Reed83HOF

Should always draft a CB/DB

The USFL help make him what he was. His stats were ridiculous; those 3 years set the foundation for everything. He very easily could have been a bust if he signed right away - that coaching staff here was awful. One of the really interesting overall themes seem to be, to me at least, how similar him and Josh are; along with where our offense is going. Mouse Davis is a brilliant offensive mind:

WR is interesting, as I let the new Cover1 article marinate a bit, the video a few weeks ago with Allen & JK, etc. one reason why I think Zay was shipped out was that he was unable to make the coverage reads and adjust his route and get on the same page as Josh. The WR that we draft (we will draft at least one), will need to not only have speed and other athletic measurables (and some height), he will need to be able to read a D, adjust and know all of his route trees. It may very well be advantageous for us to bring in Green on a 3-ish year deal and a way out in the back-end. It allows us time to groom and develop the WR so when he is ready to hit the field full-time and the learning curve will be a lot shorter and we won't have to depend on him too much while he develops.

A couple weeks ago, if you watched this: JK was saying we need to patient with this offense as it comes together and it will take some time for the QBs and WRs to get on the same page. We are using elements of the No-huddle with Josh and some of the basic concepts Jim and co. used back in the day. You start to get that vibe from the team too - everyone doubts us, but us, they do everything together, kids parties etc. Feels like everything is coming full circle.

Fairburn's Article from March 2019 https://theathletic.com/838469/2019/03/06/it-was-a-perfect-storm-how-jim-kellys-usfl-seasons-changed-the-course-of-the-bills-and-pro-football/ While some of that was cutting edge, the route adjustments are what separated the offense. Receivers and the quarterback would each read the coverage on the fly after the snap. On a given play, each receiver had a different route assignment depending on the coverage they saw. The quarterback and receiver not only had to read the coverage correctly, but they also both needed to be seeing the same thing. When they did, there wasn’t much the defense could do to stop it. “To me, quarterbacks number one have to be a great leader,” Argovitz said. “Players have to respect you. Jim was a guy where, if players weren’t doing the right thing, he would get in their faces and he would tell them. He was not one to be quiet. He was very vocal. He led by example and led by getting in your face and telling you what you have to do.” “He was the right kind of kid for a quarterback,” Davis said. “He’s a natural team leader. Whatever that is, he was. All of the team was 100 percent with him. He was a tough *****.” Added Jones: “Jim was an incredible leader and one of the tough guys that I’ve ever been around. Because of his toughness, everybody on the team saw how he was a leader by example, doing his job when other things failed. When we didn’t block it how we were supposed to block it, he still hung in there and took a lick. That more than anything told me about Jim Kelly.” “You have Jim with the big arm and he would throw it on time. He was pretty mobile and tougher than nails. He could sit in there. During his rookie season, his footwork was still a bit choppy as he made the transition and there were the growing pains that come with learning a new offense. When Jenkins took over as offensive coordinator, he had a plan. First, he wanted to upgrade the offensive line. Not only did he want to make additions from the outside, but he wanted those already on the roster to develop. Kelly could not take the same beating he took as a rookie. “That first year being hit so many times, being sacked so many times,” Jenkins said. “It could have ruined him. I’ve seen a lot of quarterbacks ruined in my day. They take a lot of hits and then they’re not reading the keys down the field. They’re not looking at defensive backs like they should. They’re looking at pass rushers. They’re never the same. They get turned upside down. That’s the separation that Jim Kelly had to so many of these guys today. That’s his mental toughness, his physical toughness.” Erik's athletic article: https://theathletic.com/1421086/?source=twittered Researching the passing concept led me to the Run and Shoot (R&S) offense Beasley learned under coach June Jones at SMU. Jones’ early coaching stops included the Houston Gamblers in 1984, with a roster that had quarterback Jim Kelly, and the Houston Oilers from 1987-88. Jones coached quarterback Warren Moon in that team’s version of the Run and Shoot offense. The passing concept Beasley brought to Daboll is known as the “Go” concept. Jones said this was the first concept and he Darrel “Mouse” Davis, who helped create and institutionalize the Run and Shoot offense, would implement on the first day of practice. Teaching the concept and getting reps in early was important, Jones said, because the quarterback and receivers have to be on the same page for it to work at a high level. Once mastered, it’s a difficult play to stop because it has answers for every sort of coverage possible. There was a lot of talk this offseason about how Allen watched film with Jim Kelly and the Bills were planning on running some of the same R&S concepts this season. Kelly got his crash course in this style of offense when he signed with the Gamblers and played under offensive coordinator and R&S architect “Mouse” Davis. Once Kelly made it to Buffalo, the offense was termed “K-Gun.” Rather than using four wide receivers like in the traditional R&S, the Bills installed the system with a tight end, specifically Keith McKellar. Kelly’s receivers, nicknamed the “Mouseketeers,” were small and shifty and fit seamlessly into Davis’ system. It’s an offense that contains a lot of “option” concepts, for which the quarterback and receivers have to be on the same page. “It’s just building that chemistry out there and having my body language right so he can read it,” Beasley said of his and Allen’s budding dynamic during the preseason. “I was happy to see that the Bills stuck with it,” Jones said, “because it’s a difficult concept to execute because of the rapport needed between the quarterback and receivers.”

