hondo in seattle

If you don't have $5mil for TT's place, you can buy this 1,000-foot, 100-year-old house in Palo Alto for barely half the price... Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead once rented the home and he let Bob Weir live in the garage. Hewlett-Packard was founded in a different garage just a few blocks away.

Coaches shouldn't lose their jobs when the team is losing. They should lose their job when the team is underperforming vis-a-vis the strength of the roster.

You can find great people, great posts, and great insight on TBD and that's why I keep coming here. What disappoints me are the other people who get hostile when you have an opposing opinion or get a fact wrong - or insist you got a fact wrong when you didn't. Buffalo is called The City of Good Neighbors." I think all Buffalonians, actual and honorary, ought to live by that tagline. We've suffered together through 1-win seasons, four SB losses, a 17-year drought, 13-seconds, and a host of other hardships together. We ought to be a Band of Brothers who support and respect each other.

I'm currently in CA but have family in Seattle and love the city. Looking hard at that one.

Cool he's training with Moulds. Seems driven... head's on straight... gotta root for him. I wonder, of all the players on the team, why the Bills decided to do an in-depth video on Shakir.

I chose the 1920-1921 Buffalo All-Americans of the early NFL. Somehow they lost only one scheduled, sanctioned game in the first two years of the league and yet were never crowned champs. They acquired the nickname, "All-Americans," because of the ridiculous number of All-American collegiate players who joined the squad. I admit I'm being a homer by chosing the All-Americans but they truly were a powerhouse... In 1920, the All-Americans outscored their opponents 258 points to 32. But lost the league title when we tied the eventual champs, the Akron Pros, in the last game of the season. They had strange rules back then. In 1921, we finished the season undefeated, outscoring our opponents 218 to 19. There were no playoffs in those days and we became league champs by having the best record. Or so the team and local newspapers thought. But then the All-Americans owner, Frank McNeil, then scheduled an exhibition game against Dayton in Buffalo one day and another exhibition in Chicago the following day. Some players choose not to embark on a 500-mile train ride just for an exhibition game. Others were fatigued by two back-to-back games and a long trip. The exhausted team lost to Chicago 10-7. After some additional maneuvering, politicking, and general unfairness, the league decided to count the exhibition games. The league title was awarded to Chicago in what’s known as the Staley Swindle. Tommy Hughitt (QB/Coach). Tommy was an athletic quarterback but truly excelled as a player-coach. His NFL winning percentage of .694 is 6th all-time, ahead of legends like Don Shula, Bill Cowher, Bill Walsh, Joe Gibbs, Tony Dungee, Bill Belichick, and Andy Reid. According to some reports, Hughitt was the first NFL coach to employ a spread offense. Elmer “Catchy” Oliphant (HB) led the NFL in scoring, FGs, PATs, and TD passes 1921. He still holds collegiate scoring records at both Purdue and West Point where he excelled in a variety of sports and once held the low-hurdle world record. Luke Urban (End) was named to All-Pro teams in 1920, 1922, and 1923. A gifted all-around athlete, he attended college at Boston College where he starred in football, basketball, baseball, and hockey and was a captain of three of those teams. Long before Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders, Urban played both football and baseball professionally. Bob Nash (Tackle/End) once knocked Jim Thorpe out while tackling him, though he knocked himself out on the same play. Buffalo thrashed Thorpe's team 57-0 that fine day. Ockie Anderson (HB/QB) was the NFL’s second-leading scorer in 1920 and individually outscored four teams. In 1921 he led the league in TDs and was once again the NFL’s second-leading scorer, trailing only his Buffalo teammate, Elmer Oliphant.

I don't disagree. Some had lingering injury concerns. Some were expensive. Some were just aging out. Beane had to make some moves. But Morse, Poyer, White, and even Diggs were considered leaders by some of their teammates. Someone has to fill the void.

Apologies for taking the remarks out of context. I never suggested that McD was going to develop new wrinkles that put our offense over the top. Not even close. I just said he's not over his head when it comes to NFL offenses. Besides that, I agree with you. I try to pay attention to what players say - and don't say. A lot of players praise McD as a head coach and leader - his preparation, hard work, etc. What I don't hear much about is X and O acumen. In comparison, I've heard lots of comments from players and coaches alike about Greg Roman being a genius at scheming up a run game or Kyle Shanahan being a genius at scheming up a passing game or Belichick being a genius at more or less everything (according to some). Players and coaches are mostly silent on McD's tactical genius. So I'm guessing he's solid at X's and O's but not among the very best. I think his strengths are preparation for game day, building teamwork, and getting guys to execute.

