GunnerBill

Yep. I screwed the pooch on Allen. I still hate his college film. Still even now. I missed on his legs massively and that does stand out on his film... but man I still hate him as a passer at Wyoming. But again, fair to accuse some of the hindsight game. Not fair to accuse me of it. My opinions are always there for right or for wrong. Don't try to hide them or change them. I got Josh Allen majorly wrong.

Ownership is a farce, their facilities are dreadful, they have a tiny personnel operation, they are renowned for treating their players poorly and they traditionally don't have a great track record of paying their guys They had a great 2020 draft, no question, hit it out of the park with their first 3 picks.... but when you pick at the very top of each round after being the worst team in the league it is definitely easier. They drafted Chase the next year too, well done them, and they have made some sensible FA signings. They are legitimately one of the best teams in football right now. But I question their organisational capacity to sustain that. Hitting a couple of home runs is easier than making sensible long term strategic decisions. Because I don't think they are where they are because they are well run, I think they are where they are despite being poorly run.

I know you asked me this in another thread yesterday @boyst wasn't ignoring you just finding time to reply. I will start by saying my daily de-briefs after each day of each year of the NFL Draft mean that my thoughts on every player the Bills draft at the point they draft them are recorded for posterity. For example, here is what I said in my 2021 draft day 2 debrief about Boogie Basham: "I haven't been the hugest Boogie Basham guy. I certainly was very strongly against him at #30. At #61 it was still a reach by my board (I had a mid 3rd on him) but I don't hate it. He was an excellent college player at Wake Forest but his production came largely by just overpowering tackles who will not play in the pros. Against superior NFL athletes starting at offensive tackle I worry a bit how he wins. He isn't overpowering Mekhi Becton for example, or Orlando Brown Jr who will be manning the blindside for the team we are all chasing in the AFC. He isn't explosive off the ball and his hand usage and technique need some major refinement. That said can he play the run, set the edge, funnel things inside and even make some tackles for loss in the backfield? Yes, I think he can." My take on the guys this year in summary: Kincaid - I like him. Think he is a very good receiver, very fluid, excellent hands and he should be one of the better receiving tight ends in the league. Don't ask him to block, he can't, and slow the roll slightly on the Kelce comparisons. I see him more as Zach Ertz. A big receiver playing as a slot tight end who will have 6-8 good years in the NFL, a couple of 1,000 yard seasons very possible. Torrence - Was slightly surprised the Bills took him. Didn't think he was their 'type' in terms of play style though it is hard to be sure exactly what their style is on the OL given they have mixed and matched a fair bit. I also don't love IOL in round two, and I should make that point, but I do think the player represented good value at that spot and given my take on this past draft (I didn't think was a great class all around) I was less bothered by positional value than normally. I think he has had a great pre-season, expect him to be an above average starter as a rookie and down the line he could be a pro bowl level guard. Williams - Like him. Thought the Bills took him right about where he should go, late 3rd. But I said straight away I think really he is more of an outside guy than a MIKE. That makes projecting him for the Bills long term tricky. I think his best spot is going to be manned by Milano for the foreseeable. But if he finds a way onto the field he will be a good starter. I didn't have a strong view on Shorter, Austin or Broeker. I really haven't watched much if anything of their college tape and they didn't get the most run in pre-season. I think the history of size and speed types like Shorter who haven't made it in college suddenly making it in the NFL is pretty thin... he'd have to be a bit of a unicorn to turn it around, but I don't totally write him off. The other two got claimed and are no longer Bills. Wish them well.

Because a well run organisation and a good team are different.

I presume everyone is referring to @Peter - who is a fellow GunnerBill in his rooting interests.

This morning the UK Government appointed a woman name Claire Coutinho to the cabinet. Now the Bills sign a Quarterback name Shane Buechele. Who knew there were so many humans that I have never heard of?

Who?

Had forgotten all about this thread but just happened to flick past it earlier..... it was from November, literally the day before Reich was fired by the Colts. I recognised Peyton was the big fish sitting out there and would have his pick of jobs. He obviously landed one. Reich landed one bouncing straight into Carolina. The other 3 vacancies were filled by 3 of the 4 guys on my legit contenders list! I'd obviously be a great NFL owner if I was rich enough.

