Last Guy on the Bench

I am beside myself. I am so jacked for this version of the Bills! I am sooooo thirsty for a compelling win today, and am hoping we win going away. And yet, I truly believe that if they lose I won't crater, because I think we are in for a good year either way. Plus, I actually like/enjoy this Darnold-led Jets team, apart from their tool of a coach. So I'm hoping that both these young upstart teams set a tone for the season which will banish the *Pats to oblivion where they belong. Bring it! Go Bills!

Great article. This finally made me buy a subscription to The Athletic.

Just from his highlight reel, though I guess that was most of his catches last year: Hands look great. But man is he a lumberer. It's a bit painful watching him try to make any kind of cut or move. He also seems to get hit HARD. He doesn't go down right away, but the first hit seems to cave him in and he sort of flails around and stumbles, usually going to ground pretty soon. Doesn't seem to deliver many blows the other way. (Again, maybe a blocking cutup would show him as a punisher - don't know, but I doubt it.) He doesn't really feel like an NFL athlete to me. Except for those hands. Which may be enough with old rocket arm Josh. I predict practice squad.

Been watching a lot of this kid and getting really excited. Three things I love: 1) He has this awesome Aikido way of breaking tackles. He regularly sort of goes in the direction of the force of the tackle. He lets the defender push him, or spin him, or knock him back. The defender is expecting resistance, and he doesn't get it on the vector he was expecting, and all of a sudden he is off balance, stumbling, grabbing at a sleeve or an ankle, and Singletary hits the jets and is out of his grasp. I keep seeing this and it's fascinating. Maybe other RBs do this too? I've never really noticed it. Once in a while Singletary will just pop someone, but mostly he absorbs the hit and lets it redirect him. He's so quick he adjusts to the new angle way faster than the defender can. The funniest is when a defender hits him square from the front and Singletary moves backward a step or two and the defender falls on his knees or even face. 2) Has a great feel for when to run around in the backfield looking for an escape, trying to reverse fields (he doesn't do this all that often, but when he does, it often works) and when to just slice through the muck for a few yards. He seems very decisive about which of these two options to pursue when he's bottled up, and usually seems to get it right. 3) After every TD he just tosses the ball immediately to the nearest ref. Classic Marv Levy "Act like you've been there before." Love this kid. Can't wait to see him in action with the big boys.

Yeah - it is a shame for the poor player. What I really empathize with is that complete sense of helplessness those fans are feeling. When you are stuck with an owner/GM/coach that is driving you crazy and there is nothing you can do about it, you feel like an enraged five-year-old. Of course, the whole thing also illustrates how ludicrous it is that so many of us take this parlor game so seriously (me definitely included - I take a four-day holiday from work every Draft).

Sorry if this has been posted, but I haven't seen it. Hilarious compilation of Giants fans going out of their skulls at the Daniel Jones pick. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkQrgk-BoLc&feature=youtu.be Feels very familiar to me from many Bills drafts, though not this one.

Guess I'm in the minority, but I would do it. Love that guy. People put way too much stock in first rounders. Half of them aren't that great. (More than half of ours, historically.) I get the argument that you'd be trading two for one for a guy who also might not be that great, but if you believe in him, do it. We need a few superstars. Take a big swing now and then for the right guy. I think Williams might be that guy. And obviously if they made a trade like this they would agree.

It's also weird that he seems to equate Beasley with Brown. The whole point of Beasley is that he's a quick slot guy, not a guy that needs a 7 step drop and tons of time to get open. Unless I'm missing something. So the two main additions at WR serve very different functions. Seems like part of a plan to get more flexibility into the offense. I'm sure Beane would love to add a reliable big guy too. The offseason is far from over.

I don't think this fully captures a columnist's job - or at least a good columnist's job. Yes, a columnist is not reporter, and their job is "opinion" in some sense, but not in the sense of your drunk neighbor at the Bills' game or your irritating Uncle. Good columnists draw on non-obvious information to build a non-obvious window onto what they are writing about. They read stuff and synthesize it. They talk to people that others might not be able to talk to. Fresh opinions don't just drop out of the sky, even for very creative people (which Jerry is not). They take some kind of engagement. It doesn't seem like Jerry ever did anything but watch the games and go to the press conferences. You know who else does that? All of us (at least virtually). So it's no surprise that his columns were rarely surprising. I think when people say he was lazy, they don't mean he should have been acting like a reporter. They mean he was intellectually lazy. Even geniuses need to prime the pump. It takes work to have an interesting take. Peter King, for example, is a columnist. He writes a million words a week of opinions, musings, autobiography, etc. But love him or hate him, he spends a lot of time reading, talking to other people, and going out and engaging with the NFL. I know he has access that Jerry could only dream of, and I wouldn't expect the Buff News to mirror a national publication. But you can do some of that, even if you're working in Boise. Honestly, an average post from you, KTD, or from a bunch of other posters, has much more interesting opinion and analysis than any Sullivan column. And it has very little to do with how positive or negative someone is. You tend to be relatively sunny (except when it comes to Peterman). Badol is a curmudgeon, but always interesting. Both of you offer a fresh eye. Neither of you sounds like every other poster or radio idiot. There are lots of posters here who can knock off a tipsy post in their sleep that is better than Jerry's columns. Someone who is actually thinking about things and engaging with them can always find lots of interesting positive and negative things to say. The key word being 'interesting'. Heck, even DC Tom, who never offers any actual football insight, and who is as surly as they come, is actually funny. I would read a column by him. But life's too short to read stuff by someone like Jerry.

