hondo in seattle

I don't think the NFL is scummy. I think it's a business trying to negotiate its challenges as best it can. Watson may not be a good guy. But a grand jury declined to indict, and he certainly hasn't been convicted of anything so far. Isn't the presumption of innocence an American value? Many companies let the legal system - and the experts who run it - judge personal-time behavior. In other words, if there's no conviction, there are no consequences at work. I applaud the NFL for going further but I wonder how much further they should go in cases like this. I'm torn on this one. I'm really not sure what the right response should have been so I'm not going to criticize Robinson's or Goodell's. In fact, I have to give them some credit. While the legal system didn't punish Watson at all, the NFL will.

"If JA had JK's mind"??? Listening to them talk, I get the strong impression that JA is the smarter of the two. And, yeah, Kelly called his own plays but I'm going to guess that Allen understands defenses better than Kelly did. I'm not ready to crown a new king yet but I think Allen is on a trajectory that leads to the HOF.

Years ago I read it was illegal for NFL teams to collude with sponsors to augment a player's compensation - just like it was illegal for colleges to collude with backers to provide any compensation. And I'm assuming this is right - otherwise the big market teams would be doing it all the time.

Didn't Cover2 do a video on this? As I recall, he showed a comparable pass from Allen that shot out like a wire guided missile for a TD. Jones' pass, while accurate, had too much arc. I'm sure Jones has improved in other ways but he'll never have Josh's cannon.

I agree. He was a talented receiver. But was he better than, say Eric Moulds, who will never sniff the HOF? I personally don't think so. The thing about Swann is that if you were a football fan in the late 70s/early 80s you heard his name a lot. Back then, you couldn't buy Sunday Ticket and watch whatever games you wanted. Instead you watched what the networks put on TV and it was a Steeler-heavy diet. So again and again and again you'd hear the announcers extol Swann's talent and grace - the announcers all loved him. And all us fans at home were brainwashed into thinking Swann was the greatest, most acrobatic receiver since Don Hutson. Of course, 4 SB rings and one SB MVP helped Swann's cause. He was an important piece on a great team and that gets him a bust.

I saw Unitas and Staubach play and Brees was better. Brees' accuracy and ability to throw receivers open was uncanny. In my mind, he's top five all time.

Didn't Araiza say at some point prior to camp that he was working on holding for FGs because he knew it would be required of him in the NFL? When I attended high school back in the Upper Paleolithic Era, one of my friends was the FG kicker. Sometimes after practice, I would hold from him. I won't claim to have ever mastered the craft at the NFL level. But it didn't seem a supremely difficult skill to learn if you had decent hand-eye coordination. Most NFL punters, Bojo excepted, figure it out.

BB also said Mac isn't 'there' yet. "He’s worked hard to get better, and we’ve identified areas of improvement, as well. We’re not there yet, but we’ll keep working at it.” www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/belichick-on-patriots-qb-mac-jones-dramatic-improvement/ar-AAZZz4r

I always find it odd when people talk about Edwards as a MLB. I get that he's listed as a MLB. But when I think of middle linebackers, I think of fireplugs like Dick Butkus and Jack Lambert - thumpers who played in the middle of the other linebackers. Beefy hitmen with violent souls who knocked the snot out of you. But we primarily play a 4-2-5. There is no LB in the middle of the other LBs. And 'Maine' isn't a Butkus-esque Thumper. He's more of a space-eating coverage guy.

If the Bill-Tom Dynasty is the bar you're setting, then you're right to ask: What dynasty? But I think/hope we've entered a new era for the Bills that will bring with it many playoff wins and more than one SB appearance. I think our children and grandchildren will look back at the 2020's as a beautiful time in Bills history.

Fitz is my favorite QB of The Drought. Josh is my favorite QB of The Dynasty.

notwoz, thanks for sharing! Not really new news, though: streaming companies want to acquire premium sports programming partly due to ego and partly as loss leaders. Since I already steam everything I watch, I'm okay with the Silicon Valley getting the rights to Sunday Ticket. As long as the price doesn't go up.

