with the traditional (outdated?) philosophy of sitting the rook and going with the vet for a while. Pats also don't have a good veteran receiving corps to help a raw QB. No Brown/Diggs/Beasley there. Edelman seems to be on the downside of his career. The pick was just awful, and on him. Pats do have a decent run game. All they were asking Hoyer to do was hand the ball off and make the occasional throw to keep the opposing D honest. He has so little to offer in the passing game that he couldn't get it done. It was'nt your comment but seeing possible upside in a Hoyer replacement is not being a second class Bill's fan. It's just trying to ensure that you better know your enemy. And NE is our competition in the AFC East.

There can be many reasons for this besides the one that says the kids no good. We don't know just how BB would tend to manage his QBs in a situation such as the one they are experiencing because they never had to before. And we don't even know if Stidham is 100%. I have nothing to go on but what I see. In Stidham I think I see a guy who has the physical ability to play the position and he doesn't seem to me to have the mentality of a confirmed backup. Not much to go on but I'd be willing to wager that if its not Cam next time it will be Stidham. Hoyer is abominable. He's a marginal backup at best.

Well I think we're now going to find out. If Cam doesn't start their next game it will be Stidham and not Hoyer IMO. Should have been yesterday too. Stidham is a raw rookie but he's way more talented than Hoyer. He has a chance to be a good player, not Brady good, but good enuf to start.

Right now I'd say that Lamar is easier to defend than Allen. The reason is simply that Jackson's arm is maybe not strong enuf to consistently make those shallow or deeper outside the hash power throws. This limits the Raven's offence, including even those things that they do really well. I think the Ravens need to develop this part of his game assuming the talent is there to be developed (I'm not sure that ability is there because I don't recall ever seeing it). Three TE sets feasting in the middle of the field is lovely but you need more to your passing game than that when the going gets tough later in the year. I don't recall ever having entered the Lamar Jackson era. It's just another good Roman offence such as we've seen before with a player uniquely capable of executing it to near perfection assuming a very good supporting cast (which they have). Having lost three times to Mahomes in that Chief's offence is no disgrace. Patrick Mahomes is maybe the best football player on the planet right now. The Chief's offence is completely diversified, especially with the addition of the LSU RB. The multiple Andrews drops sure didn't help Lamar in that game too. Jackson looks like he's going to be a very good NFL QB for a long time. Whether he will be great remains to be seen. IMO as good as the Raven's O is now with Lamar &Co I don't think it will be good enuf in the crunch later in the year. A very good playoff worthy NFL D running some version of the cover 3 scheme should give him lots of trouble. How much of that is Lamar and how much Roman I don't know.

I agree with the OP. The Jets are definitely winning this year. Winning the Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes that is.

Allen has always had more than enuf physical ability and intangibles to qualify as a franchise guy. The question has always been only about (relative) consistency. Now that he is refining the mental part of his game and has a better supporting cast the offence is opening up. Each player is unique but to me the obvious comparisons have always been Cam and Big Ben (with some JK attitude throw in). If Allen's passing game continues to develop and improve his ceiling is higher than Cam's has been, because he will be a better passer. It would also be higher than Ben's because Allen is a better runner. I think that's pretty good company. Nobody can predict the future but in looking at Allen's ceiling you can at least see the outlines of a HOF type guy.

There are a few top shelf younger QBs who have recently entered the league - Mahomes, Watson, Jackson - with Allen now featuring prominently amongst them. All of these guys are unique (and generally excellent each in their own way) but the thing that has always stood out to me about Allen is his physical (albeit sometimes sporadic) dominance of the entire playing field, whether taking on DL or LBs or reaching spots with his arm in the passing game that mere mortals can only dream of doing. When he did it at Wyoming I chalked it up to the difference between studs and guys who were simply not cut out to be professional players. What amazed me was to see that same physical dominance at the next and highest level. Things bode well for his and the Bill's future because what we are beginning to see is what happens when you add increasing refinement to his extraordinary physical attributes. It's pretty clear that his ceiling is still to be defined. He will likely continue to get better. The sky remains the limit. I thought a poster on another team's board nailed it when he said watching Allen was like seeing Varsity playing Frosh. And we're talking NFL defences. The guy has always been pretty amazing but we are seeing it now with greater consistency.

As was the OPI. He played it well and it should have added to his stats. So he is capable of contributing. The officiating was brutal today.

Josh misses too many throws he should make. That's the main reason we don't put teams away. He needs to get better.

