Maine-iac

Versus the Baltimore Ravens Allen was 16 of 22 for 127 yards with no passing TDs. He played fine but not superhuman. Defense got 3 turnovers and we won. Philly held the Chiefs to 12 first downs and the Chiefs punted 6 times and destroyed them. We're giving up on average over 30 points to the Chiefs every time we play them in the playoffs (we lose) and an average of right around 20 ppg in the regular season (we win). Maybe ................ maybe what we need to get Josh is a defense.

For what it's worth. The Bills have 52 pass plays of 20 or more yards, which is tied with Detroit for second in the NFL Last season, the Bills had 49 such passes in 17 games, which ranked 19th in the league. (Explosive pass plays are down a small percentage leaguewide this year.) https://buffalonews.com/sports/professional/nfl/bills/buffalo-bills-passing-game-joe-brady/article_850ccc26-bc96-11ef-b620-b34a05ec2150.html

My gut says we need a plug (1 tech) with some upside and there are several but like I said I can see them (if available) taking Nolen. I agree it would probably be a win. We do stop the run well with scheme (for the most part) and Nolen seems like he'd be a real problem to deal with run or pass for offenses. If what I've read is correct and Jones has been playing around 305 or 310 it's not a reach to think Nolen could play next to Oliver at 296 pounds.

If I had the choice between playing Brian Thomas Jr or a healthy Benford and Quinyon Mitchell in last years championship game I'd have my decision before they even finished the question. I'm with you that it would be nice to have an elite pass catcher outside but not to the extent that we field a defense that gets torched by Joe Milton and the has beens at WR.

Love the irony. Not that I think Aiyuk is a bad WR but I thought he was overpaid with that contract before he got injured.

Still missing the point but I'll leave it at that. AT least you get what I'm saying. Even if you don't agree which is fine. Different opinions make good conversation. All of the things you list. Playing smarter, better O-line, less throwing, more running all just speak to what I've been saying. I'll repeat I'm not saying Josh can't be superman or that we don't need him to do it to win in certain games. I'm saying he did it less. Less overall running for Josh, getting the ball out quicker, staying on schedule. It's going to be a necessity to keep Josh playing into his 30's without getting injured. Having a running game that can take over for large parts of games means less wear and tear and means not every splash play has to be a passing play. I think it makes it more likely he can repeat what he did last year rather than less likely, which was my original take on someones comment.

Please, in reference to what I was saying, tell me what the hell your point is? Are you saying Josh can't replicate last season? Did you just jump in with a hot take without reading for context? I clearly never said Josh can't be Superman. I simply said if ever there was a season he had to do it less it was last year and there's no reason he can't play at last years level again. I guess you also disagree with that?

I don't disagree with what you are saying here. We have not had any of our WR's have much success at getting behind defenses. I think defenses play a part in that by not giving us much but even when teams come out of cover 2 we don't have a guy who makes one on one man coverage impossible to play against us. When it comes to splash plays Josh creating is still usually how it gets done. One silver lining I guess and a tip of the hat to Brady is that despite our WR's being what they were, in terms of man beaters, Brady really did a good job of creating big plays passing to our RB's. Allen's rating throwing to the RB's was 112 (Cook), 147 (Davis), and 149 (Johnson). I think this is a very RB centric offense and that's probably not a bad thing. Hopefully either Coleman or Kincaid take a noticeably step forward and really solidify their pass catching role.

Vita Vea at 12? A lot of DT's that could make a difference in this years draft. I like a lot of the 1 techs but with that said our front office loves penetrating DT's I wouldn't be surprised to see them draft Walter Nolen. Not my first choice but I could see them doing it. At least he's a plus run defender also.

Last years success, of all the years you could pick, had the least amount to do with Josh being Superman. It might be the one year where he actually sat back and watched the running game take over. There were games where his only job was to make the right read and get the ball out on time instead of forcing it down field to Gabe or Diggs. He could make easier throws to guys who make a higher percentage of catches and are better at YAC. If anything last years success is more likely to be reproduced and all Josh has to do is continue to make good decisions. Hell the current offense would love nothing more than for teams to sit back in cover 2 that's what it's designed to beat. KC has a great DC they are always going to play teams tough. We called a bad protection and Kincaid dropped one. That's all it takes in the playoffs. Just ask Lamar and Andrews.

I can nit pick too. Coleman was the first pick we used, like I said. I never said first round. Isn't that fun. I'm literally doing 3 different things, checking this while I watch TV, eat, and get ready to go shovel some snow. I'm as likely to format my responses on here as I am a text message to someone while I'm out doing something. I do enjoy the critique. Makes me think of when someone doesn't like the color of rust oleoum I paint my wheel barrow.

What's do you do to guarantee that something changes? The front office has made all the moves you could ask for. They brought in Diggs. They drafted Kincaid and Coleman both first picks in their draft years. Then they went out and traded for Cooper. Diggs needed to make that catch. Kincaid needed to make that catch. Bass needed to make that kick. Offense has been a story of good games and singular failures at key times. All of the belly aching for a deep threat seems to be oblivious to the fact that teams plays us in cover 2 most of the time (so no one is getting deep) and Josh has a fairly dubious record on connecting on deep shots. He can throw it 30 yards across the field running out of bounds the wrong way but get a guy 5 yards behind the defense 40 yards down the field and Josh will put it short or out of bounds half the time. Not that we don't need one but a speed guy or a vertical threat is not the silver bullet everyone thinks it is. The offense needs to keep doing what it's been doing. Get better if it can but mostly close out games in the playoffs and that's not any one player. We already have players that can do it. They just haven't done it.

Cooper wasn't lighting the world on fire in the regular season but he had a couple of decent games with us. What I had a problem with was that he completely disappeared in the playoffs.

Wonder if this thread will make 161 pages like last years WR extravaganza. Some great takes in that thread. I'd like a WR in the draft but I'm with most people saying CB and DT early. Some people liked him last year and somehow I'm not seeing much noise for him this year but Tory Horton is still out there. Still ran a decent 40 after his injury. Might be a nice pick available after we have a CB and a DT.

Is he going to do more than the 13 seconds game? Money doesn't buy you happiness and offense doesn't guarantee you wins. It does help a lot. Still not a guarantee.