Rochesterfan

Correct it is a rumor reported from sources - so who knows if it is 100% true, but if it is really 10 then we are talking 13%, but they state less than 10 so if it is 8 that is 10% of the players in camp. I personally believe it is probably higher, but I have no sources and this is a legitimate source, but I do not know how much to trust their accuracy or who their sources are and from when they got the info - just that they released it with OTAs. To my point - I could see it impacted some players decisions to come in - especially with the NFLPA putting out the position that players should not attend. I would just think Star would be in contact with the FO on this and McD did not make it sound that way - so I get the frustration. Matt Parino even said he neglected to follow up with the coach to determine if they have heard anything. You could hear the frustration, but is it from total lack of contact or a position that I am not coming until I have to. We just don’t know the whole story.

I can’t verify anything at this point, but this is what was reported: If that is true or even close to true - then I can understand why a high risk player might stay away.

Agreed the 5th year option is a bonus - the issue is that for any RB like ETN the 5th year option is nothing. No team drafting in the bottom half of round 1 has ever used the 5th year option on a RB - it has not happened since the start of 5th year options in 2011. A stud back can do all the things you say, but a RB late in Rd 1 has never been a stud since 2011 - those are found either high up (top 10) or in the later rounds including UDFAs. I was ok with Rousseau and would have loved 1 of the 2 CBs at that spot (position I think they were trading up for) - ETN would not have been value to me - He would of been a luxury short term pick - much like CEH was in KC last year. A guy that you expect to beat out your UDFA (or 3rd rd picks in Buffalo) and move you to the next level and at the end of the year - the UDFA/other backs put up jut as good of number and overall you offensive game got worse.

Another reason to avoid RB in the later part of the 1st round. https://theathletic.com/2592764/2021/05/19/the-cowboys-bills-chiefs-rams-and-seahawks-traded-picks-for-stars-5th-year-options-and-re-thinking-the-nfl-draft/?source=user_shared_article Since 2011 when the 5th year option started - No RBs drafted in the bottom half of the first round have had their 5th year option picked up - 0-5 since 2011. The only other position close is QB with 1-5 and we know QBs are alway over drafted - so these late round QB really are guys that normally would be picked a round or two later- unlike the RBs that in some drafts are the first RBs off the board late in round 1. It is even worse now that the 5th year option rate has been declining for later picks anyway and with the guarantees in place now - the numbers will shrink even more. It really points to avoiding RBs later in the first round because they provide little value and tend to be gone in 4 years or less. The value for RBs comes starting in rounds 2-4. Teams should really focus on positions like WR, T, TE, CB, Safety as prime positions late in round 1 as those positions seem to have the most value and the highest hit rate and most players getting 5th year options picked up. Harris at least made a bit of sense as he could be a bell weather RB with both runs and a ton of catches. ETN is practicing with WRs because they see his only value in the passing game - not as a RB.

Look - it is fun and easy to bash his decision, but has anyone heard why he made his decision? The fact that based upon some Bills reporters - the Bills are currently at 10% vaccination rate maybe drove part of his decision? I don’t know, but if you were concerned enough to sit out because of the health risks and potential effect and you do a little bit of research and see that even vaccinated people with high risk (especially those with slightly suppressed immune responses) can get infected/re-infected and then you research the impact on healthy athletes in your sport - guys like Cam, Garrett, Tommy Sweeney, and Miller that all missed time and some had severe complications - maybe you still take a more cautious approach. Maybe he is waiting for further guidance and a higher compliance rate before returning. Maybe he is waiting to see if the NFLPA will provide additional guidance or maybe he is following the NFLPA guidance he has been given - which was for all athletes was to not attend OTAs due to COVID risk. Maybe he is just a fat tub and wants his money without doing anything? I don’t know his reasoning and you don’t know his reasoning and it is really unfair and in totally bad taste to single him out and say he does not want to be here or question his motivation. He was given a stipend last year to sit out and it was a tiny fraction of his salary and a portion must be paid back with his salary this year. I don’t know what is driving his motivation and I don’t know what discussions he has had with the NFLPA and or team, but those are his decisions and he is within his rights to not attend until he is comfortable.

NFLPA versus Coach/trainer. The NFL basically mandated vaccinations for coaches and front office staff by limiting what contact they could have if unvaccinated. The NFLPA basically decided they would fight the vaccination decision - so it is a personal choice and if vaccinated and unvaccinated players mix they are fine. The next step is the eventual NFL protocol that will involve masking and in person meetings - that they can control. They will role out guidelines that will involve vaccination rates and what can be don and that will either force teams to get the vaccination rate up among players or there will be disadvantages to those teams that don’t. That is the team discussion that is on-going and we will eventually know the rate as we see future activities.

