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Thanks for posting, PTR. I didn't know about this. Interesting experiment. Surprised to see Cottrell is still coaching.

An interesting article but I agree with Mango. You can't compare a short 16 game football season against the much, much longer seasons of basketball, baseball and hockey. I guess you could compare the parity of the NFL versus the parity of the NBA, NHL and MLB after they were 16 games into a season. But the real question is: would a soft cap, higher rookie pay, or any other changes give the NFL more parity. Urschel never successfully makes that point, though he seems to suggest it. Forget about what may or may not work for the other sports. I want to see a reasoned argument that there's a way to make the NFL better. This article doesn't have it.

There's an old saying in India, "When a pickpocket walks down the street, all he sees are pockets."

Coryell won more than 100 games as a college coach and again as a NFL coach. But that's not why he deserves to be enshrined. The guy changed football forever with "Air Coryell" and the "West Coast" offense. It was Coryell, more than anyone else, who made the QB the focal point of modern offenses. His innovations increased scoring and thus made football more exciting & popular. His coaching tree includes Joe Gibbs, Bill Walsh, John Madden (first gen), Norv Turner, and Mike Martz (2nd gen) among others. Every OC today has incorporated at least some Coryell ideas. It's been argued that the nickel and dime defenses so prevalent in modern football were developed to counter Coryell's offensive innovations. So Coryell, in the end, revolutionized both offensive and defensive football. Giving his influence on the game, I'm not sure how Coryell doesn't deserve a spot in Canton.

If Dungy lost a lot of playoff games, it's because he went to the playoffs a lot. And each year all but one playoff run ends in a loss. In other words, the vast majority of good coaches end their seasons with a playoff loss. The bad coaches end up without playoff appearances. Dungy, on the other hand, is the only HC in NFL history to go to the playoffs 10 consecutive years. Think of all the great coaches in NFL history who can't match that feat. It's pretty amazing, especially when you consider Dungy did it with two different teams. He has a 139-69 lifetime record as a HC. IMHO, he's very HOF worthy. One of the most worthy on this year's list. And I'm hoping The Snake gets in as an old-timer.

Clearly one of the best wideouts of his generation. So, yeah, HOF.

Typical Sully article... No new insights, lots of negativity. Why did I click the link?

It sucks to be a Raider fan.

It still bugs me that OJ is underrated in the national media as a running back. Other than Jim Brown, I really don't think there's ever been a back in the league as dangerous with a football in his hands. I hate when people talk about Emmit Smith, AP, or whoever as if they were better than OJ. I remember the joy and excitement we as fans felt when OJ took a handoff. In his prime, OJ was magical as a running back. But I agree with the rookie about taking his name down. OJ is a murderer and kidnapper. CTE or not, he's not someone we should celebrate. It's disrespect to his victims. And it's not good for our children to see a man like him so honored.

You're right, YPA is not the whole story - but it is part of the story. When Roman called a pass play, TT was effective running it. What more can you ask of him? Dude mentioned yards and TDs. Obvoiusly, TT isn't going to produce a lot of either if Roman isn't calling his number. But when pass plays were called, TT averaged 8 yards per attempt which is very good. The kid, in his first year, was effective at what he was asked to do. I think that earns him another year as the starter. Let's see if he can move his game forward.

When talking about continuity, I can't help but think of the Steelers. The've had 3 coaches over the past 46 years. They've won 60% of their games during that span and 6 Super Bowls. In the 1940's, Pittsburgh went through 6 coaches over the decade and won just 38% of their games. When they decided continuity matters, their fortunes changed.

DW is in the kitchen with Rex cooking up a stew. It'll be interesting to see what they serve us fans this season. Hope it's better than last year's cafeteria food.

Very true. I guess then if you compare TT with Kelly highlights, then TT falls far short. I do remember Kelly's rookie year. Despite Kelly playing pro ball in the USFL before coming to the Bills, he didn't yet look like a polished superstar. Some fans that year didn't think he was a franchise QB either.

