Straight Hucklebuck

Good 1. Gabe Davis has a nose for the end zone and will continue to take snaps in the offense. 2. Sanders is fast. 3. Singletary was productive for what little work he got. How Nate Geary postgame is saying Singletary doesn’t do enough to deserve the lead role I have no idea. He looked good early, but 1 hour into the game he has 4 carries. 4. Defense shut down Najee Harris, and even Ben gimped to 190 yards passing. Outside of the throw to Schuster, and the run to Claypool, there were few big plays by the Steelers. To me, they kept the Bills in the game all day. Bad 1. Playcalling was strange. The start of the game, McKenzie is in the backfield and the Bills are handing it off to him, we had some sideways throws, Allen fumbling on designed runs, a sweep to Singletary on the short side of the field that went immediately out of bounds, of course both 4th downs, especially the second one out of a tight formation. The Bills staff lacked patience in this game. In the first half it felt like we put too much emphasis on chucking deep, and none of those plays hit. Not sure why you don’t attempt a FG on 4th-8, but instead load up for a deep shot. 4th-1 you’re throwing backwards out of a tight formation? Why not go wide and look for a Diggs out route that is constantly open? 2. Our offensive line played weak, combined with an OC that runs nothing but empty sets, there are quite a few plays that are disjointed. 3. So many almosts in this game. Don’t take advantage of McKenzie’s kick return, Josh overthrows Sanders, don’t try for a 53 yard FG, can’t get Ben to the ground, Edmunds almost had two turnovers, Tre White grabs a WR and negates his interception. Game that was thrown away. 4. Allen is careless with the ball running. That’s why you have running backs Dabol. If he’s going to keep fumbling like this, then mix in a few more runs. He’s careless. He had that one today on first down where his foot looked like it got stuck in the turf.

Heard it. Breaking down merits of waiting in the omelet line verses heat-lamp eggs. Mike’s plate for all those interested was: Pizza Scrambled Eggs Salted Salmon Macaroni and Cheese with Bacon (and mentioned nothing green or healthy) You gotta love eating that heavy and no mention of working out. It’s like people telling you that story want you to clap for the unhealthy-ness of it. Just load up on that and watch football and fantasy draft all weekend. That’s how the game is played. Or immense skill that leads to goal scoring.

Well the Steelers have (3) nice WRs, and early in the season before that arm gets tired he can go over 300-yards.

No. You can beat bad teams by running a lot and not turning it over. But you saw it Thursday night, you’re not beating the best teams unless you score 35 points. And you can only get there by throwing. Patriots still have no playmakers at WR. Agholor is a stop-gap.

Definitely don’t cut Sanders, but I am rooting for Davis to seize more opportunities. He has shown a knack for getting into the end zone and potentially gives Allen a deeper average target. I think he has it in him to break out of the second fiddle role and start taking snaps from Beasley and Sanders. I am rooting for that organic growth of Davis.

Neither Edmunds or Oliver are good. Davis has a nose for the end zone. Had 7 TDs as a rookie, and had his 8th wiped out against the Jets. I want him to start taking reps away from Beasley (and possibly Sanders) because that means this offense is getting younger and more vertical.

I liked Fairburn, he is one of the few Buffalo media that doesn't ask about feelings/softball/waste of time questions.

This a great post. In general, this is why I have defended Schopp in the past. He does the bulk of the thinking, he sets the table on topics, he's the one who brings theories to the show (don't punt, throw the ball more, culture is overrated, Special Teams is overrated), so even if you disagree, at least Schopp's opinion sets the stage for discussion. Since COVID, Bulldog's biggest contribution to the show on a daily basis is to tell you he's safely locked into his attic, hasn't been to the station in a year and a half, and to generally, play up his martyr status as a COVID preacher, again wherever you fall on the topic. Where Schopp grates on me is the constant waste of time segments. The day he spent 30-minutes straight talking about Lando Calrissian from Star Wars, or the Tootsie movie discussion, him taking the show opens and making a conversation about that, how he spends his days wandering around the house while his wife and kids are gone. There are many segments (especially the 51 minute mark to the top of the hour) where the goal is to waste time. I agree with you, Bulldog does not prep or research for the show. Outside of the narrow Bills lane he lives in, you're getting 10,000 feet analysis on any other team. The worst at non-prep is Howard Simon. Because on top of not prepping for the show, you get the constant I'm old, I'm fat, I'm too lazy to workout statements. You get the never tried a strawberry, never tried a watermelon, never tried peanut butter stories and tries to play them off as normal. From that I gather he eats like a 5-year old, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, fries, soda, doughnuts.

Well Nick also thinks Pat Mahomes and the Chiefs are going to 15 straight Super Bowls. He’s said routinely that nobody in the AFC can beat Mahomes, which means he’s going to every Super Bowl from here and out. Also, he loves the Browns and so they’ve passed the Bills in his mind, and Lamar is better than Allen, so the Ravens are also better.