That is fine, but nothing would also suggest ETN would truly improve the offense and the data indicates otherwise - even if he is elite level - the impact is minimal. Again my position if ETN was there at 30 and they picked him - great, but I was much more hopeful that a DE, OL, or CB would provide more help to the overall roster than a RB.

I am trying to not Wade to deep in here, but let’s get some perspective on this. Lets assume you are giving him most of the touches that went to Singletary and Moss. Their average per carry (with all our complaining) was top 30 in the league at 4.4 and 4.3. So if we dare to assume that ETN is significantly better (which is unproven and only a hope) and assume he runs like Kamara for an average of 5.0 YPC - a huge assumption. If every carry that was given to the 2 starters was given to ETN instead and he was on par with Kamara as a top 10 RB - you get close to 160 more yards at the end of the season or about 9 yards more per game. ETN versus Moss and Singletary gets you less than 1 first down as a RB. If you do the same exercise with receiving yards - you give him every touch by Singletary and Moss and you make the huge assumption that ETN produces similar to Kamara. You have ETN at the top end getting about 6 more receiving yards per game than Singletary and Moss. So if we max out ETN to mirror Kamara (and I don’t believe he will produce anything close) we get maybe 1 first down a game. Also Kamara produced significantly less per touch than a true WR like Beasley, Diggs, Brown, or Davis. So if we end up taking touches in the passing game away from WRs to ETN because he is a better receiver than Singletary and Moss - then you are actually creating a situation where we produce less offense than 2020 because you are taking the ball from great WRs and give it to a RB. Look ETN at 30 would have been fine, but as you see with Jacksonville- they are basically treating him like a WR. He was never going to get the touches in the running game - so basically what we are seeing is he is great for a team with weak WRs, but on a team with a strong passing game and 4 excellent WRs - he provides little. Could he help the Bills win more games maybe, but the data suggests that the difference he brings is most games would not be the difference between beating teams and losing - that rides on Josh Allen’s arm. He brings a bit of support to the offense and maybe a change of pace, but even if he produces at an incredible rate (Alvin Kamara type averages) he produces 15 more yards than Singletary and Moss if every touch went his way and since they play by committee- really less than half of that is reasonable - you are looking at him producing and additional 8 yards a game.

The issue is both sides could be right and both sides could be wrong and the most likely thing is someplace in between. The Bills and ETN/agent must have talked some and he was being mocked to the Bills a ton, but at the same time most of those guys a la Peter King admitted ETN with 4.45 speed is not blazing fast. To that point - it seems Jacksonville is already integrating him more into the WR aspect than the Running Back side of the offense. I think ETN could be an above average RB, but I don’t think he is a true Home Run threat in the NFL. His speed is not elite - so he won’t be outrunning LBs and DBs and his running style was more outside zone and jukes and in the NFL those big gains become a series of 3-5 yard runs. I think he would have been a better fit than the KC pick last year - better speed and agility, but I think his impact like most RBs would be minimal. I really do not see where he would put a team (any team including the Bills) over the top. He could complement the offense, but every touch he gets in the passing game takes throws away from WRs who are much better at the run and catch game. I honestly think there were 2-3 guys they were looking to move up for and ETN and Rousseau were both not it. I would of been very interested in what would have happened if both were available at 30 - I just did not see the reaction in the Embedded piece when ETN comes off the board to believe he was the guy at 30.

It really seems with how they never looked at RBs anyplace else in the draft that ETN was a total smokescreen. I think it is even more telling that the team that drafted him only thinks he is a limited 3rd down back and still wasted a 1st round pick on him. I think that got Buffalo a player they really wanted. I am pretty sure DE and CB were the 2 positions they were looking at as CB went on a mini-run before the Bills pick and at the top of round 2 and the Bills started the DE run.

But the real question is how many Kneecaps are left after Dan Campbell and the Lions are done rolling over like Dogs?

I would just love to be in that room and then see that video. The strategy and planning that go into that day and the literal ranking of guys that they do must be amazing to see. I am sure that they love the Rousseau pick, but I totally agree - I would love to know who was on the phone and who they wanted to move up for. The Basham pick I can totally believe he was the target for 10-15 picks as he slid, but man I would just love to be fly through the process. I really love watching these Embedded videos and they do a great job. I could watch 30 hours of inside draft coverage and follow-up with all of the picks, but my favorite bit was watching Eric Washington and Rousseau talk and how truly excited he was for this young man. Just smashed it.

