dave mcbride

Agree about the first two, but here's what Mike Pereira says about the non-call for the delay. The same thing happened in the Saints/Vikings game, and the announcers said the same on a play that got down to zero. .

Um ... that was the best I've seen Brady throw all season. He made a lot of difficult deep sideline throws and they were on the money.

This is a misleading. Singletary missed 4.5 games (3.5 due to the hamstring injury; 1 to sitting out the finale). Gore played in every game.

Good point. I think Riveron and the referees' clear grudge against the Saints/Payton is at WWF-levels now (partly because the league hasn't forgotten Bountygate and loathes seeing Payton play the martyr). It's drama and entertainment for sure with that situation, and it generates eyeballs.

Good stuff - thanks.

I think you misread my post!!

Disagree about the Saints game. There was a ton of hand checking, and the stronger person won. That happens all the time and TEs get away with it all the time. The decisive play was the one right after Lattimore left the field. You can't let Thielen get behind the defense on a play that was as easy to predict as the sun coming up in the morning (because their best DB was out).

Agree 100 percent - I just think that refereeing tilts (and there clearly was one in this game) can be decisive in close games. Of course, the refs didn't cause Duke Williams to drop a TD pass, Allen to carelessly fumble at midfield, the Bills to play behind the sticks on a 3rd and 18, and Neal/Milano to fail to make an easy tackle on the game's decisive play.

Um ... he had three sacks in the game.

Thanks. That's a pass that has to be caught.

What missed calls were there against the Texans? And what unfair calls were made against them? Any at all that you can point out besides the unbelievably high number of in-play penalties called against Houston over the course of nearly five quarters? ?

The rule of reason is about approaching anti-trust reasonably - that is, if a natural monopoly emerges but doesn't result in restraint of trade/harm to consumers, then let it go. So yes, I do think it applies in a general sense. There are a ton of penalties that go uncalled every game because they're away from the play. And tons of ticky tack stuff doesn't get called because it's, well, ticky tack. Anyone who denies this is either a fool or a knave. Going after a returner for doing the arm sweep followed by the toss to the official on a play that was effectively and obviously dead (7-8 yards deep in the EZ) and in which intent was CLEARLY obvious is beneath sports fans (as opposed to game-y -- in the hardcore boardgaming sense -- rules obsessives always looking to lawyer their way to a better place).

Bottom line for me: winning an athletic contest through a non-athletic event that has some hazy and recently dramatically altered "rule" attached to it that essentially constitutes a land mine for an unknowing participant is BS and unworthy of real sports competition. Think of George Brett and the pine tar rule. I truly think less of Bills fans who are intent on dying on this hill. See my response above.

That piece is utterly awesome.

Green is saying he's boycotting OTAs and training camp if he's tagged. https://www.cincyjungle.com/2019/12/19/21028691/bengals-a-j-green-injury-news-contract-nfl-franchise-tag . That said, they could work out a long-term deal.

I want my backup to have some mobility. Barkley has none.

If he's a 4.6 guy, he'll likely be there in round 2. College guys often look faster than they actually are because the competition is worse. 4.6 at the WR position gets exposed in the NFL - i.e., Mike Williams, the USC receiver. A guy like Alshon Jeffrey ran a 4.48, and he was a second rounder. Higgins at 4.6 is probably comparable to a poor man's Jeffery, but that's not say he can't be an impactful player. By way of comparison, another big Clemson receiver - Mike Williams - ran a 4.49 and was an early first rounder.

@thebandit27, @C.Biscuit97, @BADOLBILZ, @eball -- reupping this after watching the Eagles game yesterday. That game was eminently winnable for the Eagles if they had any sort of dynamism at the backup qb position. I fully believe Foles would have won that game for them. Settling on a newly hired 40-year old high school football coach as your backup really bit the Eagles in the end. Point is, the Bills need to fully explore upgrading the position.

I would bet a fair amount of money he was healthy enough by about week 10 and made a business decision to shut it down. I'm guessing that was fine with the Bengals because they were after the #1 overall pick.

This is just a wild hunch, but I've been thinking for a while that AJ Green is their target. I think Green probably could have played at the end of the season, but made a business decision based upon how terrible the Bengals were (and frankly, it was in the Bengals interest by week 7 or so to do their damnedest to land the first overall pick; Green's presence may have screwed that up). I have to assume he's healthy, and assuming I'm right, he remains one of the best receivers in the NFL. He is a true difference maker. Not sure a bruiser is the best complement to Singletary. Gore remains a decent bruiser, but was too easily stoned after teams figured out the Bills run game.

Yeah, I would. I think the Bills have so much cap space, and they have a window next year to be a SB contender. They are just a couple of pieces away on offense - an elite receiver, a player like Kamara, and one more decent o-lineman. Sometimes you've gotta roll the dice. New Orleans had their run with Kamara, and if they're serious about rebooting, paying a RB is a terrible way to start that process. Every team's context is different. I don't think this will happen, by the way.

Look at the teams that have paid RBs. Virtually all of them probably regret it, and I include the Cowboys here.

LOL, Jauronimo. It's not a cop out because if it was, I'd be sheepish. I'm not. In fact, I'm absolutely convinced I'm right about this, which is why I'm bowing out. I'm not going to convince you, and you're certainly not going to convince me. Peace.

Well, I for one would be all over that trade. Kamara would represent a MASSIVE upgrade for the Bills.