Cash

I won't speak for GB or comment on whether a diss was served up or not, but I love this topic in general so I'll weigh in with my amateur take: RAS is a metric I like a lot, because it's probably done the best so far at distilling "athlete" into 1 easily-comparable number. Even then, it's far from perfect. It's only comparable for guys who play the same position, and like every metric ever, there's error baked into it. How much? I have no idea. But at a minimum, I feel confident that an 8.76 RAS guy isn't necessarily a better athlete than an 8.75 RAS guy. Putting RAS aside for a second, one thing that's been reported consistently over the years is that some guys have more or better training for the combine drills, and they usually test better relative to their peers. Which makes sense when you think about it - all of the drills have both an athleticism component and a skill component, and extra training can make a big difference on the skill side. So it's plausible that some prospects might be able to pump up their RAS relative to the rest of the draft class. Either by hiring better trainers, training in better facilities, or simply spending more time training. Is that the case with Jack Campbell? I dunno. On his highlight reels, he looks like a good athlete for sure. I'm not sure he's as explosive as one would think from his RAS, but my "tape grinding" has consisted of maybe 10 total minutes of highlights. So I'm not exactly an expert scout over here. I will say that I liked what I saw in the highlights, and I'll be on board if the Bills draft him.

I'll take that bet. I think the only way both are gone by pick 55 is if the Bills draft one of them earlier.

Agreed. And while I can’t say that it’s a perfect approach, one advantage of that ethos is that you’ll wind up with a lot of guys who continue to get better as pros. That hasn’t always materialized in the way we fans want, but over time should both lead to some guys breaking out, and help sustain the culture that McDermott has built. EDIT: Personally, I think on the macro level Beane needs to cool it with the constant trade-ups. He’s made it clear in interviews that he’s (IMO) too afraid of losing “his guy”. Risk is part of the game, and you have to be willing to take some risks. I can’t/won’t criticize any 1 individual move too badly, because we’re not privy to all the interview-based info the Bills have. But now that Allen’s getting paid for real, we need a constant infusion of draft picks to sustain success. Every study I’ve ever seen has shown that in the long run, you’re better off with more picks (I.e., try to trade down more than you trade up.) That doesn’t mean that every trade down is good or every trade up is bad; just that you should have a quicker trigger to move down than up. To me, Beane needs to accept that player forecasting is really hard, and he’s going to be wrong fairly often. (Just like everyone else.) Part of being wrong is that sometimes you’ll swing and miss - Cody Ford is an example. But another part of being wrong is sometimes that prospect you were lukewarm on turns into a stud. That’s where having more lottery tickets helps - even the longshots sometimes hit.

Strongly agree with this post. I'll add that Beane and McDermott are both pretty straight shooters - it's very rare to catch either in a lie, and Beane especially is more forthcoming on the draft process than a lot of GMs. But all that means is, "The words Beane says are true," not "Beane is giving us the whole truth." We heard some similar rhetoric about MLB prior to the Allen/Edmunds draft. Reading between the lines, I thought it was pretty clear that once they got their QB, whatever top resources they had left would go towards MLB (the QB of the defense). I'm less confident this time around, because there's a chance that someone like Baylon Spector has been a massive surprise in offseason workouts, and they're willing to roll the dice with him. But I think it's likely that they're targeting an Edmunds replacement early in the draft. My best guess would be that they go offense in round 1, and then target MLB in round 2. Quite possibly by trading up - that would be very on brand.

Depends. Obviously we'd all take "the next Travis Kelce" over "the next Robert Woods" (no disrespect to Bobby Woo - just using him as an example of a good but not great player). And just as obviously, we'd all take "the next Stefon Diggs" over some JAG at TE. But assuming we're choosing between 2 draft prospects with similar upside, we can focus just on positional value. And for me, it comes down to what the plan is at the OC level. Under McDermott, we've had 11 personnel (1 TE, 1 RB) as our primary offense most of the time. We've ebbed and flowed in terms of what % we spent in 11, but it was always the tops. In past regimes, we had a lot of different offensive concepts. (Tends to happen when you're bringing in a new OC every other year.) A shockingly high number of them were very TE-heavy, often including 2-TE sets as the base offense. I say it was shocking because at the time, we consistently struggled to field even 1 NFL-caliber TE, much less 2. And we did very little during those years to change that, despite everyone on the team saying how important the TE position was to the offense. But I digress. My point is this: If Dorsey et al have a plan to heavily feature 2-TE sets, I think #2 TE is more important. But if that #2 TE is only going to play as much as Quentin Morris did last year, then I'd rather focus on a WR first.

