Sierra Foothills

Seems like I made two points about the Rooney Rule compensation... speculating (I used the word "arguably") about disincentivizing hiring by a 1) divisional rival and a 2) conference rival. In other words I did not make an absolute or unequivocal statement. "The "problem" with the compensation aspect of the Rooney Rule is that it arguably disincentivizes a team from hiring from a divisional or even conference rival." To your bolded refutation ("this is not the case") I see out of the 10 examples over 4 years, only 1 example is divisional. Thanks for the good research.

It definitely looks like they had a trick play up their sleeve but chose not to run it... based maybe on Rapp's reaction?

Thank you for the great research. FWIW, the 2023 Draft included only 6 players and the 3 that didn't make the Bills are still in the league. This underscores the difficulty that rookies face trying to earn a roster spot on a good teams stocked with talent. It seems to me that Beane is getting better at drafting however it's hard to say. Like with injury luck there can always be a regression or progression to the mean average.

There's 2 screen passes in these highlights from last year... one at 1:45 and the other at 2:10. In 13 starts Samuel caught 62 passes on 91 targets for 613 yards and 4 TDs. Sam Howell started every game at QB for Washington last year.

Sorry for the cheap shot... I just don't agree that he's on his last legs. We shall see.

Strongly disagree: The Bills were without Terrell Bernard The Bills were without Taron Johnson The Bills were forced to play Cole Bishop for most of the game when Taylor Rapp went down It was week 5 and the Bills offense was in the doldrums with all the new passing game parts not synced up yet Amari Cooper was not a Buffalo Bill at that time In short, it was the low point of the season for us and the high point for them. In the context of an NFL season that game is almost ancient history. Looks like you're already in game mode!

I agree if you think he's clearly the best person for the job, you hire him. However if it's close between he and another candidate (or two), then other factors might come into play...

Stafford is 7th in the league in passing so I don't think that your characterization that "Stafford is on his last legs" is accurate. That said, I know you're never wrong so let's just agree to disagree.

"The NFL's Rooney Rule rewards teams that develop minority candidates for general manager (GM) and head coach positions with compensatory draft picks: Compensation Teams receive a third-round compensatory pick for two years if they lose a minority candidate to another team. If the team loses both a coach and an executive, the pick is extended for a third year." The "problem" with the compensation aspect of the Rooney Rule is that it arguably disincentivizes a team from hiring from a divisional or even conference rival. I'd be willing to trade Gray for two 3rd round picks but I have a hard time believing that the Jets will be the team that hires him.

The only game I watched in its entirety was the season opener against Detroit. I've watched bits and pieces of his other games. The games I've watched his arm is as good as ever but he's been getting rid of the ball quickly. Also both of his starting wideouts Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua have missed half the season. Take any QBs two best receivers away from him and see what happens. Under the circumstances I think Stafford's played really well.

And he threw 4 TDs and had a near-perfect passer rating. Anyone who's watched Stafford play knows that he has plenty of football left in him.

On the discussion of the Bills DBs, it was ironic that Elam, who is often lauded for his press/man coverage skills was inactive. Ingram dressed but didn't get any snaps. To the bolded, this is a strategy that the Ravens (John Harbaugh) employed against Josh pretty frequently in week 4.

Goff has had a great season, is in the MVP conversation, and has been flawless at times with 2 consecutive games with a perfect passer rating. But what QB throws 5 ints in a game like Goff did last week? That would make me a bit nervous if I was a Lions fan... especially against a Bills D whose coverages are notoriously difficult to figure out.

However the Bills were not playing well when they lost to Houston... they're playing much better right now than they were in week 5. Different subject, I remember lots of comments wishing the Bills bye week came earlier this season... I think due to all of the injuries. It seems now that it couldn't come at a better time AND if the Bills do lock up the top seed they'll have a bye this weekend and another for the Wild Card round on January 11-12. It would be great to have 2 byes in an 7 week period... and then to play all playoff games at home heading into the Super Bowl.

2024 Detroit Lions Schedule Sunday Sep. 8 Los Angeles Rams W 26-20 (OT) Sunday Sep. 15 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 20-16 Sunday Sep. 22 at Arizona Cardinals W 20-13 Monday Sep. 30 Seattle Seahawks W 42-29 Sunday Oct. 6 BYE Sunday Oct. 13 at Dallas Cowboys W 47-9 Sunday Oct. 20 at Minnesota Vikings W 31-29 Sunday Oct. 27 Tennessee Titans W 52-14 Sunday Nov. 3 at Green Bay Packers W 24-14 Sunday Nov. 10 at Houston Texans W 26-23 Sunday Nov. 17 Jacksonville Jaguars W 52-6 Sunday Nov. 24 at Indianapolis Colts Thursday Nov. 28 Chicago Bears Thursday Dec. 5 Green Bay Packers Sunday Dec. 15 Buffalo Bills Sunday Dec. 22 at Chicago Bears Monday Dec. 30 at San Francisco 49ers Sunday Jan. 5 Minnesota Vikings

