hondo in seattle

Yeah. A lot of people said he'd never work again in the NFL, just like Kaepernick. I confess, the thought crossed my mind too. I'm glad the NFL - at least the Steelers - is more enlightened than we thought.

Gugs, I hear you. And - given what transpired - I can't say you're wrong. But I led soldiers in war - when lives, not games, were on the line - and still didn't tell every soldier each new change to the plan. That's too cumbersome. I informed my subordinate leaders and let them do what they're trained to do. That system - utilizing the chain of command - worked well for me and many others. You can blame McD for this if you want, but I can't. You're the HC and you tell your coordinator to do something and it's more than reasonable to expect him to do it.

Beane's words were music to my ears: "First thing, I'm going to try and protect him [Allen]. "As I said earlier, I have to make sure the O-line is set and that we're confident in them." So happy to read that for two reasons. 1. Josh is the most important - and most expensive - guy on the team and he needs a better bodyguard to keep him healthy. 2. A better OL makes this offense more productive - even with the same skill players. We scored a lot of points in 2021 when Josh actually had time to throw. We have other needs but nothing's as important as upgrading the OL. Great to hear Beane acknowledge that. Maybe Kromer was the first step but free agency and the draft both need to produce for us.

Bills draw a 47.2 for an average game. Cincinnati is less than that for the Super Bowl.

I think Beane (and McD) are looking for sustained success. The more times you get into the playoffs, the greater the likelihood that you make a run all the way to the SB.

And when Dorsey gets a Head Coach job, Joe Brady will become the next OC.

Jim Kelly had Thurman Thomas. It would be beyond awesome if we could find Allen's Thurm. But we already have two 3rd round backs. I don't want another. Motor wasn't bad last year. I don't want to waste cap space or draft picks on a RB unless we're convinced the new guy is a true upgrade.

Although, quality control coach is a low-paid grunt job that doesn't typically involve any coaching at all, it's a great way to start learning about NFL coaching. Ron River, Robert Saleh, Kyle Shanahan, Todd Haley all did stints at Quality Control when they were young. Jon Gruden is usually credited with being the first full-time quality control coach. Kathryn Smith (Bills) is credited with being the first full-time female quality control coach. Lots of old coaches help their sons get jobs as QC guys. Shurmur is just one of many.

While I agree with you generally... I would still keep Allen's running game in reserve as a weapon. It wouldn't be a weapon I'd employ every game. I'd save it for when we most need it.

The numbers say Josh wasn't as sharp but my eyes tell me a different story. Josh was mostly sharp when he had protection. He was sometimes sharp even when the protection was poor. The OL just wasn't as good in passpro in 2021 as it was in 2020. And I think you have to count the playoffs. Josh played much better in the playoffs in 2021 than he did in 2020. I don't think Josh had an off year at all.

Granted they were critically important, but do you really want to judge a man on 13 seconds of his 33 year career?

Oh, is it today? Snowshoeing with the dog sounds far more entertaining!

You're not but Kelly, Bruce, Thurman, et al. Since they know Marv just a slight bit more than you, I'll value their evaluations a slight bit more than I value theirs. You do realize, don't you, that the performance of a player isn't solely a result of his innate talent? The best coaches tap hidden potential and train players to perform at their very best. They develop schemes that allow the players to shine. Just to give one example, look at Archie Manning. Probably as much innate talente as his sons but he never sniffed a Super Bowl, never accomplished what his kids accomplished, because he didn't enjoy the same superior coaching and surrounding cast. It's true that Kelly and Company helped put Marv in the HOF. It's also true he helped them get there as well.

The last time I enjoyed, or even cared about, the Pro Bowl is when OJ played. I don't hate it. It's an irrelevant nothing that doesn't appear at all on my radar. Just writing these few sentences is the most I've thought about it in decades.

Not counting special teams, a football games consists of two battles: (1) Our offense versus their defense (2) Our defense versus their offense Each is equally important. So, ideally, Beane will figure out how to make us better in both areas. But I'll add this, while both battles are equally important, not all players are. Obviously, the most important player on the battlefield is Josh. And he needs better bodyguards. That's what I'm most hoping for.

David, your knowledge of the two cities in question surpasses mine. So I'll concede the point about NYC pizza. My wife has never been to NYC and she's been bugging me to go. When we do, we want to explore the ethnic restaurants after seeing them on TV with Anthony Bourdain, etc. But, with your endorsement in mind, we'll hit some pizza places too. And, yeah, I agree about LA. The pizza is poor but the Mexican food there is awesome!

