James Cook- special 2024 season

[MasterStrategist]

Maybe it's been talked about, but he has a chance of achieving some special single season feats in Bills history:

 

1. Rushing TDs: currently at 14, if I'm not mistaken OJ holds our record at 17

 

2. Rushing+Receiving TDs: OJ had 23 in '75 (his unreal yr), but James might be only our 2nd player to hit 20+ in 1 year? Currently at 16.

 

For a player who caught grief early in his career, this was a gem of a pick by Beane.  Cook has taken another leap since LY, and flourishes in Bradys offense.  Has a 2nd gear second to maybe Saquon in open field.  His vision, strength, and ability to create yardage after contact has been next level in 2024.

 

For some who were expecting Ray Davis to being splitting carries (or even our 1a) by now, Cook proved those doubters wrong.  Not gonna dig up that offseason thread, but too many dismissed how special Jimbo can be.

 

I think most will agree this is our best RB room in a long while.  More importantly, this has completely balanced and made our offense more dangerous without a stud Wr1. 

 

I'm too lazy to look, but as an offense, we might be close to breaking a team rushing TD record as well.  Kudos to oline as well.

[Dr.Sack]

29 rush TDs and 28 TOs created are a big reason we are 12-3. 

[Real McClappy]

Guys sucks, he only averaged 9 yards a carry this week.

 

We should just straight run him 20-30 times and see if he can pop off 3 in a game like his brother used to.

 

Merry Christmas TBD die hard fans.

 

 

[folz]

Per BuffaloBills.com:

 

In the game against New England, the Bills tied the franchise record for most rushing touchdowns in a single season with 29. The team had 29 rushing TDs in 2016. Obviously, they will most likely break the record this Sunday.

 

Cook is the first Bills RB with 40+ yard TD runs in consecutive games since Mike Gillislee in 2015.

 

James Cook has surpassed 100 rushing yards for the second straight game. Cook is the first Bill to do so since Josh Allen in 2018 and the first Bills RB since LeSean McCoy in 2016.

 

 

All I have to say is that I hope to see a heavy dose of Cook in the playoffs. Though I do have to say that for the most part I have liked the way that Brady has deployed the three running backs this season (using each man to his skillset, plus they should all still be fresh). But there are times (like in this past New England game) where I wish Brady used Cook a bit more, be it running or receiving out of the backfield (not necessarily over the other backs touches, but over some of the downfield passing---opponent dependent, of course).

 

 

 

[gonzo1105]

I would have never have guessed he would have become this good in the NFL. I thought he would be a great pass catching RB in the NFL and be a back by committee guy when he was coming out of Georgia. I wonder how successful he would be on another team that didn't have a guy like Josh Allen on it. Thats not selling his talent short by any means as he is a home run hitter for us but having teams game planning for a guy like Allen helps our run game and vice versa to be honest.

[NewEra]

Other than saquon, he might be the RB I’d want most the nfl.  That home run hitting ability is scary. Sucks he probably only has one more season as a bill.  He’s a difference maker at the position 

[Freddie's Dead]

26 minutes ago, NewEra said:

Sucks he probably only has one more season as a bill.

 

STFU.

[GunnerBill]

The people who hate on Cook do so because they still prefer bigger, more physical backs who can do the 3 yards and a cloud of dust stuff. 

 

Cook is not that kind of player but he is a top 10 back. His vision and short area acceleration are elite.

 

EDIT: to be clear: I'm still not paying a running back while I have Josh Allen. 

Edited 12 hours ago by GunnerBill

[That's No Moon]

17 minutes ago, Freddie's Dead said:

 

STFU.

He's not wrong.  It's not smart business to give RBs big second contracts. Just look at his brother for an example why not. 4 years of heavy use, 1 superlative year in there, then he fell off a cliff and was done at age 28.  Do we expect James' physiology to be vastly different than his brother's?  This is a very tricky contract for the Bills to navigate.  Certainly you want to keep him, but the reality of running backs is what it is. 

 

If you're spending money at RB you're not spending it somewhere else.  For it to make sense at that position it needs to be a shorter term deal which then basically forces the actual dollars to be higher because SOMEONE will make him a ridiculous offer.  Do you tag him and deal with the animosity that comes with that?

