Paup 1995MVP

Stevie Johnson definitely had some game for us. Who did you like better. Him or Sammie Watkins? Sammie had ability. But was somewhat of a head case, and always seemed to have nagging foot and ankle injuries. And playing with Tyrod Taylor as your QB sure did not help.

I enjoy both yours and Gunners' football opinions. You guys know your stuff about the game of football, the history of football and of course the Bills. Stevie Johnson was a fun player to watch. He was actually a good WR coming out of Kentucky. And was probably underdrafted. That being said, if you there was not a thread about him, I can not remember the last time I even thought about him in the history of the Bills. He played in an era when the team was pretty meh. Did not dominate on a weekly basis. And had the drop against the Steelers in OT that was crushing. I also remember a game the Sunday after Thanksgiving at the Jets in 2011 when we were driving late to come back and win. And Fitzie threw a perfect pass to Stevie on a 20-25 yard crossing route in the last minute that he probably could have taken to the house for the winning score, and he flat out dropped it. The drought years in general were brutal. IMO the best player to put on a Bills uniform in that era was Kyle Williams. If he had played for a better franchise, he would probably be in the HOF now. Or about to get in. He was that good a player, with as quick a first step off the snap as anyone not named Aaron Donald. And not much slower. Wasn't he a 5th round pick out of LSU? Aaron Schobel was real good too. But not as good as Kyle and he only played 9 seasons. I also really enjoyed watching Terrance McGhee and Willis McGahee play for the Bills. Terrance got the most out of his career, even though injuries took his toll. Had great speed and technique as a CB and was a great Kick returner. And Willis was a super talented RB. He could have been an all timer. But the horrible knee injury he took in the Nat Championship game really robbed him of his greatness. And finally I liked Leodis McKelvin more then most. Was a solid CB who was not great. But was an excellent PR, and always played hard every week. He came out of Troy. Which having been to Troy, Alabama is as far from the world of Buffalo that anyone could ever imagine. RURAL!! Anyone else got some opinions on draught year players? Sorry if I hijacked the thread to a different place. But I get so tired of talking and listening about the draft for 3+ months. We need some good O lineman especially at OT. If anyone thinks there is a higher priority, they have not been watching the team play. Dawkins is mediocre at best. And Spencer Brown blows. End of story.

There is one that was not talked about much in the thread Kurt Warner. He kind of played in both eras, starting his career in 1999. The greatest show on Turf was fun to watch. He had great accuracy, quick release, and great leader. Hard to believe the Cardinals were ever in a Super Bowl. Who did they beat in NFC Championship Game that year? Was it Green Bay? He wasn't much of an athlete. But a great passer of the football. Not all time top 10. But one of my all time favorites. The Super Bowl between Rams and Titans in January of 2000 was a classic. The history of football is amazing. The history of any sport you have followed throughout your life is really fun to talk about.

it seems like most of the LB's you mentioned were drafted lower then their projection. Except for Terrel Bernard. But the Bills overdrafted him and Tremaine Edmunds. (I know a lot of you thought Tremaine was excellent and he was only 19 when drafted. But his instincts for the position are terrible. And trading up to the middle of the first round for him was a mistake.) As for Bernard, hopefully he can step his game up to the level of at least a 3rd round pick. Because he did not show much last year. Nick Bolton has been excellent for the Chiefs. And Micah Parsons is a special player, who has lived up to the hype coming out of Penn State. Overall LB has become a very devalued position in the NFL. Maybe even more then RB.

Josh Allen is amazing to watch play. His running and passing ability combined with his competitive fire is unmatched. I think we should win every time he steps on the field. We HAVE to give him a better O line. It is imperative if we are going to contend for a Super Bowl. I read your earlier post again about Montana vs Brady and Steve Young from the early 90's 49ers. Your memory of those teams and what they did 30 years ago is pretty dam impressive. The Niners teams under Bill Walsh and George Seifert were tremendous. (I thought Seifert was a great coach too.) Steve Young was a HOF QB also. I just never liked him as much as Joe for some reason. For physical ability to throw a football, I don't think anyone could throw it like Dan Marino. It was ridiculous. I was not a big fan because he played for our arch rivals. But dam could he hum it. And lets not forget Elway and my guy Brett Favre. (just always connected w his persona) And of course our boy #12 Jimbo. Was there a tougher QB to ever play the game?! So many great QB's over the years. With the rule changes, its just a lot easier to be very good to great at QB then in past eras. I watch the draft analysis on all the QB's on ESPN, etc. And a lot of these kids can chuck the ball. But noone talks about toughness and hardnosed anymore. Its all about athleticism and he is a nice kid whose Mom and Dad are real supportive. Good god its football. I remember Jim Kelly's mom walked around w an oxygen tank at her home and an oxygen mask on. And she still smoked cigarettes. My how the world has changed. But I guess that is what the world has become in the 2020's. Its just good to hear football analysis from other people like yourself who have soaked it in for decades like myself. Thank you.

