JohnC

Whatever happened to Beerball? Did he leave angry or just fade away due to fatigue? He took away some penalty points so I am forever grateful. At times he was irascible but overall he was a good guy. Tell him to come back and join the club again.

I don't see Lamar playing right away unless on a situational basis. That's where coaching and receptiveness to coaching comes in. From what I have read about him he is a worker and diligently prepares. As with every qb the smart organizations design offenses to take advantage of their assets. My concern isn't so much about his running as it is being smart about it. I'm more confident about his ability to adjust to the pro game than you are. Are there risks associated with his style of play? Of course. But there is a different yet corresponding risk for a more stationary qb such as Rosen. I'm not saying Lamar is a better prospect than Rosen because I don't believe that is the case. But every qb has to adjust their game to survive the more physical and punishing pro game.

The OC in the pros is not going to call the same game for him as was called in college. Because he is such a marvelous athlete he is going to be elusive, as was Taylor, and avoid some hits. What Jackson can do is extend the play and throw it downfield to the receivers. Your concern about Lamar's durability because of his (current) thin frame is merited. But the same durability issue can be directed toward Rosen who is less elusive and has a history of injuries. Jackson is not my preferred qb from this draft class. But I am becoming more comfortable with taking him at our draft position and reap the benefit of keeping our picks.

You are more concise. Brevity with potency.

I have no quarrel with your stand that Allen of the top tier qbs is far from being ready. Most people would agree with you. And I have no problem with you rating him as a 3rd round prospect because it will take him more than a year or two to be prepared to be a starter, assuming he ever reaches that level of capability. But what you are stating is understood by teams that draft him, including the Bills. You are essentially gambling that his football awareness/instincts catches up with his physical talents. I would have no problem with the Bills drafting Allen without having to give up much to make the selection. I would be against selecting him if a lot of our assets were dealt to get him. On the other hand I would have no problem dealing off picks for Darnold, Rosen or Mayfield. The point I'm making is under the right circumstance he is worth taking. Is he more of a gamble that the other top tier qbs? Of course. Few would deny the increased risk. What it comes down to is it worth gambling on a major unrefined talent? I say yes if the price is right/reasonable. That's the essence of the debate. Is Allen nothing more than a physical talent for a position that requires mental acuity that he doesn't now have? Or does he have the ability and wherewithal to improve his processing of the game to match his tools. Is he nothing more than a player with an impressive physical profile but lags in the attributes that are essential to play the position? Some people are willing to throw the dice and other people are not.

That's the point.

I'm optimistic about the future of America because there is so much hope in this next brawling generation that fight like girls.

I don't want to belabor the topic but the one thing that sticks out when watching him (saw at least four games on TV) is his level of accuracy. Not only does he complete a large percentage of his passes but his ball placement is exceptional. In every game I saw him he was the standout player except for one game. The freshman qb for Georgia in the bowl game reminded me of what a young Tom Brady clone would look like. Again, the issue comes down to whether his college game transfers to the pro ranks. I believe so. Mayfield is not my most preferred qb. I would prefer either Darnold or Rosen ahead of him. If in the end we selected Mayfield I would be ecstatic. Without question the fans of western NY would embrace Mayfield's game and feistiness.

How Mayfield played in this game is how he played all season long. It is reflective of his body of work. Again, the issue for the evaluators is does his dynamism in college translate to the pro game. I believe if smartly deployed it will translate to the pro game.

If you like Golden Delicious apples you won't relate to the story. If you disobeyed your father there would be a happy ending.

The attached link is a seven minute clip of the Oklahoma/Oklahoma St. game It was a shootout with Mayfield and Rudolph leading their respective teams. You can get a sense of the accuracy level of both qbs. The challenge is to determine if this wide-open no defense allows you to judge if the qb play transfers to the pro game.

If Flutie was such a superior player then why was he dealt?

Terrific research. This article summarizes what is being discussed here. The moral of the story is that the public face isn't the same as the private face. For some people image is reality and for others images are sometimes very fraudulent.

Flutie was very deft with his public comments toward Johnson. But that isn't the issue here. He was more critical and scathing behind closed doors and through non-attributed statements than many people are aware of. I'm not trying to knock Flutie as a player. He was a good player for the Bills. But what I am saying in my posts is that the public angelic persona that he had in Buffalo and more importantly the national scene was in reality more devilish than people are aware of.

The local press covering the Bills despised (probably too strong a word) Flutie. He wouldn't give them the time of day because he could get greater exposure dealing with the national press covering the sport. RJ was more team oriented and supportive of Flutie when he played and it wasn't reciprocated by Flutie when RJ played. These two qbs ended up despising one another. Most people sided with Flute while I don't and didnt. Many people were drawn into the compelling Flutie and family story of his autistic son. There was the other side of Flutie who was a self-promoting back stabber and two-faced manipulator.

