dave mcbride

LOL. He had a grade 3 MCL sprain (the worst kind) that he suffered on August 31, and it's hardly a 4-weeks-and-you're-all-better injury. As a sidenote, now you know what it must have felt like when I was defending Clay!

?? My understanding is that they signed Barkley immediately after he had recovered from his injury that he had sustained in the late preseason, and that he wasn't ready to play when they signed Anderson. If that's the case, then your supposition isn't really valid. More broadly, is the Matt Barkley-sucks hill one that you're really prepared to die on? Sheesh. Yes, this. The Bengals as far as I know were not planning on cutting him.

It is a great move. You'll be happy.

i always wonder why so many really good players choose a place like alabama, where logic dictates that they're less likely to play. The worst decision Robert Foster ever made was going to Alabama. If he had gone to, say, Wyoming instead, he'd have been drafted!

He has three seasons where he finished in the top 10 for AV (all players at all positions), finishing 2nd, 5th, and 8th (2015, 2011, and 2013). He was also the starting all-pro (not pro bowl; there's a huge difference) qb one season (2015). And of course he received 48 out of 50 first place votes for the MVP award in 2015. That makes him a very good qb in my book, and it's worth noting he was on course for his best season ever before he got hurt mid-season this year. Shoulder injuries are a bad thing; I hope he recovers. He's an exciting player who is fun to watch, unlike a lot of robo-QBs out there (e.g., Kirk Cousins, Tannehill, etc.).

https://www.boston.com/sports/sports-q/2018/12/19/tom-brady-knee-injury-mike-giardi

I actually kind of agree. They overperformed relative to the talent last week.

312 yds per game would put the Bills at ... 29th in the league. Better than 31st, I know, but my god, are we fans that beaten down to think that 312 yds at home against the freaking Lions (who let up 346 yds per game on average) is "efficient"?

The Bills scored 14 points at home last week against an average defense. That's actually not impressive.

The Bills might be prepared, though, and here's why. Patricia did the ol' Belichick thing last week, playing shallow zone all day with his mid-level defenders to prevent Allen runs. It worked, and in impressive fashion. There were no run lanes for Allen, and the Bills' offense was somewhat anemic overall. It was a good lesson for Allen, and he may well be more prepared this week. No, the blueprint regarding his run ability was created last week, and it was having coverage LBs and dime defenders playing shallow zone 7-10 yards off the LOS.

That story is incredible. What a debacle for Norwood that day.

Meh - La Cosa Polianostra is basically the Tattaglias to Parcells/Belichick/Saban's Corleones.

For a while now, when I think of Zay Jones, I think of this guy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Van_Dyke. I remember when he was drafted by the Jets as the first pick of the second round. Teams were high on him because of elite college production (he led the country in receptions and receiving yards), but the knock on him was the measurables: speed/quickness/leaping ability. We're re-living that episode, I fear.

I think you're way off about Daboll. If you can point to poorly called games, go for it. He calls good games, full stop, but as you know, you can't make silk from a sow's ear. Now that they've moved the faster guys into the WR spots, the offense looks a LOT different. I'm a stats guy, but stats aren't indicative at all of his performance in this instance. And, by the way, Daboll is Belichick guy more than anything else - not a Polian person. His first job was with Saban at Michigan State (and Saban worked under Belichick in Cleveland before that), and he joined Belichick in NE in his first year there (2000). Calling him part of the Polian mob is factually wrong.

From his wikipedia page: "At Tampa Bay Technical High School in Tampa, Washington was a four-sport standout in football, track, baseball, and wrestling. As a senior, he was the Florida State Wrestling champion in the unlimited weight class." "The unlimited weight class" -- I love it! I certainly wouldn't have wanted to wrestle that guy.

D-line ain't for choirboys. A lot of those guys are nuts. He was a helluva player.

Ted Washington is one of the most dominant defensive players the Bills have ever had.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2018/12/17/report-steve-wilks-firing-seems-a-foregone-conclusion/

Like Bandit, I'm a Daboll fan. I can't think of a game where I've been questioning the playcalling repeatedly. It generally makes sense. I can't say the same about Dennison at all.

I don't think he has a rag arm. It's below average, to be sure. The same thing has always been said about Colt McCoy (rag arm), who is a great backup.

If you think McCown has had anything but a below-average arm these past five seasons, I don't know what to tell you. The guy is ancient but a decent backup nonetheless. (I'm not talking about the McCown of 2002, by the way; I'm talking about the guy we've repeatedly faced in recent years.) Orton actually has better career stats than Fitz. He was 42-40 as a starter; Fitz is 50-75. Orton also has a higher career passer rating, but only by a tenth of a point. Fitz has been goosing his rating stats these last few years, though; the new passing rules help.

PS - I do realize that Bills' fans have been spoiled by Kyle Orton, who is arguably the Platonic ideal of a backup QB - starter level arm strength, smarts, proven ability to win at a .500 level, and a proven ability to walk in off the proverbial street and scratch out a victory. We'll probably never see his likes again.

I fundamentally disagree with you because I've seen him play for other teams too. He has a better arm than Leinart even though it isn't great. His arm is no worse than McCown's. I guarantee you that. What he did against a fairly talented Jets D should register with you. He had just signed a few days before, and he ran the offense very capably (i.e., smarts and solid accuracy). He had a couple of off throws, but that's to be expected. It was the Bills' best offensive performance in terms of yardage accumulated since late 2016, and he was fresh from the street, operating with subpar talent around him, and playing on the road. Peterman just sucks irrespective of arm strength. He shouldn't even be in the conversation not just because of that, but because he hasn't hung around long enough to have learned the pro game (as Barkely has done). That is, he doesn't qualify in this conversation. If he hangs on for 5+ years, he will.

Welcome to the world of career backups in the NFL. This is who they are, and if you're going to have one, you want the guy who is smarter and more accurate than the others. They're not going to have great arms, and if one does happen to have a strong arm, all it tells you is that he was an abject failure as a starter and can't manage a game to save his life. Hello, Brandon Weeden and Ryan Mallett. I'll take Barkley over Weeden and Mallett ANY day of the week.

It's kinda like wins for starting pitchers - kinda useless, but at the same time, if a guy is winning close to 20 games year and year out, then you can assume he's probably pretty good.