Inigo Montoya

https://www.nbcsportsedge.com/football/nfl/player/10958/derek-carr Josh's six year extension is looking better everyday. We really got lucky with the timing of Josh's contract and the state of the salary cap. We're even luckier that Josh agreed to tack six years onto the end of his rookie contract. He'd be worth $50+ if his contract was extended next year.

Is he doing that warrior thing dance they do in New Zealand?

Be classy Bills fans. A big part of Chiefs Nation donated to our children's hospital.

Another Buffalo Bills angel who can watch the games upstairs with my dad. Be advised, my dad has been know to throw around some colorful expletives when the Bills fumble, throw a pick, or commit a stupid penalty. I wish they both could have seen their team win the Super Bowl. I'm truly sorry for your family's loss. God Bless.

I really expect both Mahomes and Allen to be on their game tomorrow night. I think it might come down to which defense is able to make a play.

Hey mankc! Welcome to the board. 🙂 It should be a great game. I wish it was the AFC Championship game. There are definitely some posters here who think the Bills will win, but there is nothing here like this thread on the Chiefs Planet website. https://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=341995 There is some really ugly stuff in that thread. I had registered on the Chiefs Planet website this week to post some messages there about the game. After reading that thread I reconsidered. Let's hope it's a great game that comes down to the wire, no injuries. and no officiating nonsense. May the best team win. 🍻

I've been visiting the Chiefs board and they are certainly not lacking in confidence over there. I have no idea how this game is going to go. I think they are two great teams with elite QB play. I think if the teams played 10 times it would be a 5-5 split or 6-4. I think this game is a toss up and it is going to come down to sacks and turnovers. The team that protects the ball and their QB better is going to win. Let's hope it's not the officials who determine the outcome.

It must be embarrassing for the team when over half the stadium is cheering for the visiting team. I guess they'd rather have empty seats than seats with the other team's fans in them. We never miss a Nashville Bills game. We live two hours away and Nashville is a fantastic city to visit.

Defensive coordinators have to pick their poison, either drop everyone back into coverage and give Allen time to pick them apart from the pocket, or rush Allen and try to force him into making a mistake or taking a sack all the while hoping he doesn't break containment and run for 30 yards. I honestly don't know what a defense can do. The guy is a unicorn. It's like Belichick said, Josh Allen is a problem.

I was looking at the Pat's cap situation next year and was shocked to see the contracts they handed out last year during their free agent spending spree. They're on the hook for huge salaries to Jonnu Smith, Hunter Henry, Nelson Agholor, and Kendrick Bourne. I don't see their offense getting much better even if Mac Jones takes a step forward next year with these guys catching balls for him. The numbers for those four players are crazy and the dead cap hit is going to make it tough to move on. Bourne is the only easy out in the group. 2022 Salary / Dead Cap Hit Hunter Henry $15m / $19m Nelson Agholor $14m / $14.8m Jonnu Smith $13m / $26m Kendrick Bourne $6.4m / $2.8m Pats top 4 pass catchers salary in '22; $48.4m Pats top 4 pass catchers dead cap hit in '22; $62.6m Those 4 pass catchers are 24% of the Pats total cap next year. I don't think any of those players would even start on our team. Hunter Henry might push Knox, but that's the only possibility and Knox is going to make $1.2m next year. The structure of these contracts are an albatross around the Pat's neck. The '23 contract hits aren't much better. BB has made some very questionable GM moves. It couldn't have happened to a nicer franchise. 2022 Cap stats; https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/new-england-patriots/cap/ 2023. Cap stats; https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/new-england-patriots/cap/2023/

I'm sure Daboll helped Josh a lot in the first couple of seasons but Josh is going to be entering his 5th year as a starting NFL QB. I think he can stand on his own. The truth is that Josh ends up making something out of nothing so often, it almost doesn't matter what play gets called because it usually ends up looking completely different. I think Josh is OC proof at this point.

