BADOLBILZ

Age is not on Cooks side. RB's generally peak at age 26.....and this season is Cook's age 26 season.......which he is under contract for. After that there tends to be a sudden decline for most. Which is not directly correlated to usage or "wear and tear". This is why teams typically want to draft a RB and use them up. https://www.fantasypros.com/2021/07/at-what-age-do-running-backs-decline-2021-fantasy-football/ I thought it was particularly telling when the author said these guys are due for decline...........then listed Derrick Henry and then a half dozen guys......who would then subsequently fall off. Henry was very high use compared to most on the list. The odds are AGAINST Cook bucking this trend. If he does? Good for him and the team he is with but that's not a risk I would take when RB's are so easy to replace and my team is perennially cap-strapped.

When it comes to contracts.......production matters. Not efficiency created in part out of planned absence because of that player's limitations. Would you pay a rotational DE anywhere near the same as Myles Garret when that rotational DE has a higher pressure % but half the production of tackles/sacks/TFL/QB hits? Of course not. So why is paying Cook like a star to produce like a very good 2 down RB even a discussion? He's a 1,000 yard back in a league where there are guys pushing 2,000 and earning less than what he wants. And no the TD stat means very little. Raheem Mostert, released today after a terrible season, had as many TD's in 2023(18) as Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley had combined. It's a low volume stat that is too often entirely unreflective of either work done OR dynamicism. Was journeyman Kareem Hunt in 2023 anywhere near as valuable as James Cook when Hunt ran for 9 TD on just 135 carries versus Cook getting just 2 TD on 237 carries? Of course not.

James Cook was 16th in rush yards and 20th in carries and 22nd in touches in 2024. Taylor was expected to be top 3 in rushing every year when he got his deal. No comparison in expectation. Joe Mixon was expected to continue to be a high volume, 300 touch type guy and play 3 downs. He's a career 19+ touch per game player. Cook is a career 12.85 touch per game guy with a far lesser TD per game rate(if you think TD's should factor in) and he has to come off the field on 3rd downs. You are REALLY overplaying Cook's value. Give him another 150 touches like Saquon and then we can talk about paying him like Saquon after we see what happens.

But he had over 1,000 yards and 18 TD on 4.8 yards per carry in 2023...........basically the same year James Cook had last year(statistically at least).........by James Cook logic and the logic of some here on TSW that should have warranted a 4 year extension worth $50M to $60M. Do not pay RB's.

Beane shouldn't extend any of them or the other candidate in Rousseau. They are all just in an awkward position where they either haven't played to their capability yet(Rousseau), have concerning injury issues(Bernard and Benford) or play devalued/easily-replaceable positions(Cook as a RB and Shakir as a slot-only on a team with 2 other starter-invested WR who would be better in the slot and 2 highly invested TE's). There is nothing wrong with waiting on the group of 5 extension candidates. Sometimes that's the play. And not extending ANY of them avoids any resentment or appearance of preferential treatment between teammates. Draft replacements in these next two drafts where they will likely have like 20 picks over the two years.

Just my observation in his very limited amount of usage. I think the red flag went up for me when I saw him get concussed on that collision after the catch at the goal line(near halftime) in the finale against Miami in 2023. Didn't look that bad for a RB collision. I was very surprised that he couldn't return to the field in that close game. Contrast that with the horrible impact Ray Davis took with his concussion this year and he was back and running strong the next week. RB's gotta' be tough as hell to carry the load. But admittedly, Johnson has had so little use in his career it's hard to say definitively whether he is durable or not. If the price is right you extend him either way. In the $2M-$3M range. I don't think it sends a message unless the price is wrong.

Regarding Ray Davis........he and Ty Johnson aren't as good as Cook. But both are plenty good enough to win a SB with, IMO. Johnson might be as talented as Cook but he just can't take the punishment, IMO. You gotta' limit his snaps. Davis could easily get 200 carries next season and be a much better player than Devin Singletary, IMO because he is a really natural receiver. Not too worried about his mileage on his rookie deal. Neither Davis or Johnson are a long term solution.......but what RB is? So even if you retain Johnson I still draft one this spring. One of the reasons that Cook is low mileage is that he isn't a complete RB. He has to come off the field on 3rd downs to avoid Allen getting killed by bad pass pro and to put a better receiving RB on the field. Yeah he's improved but he isn't all-around yet. You don't give an "improving" RB the bag. It's generally wrong to give the finished one's the bag let alone one at Cook's stage. An easy solution is to give Cook more incentives this season. The ability to make an extra $2M-$3M with a great year. You've then doubled his motivation to have a great year. Still might not be enough to get him to camp but drafting another RB would let him know he has no other option.

