Watch: AJ McCarron "Highlights" from 2015

[Bfanlc]

18 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Yep, exactly correct.  And if one watches that highlight film, one can't help (at least I can't help) but be impressed by the abilities of the WR he's throwing to.  There are some real circus catches complete with pointed-toe drags to stay inbounds, that wouldn't have to be with a bit better ball placement.

 

 But I also saw balls thrown to all levels of the fields and all types of throws made. Deep passes, back shoulder, sideline, and middle of the field. I mean he actually threw some great passes deep. Not sure how that happened with such a weak arm. There wasn't a throw he didnt make. The negative nancies like to point out the fact that the Bengals lost to Pittsburgh but it wasn't because of AJ. AJ had the game won. The Bengals were also without their starting tightend, Tyler whomever, and only had two receivers, Aj Green and Sanu. 

[26CornerBlitz]

43 minutes ago, Bfanlc said:

 But I also saw balls thrown to all levels of the fields and all types of throws made. Deep passes, back shoulder, sideline, and middle of the field. I mean he actually threw some great passes deep. Not sure how that happened with such a weak arm. There wasn't a throw he didnt make. The negative nancies like to point out the fact that the Bengals lost to Pittsburgh but it wasn't because of AJ. AJ had the game won. The Bengals were also without their starting tightend, Tyler whomever, and only had two receivers, Aj Green and Sanu. 

 

Not correct. He also had Marvin Jones to make an excellent receiving trio. 

[Sky Diver]

6 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

That's not your important mistake.

 

Whenever it was announced, the trade was still not official until March 14th at 4 pm.

Second time this official NFL date source has been linked for you in this thread, but this time I'll cut-n-paste the relevant part:

 

March 14

Trading period for 2018 begins at 4:00 p.m., New York time, after expiration of all 2017 contracts.

 

What is this splitting of hairs all about regarding the announcement of the trade and when the trade was official? Can you bottom line it for me?

[billsredneck1]

if i remember correctly, we just had the 31st ranked passing attack and people are on here acting like it can't get better with a.j.

 

i don't get it.

[Sky Diver]

1 hour ago, Bfanlc said:

 But I also saw balls thrown to all levels of the fields and all types of throws made. Deep passes, back shoulder, sideline, and middle of the field. I mean he actually threw some great passes deep. Not sure how that happened with such a weak arm. There wasn't a throw he didnt make. The negative nancies like to point out the fact that the Bengals lost to Pittsburgh but it wasn't because of AJ. AJ had the game won. The Bengals were also without their starting tightend, Tyler whomever, and only had two receivers, Aj Green and Sanu. 

 

You can point out negatives about any player in the NFL. Certain Bills players are favorite whipping boys. Once it starts it gains momentum and there is a lot of piling on.

 

I guess the McCarron naysayers think we should have kept TT or overpaid for Kirk Cousins?

 

Or maybe some people just like to be combative and argumentative?

[GunnerBill]

11 minutes ago, billsredneck1 said:

if i remember correctly, we just had the 31st ranked passing attack and people are on here acting like it can't get better with a.j.

 

i don't get it.

 

I am not sure anyone is saying "it can't get better" we are simply asking how likely it is to get better.  I suspect that we are going to get a slight downgrade in Quarterback play in 2018 - either because McCarron is less of a playmaker than Tyrod or because Josh Allen will turn it over a bit more and be a bit more up and down as a rookie going through nromal rookie growing pains.  If we don't fantastic and we could well be a playoff team again.  

 

That is not a criticism of the Bills. I was ready to accept that risk a year ago - although as it was Deshaun Watson's 7 games would have been an upgrade in hindsight - and I am ready to accept that risk in 2018 too with Josh Allen.  His career story will not be written in 2018, if we go 6-10 but Allen starts 12 games and is up and down but shows promise I will consider that an acceptable season that gives me hope for the future.  

3 minutes ago, Sky Diver said:

I guess the McCarron naysayers think we should have kept TT or overpaid for Kirk Cousins?

 

I think neither of those things. I just think the career of AJ McCarron here is purely about doing the best for Josh Allen.  If that means McCarron starting 1 game, 4 games or 16 games then so be it. I expect him to play at a similar level as a passer but without the playmaking ability with his legs. But I'd rather have AJ on his contract than Tyrod on his and with the baggage of everything that had gone on prior.  Either of them would be simply a throw away until the Bills are ready to turn it to Josh.  

[Sky Diver]

We got a bargain on McCarron. Worst case, he’s a career backup. Best case, he lights it up and he buys time for Allen to develop. Obviously, we drafted Allen to be the long-term starter. McCarron hasn’t played since 2015 so we really don’t know what we have with him. Hopefully both Allen and McCarron exceed expectations and we can deal McCarron for picks.

