SoTier

It's not wrong entirely, but I think in Kelly's case it's less about being white and more about being Jim Kelly's nephew. If his uncle wasn't Jim Kelly, he wouldn't have been drafted. He wouldn't have gotten another chance with Indy if not for his uncle's relationship with Frank Reich, either -- and I believe Reich's said that publicly. I don't think that the author used good examples. Josh Freeman was a first rounder who was always a QB and had one good season before alleged drug use tanked his career. He attempted comebacks but he's been just awful, including a short stint with the Bills, so he's out of the league because of his play not because he's black. I think that Griffin has been treated somewhat unfairly by NFL teams but that's how teams treat failed first round QBs. Griffin didn't play well in Washington after his injury, and that relegated him to being a backup at best where ever he goes. JP Losman left the NFL after his failed sojourn in Buffalo because he realized that no team would give him a real shot at a starting job again. It's likely to happen to Josh Rosen, too, unless he can take the Miami job away from Fitz (or inherit it) and shine. Furthermore, while some pundit/draftniks were projecting Lamar Jackson as a RB, I don't think that Baltimore ever did. They used him on some gadget plays early in the season to get him used to real game action, but he was always their backup to Flacco until he became the starter. I think that EJ Manuel would be a better example of a black QB held to a higher standard than a white QB -- the essence of white privilege -- given how the Bills gave Nathan Peterman multiple chances despite his spectacular failures in both his rookie and sophomore seasons. I know they were different regimes but it seemed to me that the Bills under McDermott and Beane were looking to get shed of Tyrod Taylor, too, from the beginning. They certainly made it hard for Taylor to have success as a passer given that they sent his WRs from 2016 -- Watkins, Woods, Goodwin -- packing so they could saddle him with Kelvin Benjamin and Zay Jones.

This is his "golden opportunity" to be sure. It's Drew Bledsoe getting hurt in the first game of the 2001 season. It's Fitzmagic coming into the Bills game and throwing the 99-yard TD to Terrell Owens. He was unlikely to stick with Indy unless they kept 3 QBs. Now, off his preseason work, he's not only likely to be the backup to Brissett, but much more likely to get a shot at the starting slot.

I think fewer, more general topics would be better. Offense, defense, special teams, and coaching would be good general topics.

If Gase were the Bills HC I'm sure you'd see lots of "great leadership qualities" in him.

I responded to a poster who claimed that the Bills being 3 years with the same coach gave them a significant advantage over the Jets because Gase was in his first year. I didn't predict them to make the playoffs. If Gase has become a better HC than he was in Miami, and if the Jets off-season moves pay dividends there's no reason that the Jets can't win several more games than they did last season and possibly make the playoffs. Actually, Pedersen, McVay, Reich, and Nagy were all totally unproven when they were hired. That Gase failed in his first HC gig doesn't mean that he'll never be a good HC.

Not all teams take year to get their acts together under new coaching regimes. The Bears won 12 games last season under new HC Matt Nagy after winning only 5 in 2017. The Colts won 10 games last season under new HC Frank Reich after winning only 4 games the previous season. The Rams made the playoffs in their first season under McVay and made the Super Bowl in his second. The Eagles won the Super Bowl in Pedersen's second season.

I think that reports of the Chiefs' demise as a power in the AFC, like those of Pats', are a bit premature.

I agree. Two rankings I think are too high, based on preseason play, are the Niners and Panthers. Unless Garoppolo plays up to the contract he got and Cam comes back as good as ever, these two teams are going to be drafting top 5 in 2020. I think that Indy is a bit too high given Luck's physical problems, but if they get him back early enough, they'll be fine. Journalism has ALWAYS been about trying to get something out as fast as possible. The problem is that human editors with good spelling/grammar skills have been replaced by spell and grammar checkers -- and that's not limited to journalism. What the hell have the Bills done to justify being considered better than the Jets? The Jets brought in a new offensive minded HC, their 2nd year QB was mechanically a better passer than Allen, and they added a marquee RB and a WR about as good as the two veterans the Bills added. Nobody knows if either the Bills or Jets OLs will be as improved as fans hope. Famous. Last. Words.

I think I heard this same thing said when McDermott named Peterman the starter last year.

On paper, I don't think that the Bills D is good enough to stop the offenses of the Pats, Rams, Chiefs, Saints, Eagles, Steelers, Chargers, and Browns while their offense isn't good enough to score enough against these Ds, even if the defenses, like the Chiefs', aren't great. I think the Bills could very well lose twice to the Cowboys, Vikings, and Seahawks although they would have better chances of spliltting with this trio than the others. If Andrew Luck was healthy, I'd add Indy to the second group, too.

I think that 10 wins is going to be hard to do, and that 8 or 9 is much more realistic. Too many fans overestimate how successful the Bills personnel changes will be while at the same time discounting the changes that their opponents have made to their coaching staffs and rosters, some of which have been much more substantial than what the Bills have done. Moreover, assuming that the Bills will sweep the Jets and Miami is foolish; divisional games -- even when one team seems significantly better than the other -- tend to be very competitive.

