dave mcbride

It depends ENTIRELY on whether the whistle was blown. If it wasn't, then forward progress hadn't stopped.

I dunno - he looks a little angry to me - getting his head down and preparing for a charge. On the other hand, Frederic Remington nailed the current logo in the late 19th century. I agree, however, that the naming of the team itself is kinda ridiculous. Not sure you know much about Buffalo Bill Cody (the most popular entertainer of the late 19th century), but it's ridiculous that a team is named after him. But whatevs at this point!

If he's being touched (and he was in the grasp of a defender throughout the process), then the forward progress is where the ball got to at its forward most point before he comes down. Which makes it a first down. Let's do a thought experiment: how would you have reacted if the Bills were on the offense there and Shady wasn't given the first down? I personally would have been apoplectic.

We'll have to agree to disagree. I had no problem with that reversal. The other one was ridiculous, however.

In that Bengals game, Cincy's front seven was essentially unblockable - they occupied the backfield on what seemed like every play. The Bills were outplayed as a team in that game. It happens - Cincy isn't that bad and they were playing at home. If I recall, they were favored too. Bear in mind that I think SD would have easily handled Buffalo regardless of who started. Rivers was on fire and the Bills' D had no answers. If Tyrod had started, though, the Chargers wouldn't have put up 50+.

I will. I know what you're talking about, but I haven't seen it. Maybe we're watching different games and it happens all the time in the ones you watch!

I have honestly never seen what you're describing. They always seem to place it where the hit begins. If it were to happen as you describe here, then yes, it's the wrong call. But I don't see it. From the other side it seemed pretty clear that the knee wasn't touching. This isn't the best angle.

Do you know who is on the Titans? Corey Davis is the best WR prospect to come along since the 2014 draft, Delaney Walker is an excellent TE (a multit-time pro bowler), and Eric Decker is five times better than any receiver on the Bills. Rishard Matthews is a decent possession receiver on a par with a healthy Ryan Matthews. Most importantly, though, Mariota hasn't exploited Davis because his deep ball isn't good enough. And Taywan Taylor (their Marquise Goodwin; he's also a 3rd rounder) hasn't been targeted enough. Some of this falls on the prehistoric approach of their HC (Mularkey), but a lot falls on the QB too.

It was definitely right to reverse that call; he had gotten the first down. Not even really debatable, actually. Not really: they spot it where he caught because he's getting pushed back by a defender immediately after he catches the ball. What the officials do on those plays is the right thing. His forward progress stops at the moment that the tackle process begins. It doesn't stop at the end of the tackle process.

Agreed. I've watched a fair bit of the Titans this year, and he is bad - a big disappointment. Maybe he turns it around, and I know he has a knee issue (a problem for a mobile qb like him). But for this season at least, he is significantly worse than Taylor despite having FAR more receiving talent.

The current logo is just the grazer after he's been gored by a spear.

I thought he played extremely well this year in very challenging conditions (i.e., playing alongside a defense that was one of the very worst in all of D1 football - 117th out of 130 in points allowed per game). He's a good player and looks like the type of person who can succeed in the NFL. I think we all need to look past the noise. As for the Browns, I'm normally one of those people who think the players are obligated to go wherever because it's in every player's interest (whether they know it or not) for the league to have competitive balance in the long term. However, the Browns are such an epic dumpster fire that I'm presently treating them as an exception.

Now THAT is funny! (Cuz it's true.)

I think you're misreading them, JSP. I know that badol and 26cb know that we have to get a better qb, but they also think that a la donald rumsfeld, you go to war with the army you have, not the one you wish you have. For all of his limitations, taylor is basically a mid-level nfl starter who can flash some quality play provided you give him receiving talent. The bills have no one else who is better, and given that you're presumably trying to win, giving him so help by way of wr talent would be helpful. The wr corps this year has been truly wretched, although long term l like benjamin assuming he's 100 percent next year. Right now, he's gutting it out, but he's also likely running a 4.9 40 too. the big issue is the failure to ever draft a qb with their slotted first pick. They have never done it in nearly 60 years. That is pathetic.

Not one of these people think like you’re implying they do.

The funny thing about this post is that there is literally no one on this board who doesn't want to get better at qb. Not sure who you think you're arguing with.

Worth a read: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/12/24/mike-pereira-blasts-latest-replay-reversal/

Irrelevant. The bills scored on the next play and were absolutely screwed. That is ALL that matters here.

That was effing outrageous. I literally cannot believe that was overturned.

I don't think it's that simple. The pats did get over half of season of service from jimmy G by not trading him, and while that may not sound like much given that he didn't play, you never know what might happen beforehand with regard to injuries and age-related decline. By the time they traded him, they were well on their way to the playoffs. So I think it's a similar deal at the end of the day. A pick in the high 30s is a good pick too, albeit not a top 5 pick for sure.

They're getting a 5th, not a 6th.

Good comparison. Gannon was a helluva player later in his career!

I get that. He doesn't seem to always shine in clutch moments. But he is very productive, and my hunch is that he's the sort of qb who gets better with age because he's pretty smart, a good and quick field reader, and can make all of the throws. Barring injury, I suspect he'll play for a long time.

Fair enough, but it's not true to say that he has accuracy issues. He's measurably one of the most accurate QBs in the league - look at completion pct and ypa the last three seasons. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/C/CousKi00.htm

Why? I haven't formed a strong opinion yet, but I've seen a fair bit of Cousins and he has played like a near-elite level QB for 3 seasons now. He's not the problem with that franchise by a long shot.