 

If it all goes horribly wrong, which I think is pretty unlikely, we draft a QB again next year.

 

Will this be a down year? I think there is a chance of it, but I think our defense will be strong and will keep us in games. I don’t think we need stellar QB play to be competitive. I think the key to the offense will be the OL play. McCarron has some mobility, but he’s obviously not TT. But give McCarron some time and he can hurt you. Allen is quite mobile and may earn the starting job. We’ll have to see how much he can improve his game over the next 4 months or so. He certainly looked good in the Senior Bowl.

 

The future looks bright to me, but we’ll see how it plays out. I think we got really lucky getting Allen and McCarron, especially for what they cost us.

Edited May 8, 2018 by Sky Diver

[racketmaster]

Expecting Mccaron to be anything more than a quality backup/low end starter is unwise. The league told us what they thought of his ability this free agency period. He never seriously challenged Andy Dalton. And he put up just decent numbers during his only extended playing time while surrounded by tremendous talent. 

 

Mccaron is what he is (a fifth round talent with backup qb ability). 

[billsredneck1]

8 minutes ago, racketmaster said:

Expecting Mccaron to be anything more than a quality backup/low end starter is unwise. The league told us what they thought of his ability this free agency period. He never seriously challenged Andy Dalton. And he put up just decent numbers during his only extended playing time while surrounded by tremendous talent. 

 

Mccaron is what he is (a fifth round talent with backup qb ability). 

...and tyrod was a 6th round talent with backup ability. last year we were 31st in passing yards. 14 more yards than last place chicago.  we were also around 24th in the no. of tds thrown. we threw for one more yd. per game than chicago or we would have been last in that.  100 passing yds. per game less than the top tier teams.

 

  i for one am excited to see this new offense and i would bet we do not see 3 point games....or games with under 100 yds passing. we had one with 56. think about that for a moment....and in the biggest game in 18 years we could not score

over 3 pts.

 

  those days are over and it's a great time to be a bills fan. i'm lovin it.

[racketmaster]

11 minutes ago, billsredneck1 said:

...and tyrod was a 6th round talent with backup ability. last year we were 31st in passing yards. 14 more yards than last place chicago.  we were also around 24th in the no. of tds thrown. we threw for one more yd. per game than chicago or we would have been last in that.  100 passing yds. per game less than the top tier teams.

 

  i for one am excited to see this new offense and i would bet we do not see 3 point games....or games with under 100 yds passing. we had one with 56. think about that for a moment....and in the biggest game in 18 years we could not score

over 3 pts.

 

  those days are over and it's a great time to be a bills fan. i'm lovin it.

You left out that Tyrod was a threat as a runner, something that Mccaron will never be. There is value in that ability and what it can bring to an offense, even if you choose to ignore it. In the end, Mccaron is a slightly better passer (even with a weak arm) but it is not enough of a difference to make up for the loss of the running ability. I was fine with moving on from Tyrod to get better but Mccaron will not make this offense better, it will just be different. 

[billsredneck1]

well it will get better. teams will not be able to stack the box and make our qb play qb. ....or they will get burned.

[26CornerBlitz]

2 minutes ago, billsredneck1 said:

well it will get better. teams will not be able to stack the box and make our qb play qb. ....or they will get burned.

 

McCarron couldn't do this on a Bengals team loaded with talent so I am not sure how you arrived at this conclusion on a Bills team with much less talent. It seems like wishful thinking. 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

3 hours ago, Sky Diver said:

What is this splitting of hairs all about regarding the announcement of the trade and when the trade was official? Can you bottom line it for me?

 

Seriously?   I'll play....Once.

 

1. you claimed that McCarron >> Taylor because the now-fired Browns GM offered a 2nd and 3rd for McCarron mid-season  but the new Browns GM traded a 3rd for Taylor

2. several folks ask you: Why, then, if the Browns think McCarron better, the Browns didn't sign McCarron as a FA instead of trading for Taylor?  Pay less, save a 3rd round pick.

3. you respond that they couldn't do that unless they had a crystal ball, because Taylor trade occured prior to McCarron's availability as a FA. 

You cite as evidence that Taylor was traded 9 or 10 March while McCarron, as a FA wasn't available until 14 March (see below)

4. Except this is B.S.: McCarron's availability as a FA was known mid-Feb.  Both trades and FA contracts become official on the same date at the same time, 14 March 4 pm.

5. THEREFORE, it is clear that the Browns could have signed McCarron as a FA rather than trading for Taylor, if they thought McCarron >> Taylor (as you claim).

 

 

 

Fair notice: As a mod, I am watching how you respond to this, because it's the behavior of an Internet Troll to make an argument, and then not only fail to acknowledge valid counter-points, but act as though you have no idea why they are being made, which is what you're "what is this splitting of hairs?" response to me implies.  Other of your behaviors/posts are normal and not trollish, so I'm not yet certain you're a troll, but if you honestly can't recall what points you were previously asserting, you need to review your posting history and maybe take some notes and read them before you respond.

