msw2112

I'm not an Ohio State fan, so it takes a lot for me to say this, but I like Herbstreit on the ESPN college football broadcasts. I hope that this new assignment does not take him out of that role. I'm a big Michaels fan too.

I'm neither excited nor angry about this signing. Looks like a decent veteran depth RB signing. Given that the Bills are his 4th or 5th team, he's not likley in high demand and his price tag isn't likely too high, but he's carved out a role on all of these teams and has been productive. From what I have seen, he's a better pass receiving option than Singletary or Moss and he can pass block, so he fills a need.

Fitz played great for Miami 2 years ago, but suffered a serious season-ending injury last year. If he's healthy, I think he'd be a great backup. I have no concerns about the curse. The curse involves young guys trying to break through, not established veterans. Allen has broken through (for those that were not aware). Fitz aside, Mariota would be a good fit.

These guys are solid. They're not the best. ESPN could have done better, but also could have done a lot worse. I think that Buck is better at baseball. I wonder if he'll do baseball for ESPN.

I agree with this, but it still makes me think that this case isn't the slam dunk it originally appeared to be. I do believe that Watson acted in an untoward way to some women, but I now don't think it's as egregious or widespread as I originally did. Plaintiffs attorneys taking advantage of the potential for great financial gain against a defendant with deep pockets is not a new thing. I say all of this with a giant disclaimer - this is only my opinion. I don't know what Watson did, what he didn't do, and if he did something, how egregious it was. The lack of a criminal indictment makes me think that the fact pattern isn't as damning to Watson as I previously believed. If the facts were extremely strong, even a poor prosecutor would have gotten a criminal indictment. To add to the comment about influence/political reasons, prosecutors and police are less inclined to stick their necks out against a high profile defendant (with a high profile lawyer) if the facts aren't air tight. Nobody likes to lose or look like they are incompetent. On the other hand, if the facts ARE air tight, prosecutors love the limelight provided by winning a high profile case. Legal careers are often made on high profile cases, and beyond legal careers there are book deals, movies, etc. That isn't going to happen here.

Would love to have Jones in a Bill uniform for next year and maye be 1 or 2 after that. I didn't know he was from the WNY area. Would also love to see Calais Campbell, but he's 35, so I'd only want him on a 1 year deal.

This is an interesting development. I was tending to believe that the allegations were true, but when virtually all of the alleged vicitims were represented by the same attorney, I started having some doubts. It certainly has the looks of a money grab, as all of the cases are likely on a contingency-fee basis, which would mean that the plaintiff's lawyer would get a certain percentage of all moneys recovered either at trial or in settlements (often in the 30% - 33% range). Perhaps Watson engaged in some unsavory behavior, but the lawyer trumped up the allegations and "found" numerous victims to increase the potential value of recovery. On the criminal side, there is no financial gain for anyone. And while criminal cases are much harder to prove at trial (higher standard of proof), the standard of proof to get a grand jury indictment isn't that high. Thus, if there is no indictment, it makes me think that maybe there's not as much to this as I originally thought. And moving away from the legal side and back to the football side, yes, we should expect the bidding to begin. I really like Watson the player, but am extremely glad to have Josh Allen and not have the off-the-field distractions that now come with the Watson package.

I can't speak to his cone drill, but I agree that he has great speed. In the little I saw him play, however, he seems to be a little "stiff" and he has a long injury history. It would be great if he stayed healthy and broke out, but I'm not confident that it will happen.

Does Lorax live in Arizona? I saw him at a Sabres-Coyotes game in AZ a couple of seasons ago. He was wearing a Sabres jersey with "Alexander" on the back. Very cool. A little bit of "One Buffalo" out in the desert.

The key is term. If you can bring in a game changer on a high value, SHORT TERM deal, you do it. It helps both parties - the organization is very close to being able to win it all and the player desperately seeks a ring. The organization is not cash strapped for the long term and the player can seek fortune elsewhere in the future. In the short term, both entites "use" each other to try and get the elusive ring.

I guess we'll have to wait and see what the real numbers are. $200M over four seasons for a 38 year old QB is WAY too much. Just because Tom Brady has aged well and played well into his 40's doesn't mean that Rodgers will be able to do the same. His play could decline at any time due to age. If the agreement is front loaded - pay him big bucks guaranteed for this year only, then the team can get out of it after that - it would make more sense. Not sure how the cap will work for them, as I thought they were already over by more than $20M, and now they have tagged Davonte Adams and are guaranteeing just over $20M to him.

Oh my. I'm having flashbacks.

The one who has better hands, runs crisper routes and can outjump DBs for contested balls? Just kidding....I agree that if all else is equal, you want the faster guy. This is exactly what both of you just said.

Does anyone know if this calcuation takes YAC into account? A 5 yard screen pass that the guy takes 80 yards to the house doesn't demonstrate deep ball accuracy and could skew the stats. That said, the Bills' YAC is one of the lowest in the league (if not the lowest), so if YAC isn't taken into account, these stats are even MORE impressive for Allen.

Beasley brought a lot to the Bills. But it's time to move on for 3 reasons: 1. Age/decline - while his stats last season were similar to the previous season, he clearly has lost a step and it not likely to ever regain it as he gets older. Better to move on before it's too late. New England did a great job of this during their Super Bowl years. 2. Salary - the Bills are over the cap and need to save money. Perhaps Beasley was approached about a pay cut and he declined. 3. Distraction - regardless of your position on vaccines, Beasley's very public stance on this topic was a distraction to the team. Also, it could be argued that his unwillingness to get vaccinated put himself, teammates, and others are greater risk for contracting the virus (whether or not it's a "winning" argument, it exists, and adds to the distraction). ----------------------- 4. I saw something earlier in this thread about Beasley being critical of the defense after the KC game, perhaps even on the plan ride back from KC. While criticism is certainly warranted (for both 13 seconds and OT), it's a team game and he should have kept his mouth shut. Allen was let down by the defense more than anyone, and I have heard nothing critical from him. I'm not counting this as one of my main 3 points, because I don't know how true this is, but if true, I'd have 4 points, not 3.

