hondo in seattle

Good to hear McGovern say this before his injury: "[Buffalo is a] complete 180 [from Dallas]. It’s been the best [coaching] I’ve had in my career from college all the way up. [Kromer] gets into the small, little details, and I’ve never really had somebody pick things apart. It’s not, ‘Hey, just block your guy.’ It’s, ‘Get your punch up a couple inches to the V-neck of the jersey.’ Just those little things.” www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/mcgovern-reveals-complete-180-from-cowboys/ar-AA1fNbSJ

It's a curious take and he knows it. Of course, opinions are like anuses, and everyone has one. I think he's swinging for fences with his argument that Bill O' Brien will revitalize the offense and propel the Pats into first place of the AFCE. No one will give you credit for picking the Bills. We've owned the AFCE for a few years now. Picking the Fins or Jets may be a sexy option because of the improvements to their rosters. But if Orr is right about the Pats, he can lay claim to being the NFL's new Nostradamus.

Without being on the practice field, in the meeting rooms, in the locker room, and on the sideline, I don't know how you're supposed to competently evaluate the Bills leadership. From the bits and pieces I hear from players, McD seems to possess good leadership skills. But I wouldn't assert that confidently without far more first-hand knowledge. As for player leaders, I have no idea.

Great post but I'm not sure why the 49ers are the measuring stick. There are only two measuring sticks I care about: wins & Lombardis. Beane and McDermott have done a marvelous job getting us more wins. Before them, as we all painfully know, we went 17 years without a playoff appearance, let alone a playoff win. I deeply appreciate Beane and McD because they deliver more regular season wins than losses, and typically add a win or two in the playoffs. But we remain Lombardi-less. I just hope they can finish the job and get us a trophy.

I don't listen to most commentators but when a legendary Bills lineman talks about the line, I pay attention.

On D that's the problem. The bigger problem on offense is that - until maybe this year - we've only had two great players: Josh and Diggs. Beane's offenses have been manned mostly by jags. Some of the O Linemen who have started for us don't even deserve that appellation.

I think the reason McD has so many detractors is because many mafiosos overrate our roster. If Beane built a SB roster, we ought to be playing in SBs. But he hasn't (yet), and we're not (yet). I tend to agree with Simms: outside of QB (and, obviously, that's a huge thing to leave out), Miami's roster has the edge.

Well, this is why I take the talking heads in the media with a grain of salt. The only guys I pay attention to a little are the guys who are former HCs and GMs. But even when these smart men speak, I acknowledge they know a million times more about the NFL than I do, but I'm not necessarily convinced they know more about the current Bills squad. Many of us here intensely focus on just one team and get to know that team pretty well. My opinion of our players rarely changes even a degree when I hear the national gurus compliment or critique them. And I yawn when the network voices predict either success or failure for our team.

Consistency is important.

Yikes, Mike, this is harsh. Personally, there are few people on earth that cause me to say, "I really can't stand these people" (ill feelings are an emotional/psychological anchor I don't want). Buck and Aikman certainly don't make the list.

I've been saying this for a long time. Josh is the most valuable player on the team. We need to give him a capable bodyguard. A good offensive line does all sorts of things for us: * Give Josh more time to throw. * Gives WRs more time to get open. * Gives Dorsey more options (sometimes, he seems to like slow developing plays). * Gives the RBs lanes to run through. * Diversifies our offense and makes it more potent by making the running game a real threat (what do you defend?) * Allows us to grind out first downs in bad weather games. * Allows us to wind down the clock in the 4th quarter when we have a lead. * PROTECTS JOSH ALL FROM INJURY!

Some random thoughts... I think some people undervalue Frazier's contributions. Yes, he had his faults. But he certainly added value in some performance areas that will now suffer. We don't know how McD has delegated his duties. Al Holcomb has the title, "Senior Defensive Assistant." It's a vague title but, clearly, he's not burdened with the responsibilities of being a position coach. I'm going to guess - and it is just a guess - Holcomb performs a lot of Frazier's old admin and organizational duties. McD, though, will be the chief designer of each week's defensive game plan and will call plays. I don't think McD, because of the way he's delegated stuff out, has overburdened himself. But I'll also guess that he ultimately ends up deciding he likes having a titled DC and either hires or promotes one next year.

