Mango

I have a buddy who just bench pressed 500 lbs without a suit/shirt and he looks super fat. Mostly cause he kind is. I think Josh lifts and works out. QB's outside of late career Brady and Cam Newton tend to be doughy. Josh is farm boy strong. Corn fed baby!

Matt Barkley was a grade A human here. Wish you the best my man!

That clearly isn't what is being said man. I think the fact that Allen has admitted multiple times that he isn't a big film guy is worthy of discussion. Especially for the QB position, who are generally considered the most avid videophiles in the sport. It doesn't mean he sucks. It doesn't mean he doesn't work hard. it doesn't mean he sucks. But he is an anomaly. Just like a lot of things in life, a lot of things can be true at the same time.

On a number of occasions Josh has mentioned that he doesn't watch film. It is weird. I have mentioned a few times that I think this is part of the reason he is late to throw, doesn't even look at open guys on occasion, or holds the ball a long time. We may be a high low read offense. But in a game built on inches and fractions of seconds, this isn't helping. There are guys like LT who got by without it. But pass rusher is a much different position than QB. I don't know if I have ever heard a single QB ever say they were anything other than videophiles. Always locked into film. Even a noted partiers like Dennis Rodman was wholly committed to watching film and taking notes on every shooters spin. EDIT: I don't think he ended the conversation because he lost. I think he ended it because he didn't want to keep talking publicly about being smashed.

The Bills are in the conversation until they take themselves out. It is that simple. The Bills fatigue from the nation makes sense. The world can only keep you on a pedestal without a championship for so long. I think part of the prediction is a little early and that next year may be pretty lean for us. Without derailing the thread we are $31M over the cap next year with 5 starters going into UFA and some larger holes at MLB, OL on top of it. Having 2 DE under contract for 2024 is a good example too.

I think a huge part of Josh' skill set is his moxy. I think he works on himself. As his mechanics get better, I think he double downs on his moxy. I don't think he has ever been a big nutrition, body maintenance, or film guy compared to his peers. Based on his success the definition for peers is different than others in the league. The expectation is to be Mahomes or Brady-esque. I think this is an area of his game that needs to improve to help himself and this team take the next jump, and for him to stick around the league long term (to protect his body). EDIT: I don't think that this is a contract, payment, lazy issue by any means. I just think its an area Josh has to put more focus on in terms of next steps.

Ive consistently belabored the fact that we have missed too often in the top 100, only to redraft those positions over and over again. We don’t pay Allen yet ($18M this year)keep redrafting the same positions, and covering it up in FA. It’s why we are negative space with for next year with only 2 DE under contract after drafting 3 in the top 100 in recent years. Which means we’ll draft at least one high again next year. The Bills aren’t broken. Beane doesn’t need to be fired. But he absolutely has to be better in this aspect or we might be.

I don't think the shift is a strength to offense. I think there is more pressure on Allen now that he has arrived, and more pressure on the team to get to the SB after being favorites, getting close, and falling short so many years in a row. When that happens the expectation league wide is that a guy the caliber of Josh Allen carry the weight of expectations. Nobody seems to like our OL or its depth. At least as an entire unit. I think the preseason expectation is for Allen to be under pressure fairly regularly. Even though I like Gabe Davis, he has issues with the dropsies, and the for whatever reason (some right, some wrong) the Diggs unhappiness saga will not go away after what feels like nearly an entire year. The truth is somewhere between "The sky is falling" and "I am not sure what's not to be excited about".

I will try not to derail this after this one. You may be onto something with Kelce. I don't totally disagree. I don't think about Hill often because they found just as much success without him. Mahomes is much more equitable with the football. I think some of it is Andy Reid. Some of it is talent of the WR room. But I also think Mahomes does a better job of making you cover everybody more often. I don't mean this as a knock on Allen. I just don't think there is any more 1a/1b at QB anymore. It is Mahomes first with some discussion between Burrow/Allen as to 2a/2b.

I think Mahomes is the better QB by a some margin, can do more with less at WR, is much more slippery in the pocket, and has a quicker release which protects his OL a bit more. I think the set up in KC is closer to Brady and NE. The Bills are closer to Rodgers/GB or Brees/NO. There will be a lot more ups and downs, but we will always have a chance vs. being the favorite.

I think there is a difference between always having a chance because you have a good QB, and operating in a window as a/the SB favorites. Green Bay, Pittsburgh, and New Orleans always had a chance with Ben, Brees, Rodgers but they weren't necessarily always in their SB window. And they weren't always good teams (especially GB and NO). I think the window is being the favorite, or having the expectation to win the SB. To keep the window wide open both Allen and McD will have to do more less at WR and defensive allocation as we actually start paying Allen real QB money. We need a constant pipeline of young OL and WR to rotate when we can't afford everybody.

Our offensive line is meh at the moment, its pipeline is totally nonexistent, and we have some combination of system/progressions plus a QB with a penchant to hold the ball for a long time. Pair that with pushing the roster salary cap close to and above the max with a still fairly cheap QB ($18M for 2023) and a poor hit rate at the top of the draft, the Bills window is likely smaller than it should be. The Bills will likely have to do a bit of retooling with a step back in the next couple of seasons. That said, we have Josh Allen, so anything can happen, and there is always a chance.

Outside of the Beane stuff I think that Basham was a versatile player who started to come into his own as the season progressed last year. I think I would have rolled the dice on Basham than AJE. He definitely was not living up to his draft status, but he seemed to start contributing. I wish him the best, but if the Giants get good production out of him and Hodgins I will be salty. So to that extent, a small part of me hopes he doesn't work out for them.

