hondo in seattle

PFF now has 500 employees. That surprised me. I still think context matters. Is the player in the right system receiving the right coaching? Are the players around him bringing out his best - or worst? Did he have nagging injuries or personal problems that impacted his play? How committed, disciplined and coachable is the player - will he get better? Stats don't tell you the whole story but they do have an important story to tell.

It's been so many years, I don't remember much of that game - except for those last two remarkable plays. Those were unforgettable. Hooks, already one of my favorite Bills, was a hero that day.

The flu of 1918 killed something like 75 million people. If any of them were football players, I would have demanded that they postpone their deaths to suit up and play. Real men don't let a simple flu keep them from the gridiron.

IMHO, people would be talking about Brees as a GOAT candidate if he had played his entire career under Belichek.

Eli Harold. Was drafted in the 3rd round by the 9ers in 2015 when he was just 21 years. He has done little since, though he did have 4 sacks and 4 hurries playing just 19% of the snaps for the Lions last year. Has played mostly as a 3-4 OLB in the NFL but the Bills will use him as a 4-3 DE which might be more natural for him.

I think yards are an underutilized statistic for quarterbacks. As Hank Stram famously said, the job of the offense is to "matriculate" the ball down the field. And that's what Fouts did. He piled up the yards. In 1981, for example, Fouts passed for nearly 5,000 yards in a season where no other QB passed for over 4,000 - not Montana, Bradshaw, Theisman, Manning, Stabler, Jaworski, Andersen, Plunkett or anyone else. I don't dismiss Rivers' skills. But Fouts was special in his era.

It's easier to get sacks as a DE in a 4-3 than a 3-4. Reggie was great. Bruce was greater.

I hope the Bills win a lot because I'm a Bills fan. I don't care about proving anybody wrong.

Memory is a funny thing... but I remember Brown as an overrated penalty machine.

This part of the game is fascinating to me: leadership, building culture, loyalty, buy-in and so on. I've read dozens - if not hundreds of books - on these subject and appreciate the importance. I'm glad McD and the staff are digging in. But x's and o's are important too. I hope McD is also studying the latest gridiron tactical developments at both the college and pro level. And then what about preparation: walk-thru's, film-study and etc? There are a lot of theories about how to best prepare a team for a season or a game. What work is being done there?

Well, we celebrate Memorial Day in my family... usually - like today - with a family barbecue. I think those who sacrificed themselves would be pleased that we're honoring them with family celebrations. But I make it a habit of telling my wife and kids a different story each Memorial Day about a member of the Armed Forces who didn't make it home. One year, with weepy eyes, I told them the story of Bob Kalsu. Happy Memorial Day to all. RIP, Bob Kalsu.

Thanks to all who served. Prayers for all those who didn't make it back.

My thinking is similar. How much better is Kroft than the next guy up?

I think giving it to a fringe guy is intentional. "32" was unofficially retired. So the Bills are un-retiring it in baby steps, starting with a fringe guy. If Perry makes the team, it'll be really weird for old timers like me to see someone besides OJ wearing that number.

A friend of mine was once asked to babysit an actress while filming a movie on location. Her mission was to keep the actress - a big partier but not an addict - away from drugs. Well, that's quite the challenge. How do you entertain a partier without parties? Museums??? Parks??? My friend decided to throw drug-free (but not alcohol-free) parties at nice locations around the city. She says the plan worked - but only because of the limited length of the shoot. She couldn't have kept the actress out of trouble much longer. So my question is, how does a babysitter keep a trouble-maker out of trouble? I don't think you can expect sustainable success. People are who they are. Maybe a life-coach would be better than a baby-sitter. Maybe not.

I think the one thing interesting about the future of the running game is defense. Today's defenses are geared to stop the pass. Nickel is the most commonly run defense in the contemporary NFL. In the old days, linebackers used to be thumpers. Now many LBs have better coverage than tacking skills. It seems the time is ripe for a creative OC to build an offense around a strong running game to take advantage of today's defensive tendencies.

I really don't care what Prisco says (he's not any smarter than we are) but anyone watching how Beane has been managing the cap would conclude: * 2018 was a Cleanse-the-Cap year. * 2019 is Rebuild Year 1 * 2020 is Rebuild Year 2 Beane set himself up to have lots of picks and money this year, and lots of cap money again next year. It looks like he's betting big on 2020. The open question is how wisely he spends his draft and cap capital. So far, I like what I'm seeing but it's all speculation at this point.

Wow. I like Gore but I just don’t see him in the Jim Brown/OJ category.

To me, Steve is a perfect hometown media guy. He’s not as polished as some of the other national figures but knows the sport and loves the Bills.

There are of lot of running situations (3rd and 1, for example) where the D will load the box, whether the offense trots out a blocking TE or receiving TE. In those situations, Smith is a great blocker who can turn his assigned defender into a non-factor.

Considering we drafted 2 TEs, I wonder if Lee Smith's role is two-fold: block & mentor. They say he's a hard-working ("process") guy.

A 1 year deal doesn’t surprise me. A 3 year deal does.

This is true. That's why I never blamed Castillo when our offensive linemen looked overmatched. But I did blame him when they looked unprepared and/or out of position. And that happened too often.

I'll confess I didn't realize how bad Castillo was until we hired him. In fact, I remember Castillo getting positive reviews as the OL coach in Philly until they bizarrely made him the DC - apparently thinking at the time that he'd be an upgrade over our very own Sean McDermott! I was oblivious to his struggles in Baltimore.

I get what you're saying and agree that little Pike needs to get his own house in order. But when McD worked for Reid, he didn't become Reid.