Wow. Rosen looks sharp. Throws a beautiful ball. All of the top 4 QBs look pretty legit so far. It would be something if it stayed that way. Still, I'll take our guy. Allen was at the bottom of my list for the draft, but he has sold me. I really enjoy watching him play. He may end up being a little messier than the other guys, but he looks like a baller, and he's super cool in the pocket. That has surprised me. And I love that sense you have with him that something big can happen at any time. I've missed that. That's what I liked about Mahomes too (whom I still like), but Allen seems cooler in the pocket.

Yeah, full standalone, unconditional streaming is definitely coming. Just have to be patient. Many similar sorts of arguments used to get thrown around about other premium TV like HBO, etc. Streaming was going to be too disruptive to their revenue model. But now you can get standalone HBO streaming, standalone Showtime streaming, a streaming cable package equivalent through Youtube, etc. I'm sure they NFL will follow suit. They do it abroad. And they are close with their non-live GamePass offering in the U.S. now. I've been living abroad, so I've been able to get the full ticket streaming for $200 bucks straight from the NFL. But I'm back in the U.S. this fall. No way I'm getting in bed with DTV or any other TV provider. I'm just paying my $99 bucks for GamePass and watching the games after they air. Sucks not to see them live (except when I head out to a sports bar), but not worth it to me to put in that whole insane TV infrastructure. I'll just stay away from the news for a few hours and watch the Bills on Sunday evenings. Just pretend it's a night game.

I would have agreed with you on first looking at that play. But the Cover1 breakdown was illuminating. A) He wasn't reading Proehl's route by design (at least that's what the Cover1 guy thinks), and B) Proehl isn't actually open when Allen starts his throw - be breaks open after that when the safety cheats over to the outside - if the safety had followed him, Proehl he wouldn't have been open - but Allen's already made his decision before it's clear what the safety is going to do. Bold decision. Great throw. And for anyone saying he had several inaccurate throws in that game, I don't see them. The two that were way off were obviously miscommunications. They were so far off there is no way Allen was throwing to where the receiver ended up. Still might have been his fault, but from screwing up the play or misreading the defense, not from inaccuracy. On the bombs NO QB hits those precisely even 50% of the time. Your best hope is that someone can get a long one close enough that you'll hit it now and then. He certainly did that. I was amazed at how accurate Allen was in this game.

If we played the Dolphins 16 times a year, Charles Clay would have 2,000 yards and 30 TDs. It's vastly entertaining watching them try to tackle him.

Good post. I was definitely among the disappointed when his name was called, but there is a lot to like about the kid. And like many, the more I look, the more optimistic I feel (or at least can talk myself into feeling). IF he's going to be good, I think your point three on story is key. No player falls into an entirely predictable, pre-set pattern. Every player has his own journey. But in Allen's case, the journey really is an outlier, making it even less predictable. No one would have said that Kurt Warner - going undrafted, cut in training camp, not from a big conference, kicking around the Arena League and NFL Europe - would be a hall of famer but there he is. What gives me the most hope about Josh is the tenacity and will and love for football that has kept him going through being unrecruited out of high school, JUCO, the 1,000 emails, heading to the middle of nowhere based on one offer and glad to do it, etc. This kid is driven and disciplined. He was a late bloomer physically. He might be a late bloomer statistically on the field too. Combine that with the fact that he is a PHREAK. I wish he had thrown for more yards and more completions, but man, his best throws are so much better than anyone else's best throws from a physical standpoint. He doesn't just have a big arm. He might have the best arm I've ever seen - and I've been watching football since the early 1970s.

Sure. I'm not particularly anti-Peterman. Was just responding to the poster who said he hadn't thrown any passes in the Chargers game (I think he was mixing up which was the 5 int game.) That being said, I think I agree with Kelly the Dog that a lot of his troubles seem to come from lack of arm strength. I was quite interested to watch him play, but I can't say I ended the year feeling at all optimistic that he was going to stick in the league.

That's where I land. I don't think he starts right away. But he will at some point, unless McCarron is really on a roll. Not holding my breath. Given our brutal road schedule early, probably the best plan is to let McCarron weather that storm, and then, if Josh is making good progress with the offense mentally, get him in there - somewhere in mid-season.

He threw 14 passes in the Chargers game, 5 of them to the Chargers.

I always take off Thursday-Monday. My own little paradise staycation. Load up on all the junk food I won't usually let myself buy. Queue up some good binge watching material for the down periods when I've consumed all the draft-related info I can find. It's a four day extravaganza of indulgence. I look forward to it every year the way I used to look forward to Christmas when I was a kid. My wife usually just heads out for a mini vacation of her own. I can't blame her. Watching me sink down into the hedonistic depths over four days isn't pretty. Usually takes me a week of recovery to feel like I'm not still football-junk-food-computer-screen stoned.

