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JA, with no votes at all, wasn't even in the top half of NFL starting quarterbacks. It's good to know, though, that games aren't played in the imaginations of a motley assembly of fifty or so NFL employees. The voters included NFL scouts. Scouts are experts in college football. I wonder how well they keep up with the development of professional players. The voters also include NFL players. So I wonder how much does a special teamer from the Saints know about AFCE quarterbacks. The voters also include NFL execs. And here I wonder how much the VP of Communications in Seattle knows about Josh Allen. Just because a guy has a job in the NFL doesn't mean he has an expert, comprehensive knowledge of all the players and can accurately project their play in 2020.

If Smoke can catch Allen's passes, Knox needs to as well.

By definition, a name is "offensive" if people are offended by it. While different polls have produced different results, last year Berkeley conducted the biggest poll on the issue yet. 49% of Native Americans surveyed said they were offended by the name "Redskins." https://wtop.com/washington-redskins/2020/02/study-redskins-name-more-offensive-than-previously-reported/ Additionally, the National Congress of American Indians, the Navajo Nation, the Osage Nation, the Seminole Nation, the Oneida Indian Nation, the Comanche Nation of OK, the Cherokee Nation of OK, the Hoh Indian Tribe, the Shoshone-Bannock tribes, the Samish tribe, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, the Little River Band of Ottowa Indians, and several other indigenous organizations have all condemned the name. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Washington_Redskins_name_change_advocates Would it be acceptable to name a team Whiteskins? Blackskins? Yellowskins? I don't know why anyone would want to offend our Native American brothers and sisters for the sake of maintaining the name of a team that plays a game. As a loyal American and combat veteran, I strongly feel that Americans should have each others' backs - not offend and disregard each other.

Thanks MGK. You and I are aligned. Let Allen loose. Encourage him to take more chances. With Moss and Motor, the Bills should - hopefully - be able to run both inside and out. And if Allen is throwing deep effectively, even with a few extra picks, defenses will be forced to defend the entire field horizontally and vertically. Few defenses can do that well.

I don't disagree with the folks who say Allen needs to put a little more air under the ball. But here's something else I thought all season long last year. Allen looks like a guy who's afraid to throw a pick. His deep balls tend to be overthrown. It's as if he's throwing to spot he know the DB can't get to, instead of a spot the receiver can. This happens when a QB is coached hard about ball security. Or when a QB throws a bad pick and then gets gun shy. I'm not sure what happened to JA but I'm convinced he puts just a little extra on the ball when he releases it to make sure it's not picked off because it was underthrown. It might not even be a conscious thing. In fact, it's probably not. But it's there. Oops - just saw that QB Bills posted the same thought a couple minutes ago. Great minds think alike!

Since you mentioned Fergy... Ferguson only completed 49.5% of his passes during his first five years with the Bills (1973-1977). During the rest of his career in Buffalo, he completed 53.9% of his passes. His other passing stats got better as well. As I mentioned before, some QBs get better with experience. Allen got better from Year 1 to Year 2 and it's not unreasonable to predict he'll continue to get better in Year 3. The part of accuracy that's really hard to fix is throwing-a-ball-through-a-tire accuracy. This might be better termed "precision." While reps and mechanics can help, it's mostly a DNA-driven, God-given talent. But in football, we mostly measure accuracy by completion percentage and QBs can improve their completion percentage a number of different ways. Maybe the most common is just getting better at finding the open receiver so you don't have to thread a needle. Good play calling by an OC who understands the QB's strengths and weaknesses helps too. As does better pass protection. And fielding receivers who can both create separation and catch. If a combination of improvements gets Josh to a 65% completion rating and a 90+ passer rating, does it really matter that once-in-a-while he overthrows a receiver because his precision with the ball isn't as consistent as Brady's or Brees'?

Then you're a better man than I am. I'd absolutely wear a headset at least once if I owned the Bills. The BN reports that Kim was talked into it by the VP of IT who told her, "If you really want to what's going on on the field, you need to be on the headset." That makes me think he's been on the headset. And that makes me wonder, who else has been on headsets? Maybe it's not uncommon for the coaches to have silent eavesdroppers.

Lombardi knows much, much more about football than I ever will but I don't think his doubts about Josh's future are any more sound than my cautious optimism. Some QBs seem to reach their peak in college or very early in the pros. Others continue to grow and develop during their NFL career. Brady made a huge leap from decent Michigan starter to NFL GOAT. Brees made a huge leap from mediocre SD starter to NO superstar Jim Plunkett made a huge leap from disappointing NE starter to Super Bowl MVP in Oakland. You can't tell when a QB is going to stop growing until he stops growing. JA is still on a upward trajectory and no one knows where he'll land.

It depends on the character of the involvement. If Kim starts calling plays and Terry starts making draft picks, there's a huge problem. But going to games, attending practices, and even wearing headsets simply shows they're interested and care about what's going on. I'd rather have engaged (but not meddling) ownership than absentee owners. And, c'mon Kirby, if you owned the Bills, you wouldn't want to listen in at least once?