1. Drew Sanders 2. Luke Schoonmaker

Big gloves!

Right, but most other AFC teams will have 9 home games to our 8. I mean, I get it, but I’m always going to want the Bills to have any advantage they can, or avoid any disadvantage. I’m not mad, I’m just crabby. 🙃 The Bills and Titans will both play at the same stadium, but not at the same time. Note that same applies to Chiefs and Patriots - they’re playing separate Germany games. Anyway, though I’m kinda annoyed, I also think it’s fairly cool. And I’m happy for our UK fans - especially the ones on this board! I’ll try to go to this game if possible, but it’s gonna be a long shot for sure. Right, but most other AFC teams will have 9 home games to our 8. I mean, I get it, but I’m always going to want the Bills to have any advantage they can, or avoid any disadvantage. I’m not mad, I’m just crabby. 🙃 The Bills and Titans will both play at the same stadium, but not at the same time. Note that same applies to Chiefs and Patriots - they’re playing separate Germany games. Anyway, though I’m kinda annoyed, I also think it’s fairly cool. And I’m happy for our UK fans - especially the ones on this board! I’ll try to go to this game if possible, but it’s gonna be a long shot for sure.

Agreed. Love Freddie, but I’m not sure if he’s quite at the level of WoF. Kyle Williams deserves it though. Also agreed with the other posters on Schobel. Dude was real good for an extended time, and would’ve been a big star if his teams were at all relevant.

If they do that, they need to be right. Otherwise it’s fair to criticize them.

Wow, great clip!

True! And we've seen him have a fair amount of success releasing after the initial block and becoming a checkdown option. I say let's get more of that, especially on early downs.

Great news! Here’s my lukewarm take: Hyde -I’m on record saying IF he can come back it takes our defense up a level. (Side note: it’s such a shame we’ll never get to see what this defense could’ve done at full strength, or at least more than a couple weeks of both Hyde & Von Miller) -As long as he’s in a non-contact jersey, I’ll keep my hopes low or medium. If he’s not medically cleared for contact, there’s no path to getting into a game. -If (when???) he gets cleared for contact in practice, it seems likely to me that he’ll also be cleared for contact in a game, and it’s on. -But even if he’s fully cleared, there’s a lot of questions. Is he in game shape? Does he trust his body? Can he play with confidence? But if anyone can pull this off, it’s probably Hyde. Crowder -Already in a regular contact jersey, which is great. I think it’s likely that he’s available next week if we advance. -Crowder isn’t difference maker like Hyde IMO, but he’s a nice player at an important position that needs depth and versatility. -Crowder was our best slot option against zone before he got hurt. Showed reliable hands and better speed/quickness than I expected. He’s one of those guys who can be a reliable chain mover if called upon.