 

Saquon's current deal is actually relatively affordable and it's structed in a very team friendly way with and out AND voidable years at the end along with manageable cap hits.  If James is up for something like that (3 yrs/37M/26M guaranteed) it might be doable.

24 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

The people who hate on Cook do so because they still prefer bigger, more physical backs who can do the 3 yards and a cloud of dust stuff. 

 

Cook is not that kind of player but he is a top 10 back. His vision and short area acceleration are elite.

He's the most consistently explosive back we've had in a long time.  Maybe Shady for a little while?  Then I'm not sure who it would be before that.  We've always had pretty good RBs, they're just usually a bit different style, more power, fewer long plays.

[QCity]

21 minutes ago, That's No Moon said:

He's not wrong.  It's not smart business to give RBs big second contracts. Just look at his brother for an example why not. 4 years of heavy use, 1 superlative year in there, then he fell off a cliff and was done at age 28.  Do we expect James' physiology to be vastly different than his brother's?  This is a very tricky contract for the Bills to navigate.  Certainly you want to keep him, but the reality of running backs is what it is. 

 

If you're spending money at RB you're not spending it somewhere else.  For it to make sense at that position it needs to be a shorter term deal which then basically forces the actual dollars to be higher because SOMEONE will make him a ridiculous offer.  Do you tag him and deal with the animosity that comes with that?

 

👏👏👏 You understand what so very few do. Unfortunately, delivering hard truths about a player the day after he had a monster game won't be well-received. Bills' fans are going to see something next offseason they haven't seen in a while - a premium player holding out, it's the boilerplate plan agents use for RBs after their 3rd season. 

[Freddie's Dead]

55 minutes ago, That's No Moon said:

He's not wrong.  It's not smart business to give RBs big second contracts. Just look at his brother for an example why not. 4 years of heavy use, 1 superlative year in there, then he fell off a cliff and was done at age 28.  Do we expect James' physiology to be vastly different than his brother's?  This is a very tricky contract for the Bills to navigate.  Certainly you want to keep him, but the reality of running backs is what it is. 

 

If you're spending money at RB you're not spending it somewhere else.  For it to make sense at that position it needs to be a shorter term deal which then basically forces the actual dollars to be higher because SOMEONE will make him a ridiculous offer.  Do you tag him and deal with the animosity that comes with that?

 

Saquon's current deal is actually relatively affordable and it's structed in a very team friendly way with and out AND voidable years at the end along with manageable cap hits.  If James is up for something like that (3 yrs/37M/26M guaranteed) it might be doable.

He's the most consistently explosive back we've had in a long time.  Maybe Shady for a little while?  Then I'm not sure who it would be before that.  We've always had pretty good RBs, they're just usually a bit different style, more power, fewer long plays.

 

So you're willing to gut this offense to save a few dollars?  Cook is special, one of the few backs worth that second contract.  The only reason he doesn't put up Saquon numbers is because Josh Allen is way better than Jalen Hurts as a passer.  Right now the offense runs through Cook, and I don't see that changing next year.

[That's No Moon]

5 minutes ago, Freddie's Dead said:

 

So you're willing to gut this offense to save a few dollars?  Cook is special, one of the few backs worth that second contract.  The only reason he doesn't put up Saquon numbers is because Josh Allen is way better than Jalen Hurts as a passer.  Right now the offense runs through Cook, and I don't see that changing next year.

How much and how long are you willing to go?

 

I didn't say I was willing to gut the offense, I'm just acknowledging the reality of the RB situation in the world.

 

and FWIW, people in Minnesota would have been down for giving his brother big money too.  He was amazing for a couple years there.

Edited 11 hours ago by That's No Moon

[julian]

I don’t care how good a rb is… I’m not spending significant money on that position.

[Doc Brown]

I would never give a RB a 2nd contract personally but I could see Beane and Brady wanting to keep Cook.  Beane was in Carolina when they drafted McCaffrey.   Brady was in New Orleans when they drafted Kamara.  Both dual threats that received second contracts.  They could always point to his low volume of carries in college to justify extending him.  It really depends on the agent's demands both in terms of dollar amount and length.  They didn't extend Singletary though so who knows.