Understandably, the results reflect some homerism. But all in all, the results are reasonable. At the time of my viewing, the Bills are the most popular pick for AFCE champs. Stefon Diggs is the top vote getter for receiving yards. Epenesa is tied for predicted sacks leader.

I don't think the turnover reflects badly on McD at all. When McD was named HC, I'm sure he knew who he wanted on this staff. I'm also sure that most of the coaches he wanted were already under contract. So he hired the best staff he could from a limited pool of available NFL-caliber coaches. Since then McD has been working diligently to upgrade his staff as a good HC should. Belichick didn't begin his tenure in New England with his dream staff either. It takes time to put a high performing coaching staff together. And it seems to me McD is methodically and successfully assembling a highly competent team of subordinate coaches.

I'm not knocking the OP's suggestion but I think the best way to end the debate is to simply stop debating. I'm also a combat vet and I will stand with my hand over my heart every time the anthem is played to honor my fallen comrades. I will not debate with anyone who chooses to do something different. This country was founded on the idea of individual liberty.

Indeed, why draft a back in the 3rd round when you already have an up-and-coming young back? I like Josh a lot but I don't know if he's ever going to be a Brees-Brady type QB who can move an offense down the field almost single-handedly. But he can play an effective role in a balanced offensive attack.

I know there's folks out there who think Moss has more upside. Maybe so. But Singletary has already proven himself to be a capable back at the NFL level and he's got a year of experience in Daboll's offense. Moss is trying to play catch up in a Covid 19 impacted offseason. Baring injury, Devin will have the better season.

I think OJ just may be the greatest football player of all time. In his prime – after Lou Saban unleashed him and before his knee injury – he was other worldly. 1960 to 1979 was the “Golden Age of Running Backs.” Today, QBs dominate the top of the draft but in those days it was RBs. NFL teams were built around bell cow RBs, not franchise QBs. So America’s best athletes became RBs. Sports Illustrated splashed the covers of their mag with the best college and pro RBs. And with all due respect to Jim Brown, the very best of them all might have been OJ. On the gridiron, he looked like an Olympian god playing with mortals. It’s common these days to hear Brady described as the GOAT but OJ deserves a prominent place in that conversation. If Brady is better than contemporaries like Brees and Rodgers, it’s not by a hell of a lot. But OJ was a man among boys. In 1973, when he rushed for over 2,000 yards, the next best rushing total was 1,144. OJ nearly doubled that prolific output. Rushing yards could be hard to come by because in those days defenses were built to stop the run. But OJ was gashing teams for 6.5 yards per carry. In 1973, the Bills didn’t have much of a passing offense, nor much of a defense. OJ was the Bills only weapon. So the game plan for each and every opponent was simple: Stop OJ. They couldn’t do it. Having said all that, I think the SOB should be off the wall. One of the things wrong with our country is we lionize the wrong people. Often our kids’ heroes are rich, self-absorbed celebrities. I think our country’s heroes ought to be folks that are mostly – if not perfectly – good roles models. We should be lionizing teachers, fire fighters, (good) law enforcement officers, soldiers, sailors, civil rights activists, and social justice campaigners. I love seeing Bob Kalsu’s name on the Wall of Fame. He might not have been a great football player but he was a great American. And then there’s Jack Kemp, who honorably served his community and his country after his football career. And Cookie Gilchrist, who fought for the equal treatment of blacks during the era of segregation. And Darryl Talley, who embodied effort and teamwork. And the marvelous Marv Levy, who served in uniform during WWII. And then, up there with the rest of them, is OJ Simpson, murderer. I wonder how the Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman feel when they see how in Buffalo we honor the most evil person in their collective lives. Take him down.

If an offense is too simple, the defense will be to read & react correctly. Not only does this slow down the offense, it frustrates the players. An offense that's too complicated makes execution (and success) difficult and also frustrates the players. Somewhere in the middle is a sweet spot.

Ralph OJ Bruce Kelly The Bills wouldn't exist without Ralph. And they wouldn't have remained in Buffalo. OJ is arguably the best running back in NFL history. (He's also a homicidal schmuck so I can see leaving off). Bruce is arguably the best DE ever. Kelly was the leader of the Bills during their greatest era.

