Kirby Jackson

I like the Bills money line this weekend. I got them at +210. The game is up to 5.5 on Bovada.

Is this my dad? This is a conversation that we always have. The Yanks certainly don’t view him that way. That’s why they handed him the ball in a win or go home scenario. FWIW, I thought that they should have started Happ and my dad and brother wanted Tanaka. Good Severino though is a better than both.

He’s never going back to the bullpen. He hits 100 still 100 pitches in. He may never be the number 1 but he may never be lower than a 2. His ERA this year was 3.39 and he struck out 220 guys. His ability TO pitch so many innings is why he’s forever a starter. He has 63 starts over the last 2 years which is right near the top of the league. He was 21st in innings pitched this year and 17th in innings pitched last year. He’s a horse.

That’s the point. The league was at an all-time low. Magic and Bird started to turn it and then Jordan and Stern raised it. Then we went through Shaq/Kobe to LeBron vs. the Warriors. The ascent of the NBA from the Braves years to now is unparalleled. The product has never been better or more desired than it is right now. I’m not sure that today’s game is a fit in the rust belt. The Cavs (because of LeBron) became an anomaly (and he is from there). The lunch pail crowd isn’t a good fit with the most famous athletes in the world. Buffalo would support them because we are great sports fans. At the same time the game works much better in the Bay Area, NY, Miami, and LA.

Andrew Luck

I don’t really think that the Braves year’s are that relevant to this conversation. NBA Finals games were on tape delay at that time!! Now they average 20M viewers a night in the US alone!! It’s a totally different league.

He’s exactly that guy!! While I agree it was time to make the move, Severino is a horse. He keeps his velocity late in the game and gets better as games go along. His issue is that he starts off slowly when he’s bad: That game was over before the Yanks came to bat because good Severino was there. 66% of his starts went until AT LEAST 2 outs in the 6th. That’s a ton in today’s game.

Kelvin Benjamin couldn’t separate from Larry King!!

Is this the time to chime in to say that Josh Gordon isn’t a process guy??

FWIW, I’m not talking about converting him to a WR. I’m saying, 10 or so snaps a game split him out if it helps. Motion him out of the backfield and maybe you can isolate him on an LB? These other teams are doing it.

Potentially getting different match-up. They are struggling right now to get him touches. Maybe this will help? It certainly won’t make it worse. He’s the best pass catcher on the team (as sad as that sounds).

You need to add New England to that list.

I just don’t understand why anyone is against creative ways to get him touches? I don’t think dive plays behind this OL is the ideal way to do it. You can do some of that but you have to take a page from how the other top backs are used. Move him around and create mismatches.

Not necessarily if that’s what it takes. Teams ALWAYS split out RBs. Running backs got 574 targets lined up in the slot or wide last season. If Bell, Kamara, and Gurley are doing it why shouldn’t Shady? Get the ball in his hands 25 times a game and get him in space. This could absolutely be a way to get him out in the open.

This is where I’m at (specifically Bosa and Oliver at this point). We will also pick early in the 2nd and 3rd and have multiple 4ths & 5ths. They can EASILY pick 4 guys before the end of day 2 even without trading down. They could start with something like: - Bosa - Deebo Samuel - Michael Dieter - Isaiah Prince That is maybe a touch optimistic on the guys but you get the point. You add a starting WR, 2 starting OL and potentially a star pass rusher. I much prefer that. You need some difference makers.

Lllllllllllluuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuukkkkkkkkkkkeeeeeeee!

The game is a little different in 2018. In 1972 the NFL leader had 62 catches. 38 guys had that last year. It was 52 guys in 2016. The game is not the same. Shady needs 20-25 touches a game. Do what you need to so that happens.

Well said John!! Those people that were thinking this was a .500 team before the year really overlooked how much talent they lacked. They just aren’t good enough. It’s a bad football team and it wouldn’t be a winning team with Walsh or Lombardi. They have cleared the deck next year and can turn the corner but they have left little margin for error. If guys like Zay or Groy could play those would leave a few less holes. The problem is that they can’t. There are so many positions and so much depth that needs to improve that it will be tough. They have assets but they can’t waste them on guys like DiMarco, Proehl or Newhouse. The guys that you get have to improve this team.

If we were to move back I could see Hollywood Brown being an option. It feels like Beane doing the exact opposite of what’s been done to date. Get a guy to get down the field for Allen. I think Brown will test well and climb like John Ross did. I could see him in the mid-1st. I just don’t think that they will keep going big bodies with no separation.

The problem is it wasn’t the 2002 season. It was half of the 2002 season. From week 9 on he averaged 212 yards a game, and his team was 3-5. He threw 8 TDs, was picked 10 times, sacked 24 times and lost 4 fumbles. He was right back to being the sub-par QB that he was prior to those 8 games. It wasn’t “everything but the 8 games was an aberration,” the 8 games were the aberration.

The NBA is a machine and by far the best run league. That is why they have closed the gap on the NFL. It’s a global game that’s filled with drama. Buffalo would support any pro sport team. We love sports. With that being said today’s Hollywood, superstar-driven NBA doesn’t fit in real well with Buffalo’s desire to be blue-collar underdogs. We’d be the only fan base that would rather have Joe Ingles than LeBron James. Also, I don’t see people forking over $1k plus per ticket, per game for 40+ nights. That’s the floor seat costs in the most markets. I don’t think anyone is under $50K a pair for feet on the wood. It just isn’t a good fit.

I lived in NE at the time and Bledsoe was done. The game was evolving and he was being left behind. He came to Buffalo and played 8 good games and then was atrocious. He had a losing record, less than 200 yards a game and as many turnovers as TDs. If people expected it to be different it’s because they werent paying attention to the player that Bledsoe had become. BB didn’t think twice about sending him to the Bills for a 1st.

Good topic!! A couple of things though: - Hackenberg MAY be worse than Peterman. That is so incredibly hard to comprehend but it’s true. He’s that kind of terrible. He couldn’t play at Orchard Park High School. - The reason that the Pats keep James Ferentz is probably as simple as the relationship that BB and Kirk Ferentz have. I don’t think that there I more to it. - Gentry makes obvious sense. - I like the Siragusa thought as well. - Carlos Henderson is another guy of some interest to me. There is little harm in trying to turn over the bottom of your roster. You have some guys that are just bad. Why not try out some other young guys that we don’t know if they are bad yet?

Shaq has only played 2 games and has been decent. He is Ryan Denney 2.0. He is pretty good against the run and has positional versatility. He just isn’t a pass rusher. He is a fine rotational DL just not worth the 1st. Star was a mistake IMO. I’m not worried about his tackle stats. That’s just too much money to pay for a guy to eat blockers. Jonathan Hankins was out there until the start of the regular season before signing a $2M deal. He’s a better player than Star IMO.

24-13 Bills