billsfan1959

His point was your first statement. It just felt like you were calling him out on something he didn't say - which is that the talent of the Bills was equal to that of the Vikings. But, I am sure Yolo can speak for himself.

I watched every game of his and I really didn't come away with the feeling that he struggled to read the defense or progress through his reads. Although, I did find it much more difficult to analyze his play as opposed to, say, Rosen. His plays were designed to go downfield much more than Rosen, the offensive line was awful (even for the division level they were at), and his offensive skill players were not much better, if at all. I think he had very little trust in his offensive line, for good reason, and it affected his processing and decision making the same as any other QB in the same situation. Even in those instances when it looked like there wasn't enough pressure to cause him to hurry his throws, not set up properly, or to move from the pocket - it was hard to determine if that was due to his lack of proficiency at processing / poor mechanics, or just plain lack of trust in his line from experience. I guess that is why there is such a diversity of opinions about him. I really am looking forward to seeing how he progresses. Ideally, I would like for him to have the opportunity sit for a while; however, I also don't believe he is as much of a project as some believe. Just my opinion. Let's hope for the best.

That wasn't his point

So, what do you get when you cross an agnostic, an insomniac, and a dyslexic....

There is no doubt that McDermott has a strong religious faith. However, from everything I have read and listened to, in terms of press conferences, player interviews, etc., I have always had the impression that he embraces the individual aspects of each of his players, and that tolerance of individual beliefs and opinions is something he promotes and defends.

Unfortunately, we will never know the answer to that question. What we do know is that Allen spent a good majority of his time in 2017 running for his life behind an offensive line that was, for the most part, inferior to level of talent they were playing against. I watched Allen's games and I watched Rosen's games, and I rarely saw Rosen face the level or consistency of pressure that Allen faced. One of the few games in which I saw Rosen face anywhere near that level of pressure for an entire game was the Texas A&M game in 2016. Before I hear about having to go back to 2016, in his second year, I choose that game because it was one of the very few, I saw that, IMHO, was close to what Allen faced most games last year. Watch that game and you will see bad decisions, bad throws, bad mechanics, 3 interceptions and 56% completion percentage. Rosen also had similar games, but to a lesser degree, in 2015, 2016 and 2017. While it is true that Allen played against inferior competition, the truth is, it doesn't matter how bad the opposing talent is when the offinsive talent around you is still inferior to the opposing talent - and the offensive talent around Allen in 2016 was not that good, and was abysmal in 2017. Approx 15 or so offensive lineman and skill position players that Rosen played with have gone on to sign NFL contracts, while only 3 that Allen played with went on to sign NFL contracts - all in 2016 and 2 were undrafted free agents. When Tanner Gentry is the best receiver Allen ever got to play with, it is hard to make an accurate comparison. I do find it interesting that, inspite of the differences in talent, both Rosen and Allen finished their first two collegiate seasons with a sub 60% completion percentage. Like I have said before, my choice was Rosen over Allen; however, I was not disappointed when we ended up with Allen. I think it is much more difficult to evaluate Allen than Rosen. IMO, I think Allen will be much better at the NFL level than some believe.

Lazy comparison...

Good job on the breakdown! I happen to agree that the accuracy issue is not nearly as bad as some would have you believe. Keep em coming OP!

I shattered the remote control on wide right...and I was 32 As for 1998, I just remember Flutie fumbling the ball on a sack at the five-yard line at the end of that playoff game (wasting a great game by Eric Moulds)...

It was an awful article full of self-contradictions, a lack of actual knowledge of the team, lazy journalism and, generally, the product of what I might expect from a room temperature IQ.

Why is it that the two are viewed as mutually exclusive? Can they not be in the process of a long-term rebuild toward the team they want to be, while still staying competitive in the present (and, hopefully, becoming more and more competitive each successive year)? If I am not mistaken, Bean and McDermott have been pretty clear on this point.

Haha! I had a box of VHS tapes of about 75-100 games or so from the early 80s through the mid 90s. I gave them to a friend about 5 years ago. He had two young boys who were big Bills fans and he had to deploy to Afghanistan for a year. So, while he was gone, his wife would give the boys a couple of games to watch each week and then he could talk with them about the games when they spoke on the phone or skyped. He said they were always so excited to talk about the games they had watched - especially when they got to the ones during their super bowl years!

Not for me. I just want to see this team concentrate on developing these young players and getting better overall - without the distraction that "Hard Knocks" would bring.

Haha - it was quite an understatement. I know a lot has been made of his surrounding talent in 2017 and the counter-argument that he was also playing against inferior talent. It is all relative; however, you would like to think that the level of talent around you is close to the level of talent you are playing against. I watched a lot of film on Wyoming from last year and, from an offensive line and offensive skill position perspective, many of those players often were not even close to the level of talent they were playing against. I am not making excuses, just an observation. Like you, I thought Vigen did an excellent job of articulating his point without specifically criticizing other players - while still holding Allen accountable as well.

Actually, the post wasn't directed at you, but rather, the posters who continually offer negative prognostications as if they are fact, are completely dismissive and condescending to anyone who chooses to look at things in a more positive light, and then rationalize their behavior by citing the history of this franchise as if it some license to behave in an uncivil way. It is a small segmet of posters; however, they can sometimes be the most vocal. My response was not about believing the Bills can do no wrong, because they clearly have over the fifty or so years I have followed them - often. It was about the declarations of certain posters, in response to virtually every decision this team makes that they do not agree with, that the decision will result in complete failure with no chance of success. It is not just a doubt or skepticism, such as you have about McCarron (which I share, by the way) or someone may have about Allen (which I share as well), or any other decision: It is a certainty of failure and there is no room for debate.

Clearly, you haven't heard that the history of this franchise, the last 18 years in particular, dictates that we have to be critical, skeptical, negative and miserable - and when those little threads of optimism start rearing their ugly heads, we need to obliterate them like some non-stop whack-a-mole game

Thanks for finally being clear on where you stand. Your previous 500 "Allen is the worst QB on the planet" posts were a little ambiguous.

The truth is, nobody knows how much of a factor it was in either case and there is no real way to measure it. So, it really is no more than opinion one way or the other, which is fine. I do agree that all anyone can do at this point is hope he becomes our franchise QB.

It may not have been a factor in Boller's case. It may or may not be a factor in Allen's case. Not really sure how anything regarding Kyle Boller is relevant to Josh Allen. Completely different people in completely different circumstances.

Shaq is very good against the run. With better play inside, he may be more effective against the pass. I do not see him getting cut.

Shhhhh....

I know what you mean. I live in Raleigh, NC, now and I can find pretty much everything I want to read on the internet. For me, it is cheap enough that I don't mind keeping the subscription. Every now and then there are articles I want to read.

It is cheap and there are some good articles

I was leaning toward Rosen; however, there were some things that I loved about Allen (I ranked him just behind Rosen) - and I was not disappointed when he was selected. He is definitely my guy now.

Not only that; but, what is the validitiy of the data set itself. For example, I would like to see the study Fadingpain cited in his statement, "that since 1999, no college QB with fewer than 30 starts and a completion % in college below 60% has ever amounted to jack at the NFL level," if it was even a study. If it was, the sample size of such a study would be so small that it would be almost useless in its application to how successful or unsuccessful Josh Allen may be. I have some number cruncher DNA myself and I have been part of numerous research studies in the area of psychology and criminal behavior. I have learned that (1) not all research is scientifically sound, (2) one has to be very careful in the application of research data, and (3) it is especially tricky in the area of risk assessment (future behavior).