Dude, TT also averaged 8.0 yards per attempt - better than Brady, Brees, Cam, Rivers, Mariota, Bortles etc. What this means is that when TT drops back to pass, you should expect a better outcome than when Brady drops back. You can't blame TT for Roman's run first philosophy. Roman isn't a run-first guy because he doesn't believe in TT. He's a run-first guy because that's who he is. Roman also has a better reputation - and track record - at coordinating a running attack than aerial attack. None of this is TT's fault. TT's done very well with his chances.

I understand the frustration with TT. He never looked like Jim Kelly in his prime. He didn't demonstrate an ability to carry a team on his shoulders. He didn't complete a lot of passes over the middle. He didn't look like a guy who could throw for 300+ yards if you needed him to. And yet, he was good at what Roman asked him to do. Good enough to get invited to the Pro Bowl in his first year as a starting QB. Like DW, I'm not ready to anoint TT as our new franchise QB. But to call him a failure is way premature. Most of history's great QBs got better after their first year.

I'm not giving up on the future of football. But I agree, it's not as fun as it used to be. I worry about these guys and don't cheer hard hits anymore. I used to be a soldier. Death and life-long injuries go with the territory. Sadly, until people learn to live together in peace, that's just the way it is. But football is just a game. Death and life-long injury shouldn't be part of any game. I hope rule-changes and technology can save my favorite sport.

Yeah, I didn't mean to say that Wade single-handedly won the game. Players matter and Denver's D has some talented guys. But it was good to see that Wade won the chess match - and how he did it. Wondering what the Bills coaching staff might learn from this.

Interesting article about how Wade Phillips outschemed the Pats O. Blitz-happy Wade only blitzed on 1 of 6 plays and yet pressured the hell out of Brady. http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/14642395/gary-kubiak-wade-phillips-dialed-gem-get-bill-belichick-tom-brady-nfl

I've heard, of course, that Rex tried - and failed - to merge systems. But I hadn't seen this article before. Thanks for posting. Unlike much of the schlop in the media these days, this was pretty well-reasoned and informative. I still think it's interesting that Schwartz could get good productivity from these players and Rex couldn't. No matter how you slice and dice it, this year's disappointment is all on Rex. While the article does make me a bit more optimistic about 2016, I'm a long time snake-bitten Bills fan and perpetually in the I'LL BELIEVE IT WHEN I SEE IT mode these days.

I know he's been injury prone but I don't know why anyone would make the decision to cut him right now. Let's bring Goodwin to camp and see how he does in comparison to the other guys we bring in. His shortcomings may turn out to be less than some of the other guys we bring in, especially if we get a rash of injuries again. There's enough to him that I think it makes sense to let him compete for a roster spot. Though it wouldn't surprise - or dismay - me if he didn't make the squad this year.

Greed does rule the NFL... generally speaking. Businesses need profits the way you and I need food and water. But football teams, for some, are more than just business. As Pegs has said, if he wanted more money, he'd dig another well. The Pegulas didn't buy the Sabres or Bills to make more money. Neither is the best business opportunity out there. They bought them for the joy of owning a Buffalo sports enterprise. Their motivation was never greed. So no amount of losing will get them to consider moving. It will get them consider what they need to do differently to begin winning. Successful business people buy and do impractical things all the time. Their success allows them that luxury. Thank goodness the Pegulas allowed themselves the Bills as an impractical luxury. I'm not sure I'll see the Bills win a SB in my lifetime but I'm pretty confident I'll never see them move out of Buffalo.

Unlike many Bills fans, I don't hate the Pats. I'm just tired of them winning. I'd prefer to see the Bills win the SB. But minus the Bills, I'll root for almost any team that's not the Patriots.

Gruden once said he wanted to be an assistant coach for Chip, just to learn his system. Smart move by Modkins. If Modkins combines the best of Gailey with the best of Kelly, he'll be a good 'real' OC some day.

Most of us thought it was a bad trade at the time and still think so now. It used to bug me whenever I saw the 'hawks play but I'm finally over it.

I'm sure that's exactly why he took the job. Obviously, he knew he wouldn't be a fully-empowered OC. But he had the chance to get some familiarity in the role with a guy who's been at times a good OC. Congrats to Curtis. This should be another great learning experience for him.