Ha ha. That did cross my mind. Ongoing traumatic stress syndrome.

Wow. Not that I want the Jets or Phins to be good. But it would be pretty cool seeing Mayfield, Darnold, and Rosen fighting it out in the AFC East for the next ten years, while the Pats fade into oblivion. I know it's unlikely that all three will pan out anyway. But it would give us the most interesting division for a little while at least.

I can't even let myself contemplate this possibility. It is too exciting. I understand that Darnold is a little sloppy and not as developed in some areas as some of the other guys. But he is the one guy who screams franchise to me. I actually think he is the safest pick, not just the one with the highest ceiling. When I watch him play, I just have confidence in him. He sees things that other QBs tend not to - little windows and angles. He finds a way to make plays at the right moments. He's got that confidence and that kind of idiot savant geometry that all the best QBs have. And pressure doesn't seem to bother him - on or off the field. Can't believe he is so young. If the Bills somehow manage to get him, it will be the happiest I've been as a Bills fan since the USFL closed up shop and Jim Kelly came to town. Seems too good to be true, though. I don't see how the Browns/Giants/Jets let this guy get past them (or trade down instead of taking him). Guess we'll see.

Yeah, QBs like Flacco and Dalton are tricky. My knee-jerk was to differentiate them on playoff wins, but that's crude. They may not be that different. I think they are both definitely franchise guys. I'd probably put them both at level 2 rather than level 1. The Bengals have been in the playoffs regularly with Dalton, I think. Just haven't won one. But again, that's not necessarily mainly on Dalton. Plus I love him for last year, so from the Bills' point of view he should actually be at Level 4!

Great question, since we all throw the term around so much, and we mean different things. For me, I don't think you can look at absolutes like winning the Super Bowl - too many other factors go into that. We all want to win the Super Bowl, but first and foremost I want to consistently enjoy my team, I want it to be relevant, and I want it to feel like it has a regular chance to win the big one. So I would combine some of the different definitions in this thread into three levels of franchise. Each level would include the criteria of the lower levels. Level 1) Long-term starter. As a few people have said, that's probably a basic definition of "franchise." This guy is associated with your team in a sustained way. You continue to give him the keys. He may not be a world beater, but starting for 5 years for one team is a MAJOR accomplishment, if we think about all of the thousands of gifted high school QBs, whittled down to NCAA QBs, whittled down to pro contracts, whittled down to starting even one game, whittled down to journeyman, whittled down to this. These Andy Daltons are nothing to be sneezed at. There ain't that many of them. Level 2) Is a major contributor to a team being regularly in the hunt. This is probably THE key level for me. I'd be super happy to have this again after 25 years without it. Makes the playoffs more often than not. Wins some playoff games. Might have a down year here and there, but bounces back the next year. Teams can ride this QB to relevance and January football enjoyment for 7-12 years. This is gold. This is Phillip Rivers, Donovan McNabb, Joe Flacco, etc. to me. Level 3) Can put the team on his back at difficult times. Fourth quarters, comebacks, major injuries to other key players, etc. These guys suck to play against. Even when you seem to be controlling the game, outplaying their team, etc., they just make it really hard for you to beat them. They often (not always) just seem to have one more play in them than you do. It isn't always pretty, but it works. You know these guys because even when you are beating them you don't feel good and you are waiting for the other shoe to drop. Conversely, if they are on your team, you always kind of expect to pull the game out at the end. You won't every time, but you still except to. It's very relaxing. These guys don't have to be perfect or win the SB necessarily to me. I would include QBs like Kelly here along with the obvious ones like Brady, Rodgers, Montana, etc. I'd put Wilson here. Roethlisberger. Elway. This is nirvana. Obviously you can still argue about where guys should be. Where's Eli. for example? -Clearly meets level 1, I think clearly meets level 2, level 3? Sometimes. Anyway that's my two cents, based purely on what I value and enjoy in a QB for my team. I want one.

This definitely deserved its own thread. Although I appreciate the work to keep the board from getting too cluttered, I am getting weary of having to wade through omnibus threads to find news, fresh topics, and interesting takes. Why should something as general as the owner's meeting have its own thread and be the only place to post on all of the many kinds of topics that might come out during that meeting? That being said, I acknowledge that this is the best discussion board on the internet. Love it, and I appreciate all the work people do to keep it that way. But maybe we could be a little less intense about jumping on people posting new topics?

That's exactly where I am. I'd be thrilled to land him. But my overall ranking is 1)Darnold 2)Mayfield 3)Jackson . . . . .moderate gap in my enthusiasm level to 4)Rosen 5) Allen 6)Rudolph. And I could probably be talked into Rudolph before Rosen or Allen, though I know I'll get flamed for that. Frankly, if any of those six land here, I'm happy and intrigued - at least until the first preseason game ;-).