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You realize the Niners stadium is like 8 miles from San Jose? It's 45 miles from San Fran. Liepold, Nate Oats, Felicia Leggette-Jack...UB is the cradle of coaches.

What is amazing is the Saints brought Nate's QB coach to New Orleans. They needed someone good on whiteboard I guess.

I've pretty much stopped looking at state-wide polls, or even worse Congressional district polls. There is so much error there that it's hard to draw any conclusions. Weirdly, though, national presidential polling is still pretty good. I say "weirdly" because who answers their phone and agrees to take a poll? I've had a few of these calls over the years that I have answered, but they always seem kind of fake and I don't go ahead; they won't give me the name of the company doing the polling. If they simply said "Quinnipiac" or something I recognized I would do it. So in 2020 we had Biden with about a 7 point lead in the national poll aggregates, and he won by about 5, within what we would consider margin of error (there is no such thing when aggregating, but you know what I mean). Pretty good, all things considered. Nate Silver is promising his model before the debate, so we'll see. For now, fivethirtyeight (which he really no longer is a part of) has it as a virtual tie - Biden + 0.2 in the national aggregate. But that's with RFK still drawing 9+ percent. The national polls really don't mean anything in the electoral college, but I think it's fair to assume that with the electoral college advantage the Republicans have Biden will need to win the national popular vote by at least the same margin as he won by in 2020.

PFF: B- https://www.pff.com/news/draft-2024-nfl-draft-grades-all-32-teams#BUF USA Today: B https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/columnist/nate-davis/2024/04/27/nfl-draft-grades-2024-team-classes-ranking-cowboys-steelers/73378215007/ AP News: B https://apnews.com/article/nfl-draft-grades-2024-334ef0dd263c4a7fc8d0c4c8e300e730 Sports Illustrated: C- https://www.si.com/nfl/2024/04/27/2024-nfl-draft-team-grades-analysis Looks like some of the other major sites haven't released team grades yet, I guess.

Shaw.... better than 2017???? C'mon. The answer to that question is an obvious and emphatic YES!!!! The Bills had, at best, an average roster in the NFL in 2017. What I'm glad I found within the last year are good, broader NFL podcasts with actual pundits who watch the film rather than "shock jocks" like Cowherd, Nick Wright, Stephen A, Skip Bayless, etc. In listening to these (and that would include Mina Kimes, Nate Tice, Robert Mayes, Brett Kollman, EJ Snyder and all the guests they have on their shows), you discover that these broader NFL experts have a lot of the same natural questions we do about the Bills because of the roster turnover and switch to Joe Brady, but they pretty universally agree that while Buffalo may take a step back from the "true contender" category, they're still a playoff team and the favorites to win the AFC East. (By the way, what's even more universal among them is that Josh Allen is the 2nd best QB in the NFL and is in a tier of his own) I think that assessment is pretty fair. Even the most optimistic among us at the very least are merely projecting how our WRs and Safeties especially will be. But what those varying experts also agree on and have talked about at various times is how bad Buffalo's roster was in Josh Allen’s rookie year. Yes, I realize that's 2018, not 2017... but there was a lot of carryover. I don't think 2017's roster is remotely comparable with 2024's roster, even discounting the QBs.

I see it differently. Aaron Rodgers is one of the greatest QBs ever to play the game. His yards per attempt is 7.7 vs. 7.4 for Tom Brady. Rodgers' INT percentage is 1.4, compared to 1.8 for Brady. There are areas where Brady's numbers are better than Rodgers, such as career passing yards and number of Super Bowl rings. But there's no denying that Rodgers is a great player. He comes across well in his press conferences. Like a laid back regular guy, who sometimes demonstrates a good sense of humor. If you wanted to point out negatives about him, the most obvious is that he plays for a division rival. He's exerted too much influence over coaching (Nate Hackett) and personnel decisions. But you look at a lot of other guys in the NFL, and they're being arrested or sued for cruelty to dogs, or breaking boys' legs, or beating up women, or grinding on flight attendants without consent. If injuries must happen, I'd rather they happen to guys like those, as opposed to someone like Rodgers.