 

I hope this constitutes sufficient bottom line for you.

 

[Sky Diver]

The Browns chose to trade for TT rather than testing the free agent market. Maybe they overvalued McCarron and were afraid that they would get into a bidding war. Maybe they knew that McCarron didn't want to play for Cleveland. Maybe the new regime thinks that TT is better than McCarron (I happen to disagree). I don't think any of us know.

 

New regime, old regime. mid-Feb, March 14, 4 pm, aside, the Browns offered a 2nd rd and a 3rd rd pick for McCarron at a recent point in time. Someone thought that he had value. Maybe they were completely deluded and the Browns got a steal for TT with only a 3rd pick.

 

I guess we'll find out. 

 

Imo, McCarron's timing was unfortunate. There were a lot of QBs on the market and not that many teams in the hunt, plus it was a QB rich draft. It worked out well for us though since we got McCarron for a bargain. I hope that he lights it up and sets himself up for a big contract.

Edited May 8, 2018 by Sky Diver

[Royale with Cheese]

I just got over the flu and needed a laugh....I got it reading the last couple of pages from Sky.  LOL....just so lost.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

53 minutes ago, Sky Diver said:

The Browns chose to trade for TT rather than testing the free agent market. Maybe they overvalued McCarron and were afraid that they would get into a bidding war. Maybe they knew that McCarron didn't want to play for Cleveland. Maybe the new regime thinks that TT is better than McCarron (I happen to disagree). I don't think any of us know.

 

New regime, old regime. mid-Feb, March 14, 4 pm, aside, the Browns offered a 2nd rd and a 3rd rd pick for McCarron at a recent point in time. Someone thought that he had value. Maybe they were completely deluded and the Browns got a steal for TT with only a 3rd pick.

 

I guess we'll find out. 

 

Imo, McCarron's timing was unfortunate. There were a lot of QBs on the market and not that many teams in the hunt, plus it was a QB rich draft. It worked out well for us though since we got McCarron for a bargain. I hope that he lights it up and sets himself up for a big contract.

 

This is a perfectly sensible post on its own.  McCarron is a Bill now, and I too hope he gets his shot and lights it up. 

 

And yes, offered free choice, maybe McCarron told his agent "no thanks" to Cleveland because the holder of the #1 pick was unlikely to give him a starting shot. 

 

Or, maybe, as you say, new Browns GM Dorsey thinks Taylor >> McCarron.

 

As part of your posting history in this thread, however, this post is marginal.  There is no acknowledgement in here of the "bottom line" you requested after arguing for the "crystal ball" then turning around and asking why "all this splitting of hairs" on the point you asserted.  

 

You get the benefit of the doubt.   I hope you took the "Fair notice" above to heart. 

 

[Sky Diver]

I like to understand the point that is made before I offer a response. 9 pages here. Do I sometimes miss posts? Guilty. 

 

The bottom line is that the Browns chose to lock down a QB via a trade for TT rather than testing the free agent market. Why is a matter of speculation.

 

I hope it's a great fit for Tyrod and he is successful. He seems like a good guy. 

Edited May 8, 2018 by Sky Diver

[HappyDays]

2 hours ago, billsredneck1 said:

well it will get better. teams will not be able to stack the box and make our qb play qb. ....or they will get burned.

 

Teams aren't afraid of anything McCarron can do. They will absolutely stack the box because his arm isn't strong enough to challenge them over the top. Furthermore our opponents will no longer need to keep a spy on the QB and worry about his mobility. McCarron is an ideal backup QB because he can manage games but he will not make the special play that pushes you over the top. If Allen develops quickly and can start this year Shady will become more effective because teams will have to respect his arm.

[BuffaloHokie13]

1 minute ago, HappyDays said:

 

Teams aren't afraid of anything McCarron can do. They will absolutely stack the box because his arm isn't strong enough to challenge them over the top. Furthermore our opponents will no longer need to keep a spy on the QB and worry about his mobility. McCarron is an ideal backup QB because he can manage games but he will not make the special play that pushes you over the top. If Allen develops quickly and can start this year Shady will become more effective because teams will have to respect his arm.

It also requires a WR that can get downfield in a hurry and make you pay though. That was part of what was wrong last year. People knew Tyrod could throw deep, but we didn't have a threatening presence to go out and catch it like Sammy, or even Goodwin, was.

[billsredneck1]

i'm sure the teams aren't afraid thing is popular opinion and hopefully that gets us a win against balt., la, minn. or gb in the start of the season. they can run the 2 minute and shred them with the 10-20 timing routes. hopefully that defensive mind set gives us an early advantage.