tukafan21

I mean, I obviously don't think it's impossible to find a Center outside of the 1st, in my last post I said that's what I'd be looking to use our 2nd round pick on this upcoming draft. And sure, if there is a TE there in the 4th or 5th round that we like, I'm not against taking them, but I also wouldn't consider taking a TE there "upgrading the position" in the sense we're talking about it here. That's a draft pick where it could upgrade the position, but not a concerted effort to upgrade the position, which are two different things. And that's my point... it's not about NOT upgrading the position, it's that I think we have potential at the position on cheap contracts for the next few years, and because of that, I'd personally rather use our 1st 3 draft picks and available cap room on other positions before considering a TE with them. With what we know right now, I'm ranking LB, DB, DE, Center, and backup OL as bigger needs than TE going into next offseason. Sure that could always change based on how our season finishes and/or who we sign in FA, but as of this moment, TE is not high on my list of upgrades for next year.

I'm not a need based guy, I'm very much a combination of need and BPA. But realistically, we have so many defensive needs next year (even with our defense playing better) that I can't see a situation where there is a TE available that is such a no brainer combined with a lack of defensive options that would be similarly ranked as BPA's. And no, I don't think the TE's are much better than they are, but I do think there is real potential in them, particularly as a group. I don't think we have the next elite TE who can do it all, but I do think between the 3 of them we have guys who can do everything we need from the TE position while we use our draft and cap assets elsewhere while we evaluate the TE position for another season. And yes, I'm hyperfocused on the 1st round in this situation as I very much think that even a TE drafted in the 2nd round... while they could end up being a stud for us and take over as our main TE at some point, they would start the season 3rd or 4th on the depth chart. Any team that doesn't already have a SB contending roster and is taking a Week 1 3rd string TE with their 2nd round pick would be utterly insane. And this of course comes down to who's available and what we do in FA this offseason, but personally, if I'm Morgan (or whoever the GM is next year), I'm going into the draft with Center as my main focus with our 2nd round pick.

You guys aren't following me It's not that 1st round TEs are guaranteed to be instant impact players and it's not that you can only find elite TEs in the first. But realistically, if a TE is expected to be a true elite player at the position, particularly as a rookie, they're going to be taken in the 1st round these days. I can't see a situation where in the 2nd round of the draft, there will be a TE there that would be expected to be an immediate and significant upgrade over what we have on the roster for next year already. Any TE taken there would go into the season expected to be a backup to the guys we already have (which sure, they could over take them and be our starter, but it would be more of a surprise than an expectation). If we bring in another TE for next year, they better be immediately slotted in as our #1 TE the second we draft/sign him or I don't see it as a worthy use of pick/cap. The only way I see us getting a known and immediate TE upgrade next year is to splash in FA or draft one in the 1st round. Because of that combined with the players who will be available in the 1st round at positions we have a greater need, i.e. LB, DB, and DL, I then don't see a scenario where taking a TE in the 1st round would make any sense either. But say we're picking at like 15 next year, a Bowers type of TE falls and it feels like any defensive player at that spot would be a real reach or not a good fit for our schemes. Then sure, I'd be open to considering it, I just find that to be highly unlikely of a situation to happen, hence my feeling comfortable with TE for next year and not wanting us to target it this offseason as of right now.

I wasn't saying that's the only way to get one. My post was in direct response to the "if you have the opportunity to get a game breaking TE, you take them" I was just saying that if you're taking a TE in the 2nd or 3rd round, you're just hoping they can become that game breaking TE. The ones that you KNOW will become that, are the guys like Bowers or Warren who go in the early 1st round. We just took mid round TEs that both show solid potential, I don't see how taking a TE in the 1st would make sense over the other available players. And taking one in even the 2nd or 3rd just seems like to big of a risk at that position when we have so many other needs.

It's not about taking TE off the board, it's that we have bigger needs at too many other more important positions, to where using our precious draft capital or cap room on improving the TE doesn't make sense this offseason, when we do have young guys who aren't bad and have real potential. TE needs will fall behind our needs at all 3 levels on defense and at least Center on offense. I just don't see any scenario where taking a TE in the draft or using cap room on one makes sense over those other positions when we have some real potential in our TE room on cheap contracts.