Good analysis Alpha. But what two QB's did you enjoy watching the most in your NFL story? Has there ever been anyone more exciting to watch then Brett Favre? Josh Allen is heading in that direction. Lets go!

Wow, I just had to interject when I read your post. Did you even watch football back in the 80's and 90's bro? It was a totally different game. Sure Brady would have been good in any era. But would he have dominated like he did in the 2000's? Absolutely not. No QB would have dominated in that era like they do now. The game was way more violent then. Defensive players could absolutely destroy QB's on every play. And rarely was a penalty called for roughing the passer. Go watch the hit that Jim Burt from the Giants put on Montana in the playoff game in 1986 I believe in the Meadowlands. Burt hit Montana with his helmet under the chin running at full speed while Joe was about to throw. No flag was even called. And receivers were fair game all over the field by head hunting safeties. That was football. It was played like that at every level. It was supposed to be a violent game. Montana was amazing. So was Brady. But the game Montana played in was way more destructive then what is called pro football today. Its the same with the NHL. I was talking w a big hockey fan recently. He said the guys today are way more talented then in Gretzky's era. I disagree. But even if they are, are they constantly looking over their shoulder worried about getting splattered from behind head first into the boards by psychos like Ben Wilson and Scott Steven? No comparison between today's NHL and the 70's, 80's and 90's. It was roller derby with sticks. What Gretzky accomplished in that era is the greatest accomplishment of any athlete of all time. Period. To finish go watch the hit Bruce Smith put on Boomer Esiason playing for the Jets on the frozen Rich Stadium turf in the late 80's or early 90's. Then tell me how Brady would have done taking shots like that every week. I mentioned the hit on Montana by Jim Burt. He didn't even get a penalty. As for Lebron. He is a whiny B word. I will take MIchael every day and twice on Sunday. Guys just stand around the 3 pt arc and launch long range jumpers. How is that athletic?

That is quite a word you used. Never heard it before. So I looked it up. Nothing wrong with a little crankiness.

What does that even mean, a "process guy"? The only process I am concerned about is finally winning a Super Bowl. This offseason has been about as blah as can be. No major moves to speak of. I think Beane has gotten gun shy with 4 crap years of drafting. And so so results with our free agent acquisitions. I think the Hamlin situation and the wupping put on us by the Bengals knocked the organization off its axis a bit. Need a strong draft to get us headed back on a Super Bowl trajectory.

Have you watched film on my son Justin Ellis out of Georgia Southern? He was DE/edge. Switching to LB for the pros. Had his pro day a couple weeks ago. Ran 4.56-4.66 depending on whose watch in the 40. 23 reps in the bench. Played at 255 in college. Dropped down to 235 to play LB in the pros. He pulled his hammy at the end of his second 40 at his pro day on 3/17. Its feeling better. And he has to do the rest of his drills this weekend by video and send to the scouts. Says they are talking about him converting to FB in the pros.

The Bears traded up from 3 to 2 in the 2017 draft with the 49ers who were not drafting a QB to make sure they got Mitch Trubisky, LOL!! As to your post about Peterman being the worst QB in NFL history. I would put Joey Harrington and Ryan Leaf close. Didn't Peterman throw a pick against us on the last play for the Bears on Christmas Eve in garbage time? Why don't the Bears bring back old Jack Daniels man himself Kyle Orton to back up Fields? His arm is probably good and rested since he last played for us in 2014.

The Bills overall evaluation of talent is questionable at best. And especially poor on both lines. That they think that Spencer Brown is good enough to be a starter on a Super Bowl contender is curious at best, and down right negligent at worst? Fortunately we hit on an amazing QB. Because if not for Josh Allen, McBeane would have been working for LL Beane by now.

Dawson Knox is a good player. And is real good in the red zone. I think he has a pretty high ceiling for an NFL Tight End. But your 3rd question is a little silly. To even put him in the same sentence with Kelce or Gronk is ridiculous. Those are two of the best of all time. Definitely top 5 with Tony Gonzalez, Kellen Winslow Sr and Antonio Gates. (you can put some other names there as well from different eras) He is just not a crazy athlete to put up ridiculous numbers. But he is still a good player for our team, who should be used more often in the passing game if possible.