From Hugh Freeze, Oher's high school football coach at Briarcrest: “I know this: If Michael called Sean right now and said let’s work this thing out, Sean and Leigh Anne would be there in a hurry to hug his neck and tell him he’s loved." ww.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/michael-oher-s-former-high-school-coach-has-cryptic-admission/ar-AA1fwkgX?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=77e933e089ee4f858825349a249f64b0&ei=14

Let's say we have one of the top five rosters in the league. Theoretically, the best two rosters go to the SB so that leaves us cold. On offense, we only have two elite players: Allen and Diggs. The rest of our offense has been composed of jags. We haven't had any elite linemen and overall, our OL is below average. To maximize Josh's talents, and keep him healthy, we need a much better OL. Our secondary could have been good last year if it hadn't been obliterated by injury. Our DL couldn't get pressure once Von got hurt. I'm not sure where you see all this roster greatness. It's a good roster for sure - just not SB quality. Given the injuries, we weren't even 13-3 quality last year yet McD got us 13 wins. I know your mind's made up and I respect your knowledge of the Bills. But on McD, you and I (and others) will just have to disagree.

McD has taken a lot of criticism from the fans over the past couple years, some of it well-deserved. But Beane has yet to give him a Super Bowl quality roster. Just take one position group as an example: OL.

Since you mentioned sample size, let's talk about it. Last year, we McD won 13 of 16 regular season games. Yesterday, we played poorly in a preseason game.

Younger folks don't understand how preternaturally special OJ was as a player (ignoring for a moment how horrible he was as a human being). While today we talk about franchise quarterbacks, in the old days most offenses were built around running backs. RBs won more Heismans than QBs and were the #1 overall draft pick more often. In those day, the best athletes became RBs. Back then defenses were designed to stop RBs unlike the defenses of today that are schemed more for the pass. So forget nickel and dime. You needed more guys at the line of scrimmage to prevent the likes of Jim Brown and OJ from getting into the open field where they'd destroy you. And LBs back then weren't small rangy guys with good coverage skills. They were hulking, violent thumpers like Dick Butkus, Mike Singletary, and Jack Lambert who would hit you so hard that your internal organs would burst out your anus. And rules favored the defense back then. For example, hash marks were spread further apart, making sweeps and other wide plays predictable. And blockers couldn't use their hands like they can today. Rules allowed for more brutal tackling back then, too (you could lead with your helmet, etc.). In his time - at the tail end of the golden era of RBs - OJ stood head-and-shoulders above his talented peers. In 1973, OJ nearly doubled the rushing output of the next-best guy (2003 yards vs. 1144). What RB, before or since, has ever been that dominant? As a matter of fact, what QB has ever been that statistically dominant? Certainly not Brady, the consensus GOAT - he was never close to OJ's level of superiority. OJ's dominance was unmatched. Bills opponents schemed, practiced, and planned with one thing in mind: slow OJ down. They put Pro Bowl spies on him. But OJ was an unstoppable Force of Nature.

First of all, I agree with you that the Bills will still have a good season. And I have not given up on the SB. In fact, I probably consider our chances somewhat better than last year. But as far as having your cake and eating it too... Obviously, it's a challenge to build a good roster with the constraints of the salary cap. But if I could change just one of Beane's choices, it would be the signing of Von Miller. As much as I like Von, I think that money could have been better spent elsewhere - like on the offensive line. Considering your avatar, I know I'm preaching to the choir when I say the OL is that important. A good OL would create holes for our backs which would make our offense more multifaceted and dangerous (and more potent on bad weather days). It would give more time for Josh to throw which would give the receivers more time to get open. And, importantly, it would protect Josh from injury. I'm not whining about MLB or WR#2 or RB#1 or our other roster shortfalls. Just OL. I think it should be a bigger priority.

Of course, this is true. But if you have Lombardi aspirations, I think you want a better OL than the one you have right now. Josh Allen is both the most expensive player on the field and the most valuable. He needs a capable bodyguard. I wasn't hoping for a good OL this year, merely an average one. With our OTs, I question if we can even attain mediocrity. And if Dawkins gets hurt... well, that's a frightening thought.

If they were content, I don't think they would have signed Shell if the offseason. With Shell's sudden retirement, I imagine they are discontent - as they should be.

Some quotes from Lewis... “Everybody should be mad at the Hollywood studio system. Michael Oher should join the writers strike. It’s outrageous how Hollywood accounting works, but the money is not in the Tuohys’ pockets.” “What I feel really sad about is I watched the whole thing up close. They showered him with resources and love. That he’s suspicious of them is breathtaking. The state of mind one has to be in to do that — I feel sad for him.”

Really?

The story keeps getting sadder and sadder.

I don't know, LeGOATski. I've been following football for 50+ years. From what I've seen, players - including good ones - sometimes get into scraps in camp for all sorts of reasons. I don't think you can read a lot into it.

I agree it's nonsensical, but I'm not convinced it's entirely about the money. I think maybe Oher feels hurt because someone convinced him the Touhy family used him. But it's hard to know motivation unless you know Oher personally. In any case, it's a sad situation. Oher used to be family with the Tuohy's. Seems that's over. Bad for all sides.