The only place a game breaking can't miss TE is available, is in the 1st round of the draft. Yes, you can hit on them from anywhere else, but even once you're in the 2nd round it's by no means a game changing TE that you're not going to miss on. So there's no way I'd be on board with a TE in the 2nd or 3rd round of the draft either, not with who we already have. So, if we're sitting there in the 1st round next year, there is no way a Bowers type of TE falls to us while at the same time not having any other available players there at positions of a bigger need, particularly on defense. A game changing TE is obviously a great player to have, but it's also probably the least important position to have impact players at. Because of that combined with what we've seen from our guys who are all on cheap contracts for the next few years, I can't see any scenario where it would make sense for us to bring in any new TE's next year (outside of late season major injuries to where we obviously wouldn't have them next year, like Brooks this year).

This offseason, yes, because we have too many other needs to where it won’t be reaching for something else instead of a TE upgrade. If these guys were out of contract and it was extend them to bring in someone better, that would be a different discussion then. But we still need upgrades at every level of the defense, a long term center, backup OL, and maybe even WR depending how the year shakes out with XL and Coker. (all of the above is also ignoring the QB question that will still trump all else) I’d struggle to see a situation where a draft pick or FA signing makes more sense for a TE than the best player at a position we’re in worse shape at.

I'd say the exact opposite, they've shown me more than enough given their current contracts to say we shouldn't touch the position this offseason, and that every bit of cap room and draft capital we have should be spent on other positions that need upgrading. I'm not saying we're good with them for the next 5 years, but for next year, I'm good with those guys because of their contracts and all our other more dire needs.

I'd be shocked if we ever see another 5 man modern day HOF class if they continue with the new voting rules. It's the same reason I no longer think Smitty will ever make it, and the same goes for any other player that many view as a borderline candidate, just always going to be way many splitting of votes for those non 1st ballot guys, they may never get in. The 1st ballot and near 1st ballot guys will continue to get in, so someone like Kuechly is safe. But the guys who in the past would take 10 years to finally get in, they just will never have a fair shot again unless it's like Sharpe this past season and get put in by the veteran committee.

This is only the case for dumb people who try to compare modern day players to past generations in a vacuum and not smart enough to consider the evolving games. Real fans of the sports will understand you have to compare players statistics to those of their own generation, if they can't, then that's on them.

In what sense? If you're talking about the players who are currently in the HOF but wouldn't have gotten in under the new rules? Then off the top of my head, I'm not sure as I'm not looking at a list of guys who are in the HOF. But that doesn't matter, as I'm not even saying those players aren't worthy of being in the HOF. The NFL's HOF is done in a way that any player who actually has gotten in, 100% deserves to be so. The problem is that this new rule change will now keep deserving players out, not that it's stopping from undeserving players to get in. I don't remember the exact voting thresholds (and don't care enough to go look it up), but.... The new system is that they cut it down to 25 players like in the past. But previously, they then vote and the Top 5 make the HOF. Now, they vote on the Top 25, take the Top 7 of those votes and put them into a new vote, where they have to get something like 80% of the vote (don't know the exact number). I think there are something like 50 voters, which means any given player can only lose 10 votes. The problem is when you're deciding between all players who 100% should get into the HOF, unless there is collusion amongst the voters to make sure they all vote for the same people, you're always going to get just enough vote splitting to keep players from reaching that threshold. Which is why the sure fire first ballot types are really the only ones who are guaranteed to ever get in moving forward, because you're not going to get 10 people to not vote for a guy like Drew Brees this year. But you very well might get 10 people who leave Kuechly off for say Reggie Waye, just as you're then going to get 10 people who leave off Wayne to vote Kuechly, which keeps both out of the HOF in the end.

Anyone saying Eli shouldn't be a HOFer, then should be taking that same attitude towards Frank Gore's status. Frank Gore never made a single All Pro team and in 16 years he only made 5 Pro Bowls. He was never the best RB in the league, and there's a real likelihood (without going back through stats from all his seasons) that he was only even in the Top 5 of RBs in a given season one time in his entire career as he only has a single season of over 1,214 yards rushing, and he only reached double digit TDs in a season one time as well. But he's the 2nd leading rusher of all time because he played at an above average level for an entire healthy career, which more or less is what Eli did. Eli is 11th all time in both passing yards (was 9th when he retired) and passing TDs (was 10th when he retired). Eli won 2 SB's, one of which was beating what would have gone down as the best team in NFL history if Eli hadn't beat them. For me, they both belong in the HOF due to their stats accumulation after such long and healthy careers. But if you're going to say Eli shouldn't be in, then you HAVE to say Gore shouldn't be in, as if it's one or the other, it should be Eli getting in and not Gore due to his role in winning two SB's and his two SB MVPs.