Rob Johnson is the personification of how difficult it is to evaluate qbs. From a tools standpoint he has it all. But that isn't the essence of the position. It's how you see things and react. His inability to not take sacks and instead just throw it away or take the outlet play would drive you crazy. At the time I advocated for RJ over Flutie. I still believe that he was a better qb. The more public and personable Flute was a better self-promoter and had a more compelling story than the bland and inscrutable RJ. Much of the public support for Flutie had to do with the fact that the Buffalo audience related better to Flute than Johnson.

I'm not sure that is what he meant but if it is what you believe it to be then I agree with that sentiment. Last year, the Bills passed on Mahomes and Watson. If they would have selected one of them our posture toward this upcoming draft would be so much different and advanced. Instead of talking about what does it take to get a franchise qb a year later we would be talking about in how many different ways we could be bolstering the roster from this draft. I don't know what Gettleman's draft strategy is. I don't believe that he will be drafting a qb, especially if the Browns select Darnold with the first pick. The Giants seem to be in a linchpin position on how the draft unfolds. I believe that Barkley is a sparkling prospect. But if I were in Gettleman's shoes I would trade that pick and get multiple high picks for it. He could still get a impact back and address other positions.

It's not inconceivable that two or three years down the road that he turns out to be the best qb in the draft. I'm not saying that he will but I am saying that he is talented enough to be considered in the discussion of a candidate to be. As it stands I'm open to a variety of routes as to how the Bills address the qb position. If they stand pat and draft Jackson and keep their picks it would be a reasonable approach to take. Lamar isn't my first choice in qbs but he would be considered a reasonable pick.

At this period of time there is a good reason why teams aren't making deals just prior to the draft: It isn't a smart thing to do. If a team such as Buffalo is targeting a particular player why make a deal if you are not sure that that player will be on the board. If there are going to be deals it will happen on the day of the draft as it is unfolding. There is another reason why deals aren't being consummated prior to the draft. The teams we will deal with are also considering who is available and what are their options. What we consider a good offer might not suit what they have planned. As an example if the player they covet is available they won't deal but if the player they covet is already taken then they will consider an offer for a deal. They won't know who will or not be available until the draft is in progress. What teams are doing now are making exploratory overtures and seeing if the teams are interested. I'm confident that Buffalo has talked to all the teams that are drafting in front of them and many drafting after them. My expectation is that when the draft begins there will be a flurry of activity.

In addition, I don't believe that Denver wants to draft a qb. One scenario I would love to see play out is for Rosen to be available by the 5 and 6 spot. Then hopefully there is an opportunity to make a deal. The team I am honing in on is the Colts. If they make a deal they could parlay their original pick with trades to NY Jets and Buffalo and have a load of high picks to bolster their roster.

Gotham Bill, The notion of missing on a qb being a five year mistake is archaic. With the way the contracts are structured for high draft picks if you miss you have alternative options at redeeming your mistake through the draft or through trades and free agency. It didn't take long for the Bills to recognize that EJ simply didn't have it. In short order they got Orton and then acquired TT. They certainly weren't perfect options but they were reasonable options that allowed the team to stay competitive. Where it does get problematic is when you use a lot of resources (draft picks) to get your prospective qb. That hurts you from a cap standpoint (cheaper young players) and because the costly investment makes one more hesitant to seek another option because of unwillingness to acknowledge a franchise error. I have always believed that if you don't have a franchise qb then it is better to error on the side of being aggressive in addressing that void rather than being inexplicably passive as Whaley was. That doesn't mean that you should absurdly reach and not be sensible; what it does mean is that it should be a priority endeavor until it is accomplished. This is the year that the Bills should come out of this draft with a high end prospect. There are a number of reasonable options to take. I will be deeply disappointed if it doesn't materialize. Without a doubt this regime is much more astute than the prior laggard regimes. I ooze with confidence that when this draft is completed I will be buoyant. This is a very plausible mock draft. Excellent job.

Kirby, I say this with kindness: Let it go! Taylor plays for the Browns and the past is the past.

He's in a bar buying beers for Mayfield.

I agree that Rosen is the most ready qb in this draft. He reminds me of Goff with a picturesque throwing motion. I also believe that he is much more advanced as a player coming into the league compared to Goff because he is more capable of reading defenses and going through progressions. As a rookie qb he is not only the most advanced as a player in this year's draft class but more advanced than I have seen in a number of years. With a lesser trade down he would be a tremendous pick.

Other than Rosen I see Mayfield as the next most ready qb to play. I'll even go so far to say that I believe that BM will be more quickly ready to play than Darnold. As with each qb, and probably more so with Mayfield, the OC will have to design an offense to the particular skill set of each young qb.