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Vaild point. The 49ers are an atypical example. But I don't think the Bills Top Five list is going to compare well with many clubs. Let's use a team you suggested. Here are the guys I'd put on Cleveland's Top Five list: Otto Graham, Brian Sipe, Bernie Kosar, Time Couch and then maybe Bill Nelson. Someone else might put Frank Ryan, Milt Plum, Mike Phipps, Vinny Testeverde or Don Strock in their Top Five. In Buffalo, we have trouble finding five QBs to put on our Top Five list.

This is true. But a number of Bills fans (including my childhood best friend's dad) were mad when Lamonica was traded because they believed the guy was going to develop into something special. Even as a Bill, Lamonica flashed something promising.

I'm not knocking this list, but it is a sad commentary on the Bills organization when our Top Five QBs include two QBs few teams would want as starters (Fitz, TT) and another guy (Bledsoe) who only was good for us for about a half of one season. Another team's list might look something like this: Joe Montana, Y.A. Tittle, Steve Young, John Brodie, Jeff Garcia.

Yeah, our top five QB list is awful. We've been much better at drafting/acquiring RBs. Here are some of the contenders for our RB Top Five list in comparison: OJ Thurman Freddy Cookie Joe Cribbs Marshawn Shady Travis Henry Greg Bell Willis McGahee

Yikes. Marangi is on my list of five worst. Fergy is underrated by many because he wasn't very good at the beginning of his career when his main duty was to give the ball to OJ. And he wasn't very good at the end of his career when his skills were in decline. But there was a golden middle when he was one of the best QBs in the league. Just thinking of that golden middle, I would rate Fergy ahead of everyone except Kelly. But if we're cherry picking periods, Bledsoe's first half season with the Bills was excellent. Maybe this isn't entirely fair but here's how I remember Flutie... Flutie would flat out suck for three quarters. But our D was so strong in those days that they'd keep the game close. Then Flutie would do something athletically superhuman in the game in the fourth quarter to put the Bills on top. Great! But why did Flutie have to suck the first three quarters? The D won games in that era, not Dougie.

Former Steeler CB ranks T.White in the Top Ten of NFL cornerbacks... RANK 9 Tre'Davious White, Bills I love the way the rookie is playing. He understands the ebb and flow of a player's first season in the NFL, but it's not deteriorating his mindset. After a big performance against the Patriots last week, which included picking off Tom Brady, he's going to have to watch out for the deep ball vs. Indy's T.Y. Hilton. While I've also been impressed with White's play as a rookie, I wouldn't have expected national media guys to rank him in the Top Ten. Thoughts?

I'm not sure how PFF comparables really matter. Just because some aspects of Shady's game compares to some other guys, doesn't mean his talent is at the same level. This is just weird logic: PFF compares Shady to Delvin Williams so Shady can't be that good. PFF, by the way, also said that McCoy wouldn't be successful in Buffalo in a Roman scheme after the trade from Philly. They were wrong. https://www.profootballfocus.com/news/lesean-mccoy-lost-in-space

Agree.

I agree but our hot start was always suspect. Our D wasn't dominant. Our offense certainly wasn't dominant either. We were winning games because we were winning the turnover battle. But it was hard to believe that our D would continue to be that opportunistic.

Good story. Thanks for sharing. Where's the tissue?

I don't feel the Bills have done the "unexpected." In fact, I think they're team we should have anticipated. At the beginning of the year, I vacillated between guessing 8-8 or 9-7 before finally opting with 9-7 just because I'm a fan. Like many others, I figured Dennison would make our running game worse but McD would prove to be a better defensive coach than his predecessor. I hoped for a few other things. I hoped, for example, that Dennison would improve the passing attack more than he hurt the running attack. Like most of the other things I hoped for, that hasn't happened. But to me the biggest surprise of the season came when TT was benched. Other than that, we're proving to be just another middle-of-the-pack football team which was predictable.

My memory is vague. 1973. First year in the new stadium. OJ's having a good first half but a frustrating one, too. The crowd gets on its feet a few times as he looks like he's about to break one. But shoestring tackles hold him to modest gains. It seems like only a matter of time before he breaks free but instead OJ gets hurt and doesn't play the second half. Sadly, I've forgotten the opponent but I bet someone hear remembers the game I'm talking about.

This is a very interesting assessment. Unfortunately, 1-27 says Sashi will never get another chance with a different team.