Dear Coach Flores, Please accept this gift in the spirit it is offered. Your Friend, Inigo Montoya

I don't think this has anything to do with mental toughness. A running team can make some noise in the regular season and early playoff rounds but in most years it takes a team with an elite QB to win the Lombardi. Mac Jones has had a solid rookie campaign but he is obviously not an elite QB. The Pats could beat us this Saturday but I don't think anyone sees them as a Super Bowl contender. Hopefully this weekend the team with the better QB will win.

https://www.nbcsportsedge.com/football/nfl/player/57838/joe-schoen JOE SCHOEN, BUFFALO BILLS ESPN's Adam Schefter reports the Bears requested an interview with Bills assistant general manager Joe Schoen for the team's general manager vacancy. Chicago has now shown interest in current Texans GM Rick Smith, 49ers director of pro personnel Ran Carthon, Leslie Frazier, and Schoen. The latter's name was also linked to vacant roles with the Browns and Falcons over the last two seasons. One would imagine Schoen would simply bring Bills OC Brian Daboll along with him as Chicago's next head coach if hired.

I'm sure Chicago is hoping Daboll can pull a Josh Allen on Justin Fields.

Beasley is still a weapon for this offense. He is either a focus or an afterthought based on Daboll's game plan and I think that pisses him off. It's one of the reasons he left Dallas because he was being underutilized. There may be a game in this year's Super Bowl run where he catches 10 balls and is the X factor in the win.

Fair points all Hampton. The most famous color commentator of all time, Howard Cosell, wrote an autobiography entitled, "I never played the game". There can be some exceptions to the rule about ex-NFL types in the booth. I'd take Aunt Edna from National Lampoon's Vacation over Collinsworth again.

Collinsworth and Butt Fumble were terrible. I'm for expanding the universe of commentators beyond former NFL players if someone is knowledgeable and articulate.

Draft order this year as they stand now, subject to some change based on Week 18 results; 1. Jaguars 2. Lions 3. Texans 4. Jets 5. Giants 6. Panthers 7. Jets (from the Seahawks) 8. Giants (from the Bears) The Giants have the ammo to move up in the draft if they want to. They also have their high 2nd rounder, two 3rd rounders, and two 4th rounders. The Jags and Jets are out of the QB carousel for a few more years. If the Giants are going to grab a rookie QB again they are in position to do it this year. The question will be if the new regime wants to clear the decks for the rookie or keep Jones there as a bridge. The worry would be that Jones might play a lot better under a coach who knows what he is doing and then what do you do with your shiny new rookie QB? I think the Mara's will blow up the whole thing, GM, Coach, Jones, and start again.

If the Giants' new regime declines Daniel Jones' 5th year option and lets him walk he might be a good replacement for Trubisky if Mitch moves on.

That would definitely be a nice bonus for you.

Fair point Gunner. I could have been more precise with my choice of words.

Hey Gunner, Some sports stories have a political angle. No argument there. When those stories occur I want the facts of the situation from the reporter, what used to be know as "straight reporting" not proselytizing. Over the last several years it seems harder and harder for reporters to keep their personal views out of the story they are reporting on. They are not reporting so much as providing their own commentary on the situation. I read The Athletic for info on the Buffalo Bills, the Buffalo Sabres, the NFL as a whole, and fantasy football to a lesser extent. I have not found any stories in The Athletic that are presented with an overt bias or slant, even when covering stories where politics and sports merge. That's why I pay for a subscription. I really think it's the best sports journalism out there. I hope that doesn't change.

Hey buffalonian, By "crap" I mean politics. When I'm reading a sports article I don't want politics in it. I'm a news junkie, I've always been interested in politics and I'm a consumer of lots of political info from all sides of the political spectrum. ( I really recommend a website called Realclearpolitics.com which is a clearing house for news articles and it always provides both sides of every issue / argument so you can read both and make up your own mind) When I need an escape from that world I turn to sports. I think the Athletic is fantastic sports journalism and I don't want it tainted by an organization that might see it as another avenue to push a political agenda. I hope it doesn't happen.

1.) I'm a subscriber of The Athletic. 2.) I think it's fantastic. 3.) I will never subscribe to the NY Times. 4.) If the NY Times tries to insert any of its crap into The Athletic, I'm gone.