Kirby Jackson

I’m not sure if this is the place, college football or off the wall but think that the Mike Gundy story is interesting sub-plot to this. How is he going to be able to recruit top talent in this climate? He’s already put his foot in his mouth a couple of times over the last few months (which he has a habit of doing). I would think opposing coaches would be talking about this to recruits every chance they get. That will be interesting to watch unfold.

Without sounding overly homerish I’d have it less than 5%. That would be only an Allen injury followed by completely inept play from the backup. With that being said if Allen misses an extended period of time I’d expect the Bills to take a run at Cam. This team is built to win now and they aren’t going to just punt on the season. That’s why I think it’s virtually impossible for them to finish last in the division. They are incredibly deep (as deep as any team in the NFL). That should insulate them some. While they have some guys that can’t get injured (White, Edmunds, Dawkins, Oliver, Allen) they can withstand it better than most. At a minimum they win 3 division games. If they end up finding 3 more wins that probably keeps them out of last imo. I just don’t see anyway that this happens with this roster and coaching staff. They just don’t have those things that HAVE to go right or else. They’re incredibly balanced.

I’ll agree with that (although Fromm is a wild card). As we sit today the Bills should feel worse about their number 2 than anyone in the division. Brian never suggests though that Allen goes out (which would be an odd thing to predict). Just saying, it’s a tough argument to put the Bills last in the division. They are +650 to finish 4th (and that’s way low imo). If someone offered me 30:1 that the Bills would finish 4th in the division I wouldn’t touch it.

I honestly don’t have any problem with him picking the Bills last. I don’t think it’s likely but everyone is entitled to their opinion. It’s just odd. He talks about how good they are in all of these areas and then picks them last. It’s just kind of strange. @JetsFan20 come get your boy...

They are actually -215 to make the playoffs according to Bovada. Basically, the guy just made some stuff up.

I’m not sure Brian understands how odds work. He says that “the odds are against Buffalo making it to the playoffs this year.” The Bills are -105 to win the division right now. Not only do the odds favor them to make the playoffs, the odds favor them to win the division.

I think that we are looking at this with extremes. Is Kaep better than some current QBs? Of course!! Nathan Peterman has a job. Every single person in the world, including Peterman, know that Kaep is better. The other side is Kaep worth the attention that follows? It’s like Tebow or Manziel in some ways. Where is the point where the juice is worth the squeeze? I argued 2 years ago that he belonged. At this point I think that his stance is way less controversial but am not sure that a guy out of the league that long is the same player? I think that he will get looks but just don’t think that someone will sign him.

I can see him getting a look or 2 but doubt he sticks on a roster. He hasn’t played in a few years and struggled then. I thought Seattle was his best opportunity when he got the workout there. A couple of years ago he absolutely belonged on a roster. I just don’t see a place that makes sense.

Golladay is the best IMO. He’s coming off a big year. Jones also could be considered the best #2 of the group. The Lions WRs are strong.

I have no idea. They don’t do it in the premier league. Obviously, the military’s sponsorship plays a role but think that it’s beyond that. The 10 year-old hockey game is a good example. It’s kind of weird when you think about it. I really don’t care if it plays or not.

Why does anyone care how someone else chooses to consume the anthem? I don’t get that.

Close to where I’m at. I’m higher on the DL and lower on the ST

So you don’t think that athletes have a bigger audience than the Jiffy Lube employee?

Oh man this conversation is getting weird. If you don’t agree that athletes have a larger platform than 99.99% of the population you aren’t smart. That’s not up for debate. It’s a fact. That’s all that I ever said. The reason that their voices matter is because they have an audience.

You are jumping to conclusions all over the map. I’m not assuming that you are any race. Not really sure why you keep bringing that up? I really don’t care. You are trying to act like athletes and Jiffy Lube employees are the same. That’s naive/ignorant/wrong. They have vastly different platforms and worth. They have vastly different platforms and influence. If you don’t understand that I can’t help you.

Prop them up? I worked in sports and know many, many, many pro athletes. Some I like; some I don’t. I probably look up to athletes less than just about anyone here. At the same time, I understand that their platform is enormous (as you said above). The fact that you can name a zillion athletes and a couple of scientists is what makes them different. You answered your own question.

Why is it awful? You can consume whatever you want but If you can’t see the difference between a star athlete and a guy at Jiffy Lube I don’t know what to tell you.

That one has an audience and one doesn’t. One has more privilege in the workplace because they are harder to replace. They are bigger earners. Not everyone has the same responsibility. By that logic how is the president different from a fry cook?

One is a highly skilled, hard to replace, multi-millionaire with the attention of hundreds of millions of people. The other changes your oil. They are quite different in terms of their audience.

That’s a pretty bold assumption. I work for a very large Fortune 500 company. We are encouraged to speak up and speak out. I think that’s probably the case in most large companies. It comes, in part, for fear of looking discriminatory but also to make people feel heard. It’s as much of a workplace culture thing as anything. The difference is that I don’t have an audience.

Many do though

The example that you used was taking a knee with a line of 20. If the cashier does that they are not able to do their job. If a NFL player takes a knee during the anthem they are still able to do their job. That’s why I used the 3rd down example. That’s the same thing as the cashier with the line. The employee, in that case, is deciding between doing their job and protesting. It’s apples and oranges.

I don’t care what McDermott does or what the players do. I suspect that a large portion of the league take a knee. I also suspect that it will be much more widely accepted as polls have indicated. It’s no longer looked at as “disrespecting the flag” and is now (correctly) viewed as “solidarity with the oppressed.” It isn’t going to change my experience one way or the other. I didn’t become a Bills fan because of the way that the consume the anthem. I’m there to watch them play football. They aren’t working at that point though. If they peacefully protest on 3rd down that’s the equivalent.

Bledsoe got hit hard and a lot because he was slow through his progressions and had cement feet. If he played on today’s NFL he would be miles worse than he was for a large part of his career. He was sacked 467 times!!

Allen absolutely is a top tier athlete. He was the first QB ever with 3 straight 100 yard rushing games (again at least I think). That 40 time means nothing because his play speed is elite. Again, he has play speeds the others haven’t. 17 rushing TDs in 2 years is elite. Allen has kept the ball on 3 or 4th and 1 24 times and converted 23. He’s averaged 5.8 YPC on a substantial amount of carries. Again, no one is arguing that he is the QB that those others are but his athleticism, especially at his size is elite. He’s the EXACT same guy that Cam was when he entered the league. Cam has been beaten up lately but physically they are the same. Mahomes is the only QB in the NFL with the physical tools of Allen. 21 MPH at 240 lbs is way ahead of those others as the chart shows.