Kirby Jackson

You SOB I was coming with an original version of that and you stepped on my punchline!! I was going to say, “I’ve always liked yardbarker.” Thanks a lot teef!! This was my chance

I believe that they will. The nice thing with the NFL is contracts aren’t based on precedent. You have to get creative at times as to when the numbers hit but that’s about it. If you have a guy like Tre it’s honestly kind of easy. You know that it will be the top CB contract ever but you’re comfortable that he’s a top 5 CB. It would be difficult for that to be a bad deal. Dawkins is a touch more complicated and Milano even a little more than that. Dawkins plays a premium position so a slight overpay for a “good” player is easier to stomach than a slight overpay on a scheme specific guy (which Milano may or may not be). He certainly makes the Bills better but how much of that is the player vs. the opportunity? That’s where they have to come to an agreement on the numbers. The Bills will argue opportunity and Milano’s people will argue the player. It will be interesting to see that one.

That’s fair. When the league execs in that ESPN poll did the top 10 OTs he was in the honorable mention category. Dawkins was basically 14 overall in their opinion. That feels about right. He’s a good, not great, offensive tackle. Based on being “the next man up” he will get a contract around the top 5 for offensive tackles but won’t reset the market. We are looking at around $15M a year IMO. https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nfl/2020/03/06/highest-paid-offensive-linemen-nfl-ranking-o-linemen-salary-2020/4977564002/

Maybe That’s what he says but who knows if that’s what was offered or if they didn’t go back to milk more out of them. The Chiefs offering this deal and Mahomes accepting isn’t him taking less. It’s only him taking less if he went back and said, “no I want ____.” It is a bit of semantics. I don’t think that the Chiefs came to him and said “you can have ____ and we can’t keep Jones or you can have ____ and we can.” The more likely scenario is that they reached a number that both sides were comfortable with and there was enough for Jones. That’s not a hometown discount. That’s 2 sides reaching an agreement. The truth is if anything thinks White’s representation is going to take $.05 less than “highest paid CB ever” I have a bridge for sale. Now if he takes $21M a year instead of $20M or whatever that’s a different argument.

It’s just reality. At some point you have to pay good players or let someone else. We should STOP asking for “hometown discounts.” That’s not the way the real world works. No one asks us to take less than our market value in our careers. We shouldn’t begrudge guys for getting what they are worth. We need to outgrow that antiquated mindset. It’s a giant pet peeve of mine and one of my biggest issues with Bills fans. We like guys until they get paid. Then we complain about them. Do you think that the Chiefs care what they’re paying Chris Jones or Mahomes? Mathieu is about to get a raise one year into his contract. When your window is open you pay your core. You don’t change your feelings about a player because he’s paid more now than he was before. I can just see it happening with Tre. He will inevitably become the highest paid CB ever and people here aren’t going to like it. We are going to be more annoyed by his social media. We are going to nitpick his elite level of play. He’s going to go from a fan favorite to a guy that we just don’t like. It is an annoying and insecure position. We aren’t used to having stars (in Tre’s case) or young foundational players (in Dawkins case). It’s OKAY to pay those guys market value. That’s how your window STAYS open. The goal is to win championships. When you have the core in place you don’t turn it over. You kick the can down the road like the Saints have done for 15 years.

Ha ha ha, “we like you as long as you’ll work for us for under market value.” I love Bills fans. Dawkins is becoming a leader of this team and community. He’s a guy that you hope to lock up long-term. I know there are some people that think the Bills could upgrade there but IMO that easier said than done. I’m thinking 4 years $60M is fair for both sides.

Certainly but they aren’t operating with the same challenges of the US and our 4.5M cases or whatever it is. Agree though and I LOVED having the premier league back.

Which they basically copied from the NBA. So far they are both doing well but “how the bubble will operate” was an NBA plan first. The NBA too will be rolling with a flat cap for next season at roughly $109M with a $123M cap line. Additionally, they will be able to sustain long term much better because they have alternative revenue streams everywhere. Many of those are still untapped. They will start pulling those levers over the next few years to offset the lost revenue of no fans. The NHL has done a really nice job in all of this. They took the right approach though. “See what the NBA does and copy it.” That is a tried and true formula in pro sports.

This x1,000,000 Great point MajBobby!!

I’m not just talking about Covid response. FWIW though they were 1st our with their plan and it looks like it will be the most successful. You’d think that wouldn’t be the case as others could watch some flaws and adapt their plans accordingly. I’m talking about running their business. Most innovation in pro sports starts in the NBA and then others adopt it. They invest much more heavily in their business operations staffs than other leagues. They also collaborate 1,000,000,000,000x better than all other leagues combined on that end. You have the smartest people, working together and you get results.

I’ve been saying on here, FOR YEARS, that the NBA is the best run league. It isn’t all that close and never has been.

27 is the highest a Bills player has ever been on this list (Shady in 2017). I’m thinking somewhere between about 15 & 30.

Too low for Tre

That’s fair. It was directed at those thinking that he’s getting too much credit in tier 2. The guy is a 23 year-old MVP!! He’s by no means getting too much credit. If anything he’s being underrated by not being in tier 1. He has to follow up last year but even if he drops some he’s a tier 2 guy. If he has the EXACT same year as last year he’s, without question, a tier 1 QB.

He’s the MVP of the league. He led the highest scoring offense in the league (by a substantial margin). Lamar Jackson is elite. Saying that doesn’t discredit Allen or anyone else. I’m not sure why we feel a need to discredit Lamar? As of right now, he’s one of the best QBs in football and trending up.

Looks fair to me

So it must be Tre and Diggs (maybe Edmunds instead of Diggs but doubt it).

If you think back to what Zeke said a few weeks ago it sheds some light on the way the players view Josh. I’m surprised to see him on the list but I guess not shocked.

The players love Josh.

I’ll bet every dime I own that Tre makes it. We need to stop being so insecure about how people look at us. He’s a 1st team all-pro. He’s 100% lock.

Tre is definitely on. Diggs should be too. I think Edmunds has a decent chance and one of the safeties maybe. They are a little longer shot.

Klein is just a guy. I watched him in New Orleans. He’s not bad but Bradham is a better player IMO. Either way, having them both is better than just 1.

I think that the expectation of late 1st round picks are “quality starter” types. You can hit on a guy like Tre but could also end up with Penny. The likely scenario at the back of the 1st round are core type of starters (especially on a team lacking talent like the Jets). The Jets probably get a couple of starters with those picks but it’s unlikely they get a player the caliber of Adams.

The guy has started 83 games, is 29, and won a super bowl. That feels like a GREAT addition when you’re depending on AJ Klein, Tyler Matakevich and Vosean Joseaph. Today, Bradham is a better player than all of those guys. There’s absolutely ZERO reason to be opposed to him on a cheap deal.