2024 Detroit Lions Schedule Sunday Sep. 8 Los Angeles Rams W 26-20 (OT) Sunday Sep. 15 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 20-16 Sunday Sep. 22 at Arizona Cardinals W 20-13 Monday Sep. 30 Seattle Seahawks W 42-29 Sunday Oct. 6 BYE Sunday Oct. 13 at Dallas Cowboys W 47-9 Sunday Oct. 20 at Minnesota Vikings W 31-29 Sunday Oct. 27 Tennessee Titans W 52-14 Sunday Nov. 3 at Green Bay Packers W 24-14 Sunday Nov. 10 at Houston Texans W 26-23 Sunday Nov. 17 Jacksonville Jaguars W 52-6 Sunday Nov. 24 at Indianapolis Colts Thursday Nov. 28 Chicago Bears Thursday Dec. 5 Green Bay Packers Sunday Dec. 15 Buffalo Bills Sunday Dec. 22 at Chicago Bears Monday Dec. 30 at San Francisco 49ers Sunday Jan. 5 Minnesota Vikings The Lions have beaten some solid teams but haven't played any elite teams. They've run up the score on some bad teams. But his arm is still elite and Sunday's win at New England was a quality start for Stafford. Strange that a fetish porn service ranks the NFL teams. Oh wait... never mind.

That's mostly because all 3 games were close and the ratings numbers are average numbers. If a game is a blowout the numbers drop out very quickly, affecting the average rating. The Bills games against the Dolphins and Ravens were blowouts or they would also have gotten huge numbers.

"The Buffalo Bills' 30-21 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 11 brought in record-breaking TV viewership during the CBS National window. According to Sports Business Journal's Austin Karp, an average of 31.2 million viewers tuned in to see Buffalo's home win which snapped Kansas City's unbeaten record and improved the Bills to 9-2 for the first time since 1992. Not only is Bills-Chiefs the most-watched game of the 2024 NFL season so far, it is also the most-watched regular season NFL game, excluding Thanksgiving & Christmas, since the Patriots-Colts game Week 9 in 2007 (33.8 million). That matchup featured the 8-0 Patriots, led by Tom Brady, going against Peyton Manning and the 7-0 Colts. Additionally, Bills-Chiefs is 4th most-watched National window on record (dating back to 1988) and ranks among the 10 most-watched NFL games on record in any window, excluding Thanksgiving."

The Bills have been famously victimized by Hail Mary plays (Hopkins, Jefferson, Lazard) over the years but they've coached/played them poorly. I'm confident that they'll get it right going forward. With big, rangy CBs like Douglas and Benford they have a good start. They have to rush more than 2 guys for starters. I don't think it's helpful for AJ Epenesa and Terrell Bernard to be playing 10 yards off the line of scrimmage either. And for as much as I love Taron Johnson, he and Cam Lewis, Taylor Rapp, and Damar Hamlin is not a good Hail Mary combo to put back there. It seems like Keon Coleman and Mack Hollins should be back there. Anyways, after the Lazard catch, I think the Bills will do better on Hail Marys and I certainly don't lose sleep thinking about them. Spleenectomy. The Jets are in our division... yes... but rivals? Seriously though, I like Cooper over Hopkins but I'd probably take Adams over Cooper if it was equal compensation. Mostly just super pleased that Beane pulled Cooper out of his hat.

Beat me to it! (we mustn't tell the others) In other words, everyone eats. Over the months too... MVS... Samuel was a 4 Star running back recruit when he signed with Ohio State.In his time as a Buckeye he had 176 carries for 1286 yards... an average of 7.5 ypc. He also had 107 receptions for 1249 yards... 11.7 ypr. In his 283 touches he scored 24 TDs. He ran a 4.31 at the 2017 combine before being selected 40th overall by the Carolina Panthers.

And the Bills under McDermott are 1-0 vs Baltimore in the playoffs.

Your alarm clock has a horn?

I'll disagree. As I posted before, Terrell Bernard and Taron Johnson didn't play in the week 4 debacle at Baltimore. Also Cole Bishop played most of that game after Taylor Rapp was injured. There's a lot of people here who don't understand how the loss of "smaller" players could hurt a run defense but all 3 of these players are assignment sound which is the first job of fitting runs... and secondly all are good at using instincts and angles (instead of anchoring) to defeat blocks. Many here just assume that Detroit and Baltimore will run all over this defense. If the Bills are healthy I don't think that happens.

I'm curious in what way Beane got lucky. There were numerous wide receiver-needy teams and Cooper landed with the Bills. Where is luck in this?

'HERE WE GO!!!" 1) I hate the Cowboys and take every opportunity to root against them BUT... I've developed a strong dislike for Houston and wouldn't mind seeing them go to 6-5 in the AFC race. 2) That said, I also despise Trevon Diggs so I'm not sure who I want to see lose more.