Josh Gordon has been conditionally reinstated and practiced with the team yesterday and today. He won't play on Thursday, but if he can stay on the straight and narrow -- he got through 12 games last year -- Brady has his outside threat. Also, Demarous Thomas has been activated. If he comes back close to his pre-injury form, then Brady will have two studs on the outside. The Bills still have lots of questions despite how well they looked in the 2nd preseason game: How much has the OL improved, especially if Morse is unavailable or misses significant time? Can the Bills field a decent running game? Are the WRs and TEs good enough to be effective in the regular season? Can Allen play as well in the speed and pressure of the regular season as he has in preseason? If the OL, running game, and/or receivers don't improve as expected, Allen is going to struggle even if his own skill set improves. Can the Bills defense do better stopping the run ? Can the Bills defense be tougher in the Red Zone?

I'm sure Zerovoltz will take 18-1 or 17-2 if they win the one that counts, their last one. I think it's very possible that if the Chiefs don't go 16-0 in the regular season, they may very well still win 14 or 15 games.

Uh-oh. You obviously missed his new look on the sidelines this preseason. He's not quite svelte but he looks like he's lost a considerable amount of weight already. I believe a couple of commentators mentioned this during a broadcast.

Don't be too sure of that. Lynn knows what he's getting in Taylor, which is a competent backup QB. Jones hasn't proven that he can play competently when the games count.

I think that the only two QBs that NE has "developed" other than Brady would be Matt Cassel and Brian Hoyer. They were at least low level starters for several teams but Brissett and Garoppolo haven't proven that they're more than competent backups, although Brissett played well the other night. I don't think any other QBs that the Pats have drafted/signed since they drafted Brady have done anything in the NFL. I think Flacco looks like a "brand new man" in Denver. Maybe the Denver offensive scheme suits his style better than what the Ravens ran.

LOL. Garoppolo has had fewer starts than Josh Allen despite being in the league for 5 years ... and right now, he's playing like an UDFA rookie not one of the most expensive players in the league.

Running on Empty You Love the Thunder

I was really impressed by Josh Allen and his receivers in this game. They looked like a real NFL passing offense, something that we didn't see last season. Allen was on target on his throws and his receivers held on to the ball and even got YAC. His short game was impressive. His decision making was good. If Allen can continue this kind of play in the regular season -- a big "if" -- then he will have definitely made that "significant" improvement everyone was hoping that he would.

Who, exactly, is the RB that McCoy would be an insurance policy for?

Somebody said that the only QB who mattered was Allen, which was a stupid statement. This year, it's clear that Barkley is the second stringer but last season the Bills went with the wrong QB, and they paid for it in spades.

I disagree. As we found out last season, having a competent backup QB matters, too.

That may have happened to Odomes, too, but according to Pro Football Reference, Jackson's last official NFL season was 1992. He only played 5 years. I got the info that he was injured while with Seattle but before he played a game from Wikipedia.

In 1992, the Bills had Kirby Jackson, Nate Odomes who made the Pro Bowl in 1992, Henry Jones, an All Pro SS in 1992, and Mark Kelso. That was probably the best secondary the Bills had since the merger. Jackson's suffered a career ending injury after leaving Buffalo for Seattle, so he only played 5 years. I don't care who the Bills other safety was in 2003 but Winfield, Clements, and Milloy were all Pro Bowlers either for the Bills or for other teams, so I'd rate them second best. Winfield's last season with the Bills was 2003. He went on to start for 9 more seasons with Minnesota and was a three time Pro Bowler. Clements last season with the Bills was 2006. He went on to start 4 more seasons for San Francisco and 1 more for Cincinatti. Milloy played for the Bills for 3 seasons, 2003-2005. He then went on to start for 3 seasons in Atlanta and played 2 more seasons in Seattle, starting 15 games in 2010, so he was hardly "washed up" in 2003. Since none of the current Bills DBs has been a Pro Bowler or been named a top 100 player, it's hard to make the case that they are "the best secondary ever". They play well in McDermott's scheme but except for White, they don't seem to be outstanding individuals. Other Bills squads have had 1 outstanding individual among pretty average players that played well as a unit. Y'know for a team that supposedly has this "elite level" secondary and an "elite" defense, the Bills sure couldn't stop teams from scoring on them in the Red Zone in 2018. Maybe that's why the rest of the NFL and media ignore them when it comes to handing out honors.

Well, it might be "useless speculation" to you but the reality is that Morse's symptoms from his latest concussion have already lasted three or four weeks, which is far longer than any poster on TSW thought they would when he was put into concussion protocol. Lingering symptoms from head trauma are clear indicators of the serious of the injury. Since this was an injury that occurred in practice where hits are much more controlled than during games, Morse's future is very much in doubt. Concussions aren't like broken bones or ligament damage or muscle injuries that heal over time, and players can have long careers without ever experiencing that injury again. The evidence is pretty clear that concussions become more likely and more serious the more of them a player has.