dave mcbride

You know I repsect your takes, but have you looked at the free agent pool for next year? It is WEAK.

If you really think he's bad for business, you may want to rethink that. The country is changing, and the a-hole who milks the issue the most has very low approval ratings. I'm not saying he's great for business, but I think the idea that he's bad for it is not based on any real evidence.

Vis a vis the weather, good thing for Peterman that he has a lot of late-season games in Buffalo!

Agreed. This aspect of McDermott has always worried me about him.

What I meant by "avuncular" was an easy familiarity in presentation style that conveys that the speaker/writer is both a longtime local known to everyone and an old hand. He may not have been all that kind (although stylistically his presentation style was one of accessibility and familiarity), but I'd argue that stylistically he was genial. I don't "troll," for what it's worth. I agree!

I essentially agree. I think he has a pretty nice avuncular style, and he knows how to weave in pithy punch lines at the appropriate moments. His writing ability is not -- or at least shouldn't be -- the issue.

Sully is a great ambassador for Providence! (Actually, my dad was from Providence and my mom from RI too, so I kinda respect that.) Also, while this is sorta off topic, Vic C has been pretty strong of late. (Yes, I know he's not a columnist.)

Felser really wasn't that good. Heresy, I know. I don't think he provided any more insight than Sullivan, partly because he didn't work sources like the good columnists do (read some Tyler Kepner and you'll know what I mean). I'm old enough to remember Felser getting fired fairly quickly after getting promoted to overseeing AFC coverage for The Sporting News (he had been their Bills guy), which was a big deal back in the day given TSN's cache among harder-core sports fans. He just did a lousy job there. Both Sullivan and Felser before him wrote like tribunes of the people, assuming that their role was to be an articulate mouthpiece of the proverbial passionate-yet-reasonably-educated fan. The good columnists always did that but also worked sources and brought new empirical information to the table (e.g., Will McDonogh, Joel Sherman, Don Banks, Bill Plaschke way back when). They were also VERY educated about the games they covered. Sullivan, who was clearly more of a basketball and baseball fan, just doesn't know that much, and Felser, who probably knew a little more, really didn't bring much insight because his takes were fairly lazy. What no one is mentioning is that Sullivan (and Felser before him) did bring one thing to the table that disappeared when the Pegulas took over: he had access to Ralph -- the best access at the newspaper, in fact. When Ralph died, he no longer had that attribute, and the new owners were clearly not going to give it back to him. Without that, how much did he really offer?

Yes. Is he any good? No one knows yet, and no one should pretend to know.

It's a football board as much as a Bills board. Don't be that guy who complains about fans talking about other teams and their players.

Those often linger ...

Jim Schwarz is not a guy who relies on the choirboy strategy.

The jury is out because we don't know about Harrison and won't for a while, but Darby is a good player. Whether it was a good trade for the Bills is open to debate, but it was certainly a good trade for the Eagles.

He's not an all-pro, but the potential is certainly there. He also played really well last night ( https://www.fantasypros.com/nfl/news/174451/ronald-darby-saves-day-eagles.php ) against arguably the best receiver in the league. Jones will get his catches regardless because he's *that* good, but bear in mind that in three straight games, he'll have been matched up against Gronk, Julio Jones, and Mike Evans. He has been facing off against truly elite players.

I don't necessarily agree with it, but it's a fair point that he raises. Darby is an objectively good player who played well last year. Matthews was a bust (injuries being the cause), and the draft pick is a complete unknown. Whether he's the next Kyle Williams or the next Tim Anderson is anyone's guess.

He actually played very well overall last season when healthy, although he struggled in the SB (like everyone who has to cover Gronk).

Wow -- everyone at FO thinks the Bills will suck, and they all seem to think that Allen will be terrible. We shall see.

Epic. One of Magary’s finest moments. No exaggeration.

6-10 / 5-11.

No offense, but this is a less than compelling question and poll.

Bennett is an excellent comparison. The Bills didn't regret that move! I like Trubisky and think he'll probably be at least pretty good. Also, this provides good perspective. I don't think the Redskins regretted paying a ton in draft capital for Wilbur Marshall, who was a great player for them. He had 3 sacks in the 1991 NFC championship game! http://nflfootballjournal.blogspot.com/2018/09/bears-give-up-most-for-defensive-player.html Obtaining Hall of Famer Ted Hendricks for 2 first rounders worked out extremely well for the Raiders too. Hendricks, btw, has four SB rings - 3 for Oakland one for Baltimore (1970). Dave Butz ended up being a 14-year starter for Washington and played in multiple Super Bowls (2 rings). Bill Bergey was the heart and soul of Philly's D for about a decade too.

It was a smart trade by the Bears. Did you read the Peter King piece about it? It's good: https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2018/09/03/khalil-mack-trade-super-bowl-prediction-peter-king/

It has been reported that the Raiders didn't want to trade him to another AFC team. Regardless, it was a TERRIBLE trade by the Raiders. What the hell are they thinking?

I think this take by Peter King on the stupidity of the Raiders ' decision to not sign Mack is spot on. Good points about salaries and the value of draft picks too: https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2018/09/03/khalil-mack-trade-super-bowl-prediction-peter-king/ 'The football world has to stop thinking of $22 million a year as absolutely outlandish and dumb to pay a non-quarterback. Folks, it’s all Monopoly money. The cap has more than doubled in 13 years. The way to think of players’ salaries is as a percentage of the cap—not in raw dollars. Five years ago, this Mack deal, on average, would have been 18 percent of the cap. Now, over the next seven years, it’s 10.67 percent. When the cap grows, you’re much better off thinking of the percentage of the cap, not that a defensive player shouldn’t make $20 million a year. It’s all relative.'

It’s not a myth, it’s a reasoned supposition. I firmly believe Darnold will be better than Allen (although I hope he isn’t), and at the time Beane said repeatedly he hadn’t done his due diligence and wasn’t willing to pull the trigger. The Jets were ready, and I don’t believe for a second that the Bills preferred Allen to Darnold. The Jets simply beat them to the punch, although the Jets had a lot to offer too.