In the past I have defended Schopp because he does any of the lifting that show needs. He talks first, sets all the topics, is the only one with any theories on sports. But I agree with others, he has several segments per show where his goal is to waste as much time as possible. The starts of the show usually take 15 minutes before a solid sports topic comes up. The segments from the half hour mark to the mid-40’s after are usually complete waste of time stories and this is seemingly getting worse.

Absolutely and Amen brother. Every chance he gets it’s a martyr story about him being extra careful with COVID, or how he just now figured out how to self checkout at the grocery store, or like you said, being in his attic for a year and half. He is just like Howard Simon. He wakes up about 1 minute before the show starts and has Mike set the table and discussion points.

Buffalo media has this mentality with every young player that they are here to learn and play their small part, and it’s like what if Gabe Davis is better than Cole Beasley and better than Emmanuel Sanders and he just scores TDs all the time? Gabe is awesome and has worked hard literally since the Bills drafted him (running routes the day of the Draft), but this idea that he is here to learn from all the veterans around him. It’s okay if the expectation for himself is to become the #1 option.

I took exception to the comment that speed is overrated unless it’s Tyreke Hill speed. Speed does matter in 2021, not just at 4.29 like Hill, but the minimum speed bar is conceivably higher because teams throw more often than ever before, case in point is Hodgins. Had the height, the hands, the college production, but he’s a 4.6 guy who can’t stay healthy and can’t separate. And the other thing is happening here is our fandom dismisses what came before and favors who is here now. Brown had 1,000+ yards here as the #1 in 2019, and last year his injuries caught back up to him and his playmaking went belly up. Sanders is on his 4th team in 5-years now, so he’s not in his prime either. Great route runner yes, established veteran yes, but I think the OP has a valid point to ask about Sanders speed at 34 years old until we see it on the field against starters.

“We aren’t talking about the draft” - This whole thread was based on a question about Brown’s long speed verses Sanders. ”Speed isn’t paramount” - That’s why I said it’s a “factor” Where else do you get a number to indicate speed outside of the Combine measurements (40, 3-cone)? Football people always talk about how timed speed doesn’t matter, it’s all on the tape, but clearly that’s not true and prospects are moved up and down because of it. In this case why was Sanders speed questioned in the OP? Because he’s 34 and there is doubt how long he can consistently separate from DBs. He’s not going to forget how to run routes.

I don't agree there is no value to the 40-yard dash. This isn't 1972 where you outwork guys with minimal athleticism. There are minimum thresholds now. Mike Evans at 6'5" running a 4.53 40-yard dash alleviated concerns, whereas Bills message board favorite Malcolm Kelly struggled IN PART because he ran a 4.68-4.75. It's the reason they measure arm length, and when Nick O'Leary checked in with 4.93 speed and 29" arms. Why do players like Henry Ruggs get drafted before Jerry Jeudy? How does Jalen Waddle get drafted before DeVonta Smith? 4.27 40's. The entire league outsmarted themselves on DK Metcalf, 6"3" 230 pounds and 10.3 100-meter speed. So the threshold is 4.60 speed, and if you're a smaller WR, it needs to be closer to 4.50 speed. It's not an R-Squared correlation of 1.0, but speed is a factor.

Colin Cowherd, all the Jim Rome leftover/wannabees (Ben Maller, JT the Brick, Dan Byers), are all big-city LA Honks. They hate small market cities, especially in the rust belt. For them it's LA, Miami and nobody else really matters.

Did any Bills fans actually learn anything new about the team from him? Or Rodak? Or any of the national guys? Although well-versed, our own media (Sal Capaccio, Chris Brown) don't have any inside information, so the national guys have nothing to offer.

Bring back the Red End Zones and the Red Helmets. And ditch the 2002 era darker blue. That shade of blue should never have been in the Bills jerseys to begin with.

I’m glad they booted Fromm. He’s the type of QB the old Bills would have hung onto and talked about how much he has grown.

Taiwan Jones is like the old Drought Bills kind of player. The Brad Smith and Joe Webb type of players, older 30+ year old that can't help the Bills in any other way than running down the field and tackling people on Special Teams. Given the cheap salary, team control for 2 more years, his youth and ability to stick on the roster, giving Jones a spot is a waste. Just like we were told how much Lee Smith meant to the team for years because of his elite blocking.

Again, keep Johnson and don't hand Taiwan Jones a roster spot.

I don't think the Bills hand was forced on this. Don't give T Jones a roster spot, cut Addison. Seems short-sighted to trade a 24-year old for a 6th Round pick. How does that make the team any better? He was a 7th Round pick that stuck on the roster for 2-years. And he had the size you can't teach. Addison is a FA bust, not sure why he is allowed to hang around over a player you drafted and developed.

24-year old former 7th Round-pick that has found a way to stick on this roster for 2-years, and we get a 6th back? Why not just cut Addison and keep Johnson?

Cut. Only keep 2 QBs. Sure Mitchell T is only signed for this year, but there is no reason to hold a roster spot for Fromm.

I'm with you here, he is a declining player and is expensive.