thebandit27

As I've been saying for a month, I have Mayfield as my QB1 and Rosen behind him, both as 1st round picks. I think Rosen will be the first QB off the board, and that perhaps Mayfield will be a top-20 pick. Beyond that, not sure anyone else ends up in R1

I've been saying all week that I expect more man coverage tomorrow than we've seen this year That doesn't mean I'd stick with one approach to Kamara, but I do think you'll see less exclusively zone looks from the back 7. I wonder if that means more blitzing

Yes, but the real question isn't how long he takes to throw, it's whether or not he can speed things up in the pros. That was the big question with Carson Wentz--who had a long time-to-throw even at the FCS level--and so far he's looked like he can adapt.

Bocce on Bailey will always be #1 La Hacienda on Hertel is also excellent If you like Rocco's, have you made your way out to Roost on Niagara St? They have awesome variety, and the pizza menu changes every other week or so--pizzas cook in about 90 seconds.

I really think that this is a good game to be playing more man coverage.

Oh I agree--I have a few friends in the scouting community, and one of them says that when he submits his reports, he adds his own box titled "can he play?" For me, I don't care one lick if Mayfield comes in under 6'0". The hand size thing is something to watch for, but unless he's woefully small in that department, he's not dropping on my board.

Doesn't surprise me at all--DJ and I tend to come down on the same side of the fence with many prospects, and Mayfield has been my QB1 for this class for the better part of a year. I think Rosen will be the first QB off the board come April, and maybe the only R1 QB when all is said and done, but I think Mayfield will surprise folks with where he's drafted. Of course, if his Senior Bowl measurements are a big disappointment (say, he comes in under 6'0" tall and with a hand size below 9"), then he'll probably plummet.

Well, I suppose anything can happen, but wow...that would really surprise me.

I say DT3 purely based on my original draft evaluation of him and my continuing evaluation from that point. I don't see a guy that can be successful playing above 40% of the team's snaps.

oh stop...people question the leadership on this team weekly.

As badly as I want a franchise QB in the draft, I would have to think really hard about Bradley Chubb if he were available. Perfect fit for the scheme and probably a BPA pick.

I think Snax got $9M AAV. I personally would go after Logan in FA and then go after Nnadi in the draft. DT done.

Vea would be a very good fit, though I'm a Derrick Nnadi guy first and foremost. As to FA DTs, Star is one option, but I think that Bennie Logan would make a LOT of sense as a 1-tech

He's definitely played better as of late, but my greatest hope for him is that he's their DT3 next year behind two new starters. In fact, he and Worthy would be a fine backup tandem provided they're playing behind 2 bona fide starters.

Those don't qualify as dissenting opinions Gunner--I'm with you on both. My Gaines statement is predicated upon my belief that he'll be looking for starting CB money (a David Amerson-esque $8.5M AAV was my assumption)...that's too rich for my blood. If he's willing to take a transition-style deal at Buster Skrine or Casey Heyward money, then I'm probably thinking harder about that. Definitely think that the RB should be a future bellcow. I feel better than ever about finding those guys in the mid rounds based on the last few drafts.

From what I've seen, a lot of the reason that the team's pass defense has been successful at every layer of the field results from how effective the LBs have been at limiting passing windows with their zone drops. As you guys well know: one fewer LB in the intermediate zones means more space to throw the ball. I think they'll blitz when they feel they have to and no more often than that--it's one of the things I'm most interested in seeing in the next few weeks. How they approach defending the guys like Brees/Smith/Rivers/Brady, who are more than happy to slink around the pocket for as long as it takes, will tell me a lot about their overall philosophy toward managing the talent they have on the 53.

I'm a hard-pass on Matthews. I think he's a good player, but I believe that what they have in-house with Benjamin, Zay, and Holmes adequately covers what he brings to the table. I am more interested in acquiring a speedster--a guy that can take the top off of a defense and take advantage of Tyrod's long-ball capabilities. Maybe Thompson becomes that guy, but as of today, he hasn't. As for other immediate needs, I generally agree. I look at it this way: Franchise QB Backup RB Speed WR RG or RT depending upon where Dawkins ends up Pass rushing DE (Shaq and LorAx simply haven't gotten the job done, and Yarbrough/Davis are situational guys) DTx2 (even if they re-sign Worthy) MLB (I would let Brown walk, re-sign Humber, and roll with he and Milano at Sam/Will respectively) CB (I'm not paying Gaines; good player, but he sustains an injury in every game)

I don't have the stat in front of me, but I believe that the run defense averaged a yard-and-a-half less per carry with Dareus on the field than they did without him.

Well, it's always easier to say than to do...I actually think that Buffalo's back-7 is fairly well-equipped to match up with NO's passing game. I'm much more worried about their ability to hold up against the run. The Dareus trade left them without a bona fide run-stopper in the middle, and teams know it.

A few things to consider: the cap will go up another $10M or so, and we will have rollover space (figure another $10M or so). In actuality, the Bills will start the 2018 season with around $40M in space. I would be looking to re-sign the role-player types: Tate, Humber, Leonard Johnson, Deonte, and Worthy. Between those guys and your 2018 draft picks, you're probably looking at--conservatively--about $15M in cap hits. You can gain another $5M by parting ways with LorAx and Mills, but let's assume for the sake of argument that they don't do that. That means they'll have approximately $25M to spend in FA. The bad news is that they'll go into the season without a top QB prospect and with definite holes at: backup RB, speed WR, OG/OT (depending upon where Dawkins ends up), pass rusher, DT (x2), LB, and CB. That's 9 immediate needs that a smart team would not count on draft picks to fill. I would be looking to bring in 3 key FAs in the offseason, and would be hoping to take a similar approach to the offensive side of the ball that the team took on defense in 2017 FA. Maybe look at a trio of Paul Richardson, Rex Burkhead, and Chris Hubbard--low-to-medium cost guys with low mileage and high potential. I'd also like to see them bring in a veteran corner to take Gaines' place--I like the guy, but he gets hurt in literally every game. Anyway, that's my first impression in looking at the cap situation for 2018.

Same deal as last week: stop the run and you have a chance to win.

Nah. He looked like a guy that hasn't practiced much this year and had to turn around and play 2 games in 4 days against a very tough front.

There have been some really good celebrations this year, but that one was easily my personal favorite.

That was what I came here to discuss...it was masterful

Right...so that keeps WR on the board for next offseason (provided Deonte doesn't wow them in the meantime).