I didn't say that. And my football acumen is plenty. I just think Aaron Rodgers is overhyped. And I am not scared of the Jets.

One Super Bowl from 2008-2022 as a starter bro. The media hype about Aaron Rodgers is beyond ridiculous. The talking heads of football need something to constantly talk about. (have you watched ESPN or ESPN 2 every weekday?) Either him or Lamar Jackson. Blah Blah Blah. Its the world of the 2020's. Take me back to NFL films with John Facenda at the mike showing old Raider classic games from the 70's. That was football.

People talk about Edmunds like he was great in pass coverage. How many interceptions did he ever have? He was decent covering RB's in the short zones out of the backfield. But usually was a step or two behind any receiver running down the field. Basically he looked lost beyond 10 yards down the field. The Bears so overpaid for Edmunds. Was there even a market for him that they would even consider paying him $18 million per year? I wonder if any other teams were interested. (probably not at that price.) Obviously money was Tremaine Edmunds main goal. Because I could not think of many franchises I would less want to play for then the Bears. Klein is more of an old school LB. Good as a blitzer, and tough against the run. Smart guy, who is not out of position much. Not an amazing athlete at this point. But can still play the game.

That is quite an interesting post. My question is what the hell does Salesforce do that they need almost 80,000 employees? Thats the size of a medium town.

Guys Josh Allen's size should not slide. You want a Justin Herbert?? Noone respects a big guy that slides. Heck Fitzie never slid. Mahomes rarely slides. If anything he is usually running out of bounds. The energy and mojo Allen brings to the team from a big run, banging through defenders is priceless. He has his game. That's what makes him special. All the great ones do. Its like telling Brett Favre not to throw darts 40 + yards downfield into a tight window of coverage. That was his game. It usually worked out. But not always. But that's what made the legend of Brett Favre.

Thanks for your analysis. I don't disagree with you. The Bills seem stuck on drafting underperforming and unathletic D Lineman with high draft picks. (I watch a lot of college football. But follow the teams more then the individual players.) Based on our drafting results since 2019, not overly impressive. Not sure why we are so averse from drafting O linemen from D 1 programs with high picks. Not all of them turn out great. But dam I am going to look to at least D 1 programs versus taking guys out of schools like Northern Iowa and Miami of Ohio for my O linemen. Great disparity in competition. And it shows when they come to the pros. College Football is so much based on offense now. So you would think the best players and athletes are more on the offensive side of the ball. So that is where you would think teams would go with their top picks. But not the Bills. I guess we think we know better. We shall see what happens in a months time.

Is Wright good enough to plug and play immediately at RT? If he is, then we have to take him. That is our biggest weakness on the roster. If he is gone, then I would take Dalton Kincaid, the TE from Utah. Kid is a beast. Knox is fine, but certainly not special. Kincaid would open up a lot of space on the field for the rest of our weapons. Super Bowl contenders do not have starting O lineman of Spencer Brown's caliber. That is a no brainer. But since drafting Josh Allen. Beane seems to have fallen asleep at the wheel with his drafting. Just has not brought in enough really good NFL football players.

What about a RT with one of our first 2 picks? Last I looked Spencer Brown was terrible.

Spector has more upside then Bernard and Dodson. He showed it last year in the preseason. And will be a big time baller this year. He will be our modern version of Zach Thomas. Dodson has marginal athletic skills. And Bernard is built like a safety.

That's hilarious. Good old Kip from Napolean Dynamite! Where is LaFonda? They were quite the couple.

I agree with you about both Edmunds and Dawkins. The contract that Chicago gave Edmunds was laughable. We should bring in at least one solid tackle to compete with Dawkins and Brown. Competition is important. Unless you are the best at what you do (see Anthony Munoz, Tony Bosselli, Larry Allen, even Jason Peters in his prime) guys need competition to raise their game. The Bills seem to shy away from this for some reason.

That pretty much summarizes Ed Oliver's tenure as a Bill perfectly. I thought he would be at least on Kyle Williams level. But he just is not that good of a player. (Kyle was a bigger man and had incredible quickness off the snap.) Oliver was really good at UH. But the Bills should have realized that he was just too small for his position to be worthy of the #9 pick in the draft. Lets hope he really steps it up to elite level this season playing in a contract year. It could happen. Although more likely we get more of the same from Ed O.