I think he did have issues in college and as a rookie with the short passing game. Last two years he has shown that he really can make tough, accurate touch passes not just throw lasers. So, unlike Losman, at least we know that he can do it. Thats pretty much whenever his mechanics are good. When he doesn't set his feet right, especially when on the run, theres no telling where that ball is going.

Some young QBs boom, most bust. Allen booms and busts all in the same game. If he doesn't fumble twice, hits an open Knox in the corner of the end zone and John Brown I'm pretty sure we 50 burger the Jets. That would be a truer reflection of the performance gap separating the two teams yesterday than the final score. Allen's physical ability is such that he can be a dominating presence. After Cashman went out yesterday he Jets lost the guy who was supposed to spy Allen. And of course running the ball Allen is a load. But I don't think he should be our #1 RB. If Daboll keeps running him like he did yesterday I fear it's only a matter of time before he gets injured. He runs with reckless abandon. If he goes down for any length of time the season is almost certainly over. As a player in development for playing the most demanding position maybe the Bills don't see him as yet ready to take full control and and make the best use of the talent that now surrounds him. IMO that needs to change as the season progresses if the Bills are to maximize their chances for success. Few of their opponents will be as pathetic as the Gase led Jets. Theirs is the 10th most difficult strength of schedule. On the other hand Cam is somehow still getting it done with his legs so who knows.

Jets a bad team getting blown off the field. They should fire Gase today. Adams killing it in Seatle

True but it's apparant that the Jests still haven't found a pass rush.

I have a hard time seeing how the chemistry would work with both Josh's on the Bills given the draft history. And I have no feel for whether Rosen could be comfortable assuming at best a back up role with the Bills. I tend to think that Allen as the ensconced starter and team leader would have a big enuf personality to handle it. Not sure that Rosen could deal with it and be productive but who knows. Given McD's emphasis on having wholesome lockerroom with everybody properly focussed on team first (rather than personal) agendas I doubt Beane would pick him up off the scrap heap. However, In terms of raw physical ability for playing the all important position there can be little doubt that Rosen is way better than any QB not named Allen on the Bills. And he's only 23 years old. And he's been in lousy offences not well designed to develop the skills that he does possess. With Rosen the question for any team that might be interested is whether he just lacks the mental ability to process at the NFL level, to make good pre and post snap adjustments to the play calls based on what opposing defences are presenting. If he can learn to do that in an O conducive to his skillset he has a future, quite possibly a good one. If this represents a congenital failure that cannot be corrected then he really has no future in the league. Processing speed, or more specifically the lack thereof, has been the bane of many good college QBs, and there will be many more. After stints with two teams and the fact that no one was willing to trade for him, it would seem that the prevailing league opinion is that he's a bust. If Daboll thinks he can develop the guy however, I could see little reason, absent the chemistry issue, for not favouring him over Fromm and Webb. I have to wonder whether the Pats might be interested.

Gunner was right. I think I knew but somehow managed to forget that Lamar has had problems throwing outside the numbers. Meanwhile hitting his TEs over the middle has been bread and butter. Needless to say this has been analysed in detail. Again I don't remember the comments (it's offseason I guess) as to the reasons for it. Lamar certainly has the arm to throw downfield but I'm not sure about zip on power throws.

I may have misread my source (I will check) but if you are right then my point is more relevant since the short outside is what you give up in Cover 3.

Not sure Lamar/Roman can dominate a good, well coached Cover 3. Lamar is a pretty good short ball passer, especially to the flats and away from the middle of the field, but they are still heavily run dependant so if you can shut it down or limit it substantially (as the Bills were able to do) Lamar winds up with a lot more on his plate and can struggle. To me Lamar, great as he is in the Ravens O, is still more of a "system" QB than PM (until he proves otherwise).

Hows the weather in Miami today?

What actually happened in Rome, and it's relevant to current developments in the US, is that what came to be the executive branch eventually destroyed the Roman Republic and the essentially democratic framework of principles upon which it was founded (but only after a very bloody civil war). The executive was represented by autocratic strongmen, beginning with Sulla through Julius Caesar and culminating in Caesar Augustus. As the undisputed world superpower, the US is the third Rome (first there is the original, then there was the British Empire, and now this).

Look, we can all have what we want. It's been suggested that we set up two leagues, one where players are allowed to have opinions and another where they understand that they are only dancing ponies whose only purpose is to entertain us and above all not challenge our world views.