dave mcbride

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2017/05/08/nick-buoniconti-dolphins-cognitive-decline-nfl-head-trauma-concussions 'Some of Buoniconti’s Dolphins teammates, meanwhile, are crumbling. Quarterback Earl Morrall, the supersub so key to the Perfect Season, died at 79, in 2014, with Stage 4 CTE. Running back Jim Kiick, 70, lived in squalor until he was placed in an assisted living facility last summer with dementia/early onset Alzheimer’s. Bill Stanfill, a defensive end who long suffered from dementia, died in November at 69. His brain and spine were sent to the CTE center at Boston University, where the disease has been found in 96% of players’ brains studied. (Granted, that’s 96% of a group whose medical or playing history already suggests some sort of brain disease.)'

Given the stakes, I'm going to vote for this game as the most exciting Bills victory ever in the last minute: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1981/12/28/interception-in-last-seconds-saves-bills-from-jets-31-27/6034622f-5ce7-41c3-b70a-0373a7edad3d/?utm_term=.0c8c5eca6258 Having said this, it was also on the verge of being the biggest choke job in Bills history.

I listened to that Pats-Bills game on the radio - Van Miller went nuts on the Hooks catches.

Yes he did, ultimately. And he took a LOT of heat here from people saying he was clueless.

I think his game is much more like Rich Gannon - fast-paced, rhythmic - and not really like Edwards's game at all (he has a much better arm too). We shall see. I don't buy eye test arguments given such consistent improvement in efficiency over time.

I agree with you about Bridgewater but I also think that Bradford is on the cusp of being a good qb. He played well last year in a bad situation (no running game whatsoever and a terrible line). Granted, he throws a lot of short passes, but a 71.6 percent completion rate is a 71.6 completion rate -- i.e., pretty remarkable. He had a 20/5 TD-INT ratio too. His completion pct has gotten better and better every season too. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BradSa00.htm Bottom line: because he was drafted #1 overall, disappointment is the usual response, but he really is playing like prime-era Rich Gannon now. Give him a better line and a better RB (and Dalvin Cook is gonna be good), and he may surprise you. Christ - they were 32nd in both rushing yards and rushing ypa last season. That's tough on a qb.

It sounds like there was excellent medical screening, and it also sounds like one team decided to discount it.

Not really. Speaking for myself, I hate when I see Bills players do this sort of thing. It's dirty and there's no need for it. The sport is violent enough already and has far, far too many injuries. I think these plays should result in 2-game suspensions. That's the only thing that will end them.

That was a horrible situation - one that preceded and continued after he left. The fish rots from the head, and in the case of Cleveland, it is Haslam. He was pretty high up in Cleveland in the early 1990s and also with the Raiders in the late 1990s/early 200s. IIRC, he was involved in bringing in Gannon, who was most definitely not an Al Davis prototype.

If you read the piece, Skurski doesn't predict what the Bills will do. He simply lays out what has happened since this rule came into effect. It is useful, interesting information. Are we really going to bash TBN over a piece like this? Sheesh.

That is just untrue. The Browns developed into a really good team but fell apart because of the move, which was probably the most controversial and acrimonious team move since the Dodgers left Brooklyn. I distinctly recall how ugly it was. The Browns were really good in 1994 (11-5), crushing the Pats in a playoff game and leading the league in least points allowed.

I think that's right. Roman is a great offensive mind. Lynn used that system but scaled things back to the point where the offense could play fast.

Roman is a genuinely good coordinator and his system is smart. I give Ryan a lot of credit for hiring him. The Bills defense sucked in 2012 (27th in DVOA) and 2015 (24th in DVOA). It was great in 2013 (4th in DVOA) and 2014 (2nd in DVOA), the years Marrone coached. The player turnover wasn't that great either. Most of the pieces were in place in 2012, and the D was loaded in 2015. I know you hate Marrone, but please, I hope you can accept the idea that hiring a good staff is the most important thing a coach can do. Marrone hit home runs on his DCs. The OC was a different story, of course.

Awesome piece. Thanks for posting. Best thing I've read in a while.

He was a good player for Pettine too. The most importsnt job of a head coach, btw, is building a staff. Marrone hired good DCs.

So they're interviewing Brian Gaine. Gaine was Houston's director of pro personnel when they signed ... Brock Osweiler. Even I knew that Osweiler was a stiff.

I agree that there a lot of moving parts and I think the Roman system was good. Still, I thought Taylor was good. See the edit in my post above.

The Bills were bad in creating turnover-generated points the last couple of seasons. Last season, they were 13th in plays per drive, 12th in yards per drive, and 9th in yards per drive. Their drive start position was league average. Not sure of your point here.

I completely disagree. I think teams need guys like him to run the offense effectively not just in games he has to play in because of injury, but in practice. He may also be the sort of player who can teach the offense, which he knows, to other qbs. His physical talent level, by the way, is about the same as Peterman's. If Cardale Jones is our backup, then we are in a lot of trouble. Like I said, you need a backup qb who can get you to 2-2 over a 4-game stretch and who actually knows how to run the offense. I think Jones and Petrman are potentially 0-4 guys at this point. Bear in mind that I have NO faith in Jones.

I know a lot of people here take great pleasure in bashing the local media, but here is a good and very informative overview by Jay Skurski of what has happened when teams have declined to pick up options: http://buffalonews.com/2017/05/03/analysis-history-suggests-sammy-watkins-time-bills-short/ .

He was a good player for Marrone.

They are very comparable; see my post above. The Saints haven't had a starter they've drafted (beyond a fill-in game for a backup) since 1986 (Dave Wilson). That's 31 years! http://forums.twobillsdrive.com/topic/193705-gm-doug-whaley-has-been-fired/?p=4365353 . Also if you take out the two years Dave Wilson started for them, you have to go back to Archie Manning to find a starting QB that they drafted. They had a late Kenny Stabler era, after all.

Good info - makes a ton of sense. Thanks.

See above re the Saints too.

They also traded a first for Trent Green, who was very good for them. See above. I'd argue that Taylor hasn't been better, and that Smith has been above average for a long time. But I'm a fan of Taylor and am also a fan of getting a qb any old way you can. Interestingly, for all of the talk about the Chiefs, the Saints haven't had a starting qb that they drafted since 1986, when Dave Wilson (drafted in 1981; only started in 1985 and 1986) was their starter. Brees, Brooks, Blake, Hebert, Walsh, Everett, Tolliver: none were drafted by the Saints.