That Aud Smell

Is true.

Ha - umm, ya think? Josh Gordon was had for a conditional 5th. Holy moses, Jerry Jones. Maybe a chronic case of syphilis could help explain that sort of decision making.

I'd say that Alex Smith benefited greatly from his role in that offence as well. Don't get me wrong: Mahomes is a terrific talent who's pretty clearly adjusting just fine to the NFL game, and looks like he's settled KC's QB situation for the next 15 years. But do I think he'd be having the same success had be been drafted by Buffalo? I do not. And I'm mostly done blaming McDermott (and Beane). They are who they are. The problems start at the top.

The rest of the quote from McDermott, btw: Does that change anyone’s view of the matter? I still think it reflects an antiquated view of offensive foobaw.

but, like, what if, god willing, the sabres are pretty firmly in the playoff picture at that point in time? NFW the sabres are sellers at that point.

that guy was indeed a maniac. as for mahomes, i mostly still believe that he's flourishing the way he is in large part because of the coaches, scheme, system, and the time he was given to acclimate. that is to say: he wasn't gonna go and set the NFL on fire regardless of where he landed. that said, you see him do stuff where it's like -- yeah, the talent he showed in college has translated to the NFL. he's pretty g-damn amazing.

I'm not sure what's meant by "hasn't done anything yet." He's coached a bunch of NFL games. My sense is that he's had a winning record while with San Diego. That's something. I don't watch the Chargers play very much. I just wonder what his team looks like -- what their offensive principles are and such.

Is there anything to be made of the fact that the Bills former interim coach, Anthony Lynn, has done well with San Diego? Or is that mostly a case of inheriting a great QB situation and having a talent-laden roster? I'm asking. Has Lynn shown signs of being a forward offensive minded head coach? One thing I know for damn sure: I'd rather the Bills would have retained Lynn than muddled through a blowhard buffoon and a faith-based process maven.

McDermott cannot fairly be blamed. He is only following the model dictated by other cold weather teams like Green Bay and New England.

I lol'd, but I think I lack the requisite background for really getting the joke. Not a fan?

Can the Sabres offer him 8 years? I'm not sure if there's any traction to be had there in terms of how the deal is structured.

Thanks to @TrueBlueGED for doing the work on this one. It struck me as a bold statement when I read it. (Hey - seen what I did there?) They're both very nice players, in their primes. Different skill sets, so it is an interesting comparison, I guess. Not for nothing: Vanek never had someone in the pivot like Eichel with whom to play.

I mean this with love: The malaprops in this post are delicious. #barefruit

I'm not really arguing anything. I thumbs-upped the comment above about Skinner being a streaky scorer. And I'm not sure if the Sabres can offer him 8 years. I'm saying that there are other teams in the league that would be prepared to give him 7 years and ~$50M.

I think process begets culture? I'm not sure, actually.

Also: It's just not realistic to think about getting Skinner for 5 years, IMO. He's getting a max term deal, and he knows it. I mean - it's possible that he'd be persuaded to sign on here for another 5 years so he could play with Eichel, but I'd be stunned if he were to agree to that. I wouldn't, were I in his position.

Agreed, and agreed. I'm not sure what Casey's #fancystats say, but, man, he's passing the eye test more and more. I trust that Thompson will go to Roch when one of the high-performing Amerks are recalled.

More and more, though, I think that McDermott and his side kick GM are really just symptoms of what actually plagues the Bills as a franchise. I have no confidence in McDermott's ability to orchestrate the adoption of a modern NFL offense.

Huh. Within the past year, I was reminded of the stories about how Eazy didn't write his own rhymes -- mainly Ice Cube did. Then, a few weeks later, I had NWA streaming and heard Eazy say as much in a rapped lyric. There are plenty of famous singers who were not songwriters (in fact, that used to be the norm); I hadn't really thought of it in terms of rap, though. Eazy's a great example, though. Terrific and fun rapper with a great sound (let's forget and just bury the misogynistic stuff, though) -- but he mostly didn't write his own stuff.

Laverne and Shirley agree. Man. There’s nothing like a classic 70s sitcom opening segment to get me all nostalgic.

What a delightful game.