Assuming the interest is mutual (which it may not be), does anyone even know what Gronk would want from the Bills in terms of salary? Maybe he's willing to take a substantial (true) "hometown" discount in order to play for the team where he grew up as a fan and to play for a team with a great QB and a legitimate shot to win it all. I suspect that other teams would be willing to offer him more money than the Bills, as those teams might have more cap space and might be more interested in a big name signing to help sell tickets. The Bills don't have a ton of cap space and don't need to sign a big name to sell tickets. (But maybe the Sabres could use him - they have both lots of cap space and a major need to sell tickets).

Gronk has always been a great talent, but there's no question he was extremely immature earlier in his career. I couldn't stand the guy. I think that he's matured and become more likeable. He even did a "Cameo-style" video for my friend to surprise his son with - just as a favor/gesture, and not for money. If he can still play, which I think he can, he'd really help the Bills offense, so if Tre White and the team can get past the cheap shot from several years ago, it's a great fit for both sides.

I was wondering the same thing. We know he's fast. Why isn't it working out in Arizona? They have some good WRs on the roster - Hopkins, AJ Green, Kirk and some TEs that can catch the ball (including "former Buffalo Bill" Zach Ertz) - so maybe not enough balls to go around? I'm not sure that would change much in Buffalo with Diggs, Davis, Knox and at least one of Beasley, McKenzie, and/or Sanders returning.

Given Gronk's age and injury history, he may get fewer snaps. Need to keep him healthy for the SB run. Think of the matchup problems for defenses having both of them on the filed, along with Diggs, Davis and our third WR (TBD - Beasley, McKenzie, Sanders, Kirk, etc.). I believe this would be a great signing. The team and Tre will be able to get past what happened several years ago. It was a bonehead cheap shot play in the heat of battle. If Gronk can help the team achieve its Super Bowl goals, everyone will be able to move beyond what happened. Guys in pro sports change teams all the time and it isn't uncommon for guys that had a previous incident to become teammates. Hockey guys have fights, slashing, etc. and later become teammates. Pitchers throw at a batter and become teammates down the road. It's part of professional team sports.

I'm sure Gronk would cost more than a minimum deal, but he still might be willing to take a true "hometown" discount to play for his hometown team with a real shot to add one more ring before he hangs 'em up. As for the hatred because the played for the Pats - get over it. That's the team that drafted him (he didn't choose to play there) and he hasn't played there in a few years (and he did choose NOT to play there on his last contract). As to the hatred due to the Tre White incident a few years ago, it was a cheap shot and stupid play in the heat of battle, but players in all major sports change teams all the time and they are able to work it out and get past these things. If the Bills and Tre think that Gronk would help the team win a SB, I'm sure everyone would figure out a way to forgive and move forward.

I've said this in other posts, but I love RB Hassan Haskins of Michigan in the 5th round or later. Not a speed burner, but an excellent power back who can run between the tackles and a little bit outside, and can catch the ball in the screen/slant game. Has good ball security and a history of playing his best in the biggest games (against Notre Dame, Ohio State, etc.) He's also an ace in third/forth and short, which would help take that load off of Josh (and let's not go there with Moss). He's a converted linebacker and is tough as nails. He WAY outplayed his recruiting ranking in college and will likely outplay his draft position in the NFL. His measurables aren't the best, but the guy is just a baller.

IF he comes back, then yes, I think it's SF. It's a perfect match. That team has everything but a QB and he probably has one more season in him and it's his hometown team. The Bucs have him under contract, so a release or trade would be required. I could see SF throwing a high-mid-round pick (2-4) for this. It would be good for both sides, under the assumption that Brady won't return to Tampa. While something as high as a 2nd round pick seems to be pretty expensive, with that defense, running game, and receiving core (Kittle, Samuel, Ayiuk), this team becomes an instant NFC favorite to get to the Super Bowl (to lose to the Bills) if Brady is added. For what it's worth, Rodgers went to Berkeley (in the Bay Area) and I think he's from that part of the country too, but I don't see the Packers letting Rodgers go to SF.

Here is the comments section from the Arizona Republic's article about the situation: https://cm.azcentral.com/comment/?storyUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.azcentral.com%2Fstory%2Fsports%2Fnfl%2Fcardinals%2F2022%2F02%2F28%2Fkyler-murrays-agent-releases-statement-arizona-cardinals-contract%2F6972377001%2F&marketName=azcentral&commentsopen=false Most of these comments are in line with what most of the Bills fans in this thread think.

I disagree. Football is a team sport and a QB is the leader of the team. Top players also have access to agents, PR people, etc. There is a way to deal with a contract situation behind the scenes with the team. Sure, if it ultimately progresses to a holdout situation then it will become public, but until that happens, this type of approach is a very poor one. If the agent and/or PR people think this is going to sway public opinion in favor of Murray over the Cardinals' management, this is backfiring badly. I have no problem with him trying to get the largest contract that he can, but this is not the way to do it. Also, the comparison to Rodgers isn't a good one. Rodgers has won a Super Bowl, won multiple MVPs (including recent seasons) and has put together a Hall of Fame career. I agree that he's a huge narcissist and self-absorbed prick, but at least he's backed it up with great success. Murray has not and isn't even close.

I have not previously seen this interview. Absolutely brutal. The total opposite of a leader.