Richard Noggin

Hasn't the criminal prosecution ship already sailed? (Forgive the maritime metaphor whilst the suspect in question enjoys an island getaway.)

I think the only somewhat appropriate action at this point is the exempt list for 2022, and then some kind of concrete punishment for the 2023 season. Anything short of that is just gross.

I'd simply argue that if there was an issue with him being overhyped at home, he sure seemed to figure it out when it mattered most. So hopefully that's just yet another flaw he has corrected in his relentless pursuit of becoming the best player in football.

Ostensibly the NFL already knows how ugly it gets, no (based on their investigation)? And we're just finding out now via public leaks? Or are these depositions still ongoing? I don't make an effort to follow the Watson developments beyond this forum.

Your definition of "lock" is expansive. Basically anyone you think will make the team? There is NO scenario in which AJE isn't on the roster? NO scenario where Crowder, on a one-year deal, at a position of relative strength (and potentially less usage under Dorsey), doesn't make it? Quessenberry was the worst OT in the league last season in surrendering sacks, no? "He had better well be" a lock? Come on. Slow down and consider alternate realities where things go differently than your very confident predictions.

I think the well-hashed debate of Edmunds moving to what amounts to an EDGE position (4-3 under SAM LB is ON the LOS) typically concludes that the player in question is NOT a fit for that role based on his demonstrated inability to blitz/attack downhill. He does not get off blocks well. We know this. Therefore, deliberately pitting him against the offensive line/TEs on a play-by-play basis seems...UNWISE.

He's a piece of wood on the broadcast. He's terrible. Too much of an aspiring politician to say anything interesting, ever. TV is a bad fit for him.

Actually, you're wrong about Kaep's progression of protest. He originally sat down on the bench, yes. But he started KNEELING based upon his consultations with a former special ops vet teammate, Nate Boyer, who suggested kneeling as a more noble/respectful gesture. The kneeling was intentionally meant to be effing respectful, because taking a knee IS IN FACT A RESPECTFUL GESTURE. The cultural outrage over this gesture is objectively NOT genuine. To be fair, though, positing a parallel between Nate Peterman signing for some minimum backup/camp arm deal in 2022 and Colin Kaepernick NOT signing suddenly, 5 years removed from playing, for something more akin to definite team TOP 2 QB depth chart money/opportunity is not exactly free of pre-existing agenda. I hate how Kaep became a pariah for his intentionally respectful and ultimately widespread method of protest, but I can't ignore his own initial reluctance to accept a significantly reduced-market value contract once things went south. It's not fair that he was so significantly downgraded so swiftly, but it's part of the complicated equation. I'm guessing he wouldn't allow himself to be lumped in with the Nate Petersons of the NFL landscape, and that prevented him from getting a foot in the door.

Unreasonable because essentially no offense has ever clicked that before? If so, then I agree. For at least 5 of those 8+ quarters, we saw perfect offensive production. Of course, there was some time in that KC game when they were NOT on fire. Think: running on 2nd AND 3rd down.

I enjoy a healthy disdain for both.

My family gathers for Thanksgiving outside Detroit every year; better believe around 10 of us will be at that game. I forget the last time the Bills played in that game...maybe '94 or '95?...at the Silverdome, but we were there for that one.

Maybe on 3rd and short, maybe. Don't forget Johnson is a pivotal guy in this defense, who (if I'm reading spotrac correctly) is entering the 1st year of a 3 year extension that pays him well for a strictly inside CB. It's much more likely that Johnson continues to see the field a TON and Bernard is maybe sprinkled in for specific sub-packages and later in lopsided games. It took Milano half a season to really see the field as a rookie. (Don't get me wrong, I really like the player/person and hope he blows us all away.)

Trouncing the Patriots will never be boring.

I just don't think keeping BOTH 30-plus safeties is smart beyond 2022. Sure it would be ideal to keep them both until they both retire. But that's not smart given the cost and potentially diminishing returns. Heck, the cost alone says DON'T PAY THEM BOTH. Cap distribution with an elite QB and WR suggests only ONE high-end veteran safety can be afforded. Distribute the remaining funds elsewhere and continue to draft well. We haven't seen much if any dropoff recently when Johnson and Hamlin have BRIEFLY (attackable point) seen the field.

Wow, did Teef finally cross the line for some TBD posters? With THIS obvious bit of absurdity? Comedy is indeed problematic for those who can't tell reality from satire (or from propaganda). Is it REALLY that unusual for pro bowl-ish players to leave the game and not look back? Schobel struck me as a country dude who has no use for outside attention. I actually LOVE that approach to a life that was previously lived IN the spotlight. Let him be wherever he is. Or don't. Whatever. Doesn't matter.