Interior pass rushers who can also play the run are much harder to come by than an edge guy IMO. Can always bring edge pressure with a blitz, up the middle from a DT position - yup, I will take it all day long

Von Miller (doubful, but if he does back up the Brinks truck), Shaq Barrett & Cooper are the 3 I go hard after. I may consider AJ green on a 3yr deal that lets me out after year 2 (gives us a way to groom a rookie WR for a season or 2). What makes WR a little difficult is that we are expecting the WRs to make coverage reads and adjust their routes - which could take a rookie WR a season or 2 to learn and become in-sync with the rest of the WRs, & Allen.

I like our chances against the pass, so the key is stopping the run and keeping Lamar in front of you on the RPOs and his runs. Gap integrity/staying in your lanes is huge and I am going to say we will see a fair amount of zone in the middle of the field with the LBs/S and CBs playing man. I don't think we will see a lot of blitzing, unless we are shredding their OL; Jackson will run if we blitz too much. Offense is going to be tough sledding and will be up to Josh to find the open WR/TE/RB quickly. I like the Ravens DBs better than our WR core. I am thinking this is going to be a Kroft & Knox heavy set OL and attacking the middle of the field with them.

We will attempt to buy one player this offseason - Edge or WR with a front loaded contract and draft the other in RD1.

I will f-ing die if this happens. I can't even imagine this

What exactly are you doing with your mom's tongue to master it?

I wanted to suck bad enough last year for either Bosa or Oliver and I still can't believe we got Oliver at 9. I really thought we wouldn't have a chance in hell

6. I think the Jets will regret passing on Ed Oliver for Quinnen Williams in the top 10 of the 2019 NFL Draft. If they’re being honest, they already do.

To be fair, it is new math for us - it is usually "In-the-hunt" math which is different We all did - I mean honestly, it's not like we needed to know this or even look at it over the past 20-25 years

Edit:

wow

brady's arm strength is gone....

This felt like the biggest Bills win since Kelly was taking snaps. There have been a few other high points — Buffalo made the playoffs twice under Doug Flutie in 1998-99. But Thursday’s triumph was more significant for one essential reason: Allen, their first true franchise quarterback hope since Kelly, had the best game of his career on the biggest stage. ... The Bills are 11-0 when his completion rate is at least 60%.

just got back home from the holiday, a bit late, but this is an excellent write up! well done sir!

I'm really thinking Shaq Barrett with a front loaded deal the first year. Fills the LorAx need and end rusher need when we flip out of the base D. Can still draft the DE in RD1 (if that is a better positional/player value at our pick); DE can have a year or so to groom behind Jerry. WR is a top need and it all depends where the draft falls. We also could always move Edmunds to fill LorAx's roll and draft a run stuffing MLB as well. Lots of options and hard to nail down without a set draft position. I am hoping for pick #32 of course!

I know

A Few Thoughts about Virgil's post 1.) through vs threw 2.) reading is hard 3.) assumptions well...yeah...you ass