BigAl2526

Oliver was stuck playing 1 tech a good share of the time last season, but you're right of course. He needs to start showing up on the stat sheet. II don't expect he'll be taking many reps at 1 tech this season with Phillips healthy finally and Lotulelei back. Ford can't be blamed for a lost season (to injury). I expect he will be better than Boettger, but I'd like to see a lot better. The Bills, as you suggest, will have Singletary split carries. They have decided to go with a committee approach. What I want to see is a little more variety when they do run the ball, and fewer occasions where they get stuffed. Some of that is on the offensive line. Brieda's speed will help the outside run game, which was awful last season. I agree that Knox mainly needs to be more consistent. I think, however, that Buffalo expects Hollister to have a pretty significant role this season too. It's going to be something of a committee approach at TE too.

This was going to be my post. LOL

This sounds as if the defensive line will be quite different, not just personnel wise, but also the things they do. Of course, they probably didn't have the personnel they needed last season to do what they are envisioning this season.

I have seen media headlines suggesting "Cam Newton is back." I also note that Josh Allen's last practice of mine-camp was pretty bad. I don't put much weight on any of that, but neither do I put much weight on a 22 second video clip of a Patriots' practice.

Questioning previous conclusions and doing new research is different from just throwing out the available science because you don't like it.

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/coronavirus/article252023058.html

A healthy Tommy Sweeney got Myocarditis as a complication of COVID and couldn't even exercise for months. It is not just about your own health, it is about the health of those you come in contact with. A widespread infection rate increases the likelihood of new and nastier variants developing, like t he Delta variant from India. And getting vaccinated reduces to almost zero the chances of you spreading the virus to others. I'll refrain from comments about common sense, but you are wrong in virtually every point you attempted to make. Here's a link to check out on vaccinated people spreading the COVID virus. Spoiler alert: They don't. Do people vaccinated against COVID shed coronavirus to others? | Miami Herald

It is a given that receivers are going to have fewer receptions in Baltimore's offense than with other good teams in the league. Part of that is Lamar Jackson and part of it is Greg Roman's offense.

Getting COVID may give you some protection against the Delta variant, but percentages are not available on the internet and it may not have been studied. We know the vaccines are effective against the Delta variant. especially the two shot vaccines (if you get both shots). Persons with two shots of the Pfizer vaccine are 88% protected.

My guess is my very occasional live attendance at games will become a thing of the past. Ticket prices will go up, and when they do, I don't think I'll be able to afford them.

I do not understand the rationale of players like Beasley choosing not to get vaccinated. It runs counter to medical science and concern for the good of the community. There are so many good reasons to get vaccinated and the reasons most people have for not getting vaccinated seem cockeyed to say the least. As some have stated, yes, he has a right to not get the shot, but conversely, the league and society has the right to protect themselves from persons who choose to remain unvaccinated. I'll be sorry if the team has to move on from him (not that they would cut him, but he could exercise his option to retire) because he's a good slot receiver, but unfortunate things happen occasionally.

Terry Pegula's checkbook.

What does "top heavy" mean? There are too many good teams in the AFC? Obviously winning the conference championship will mean successfully running a very tough gauntlet, but ultimately that's good for fans. If it were a cakewalk, the conference champion might lack the battle testing necessary to be really ready for the Super Bowl.

He was a big WR. I think he gained a bit of weight to see if he could latch on as a TE with it was clear his career as a WR was going nowhere. Of course, he would be an extreme long shot to make the roster.

Likewise, I have pined for a bigger 1 tech. Oh well, we've got what we've got. I expect roughly a 50/50 split in reps between Star and Harrison. With Phillips more fully recovered from his major surgery and Lotulelei being a little more fit than usual, maybe that rotation will keep them pretty fresh this year. The main thing I'm hoping is that Oliver doesn't get stuck having to take a lot of reps at 1 tech.

Yeah, that was a good call. John Brown had a disappointing year, but that was mostly due to injury. Not much you can do about that.

Sometimes I think it becomes a question of how long can you wait? When a guy hooks up with a new team the clock is reset, but now a kid like Thomas has had a little time to learn the nuances of his new position. I think it can be easier to have success with a new team, particularly for a guy making a position switch. I think there was a Canisius basketball player who tried to hook up with Buffalo as a tight end a few years ago. Things didn't go well for him, but he did show up later on and had a little playing time for another team later on. For a kid like Christian Wade, the challenge is a little tougher because he's competing against two clocks. One is ticking down the time that The Bills will be patient and let him hang on. The second clock is his own biological clock. If he doesn't impress the Bills enough to make the roster this year, what chance is there of landing with another team as a 31 year old rookie running back?

My dog didn't the a Bills themed name, so I'm not going to scold Josh Allen for not doing so. My dog is "Mr. Noodles the schnoodle." I wouldn't mind seeing more pictures of the girlfriend though.

I'm assuming they'll try to run the ball a lot.

I think it's very possible the Bills are looking, but I think Beane is being very careful of cost, not just draft capital but cap room. Yes, he created some decent cap room by reworking Diggs' contract, but the Josh Allen and Tremaine Edmunds negotiations are looming.

Any comparison between Peterman and Trubisky is tricky at best. Peterman had some physical characteristics that made translating his game from college to the NFL difficult. Specifically, he had a weak arm. I just read an article on Buffalo Rumblings explaining the advantages of a strong arm. One advantage is it lessens the importance of anticipation. If you have Peterman's arm, you have to have a higher degree of anticipation skills to be able to see that a DB is going to jump the WRs route, for instance. While Peterman was fine in college, NFL CBs had him for lunch. Trubisky had disappointing plays at Chicago, but he had decent stats and a lot of good plays too. It was not enough to nail down a long term starting gig in the NFL, but he has a good arm and decent athleticism. There are shortcomings in his game. There are times when he doesn't read the coverage well. That will keep him in a backup role in Buffalo, but he should do pretty well in that role.

Whether or not it is deserved, on field production is a factor in such ratings. Both McVay and Shanahan had off seasons for their offenses, more because of QB issues than anything to do with scheme or offensive play calling. QB changes this year for both may change how they're rated next year at this time. The loss of Aaron Rodgers, on the other hand, will likely know Matt LaFleur off the top of the heap if that happens..

I don't expect the Jets to be a serious threat to the Bills any time soon, but that doesn't preclude them having a motive of gaining a little intelligence on an archrival.

I think Allen still has some upside in terms of making quicker reads, having emotional self control when the play breaks down and overall consistency. We're talking about small incremental improvements though.

I don't think Hollister has the ability to be as physical as Knox can be. I don't think Hollister will win one of Kyle Brandt's weekly "Angry Run" awards like Knox did, but he has plenty of speed and quickness.