All Beck Water was saying there is McKenzie isn't a real cut. He is a Reid Ferguson, Taiwan Jones style "wait in the carpark" cut and re-sign. Nothing in that post was saying "he's great" just those people taking a victory lap when he was cut by the Colts were more premature than an 18 year old boy on prom night.

Good question. I don't know whether he qualifies as not being talked about but I feel really good on James Cook. Been a while since the Bills had some legit speed at running back. I think he looks more decisive in pre-season and the guard play should hopefully open up more holes.

It was like an open secret among Philly reporters at the time. Mutiple alluded to it without explicitly saying it. Don't know if it made its way out in a semi-formal sense.

Yea I'd missed Barkley going on IR.

Maybe. Pre-season hasn't borne that out but then you have returners competing for jobs. Even if there are fewer returns while that might downgrade gunners on the totem pole it doesn't apply all STers.

The problem with Wentz on your PS is he is a difficult teammate. Some of the stories about him marching around the locker room in Philly telling teammates they were with team Wentz or team Foles are frightening.

I think the conference is stronger. I don't much trust the coaching with the Chargers and whoever the coach is the Chargers gonna find a way to Charger, but one year that talented roster will put up serious regular season numbers despite themselves. I think the Jags are a rising team and while I don't love their offseason them winning 11 or 12 games and being dangerous in the playoffs is a real possibility. Where I am a bit more sceptical is the division. If the Dolphins end up being great I stand to have serious egg on my face. But I really, really don't see it. I see an offense that stalled last year after Thanksgiving that has lost the "new scheme surprise" factor and a defense that while having better coaching still has talent holes. But it isn't me being a Bills homer on that.... step back and genuinely I think they are hugely overrated. They Jets could be really good. There is reason to believe it with them. If you told me they win the division I wouldn't be stunned. But I'd price the Bills up still as pretty strong favourites. What the Bills are suffering from is the jaded reaction that a team who is always there without getting over the hump attracts. But people are sleeping on how many good players remain on this roster.

I'm not. He is a good STs player. Often the guys claimed on cut downs day are more about ST unite than offense or defense.

Don't mind that. Had a decent camp. Overtook Sternberger on the depth chart.

Reid will be back on the 53. Thanks on Barkley. Hadn't caught that. So they need a PS QB.

I mean on Boogie, Bernard and Zack Moss mine were right here. I largely agree with this. I think Boogie was just a flat out bad evaluation. That said, there were edge needy that year and that bias might well have played in earlier in the process.... you need an edge so you see more potential in guys in that class than was always there.... so their grades end up inflated so they look like BPA when they are not. Not saying was definitely that... and it was definitely the evaluation not the draft day strategy that was wrong. But I do wonder if even in that need played an indirect part.

If Isabella and Ankou are back and we can have up to six guys with more than 4 years (and therefore not subject to waivers) other vets one presumes in contention: QB: Barkley OG: Boettger MLB: Klein S: Marlowe

Yea he is but judging by pre-season not a very good one. For the "special teams don't matter" crowd it has been a tough pre-season watching Shorter struggle to fill Taiwan Jones's left gunner spot leading to two big returns and two weeks in a row seeing backups blow in the wing protection role that Gilliam does so well leading to punt blocks.

Agree. I have said it about Cincy, their challenge isn't going to be paying the guys so much as it will be doing what KC and Buffalo do year after year and creating space by giving big new chunks of up front change to 3 or 4 players including their QB in exchange for cap relief. Agree. I have said it about Cincy, their challenge isn't going to be paying the guys so much as it will be doing what KC and Buffalo do year after year and creating space by giving big new chunks of up front change to 3 or 4 players including their QB in exchange for cap relief.

Yea Brady never reset the market or anything but he was never way below market compared to say Manning, Brees etc in the same period. But in this market Burrow taking $25m would be like him playing at half price. That would be a first for a top end QB.

They have done a good job. Not denying that. But they are not a well run organisation. They are a mess. Sometimes you can blow your process and still get a positive outcome

The Bengals have a good team. They are NOT and never have been "well run".