dave mcbride

I fundamentally disagree with your premise and think you're basically espousing a narrative of permanent stasis with regard to the player we're discussing. He wouldn't be the first highly talented QB to improve over time; the list of such qbs who became better over time is quite long (e.g., Steve Young, another extremely accurate QB, is the most famous example). It takes a while to learn to deal with the complexity and speed of NFL defenses. Bradford always had the potential (no one ever doubted his talent). Injuries took their toll, however. Indeed, 2013 looked like the year he would turn the corner because he was playing very well for St. Louis. But he was knocked out for the season during game seven. If you recall it, his progress that year was a relatively major topic of discussion across the league. He missed all of 2014 too (knee again). But there is a reason that both Philly and Minnesota traded first round picks for him: extreme talent, which has been on display lately. Both of those organizations understand QBs better than you or I.

As I said in two posts above (and elsewhere), his knee is too much of a risk. I thought that was clear. That being said, he played very well in 2016 despite having the worst running game I've seen in the past few years (32nd in both yards and YPA). He completed 71.6 percent of his passes, which is staggeringly high, had a 99+ rating, and he lit up a very good Saints team like an Xmas tree in game one this year. Players -- especially QBs -- often do get better over time assuming they have the requisite physical talent because they learn to deal with the complexity of the game. Bradford is one of those guys, at least in my view. I also will reiterate that the Vikings' running game was historically terrible last season. But to repeat (which I apparently I need to do given your post above!), his knee would scare me off.

It all depends on his knee.

As I said elsewhere, Bradford has looked like an elite starter in his last few full-game starts. His last three games: 34/50 for 382 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs, 110.6 rating 25/33 for 250 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT, 114.5 rating 27/32 for 346 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs, 143.0 rating He is a good player at this point in his career. However, his knee is a scarred-over mess of spaghetti. That's the issue with him, not his talent or performance. If the knee somehow ends up being OK, he can be a high end starter. But given the history of that knee, it is simply too much of risk to invest in.

I dropped Rogers, picked up Hundley, and then picked up Rogers and dropped Hundley right after last week's game. Worked out!

Just to be clear, it's going to be a fifth rounder. If he's on the roster and the Jags make the playoffs, the pick becomes a fifth.

Oddly, I think Bradford has evolved into a near-elite QB but is not acceptable because of his knee. It's a mess. I wonder if ever even plays again. He may well. Apparently they couldn't locate any tear in his MRI in September because the scar tissue obscured everything.

Have you heard specifically that they like Rosen? Curious to know.

Agreed. Not a great matchup for the Bills. Honestly, I'm counting on the weather helping out plus the fact that Miami is coming off of both a big high (stomping NE) and a short week.

I pretty strongly disagree with your understanding of what an attack constitutes, and I stand by what I said about the weakness of snark as method of argumentation. I'll just leave it at that. We're not going to agree, so it's best to end this.

Saying someone is providing "hot garbage" or is the equivalent of a drunk on Elmwood is by definition insulting them. It's not hard to be polite. Also, why the impulse to tweak me -- "Do you know what an attack is?"; "Sounds like you're a sensitive one as well." What's the point of that? The board is a better place when vigorous and sometimes hot debate is done with at least a modicum of politeness. My general view is that snark is a weapon of the weak and best avoided. It doesn't reflect well on people who rely on it when crafting an argument. It's typically not funny either.

I do. It sounds a bit like this: "Truthfully, this all just sounds like hot garbage. Please tell Cathy and Mark I’m disappointed." "Well, I heard better BS from a drunk on Elmwood on Saturday before the game. Thanks for the laugh." In any (reasonably) polite society, this is generally regarded as an attack -- nasty and dismissive snark.

See posts 3, 5, 8, and 21 on the first page alone.

They are attacks because of the tone and the wording. That matters. People really need to be more polite, and it's pretty freaking easy. This has long been a good forum because while we've always had some impolite jerks, we seem to have fewer than most. I get that it's the internet and all, but invoking that strikes me as a lame excuse for boorish behavior.

