This could get ugly for the Pats if they donât make a stop here
BB is not happy
Josh Allen about to pass Drew Bledsoe and Jim Kelly. Some going.
Hon Fresno. Hon rural right wingers.
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The Bills will be lucky to progress in the playoffs, not many teams will just lay down and take it like New England did there tonight
The Bills will win the Superbowl, itâs written in the stars.
Over reliance on gadget plays will work against them against a serious side who take no shit. They are a fraudulent outfit
A lot of similarities in the pats trying to replace Brady with cam to Munster trying to replace rog with ian keatley.
The Bills showing no mercy, good to see.
The patriots are a rabble at the moment. Some really poor drafting over the past 5 years now becoming reality. The offence flat out stinks. Cam isnât the answer, but in fairness to him he is giving it his all. Combination of him not playing well and having second rate players around him not doing his one year prove it contract any good. I donât see Bill turning this around before he retires, which will sicken him no end. The one slight positive is there are some glimmers of hope with the defence.
Would you ever fuck off with yourself.
Youâve been calling the bills wrong all season.
Ah you canât fall for that!
Who made that bet?
Dwayne Haskinsâ short career with Washington Football Team could make a fascinating documentary one day, but not because of all the people claiming today that they never wanted to select him in the first round or those concerned about his off the field behavior. No, what will make the documentary truly compelling and accurate is that all parties, from Ohio State to his agents to the WFT and of course Haskins himself, will end up looking bad. Haskins being a major bust might be the lead story, but the process of drafting him, his development and his education all contributed to the disaster that ended on Monday. Blame must go everywhere, not just toward Haskins, as this was the perfect storm to understanding how to produce a blown draft pick at the most important position.
Before we get into Haskins, letâs understand the background of drafting quarterbacks in the first round. Since 2013, there have been 24 quarterbacks selected in the first 32 picks, and nine currently are either out of football or playing for another team as a backup or the placeholder starter. An additional one-third of those drafted failed to live up to expectations for varying reasons. Some had off the field issues, some had talent issues, and others might not have found the right system for their skill set (Teddy Bridgewater, who was the Vikingsâ No. 32 pick in 2014, was not a bust, he just suffered a gruesome injury that ended his time in Minnesota). Four of the 24 â Patrick Mahomes of Kansas City, Deshaun Watson of Houston, Lamar Jackson of Baltimore and Josh Allen of Buffalo â are elite players at their positions, with Mahomes and Watson being the highest-paid players in the league. Jackson and Allen will soon join the high dollar club, with Joe Burrow of Cincinnati and Justin Herbert of Los Angeles displaying similar elite skills â if they continue, should be playing in Pro Bowls for years to come. All told, six of the 24 have exceeded expectations.
First-round QBs, 2013-20
| YEAR | PICK | PLAYER | TEAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 1 |  Joe Burrow |
Bengals |
| 2020 | 5 |  Tua Tagovailoa |
Dolphins |
| 2020 | 6 |  Justin Herbert |
Chargers |
| 2020 | 26 |  Jordan Love |
Packers |
| 2019 | 1 |  Kyler Murray |
Cardinals |
| 2019 | 6 |  Daniel Jones |
Giants |
| 2019 | 15 |  Dwayne Haskins |
Washington |
| 2018 | 1 |  Baker Mayfield |
Browns |
| 2018 | 3 |  Sam Darnold |
Jets |
| 2018 | 7 |  Josh Allen |
Bills |
| 2018 | 10 |  Josh Rosen |
Cardinals |
| 2018 | 32 |  Lamar Jackson |
Ravens |
| 2017 | 2 |  Mitch Trubisky |
Bears |
| 2017 | 10 |  Patrick Mahomes |
Chiefs |
| 2017 | 12 |  Deshaun Watson |
Texans |
| 2016 | 1 |  Jared Goff |
Rams |
| 2016 | 2 |  Carson Wentz |
Eagles |
| 2016 | 26 |  Paxton Lynch |
Broncos |
| 2015 | 1 |  Jameis Winston |
Buccaneers |
| 2015 | 2 |  Marcus Mariota |
Titans |
| 2014 | 3 |  Blake Bortles |
Jaguars |
| 2014 | 22 |  Johnny Manziel |
Browns |
| 2014 | 32 |  Teddy Bridgewater |
Vikings |
| 2013 | 16 |  EJ Manuel |
Bills |
The remaining nine players are still in limbo, some more than others. Jordan Love of the Packers has not seen the field yet, so itâs hard to tell what lies in his future. Carson Wentz of the Eagles went from an MVP candidate in 2017 to a backup for the last four games of the 2020 season. Is he a bust or the star his new contract claims? That answer wonât be available until next season. Tua Tagovailoa of Miami is young and struggling to throw the ball down the field, so itâs hard to accurately predict his future. The remaining six demonstrate starter skills, some better than others, yet they all need to be surrounded with the right scheme to highlight their talents. We can learn from reviewing the drafts that one-third of the quarterbacks selected are either busts or quality starters. The margin of error is so slim that teams need to re-think how they evaluate quarterback talent before making any selections. Itâs not as easy as just âthis guy looks great; letâs take him.â
When teams select a quarterback in the first round, they have to understand that player will represent them in all areas on and off the field, as fans care about two things regarding their football team: who is their quarterback and who is their head coach. Nothing else matters. Before you even put on the tape and watch the player play, if the answer to the hard work question is not a resounding yes, then move on, find someone else. Donât get teased into thinking you can change the playerâs behavior. Work habits can change for defensive linemen, safeties or receivers, not quarterbacks. The team leader must undoubtedly be the hardest worker on the team. Haskins was never a hard worker at Ohio State; he was a gifted five-star recruit who was pampered from the start, relying on his God-given talents. When Haskinsâ young football life did not require him to overcome adversity or work hard through tough situations, he became ingrained in believing his way was the best way.