Nate Silver is right.

Nate Geary needs to stick to the vibes report. While he is covering the AFC South who is monitoring the vibes? The vibes may be off right now and we would have no way of knowing. Can't get enough of a grown man talking about vibes, by the way. X, formerly known as Twitter, is a blessing for those of us who are all about the vibes. Its a vibe.

I'm voting keeper. He kind of reminds me of Nate Clements in a way. Knox has had some brilliant truck and run highlights that keep you thinking, 'hang on, this guy can be something special', but the overall body of work says, 'yeah, pretty good, but someone else could probably take that production over for us, and probably cheaper.' Clements really was a good player, maybe on an average snap a bit better than Knox, but his entire career's worth of paychecks was mostly based on one (***** Awesome!!) hit. Beyond that he was a pretty good corner any championship level team could have on their roster, but he was not a catalyst. Knox makes more 'Wow' plays, but lacks the consistency to be relied on as a cog in a championship team, but he still has a definite chance to be a top-notch contributor on any given play, and despite the contract, his relative financial hit vs. what the 49ers paid Clements is pretty affordable. Clements at 6 years in was the more valuable player, but not by a lot, so I'm cool with giving Knox more time to develop his stuff. He's shown too much to just write off. ... I know, potential is maddening

With the the 32nd pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Arizona Cardinals (who are utterly crushing this draft like it was Prom Night) select: Nate Wiggins, CB, Clemson CLICK HERE FOR HIGHLIGHTS We love the blend of elite recovery speed, coverage skills, and overall football IQ that Nate brings to this team. We were set to take him at 27 and are thrilled to still get him at 32 while adding another 3rd rounder to our draft this year. His height and arm length, combined with his skills in various coverage schemes, make him a versatile and competitive options who we believe can come in and compete to start right away. Based on his performance against top tier talent, we believe he has a very high ceiling in the NFL. Having already added Odunze and now Wiggins, we feel we have really added to the future of both sides of the ball. And because of our small trade downs, we now have our 2nd in a few picks and 5 picks in the third round and 2 more in the 4th to really help set a great foundation for this new era of Cardinals football. Also puts us in a great position to move around the draft as well if we feel there is someone we want to go get. Draft Recap: TRADES #4 - Trade 4, 138, 162 for 6, 70, 107 #27 - Trade 27 for 32 and 95 Cardinals still have a 2nd at pick 35 and now have 5 picks in the 3rd plus 2 more in the 4th to go with a couple late picks. #6 - ROME ODUNZE, WR, WASHINGTON #32 - NATE WIGGINS, CB, CLEMSON #35 - TBD @GunnerBilland the Detroit Lions are now on the clock.

The QB who killed Nate Hackett's career.

Statistical data are useless unless you know how to interpret them. During Allen's first year, he had arguably the worst OL in franchise history. Kelvin Benjamin and Andre Holmes were the worst pair of starting WRs I've ever seen, on any NFL team. Zay Jones wasn't much better. During the offseason, the starter's reps had been given to Nate Peterman, not Josh Allen. Anything you could possibly think of to set a QB up to fail, the Bills did to Allen. What effect do you think all that had on Allen's rookie stats? When I watched Manuel's college highlight reel, there was nothing special there. The throws he made were throws I'd expect of any average college QB. Allen's college highlight reel was cut from an entirely different cloth. Manuel was the same guy in the NFL as he was in college. He was the same guy in year 4 or 5 of his NFL career as he'd been as a rookie.

With the 22nd pick, the Philadelphia Eagles select Nate Wiggins, CB, Clemson. Minnesota @Motorin' is on the clock. This is a case where BPA and need happen to match up perfectly. Darius Slay and James Bradberry are both on the wrong side of 30. Our secondary was the clear weakness on the team last year. Wiggins projects as a true #1 island CB at the next level. And with established veterans on the roster his development doesn't have to be rushed.