I will likely bow out over this because it feels like we are spinning in circles. I don't think the Sabres are suffering from Lafontaine's resignation. I think that is a minor blip in a string of blips, one right after another. PL is no more significant than any other. They have suffered for 12 years because their ownership sucks. The owners sucked before Patty. And they sucked after. I agree there is a pattern. It started before Patty and kept going after. Lafontaine feels significant to the community, I get it. But he hasn't done much of anything since. Not defending Pegula here, but Lafontaine has yet to prove any stickiness with any NHL franchise. He worked for the Islanders for less time than he worked in Buffalo before also leaving in a huff. I would be very quick to point the finger at Pat here had the Sabres done anything over the following decade. But I still think he likely deserves some blame. Comparing a guy who has never managed a professional sports roster for any significant amount of time to Bill Polian is so far out there.

I don't know how the Sabres could possibly be reeling from a guy who worked for them for 90 days 10 years ago. The Sabres have been struggling due to bad ownership pre and post LaFontaine. Terry treated Pat the same way he treated Ted Black/Regier.

TY. I will edit. I forgot Knox. I know about the other players. But drafting those guys don't absolve redrafting RB 3 times in 4 years because you keep missing. Or only re-signing 2 players from the top of your first 3 drafts.

Sort of on topic with the PSE thread. I am frustrated with Beane for his poor drafting overall in the top 100. But honestly, the Pegula's have been maybe the worst owners in NHL history with the longest playoff drought by nearly 2x the length in a league where over half the teams make the playoffs every year. Until the wheels absolutely fall off and the car is in flames I am terrified of what could happen to this team if we have to build out a staff again.

Top 100 picks/prospects is fairly common nomenclature in the NFL. Including their 3rd round picks don't help. 2018-Allen - Great, big QB contract but for all the cap woes that bill has not come due Edmunds - Pretty good, could not afford to keep Philips - Quality DT. Also no longer on the roster do to cost. ($6.8M this season) 2019 - Oliver - I like Ed. But probably over paid. I think part of keeping him is the lack of keeping our top 100 picks Ford - Sucks. Gone. Singletary - Meh. Gone Knox - He has been very good for us. Re-signed. 2020- Diggs. Great. But the Bills get zero rookie contract value. He gets very expensive very soon. AJE - Meh on his best day. I suspect he gets re-signed though. Moss -Not great here. Gone already 2021- Rousseau- Really hoping this one pans out better given our investment at DE. Basham - Gone Spencer Brown - TBD whipping boy. We need to upgrade RT still. 2022- Elam: TBD, but is trending towards a really bad fit at best, and not a great player at worst. Cook: TBD , has flashed. Our 3rd RB taken in the top 100 in 4 years. Bernard: TBD is fairly generous here. But this class is still finding its footing.

I don't think we are saying anything terribly different here. I agree. I don't hate any of them. They have certainly invested a lot. But they have been really bad owners in the NHL. I find myself constantly frustrated by it the longer it drags on. I don't want them gone. I want them to stay but to also to stop sucking.

I agree with this. Taking all the names and specific player story lines out of it, the Bills waste a lot of top 100 picks. Like a lot of them. I don't hate moving on from Basham. I hate that we are moving on from another top 100 pick for what seems like the 100th time. The bill has yet to come due on Josh Allen ($18M in 2023/12th overall), and we are pushed tight against the cap with huge holes at OL, LB/LB depth, and WR. I posit its because we keep missing in the top 100 and keep redrafting the same positions over and over so we spend in FA at all sorts of position groups that don't really pan out when compared to pay grade. The FO needs to get much better at this or it will eventually catch up with this team. I suspect that time is coming fairly soon as the bill for Josh and Diggs starts to get bigger and bigger

That information has to be Terry. Kim was not named president of the Sabres until after Russ Brandon left in 2018. It has been reported that Terry was going around the president to scheme ideas. It was reported that Terry was regularly meeting with Regier and going around Ted Black. He was asked about it and was quoted as something along the lines of "Ted Black does not have a monopoly on hockey IQ". One would think that if it happened again in the next regime (it did), that it was the same guy doing the same thing, that he all but admitted to just a few months prior. Kim had/has her own issues, but by and large from 2018 on the organization found some more stability. Kruger and Co. were a terrible mistake, but we course corrected fairly quickly and also pulled the rip chord on Eichel. I was highly critical of all things Adams, but right now the team is in a good spot. I credit KP with a lot of that stability.

Pegula bought the team in February of 2011. Their last playoff appearance was April of 2011. Pat Lafontaine was hired November 13, 2013. He quite March 1, 2014. He worked for the Sabres for something like 75 days. I want Pegula to keep the team. I want the team to stay. But he has been a really bad owner. Maybe the worst owner the NHL has ever seen. The Sabres current drought is nearly 2x the next longest. Super nice guy, but the Sabres org has been notoriously toxic/dysfunctional since the day he came in. This in no way, shape, or form has anything to do with the date or the hiring/resignation of Lafontaine. It started before that, and it continues after it. Terry has always been really bad at this. I am hoping that without Kim as the buffer as President Terry can stay the hell away from what they are building. I am a fan of the current hockey staff and roster.

Not to derail. But I agree with you on the giant PR issue. I do think Hamlin flashed last year. Jaquan Johnson was absolutely embarrassed last year. Hamlin seemed to at least flash. Johnson felt like a liability every single snap.

Somebody on Sabrespace noted that Terry didn't attend the RJ Behind the Mic night. On one hand you want to be salty. On the other hand they have a lot going on at home. You almost root for the saltiness of it all because the opposite side of the coin means maybe Kim isn't doing great. Something nobody wants to hear.

It would be nice for the Pegula's to keep it all in the family. I think Jessica and Laura are very handicapable and responsible adults. I will be a little salty if he bought the team with the idea of "if I want more money I will dig another well" speech only to meddle for a decade and ruin the whole thing (until recently) only to sell it off.