dave mcbride

Agree, but unless I've missed it, I have not seen him throwing ropes on deep outs outside the numbers. Good QBs can do that, and it really opens up an offense. Don't get me wrong; NE's run game is probably going to be elite so they're going to be a tough out.

I don't think they quit. I think that a really, really bad play happened that was pretty flukish. And then they started playing poorly even though the score was still 13-13. First, they started getting dominated on the left side of the d-line by Eric Williams. And Jeff Wright didn't quit; he just blew the tackle. Kelly didn't quit; he just made a terrible throw it into double coverage on third down when it was 20-13. Dallas was a much more talented team by that point, and mistakes like that cost you games.

I get all that, but big errors on offense and defense are major momentum swings too. I don't think STs have any claim to pre-eminence when it comes to momentum-shifting plays. Indeed, on the vast majority of ST plays, nothing significant happens. As a number of others have pointed out, the Bills are not lacking in decent-to-good special teams players, but most ST players even on the best units are truly interchangeable. Since 2015 -- the beginning of the Rex era -- the Bills have one legit kick return for a TD (McKenzie last season). That's one in six years. (I'm not giving Hyde credit for his 2019 onside kick return vs. Miami in garbage time because it was really dumb and a freak play to boot. If he had taken a knee, the game would have ended. Instead, the Bills D had to go back on the field in garbage time and play another half dozen plays vs. a gunslinging Fitz at the risk of a needless injury.)

I agree that there are a small handful, and guys like Slater and Tasker also operate like coaches out there on the field, which ensures their longevity and gives them a bit of extra value. But Daryl Johnson ... is not that guy. He's fine at ST, but he's essentially interchangeable.

Then quantify it.

ST prowess? Please quantify that. Because I look around the league and see STs filled with guys not good enough to start. The good units make fewer mistakes than the more mistake prone units. It's pretty simple. He's still 260, which is what he was back then too. I feel very, very strongly about ST, but I realize people disagree with me. My basic view is that a) kickers do really matter; b) coverage and blocking is basically done by interchangeable players, some of whom make fewer mistakes than others; and c) punt and kickoff coverage is small part of the game in the grand scheme of things, especially given all of the fair catches and touchbacks. The Bils offense ran 1034 plays last season and the Bills D ran 1025. The Bills also had 67 punt and kickoff returns and defended against 46 returns. 70.3 percent of Bass's kicks were touchbacks. The numbers don't lie.

Is he? Because Addison played 71 percent of the snaps on a good ST unit (the 2013 Panthers). As I say above, ST "talent" is waaaaaaaaay overrated. Good coaching combined with functional players with intelligence (i.e., able to consistently fulfill assignments) and good kickers is pretty much all you need.

Re Addison, it is the case that a lot of DEs play well late into their careers (the opposite of RBs, for instance). In the previous four seasons, he averaged 10 sacks per season, so we'll see if last year was related to no crowd noise (which massively favored offense) and hence a one-off. He played fewer snaps as a percentage last season (57 percent) as opposed to the previous 3 seasons in Carolina (65, 66, and 67 percent). Interesting fact: Addison played 14 percent of ST snaps last season after playing very few in Carolina the previous few years. However, earlier in his career he played 71 percent of ST snaps one season, so he definitely can play it. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/A/AddiMa00.htm Frankly, I'd rather have Addison than Johnson this season because I believe he's still a better pass rusher than Johnson right now, and the only way the Bills are getting past KC is via the pass rush. They made no improvements to a secondary that was absolutely shredded by Mahomes last year. If you're not going to upgrade your cover guys (which is still a pretty good unit for a zone scheme--don't get me wrong--but one that can't handle the array of playmakers KC throws at you), then you gotta go full Chargers and bring the heat against Mahomes like nobody's business. Mahomes has had real issues with the Chargers' pass rush (e.g., taking 8 QB hits in their 23-20 OT victory last season). Basically, the Bills' D needs a game like this one -- https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201910060kan.htm -- where the opposing D is sacking Mahomes 4 times and hitting him 8 other times. Basically, relentless pressure by guys who can occasionally win their battles vs. what will probably be a good o-line. And they need to do it THIS season; windows are never as long as you think. I'll take a crafty-if-old Addison vs. a green player when going up agains KC's vet tackles, thank you very much.