I think this is a great question. Without being in the locker room with the guys, it's hard to say who might emerge as a leader this season. We certainly need someone to step up with all the veteran leaders we've lost. In the past, Allen has said he displays his leadership by his play on the field. While leading by example is important, it's not the be-all/end-all of leadership. We need players who get other players to commit to "the process," pay attention in the meeting rooms, and execute on the practice field as well as the game field. I don't know if Josh has done a lot of that previously but he did say that he'll take a bigger role this year. I agree with most of your assessments. And in another thread, I advocated for Hyde's return for the very same reason: his leadership. If he wasn't 40 years old, I'd want Kyle Williams back too.

I don't disagree with anything you say here and you make some strong points. I suppose where I disagree is I might have more faith in Beane and McD than you do. Here's what I mean... You might assess the odds of Claypool working out as 500-1. When they signed him, they might have assessed them as more like 5-1. I don't think they saw him as a sure thing given his history. But if they didn't think there was some reasonable chance, they wouldn't have signed him and wasted a roster spot. So I'm thinking Beane and McD know something that we don't that gives them greater confidence than Claypool's checkered history would seem to warrant. That's why I'm holding out hope. And he seems to be off to a good start. McD doesn't hand out praise like candy so I took note when he said this: "Very impressed with Chase, really just starting with his approach... He's very focused... [He's] on a mission, right now, to reclaim what he once was... Very impressed with his day-to-day approach, true pro, high character, smart player and been a good addition to the team."

Actually, I agree. As I was reading the Yahoo article, one of my thoughts was, "He sounds like Diggs. Only worse. And we just ate $31m to be done with Diggs!" So I started wondering what kinds of conversations took place between Claypool, Beane, and McD. Claypool must have impressed them that he's a changed man or else they wouldn't be giving him a chance. And the way McD has praised him, it sounds like we're off to a good start. I also wondered what Claypool's agent has said and done to help him. Because if I was his agent, I would have sent him to anger management classes and then hired a Life Coach with an advanced degree in psychology. Some players lack some of the physical skills it takes to succeed in the NFL and spend time working on those in the offseason. Claypool has lacked the emotional skills so maybe he's worked on those in the offseason? Or maybe adversity has forced him to grow up? We'll see. He has the physical talent to be an NFL starter but - so far - the emotional maturity of a high schooler. I'm sort of splitting the middle and guessing he earns a roster spot but as a backup.

You previously wrote that Claypool "repeatedly proven himself to be a loser" as if this guy is a total and perpetual failure in life with a long rap sheet of losing. Now you're saying he's a loser technically just once and realistically just twice. I feel like we're making progress! To each his own, but I don't like hanging definitive, immutable labels on people I don't personally know, especially in the face of contradictory evidence. As a football player, Claypool was a winner both in high school and college. And while he didn't set the world on fire, two of his four seasons in the NFL have been statistically decent. Teammates and coaches have spoken highly of his talent, work ethic, and will to win. They've also spoken about his bad temper. If Beane and McD didn't think there was some hope that he could turn things around, they wouldn't have him on the roster. Whether he does or not, remains to be seen. I'm keeping an open mind and, as a Bills fan, hoping for the best.

Way over his head? DC's have to be experts in offensive schemes. How can you stop an offense if you don't understand it? And who is better equipped to scheme against a defense than a defensive expert? I think it's safe to say that McD knows more about NFL offenses than 99.9999 of the people on the planet. Put me in charge of an NFL offense and I'll be in way over my head. McD is not in over his head. Bill Belichick, former DC, tinkered with the Pats offense all the time. On the whole, it worked out okay for him.

I did learn one thing from this thread: Douglas misses OTAs because he wants to spend time with his kids. I won't blame a guy for that.