5 players get voted in every year, in a league that has 8 non special teams position groups (7 if you group WRs and TEs together like with OL, DL, DB). Cutting it down to 7 players means all of those players are clearly worthy and should be HOFers. To then need to achieve a certain threshold of a re-vote amongst those 7 players is such an absurd idea. If this were the Basketball HOF, where players get in where you say "is that guy really a HOFer?" then I wouldn't have such an issue with it. But the NFL HOF is one where every year you have people saying they can't believe so and so wasn't voted in this year and nobody ever questions if a player who got in was actually worthy of the honor. There are lots of players in the HOF who wouldn't have gotten in with this voting method. That those are the people who were allowed to vote to make this change to now ensure players who are worthy of it will never get in, is just mind boggling. It's just ruined the appeal of the NFL HOF to me, which is sad, because it genuinely was the best HOF out there. It's not Basketball where you have unworthy players included, it's not Baseball where worthy players are excluded by holier than thou journalists who vote. It really was the most pure HOF, limits the number of players who can get in every year but never putting unworthy players into its hallowed halls.

Hot take... I'm completely over the HOF after last year's rule changes. That the players already in the hardest HOF to get into, decided they wanted to make it more exclusive now that they're already in, changing the rules that will keep out players more worthy of being in the HOF than some already in there, is just kinda gross to me. It's going to be very hard for players to get in with this new voting system unless they're the clear cut 1st ballot type of guys. Cutting it down to 7 candidates who all should be in and then needing them to get a certain amount of votes on a new round is just ridiculous. You're always going to get split voting amongst the non clear cut 1st ballot types, which is going to end up keeping players from reaching the threshold needed to get in. There is just no reason for it, and that it was a decision made by the people who already got in under the old system, many of whom would NOT get in with this new system that THEY implemented, just pisses me off and makes the HOF illegitimate moving forward in my eyes.

Throw Horn Jr back there with them and run a triple option run game.

My fandom all but gave up after Week 1 of Bryce's rookie year. I tried to get on board once we made the pick, but I felt my views of him were proven right really fast and it made the last 2 years near impossible for me to care about. Something seemed to bring me back in the fold this offseason though, can't quite put my finger on what it was though.

I mean, he knew Bryce would be back, he wasn't going to say "next year we still have to evaluate if he's our guy" There's just no way they can objectively look at him and say he's earned picking up the option year so far, that would be ridiculous to guarantee $27 million to a guy who is ranking last in the league in passing yards despite being 10th in attempts.

We might not have much of a choice. Josh Allen coming off back to back losses and sitting on that through the bye week, I'm not sure there's any defense in the league that is going to keep the Bills to under 30 points in this situation. It's one of those games where you hope you win the coin toss so you can actually elect to receive. Because if not, very good chance the score is going to be 7-0 before your offense takes the field. The funny thing is looking at the schedule before the season, the Bills should have beaten both the Patriots and Falcons and then spent their bye week looking past us and to the Chiefs the following week.

Win coin toss. Elect to receive. 30 minute opening drive for a score. Recover onside kick to open 2nd Half. 30 minute drive with kneel downs to end the game. Win.

[shows graphic of Baker, Darnold, Jones] Joe Buck, "if you're a fan of one of these teams, you're not going to like this" Well fug you Joe Buck, what if you're a fan of a team that had two of them at the same time and now are stuck with a middle school QB instead?

Back to back losses and the bye week to stew over it, I don't think there is any recipe to beat them this week. And that has basically nothing to do with my thoughts about the Panthers, I'd probably say the same thing if the Bills were playing any one of about 20-25 other teams this week in that scenario.

He's thrown 1,135 passes in the NFL, but here's him doing something in college as proof that he can do the thing he hasn't been able to do in those 1,135 passes yet.

lol nice timing, as I was literally just watching a replay of that play about 2 minutes ago. And I'll be honest, I still don't understand how he got a high ankle sprain from that one. I can see where his toe caught in the ground ever so slightly as he was getting stepped on, but I still don't see how it could have caused a high ankle sprain that would cause him to miss time. So I'll also just say it, if THAT is what causes him to get an injury like that and potentially miss time, it's not bad luck, it's because he's so small and easily injured.

That experience with him could also be why we'd never trade for him as well.

Trading for Wilson would be beyond dumb, and I'm not even talking about anything from a football standpoint. If there is one thing we've done really well this year, is that we've actually turned around the culture in the locker room. No matter what you think about the players or coaches in games, it's undeniable that this is the most up beat and cohesive locker room we've seen since the Cam days. You don't insert someone like Wilson into that. Someone who is more known for being disliked by his teammates than liked by them.