Beck Water

You make some excellent points. There's something to be said for being a vocal, "in your face" leader. I seem to remember a game - against Miami? the Bills were getting pwn'd in the 1st half. They came out in the 2nd half and turned it around. Beasley was asked what happened, he said something to the effect "the coaches yelled at us in the locker room, maybe next time they should do it before the game". If the team isn't taking another team seriously and lacks focus, maybe some yelling is merited. But as far as the OL. There's nothing harder on an elite athlete (and every man who makes it to the NFL is an elite athlete, the guy no one could handle in HS and more often than not in college) than getting technically whipped by the opponent and feeling like there's nothing he can do about it. Yelling probably doesn't improve Saffold's ability to anchor and hand technique or Spencer Brown's footwork during a game. Things that may help: 1) technical position coaching, from teammates or coaches. Is a mistake being made and placing a hand *here* instead of *there* might help? 2) different protection calls/blocking assistance from 6th OL or RB/TE 3) play calls, recognizing the OL is struggling and changing to plays where we're getting the ball out fast

FWIW, McDermott mentioned "better decision making" as a skill Allen needed to build on to take the next step with the team. Also FWIW, some people here like to dunk on Kurt Warner's fillm breakdowns of Josh because Warner was a very different style of QB who played in a very different style of offense. I think that misses the point that a guy like Warner with a limited physical skill set made it to the Superbowl because of his "grey matter"; he is well able to understand and dissect what the defense is doing and exactly what that means for the available options on offense. His "Study Ball" "QB Confidential" film breakdowns on Allen are worth watching during this slow time of the off-season. https://www.youtube.com/@kurtwarnerqbc/search?query=Allen Warner has fundamentally become an Allen fan, and openly acknowledges that Josh has options he didn't because of Allen's great physical gifts. But his points about decision making and how that played into the Bills red zone woes at times last season are IMHO worth revisiting.

Would just like to point out something else he had in 2020 - a very good "always open" slot receiver in Beasley AND a credible deep threat in John Brown/rookie Gabe Davis. Because Beasley was running option routes, it took a while for defenses to "break the code" and figure out how to take them away 2020 Beasley still had the quickness/speed off the line and shiftiness that 2021 Beasley had begun to lack, plus by 2021 there was enough film of defenses successfully taking away Beasley that, especially after the rib injury, he wasn't as able to be effective in 2021.

I actually kind of agree with this. Diggs teammates seem to recognize Diggs as a ball-hog who "makes good" by making great plays, so they tolerate and put a positive spin on it. They also seem to say he's a good teammate week in, week out. I agree that Diggs could find more positive, team-rallying ways to express that energy. This take, though, just seems bizarre. I guess every player on every team in the league except the Superbowl winner, are losers who have won nothing, in your eyes? ?? Don't inflate your stats. You say something, it's fair game to point out the origin of the comparison. Deal.

I think you're probably correct on the "exceptions", though depending upon how you slice it there are probably others. The Rams firing Mike Martz 4 years after a Superbowl appearance and during a down year after 2 straight division losses, would possibly be another. Took the Rams 12 seasons and 4 different HC to manage another winning season and playoff appearance. The Cowboys firing Phillips during a down season after 3 winning seasons and two division losses (11 and 13 wins) could be another. Took them 5 seasons under their new HC to achieve another winning season/playoff appearance and they haven't gone any deeper than the Division round. I do agree that most coaches are fired because the team is losing and they fail to turn it around. But there might be more "fired for underachieving expectations" firings than one thinks, I don't have energy about it to do something systematic.