The problem with playing Peterman against Miami is that he will be absolutely destroyed by their pass rush. Their front is good. Taylor, whatever his flaws, has demonstrated in four games that he can play well against Miami. That is indisputable, and his escapability helps immensely. Here are his stats in four games vs. Miami: 21/29 for 277 yards, 3 TDs 0 INTs; 3 carries for 12 yards 11/12 for 181 yards, 1 TD, 0 INTs; 10 carries for 44 yards 14/28 for 221 yards, 1 TD, 0 INTs; 7 carries for 35 yards and 1 TD 26/39 for 329 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs; 12 carries for 60 yards His rating against Miami over these four games?? 121.2 . He has averaged 9.3 ypa. Extrapolated over 16 games, it amounts to 4,032 yards, 32 TDs, and 0 INTs plus 654 rushing yards and 4 rushing TDs. The Bills averaged 32 ppg in those four games too.

that wind was horizontal - you could see it in how the snow was moving. The same exact thing happened on his next kick - he just made the mistake of kicking it dead center. It would have been perfect in other conditions.

Don't forget this game! http://www.billsdaily.com/articles/thunder/ne2.html Vinatieri missed a kick that would have ended the game in regulation in that one too. He must hate the Ralph!

Edelman was on the field in all of those seven games. Again, that is my point: that they are pedestrian without Gronk in an Edelman-less offense. Edelman was a huge loss for them - bigger than most anticipated. Amendola is a pretty good player, but he's not the safety valve that Edelman is for Brady. Hogan is a different sort of player altogether. Also, if you think the NE offense was effective against TB in that game, you didn't watch it. They were sluggish all night despite the high completion rate. They scored 19 points against the worst pass defense in the league and would have lost if TB had a competent kicker. They didn't convert *one* third down last night. That is unbelievable.

I derived more enjoyment watching that game than any other Bills game I've watched this decade save for the victory over the Pats in 2011. It will go down as one of my favorite football viewing experiences ever. I loved that game. Everything about it.

The fact that he didn't sneak it last night at the one foot line tells me that perhaps his achilles is more of a problem than he's letting on.

That's sort of my point. Brady has two go-to guys at the end of the day: Edelman and Gronk. If he loses one, he can survive because the other one, combined with the other good players, can handle the job. But if he loses both, he's kinda screwed. I was saying that they are pedestrian in the absence of Gronk, and the evidence attests to that. They struggled against TB, a team which has a HORRIBLE pass defense (as in worst-in-the-NFL bad).

Agreed. The Bills needed something like Cam Newton, Derek Carr, Marcus Mariota, or Matthew Stafford going down with a non-crippling injury and ending up with a very high pick as a consequence. It didn't happen. The draft targets now are Indy and SF. Unfortunately, SF looks to be decent now with Garrapolo in there and may win 4-5 games. He's a very good player. Great trade by the Niners.

I get the sentiment for taking Watson, but I do think that both Rosen and Darnold are surer bets long term than Watson (I realize I may prove to be wildly wrong). The Bills at least got an extra first and have a lot of room to move given the extra second as well. The Browns and Giants are both likely to take a qb, though, and they won't trade out.

I hope you're right. I do think that Miami is a little soft mentally and is due for a letdown after beating down the Pats. That said, their d-line can bring it. They have a lot of talent. Their achilles heel is their pass defense (opposing teams have a 94.0 passer rating) but that tends to not be a problem for teams facing the Bills. That's my concern. Tyrod needs to step it up on Sunday. He has played well against Miami in the past. The Bills dominated in both games in 2015 and should have won their home game last year.

And we have been reminded yet again that Jay Cutler is a very talented QB. He made some fantastic throws last night. He's such a maddening player - so talented but .500 all the way at the end of the day. If he's on, though, watch out.