Einstein's Dog

I think it's a disingenous OP. The offense has talent. And the FO has been trying. When they acquired Diggs he was 1st round material. This is not the Green Bay scenario. If GB had traded the 1st round pick for say D Hopkins instead of getting Love, I think even the whiner Rodgers would have kept his piehole shut. Don't be more of a whiner than Rodgers, it's a bad look. The FO does, and will continue, to spend resources on the offense. Morse was a top paid center, Williams didn't come cheap, and multiple picks in the top 3 rounds on the offensive side - Dawkins, Singletary, Moss, Brown and Knox come to mind.

Can he ever change your mind? What is it you want out of him, what do you want him to change? I ask because I was skeptical of McD when hired. Thought he might be a rah-rah, defensive minded, run the ball type. The backing into the playoffs didn't really change my mind (even though that was quite an accomplishment in my mind - and I do consider results in my grading). When we got Diggs I didn't take him in fantasy. Good receiver going to a run oriented team, I thought. McD and company changed the whole offensive philosophy. Now he has taken an incredibly aggressive approach - which you and many have been calling for. McD has won me over. Changed to an offensive philosophy adapts to players/team stregths, brought in a culture. I see a bright future. What do you need/want out of him, if not results, that will have you consider him a good/great coach?

Sorry, but yes I would be very surprised, (and disappointed), if they move Gabe Davis. He is an improving young player - and I think his stock will continue to grow (it is certainly not a fact that Davis' stock will be at an all time high). The model they are following for creating a successful team for a decade plus involves drafting, developing, and re-signing draft picks (you resign the player before the end of their contract to secure them for the future at a market rate). Gabe, Josh, Tre, D Knox all fit this profile. You don't abandon that strategy like a little child because you're upset about a personal choice they made. Beane is not that stupid, nor childish, and I think you have misinterpreted his comments. And while we don't know what is in store for next year, we can look at the trend. The NFL is loosening up the standards in the midst of a spike. Seems like the smart money would be any additional changes would be to loosen up the requirements.

Yikes. That is a hot take. And a ridiculous one. Not a good long term strategy to get rid of your producing draft picks. Also, the whole Covid protocols and shots thing may not (and probably should not) be an issue next season. And for the remainder of this season Gabe won't have to be tested. He and Beas are actually in a pretty decent spot relative to others in terms of the covid protocols, better than most in terms of needing to test.

I think/hope McK has played himself into more snaps and action for the rest of the year. And I hope this translates into the post season and a reasonable multi-year contract for Mck. But I still think you should want Beas too. Beas' contract is not unreasonable. And everyone should want to keep a lot of the parts we have now into the future. Great offense that should be modified slowly.

I think you're wrong. Keep both. They're small guys and it's a long season. Plus they offer some coaching strategy bonuses, McK can't be covered one-on-one and Beas is great finding the soft spot in zones. As for the trouble and attention, next year should be vastly different. IMO, it's Sanders that doesn't get re-signed. Gabe takes over as #2 with Kumerow backing and groom a draft pick.

Beas got through last year without issues. And he followed the rules. Seems like he didn't think the rules under those circumstances were unreasonable. Beas got upset this year. He didn't like how they (owners/NFLPA) adjusted the rules in light of an available vaccine. One possible reaction to the availability of a vaccine would be to loosen the restrictions for everybody. Instead they decided to discriminate between vaccinated and unvaccinated. IMO, I think Beas' frustration this year stems from the discriminatory policy. IMO, I think the NFLPA did a terrible job in negotiating a set of rules for a post vaccine environment.

It seems you're having a hard time grasping what his point is, He is not playing because of the rules. He is physically able to play. So it is not the virus making him so sick he can't suit up, but instead he is out because of the rules. And Beas was one who was upset with the NFLPA. Remember early on, he questioned the rules. Apparently the NFLPA did not reach out to the players as a whole, but instead agreed to the policy with the owners. It seemed through Beas and others comments, that the NFLPA underestimated the opposition to their position.

I'm voting D Knox on offense. Reasoning: D Knox is healed/back. He came back early but is now a full go. Knox showed earlier in the season his new improved self The wind won't be anywhere near 60mphs and BB will have to prioritize eliminating our 25 yard laser game advantage. This opens up the underneath for D Knox (and Beas). D Knox will be the recipient of the Pats missing their rangy rookie.

I don't like the idea of thinking you come out dinking and dunking. That's the Pats* game plan. One team has a QB that can fire 25 yard lasers that can travel through 15mph winds like a knife through butter, and the other team doesn't. Lets make sure they are selling out to stop those lasers. Then we can proceed to march down the field with Beas and Knox.

Your second one says we started at the 18, so you're really going to go with "this mythical starting at the 15 doesn't exist"? Wow. You can tell McKenzie to take it out all you want, I'm leaning towards hoping McDermott plays the kid. This is a great opportunity to integrate another youngster for the long term growth of the team.