I'm a bit of a news junkie and back in January, I started ignoring what the Chinese government and media reporters were saying in Wuhan. Instead I started paying attention to the actual science and what the epidemiologists were saying about the reproduction and mortality rates of the novel coronavirus. I told my wife and some friends, "This coronavirus thing is going to go pandemic. It's coming to America and thousands will die. It's gonna be bad." A few believed me. Most were kind of like, "I've never seen a new disease sweep across America like that and I'm not going to believe it's going to happen now until it does." I'm not right about a lot of things but I was right about Covid 19 because the data was telling us a compelling - if unexpected - story if we simply chose to pay attention and educate ourselves. Kirby is doing more-or-less he same thing with the Pats. He's ignoring the media pundits and doing his own expert analysis. In contrast, most football fans are saying - despite the data: "I'll believe it when I see it." And in this case, I find myself in the I'll-believe-it-when-I-see-it crowd. So much for intellectual consistency!!! Bill and the Pats haven't won less than 10 games since 2002. They haven't had a losing season since Bill's first season in Foxboro in 2000. So it's difficult to imagine the Pats suffering a losing season in 2020. Sadly, three things in life seem to be certain: death, taxes, and the Pats finishing ahead of the Bills in the AFCE. The world turns, the sun rises, the Pats beat the Bills. That's just how the universe works. So that's why I don't believe the Pats will fall this year. Granted, it's not an intellectually satisfying argument so let me offer this instead. Belichick is an extraordinary coach. The Pats special teams were very good last year - 3rd in the NFL according to Gosselin. The Pats D was downright dominant. Brady, on the other hand was far from dominant - just 18th in passer rating, 17th in QBR, and 27th in yards/attempt. The Pats won 12 games last year despite Brady's lackluster statistical showing. As impressive as Brady's career has been, he's been just one ingredient in Belichick's recipe for success. With that one ingredient out of many missing, Bill will find a - albeit inferior - substitute to make the recipe work. If Belichick can win with Cassel, he will win with Stiddy.

Interesting work. Probably should be in the Epenesa thread.

This sounds great. But is it? How good are these evaluators? How many good evaluators are there, actually, not working as NFL scouts? It seems like using 60 "evaluators," instead of say 20, only waters down the quality of the evaluator pool.

I've been impressed with Beane and mostly like this draft. But there's an old saying in India, "When a pickpocket walks down the street, all he sees are pockets." We all tend to see what we're hoping & looking to see. A hungry guy driving down a street will notice all the restaurants. A horny hetero guy driving down the street will notice all the ladies. Bills optimists find things to love about this draft because they're looking for reasons to believe. On the other hand, I think skeptics can find valid reasons for concern.

Our DL depth is fantastic. I can't remember a time when it was better. But let me ask, Addison doesn't start? The guy's had 39 sacks in the past 4 years.

If you're going to do skepticism, GD, do it right. Don't start your post with two enthusiastic A grades. Round 1. Diggs. A good GM can find an impact player in the first round. Instead Beane got an impact player by trading his first round pick away. The difference? A draftee gets a modest rookie contract and Diggs is getting paid $12m per year. More bonehead moves like this and Beane will quickly return us to Cap Hell. Grade D. Round 2. Epenesa. An edge rusher that lacks the burst to get around the edge. We used a second round pick to get another Shaq Lawson. Grade D. Round 3. Moss. The three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust era is long gone. In the modern NFL, you need chunk plays to score. Yet, with the Moss pick, Beane seems intent on making sure the Bills backfield is entirely devoid of breakaway speed. Grade D. Round 4. Davis. While there's a lot to like about Josh Allen, pinpoint accuracy isn't one of them. So Bean drafts a guy who will struggle to gain separation at the NFL level? This is hard to understand. Grade F. Round 5. Fromm. Although he was an accomplished college signal caller, this guy's biggest contributions to the greater Buffalo community will be the 'Jake from' jokes. Beane picked a QB who lacks NFL arm strength when Buffalo is the windiest city in the NFL. Grade D. Round 6. Bass. Excellent college kicker who will fail to beat out Hauschka and won't make the team. But maybe drafting Bass pushes the incumbent to improve a little? Grade D. Round 6. Hodgins. Another wideout who can't separate - just what Josh needs. Grade F. Round 7. Jackson. 4.57 forty time. No ball awareness. Classic camp fodder. But, hell, it's the 7th round. Grade C. Besides WRs who can separate, what Josh needs is a better OL to protect him and better TEs. Yet Beane didn't draft anyone to upgrade those position groups. Not a good draft, says the skeptic.

To me, it's all about the eye test. Does the OL create holes on running plays? Do they give their QB a clean pocket? Are they able to push defenders back on short yardage plays? While there are some stats that capture elements of these things, stats can be skewed by a number of factors independent of the ability of the OL (QB play, RB talent, play-calling).

2016... good player - maybe a future 1st rounder 2017... torn ACL 2018... back surgery 2019... mediocre player - not fully recovered? Here are the closing sentences of a good article on Trey from SB Nation: "If you’re an NFL GM wanting to take a chance on him in the later rounds, obviously your angle would be hoping that with time Adams could return to his earlier form or at least near it. Who knows if that’s possible — likely it’s not, but if your team drafts him at a later round and he does overcome his injury history and get his athleticism back to earlier, then you’ve obviously just gotten a huge steal." https://www.uwdawgpound.com/2020/4/19/21226649/washington-huskies-football-nfl-draft-profile-trey-adams