If they're "fake claims" against which I'm able to hire unlimited numbers of top attorneys but are nevertheless convicted in the US court system, and I continue to enjoy the fruits of a $2.5B lifestyle after my "whole life" is "ruined", I could be OK with that. What does this have to do with Diggs? Ask @Warriorspikes51, they came up with the analogy "some fans are leaving negative comments on Diggs IG just because he's into fashion (Same thing happened to Poyer with his charity golf thing)" To which @EasternOHBillsFan responded suggesting (to my interpretation) that one shouldn't compare negative comments about an interest in fashion to negative comments about playing on a golf course owned by.....well, you know the rest. If someone says it here, it's fair game to respond here. A point which seems to have escaped @SCBills when he made the post to which I responded with a couple of links: Like, maybe the "y'all" who truly can't help yourselves, are the ones who have to make the comparison between Poyer holding a tournament at a convicted sexual abuser's golf course and Diggs attending fashion shows? Seriously, what looney tune thinks that's a good comparison? Diggs has done nothing wrong - no crimes, no indictments, held his football camp at his alma mater not at a venue owned by a billionaire who has been convicted of abuse and who faces additional charges. Whether you agree with the conviction and the charges or not, it's a fact that they exist. I have no idea what "TDS much" means. TDS means "total dissolved solids" to me.

Is the fact that Reid coached a playoff-contending 11, 10, 12 win team without an elite QB the 5 seasons before he started his elite QB considered relevant?

I think perhaps sometimes it is. Consider the case of Gary Kubiak, who was fired after Denver had a winning season 9-7. This was 1 season after winning the Superbowl and after 4 consecutive 12 and 13 win seasons, and with 7th round pick Trevor Siemian at QB. Kubiak didn't miss the playoffs multiple times, didn't have a losing season. Yet it was clearly considered "subpar" to go 9-7 after winning a Superbowl. I think Superbowl (or at least deep into playoffs) had become the expectation in Denver, so Kubiak was considered to have under-achieved. A good related question is "how often is firing a winning coach for 'underachieving' high expectations a successful strategy for the firing team?" Denver hasn't had a winning season in the 6 years and 3 HC since they fired Kubiak The threads they start still show up. Answering for your friend. A little grayed-out bar "You've chosen to ignore content by ScreenName. " shows up for each post that person makes, with an Options drop down which allows you to choose to see that person's post.

Data are there. I normally don't nitpick grammar, but surely a highly successful and wealthy MENSA member such as yourself should be aware that datum is singular, data is the plural.

Courtland Sutton is due $14M salary this season, $13M the two next seasons. He's put up Gabe Davis like numbers the past two seasons - catch %, yards, the whole mixture of ~100 yd games and games where he's 1 of 4 for 13 yds. I'm not listening to Sutton, a 1st and another pick, either.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/09/e-jean-carroll-wins-trump-trial-verdict https://time.com/6275589/e-jean-carroll-trump-civil-trial/

I mean what circumstance could that be? I’m not even clear on who we could cut or trade to generate that much cap space

Yes. Most insiders concede Diggs contract makes him untraceable this season. It’s somewhere above $40M of dead cap. Remember there is no “post June 1” designation for trades, I’ve personally made that mistake

Yeah, it's been posted. Might or might not be one of the things Diggs is talking about here: I don't know that Sherfield, Harty and 2nd year Shakir are "all upgrades over McKenzie". I would like that to be true; I think 2 of the 3 have higher ceilings. Dunno if this will work: https://stathead.com/football/versus-finder.cgi?request=1&seasons_type=perchoice&player_id1=McKeIs00&p1yrfrom=2022&p1yrto=2022&player_id2=SherTr00&p2yrfrom=2022&p2yrto=2022&player_id3=HarrDe07&p3yrfrom=2021&p3yrto=2021 McKenzie had more receptions and more yards in 2 fewer games than Sherfield last season. Sherfield can play teams other than as PR/KR though Deonte Harty has been a first team all-Pro as a KR/PR and had a better season in 2021, but the question is "can he stay healthy?" So it's not a sure thing, but one would like to think that with 3 shots at it one will work.