Scott, I hope the Bills do not disappoint you this year. But, for me, 12-5 not long after 17 years of heartache and irrelevancy sounds pretty good. It gets us into the playoffs and could propel us to the Super Bowl. As for the Rams, it's not surprising that world champions have a good record on opening day the following year. And I'm sure the Rams will be stoked to play the Bills. Many gurus are saying we're the Lombardi favorites this year. The Rams are hearing that chatter and will want to remind the league who the current champs really are. Beating the Bills would be a fantastic way to begin the season and proclaim, "We're back!" Players want to win every game they play but I think this one will be a little special for the Rams. I'm looking forward to a good contest and hope the Mafia shows up in force.

70,000 in attendance for Ram/Chargers home games represents about 0.5% of the metro population. Given that a lot of attending fans are there for the away team, let's say about 0.4% of LA shows up for a home NFL game. 67,816 in attendance at Bills games represents about 5.7% of the metro population. So, Mr. WEO, according to your stats, Bills fans are 10+ times more supportive than Rams or Charger fans.

Cool to hear his analysis. But it only reaffirms what we Bills fans already know.

I have strong political opinions. Here's how my politic ideas roll in football... If a player is in a Bills uniform: I like him and wish him success. If a guy plays for some other team and he seems to be a good human being: I still wish him success in any game that isn't against the Bills.

I'm just not a huge Emmit fan. I watched him play and never thought he was nearly as talented as Gale Sayers, OJ, Walter Payton, Barry Sanders or some of the other elite backs of my lifetime. Yes, he was good. He also benefited from a good supporting cast. That, and his longevity, made him the top rusher of all time.

Even as a fellow Purdue alum, I agree Griese was not a great QB. But, despite his perfect season, I never hear him mentioned as one. Hard to say he's overrated when most people don't rate or remember him hardly at all.

I think there are a number of players in the HOF who don't belong there. I guess Namath got in because when the Jets beat the Colts, it was a paradigm shifting moment - one that he predicted. The Jets didn't just become world champs, the entire AFL was elevated. Personally, though, despite my appreciation for his talent, I wouldn't have voted him in.

I already agreed that Namath's career stats weren't good. But they don't tell the whole story of an immensely talented guy whose career was marred by injuries. In 1967, Namath was dominant. He led the AFL with over 4007 yards passing. Daryle Lamonica, Len Dawson, Bob Griese, Jack Kemp, John Hadl - none of these other highly skilled QBs came close. Namath also led the league with 8.2 yards per attempt. He was tearing it up! The NFL had some great QBs too: Sonny Jurgenson, Bart Starr, Johnny Unitas, Roman Gabriel, etc. None of these QBs were as scary or productive as Namath was that year. After '67 Namath was diminished by injuries. I stand by what I said earlier: Namath never reached his potential. But there were flashes of undeniable talent before the beatings he he suffered eroded his ability.

What I remember about Aikman is that he'd be good in the regular season and then surgical in the playoffs.

I kind of agree. Certainly, his overall statistical performance says he's overrated. These aren't the stats of a HOFer and yet his bust is in Canton. Yet, I remember one of his coaches saying he was the best pure passer he ever saw. Bear Bryant called him 'the best athlete I ever coached.' Remember, Namath threw for 4,000 yards way back in 1967 - when seasons were only 14 games long - way before anyone else. The next QB to throw for more than 4000 was Dan Fouts in a 16-game Air Coryell season, 12 years later. But Namath started racking up knee and other injuries pretty early in his career. Physical ailments probably prevented him from ever achieving his true potential. And at the end of his career, he was downright pathetic. Not just immobile, he didn't have the base with which to throw the ball with any velocity.

That's interesting. I think Allen is more talented - more elite - than Diggs.

I'd flip #1 and #2. Otherwise, agreed!

Bledsoe's first half-season was really good.