My take is largely aligned with what Beane publicly claims his strategy is. (And for the record, I think Beane has generally been honest about this stuff so far.) My take roughly boils down to, "get difference makers where and when you can." Those can come from anywhere, but some routes are more likely than others. Free agency? Relatively not-hard to pay through the nose for one (e.g., Von Miller), but much harder to sign one for mid-tier money or lower. Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer were two strikes of gold, but usually you get more the Roger Saffold or Quinton Jefferson types. As for the draft, difference makers have come from every round and UDFA, but they're much more common at the top of the draft. So what? So if I had access to the full wealth of scouting info that the Bills do - including formal interviews with players and informal info-sharing with players' coaches - I would approach the first pick something like this: Do I think any of these guys (projected to go around here) can reasonably make a difference for me both this year and over the course of a long career? If yes, how many? That becomes my pool of finalists. If not, then do I think any of these guys can either make a difference this year (but maybe has a lower ceiling), or make a difference down the road (but maybe has a higher chance of busting)? If still no, then I'm looking at high-floor guys that I think can contribute in some way (special teamers, niche roles, etc.), or lotto tickets. By lotto tickets, I mean guys with red flags but maybe a 1-5% chance of being great... "if he stays healthy" or "if he puts it all together" or things like that. Obviously that's a way simplified version, but that's roughly the gist. My point is, I'm not super hung up on position in the first round. HOWEVER, the lower the positional value, the higher the team's confidence should be in order to justify the pick. In the case of safety, Hyde and Poyer have been absolutely crucial to the success of our defense under McDermott, and I don't think either will be easy to replace. And frankly, this management team has earned my trust that they generally know what they're doing, and that they're capable of learning from their mistakes. So if they go S in the first round, they get the benefit of the doubt from me. Having said that, I know I'll be annoyed if they don't look to address both WR and OL with significant resources of some sort next offseason. And interior OL specifically needs some young blood IMO.

Agreed. I would love for Knox to fill that gap to some extent. The key difference, of course, is that Knox usually catches the ball behind the sticks instead of just past them. But he's so good at turning upfield immediately and either breaking tackles or at least falling forward 2-3 yards on a consistent basis. Those are chain movers, too.

Terrible news. Hoping for the best for Murphy and his family.

While I technically agree with OP, I think it’s mostly a pipe dream right now. That quote of Hyde’s came across to me like typical athlete motivational thinking. “Historically no, but…” I.e., he thinks he’s a supernatural healer until proven otherwise.

Has anyone suggested “Sin City Suicide” yet? I like the ring of it, and it highlights that it was a self-inflicted loss.

1. Sanchez criticized Singletary for not scoring, but then seconds later started pontificating about how the Dolphins should've pushed him into the endzone. So my takeaway is that Sanchez was just talking in the hopes he'd say something smart. 2. It's true that even a short FG isn't a given in those conditions. It's also true that tackling one of the fastest players in the NFL isn't a given in those conditions, and the Dolphins have 3 of the fastest players in Hill, Waddle, and Mostert.

Cool, thanks! The Snow Game in 2017 is the only time I genuinely liked the red jammies. Tomorrow night shouldn't get to that level of snow, but we're currently forecasted for 6-10" during the day and another 3-5" at night. Should give us a good viewing experience!

Not sure I trust "gridiron-uniforms dot com" as a definitive source. But we wear the red jammies once every year it seems, so they very well might be right. If this is confirmed true, I must insist that we get heavy snow during the game. IMO, that's the ONLY acceptable backdrop for those otherwise hideous getups. This concludes my TED talk; thank you for attending.

No, never. The Super Bowl has always been a neutral site game and host site has only ever been decided based on economic reasons. There have never been any on-field stakes associated with the Pro Bowl. You might be thinking of baseball, where (for a few years about 15 years ago), the All-Star game decided which league would have homefield in the World Series.

Yup! Drove me insane every time. And it felt like after every loss, he started his postgame presser with, “We had a great week of practice.” Took me years to get over that and realize that yes, practice does actually matter, but only if you know what you’re doing.

What a bummer. Doesn’t mean the quest is over - not even close - but it undeniably lowers our ceiling, and frankly it just sucks. Why can’t we catch an effing break one of these years?????

I’m not concerned at all - at least not yet. McD has a history of this sort of thing, and if usually works out fine. (Example: Mitch Morse was a healthy scratch once, back in around 2019 or so.) Very plausible that this was either a reward to Rhodes for great practice performance, or an attempt to light a fire under Elam, or a bit of both. And it (hopefully) reinforces a key message to the team: the best players will play, regardless of draft position or pay. Coaches pay lip service to that all day, but people won’t take that seriously unless their words match their actions. And for the record, I think Elam was only inactive because he doesn’t play much special teams. I don’t think the coaches are willing to dress backup DBs who aren’t heavily on teams.