When a player feels entitled because of his surroundings, can you expect him to change? Of course not. Daniel Snyder, the owner of the WFT, knew Haskins through his son because they went to the same high school. Snyder liked Haskins as a person, but he never understood Haskins as a player, nor has he ever understood what he wants from the position. He operates the team like a bad draftnik, serving as the head scout himself. He shows no respect for the scouting process, getting into the details of the playerâs character on and off the field. When Snyder television scouts a good player, he wants him on his team with no regard to how the player might fit into the culture or scheme as well as what he represents. Since he is the owner, he expects the coaches he pays to make the negative aspects of that player â like their off-the-field habits or scheme fit issues â go away. Snyder, like many owners, fails to understand that intangibles are more important than talent. He has selected four quarterbacks in the first round during his ownership, with Jason Campbell being his best selection. Under his leadership, picking quarterbacks has been a disaster.
What makes matters worse for Snyder is once he makes his selection, he does not have an in-house development program to help the players develop their skills as they become professionals. When players selected in the first round fail to produce because of character, their teams share some of the blame because most teams donât have a player development program that can de-recruit players from their spoiled and pampered environment of college, force them to become accountable and make them understand the NFL is a big business that waits for no one. Once a player enters an NFL team, he must go through a transformation to understand the importance of acting like a pro. Those who cannot adapt will be cast by the wayside, forcing the teams to re-examine their procurement methods. Snyder keeps making the same mistake over and over again with no understanding of why.
Besides the character evaluation, the scheme fit is the hardest to nail down for any NFL team. Not all quarterbacks are the same. Baker Mayfield of the Browns looks like a quality starter in the Kevin Stefanski scheme but struggled last year under Freddie Kitchens. This is not a knock on Mayfield, but it does highlight the importance of scheme fit for the most important position. Before selecting a quarterback in the first round, teams need to understand what specific scheme highlights its talent. Some need to be in a heavy play-action scheme, with limited drop back action; others might need a run-pass option scheme to utilize their legs and running talent.
Defining the scheme is not for the area scout or even the personnel director, as their knowledge of offensive football and everything required of the quarterback is less than optimal. This decision must be made by the general manager and the head coach with some input from the offensive coordinator. Why just some input if he is running the offense? Because what happens if he leaves? What happens if there is a change in staff? Then the quarterback might not fit the new scheme. For all of the changes in Cleveland over the years, their front office, lead by Paul DePodesta, understood that the marriage of scheme to quarterback must occur at the highest levels. They hired a head coach who had the perfect scheme for their quarterback, which made them correct on two fronts. The first â identifying the right scheme for Mayfield â then finding the right person to coach that scheme. They hit a home run on both, which is why they finally have 10 wins and no longer appear to be a mistake-prone team. What makes the Brownsâ success story remarkable is that they got away with not taking the best quarterback in that draft (Allen and Jackson both have proven to be better) even though they had the first pick.
Haskins was not only a work habits risk, but he was also far from being the right scheme fit for Washington. He had zero chance to run then-head coach Jay Grudenâs west coast scheme. Haskins is not a rhythm thrower, he is not a quarterback who can scan the field and bang the ball out quickly with precise accuracy. He held the ball too long at Ohio State and waited for receivers to break open to deliver the ball. For him to succeed in the NFL, he must first overcome his off-the-field work habits and sign with a team that runs a heavy play action, high-low, inside-and-out scheme, making the reads easy for him on each drop. Haskinsâ talents shine brighter when he can quickly process the high-low game inside and out allows.
In every aspect of procuring talent for the team, those running the WFT â starting with its owner â let the organization down and put Haskins in a no-win situation. Yes, Haskins made matters worse with his behavior, but his selection had zero chance to work from the start. Haskins is at a huge crossroads in his career, which might be over unless the XFL returns. No team wants their starting or backup quarterback to be an off-the-field problem or less than a hard worker. Haskins finally received the wake-up call he desperately needed years ago with his release on Monday. If that humiliation of lasting fewer than two years in the NFL does not force him to change his lifestyle, work habits, and behavior, then nothing will. He needs to earn the trust of those around him. He will have a hard time finding work in the NFL, as teams donât want to take on new problems; they have enough of their own.
My sincere hope is Haskins and the WFT change their ways. Haskins will take all the heat for his release, but the team is as much at fault. I tried to help Haskins before entering the draft when helping players prepare for the combine in California. He chose to ignore my services then; I hope this setback wakes him up so that his God-given talents donât go to waste.
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David Baktihari out for the rest of the year. Big blow for the packers
Fitz-Magic tests positive for Covid.
Tua will do it for Fitz this weekend.
All depends on whether bills rest a clatter of players in anticipation of playoffs. If itâs full strength bills then bills win pulling up
Lol