dave mcbride

I think Boone did a good job overall. Some of the in-game managing stuff with the staff/relievers, yeah, but that's a relatively small part of the job all things considered. The hardest part is motivating a bunch of multi, multi- millionaires to play hard and play hard for each other. He's good at that, as was Torre. Girardi, who ai really liked, wore out his welcome with too many players, and baseball is a players' game in the end. Plus they won 100 games with a decent amount of injury time to talented players. Btw, speaking of hall of fame, Harold Freaking Baines???? You have gotta be kidding me.

Jones has decent hands and isn't a bad player. Guys like Favre and Elway struggled with this issue, and it was noted at the time. Allen throws harder than both of them.

good write-up. Thanks!

I suspect that if they end up in the top 6 (they're playing three teams all in the hunt over the next 3 weeks) at 5-11 or so, they'll be in position for a trade-down because someone will want a QB.

Agreed, but there still needs to be some degree of touch - i.e., don't throw it as hard as possible given your ridiculous velocity. Hopefully, that'll come with time. To be fair, I am simply blown away by some of his throws. Impressive to watch.

Get used to it unless Allen develops more touch. And of course like everyone here I want major upgrades at the WR position (although I think Robert Foster looks like a quality NFL starter the way he's been playing lately).

What are the facts? Do you have evidence that Doug Whaley had any say in who the Bills drafted when their turn on the clock came up on that draft day?

I'm not saying that the ball shouldn't have been caught. I'm saying that the velocity was such that you're going to see an inordinate number of drops by receivers on the Bills given that he throws harder than anyone in the history of the league and has touch issues. Jones doesn't actually have bad hands and has been catching the ball pretty well lately. That throw was blazing. Could have been caught? Yes, of course, and maybe it is 6-7 times out of ten. My simple point is that the drop chances increase when the velocity goes up as high as it does with Allen. That's just basic logic. It's not the first time we've seen it go through a receiver's hand because there was too much mustard on it.

Who is saying anything positive or negative? I said "the jury is out." Jones looks alright; Edmunds looks decent. It's too soon to tell. No need to be inquisitorially seeking out critics when criticism isn't the issue. If you think Beane and McDermott aren't on exactly the same page, you haven't been paying attention. It is also extremely likely that McDermott was aware who of the Panthers liked given his extremely tight relationship with Beane in Carolina.

If you believe that a guy who was fired immediately after the draft -- and who KNEW he was being fired -- had any say in who the Bills were picking when they were on the clock, I don't know what to say. Whaley straight-up had zero say in who we drafted that year.

No he wasn't. Whaley had literally zero say on who we picked in that draft. He was only employed so he couldn't divulge Bills' intel. That was McDermott all the way, who was clearly in contact with Beane (the Panthers had targeted Dion Dawkins and we jumped ahead of them).

Jones was the most proven player of all the WRs in terms of production and not regarded as an elite athlete. I think it's safer to say that McDermott/Beane likes NFL bloodlines (Jones, Edmunds, Proehl). So far, the jury is out on that approach.

You're asking WRs to turn around and catch what was likely a 65+ mph throw. It is not the same as catching, say, a Brady throw. Will the WR catch it sometimes? Yes. But simple logic will tell you that it's going to result in some incompletions, regardless of the quality of the wideout. Allen literally has the strongest arm in the history of the league. His high velocity throws aren't normal. It can certainly be a good thing, but it's also going to result in drops.

Dude. Think. Seriously. Don't be such a homer. It's frustrating reading these posts. When Elway came into the league, he had a ton of velocity-related incompletions simply because he threw it too hard. He had to learn. Allen throws harder than Elway.

Some of those drops happen because of a lack of touch on his part. I'm not saying our receivers are a good group, but the rocket velocity is an issue that will produce some drops. Of course, it also prevents INTs, which is the positive side and not to be discounted. Either way, though, there are going to be more velocity-related incompletions for the Bills than any other team going forward unless he gets better on touch.

All of the rookie QBs have bad accuracy stats except for Mayfield, who so far is leagues better than all of them. Mayfield is at 64.4, Lamar Jackson is 58.4, Darnold is at 55. 9, Rosen is at 55.4, and Allen is at 52.4. Allen's are the worst, partly because he's only hit 60 percent accuracy once this season (v. Minnesota). He can be pin-point accurate, but he misses badly way too much. He has two issues. The first is the most important: consistency. Lack of consistency is what brings many quarterbacks down. It's been an issue in college and this season. He is young, but it's something to worry about. The second, which many aren't raising, is velocity. That throw to Zay Jones in the second half against the Jets was simply thrown too hard. It may have looked like an easy catch because it hit him in the chest, but that ball was as hard as I've seen a ball throw in some time, and it arrived right after Jones turned around. It wasn't an easy catch at all. He needs to get a LOT better on touch, which is something Darnold clearly has.

Have the Wilpons finally dug themselves out of the Madoff hole they ended up in? If so, they're a major market team and should be able to open up the checkbook a little. IIRC, they weren't cheap before the financial crisis. They won the Beltran sweepstakes (and he was a great signing).

Cano was very good when he played this past season: OPS+ of 136. That's an elite-level season for him (his very good lifetime average is 127).

Dude, I'm not justifying it! It is the case, however, that the D-lineman who was cut stated that he wanted to kill Dawkins. Therefore, it's reasonable to assume the Jets decided to retaliate in some way if the opportunity presented itself. The fact that they did it is therefore understandable even if unjustified. I also don't agree with Hapless. There was bad blood going into this game, and that looked like a straight-up, deliberate cheap shot by Dawkins to me. Even if it wasn't, it could easily be interpreted as such by the opponent. Bottom line for the Bills: avoid cheap shots.

I agree. I just think that the larger point -- that McDermott is no better or worse than, say, Jason Garrett or Jay Gruden or Adam Gase or (take your pick) -- is basically right.

You should look at his advanced passer rating, which compares like to like. Most QBs threw more picks than TDs back then. The link is above.

He said "most coaches." He has a point ...

I understand the impulse, but I think they're basically OK on d-line next season and desperately need offensive talent. In a perfect world, they'd trade back in the first and get an extra second, and in order take OT (1st), WR (2nd), D-line (2nd), CB (third round), TE (fourth), RB (fourth), G/C (5th), WR (5th), S (6th) and BPA after that.

Yep, just read about that. As a Yankees fan, I'd be thrilled, but let's see who they have to give up. Realmuto is very good.

Yes; before the game, there was a quote from a Jets player (Jamal Adams, I think), who said that the Bills really didn't like the Jets, and that they really didn't like the Bills. It's personal between these two teams.