billsfan89

In terms of longevity you can’t argue against Hyde/Poyer for most other signings. A lot of the common responses in my opinion aren’t as good as Hyde and Poyer but one is as good and one is better. Spikes - Had two great seasons in 2003-2004. But he was hurt in 2005 and not as effective in 2006. Then he was traded. Bryce Paup- Had a fantastic DPOY in his first year but then was hurt in 1996 and turned in a solid but not fantastic 1997 before he left. Certainly a greater peak but not a lot of longevity. Ted Washington- This is one that has both the longevity and production to rival Hyde/Poyer. Washington was in Buffalo for 6 seasons and made 3 Pro Bowls and was a rock solid starter all 6 years. I think Hyde and Poyer will need to put in 2 more seasons of high end production to edge out Ted. London Fletcher- He was in Buffalo for 5 seasons and was healthy and productive all 5 seasons. Although Fletcher never got even a Pro Bowl in his years here that is a travesty as he was a really good player. This one you could argue is currently as good as Hyde/Poyer but if Hyde/Poyer give you one more season you give them the edge. James Lofton- Was in Buffalo for 4 seasons but was hurt most of his first year. Three productive seasons followed but I would put the Hyde/Poyer combo over them.

Trying to think of who he reminds of. Simeon Rice from back in the day kind of. Not really sure what type of more modern player he is similar too. Either way he is playing really well and having a much needed impact.

He must still be lucking into all those sacks...

KC will still be a factor in the AFC. In their own division the Broncos and Raider while not bad teams aren't the powerhouses their 3-0 starts indicate. The Chargers are trouble but they already ate one loss to them. KC in my opinion will adjust their game plan to the soft zone no blitz bang up Kelce contain Hill defense. For one I think their O-line is going to feast on less D-lines and provide them with a ground game and a play action passing attack that will add more to their offense. I also wouldn't be shocked if they try to pull of a trade for a WR2 if they can make it work cap wise. But KC's defense is going to be an issue one that even an acquisition will not fix. But if KC can get Clark and Jones going at the same time on the D-line and maybe find someone to help their secondary just a bit they might claw their way back to being a less bad defense. In the end KC is going to be able to make the playoffs due to the fact that they should be able to beat up on bad and mid-level teams with their offense and win some games against better teams in shoot outs. I see 6 more wins on their schedule against the WFT, NYG, PIT and 3 out of 4 wins against their division games against the Broncos and Raiders. That gets them to 8 wins and I think they should be able to win 2-3 shootouts against their tougher remaining opponents (The Titans, Packers, Cowboys, Chargers and possibly Bengals). That is going to get them to about 10-11 wins which I think should be good enough for one of three wildcard spots (and the Colts and Fins slow starts are making the AFC less deep this year.) But in the playoffs without a bye or home field they just won't be able to consistently win close shootouts on the road. They may win a game in the playoffs but they aren't winning multiple games on the road in shoot outs.

If Schefter was a journalist in a more serious realm of journalism this would be a huge issue for me personally. But this is sports not really all that serious that you are cozy with sources. In fact there is very little difference to give a source editorial control of a specific article than if they just feed you the information they want out there. Schefter will take some heat for this but if this is the extent of what he said he will be fine.

It was never that great in the first place. Big markets and stars were always favored not to mention East Coast bias. On top of that sports journalism always included a lot of sensationalism. Is it worse now? I would say clickbait has become an issue but there are also more outlets online where you can find better opinions and more detailed analysis.

I am not sure where the Bills need to go if there are no significant injuries. Maybe corner for depth?

I didn’t factor in the mobility of the QB’s the Bills have faced thus far. But I suspect that the Bills sack leader whomever it may be this season will likely have 8 or less sacks but as long as the team sacks are high it doesn’t matter.

Kind of shocked at that. The O-line has been great the past two weeks but wasn't that great the first three weeks. Guess Josh is just able to navigate pressure so well.

Is the "star power" not there because the stats aren't there because of the heavy rotation this team plays? Ed Oliver in my opinion is breaking out and Rousseau is having a hell of a rookie year. AJ and Boogie are flashing and Star, Hughes, and Addision are performing well too. Last year I would have agreed that the team's D-line was underperforming relative to the investment the team put into it. But this year they are as a whole unit far greater than the individual parts. Stats can be deflated due to lower snaps counts for individual players. The Bills are tied with the Rams for 5th in the NFL in sacks per game at 2.8 sacks per game (last year they had 2.3 sack per game which would rank 13th this season and ranked 15th last year) and have a ton of high rated team defense aspects to them like a stout yards per game and rushing/passing defense stats.

I think the rotation being a lot higher than other teams will deflate the stats of the D-line. As a whole the D-line is just fantastic and deep. They pass the eye test and even the advanced metrics which are flawed but not fully useless (I think PFF and football outsiders is most useful for line play) back up that the D-line is performing well as a whole and as individual pieces for the most part.

