hondo in seattle

I think Booker is on the Wall of Fame.

It's a surprisingly solid list. I was wondering what number I should take when the Bills sign me as the NFL's oldest FA (a mere 64). Seems my chances of being the best at any jersey number are pretty slim but Carwell Gardner might be the weak link.

I hope you're right. Even as someone who worries about their relationship, I think there's been a lot of questionable opinions circulating in the media without a lot of hard evidence. We know about Diggs blowing up on the sideline and having some kind of unspecified issue at training camp. The rest is circumstantial and speculative. Allen has already said there's no problem. I'd love for Diggs to publicly reinforce that. Or, better, see what you described, Diggs and Allen hugging after a big score and then laughing on the sidelines. I think, given our cap limitations, Beane did a nice job upgrading an already talented offensive roster. I'd hate for an interpersonal problem to slow us down.

I'm not sure how much Colin Cowherd ever knows what he talks about. But he's been talking about the Diggs-Allen relationship again: "Once a relationship between a quarterback and receiver goes south, you can't unsour the milk. You gotta throw the milk out and you’re not getting rid of quarterbacks, and in most cases the wide receivers leave. www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/colin-cowherd-bills-are-preparing-themselves-for-life-without-stefon-diggs/ar-AA1dJHiC?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=b392184f52c54283a2b6bdcab0b9bada&ei=24

When I watched OJ, Walter Payton, Joe Montana, or Payton Manning play, I knew I was privileged to observe a HOF talent do their work. I never felt that way about Luck, though I admit the stats are impressive. I vote no.

Years ago, a new coach was hired for an ailing basketball program. The coach quickly turned the team around and got them into the playoffs. Unfortunately, he seemed to have no knack for playoff competition. His team was consistently outcoached and outplayed when it became win-or-go-home. Although the team was winning more regular season games than before, some fans wanted the coach fired. The goal wasn't a playoff appearance. The goal was a championship and the coach wasn't delivering one. They had waited 15 years with this clown. If he was going to win a championship, he would have won one by now. Time for a change, they said. Well, Coach Wooden finally gave them a championship. In fact, he gave them 10 national championships in a period of 12 years. Happily, the UCLA AD hadn't listened to the fans who had wanted Wooden's head. To win a Lombardi, you need a good roster and you need a good coach. But you need the stars to align, too. Because there are variables outside the coach's control, there is no one path for coaches to get to the championship. There are guys like Pederson who won the Super Bowl in his 2nd year as a head coach and then fell into sustained mediocrity. And then there are guys like Andy Reid, who didn't win the Lombardi till his 21st season but has won twice now.

Aaron needs to come out of retirement.

Harris will have more carries than Cook. Sherfield with have more catches than Shakir.

The Bills reach the Super Bowl but many fans still call for McD's termination.

I don't remember this show but it had Scatman Crothers, Casey Kasem, Paul Winchell, Richard Dawson, and other star voice talents.

Agreed. Maybe we'll see some Big Nickel?

That's why we signed Rapp.

Emmit's greatest talent was longevity. He never had a season where I personally thought he was the best RB that year.

I agree with everything you wrote. I tend to think OJ was the greatest runner of all time - or perhaps second behind Jim Brown. But Thurm was a tremendous all-purpose back. He could run, catch, and block. He'd be perfect in this offense.

You make pronouncements that you pass off as facts. They are not. The data can be interpreted in different ways. I began my post with the preamble of "statistical gymnastics" because there are lies, damn lies, and statistics. Stats are just numbers. You can use them to tell nearly any story you want. But here's the statistical story I believe: stability pays off. Over the past 50 years, the average Steeler coach lasted for about 17 years. Their three coaches won 6 Lombardi's. In the same period, our average HC lasted about 2.8 years. Our endless parade of coaches have never won a Lombardi. Being decisive - often considered a good trait in many situations - and quickly pulling plugs is not a smart strategy to take with HCs. Patience and perseverance pay off. The average team has a 3% of winning the Super Bowl. Good GMs and HCs can increase their probability to maybe 10%. It took Beane and McD two, or three years to reach that level. They've been at that level for maybe 3, maybe 4, years now. From a mathematical perspective, it's not time to panic. You don't fire the coach that brought you from 0-1% to 10% just because he hasn't hit on his 1-in-10 shot yet. There is no one path to the Super Bowl. Of those Steeler coaches, Cowher won in his 14th season. Tomlin won in his 2nd. They both contributed in their own way to Pittsburgh's enviable haul of six trophies.

Statistical gymnastics... There is a 3% chance each year of any particular team winning the SB. This is McD's 7th year. Of coaches who have coached in the Super Bowl era, roughly 25% (20 of 780) who coached for 7 or more years win a Super Bowl. Roughly half (13 of 27) of all coaches who coach for 13 or more years win a Super Bowl. The longer we hang on the McD, the better the odds.

