BarleyNY

Back on topic: Things like Bombas socks and TOMS shoes (though they stopped their “buy one, donate one” program). It’s not that stuff like that is bad, it’s that it’s just way overpriced. The wife drunk shopped on line and we wound up with a bunch of Bombas socks. They were good socks, but not better or more durable than others. The old adage of “you get what you pay for” is really “at best you get what you pay for”. There’s a lot of overpriced stuff out there with either a gimmick or sales hype that doesn’t match the product.

Tied for fifth among cousins you’ve had experiences with?

Yeah, let’s not be hasty

Good guess It’d be such a shame to see that. Ahem.

That’s a terrible comparison. Joe Thomas actually had kinda short arms for an OT. He had amazing technique and very quick feet. He was a totally different kind of player. It’d be great if Ford has solidified the RG spot - and Williams RT. We’d have four of the five OL spots locked down for next season and we could look to extend Williams to lock down the fifth. That’s such a big step forward from a few weeks ago with Dawkins unsigned past this season and the right side totally unsettled. I’m not taking the report as gospel quite yet, but I’m happy to hear positive information. The OL coming together would be huge.

Thanks. Wow. $22M for one season.

No. They’ll either trade him to the NFC or release him.

No. I would not pay for a Bills channel. Other than games (which I already get) there’s not much of value to be shown. They’d never do real breakdown and analysis of the team, games, etc. It would just be access to old games and fluff. I do not care what any player’s home looks like or what they drive.

Agreed on all counts. I’m not a fan of the “concert protests” from any side. Pretty crappy thing to take part in IMO.

I don’t think that there were 20k people at BLM rallies sharing a hundred or so port-a-potties. Nor were most of them hammered - a time when the very best decision making usually happens.

Fifth year options are immediately fully guaranteed at time they are picked up. It’s a clause in the new CBA that changed the old rule. For the record, under that old rule they became fully guaranteed on the first day of the new league year.

I think I covered that more than once in this thread. Yup. Agree to disagree and move on.

Sorry, but it’s not a false narrative. If anything the false narrative is that the team let him down more than he let them down. The weakest link in the team was Allen from his fumble on. I have rewatched the game several times and it is what it is. Now I definitely agree that Josh did not blow every play and that he was not the only player that blew plays down the stretch (and that’s why I included the whole team in my post), but his overall play was terrible from that point on. He has even admitted as much. That it happened doesn’t mean that Allen won’t grow from it and it doesn’t mean that it’ll happen ever again. But I am not pretending that I saw something else. I’ll leave the Houston game discussion here except to reiterate that I’m excited to watch Allen grow and take the next step this season.

Initially I was concerned that the NFL would start too soon and be canceled mid season. Now I honestly don’t think that waiting would help. Things aren’t getting better except for the possibility of scientific advancements like the saliva tests and a vaccine. So the NFL is just rolling on as best it can. I get it. There’s way too much money at stake to not give it a go so that’s what they’re doing. I’m just sitting back and watching it all unfold now.

Just to put a finer point on the bolded text, by 2022 the Bills will be paying Allen very, very large if he’s still here. Right now the Bills have the relative luxury of a QB on a rookie deal and can spend more freely elsewhere. In two seasons that won’t be the case and Allen will have to carry more weight for the Bills to be successful. So is 2020 make or break for him? No, but it’s getting very, very close to it. It’s the season that will determine if he gets his very expensive, fully guaranteed fifth year option picked up. We are all looking for Allen to take a step forward this season, but I’m even more interested in something else. I want to see him in a tough spot In the playoffs again. He did very well during the season when games were on the line and he did well for most of the Houston playoff game. But he folded pretty badly after his fumble. I need to see him handle that a lot better next time around. Without that step forward almost nothing else matters, including an improvement by him during the regular season. I’m going to enjoy this season. I fully expect the Bills to make the playoffs, but it’s the 4th quarter of our next close playoff game that I’m really waiting for. I want to see Allen (and the Bills as a whole) step up this time. I don’t know what’ll happen, but I’m already excited for that moment.

Agreed. Darnold’s biggest issue coming into the league was turnovers. The Jest really haven’t done a lot to help him there. That OL is shaky. McGovern and Van Roten should be fine, but Becton is really it after that. I don’t think he’s a sure thing by any stretch, but even if he works out they’re still fielding a LG and a RT that are back up level IMO. As soon as one of them gets tossed into the legs of one of the good three and takes him out for the season that line is going to fall apart. And Darnold is going to go with them.

Big time. I don’t know what he had a chance to be, but he’s going to be completely ruined as a QB when the Jest are done with him.

The new CBA changed 5th year options to fully guaranteeing at the time the clause is executed. The first season that goes into effect is next season so Allen’s option year would be fully guaranteed immediately.

Yup. If it doesn’t get done this offseason, it’s nearly 100% that it’s due to Tre’s side. I couldn’t begin to speak to his actual thoughts on it. Sometimes a lot of what is said is just posturing. I don’t blame a player for betting on himself and trying to maximize his contract, but it would be nice to see it get done soon.

While it’s not a problem for Tre to get his deal done after the season there are advantages to getting it done early: - a bit of a discount on his contract in exchange for more cash earlier - freeing up some cap space in the 2020-2021 block which could help with a lowered cap in 2021 - improved clarity regarding what can be done for other players like Milano - heading off the possibility of any problems with him It's important for the Bills to engage with him and his agent now (and I’m sure they have) even if a deal does not happen right away. The main reason a deal would not be reached soon is if Tre is trying to maximize his contract and is willing to wait to do that. If so, that’s fine. I am sure the Bills would keep in touch and that they let him know that they’re willing to deal now or later.

Agree on Milano, but Tre has no reason not to do an extension now if he wants to stay here. Elite players aren’t taking discounts due to the (probable) cap dip next season. My bet is now that Dawkins is done Tre will be next up. I’d like to see the Bills find a way to keep Milano, but I don’t know that they are planning on it. One thing that hasn’t been brought up is the Klein contract. I know that $6M (3/$18M) isn’t huge money in the NFL, but I think they’re covering themselves in case they can’t keep Milano. Or maybe they have accepted that they won’t be able to keep him. I dunno. I’d need an honest talk with Beane to know that. If Milano is extended, then I’d expect Klein to be one and done here though. Teams don’t usually pay their third LB even that much. I guess we shall see how it plays out.

Here is a link to Spotrac’s $13M AAV estimate (4/$52M). I knew Milano would be the toughest decision going forward. Lots of contracts at more important positions coming due soon. Also there’s the matter of having a lot of cap space tied up in the LB corps in a few seasons once Edmunds is extended. I’m not too worried about a one year dip in the cap as long as it comes roaring back as expected in 2022. I am worried about affording Tre, Allen and Edmunds in addition to Milano though. My heart says see if he’ll take a bit of a discount on an extension now and get it done. My head says to extend Tre now and have Milano play out the season, test the market and give us a last look to match what he finds. Then hope it’s not a great market for him and we can afford to keep him.

My bet is that you’re self regulating your intake better than many others. That’s usually pretty easy to do with beer if that’s your inclination. Maybe do an experiment and stay totally sober next time and see what you think of everyone’s behavior. Pretend to be drinking or just make up some reason you can’t that one time.

It probably has a lot to do with this (though he was with Carolina last year). Going to NE didn’t help:

Long had too many years in the league to be subjected to waivers at this time of season. The Bills had to outright release him.