Wow, I'm polar opposite. With Tyrod, I would be willing to take the risk of the return. Roberts/McKenzie are better, and the risk of getting something is then worth it IMO. With Josh/Daboll, I don't want them constrained by bad field position (see playoff game vs Indy).

So you like the field positions of say 25, 38, 10 over 25, 25, 25. I don't. When we're inside the 15 there is a different kind of playcalling and feel to the possesion. And the real figure used should be drive start for the return, not the yardage. That way useless yardage from the end zone would not be included, and the penalties assessed would be included in the calculation.

It is the opposite of saying always punt from midfield. The analytics and averages are showing it's a bad decision. If his average is under 25 and he is usually taking it from 2 yards deep, it's just a bad choice. And that is before factoring in the fumbles and penalties.

No, because while he could break it long with an average of just 25 that means many would be short. And that is before factoring in fumbles and block in the back penalties. I would prefer to watch Josh and the O with the ball at the 25. I'm not excited when they bring it out, I'm hoping they can get it over the 20 with no penalty. We supposedly had the best returner last year by many stats, and Roberts really hurt us against the Colts. And this year McKenzie really hurt us.

Half the kicks are not touchbacks because the returners decide to take it out. Way more than half the kicks could be TBs if the returners wanted them to be. Taking it at the 25 is an option on, in my estimate, over 80% of the time. The Bills are one of the few teams that sometimes try and kick it high and not out of the end zone. And really the kicker could let it bounce to him in the end zone and could still take the knee and get it to the 25. Generally I think most returners seem to bring it out if it is 1 to 2 yards or less in the end zone. So if they include those 2 yards in the return yardage, it means when he brings it out, the average start is the 23 or 24, before factoring in any blocking in the back penalties.

Virgil - appreciate the writeups. I disagree with the DL thoughts though. I guess it depends on your expectations but I like the strategy of drafting multiple DL. I've been pleasantly surprised by Groot. And I think they will both get better with time. It's an excellent team building strategy. The progression of Knox has been a highlight this year. But I do think that depth at TE is a problem. Knox has become an important piece of this offense.

Yeah, the league made it so the odds favor the touch back. When it was the 20 you should bring it out, but with the 25, I think the odds are against you. And that's why I would like the kick returner average to be over 25.

Flawed analysis? I said it was my standard. It's not an analysis, it's an opinion. If they're not getting over 25 yds (net after penalites) they should just take it at the 25. And if McKenzie is 4th or whatever at under 25, I think it shows a lot of returners are making bad decisions.

My point was that under 25 is not good if you're getting the ball in the end zone. On average we would be better to just take the ball at the 25. McKenzie may be doing better than other bad decision makers. But IMO the standard for impressive should be a net of over 25 (after factoring in the block in the back penalties).

It will be interesting to see. Seems that Stevenson is the way of the future. The long term plan, for a run of continued success, is to integrate the drafted rookies. Stevenson would fit that plan perfectly - replacing Mck. Does seem a little risky with NE looming though. Isaah's sub 25 yard average is not impressive. You would get to the 25 if you just let it go. And too often they don't just let it go. We rarely get KOs that aren't in the end zone, so most of the choice to bring it out is a loser. And it seems like the 24+ figure doesn't account for those frequent block in the back penalites. I generally root for us not to bring it out so Josh can have it at the 25 - I'm fine with that. Seems to me that if you have a player that just does returns, they want to bring it out more than I like. Kind of a hero ball thing, because it is their only way to make a name for themselves. Reminds me of the Andre debacle in the Indy playoff game. I hope they have bigger plans for Stevenson than just returns.

One team is known for jettisoning players a year or two early. And if you now add in the Brady exodus, you could say it is to mixed results. The Rams aren't avoiding the older stars. The Bills are trying for a formula that has them be an excellent team for a long time. That is with process guys. If it weren't for Covid, Beas would be a prime example of what the process is all about. The guy gives everything, and yes he will play while hurt. You bring in an understudy before you let JA's security blanket go.

Of course Allen would love the MVP. Wouldn't publically acknowlege it but shouldn't have to, any reasonable person realizes it. Now with Rogers missing time, Prescott missed a week, Mahomes and KC have been off - the opportunity is there. Biggest competition right now seems to be K Murray/L Jackson/T Brady. JA needs to put up some big numbers on Sunday and take the lead!

Even with a big lead I don't envision seeing Trubisky until after the 7 minute mark in the 4th. The Bills need to fine tune the offense. Plus Josh is in the running for MVP and you have to let the guy build his case with some stellar stats (according to the one odds site I saw Josh was in the lead).

Tough to flip picks into help for this season though, today is the trade deadline. If Wash doesn't/can't offer any IOL that would help for us this year, I would still like Beane to move Trubisky for a decent draft pick. IMO, would be a great overall move by Beane - picked up a top level backup QB for half a season and moved him out for a decent draft pick.