[GunnerBill]

2 minutes ago, Doc Brown said:

I would never give a RB a 2nd contract personally but I could see Beane and Brady wanting to keep Cook.  Beane was in Carolina when they drafted McCaffrey.   Brady was in New Orleans when they drafted Kamara.  Both dual threats that received second contracts.  They could always point to his low volume of carries in college to justify extending him.  It really depends on the agent's demands both in terms of dollar amount and length.  They didn't extend Singletary though so who knows.

 

Cook is a different level of player to Singletary. He was the easiest non-extension in history. A backup level player we pretended was a starter for 3 seasons who left and was suddenly a backup again.

 

Cook is a harder call, because he is a dynamic playmaker and the most consistent one we have aside from Josh Allen. But he is still a running back. I'd let him walk, take the comp pick and draft a day 3 back. But not another Singletary, Moss, Davis short, low centre of gravity, falls forward type. Another speedy slasher. Cook-lite if you like. That is what this offense calls for.

[That's No Moon]

7 minutes ago, Doc Brown said:

I would never give a RB a 2nd contract personally but I could see Beane and Brady wanting to keep Cook.  Beane was in Carolina when they drafted McCaffrey.   Brady was in New Orleans when they drafted Kamara.  Both dual threats that received second contracts.  They could always point to his low volume of carries in college to justify extending him.  It really depends on the agent's demands both in terms of dollar amount and length.  They didn't extend Singletary though so who knows.

I can see both scenarios and I really think it comes down to the bolded.  Singletary wasn't nearly as productive as Cook has been so there was a strong argument to let him walk, but then Beane's protege also let Barkley walk in NY.

 

It basically comes down to asset allocation.  If you pay Cook which position are you going cheaper on and which other player(s) do you let walk because you can't pay them all?  This is the reality of the cap era.  Once you have a QB that doesn't change but all the pieces around it do.  If you have a QB who is willing to not rake you over the coals for every dollar so you have more money for other players that helps too and there have been some high profile guys to do that.  Allen's NEXT contract is another huge moment.  Does he help the team keep a squad around him or does he need every dollar he can get?  Brady took well under market value for a very long time and it made a huge difference.

Edited 11 hours ago by That's No Moon

[Charles Romes]

He started running harder after Ray Davis’ big game v. the Jets. Competition works. 

[Doc Brown]

8 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Cook is a different level of player to Singletary. He was the easiest non-extension in history. A backup level player we pretended was a starter for 3 seasons who left and was suddenly a backup again.

 

Cook is a harder call, because he is a dynamic playmaker and the most consistent one we have aside from Josh Allen. But he is still a running back. I'd let him walk, take the comp pick and draft a day 3 back. But not another Singletary, Moss, Davis short, low centre of gravity, falls forward type. Another speedy slasher. Cook-lite if you like. That is what this offense calls for.

Completely agree with Singletary.  I was just making the point that the only real data point with Beane when it comes to his willingness to give RB's he drafted 2nd contracts was Singletary (and I guess Moss but he was a disappointment from the get go).  We just shouldn't assume that because we didn't give Singletary a 2nd contract Beane won't give Cook an extension this off-season.  I'd rather he extended guys like Rousseau, Benford, and maybe even Shakir first.  I just don't know if Beane/Brady sees it that way.

21 minutes ago, Charles Romes said:

He started running harder after Ray Davis’ big game v. the Jets. Competition works. 

Running harder?  What does that even mean?  Most player's in their rookie contract have the external motivation of getting that bigger second contract.  I remember him having a great day at Miami long before missing the Jets game.  

[DrW]

It is interesting to note that when James Cook was drafted, it was always mentioned that he was the younger brother of Dalvin Cook. Dalvin was the more distinguished player in college, but his career in the NFL is characterized by frequent changes of teams (IIRC, at the moment he is on the Cowboy's PS). When healthy, he seems to be a rather competent RB, but there has not been a single season where he was not injured.

[Neo]

2 hours ago, Freddie's Dead said:

 

So you're willing to gut this offense to save a few dollars?  Cook is special, one of the few backs worth that second contract.  The only reason he doesn't put up Saquon numbers is because Josh Allen is way better than Jalen Hurts as a passer.  Right now the offense runs through Cook, and I don't see that changing next year.

 

 

To save a few dollars and to allocate a few dollars elsewhere are different concepts, I believe.

 

PS … I voted “yes” to a trade for a day two pick months ago.  I was terribly wrong.