Why is it a surprise? They need to generate some controversy to get clicks and listens. The SMDH ranking for me is Baltimore. 10-7 last season, their D took a step back without Wink, they fired their OC and have a new OC who would be considered "Mystery Meat" (never an NFL OC before), does the addition of OBJ really make them so much better? What's the attraction, I don't get it. I can see them being competitive - Harbaugh will almost always have a team competitive - but to put them ahead of Cincy? Cincy beat them twice last season, and the first meeting they barely squeezed by with a 2 point victory. Miami has really good personnel. Some would consider their D under-performed last season. The question is, is Vic Fangio the guy to fix that? Second question, will Tua stay healthy and if so, how many teams defense will solve the apparent "gap" in his passing game? Power rankings before training camp even starts are really pretty meaningless.

Serious question: do you actually read the posts of people you respond to? Or if you do, do you spend a hot minute on reading comprehension? Because it really doesn't seem as though you do. "Your final statement is the only thing in this post that I agree with" So I wrote: "Now Volin is a serious, albeit not always correct in his info, reporter for the Boston Globe, so if he cites a "source close to the Bills locker room", I'm sure he has one. From his past history, he's not AP like @Delete This Account aka John Wawrow - he doesn't always have two independent sources close to the situation and he does sometimes get things wrong. " Apparently you disagree that Volin is a serious reporter and if he cites a source you think he really doesn't have one? I wrote: "But here's the real problem: This morning, there are literally a dozen articles from SI, NBC, the NY Post, and numerous more "gossipy" outlets. Some reference Volin as the source. Some refer to him as "an insider". None of them have any independent source or verification" Your response is focused on "unnamed sources" and protecting sources as though my post were criticizing that. But I write, very plainly, that in my view the real problem is many media sources publishing based on another reporter's unnamed source verbatim, without any attempt at finding their own source or verifying. Apparently, you disagree that this is an issue and think it's just ducky if one reporter cites an anonymous source and every other media outlet piggybacks on it; you're fine with and support the effect, which is that if the unnamed source is mistaken, his information gets "widely reported", misinformation gets propegated. We are led to believe "Bull Buchanan" supports this and thinks "This Is Fine". Nowhere did I refer to an anonymous source as "gossip" or say it has to be disregarded; I'm sure Volin has a source he thinks is reasonable. But, since he may rely upon one source, Volin has gotten things wrong before. Needless to say, I don't respect the viewpoints you apparently hold due to saying "your final statement is the only thing in this post that I agree with".

So if it's become common for many farmers to live off government programs and even scam them, does that mean we should disrespect all farmers by association? Personally I'll give individuals the respect I feel they deserve for they way they live their life and the principles they show by how they behave.

So the tweet I saw said that Gabe had a 61.6% success rate vs man and a 57.1% success rate vs press. That’s 35th percentile?

So I have a question for you. What is the route success rate against zone, man, or press coverage of other WR in the league? What is it for Diggs? For Tee Higgins? For Waddle? For TikTok Boi? Zay Jones? Peoples-jones? Since you mention contextual statistics, I'd like to understand these statistics in the context of how other WR in the league do. Obviously every guy isn't open on every play, the idea is to have at least one guy open. What is an outstanding rate? What is an average rate? The Bills do run a lot of clearing routes where the other WR job is to draw attention and leave Diggs open. Comment: I agree with slants digs and flats not being Gabe Davis "thing". Those are usually the bread and butter of the guy who has the quickness and deception to run them - usually the slot. I am surprised by the comeback stats, I actually perceive that quick little comeback as one of Davis best routes. I'd like to reiterate a point I made a while back. The hole I saw in the Bills offense in 2022 (and to some extent in 2021) wasn't the outside "#2" WR running go routes and posts and corners and deep crossers. It was having that great guy in the middle of the field, the 2020 prime Beasley who can almost always get open on those slants and digs and flats and intermediate crossing routes. Sanders could historically run those routes but whether he was hampered by injury or for some other reason, they didn't seem to use him there much. Beasley wasn't getting there fast enough (IMO) in 2021. So to me, the Bills making a serious investment (1st round pick) in the best pass-catching TE in the draft in the hope he can fill that hole, makes perfect sense.