I get that, and can understand frustration if he felt Allen wasn't focused or his head was not in the game, but to carry that anger for over a year? To blame Allen for that game in which the whole team looked flat? Nate is going hard at Allen over this, and I feel like it's to make Diggs look good in comparison. We are all human and make mistakes, so I just don't think this justifies Digg's behavior this season.

Way to go out on a limb there, Nate.

Those two were an absolutely textbook example of the difference between a tough, cerebral CB and a great athlete playing CB. Nate Clements was absolutely one of the best pure athletes to ever put on a Bills uniform, imo. When he was at the top of his game he was arguably the best CB in the NFL for a stretch. Unfortunately he was either lazy and hated homework or he was just dumber than a chicken. This wasn't necessarily an issue against average OC/QB combinations because he was such a good athlete he could recover from almost any misstep. But when matched up against smart offenses that knew how to exploit mistakes and tendencies, he could be taken advantage of at times. While he was one of the few corners you'll ever see that could literally affect a scoreboard from that outside reactive position, he was never smart enough to do it consistently and because of it never reached his full potential. Winfield was nowhere near the athlete that Clements was, and frankly it wasn't even close. But his smarts and his instincts made him a more consistently reliable defender. He actually got beat over the top a lot because he had to gamble to impact the game, but because he was really savvy about genuinely understanding down/distance and recognizing the concept of the entire defense, he very rarely got stung in those instances because offenses weren't set up or in position to take advantage of it when he did. If both had their A games, Clements was better simply due to his out of this world athleticism. But Winfield ended up being a better player in the long run because of his superior understanding of both defenses and offenses and situational football.

Guys who have no business being on a Bills Mt. Rushmore. Jeff Wright, for reasons already discussed. John Fina, LT. I acknowledge that Bills' OLs have been more bad than good over the years. But mentioning John Fina's name in a context such as this is the act of a drowning man clutching at any straw he can possibly find. Back when Fina was active, the Bills used two different rating services. Both had Fina in the bottom 10 of starting NFL LTs, with one putting him lower down in the bottom ten than did the other. Cordy Glenn was a much better football player than Fina. Nate Clements, CB. He had one good year with the Bills (contract year). Then the 49ers overpaid him, and he proceeded to do not much while he was there. Antoine Winfield was a much better player. Keith McKeller, TE. 1464 career receiving yards. (7 year career). Dawson Knox has already surpassed that, at 1966 (5 year career and counting). Dalton Kincaid has 673 receiving yards: nearly half McKeller's career total. Kincaid has been in the league just one year, and was under-utilized. Players who deserve to be on Bills Mt. Rushmore: Ted Washington, DT. Made lots of plays, and showed up big on the stat sheet, while consuming two blockers. Bryce Paup, pass rushing OLB (3-4). 17.5 sacks in a season. Defensive MVP for entire NFL. Henry Jones, safety. Honorable mention players: Pat Williams, DT. Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB Jason Peters, LT. Would have been a shoe-in had he been here longer.

