Paup 1995MVP

You are Lamar's biggest fan on this board. I think you must be his wannabe agent. What is your cut of his signing bonus?

You maybe right on my thoughts on Defense. But watching this past seasons Super Bowl and looking at what our AFC competitors are doing, I think we need to really target offense. And Beane does not seem to be able to evaluate good defensive players in the draft for whatever reason. Your last sentence maybe very true. I just hope if the team goes in that direction, that Spencer Brown kicks some butt. Hopefully he can at least stay healthy so we can see what kind of an NFL O lineman he truly can be. Thank you Newcam. I appreciate that.

I think you maybe using a bit of hyperbole ProcessTruster. I don't think Chase Young was quite as good as his hype when he was healthy. He was good but not quite a monster. Ohio State has put out some real good DE's unfortunately. (I am Maize and Blue all day everyday.) But I don't put Young on the level of Nick Bosa.

What upside does Brown have? The guy is too tall to play OT. And he played at Northern Iowa. There has been no dominance. At least Ford was a highly regarded prospect when he was coming out. And the kid played at a big time program, and was good in college. For whatever reason it never transferred over to the NFL. The Bills need a very good RT and a stud WR to get their offense approaching Super Bowl caliber. Drafting defensive guys is like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. It is not going to change the trajectory of the team. Its an offensive league. And we have an amazing QB. He needs more help. We do that and we will be bigtime contenders this year. The defense just needs to be decent to good. And it will be with McDermott coaching the D. We should be all in on improving the offense. If that means only drafting 3 or 4 guys, because Beane is moving up the and down throughout the draft, then great. Go OT, WR, IOL and TE. We will be set. You can find defensive guys as undrafted free agents or veterans who are cut by other teams in the next couple months to fill in the gaps. People need to understand that guys like Tremaine Edmunds do not move the meter in how a team will do because they are not difference makers. In today's game not many defensive players are. And whomever replaces him will be just fine in what they need to do as far as the big picture of the makeup of the team will be. If Beane and McDermott don't understand this, then they should start looking for another line of work. Because the AFC will be stacked. And we need to keep up with the current arms race.

You talk about Clowney like he has been a big time difference maker over his career. I would not put him in that category. Like I said earlier, he hasn't sucked. But he has been just a guy for the most part. But not every player is going to be a star regardless of where they get drafted. I have watched a lot of football over the years. And he really hasn't moved the meter for me. But we can agree to disagree on our assessment of Clowney.

Detroit was solid last season and is a definitely an up and coming team. They are fun to watch and play with a lot of juice under Dan Campbell. That would be an entertaining opening Thursday nite game. As for Chicago, they are as painful as it gets to watch. The Chicago-Green Bay opener a few years ago, (maybe it was a Sunday niter was as boring a game as humanly possible. 10-7 I believe.) KC would win against the Bears 42-7. The NFL aint having that on any day of the week.

You have got to be kidding about Clowney right? He has been an afterthought most of his NFL career. Doesn't seem like a bad dude. But he has hardly left his mark on the NFL. I don't think he has sucked. But he has not been a difference maker. People thought he would be at the level of JJ Watt in his prime. That's a high standard. But he has not even been remotely close to that. Has not played at the level of what you want your 1st round picks to play at.

You know your draft picks Sierra!!

Edmunds being the best pick by Beane outside of Allen maybe true. But if its true that's a sad indictment on his drafting. Because personally I don't think Tremaine Edmunds made much of a difference on the Bills fortunes in the 5 years he played for us. He did not suck. But he was not a difference maker. And I would argue that the difference in the results of our team over the past 5 years would be negligible if Edmunds never played for us. He just barely ever made a difference. I would argue that Devin Singletary was at least as good as Edmunds at their respective positions. And he was no star either. And that Dawson Knox has probably been a better draft pick then Edmunds.

Love your user name. That's a name from way back in the day. LOL But my thoughts exactly when I think of Ryan Denney Coy Wire and big Teddy bear Mike Williams. Was he afraid to play football? What was wrong w that guy? Josh Reed had some game. He was not a complete bust.

Schobel certainly is. But Rousseau has the potential to be at Schobel's level. And maybe even a little better. But that maybe wishful thinking. Terrance McGee was outstanding. Great football player. Agree about McGahee and Lee Evans.

Thank you BeaneBandit. I appreciate that.

Come on man. AJ Klein has talent. You don't play a decade in the NFL if you don't have a decent amount of talent. Is he a physical freak? Of course not. But he understands playing defense and where he is supposed to be on the field. And he can hit you. He will be in the mix for playing time at LB. Our defense doesn't need to be great. It just needs to be good. We need to draft offense. We need more weapons for Josh Allen. Draft a WR, OT and TE in the first 3 rounds. And our offense can be top 3 in the NFL with Josh Allen. Sprinkle in a little more grit and savvy on defense, and we will be tough to beat. Klein brings us that. A healthy Poyer and Hyde brings us that. Taylor Rapp brings us that. Edmunds did not. Frazier did not. Beane just needs to hit on some big time guys on the offensive side of the ball. Because he certainly can not draft D Lineman to save his life.

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.