The problem is that you are automatically presuming that Cook will then keep performing well. That's the mistake everyone makes when extending non-HoF bound RB's. They usually don't perform well at all after they've been paid. Hell Christian McCaffrey has had 2 good seasons in the last 7(and a bunch of terrible ones in between) and then totally fleeced his team TWICE now! It doesn't just have to be for lack of effort.....RB's get injured, it's a high use position....but sometimes it is because of becoming disincentivized too. Just draft another RB in this great RB draft. That puts the pressure on Cook to show up to camp and show out this season rather than giving him leverage. And then let him move on. Care because that's $15M-$30M in guaranteed money they can't spend on things like WR talent.

I love that they are progressing towards automation and getting calls right. Because that's what I personally want to see......results that reflect performance. But baseball will find that a lot of the interest in pro sport is the drama created by human error. Officiating decisions stir debate and perceived wrongs further bond fans to their teams due to the idea of a shared experience(being wronged). Without the drama that human error creates(including close games, upsets etc..) a lot of casuals won't be able to enjoy the game. The NFL knows this which is why, despite occasional claims to the contrary, they don't REALLY mind the perception that their officiating is on par with pro wrestling's. But I also think the strike zone is too big and includes portions which aren't really "hittable" except for the rarest of instances. And the point of the zone is to give the batter good pitches to hit. They give the pitcher AT LEAST 4 chances each at bat to throw the ball out of the zone to get a chase or force weak contact before it's a walk. The zone should be all pitches that a good hitter can square up and put in play competitively. The corners are mostly pop-ups and weak contact. Pop ups to 3B/C or feeble grounders to 2B are no more interesting that whiffs.

There is no need to focus on it but what it serves as is a reminder about what is important. Which is to keep Josh Allen happy while he is a superstar QB. So, for instance, the notion that some fans have that Beane should just throw all his assets at the defense and let Allen figure it out offensively doesn't hold up if you acknowledge that he has logical options elsewhere. Or for that matter, the idea that Allen "picked" Keon Coleman and therefore he can't complain if he doesn't pan out. That's not how it works. They have to keep championship quality talent around him. Then *maybe* he becomes that rare QB who retires with his original franchise. But it's more likely that he maneuvers his way home to finish his career OR he starts to fail and the Bills replace him.

Explaining his idea about stealing first base is the author of the articles intention. Excerpt: If a ball gets away from the catcher in any count, the hitter can take off and try to take first base. For the offense, it would create some strategy and add importance to having some speed at your disposal. For pitchers, they can't just spike balls in the dirt at will without consequences and the rule would force guys to throw more strikes. More pitches in the strike zone and less completely non-competitive pitches means more opportunities for tests of skill between hitters and pitchers and will no longer allow teams to field a statue behind the plate.

Who would have thought Tom Brady would ever leave New England after 6 SB wins? Most great QB's end up finishing their careers elsewhere. Just so happens there are 3 NFL teams in his home state and they all have high profile HC's etc.. His wife-to-be lives and works in LA. They may decide they want to start raising a family. Be naive to the possibility if you wish.

Cook is probably heading for a contract holdout(unless the Bills draft a RB early and put the pressure on him to show up and show out or just not get paid because the Bills wouldn't stand to lose anything with a Treveyon Henderson type stepping in at RB). And the Raiders already passed on paying their own higher producing RB Josh Jacobs in FA so they likely wouldn't value Cook as more than a day 3 pick in trade even if they wanted to pay him. Von Miller is untradeable. You'd have to throw in a day 2 pick just to get someone to pick up his contract. Like the Brock Osweiler to Cleveland trade Houston made to save money in exchange for picks years ago. So you are basically trying to trade less than nothing for Maxx Crosby when the asking price would be about the same as Myles Garrett........around the equivalent of 2 first round picks.

Yeah it hasn't been talked about at all(that I've seen) but I envision Grable getting a shot at guard this summer because it is a waste to have his rare athleticism in just a reserve role. He might have to put on some pounds and he does have to prove he can stay healthy.