(apologies in advance for the tangent) Respectfully, I only would agree to the extent as it applies to the successes. I would argue that there are plenty of cases, QBs in particular, where a player's future failure can be attributed to the poor quality of the coaching provided to them. EJ Manual is (in my opinion anyway) a case in point. When you consider the circumstances, it was almost like there was a conspiracy against the kid: (correct me if I'm mistaken on the details). High character kid with great physical tools and a legacy relationship to Buffalo Trade-down and Drafted as a "project" intended to sit and learn under a more experienced hand (i.e. a perfect mentor - Fitz). Buddy is "punked" by TB radio station and Fitzpatrick is cut loose. Kolb is signed as the "bridge" to mentor EJ. EJ injured in preseason, but then forced into duty week 1 when Kolb suffers a career-ending mat injury (I swear, you can't make this stuff up) in August of preseason. The QB room is EJ, Thad Lewis, Tuel. A QB known to have "slow eyes" (thereby needing all the time possible to read defenses) and in need of improved mechanics - Nate Hackett puts him in a up-tempo, no-huddle, read-option-like offense. After seeing a hint of success, he gets injured in Cleveland, and has to run said offense without being allowed the "run" option. Over the next two years, Marrone and Hacket fiddly-fart around with both the offense and the QB position, eventually settling on (for the love of the Lord) Kyle Orton. The regime changes, and Rex comes in - buttsore over Mark Sanchez, and spoiling to prove to the world that he can win without a quarterback. Enter Tyrod. Bye-bye EJ. I'm not saying that EJ could have been Josh under different circumstances, but I am saying I definitely believe Josh could have been EJ under similar circumstances - which to a large degree was coaching and organizational management . I would argue that virtually any rookie QB brought in under these circumstances would fail (Steve Young in Tampa for example).

With the 15th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Indianapolis Colts select Laiatu Latu, DE, UCLA. The Colts went into the draft with a huge need at Corner and would’ve selected Quinyon Mitchell if available. However, the board didn’t fall in favor of that to take place. We gave strong consideration to Nate Wiggins, but ultimately went with the most complete pass rusher in the draft. He passed our medical exams at the combine, and has enjoyed back to back healthy/productive seasons at UCLA. With all the new young guns in the division, what better way to counter, than to bolster the pass rush. @NeverOutNick and the Seattle Seahawks are now on the clock.

With the 15th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Indianapolis Colts select Jared Verse, DE, FSU…go NOLES! The Colts went into the draft with a huge need at Corner and would’ve selected Quinyon Mitchell if available. However, the board didn’t fall in favor of that to take place. That being said, Verse is far and away the best player available on our draft board. We also considered Latu, but had injury concerns, and Nate Wiggins, who is a bit undersized (light in the pants). Verse was the cleanest prospect left. With all the new young guns in the division, what better way to counter, than to bolster the pass rush.

It drives me nuts how the NFL front offices talk so much about character. But then teams who welcome the big troublemakers often seem to be the most successful. Most of the league's dynasties are horribly unlikeable outside of their hometowns. Growing up in the 90s, the off-field activities of the Dallas Cowboys were legendary and not in a good way. Michael Irvin, Nate Newton, etc. The players who weren't criminals had insufferable personalities, who were almost impossible to root for. Then you have the New England Patriots with cheating scandal after cheating scandal. The reason the Netflix roast is so popular, is because every sports fan outside of Boston hated Tom Brady and it's the closest we will ever get to seeing him punched in the face. Now it's the Chiefs. From Kareem Hunt to Tyreek Hill to Rashee Rice. Taylor Swift. Just awful. You really want to root for a guy like Patrick Mahomes or Andy Reid. But then you wonder why the team keeps turning a blind eye and drafting guys who are destined to become a problem.

NATE SILVER: Democrats are hemorrhaging support with voters of color: The trend is real in polls, and in at least some election results. https://www.natesilver.net/p/democrats-are-hemorrhaging-support? Woke stuff is mostly popular with neurotic white people and the grifters who feed off of them.

Agreed, he is not a refined route runner and separator which is part of the reason he looked bad at the senior bowl but he is an excellent deep ball tracker and the long speed is real. Felt like he really good game against Nate Wiggins who is a really good corner on a day that Maye really struggled against Clemson. Late in the second I could see him being one of the better receivers left if their is a run like expected

I feel like Nate, after learning how 17 different offenses work, is going to have a random season when he’s 39 where he throws 5000 yards, 48 TDs, 4 picks, and wins MVP/CPOTY.

Hear me out Nate! When someone says that they are 99 percent of the time talking about something that is a bad idea .. Just take a WR at 28 … there will definitely be good options still available at that point … just pick the right guy Beane ! Center can happen later … WR is definitely the bigger need