dave mcbride

I read it all, and I read it twice. Another factor that created the bitterness between the two was the command by Wilson to Phillips to start Johnson - who went on to perform terribly against TN in a game the Bills should have won going away. That, I suspect, was the straw that broke the proberbial camel’s back for both Butler AND AJ Smith. That decision was all Wilson.

Evidence? I know that was what was said, but the story was, as we shall say, quite one-sided. Even if it is true, the reason it happened was ENTIRELY the fault of Wilson. Butler was a good gm, full stop. You pay guys like that market rate.

That was what Wilson said. Caveat Emptor. Wilson, who hated paying gms and coaches - he fundamentally didn’t believe in it — before Donohoe, offered him a laughably below-market salary that would have made him one of the lowest paid gms in the league. Butler got the hell out because the offer was a joke. Let’s be careful about romatincizing Wilson, a lousy owner who lucked into Polian — and then fired him for the stupidest of reasons!!

This. I’m a little more hopeful than you, but this is a team with *zero* upper-tier offensive players except maybe Morse, and he’s shaky given the concussion issue. I like Brown, but he’s no AJ Green. Yeah, I like them for the SB too. They are a good team.

BUtler did a great job in SD and set that team up for a long time. He was good in Buffalo, basically rebuilding the team so that in 1999 it was a legit super bowl contender. Also, anyone who criticizes him for “quitting” is playing fast and loose with the truth given Wilson’s narrow-minded pig-headedness during that whole episode. I appreciate Wilson for a lot of things, but he was a poor owner overall. Just untrue. The proof in the pudding? What he built in SD from nothing.

I understand the decision, but honestly, on passing plays last season (and in this preseason), McCoy emphatically showed that he had NOT lost a step. I will say it again: a lot of people really don’t understand how epically terrible the Bills run blocking was last season. Worst in team history, in my opinion.

That’s why all drafts should happen on Labor Day.

You said it. He’s being entirely reasonable too.

This really puts things in stark perspective: https://mobile.twitter.com/ScottBarrettDFB/status/1166607550822981633

A different question: do the Bills have a top-15 player at any position on the offense?

Lynn had success with Shady ...

Also, a FB has always been a contributing component in a Pats-system offense, and that’s what the Bills run.

https://mobile.twitter.com/ScottBarrettDFB/status/1166607550822981633 I suppose Shady’s new twitter handle could be @CutforaDime25 ...

No, just no. In the 9 games he played with Flacco, he had 34 receptions for 601 yards (prorated over 16 games - 60 receptions for 1,068 yards, 17.8 ypr, and 7.5 TDs, which is obviously very good). In Flacco's final start, Brown was targeted 6 times (3 catches for 15 yds) but he also was the beneficiary of a DPI call on Pittsburgh on a bomb that moved the Ravens 33 yards down the field. ALL of his decline last year can be attributed to Jackson. Jackson threw 31 passes his way, and only 8 resulted in completions.

About 8 minutes in: https://www.nbcsports.com/video/will-chicago-bears-have-nfls-best-defense-again-2019?ls=pftvod

Well, to be fair to Jones, he has the ultimate "Scoreboard!" response to Bill fans. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199301310buf.htm#all_player_defense https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199401300buf.htm Um ... Jones was a really good player. Defensive rookie of the year in 1992, the years the Cowboys obliterated the Bills 52-17. The quote about Benjamin is genuinely funny.

Yeah, he doesn't really impress me.

In all of my posts, when I have raised this issue? Save it for the ones you're arguing with above, not me.

Courtney Brown, who was actually sensational early on, but quickly suffered a ceaseless cascade of injuries - which drove him out of the league. He didn't bust because he wasn't good. He had an OK rookie season (although he had nice total of TFLs - 16), but was absolutely on fire in his second season when he suffered a season ending injury in game five. Up to that point, he had 4.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries, 4 TFLs, 1 TD, and 4 passes defensed. Those are great numbers.

As i added above: My ENTIRE point is that a) this starts a lot earlier than the NFL and b) players get tracked very early, usually with the prodding/strong encouragement of their parents. It's as if you assume 14-year olds are fully formed and fully autonomous actors who are impervious to suggestion and punishment/reward psychology.

One of the ways to succeed as opposed to rot in a dead end career then? Let's compare - he got a job at McDonald's his senior year (a potential way out!) but also got a scholarship offer to Alabama to play football. Choice!

Dude - who are you even talking to? That's hardly my point. You're giving an answer to me for an issue I didn't even pose. My ENTIRE point is that a) this starts a lot earlier than the NFL and b) players get tracked very early, usually with the prodding/strong encouragement of their parents.

You appear to be deliberately missing my point. It's as if you assume 14-year olds are fully formed and fully autonomous actors who are impervious to suggestion and punishment/reward psychology.

Easy. Todd Marinovich. He hated it. But he was good at it.

Well, "force" isn't really the best term. How about "pushed by" and "strongly encouraged to"? He was born in Indiana, his dad died in a car accident when he was 6, and his mom moved him to Alabama, where he played at Tuscaloosa County HS. My point is that the pathways for these guys get set early, and if you're good, you're expected to stay on that track - and that goes double for kids from less fortunate backgrounds. It's one of the only ways out.