Buffalo Junction

I hope Lamar gets paid and resets the market. Allen is already signed long term to relatively team friendly deal. A monster deal to Lamar early in the off-season would put a ton of pressure on the Bengals, Chargers, and possibly Jaguars later to tie up their cap with exorbitant QB contracts and guarantees moving forward.

The bigger difference is that KC shored up its Oline, and turned it into a strength. That improved the running game and allowed Mahomes extra time to find the 3rd and 4th option. Couple that with the best offensive coach in the game and Kelce and you have a formula that works. Their WR corps doesn’t suck, but it’s a lot of guys who fill specific roles and need some additional scheming (Reid’s strength). By contrast, we had a first year OC trying to scheme around an Oline that too often had Knox’s routes delayed while chipping, and Allen playing off script after his first or second read. This Bills team certainly needs more talent at WR, but without fixing the Oline they won’t be able to use upgraded talent consistently. They absolutely need to find some improved physical talent though. Maybe shore up guard, see if they can nab a Paris Campbell on a prove it deal, and find a reliable slot. No clue how they do it with the current cap, but 🤷‍♂️ it’s gotta happen.

Nah. He’s chasing Tina Turner now instead of Jesus.

Touching the ball on that punt which ended up as a turnover. Doesn’t devalue having core teamers, but it does accentuate the need to pay the correct guys if you’re paying for specialists; same as every other position. I’d like to see better roster management on teams, as well as Oline, Dline, WR. Kumerow should have been put on IR.

Ted Thompson was certainly a moneyball guy. I can’t recall him signing a single big ticket free agent during his whole term as GM. The biggest was probably Julius Peppers who they got at a considerable discount because he wanted to play as a 3-4 rush backer to wind down his career.

Why not. It worked against New England the other year.

As good as Oliver can be at times, he tends to not be a primary difference maker. He will beat 1 v 1 matchups and often not they washed by double teams, but if you take out Von and/ Jones he tends to perform in the average range. By that I mean he doesn’t make splash plays often or usually keep the second blocker in a combo from climbing to the second level. That said, him not developing further could be due to injuries, or it might be on coaching. I don’t have an answer there, but I do think he has the potential to improve.

I’m not worried about kickoffs. The issue is that many of the best special teamers (guys who stay in the league and get paid) excel in multiple roles on teams. Experienced upbacks usually call and change protections on punts and are also some of the best tacklers in kick coverage. While going for touchbacks will eliminate KO coverage it still leaves blocking and covering punts which are frequent spots for turnovers or flipped field position.

Playing to Beane’s strengths would be trading 2nd and 3rd round picks for starters and drafting rounds 1, 4, 5, 6 & 7. His first round record isn’t bad; Allen (top 3 QB), Edmunds (gonna get $18+MM), trade for Diggs (all pro), Oliver (average starter), Rousseau (stout starting DE that’s improving), Elam (showed flashes). Oliver has been disappointing, but he was a consensus top 10 talent.

Because having good special teams usually won’t win you a game, but bad special teams play can often lose you a game. The tighter the game is the more influence special teams has with turnovers, field position, and momentum. Poor jammers or up backs can lead to turnovers, bad gunners can lead to big returns, bad holders lead to missed field goals, etc. There’s a reason why guys like Taiwan Jones and Kumerow make rosters every year.

I had the thought when drafted that they might have him add 15-20 pounds and move to a hybrid DE/3-tech role as he was at his best pass rushing when bumped inside at Wake Forest. Basically take a shot at getting what they didn’t get from signing Quentin Jefferson. 🤷‍♂️.

If they take the $18-$20MM Edmunds gets in FA and use it to sign a pair of starting Olinemen I’ll be fine with them drafting a defensive player in the first.

Nah. They want him to lose 20 pounds and gain an extra tenth on his 40 so he can play safety. If he’s really prodigious and gains 2 tenths of a second they’ll bump him up to corner.

2017 was even better. 2 all-pros (Tre & Milano) and a probowler (Dawkins). Interestingly, if you add in FA McDermott added 4 all-pros and a probowler. Could use some of that juice this off-season, particularly in the draft.

I don’t care who the corner is, or how talented they are. It’s the referees job to set standards for calls on the field of play early and maintain consistency with the standard they set. It’s the players job to adapt to that standard. Inconsistency in officiating leads to controversy more times than not.

The issue is that the refs hadn’t been calling that penalty earlier in the game. Bradberry got away with the same grabby coverage on several similar routes during the game. Changing what is and is not going to be called in the last five minutes of the game incenses the fans and causes controversy.

They’re too stoned to notice

Trading Morse to the Packers is equally unrealistic. They have a starter (Myers) on a rookie contract, and have a solid track record of developing centers (JC Tretter, Corey Linsey). No way they’d trade for an expensive vet with a long concussion history.

He’s streaky, but he invests fully with this team. He could have easily gone on IR with a torn labrum. Instead he did his damndest to gut it out. Dude has six months of physical rehab and probably surgery coming his way this off-season. I’ll take that level of heart for my backups any day. I’m much more concerned with Tim Settle than Phillips.

I’d probably throw Jordan Ohillips in there too. Playing DT with a torn shoulder is an exercise in masochism.

Yes, but both the Pats and Chiefs get 3rd round comp picks.

You left out Shakir’s poor run blocking. He was a liability on outside zones, stretch runs, screens, etc. Shakir needs to show real improvement there before he earns a starting spot.

And he might be willing to do so if it means playing with his brother on a playoff team with a top 3 QB. I doubt he takes a real discount unless the league forces it through market value, but who knows. The possibility of playing on the same team as your brother and winning a Super Bowl is an extremely rare opportunity.

The northern Virginia part bugs me. Danville (Ringgold)’s about a 5-10 minute drive from North Carolina and a 4 and a half hour drive to Washington, DC. It’d be more believable if it was Chapel Hill or Durham for a Terps game. 🤷‍♂️ The northern Virginia part bugs me. Danville (Ringgold)’s about a 5-10 minute drive from North Carolina and a 4 and a half hour drive to Washington, DC. It’d be more believable if it was Chapel Hill or Durham for a Terps game. 🤷‍♂️

Oliver is a conundrum. He’s very good at winning 1 on 1’s, which is excellent when Von and Jones are on the field with him. Rousseau is similar in winning 1 on 1’s, but he can still set the edge against RT&TE doubles and pulling guards. Groot also has more growth potential considering his lack of experience at DE and his age.