fergie's ire

Picking an SEC tackle in the second round who many projected to go in the first round...because of a bum knee? Where have I heard this before? Don't do it, Bills.

Tell that to Eli Manning and Charger fans.

I think what he did last year was brilliant. The previous GM had talked about being in "QB hell" because they were never bad enough to draft a top quarterback. Beane collected enough assets to move into the top 10 in a year when being in the top 10 could land a top quarterback. This year, for example, I am not sure that they would be able to land a quarterback equal to Allen, even if they were in the top 5. So, they got a quarterback without having to tank and without having mortgage their future by giving away all their picks. I also love the approach this year. Build depth and fill needs with solid, but not overly expensive, free agent players....allowing him to go after the best players available in the draft.

Snell, yeah!

Tua Tagovailoa.

If you want a receiver with great straight line combine speed, why not trade for John Ross...might be able to get him on the cheap, certainly a lot cheaper than the 9th pick.

As I recall, it was mainly "quick first step" that got Maybin drafted early. I think it was McShay, in particular, who went on and on about that quick first step.

#bm? Might be kinda dirty.

Am I the only one who suspects that BB is retiring or leaving the Patriots either after this season or next? I can't help wondering what he told McDaniels that made him turn down a head coaching job that he had already accepted. My guess is that he said, "Hang around here another year or two, and you can be coaching the Patriots."

I have been wondering....which would I find to be a more satisfying season: This one if we beat the Patriots and mess up their playoff positioning (and possibly even keeping them out of the playoffs) OR last year when we made it to the playoffs but lost in the first round. Because of the streak, I am leaning toward last year....but if the Bills could pull out the win today, it would be close.

I admit. I do have a fantasy about how things will go this afternoon. The O-line and young receivers continue to improve. Josh Allen has a good game and we get a big win. Meanwhile, it turns out that the reports of Brady's decline have not been exaggerated....and the Jets play pissed off after being embarrassed by the Bills....and beat the Patriots. THAT would set up an interesting end of the year. Now, I realize that the likely scenario is that our O-line struggles against the Jags...and then so does Allen....and it turns out Brady's arm was tired and/or hurt but it recovered over the bye and HE comes out pissed off after all the Brady's decline stories....and puts up 60 on the Jets. Still.....scenario A IS possible...and a guy can dream.

So, you're saying that all those years we seemed to pick a super fast undersized receiver in the third round of every draft that we were ahead of the curve? Who knew?

What about Drew Brees? Not only benched but they had moved on from him and drafted another first round quarterback because they had seen enough to know he was never going to be the guy.

The Jets DO suck. They only have three wins. The JAGS, on the other hand have....wait...what?....Never mind.

AT first this made sense to me...but with 80 mil in cap space and a seeming aversion to huge money contracts, I suspect this front office is going to sign a lot of solid but not big name free agents. Think Poyer and Hyde from a year ago. If that is the case, they will probably sign quite a few free agents and have no shot at a compensatory pick.

While I agree with the sentiment, from what I read, that is not quite what McDermott said. He said IF Allen is healthy. That means, whether he is healthy or not, they can say, "in order not to risk his long term health, we have decided it would be best to continue resting Josh."

I would like to give it to whichever one of you broke into Ducasse's house and stole the incriminating pictures he had of McDermott. Thank you. Thank you so much.

If the Steelers and Chiefs keep playing they are and have the top two spots locked up....and NE has nothing to play for? I could certainly see us getting a win. I think it is possible we COULD run the table...but I understand that there is an even greater chance that we lay an egg against Jacksonville in two weeks.

The point is that it doesn't matter. He could have tackled him with the ball five yards away and it would not have been interference. In fact, there is nothing the defender could have done to make it pass interference because pass interference does not exist within a yard of the line of scrimmage. If the defender did tackle him, it could be called holding...but not PI. It could have been called a defenseless receiver, but I think that the point of the rule is that someone who catches it within a yard of the line of scrimmage is like a runner...and should expect contact....and therefore, not defenseless. If he IS defenseless, it is because of a stupid decision by the quarterback to essentially throw a screen when the screen is covered.

A couple of his picks weren't entirely Peterman's fault?

I also question the coaching on the Texans final scoring drive. It seems like all game, even if we only rushed four, others were up faking the blitz, so they didn't know who to block. On the final drive it looked like we sat back and just rushed four. The ol' "they haven't been able to move the ball on our defense all game, so, with the game on the line, lets stop what we are doing" strategy. Kills me every time.

I keep hearing this over and over and it strikes me as imprecise at best and lazy at worst. What is meant by accuracy? To me, it means the ability to get the ball in tight windows. Some quarterbacks have ballpark accuracy...and can't hit precise targets. From what I have seen, Allen can, both off the field and on. When sports science had the top quarterbacks try to hit the crossbar from 35 yards, Allen was the only one to hit it. At some rookie event (we've all seen the video), Allen was the only one to throw the ball through the tire. And, as I said, it's not just off the field of play. The throw in pre-season to Ray-Ray in the corner of the end zone is a good example. And actually, the pass to Holmes that was intercepted is a good example....thrown before the break and hit him right in the hands. I DO think there is cause for concern. He IS erratic....so his accuracy does not always play out...usually because he is in a bad position....and yes, passes in the flat continue to be a problem (but have improved). My concern is with his pre-snap reads and decision making. A good example of being erratic is the interception in the end zone last week. He threw late over the deep middle while he was falling away and on his back foot. No...that ball did not go anywhere near where he wanted to go, but, to me, that was a decision problem, not an accuracy problem. And these things CAN be taught....but not everyone picks it up. Some get better, some never do. So, I am not sure about Allen, but it is not accuracy...at least what I would define as accuracy...that is the problem.

Exactly. Hit him right in the hands (both). If you've been watching you will know that that is a really bad spot for Holmes.....worst part of his body, his hands.

In fairness, the ball that ended up being intercepted hit him in a really bad spot.