hondo in seattle

This makes me feel better about some of our bad contracts. (For example, paying Diggs $31 million to play for another team this season).

Here are my hopeful, homerish thoughts about Poyer & Hyde. First of all, the 2023 edition of Poyer & Hyde wasn't as good as previous versions. Replacing what they did together last season shouldn't be too hard. Secondly, Poyer & Hyde weren't stars when we signed them. They became one of the best safety tandems in the league when they came to the Bills and worked with McD. When opposing coaches talked admiringly about Hyde & Poyer, they didn't talk about their cheetah-like speed, super hero strength, or insane athleticism. Instead, they talked about their smarts, teamwork, communication, and ability to disguise coverage. It seems like these are all traits that McD can coach into their successors.

I know Brady has said he doesn't make players fit his scheme; he schemes to make use of his players' talents. And I know that there aren't an infinite number of wideouts available in free agency and the draft and sometimes you have to make do with table scraps. But I also think Brady gave McD and Beane an idea of what kind of receivers we'd ideally acquire in the offseason - like maybe a speedster (MVS), and a swiss-army type, multipurpose guy (Samuel), and another guy who's big and can make contested catches (Coleman), and so on. Every time we signed a wideout, I saw it as another puzzle piece. Maybe not the best puzzle piece we could hope for, but still one that would allow Brady to put together a coherent picture. I still have lingering doubts and fears. But I'm feeling some hope, too.

Leadership is not innate. It's a learned skill. The military trains it. So do many large corporations. It's not about transforming someone into something they're not. And it doesn't require you to learn to lose your youthful enthusiasm. It's about learning effective practices that help you positively impact the people you lead.

He makes a fair point. Some people have a perception that the best Tackles are Left Tackles. And Right Tackles are the 2nd best Tackle on the team. So the best Right Tackle in the NFL may be the 33rd best Tackle overall. It's like saying a wideout is the best #2 in the league. Faint praise, indeed. No wonder these guys don't get into the Hall.

Great question. Again, this is pure speculation. But based on what I've heard from Josh and his teammates, I think he can be a better leader. I'll use the Army's "11 Principles of Leadership" as a framework: Know yourself and seek self-improvement. Allen is pretty lackadaisical during the offseason. For example, he said he didn't work out for a couple of months after last season ended (though he did work on his mechanics). Some QBs use the offseason to work on their bodies and master their craft (hitting the gym, reading books, refining their nutrition plan, studying film, picking the brains of OCs and QBs, etc.). Be technically and tactically proficient. Allen knows our scheme inside and out. But he's said that he's not a film junkie nor does he closely read the reports on opponents produced by the analytics department. He's not as smart about opponents as some QBs. Develop a sense of responsibility among your subordinates. I don't think Josh sees this as his job. I get the impression that he believes it's up to the coaches to get guys to show up to practice, practice hard, study the playbook, and execute at a high level on game day. I hate to say this, but Tom Brady took this part of his job seriously. Josh is more "Aw, shucks," and buddy-buddy, as Graham wrote. Make sound and timely decisions. It's not exactly what the army is talking about, but Josh does not always make sound and timely decisions with the ball. As Kurt Warner has said more than once, Josh will be more effective when he gets in the habit of throwing the ball "on schedule." Set an example. Josh leads by example on game day. That's his leadership forte. He puts his body on the line for his team and I love him for it. But I'd like him to lead by example off the field as well by being a gym rat and film junkie. Know your people and look out for their welfare. Maybe - no idea. He does seem to be good at offsite team-building and bonding stuff. Keep your people informed. Maybe - no idea. Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions. Josh absolutely takes responsibility for his actions. But does he seek responsibility for the entire offense? Brees, Brady, P. Manning were described as mini OCs who were more than just the guy who threw the ball. They saw themselves as the leaders of their offenses and did whatever they could to get it to execute at a higher level. I'm not confident that Josh plays that role as robustly as some other QBs. Ensure assigned tasks are understood, supervised, and accomplished. I saw some sloppy route running last season and wondered: Is the OC doing anything to fix this? The position coach? Josh? Again, I don't think Josh saw this as his responsibility. Josh needs to be on the details. If a tackle lines up 4 inches too wide on a play, I want the QB to make sure it doesn't happen again. Train your people as a team. Diggs was a great player. But was he a great team player? I don't think so. And I'm guessing Josh didn't do anything to fix that. A good leader gets each player to set aside their personal crap, put the team first, and give the team their all. I don't think Josh provides a lot of that kind of leadership. If it's happening, I'm not hearing about it. Use the full capabilities of your organization. This is far more a Brady thing than a Josh thing and has to do with putting all your skills and weapons to use to secure victory. I won't fault Josh here. Maybe with Diggs gone, and Josh being another year older and more experienced, he'll play a bigger leadership role this year. And look, this assessment is just guesswork. Like Virgil said, players would run through a wall for Josh. There's far more good in Josh than bad. But I think there's still room for improvement.