9 bad contracts out of 10. And his brother Dalvin's game fell off dramatically after he got paid too. There are varying degrees of want-to that RB's seem to lose after they get paid. And that can be the difference between being great and being a league minimum journeyman. Guys like Saquon and Henry have legacy on their mind. They are thinking HoF as their motivation. Cook is most likely just looking to follow in his bro's steps and get that bag. Keep replacing them. It's a great RB draft, add another and prepare to move on. In fact, don't extend ANY of the 5 pending FA's early. Avoid the perception of favoritism and use those 10-11 pick drafts that they have the next couple of seasons to address replacing "good" players and try to find a couple "great" one's. Cook ain't great. He is a very nice 2 down RB with some sketchy off field concerns.

Crosby is entering his age 28 season and Garrett his age 29 season. They are 21 months difference in age not 3 years (your 27 and 30 analogy). Crosby is coming off an injury plagued season and has never been a first team All Pro or serious NFLDPOY contender(highest finish 4th). Garrett is coming off a NFLDPOY type season......after winning it the season before.......and is a 4 time first team All Pro. Crosby has been very good, until this season.......but Garrett is clearly the better player by a significant margin. Garrett's .88 sacks per game career versus Crosby's .63 is a massive disparity.

Yeah Cybo didn't prepare well enough last offseason and was a liability for the first month or so. He's not lived up to second round guard status and it's by far the position on the line they could upgrade the easiest. And David Edwards is entering his walk year(and is pretty young still so he might get a decent deal elsewhere if he shows out again). NC State's Anthony Belton is a big RT type that some scouts think will make a very good guard.......that kind of versatility and potential would have to be considered if he is there early in round 4.

It's not even close to just one player though.......they've aged out on a broad scale.......Miller, Hyde, Poyer, Milano, DJones, White, Johnson.......all gone or significantly declined in play/impact/availability since 2022. And the opportunistic, inexpensive replacements aren't very durable. Benford, Bernard and Rapp are just plain fragile and are 1 for 6 combined in being able to play that playoff game against KC. If they can all be on the field and finish those Chiefs games the defensive results wouldn't have been nearly as bad as the 2020-2021 speed-boat jobs in KC........which I think were largely due to zero impact from Edmunds when playing good teams. He would just get assaulted thru the air because they knew there was no chance he would make a play. He could reach the low hanging fruit like rookie QB's with those long arms but that's about it. And that made those early 20's defense's a bit of a paper tiger in the playoffs.

From 2020-2023 Hollywood Brown ran more routes over 20mph than any WR in the NFL except Tyreek Hill. He's been legit in the past but so was Curtis Samuel as an intermediate target in 2023. I haven't seen any of Hollywoods 2024 gps info.

Yeah I hate when you gather the family to watch gratuitous violence for 3 hours and they sneak in 30 seconds of cleavage.

"The only thing that comes out of her mouth is lies and the only thing that goes in is d****. " One of the great movie lines ever.

If you favor a team with a terrible fan base over one with a great one.......well fans don't matter to you then. You make a good internet fan. Having to tailgate with those people is another matter. Like I said, play the Eagles in the SB next year and you'll find the totally ancillary Mahomes commercials and Taylor Swift stuff to be a lot less of a concern.

If there were a re-draft Keon Coleman would go in about the same spot as he did. Maybe exactly the same spot. There were some players the Bills passed on who could have been better and they would have gone earlier. Others worse and would have gone later. But 19.2 yards per catch 556 yards and 4 TD isn't anything to sneeze at for an early second rounder. I'd actually rank that over Kincaid's much overhyped rookie year. He caught a lot of passes but for a pathetic 9 yards per catch. He was also 24 as a rookie. Coleman is a project but he's young and has plenty of upside.

Yeah those Pittsburgh Pirates fans are insufferable. I don't think you understand the exercise here. Eagles, Flyers, Phillies, Sixers........their fans are all the worst in their individual sport. Nobody throws batteries at Santa Claus like Philly fans.

It wasn't a great debut for Babich, that is for sure. I don't know if that means Butler should have been hired though. They went from the HC calling plays to hiring a new DC so there is a bit of an "OC for Andy Reid" level accountability vibe for whoever takes over the Bills D. It's kinda' been McD's defense either way. Eric Washington also got poached and given the DC job in Chicago(and failed).