hondo in seattle

I rarely watch college ball - not even bowl games. I mostly count on you guys to inform me about draft prospects. As a 65 year old guy, this is what I do on Saturdays: I meditate at 6 am. Then I gear up the husky and head out to the mountains for a 10-18 mile hike/trail run, typically with 2,000+ feet of elevation gain. Then I come home to rest, read, and write. Sometimes my wife and I go out to dinner at a restaurant we've never been to before, maybe even sample a cuisine we've never sampled before - most recently, Uyghur. Even the mafia has lives outside of football.

Growing up in Cheektowaga, the first game I ever saw on TV was not a Bills game, but a Browns game - back in the days of Leroy Kelly, Bill Nelson, and Paul Warfield. At the tender age of 9, I was a dual Browns-Bills fan and that lasted until 1995 when the treacherous snake, Art Modell, moved the Browns to Baltimore and called them the Ravens. I never really connected with the reconstituted Browns when they were formed 3 or 4 years later.

I played both "flanker" and "split end" in high school. On Sundays, I rooted for my favorite "halfback" - OJ. In my dad's time, there were other positions we don't hear much about anymore: "safety man," "wingback," "setback," "monster back"... Nowadays, we have wills and sams, h-backs and nickel backs, X's and Z's, slot corners and box safeties. Nose guards are now called nose tackles. "Defensive halfbacks" later became "cornerbacks" and are mostly called "corners" now. "Wedge busters" were made extinct by rule changes. It's funny how the positional names morph over time. When I think about "Edge," I think either about a DE or OLB who specialized in rushing the passer.

Moon had an arm! Threw for 500+ yards once running Houston's Run-and-Shoot offense. Undrafted out of UW but his pro career earned him recognition in both the CFL and NFL HOF.

As a former Browns fan, I remember him well and loved to watch him play. Sort of like CJ Spiller, if given space he was a dynamic scatback - though his stats don't jump off the page. He was an excellent receiver out of the backfield. And an exciting return man who held the NFL record for kick return yards for a while. Never attained 1,000 yards in a season as a RB but did as both a KR and receiver.

I guess somebody had to.

Over. I'm not excited by this trio and not confident in their production. I don't think any of them will hit double-digits. But I think/hope/pray that combined they'll produce more than 20 sacks - though I don't think it'll be much more.

A few names come to mind... I love watching RBs in action, so Jim Brown is a favorite. His off-the-field behavior wasn't always commendable, but on the field he was a force of nature. From my humble vantage point, Brown and Simpson were the two greatest running backs of all time. Drew Brees. I'm a Purdue alum so I followed Brees since college. And in the pros, he did what you want a QB to do: sling the ball. He threw for over 5,000 yards four times and more than 40 TDs twice. If not for Tom Brady and his rings, Brees with 80,000 career yards would be in the conversation for greatest QB of all time. Earl Campbell. This guy was a human battering ram. I loved the way he sacrificed his body for his team. For younger fans, think of King Henry - only tougher & better. Paul Warfield. When I was young, I fancied myself a wide receiver, and I was a Browns fan even before I was a Bills fan, so Warfield was my first football idol. He was such a graceful, athletic receiver who had been an all-conference RB in the Big Ten. Diggs averaged 11.1 per catch last year. Warfield was a deep threat who averaged 20+ yards/catch for seven consecutive seasons playing on two different teams. It didn't matter who was throwing him the ball; he was going to get the ball downfield.

Alpha, I personally didn't go bonkers. In fact, I didn't publicly say a thing. But I did silently think you were a bonkers homer optimist who saw an upside that wasn't there. Maybe it's too early for a mea culpa but I'm cautiously hopeful that you were right all along.

Agreed. Up to the midpoint of last season, I viewed Shakir as a jag. Nothing special. Borderline starter. Now I'm reassessing. He looked like a good starter during the second half of the season. Then again, I thought Gabe was a jag until that monster game against the Chiefs in the playoffs. I reassessed after that performance and shouldn't have. But Gabe outproduced Diggs in individual games here and there. Shakir, on the other hand, outproduced Diggs for a huge continuous chunk of the season so I'm hopeful he can continue his upwards trajectory. Last 10 Bills games: Receiving yards: Khalil Shakir (462) Stefon Diggs (422) Targets: Shakir (37) Diggs (80)

This is my worry. Well, one of my worries. My bigger worry is if Brady knows how to scheme guys open. If he does, I think Shakir's efficiency and production do scale up nicely.

And when he shines, he's better than all of them. Let's hope a healthy arm, better biomechanics, and a Joe Brady-designed scheme can improve the shine-to-struggle ratio.

I agree. Despite allowing the fewest sacks in the NFL this past season, the OL was not elite. I think if an analytics guy wants to devise a new passer rating system, they need to factor in the ability to avoid sacks and complete passes while under pressure. It's easy to perform well as a QB if you're in a clean pocket most of the time and simply take the sack when you're not. That's not Josh Allen. While the picks last season were a legit cause for concern, I think some of Josh's critics overemphasized the turnovers while underappreciating the bad plays that didn't happen when Josh avoided a sack.

Interesting comparison. Looking at the '17 roster now, I don't know how McD got that motlely crew into the playoffs. There is so much uncertainty in every offseason but this one more than most. At this point in the offseason, speculating about the roster is a Rorschak Test. I learn more about the person sharing their opinion than about the players. I can see, for example, that Shaw is an open-minded optimist while FireChans is a doomsday curmodgeon. There's a saying in India, "When a pick-pocket walks down the street, all he sees is pockets." Likewise, when a hungry man in America drives down a street, all he sees is restaurants. When a horny man drives down a street, all he sees is... well, never mind. The optimists amongst us keep finding reasons to be optimistic. The pessimist mafiosas keep finding reasons to grumble. I'm a registered Independent but lean optimist. I can easily find reasons why this year's receiving corps, OL, LBs, etc will be good. But, in the end, I really have no freaking idea. And as smart as all of us are, I think there's going to be some humble pie to eat by season's end. Each year gives us surprises and this football season will be very interesting.