I get this. When you look at the resumes of our wideouts, they're pretty weak compared to the CVs of the WRs on the better teams. But I think there may be reasons to be optimistic when you look at skill set, potential, and context. When you consider the backs and TEs as well as the wideouts, there's enough talent there for Brady to work with. We've got size, speed, catch radius, hands, and versatility in that group. I was NOT impressed with Brady's gig as an OC last year. But when I listen to him talk during the offseason, and when I listen to players and coaches talk about him, I'm encouraged. One thing that stands out to me is how often I've heard people say he's collaborative and likes to take suggestions from coaches and players. Apparently, he does this much more than Dorsey did. And it's a good trait because Brady might not be the smartest, most experienced coordinator in the NFL but the collective wisdom of Brady, his position coaches, and players is impressive if he can harness it. Finally, I'm optimistic because Josh Allen is our QB. He's going to make one of these receivers a star. Maybe more than one. I'm not convinced it'll all work out. There's a lot of uncertainty and I can see why the pessimists worry. But I'm nervously, cautiously expecting a passing attack that's at least as potent as last year's and maybe more.

Graham is a reputable reporter, but I don't believe any reporter 100%. Nonetheless... Last year, Allen said something about liking to lead by example. That's a good beginning, but it's not enough. This is pure speculation because I'm not in huddles, not in the locker room, not on the practice field, not in the QB room. But from my vantage point sitting at a desk in sunny California, Allen could help the team by playing a stronger leadership role. And maybe he's doing that this year.

It does seem hard to believe. Maybe they've done a good job of scheming him open? Or maybe he's been neglected by defenses? Or good at finding soft spots in zones? There's no great way to quantify separation but this is how NextGenStats measures it: Average Separation (SEP) The distance (in yards) measured between a WR/TE and the nearest defender at the time of catch or incompletion.

I stand by what I said. I never deleted the original post as you claimed. It's still there for all the world to see. I never presented my guesses as facts, as you claimed. They were always presented as speculation. And unlike you, I never made any unkind or disrespectful posts. I'm aware that opinions are like a-holes. We all have them and they all smell pretty bad sometimes - mine too. My gloating was never serious as I made clear. It's just football. It's a game. It's one that I enjoy but there are other things in my life that are far more consequential. Being right or wrong on a message board is meaningless. I do believe in this though: We Bills fans have suffered together. Tom Brady. 17 years of drought. 1 win seasons. 0 Lombardis... We ought to be a band of brothers. We ought to support eachother, console eachother, celebrate eachother. Apparently you and I don't see the world through the same lens.

Yeah, the "open" designation is a little wonky because it measures who's open 0.2 seconds before the QB releases the ball. Maybe the X receiver is just breaking open at that point and is thus scored "open." Maybe the Y receiver was already open 0.5 seconds ago as per the design of the play, but now the DB has closed on him so he's scored "not open." Maybe the Z receiver is running a more time consuming route and hasn't become open yet but would have if given another 0.2 seconds.

I acknowledge that comparing QBs from different eras is difficult. Not just nutrition and training - rules and schemes were different too. QB could be legally murdured back then. They got the crap brutally beat out of them, played with concussions... all that. QBs had to be tougher back in the day. As for training... Bills players back then used to have second jobs. Instead of training and refining their craft during the offseason, they worked as cars salesmen, tended bar, or did whatever they needed to do to pay the rent.