Mup, the kid isn't lazy per se. But he is hot-tempered and emotionally immature. There's an article on Yahoo that I think presents a fair and balanced version of Claypool's NFL journey up to the time he was with the Bears (link below). He reminds me of Diggs - a talented, hard-working guy who hates losing and sometimes lets his emotions make him a bad teammate. Like Diggs, he hates when teammates get comfortable with losing. And like Diggs, some of his complaints have been valid. But that doesn't mean it's good for the team to air them out. And if Claypool is Diggs II, he's been an inferior copy: less production, more problems. Claypool has good qualities too - as an athlete and a human. I'm hoping he's smart enough to see how his bad temper and immaturity have derailed his career - and decides to make amends. Last season must have been a huge punch in the gut for him - hopefully an eye-opening one. I'm also hoping Buffalo's strong culture and leadership bring out the best in him. Whatever you may think of McD, he's not a milquetoast. And a lot of players seem to like Brady and appreciate his communication skills. Buffalo just might be what Claypool has been searching for at the time he was finally ready to find it. As a Bills fan, my fingers are crossed. sports.yahoo.com/bears-chase-claypool-saga-happened-003109392.html

He's had two reasonably good seasons (>800 yards). He had one mediocre season (450 yards). He had one 'loser' season (<100 yards). The trend line isn't good but he was reasonably good in half the seasons he's played. A person could argue that there's a 50-50 chance he'll have a decent season in 2024. Even if he matched his mediocre year with us, I'd be glad to get that kind of production from a guy who'll presumably be a backup. But given his age (25), the fact that Josh is his QB, and he's finally removed his head from his butt (one can hope), it's not inconceivable that he'll match or surpass his previous best.

I like to hope for the best and in this case, I hope Claypool makes the squad because he proves the he'll be a productive receiver AND a great teammate.

I'd be surprised if these 6 aren't on the final roster.

Agreed. Especially, when you could get this sixty-six-year-old 1,970 sq ft home in California for the same price...

I want to attend the Bills home game against the Fins in 2074. I'm in my 60s now so I think that would be fun. Barring that: Just one before I die. You know what I mean. I don't even need to be there. Just watching on TV at home would be enough.

I agree with pretty much everything you say except perhaps the last line. I think that remains to be seen. With Beane up against the cap as it is, I doubt if Beane will want to spend money at that position. And here's the Catch-22. If Cook has a great year, Beane will want to re-sign him. But if Cook has a great year, Beane won't be able to afford to re-sign him. If Cook has a bad year, then it's an easy to decision to roll with Ray Davis on a cheap rookie contract.

That's a fair point (though I might have preferred a power back for us). But when you think about cap management, do you pay him when his contract is up? I mean, ideally, our backfield would consist of Josh, a Thurman Thomas clone as HB and a Cookie Gilchrist clone at FB when we use a FB. But if Thomas and Gilchrist clones were available, we couldn't afford them except on rookie contracts. If you're a GM building a team, you have to economize somewhere. I think Beane's decided to economize at the RB position. I think he's decided that we can either be great at passing or great at running - but not both. And, for obvious reasons, he's decided he wants us to be great at passing. It's not true in every case, but Beane has tended to get us linemen who our better in pass-pro than run-blocking. After all, we do have Josh. The passing game is the priority.

In the 1960s, the best athletes became RBs. Nowadays, the best athletes become RBs and DBs. That doesn't mean that all RBs are created equal but the difference between a very good back and an average back isn't all that great and not worth the salary differential when you're trying to build a passing attack. I think Beane sees his 1567 total yards is a result of the offense Cook plays, not a measuring stick of his talent. While Cook had 1,500 yards of offense, Allen had nearly 5,000. Who are opponents scheming to stop? Other teams game-planned to stop Allen. They game-planned to cover Diggs. Cook was an afterthought. Just look at the two-high shells, 4-2-5, and other soft defenses we faced. In the old days, the D's Allen often saw across the LOS would have been called "Pass Prevent." A little perspective... Thurman got over 2,000 yards rushing and receiving in a 16-game season when he was a focal part of the offense. OJ rushed for over 2,000 yards in a 14-game season against run-first defenses when he was the offense. Cook gained 1,500 yards rushing and receiving against Pass Prevent defenses in a 17-game season when he was the threat Ds didn't worry about. It's a nice accomplishment but not special. I personally don't think Beane sees Cook as irreplaceable. That's my guess though I'm hoping Cook proves me wrong by gaining over 2,000 this year and making Beane and me rethink our positions.

The next time I need financial advice, I'm coming to the Xavier Worthy tread!

That was an impressive series. Wish we had a guard like that. RIP