GunnerBill

Probably read his posts.... 🙃

Love ya really @Chandler#81

Our offense relied less on the run then though. This is the point I keep making on Cook. I'd much rather the Bills were explosive in the pass game and could churn out backup level talents like Singletary and Moss to plod around the backfield on rookie deals like they were in 2020/21. If they were I'd let Cook walk to a team that relies more on the run quite happily. But right now when we do NOT create many explosives in the pass game other than Josh on broken plays I'm reluctant to give up one of the best explosive runs running backs in football. If you replaced Cook with a backup level talent plodder in THIS version of the Bills offense as otherwise constituted I'd be concerned.

man, you olllllllldddddddddd

Only going from my fandom..... got to be Moorman. I think I'd put Taiwan Jones on there too (which will annoy a ton of people) and Nyheim Hines for that opening kick off touchdown vs the Pats the game after the Damar incident. That was just a special moment that will live long in the memory.

Didn't Fitzpatrick get traded the other way a few years back because, in part, he hated being in Miami?

So I don't have Darnold in the "franchise" club in any definition. I get the "he got paid" condition, but he has one moderately successful year as a starter. His other years starting have been dismal. Financially he and Baker are on a par but Baker has had three playoff years as a starter, and has played pretty darn well in the playoffs. So once you throw Darnold out.... you are left with TLaw and Murray. I have Lawrence in penultimate place ahead of Kyler, probably on the basis that Kyler it totally anti-clutch, he plays his worst when you need his best AND I think he is the most likely of the bottom end "franchise" guys not to be on his current team in 2026. But I wouldn't really fight against someone putting those two the other way around. I think Kyler has generally been more consistent in helping his offense move the football.

Agree with 1 and 2 for sure, and the UK experience supports both. We have moved towards advertising restrictions and affordability checks, bans on credit cards and other credit functions. On 3 - not sure that bet "in-play" has actually been proven more dangerous / risky, but if there is evidence to that end interested to see it.

Okay. That wasn't on the stat I saw but I did think he must be up there somewhere. I remember a few of those Saints - Eagles battles.

Who has never beaten Andy Reid. Not once. I'll take my chances that the active coach with the most wins against Andy Reid (thought all regular season) finds a way to get one in the post season rather than banking on the guy who has never beaten him to beat him.

Americans have a really odd perspective on gambling (especially sports betting) to a Brit. And I think it is proof that criminalising something (or only legalising it in very select circumstances) as was the case in the US until more recent times increases the public perception of the danger associated with it. That isn't to say that there are not dangers associated with sports betting. There are. Gambling addiction is real and there are people who suffer from it and the corruption risk while small does exist. But it has been legal in the UK for decades, certainly my entire life, and it hasn't led to a break down of society or some major undiluted corruption of our lives and our sports. Having a couple of quid on first goalscorer at the game you are going to on a Saturday or a fiver on an accumulator is much part of the ritual of being an English football fan as the half time pie and the post match pint.

Does sports betting lead to the odd instance of attempted match fixing? Yes. Does it lead to rampant or industrial level cheating that ruins sports? No.

If you speak to anyone with any knowledge around the Browns they will confirm it. I don't know how much of bringing in Watson was him. But he was the one who wanted Baker out.

Agree that is the standard for the D. That said they have been a top 3 D and top 10 on 3rd down multiple times (when Leslie was here) and it hasn't got them over the hump. But 3rd down is the big test for me this year. They were an abomination on 3rd down in 2024. A repeat would see Babich worry for his job.

I'd argue Mack Hollins cleared the bar of "made an impact" but he was who we knew him to be and if he is your team's most impactful addition over an offseason that is not a good thing.

All true although Zay's receiver coach from ECU had been hired on staff and they had a link at Temple through a guy who had interned in Carolina. Still the case that the 2017 draft other than Tre does not look the same as their MO ever since.

Dak Prescott is a way better Quarterback than Kyler Murray. The comparison is so ridiculous it isn't close.