Come on Hap - don’t ruin the hot take with facts. 🤦‍♂️

Ok - once again - in all seriousness being totally honest - Why is he considered a home run threat? Wades 40 time and speed were slower than Moss. He is no more a home run threat than Zack Moss. The biggest difference is Moss understands blocking schemes - so he is going to maximize each runs versus Wade that doesn’t. Wade will make a weird cut that works on a rare occasion, but that will be matched by the number of times he loses yards or misses holes because he is still learning. Additionally a third down back needs to be multifaceted: they need to BLOCK, run, and catch. He admits in interviews that he is still learning the blocking and has never run pass patterns. He is basically useless as a third down back. All Wade is at this point is a camp body and a nice story. I hope that he shows he is picking up things and is improving, but unless he gets significantly better - I do not want my season to depend on a 31 year old rookie that is still learning. I want him sitting on the PS as an extra player and nothing more. If he proves it great, but he has not proved it to this point.

To this exact point - he has been released the last 2 years and no one has picked him up. I am not sure in limited time in a few preseason games someone is suddenly going to be like - I need that guy on my final roster. We will see because to get to the PS and the exempt spot - he has to get cut and clear waivers where every team can grab him - so most likely you get your chance to see if others feel the same way.

I am honestly curious as to what you have seen to be able to say this. I won’t agree or disagree until after training camp, but considering all we saw was a very few handoffs 2 years ago. I am not prepared to say he is better than the top 5 RBs on this roster - Moss, Singletary, Breida, Williams, or Jones. He was an instinctual runner 2 years ago with an offensive line and scheme that was more designed to block and allow the RB to hit any hole. Last year that scheme changed to more of an outside zone - get to the hole and go - scheme that favored Moss and even Singletary struggled to pick it up mid season- I am not sure Wade barely practicing was able to pick it up completely and I think it suits him less. My gut/gun to my head thought is Wade has little shot to make this current roster this year. The NFL gave an extra year because these guys got no on the field training last year - no preseason, little training camp, and very little on field practice during the season. I am sure he got a lot of mental reps, but the change in blocking scheme with little practice means he is basically starting over. I would expect him to get cut - clear waivers - and be on the PS as an unusable extra again this year and then when he doesn’t make the team next year - go back to England and work to set up an NFL style training program for Brits that want to make the NFL. I like the dude a lot, but until we see it in TC and preseason - I think he is 6 or lower on the depth chart.

Not to mention - you can typically get tickets online for a couple of bucks. Took the family a couple of years ago - got 4 tickets in the lower bowl for the Giants game for a total of 10 bucks. You can’t beat that and we won and it was a great time in awesome weather and the kids got some autographs near the end as the players milled about.

Typically to sue a Union - a member has to first go through the NLRB board and prove misrepresentation. The NLRB will then review and sanction the Union - then there is an option to sue. Very, very few lawyers would start out trying to sue a Union because the burden of proof that the Union purposely provided bad representation. The issue in this case is that the Union gave terrible advice trying to force the NFL away from OTA’s and it will cost 2 of their members their salary and for James that was a significant amount.

I doubt his suing the Broncos would work as it is collectively bargained and players have lost this in the past. The issue was not what James did, but the NFLPA arbitrarily telling players to stay away without an agreement. James should go after the NFLPA for bad advice, but I am sure like many unions the becoming of a member means you can not challenge their rulings.

Why would they cut a high profile unvaccinated player. It won’t play out like that at all and won’t lead to much discussion. There will be some camp body that isn’t sure and if that is one of the people putting you above the threshold- they will be gone for a variety of reasons. Players like Josh would just keep coming and going as a star.

Washington was a football destroyed because they are the Washington “Football” team. Not exactly clear. Chiefs was ketchup - I am assuming it is a play on Mahomes and the ketchup on the steak. BBQ sauce would of made more sense. Jets - Tasker was destroying apples for “The Big Apple” moniker. There was nothing wrong with it and I enjoyed the idea - really could have been a bit better done. At least they were in order so it made sense.

I enjoyed the Falcons as well - Josh plays a prominent role.

Not near as good as many other teams. See the Chargers thread. Here is Atlanta - Josh Allen is prominent.

He is allowed his position and if he is going to make it public and put it out - then he deserves everything he gets back. Twitter is a toxic place and people dumb enough to post anything highlighting an opinion are going to get hit. He has every right to voice his opinion and others have the same right to voice theirs back at him. If he can’t handle it - Twitter is not where he should state it. If he is fine with the dregs coming at him - then he does not need us.

Time to move on and find someone with the right priorities. LOL 😂