Again, what do you see as appropriate production from a #2 WR? You make it sound as though the Bills have never tried to field a #2 WR. Brown's production the year before the Bills relied on him as #2 was 5 catches, 70 ypg 2020, year they parted with him, it was 4 catches, 51 ypg; Bease was the #2 with 5.5 catches, 65 ypg 2021, they signed Sanders, expecting at least 4 receptions and 51 ypg from him and hoping he could return to 2018 6 catch, 72 ypg form 2022, it's a fair "cop" that the Bills were relying on Davis and McKenzie to take over for Sanders and Beasley, and in hindsight that didn't work as well as they'd like Partly IMO for reasons beyond their control.

I'm just curious. What do you see as appropriate production from a #2 WR?

You're correct, but that's always true, right? When we traded for Diggs, we had no idea if he'd come in with a good attitude or be all pissy about being sent to a team with an "inaccurate" QB. As it turned out, he came in and played hard. When we signed Sanders, we had no idea if we'd get the 4 reception/50 ypg receiver of his last 4 yrs in Den/SFO and NO, if he'd be able to return to a better form with Allen throwing to him, or if he'd decline at age 34. As it turned out, we didn't; we got 3 receptions/44 ypg which isn't crap, but not great either. When we signed Beasley, we had no idea if he'd be the 4 reception, 40 ypg guy he was his last season in Dallas, or if he'd be able to return to his 2016 form. As it turnes out, he exceeded both. So we likewise have no idea, drafting Kincaid, how he'll do as a rookie. I'd like to see him be a 4 yd, 50+ ypg guy - that's what Kelce was the 1st year he played (he had knee surgery and was out his rookie year). You really want to see a 1st round guy step in and contribute. But, we have no idea.

In the one game where Kumerow replaced Davis, he had 3 targets and 50 yds. OTOH, Rodgers thought well of Kumerow as a receiver, so IDK.

That's a really good question. I'm not sure. I think it comes down to "all the moving parts have to align". See, Reid had personnel authority over the GM in Philly. And I don't know if he was good enough at that. So a bit of context, in 2008 Reid. McNabb and Philly went to the Conf championship with a record of 9-6 and lost. It was one of McNabb's best seasons. 2009 they had drafted LeSean McCoy and were starting to figure out how to use him. McNabb had another very good season, the Eagles improved to 11-5, and they washed out in the WC round (bad loss to the Cowboys). Then, the Eagles decided to move on from McNabb and traded him to Washington. They had drafted Kolb in the 2007 2nd, he was publicly restive, McNabb was 34. Sell high made sense - but also didn't make sense given where the Eagles were. So Kolb was tackled and concussed in the season opener, leaving .....30 year old Michael "I'm now kind to doggies and take them to Petsmart training classes" Vick, who remained the starter for the next 3 seasons. And I don't think that version of Vick was good enough to get a team to the Superbowl, even with an offense built around McCoy and the running game. There were some other puzzling moves, such as firing Sean McDermott after another WC exit in 2010 and a disappointing defensive performance and replacing him with offensive line coach Juan Castillo. Yeah, you read that right. One point of view was, McDermott was a scapegoat, but the defense did actually rank better under Castillo. Still Castillo was replaced midway through a losing 2012 season and Reid was fired after the season. It was also a time of personal tragedy for the Reids. Their two eldest sons had been dealing with addiction since 2002. Their eldest son Garrett went to prison for drug charges in 2007, then OD'd and died during Eagles training camp in 2012. Britt Reid was also jailed in 2007 for drug and gun charges (menacing another driver. Anyway, I think Reid at that time had no checks and balances at all, in the building - which is why he could keep Vick as the starting QB for 4 years with his only attempt to replace him, Nick Foles in the 3rd; why he could name an OL coach as DC; etc etc. So I don't know if he would have won a championship there. He had football wounds, and they were largely self inflicted through personnel and coaching decisions. He also had personal wounds. The 2012 season had to have been particularly rough.

Wait, WHAT? Florio did that? More than one media guy has done that recently?