I don't KNOW but I have always suspected that the Gutekunst interview was a solid for him. I suspect Beane and he knew each other (they are a couple of years apart in age and both from North Carolina).... because the timing of it was odd. The interviewed Brown, Beane and Gaine. Then they interviewed Beane a second time, then a couple of days later brought in Gutekunst. I think he wanted Green Bay to see him as a coveted candidate. You will recall at the time that everyone in Green Bay knew Ted Thompson was not well and not much longer for the role. There was basically two "teams" in the Packers personnel department at the time - team Wolff (Eliot) who most people assumed was the heir apparent as his dad was Thompson's predecessor and team Gutekunst. Gute was definitely seen as the outsider and to that point had limited outside interest whereas because of his name Wolff had taken multiple GM interviews by that stage. I think Gute needed the people in Green Bay to think "man we have two really sought after guys here" to give them a choice to make.

You and me both mate, you and me both.....

... but apart from all that?

Have a participation trophy

He did do it more last year, and you never want to totally take the scrambles away because they do produce so many big plays. But yea getting that balance right is always the sweet spot everyone is looking for.

I don't consider any of those a nail. They are three good efforts and all of them were almost correct.... but Washington didn't go 7-10, Tennessee didn't go 2-15 and Shakir didn't have 1173 yards.

Ha. Corrected. Thanks! TY Johnson. Not TARON. And yep, it's why you can't get me to "oh they wouldn't miss James Cook, Ray Davis is good." Cook was top 6 in the NFL in explosive runs last year (classed as runs of 20 yards or more) and of that top 6 only Josh Jacobs had a worse yards before contact rate so it isn't, as some want to claim, just the Bills oline blowing people off the ball for him and opening huge holes on every run. It's that Cook has ELITE vision and change of direction that turns what might be 3 or 4 yards for a lot of guys into 25 yards in a flash. It's also why if is a way to structure a deal that pays him more in 2025 and 2026 without committing to him for the longer term I'd be fine with it. I want this offense to get back to making its explosive plays in the passing game. But until it is in a position to do that giving up Cook who is picking up some slack by making them in the run game feels a risky proposition to me.

Sorry for the bump but I am having a rare quiet work day and was starting to turn my mind to some bold predictions for 2025 when I realised we didn't ever tie a bow on the 2024 edition..... Personally I only nailed one in 2024 - which was: - The Bills to trade away a day two pick in the 2025 NFL Draft for a wide receiver prior to the trade deadline; I had a few others that were in the ballpark - Justin Fields did do enough to be a starter in 2025 just not for the Steelers, and Rasul Douglas did look washed by the end of the season but Elam was still worse. I've just been through and counted up successes. Congrats to @major called THREE: 1. Raiders win 4 games; 2. Texans win their division; and 3. Eagles win their division. However, given that two of those were just predicting a division winner, I'm giving the prize this year to @NoHuddleKelly12 who also correctly nailed THREE and was extremely close to FIVE correct. As a reminder his predictions were: Non-Bills: -Purdy regresses and 9ers won’t make it out of the wild card round this year; CORRECT (they didn't even get to the wildcard but Purdy did regress and they didn't make it past the wild card) -Jets will field a heroic march to 6-11, Saleh will be done on or by Black Monday; ALMOST CORRECT (the Jets went 5-12 and Saleh was done long before Black Monday) -Texans will grab the #2 seed but won’t make it to the AFCCG; INCORRECT (they didn't make the AFCCG but they also weren't the #2 seed) -Watson will not play a full season in Cleveland. CORRECT Bills: -Josh takes MVP this season; CORRECT -Curtis Samuel will lead the team in catches, yards and receiving TDs.; INCORRECT -Von will play in no more than 10 games; INCORRECT -Hyde will be back with the team in some capacity no later than Week 13. ALMOST CORRECT (he actually joined on the Monday of Week 14) A reminder to get your thinking caps on chaps.... next year's Bolds thread will be out in a few weeks.