Disagree with you on Ed Oliver, I think most definitely they are picking up his fifth year option. There is a reason why on a deep D-line they are playing him the most snaps by albeit a small margin. He was solid his rookie year and then out of position but still respectable his second year. Now that he is back to his most natural position he is really becoming a highly disruptive player. Fair points that the jury is still out on AJ although he is looking better and Boogie is still the jury is out. However the D-line as a unit is performing well. The overall play of the unit being one of the best in the league is justifying the high price tag.

Looking at the 11 Bills defensive linemen on the roster and you can clearly see that the team since 2018 has massively invested cap and draft capital into it. In 2021 these investments seem to be paying off huge. Breaking down how much has been invested makes you really see how much has been put into the unit. Rousseau and Oliver - 1st round picks AJ and Boogie - 2nd round picks Henry Phillips- 3rd round pick Addison, Butler and Star - all significant free agent signings with fairly large contracts Jerry Hughes - Resigned to a large contract The only two players not fitting into the mold of being a high draft pick or large contract are Obada and Zimmer. I know last season I was beginning to question if the Dline investment was going to pay off, but this off season they invested even more and it now looks to be all coming together. I can’t think of a time in recent Bills memory where this much draft and cap capital was invested into a single unit.

The Chiefs also were able to run on the Dline which in my opinion made the difference. The Bills front four was able to hold the running game in check. Whereas in 2020 KC was just getting huge chunks on the ground and stuck with it.

I could see them going Frazier but then again I am not sure if they will not want to go with an up and coming coach. Either way I seriously doubt Daboll and Frazier will be on the coaching staff in 2022.

The 2018 Eagles who won a Super Bowl had a similar approach. McD came up through the Eagles organization under legend Jim Johnson and they always had a fairly deep defensive line approach. So I don't think they are necessarily innovating an approach here. But they have put in the draft and free agency dollars onto the D-line and it is paying off. They signed Hughes to a fairly big extension, signed Butler, Star and Addison to fairly large deals, invested two first and two second round picks in the span of three seasons and a third round pick. The massive investment of draft and cap capital is paying off. I think the only players that aren't significant free agents or picked in the first three rounds on the D-line are Zimmer and Obada. Loving the heavy investment in the lines.

Titans, Saints and Bucs remain the tough games on the schedule. I would say there is a loss in one of those three games plus a fluky upset loss that happens. That would put the team at 14-3 which is pretty solid and puts the team in a good spot for a bye. The Chargers and Ravens are in tougher divisions and if the Bills take care of the Titans they bury them 3 games behind the Bills thanks to the tie breaker.

Donate my body to medical science do something useful with it.

Klein is playing well so I don't see the need to push Milano out there. I think Klein being a better run defender makes him well suited for the matchup. Cudos for the Bills for recognizing the need for LB depth last season and signing Klein. I thought he was going to be a bust but after he filled in for Milano last season and struggled. But after that Seahawks game last year Klein really showed what role he can play. I think in 2020 the organization recognized the need for a reliable Milano replacement and they found one in Klein.

I am not writing off Phillips he has looked a lot better this season. He isn’t looking like he did early in 2019 but he is always solid whenever I see him out there. I think he will easily turn in a productive season, he has graded out well from PFF and Football Outsiders in 2021 for what that’s worth. I don’t know if he will stay with the team but he will at worst have been a contributing player who might possibly net this team a comp pick not the worst draft pick even if I would have liked a bit more from him. Sadly I think his 2019 injury really set him back.

I loved acquiring a guy with a Super Bowl ring and who has 13 post season games under his belt (including 8 starts). I am not aware of anyone else on the roster with a ring and anywhere near that level of playoff experience outside of Hyde who has 5 games with the Bills and 8 with the Packers. Sanders has added an edge and veteran hand to the offense in addition to what he brings on field.

I think the Bills will have at least one or two more losses. Teams have flat games it happens. The Bucs and Saints (on a Thursday) are games I can see giving the Bills issues. The goal should be 14-3 which hopefully should be good enough for a bye.

The Bills drafting has been special and their work in free agency has been good too. Mongo has started two seasons at a least a league average level and was a complete bargain his first two years. Beasley is one of the best slot receivers in the league. Sanders has replaced Browns production while adding a dynamic that was needed. Hyde and Poyer are arguably the best signings in the teams history. D Williams was also a steal last year and has helped the Oline. The team paid retail for Mitch and Star but both have played valuable roles and are restructured to be more reflective of their value. Even Addison is catching on better this season after they restructured him. Even past signings like John Brown and Haush had value and weren’t cap burdens. Feels great to be such a well run team.

Ford will either get traded for a late round pick in camp next season or be kept on as a back up before they let him walk. I was high on Ford in the draft and was hoping he could catch on at guard but his atrocious play this year leads me to think he is a bust. I don’t hate keeping him as a backup for one more season maybe coaching can work with him in practice this season and in camp to help him out and it makes him better?

Brown has looked great at RT and D Williams at RG has looked good the past two weeks (and although the Texans are generally bad the players Williams had to block is a good DT). I thought Mongo at LG was solid against KC although hard to tell with Jones hurt. I think we will get a full assessment of the Oline against a solid Titans defense. But I do think the configuration that they have now is working and will work long term.