The Bills had a good game plan in the final SB vs. Dallas, a game in which they were clearly the inferior team talent-wise. The players lost that game, not the coaches.

I may get flamed for this, but ST players are fairly interchangeable. It's an area where coaching really matters because you're not putting your best talent out there; rather, you're putting guys out there who can fulfill an assignment and be basically functional at running, blocking, and tackling. You don't want untalented morons on ST, but let's not overvalue it. The Bills hardly punted very little last season (relatively speaking) and most kickoffs were touchbacks. They have a big-leg placekicker, so I expect that to continue.

Yep, Josh A was tied for the league lead with Aaron Donald last season.

They did trade him to one of the only teams on which he could plausibly win the starting job before too long, so in a sense they did him a big favor.

That really sucks. Excellent player.

Great job, but I have a hard time seeing only 5 cbs. Beane yesterday on the telecast went on and on about how more CBs see the field more than LBs these days. It is, but if two go down, they’d have play a safety or a LB in dime, and they don’t really have a chase-and-cover LB outside of Milano. Teams play dime a LOT.

Jackson was excellent the year before too and had also won the mvp. More importantly, Jackson’s 2019 season was statistically incredible — 113.3 rating, led the league in td passes, AND rushed for over 1200 yards. He had an AV (PFR’s NFL equivalent of WAR) of 25, which is the highest I’ve ever seen. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/J/JackLa00.htm. Bear in mind that the Ravens regularly blew teams out that year.

The top ten players aren’t going to be qbs. 4 of the top 10 were, and that’s fair. Allen has had only one elite season, so I thought the ranking was right. If he repeats it, he’ll move up.

Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. It’s good news.

They struggled early but won their last 9 games including the postseason, where they beat three teams that had won at least 13 games. Brady is the GOAT still. I would take him over anyone in a postseason game. The evidence, which is massive, doesn’t lie. Good takes overall. My one bone of contention is Goff, who I strongly believe doesn’t suck. I think he has holes in his game but real strengths too, and overall I’d say he’s a little above average. The numbers back it up too. Given Cousins’s trajectory, I’d place him as the second best QB in that division for this upcoming season. The team overall isn’t good, though, so I expect the Lions to struggle (as usual).

Um … 24-8 is staring you in the face here: https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/G/GaroJi00.htm

You think they are better than Tampa? TB absolutely destroyed them on the biggest of all stages. It wasn’t as close as the score indicated, and the score wasn’t close.

Nah. Didn’t go to Harvard.

He’s the next Kelly Holcomb. I see him starting for Philly at some point.

I think Albert Breer is the best national NFL writer around right now. Agreed. I think corner is their biggest problem given the position’s importance (more important than DE to me) and a near complete lack of depth along with a CB2 who could only start for the Bills because the Bills’ scheme masks his weaknesses. No, you get three free articles a month. After that, no more.

Anything could happen in theory. But Terry Pegula is not moving the Sabres. Of that I am fairly certain of. That’s not the right way to think about politics. First off, the Bills fan base stretches east and south to many other counties and localities, not least Rochester. Secondly, losing 6 points in an otherwise 55-45 election means you lose the election. Or more to the point, losing the assembly or state senate majority because a half dozen seats flip in Western NY and the Southern Tier means you lose your ability to pursue an agenda. The fact that only 6 percent of the population lives in Erie County is totally immaterial.

A Pegula-owned Sabres team would never see more than a handful of fans in Buffalo again if he moved the Bills. If he were to move the Bills, the Sabres immediately become non-plausible in Buffalo if he were to retain ownership. Also bear in mind that the Sabres are Pegula's favorite team and he is emotionally attached to them. He would have to get rid of both or move the Sabres too. That is not happening.