He was 12 of 13 last year from 30-39. He was 4 of 6 from 40-49 yards. Not great. In the post-season he was 1 of 3 from 40-49. That hurt.

I don't agree with the OP but JerseyBills does have a right to his opinion and shouldn't be beat up for it. The fact that it's an optimistic, pro-Bills opinion only strengthens that right - at least in my mafia mind. And JB could be right. There is uncertainty in the WR room. Some guys may be more productive and add more value than we expect. Shakir - was more productive than Diggs over the second half of the season. Maybe he's primed for a breakout season. Claypool - once looked like an up-and-coming starting calibre wideout. Maybe this is the year he puts it all together. Samuel - never had a good QB throwing to him. Maybe this year he showcases his talent & versatility like never before. Coleman - never played in the NFL before. Maybe Beane is right and this guy turns out to be a productive beast. MVS - has speed that maybe allows Josh to make max use of his arm strength and puts fear into defenses, opening zones underneath. Kincaid, Knox, and Cook - are all also legit targets that maybe take some heat off the WR group. Lots of maybe's here but hope is the essence of fandom.

I agree, philosophically. My daughter just came back from a trip to Europe and I gave her crap for eating McDonalds one day. When in Europe: do European things, eat European food. And mostly, she did. But seeing a Bills game in London would be an exception for me. It seems like it'd be a great experience to see the Bills play overseas. I hope Virgil has an awesome time!

Good point. 4500 might have been the wrong number. But more, vaguely & metaphorically, I do believe if Andy Reid was our OC this season, he'd find a way to make lemonade with our lemons. It's not as if I have no worries about our receiving corps because I do. But I worry more about Brady. The offensive roster isn't ideal, but it has enough talent at the skill positions overall that Brady ought to be able to give us a good show.

You may disagree and I'm aware of the PFF grades, but in my estimation the OL has ranged from poor to mediocre during Josh's years. When Josh is so important to this team, he deserves a better bodyguard. Kincaid was a good addition, but outside of Diggs and Allen, in my eyes our offense has consisted mostly of jags. Our offense delivers good passing stats because we have Allen as our QB. Our offense deliver good running stats because we have Allen as our QB. Allen is the scariest runner on the team - the ball carrier defenses worry most about. The RBs often deliver decent YPCs because defenses are exclusively focused on Allen the passer and Allen the runner - not on our running backs. I agree, though, that Mahomes and Reid have had roster challenges to overcome as well.

Fair enough. A modern NFL teams runs about 60-62% of the time. I certainly wouldn't want to run more than 40% of the time when Josh Allen is the QB - except in situations like the Dallas game when the opponent is just giving up the run. I don't think McD or Brady want that either. I just want those 38% of plays that we run the ball to work. I want a good OL & blocking scheme that opens holes and backs who are dangerous. I want the opponent's defensive scheme to be more challenging & complicated than just having to stop Allen throwing intermediate-to-deep passes. If I'm being greedy, I want Brady not just to put together a good running game, I want to see a better short/timing pass game too.

We don't have an all-world receiving corps. But Shakir and Samuel are legit starters. We need one more. Between MVS, Claypool, and Coleman - there's a fair chance of them emerges as the third legit starter. And if teams do RB-by-committee, why not WR-by-committee? Andy Reid could get 4500+ yards out of this WR group. I'm hoping Brady can too.

As a guy that did want Daboll to use the run game more effectively, I want to clarify that point of view. Today's NFL is a passing league and the Bills probably won't have another QB as talented as Allen in my lifetime. There's no question that the offense needs to be built around his skills. However, I get tired of seeing 2 high shells, light boxes, and the general disrespect opponents have for our running game. I'm also concerned that we can't seem to convert 3rd and short without putting Allen at risk. I want our running game to be effective enough that other teams need to scheme for it, think about it, defend it. Having Thurman in the backfield made Kelly more effective. Having a legit run game will make Allen more effective. I don't want Josh to pass for less than 4500 yards. I want to make it easier for him to attain 4500 by having a diverse O that forces opposing teams to defend every possible playcall and every blade of grass.

They're both tremendous QBs. Both can both make jaw-dropping escapes and then deliver unbelievable throws 50 yards downfield. But Mahomes chooses the safe, high-percentage throw more often than Josh. Sometimes, especially in close games when the offense has been struggling, Josh presses. As I see it, the main difference between Josh and Pat isn't physical. It's mental. It's about decision making.

I think "parity" is something of a reality in the modern NFL. The difference between the haves and have-nots isn't as great as it used to be before free agency and the salary cap. And it's much harder to establish a dynasty now. I think the situation nowadays is that there are maybe 6 or so strong teams at the start of the team with a solid chance (around 1 in 10) of reaching the SB. The Bills are one of those teams. But KC is a unicorn. They have maybe the best offensive mind in the game paired with maybe the best QB. They've also had a great DC (Spags) for five years now who weirdly hasn't been stolen for a HC position. And they have strong FO that builds and sustains a strong overall roster. They're clearly not in that 10% crowd.

I agree... Sometimes Josh is superhuman. Sometimes he makes plays with his arm and/or legs and my jaw drops to the floor as I think, "No one else could do that!" But is that the true measure of a QB? Brady rarely made plays that other QBs couldn't make. But he was special for a long time because of his presnap reads, consistency, drive to win, ability to elevate the team around him, etc. When you put it all together, I think Mahomes is considered the best in the league for good reasons.