I don't think we'll match last year's 13-3 record. I think we overachieved a bit in the regular season last year, given all the key injuries we had. And we're facing a tougher schedule this year. But I do think, barring significant injuries, we'll field a better team. And that bodes well - hopefully - for the playoffs.

Not "smart enough?" Younger guys who grew up in the 90's are smarter? Interesting perspective. If it's "all offense" as you say, then this is how you need to beat the Bengals or the Chiefs and their potent offenses: You have to slow those offenses down. And that requires defense. So even if it's "all offense," defense still wins games. Leaving special teams aside (sorry, Task), there are two critical battles on a gridiron. Their offense versus our defense. Their defense versus our offense. Each battle is equally important. If you win both battles, you ought to win the game. If you win one of two, the game can go either way. Both defense and offense are equally essential for wins. So, if I'm Beane or McD, I'm putting a lot of effort into improving both. In the Cinci game, both squads let us down. The offense was hampered by the weather, Josh's elbow, and a crap OL. The defense was hampered by guys not playing, or not playing 100%. The optimist in me sees us playing better on both sides of the ball this year.

Sometimes things just don't work out. FAs find higher bidders. Agents miscommunicate. Some players don't like certain cities, teams, coaches... Maybe a WR you want seems uninterested, so you sign someone else at a different position, and then the WR's agent comes back to you when it's too late cap-wise. It's not like shopping at the store. There are a lot of variables and what's on the shelf changes almost daily. On the whole, Beane did well this offseason, but you're right for wishing they did more at wideout. I don't see any of the pundits ranking our WR duo among the top of the league. No one ranks our OL very high either. When you have a QB like Allen, you want him to have a good bodyguard and good targets. So if I want to get controversial, I'll question the Von Miller signing. He's a good guy and a future HOFer. But that $120,000,000 could have gotten us a good #2WR.

That's true. But the two new RBs combined cost less than a "significant starting WR." On a limited budget and with some draft picks, Beane upgraded the offense. The OL is better. Our stable of backs is better. Kincaid adds another dimension at TE. The depth at WR is better though our disappointing #2 remains the same. If our QB stays healthy, we'll improve at that position, too, since he obviously had UCL problems last year. The offensive roster is far from perfect, but Dorsey has enough to work with that we ought to put up a lot of points.

I'm high on Harris for something other than stats. Though I concede my impression of him is largely based on Bills games - which are weirdly the best games of his career. But from what I've seen, compared to Motor, Harris is bigger, faster, and stronger. Harris is a much better inside runner for sure - and we need that - but he's a capable outside runner too with some burst. As for stats, the Pats run a far more balanced offense than ours. Our offense revolves around Josh - primarily as a passer but also as a runner. In fact, Josh has been the only runner Bills that opponents actually fear and game-plan against. The running backs in Buffalo are an afterthought. And that's why Motor has such a healthy YPC number. He plays against light boxes, DEs who focus entirely on Josh, and LBs whose first step is backward rather than forward toward the ball carrier. NE's opponents actually take Patriot RBs seriously and gameplan against them. It's therefore harder for Pats RBs to achieve good YPC numbers than Bills RBs.

I know racism is real and has real effects on fandom. But I don't think it's the operative thing here. Fitz is loved because he's Fitz. His personality makes him a very likable guy. As you mention, Fitz showed a love for the community that TT didn't show. How many times have we heard Fitz explain his deep appreciation for the fans of Buffalo? What other QB has shown up in the stadium, shirtless, cheering his heart out for the Bills? The love for Fitz transcends our love for (white) JP Losman, (white) Trent Edwards, (white) Doug Flutie, and (white) Drew Bledsoe not mainly because he was a better QB but because he's a more ebullient person. If I was asked which QB from the drought era I'd want to quarterback the Bills again, of course, I'd say none of them. But if forced to choose, I'd consider picking Tyrod because I do recognize the talents he possessed. But if asked which QB I'd want to hang out with, it would be an easy decision: Fitz because of his fun-loving personality. Incidentally, in 2016, the Bills finished 10th in the league in scoring with TT under center. It was an above-average offense. 2016 was the year Anthony Lynn started out as the RB coach, became the OC when Greg Roman was fired, and then finished the season as the HC when Rex was let go. It seemed Roman's running concepts, together with ALynn's play calling, were an effective combination for a dual-threat QB like TT.

I never saw the whole movie. But I saw enough to know I hated it and the main character.

I agree. Sort of. Tyrod was a good guy and he helped end the drought. I'm thankful. But he was a lackluster passer who would never take us far in the playoffs. Josh overshadows TT and makes him forgettable because Josh is such a better passer who brings the level of hope and excitement to a whole new level.

We had far more victories to be savored than defeats in those years. And reaching the SB four consecutive years was, and remains, unprecedented. But the pain of ending each year empty-handed endures.