For those discussing how the 17th game SHOULD be selected, given the lack of preexisting protocol: first, help me understand how the following is NOT a solid criterium? One interconference game based on the prior year's standings on a rotating four-year cycle (one game). These games match a first-place team from one division against a first-place team in an opposite conference division that the team is not scheduled to play that season. The second-place, third-place and fourth-place teams in each division are matched in the same way each year. The home conference for this game will rotate each season. This seems to me like the next logical extension of the established scheduling hierarchy/protocol, seeking equity AND more diverse interconference matchups. What I'm seeing some posters suggest is so finnicky and unpredictable and difficult to justify if equity is at all important (mostly specific player-based matchups, including grudge matches with recently moved players facing last year's teams and elite QBs squaring off even though they don't actually see the field at the same time). A team's scheduled opponents should NOT be emotionally chosen. When the logically selected games are played and at what times CAN be divvied up to maximize fan interest.

The bolded is a reasonable counter. That wording of mine DOES seem to carry bias. However, it looks like he ended the season 4th on the depth chart, ahead of Epenesa. And now with two major subtractions, and one major addition and another reunion, his status would likely be the same or one higher (still slightly ahead of Epenesa and possibly ahead or even with Shaq). Depends how we view Lawson's opportunity on a cheap one-year vet deal versus Basham's value on year two of a cheap rookie deal. Either way, he cannot be assumed to be 5th on the depth chart. It just isn't substantiated currently.

This image was taken shortly after Elam hands over the notebook. You can see Beane is still gazing at it wantonly. But McD...McD is having difficulty containing his excitement. Look at that poorly-squashed smile, for a guy who is known to be stoic. There are about 6-8 seconds there that reveal McD's realization that this is his kind of guy (the growth mindset is on display in several ways at once...just look at the caption as well). Edit: got excited and didn't realize this is actually the thumbnail for the video in the OP. Derp. Point stands though!

Posting that Shaq AND Epenesa are just slotted in ahead of Basham on the depth chart (later based on some seriously uncertain criteria) is definitely not substantiated or reasonable to assume until we learn more. Sure, IF Basham falls to 5th on the DE depth chart, then of course his gameday status will be in question. But that's all you're saying here. No offense.

Most impressive aspect of this compilation: so many of these throws were made under significant duress.

*Insert "4-D cHeSs" cliches*

Mayfield is the anti-process. His outward competitive fire appears to emanate from a defensive mindset, in that he's so conditioned to proving doubters wrong due to less-than-ideal tangibles and apparently also less-than-ideal INtangibles. There must be reasons why no one who works with him (coaches and WRs most notably) seems to want to continue working with him. Publicly (and statistically) he presents a fixed mindset, which often manifests as pride, arrogance, and/or defensiveness. When I was an educator of underprepared and underrepresented college students I oftentimes encountered much defensive hostility the moment I tried to identify and address their specific skillset weaknesses. Insecurity can really limit metacognition. Mayfield likely entered the league as a nearly finished product. High floor, but low ceiling. Improvement requires a modicum of humility and self-awareness. The ability to acknowledge shortcomings which one can then work to overcome. Mayfield might be too conditioned to defending his CURRENT ability to actually admit flaws explicitly enough to address them in a meaningful way.

Josh Allen was objectively BAD in 2020 while he was dealing with the same injury Baker Mayfield dealt with last season. Granted, that poor play lasted only two games (albeit HIGH PROFILE games) and went away once he took off that damned LB shoulder brace. I think Mayfield's injury was more severe than Allen's. but it's important to recognize that the bigger, stronger QB suffered a less severe injury and subsequently bounced back from it MUCH faster. Mayfield absolutely hurt his stock by being a tough guy. Hurt his team, too. But that's who he is. It's both a quality and a flaw.

There was a play down the right sideline last season where Gilliam recorded the fastest speed for any Bills player that week. He was out in front of a skill player (I think) on the sideline and kind of pulling away from him. He's more athletic than we might realize. (I know my anecdotal observation here is woefully lacking specific details, but I recall this moment vividly, as it was sneakily apparent in real time and then kind of eye opening after the fact when the MPH was revealed.)

What about the guy you're overlooking who played really well at LG once he was finally given the extended opportunity late in the season? The same guy who projects to be even better in a wide zone scheme that relies upon athleticism. What about him?