Having lived in/near Buffalo, St Louis, San Diego, Indianapolis, Atlanta, Savannah, San Francisco, Seattle, and Atlanta and visiting 46 of the 50 states, I wholeheartedly agree. I've found good pizza in almost every city I've been to. But the average pie in a lot of cities is pretty disappointing. The average pizza in Buffalo is pretty good. I'm not a homer. I don't think Buffalo has great food overall. The best wings I've ever eaten were outside Buffalo. But I honestly believe that Buffalo - on the whole - easily has the best pizza of any city I've lived.

I haven't spent a lot of time in NYC but I have eaten pizza there a couple times. It was good. Better than Buffalo? I don't think I'd say that. And to build on Muppy's point, Buffalo has more pizzerias per capita than NYC. It's not even close. And what's cool about Buffalo with all its pizza joints - most of them aren't big chains (as in Orlando). Chain pizza doesn't do well in Buffalo's hyper competitive pizza environment. It just isn't good enough.

I don't know, Muppy. The West Coast cities from San Diego to Seattle are full of mom & pop ethnic restaurants - some of which are really, really good. It's not just the fine-dining stuff though San Francisco and LA would both run circles around Buffalo in that category. And the diversity of good food in that part of the world is amazing: from Asian to European. Per capita basis? That's an interesting way of looking at it and I've never given that a lot of thought. I'm certainly NOT saying that Buffalo doesn't have any good food. But spend some time eating your way through San Francisco and see if there's any comparison. The Mexican, Guatemalan, Salvadoran, Cambodian, Thai, Filipino, Korean, Italian, French, Ethiopian, Eritrean, and so on is better in San Francisco area. And if you want world-class chefs, the Napa Valley alone has more of those than all of WNY combined. Though the Polish food in Buffalo is better of course. The pizza (on average) and the wings (on average) are better too. And you can't find a better Beef-on-Weck any place else!

Agreed. OJ was a world-record holder in the 4x100 relay. CJ wasn't as fast.

I'm going to give an unpopular opinion. As someone who gets around a lot, I think the food scene in Buffalo is lacking. LA, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Chicago, NY, etc are all much better foodie cities. And - some of you will hate me for saying this - I've eaten a lot of wings in other cities that I rate better than the best at Duff's or Bar Bill. Yet I think the pizza options in Buffalo are strong. And, with all due respect to Mongo, I'm not the only one who notices this. A writer and pizza connoisseur named Arthur Bovino thinks Buffalo has the best pizza in America: www.newyorkupstate.com/life-and-culture/erry-2018/08/e68b5f3f671116/buffalo-americas-pizza-capital.html#:~:text=On%20a%20ranking%20of%20the%20101%20best%20pizza,Bocce%20Club%20Pizza%20came%20in%20at%20No.%2074. And according to Travel & Leisure Magazine, Buffalo has the 3rd best pizza in America: www.travelandleisure.com/americas-favorite-places-spotlight/best-cities-for-pizza?slide=c6a7a4db-3061-4b05-99d4-f6f1669adc13#c6a7a4db-3061-4b05-99d4-f6f1669adc13 And Smart Asset has Buffalo as #2: smartasset.com/credit-cards/the-best-cities-for-pizza-lovers-2017-edition Pizza Hut isn't in the same universe as the best pizzerias in Buffalo.

Flores is suggesting that Belichick influenced the Giants to choose Daboll over him. Why would BB do this? PFT says it was to hurt a division rival. profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/02/03/brian-flores-claims-giants-decision-to-hire-brian-daboll-was-made-with-bill-belichicks-influence/

BB has been the NFL for 47 years. I imagine he has one or two contacts in other teams.

We were a legit Super Bowl contender this year. In fact, if not for the infamous 13 seconds, I think we'd be heading to beautiful SoFi as the favorites. We have a good squad and a good coaching staff. But there's always room for improvement. Concerns: * OC. From everything I hear, Ken Dorsey was the right choice. Nonetheless, he's never been an OC before so I have some anxiety. * Our defense was good mostly because of excellent teamwork, discipline and scheme. We don't have great playmakers who match up well with the best of the NFL. * Josh may be the most valuable player in the NFL - regardless of what the voters say. He needs better bodyguards. Needs: * The OL played poorly most of this year and now our OL Coach is gone. We need to find his replacement - a good one. * Interior OL. * Speedy deep threat to complement Diggs, Beas and Davis. * Good, fast DB * An elite edge rusher * RB. Motor is serviceable but if a true playmaker becomes available, we should pursue him.

I kind of leaned toward Dorsey because he knew our system and Josh liked him. I didn't know much else. Nor did I know very much about the other candidates. So I didn't have a strong opinion. But when I heard that Daboll was trying to lure him to Jersey, and he had other courters too, suddenly I wanted Dorsey more than anything else. It's kind of like when you're young and you have a girlfriend who you're kind of indifferent about. But when other guys start making passes at her, you become very possessive and start to value her more.