Eric Moulds, Fred Jackson and Kyle Williams are the names that first come to my mind. Maybe Eric doesn't qualify for the topic but I really feel for him. What a wasted talent! If Moulds had (1) played for a playoff team with a good QB, and (2) stayed healthy, he would have gone to multiple Pro Bowls and received HOF votes. While I liked Evans, Moulds was a much better receiver. Regards to Freddy, I really disagree with the POV that he was a high-effort but humbly talented guy. Freddy was continually forced to make something out of nothing. Our OL was poor in Freddy's time. As I recall, Fred was among the league's leaders in yards-after-contact a couple years. And I remember reading PFF articles where Freddy rated high in their metrics as well. Mostly, though, he was such a joy to watch. Not OJ good - but still a very skilled runner.

I think McD has been preaching to the team to avoid penalties by letting the refs do the policing job and having the players do the job of blocking and tackling - only while a play is live. I'm not going to blame a player for trying to help his team by avoiding an unsportsmanlike conduct flag.

The commonsense answer and I agree. If there's a QB available that you love, get him. Otherwise, build up your lines. And if you do get the QB you want, build up your OL to protect your investment.

Thurman and I are in agreement. I noticed that Don Banks is part of HCR and I like Don. But I can't help imagining a bunch of minimally knowledgeable football journalists hanging around, drinking beer, watching highlights, and saying when they see a QB with too much time to throw, "The D should blitz more" and then assigning a low grade for Game Planning. What I think would be cool is a talented group of ex-coaches getting together and doing a scouting report on every HC and coordinator in the league - strengths, weaknesses, tendencies, influences, schemes employed, etc.

A fair QB can be productive behind a good offensive line. And a good QB can be productive behind a fair offensive line. Seem kind even, but... * a good OL will also help the running game. * a good OL will help your backup be successful if he has to play. * a good OL will keep your QB healthy so the backup doesn't have to play. * a good OL might be easier to acquire than a good QB. All things considered, despite the importance of the QB in today's game (or partly because of it), I'd rather aim for a good offensive line.

800 yards more passing and 6 more TDs at the price of 4 more picks.

Head Coaches seem to be given 2-3 years to turn things around. McD has already had one year. He can't waste another. If he's not confident in his OC, he needs to replace Dennison now.

In a perfect world, we'd replace both TT and Rico. But given the difficulty of finding quality QBs, I wonder if another OC could build a workable offense around TT. Rico apparently needs not just a better QB - but a different kind of QB - to make his offense work. How long we'll we have to wait to find the right guy? When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Rico can't do that.

I know that the anti-Tyrod sentiment here is growing but I'll throw this out... Rico would be easier to replace than Tyrod. Even Tyrod's limited skill-set is a rare commodity. There's just aren't enough good QBs in the world. So maybe McD fires Rico, hires McC and asks McC if he can make his offense work with Tyrod (and still draft a QB).

They turn their opinions into a grade and then crunch the numbers. That's not analytics. That's subjectivity dressed up in numerical data. (But thanks for sharing 26CB) Play Calling: We grade the quality of the offensive, defensive and special teams play calls, and also determine how well or poorly each head coach makes these play calls within the context of particular situations within a game. Within this factor, we also consider 2-point PAT decisions (e.g., our general rule is that no 2 pt PAT decision should be considered/tried until there are 5 minutes left in the 4th quarter), 4th down decisions, and challenge plays. Personnel Utilization: We grade how well each head coach utilizes the personnel available to him on the roster. For example, if a particular running back is not a good pass catcher, but a head coach runs a pass play to him on a key 3rd down situation, our conclusion would be the head coach did not do a good job with his personnel on that particular play. This also could, of course, happen on defense. For example, if a head coach has his best pass rusher dropping into coverage too often, perhaps this also may not be prudent given the context of that particular game. Game Planning: We grade the strategic soundness of the offensive and defensive game plans for each game. We want to determine the efficacy of each team’s strategy as it enters the game, and whether the judgment made by each head coach regarding the path to victory or competitiveness is reasonable and sound. In-Game Adjustments: One of the most fun aspects of professional football is the ‘chess match’ dynamic, i.e., how well does each competitor respond to the moves of the other? If a defensive end is constantly winning a one-on-one matchup versus an offensive tackle, will the head coach respond by adjusting his offense so that a running back or a tight end ‘chips’ that defensive end? We will grade how well each head coach responds to changing conditions during the game. Clock Management: The use of time outs, play clock management, and tempo changes – particularly on offense – are critical to proper game management technique by head coaches. These decisions can directly impact winning and losing, and we will grade how well each coach performs in this area. https://www.headcoachranking.com/hcr/hcr-ranking/

It was cheap, intentional, and after the whistle. The context doesn't matter. What he did was wrong and he deserves at least a 1 game suspension. The fact that he caused a concussion - the bane of the NFL - makes his actions even less excusable.

Suspended for one game. Appropriate?