Correction: He was the AFL MVP once and the AFL championship game MVP twice. Still, this is a good argument and makes me rethink my original position that Kemp wouldn't command a big contract. But I still can't get over his imprecise passing. In 1964, for example, he was the AFL Championship Game MVP. But that same season, he only completed 44.2% of his passes - the lowest completion percentage of any qualifying AFL QB.

PT, I've been wrong about a lot of things which I happily admit. No one's right all the time. I don't know what my batting percentage is and don't care. I'll guess it's fairly good, like a lot of other informed fans, despite your low opinion. But even if I was only batting .200, it wouldn't matter. I'm just a fan and not paid to be right. I did NOT delete my initial post. It's still there, the first post in the thread. I did NOT present any unproven facts as facts. I made some speculations based on what we were all seeing. Sorry if you added up the same observations and came to the wrong conclusion. I was NEVER laughed off the board. I'm here reading and posting shamelessly nearly ever day. The soldiers I went to war with, the people I've worked with, my friends and family know my true character. This board is a lark, a hobby. It both informs and amuses me, whether people agree with me or not. When people agree with me, it does nothing for my overall self-esteem or general happiness. When people disagree, again it does nothing for my self-esteem or happiness. Even your ill-informed attack only made me smile because it's so delightfully warped.

I guess different people measure separation differently. According to Cover 1: Curtis Samuel, 5’11” 195 pounds Signature Stat: Tied for 13th among all WRs in Avg Separation at 3.3 yards. The 3.3 figure may come from NextGenStats. Here's how they ranked our current and recent receivers for the 2023 season: Kincaid 3.8 Shakir 3.5 Samuel 3.3 Diggs 2.8 Davis 2.8 Knox, Hollins and MVS didn't have enough targets in 2023 to qualify for the NextGenStats ranking. In 2022: Knox: 4.3 Hollins: 3.0 MVS: 2.8 According to NextGenStats, neither Diggs nor Davis - both with below average separation - gave Josh many easy completions last year. Maybe this is part of the reason they're both gone. www.cover1.net/free-agent-profile-wide-receiver-curtis-samuel/ nextgenstats.nfl.com/stats/receiving/2023/REG/all#yards

I get your point. I read camp reports sometimes but not all the time. Besides the items you listed, when I do read the reports I'm looking for health clues, specifically how Milano and Miller look. I'm also searching for hints on how the WR battle is shaking out.

TRUE: "Can’t compare stats though because receivers could get mugged back then under the rules." FALSE: "Top 5... Kemp would be a Josh-like guy with a great arm and running ability." Kemp was a tough player and a great leader according to those who played with him. But his accuracy and completion percentage were bad even for his era.

Gunner, just curious - where are you getting this information from? As I recall, Samuel had an average separation of 3.3 yards last year. Diggs was only 2.8 yards. I'm pretty sure I remember that correctly but I'll have to find the source. In any case we agree that he struggled to get open the second half of the season. (And the second of the previous season).

I agree, assuming you meant Pete Carroll. I'd be more interested in coaches than players. I don't care about the bro stuff. I want to hear about leadership philosophies, schemes, and all that.

I think it was homerism combined with confirmation bias. Fans wanted to believe everything was good. And then they saw some pic of Diggs and Allen fist-bumping, or whatever, and found that as proof that everything was good. All the while ignoring the obvious signs that something was rotten in One Bills Drive.

For the HBO titillation factor, I think the players of the 1960s and 70s would have the most scandalous stories of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. But for the cerebral fan, I think reading Bill Belichick's account would be great, as much as I hated the Pats dynasty.

If Josh has a season ending injury, we're screwed. There are no backups who can approximate what Josh means to this offense. Even if we limped into the playoffs, we wouldn't go far. But if Josh is out for a few games with a minor injury, hopefully Trubisky can go .500 and keep us in the playoff picture.

Maybe stevewin and I are wrong and Josh will line up at center sometimes and Dion at wideout. If that happens, I'm come here for my mea culpa. But I'm pretty sure Brady just meant we don't have a designated X, Y, or Z. In his mind, wideouts are wideouts.

That was GunnerBill.

I'm wrong so often (I thought Sherfield would be a good addition), that I have to celebrate my good takes. I agree. Beane's admitted there's more to the story than cap management. Of course, there is. Even in the NFL, paying a guy $31 million is a big deal. Beane's paying Stef $31 million to play for another team. We don't have all the details but something stunk.