billsfan89

Even if Henry turns in a healthy season I still don't see him being as productive behind a line that as you said isn't what it was and they also lost some skill position players on top of a line that is deteriorating. The Titans just got caught in a bad trap where they at one point had Henry and Tanny on cheap deals with a stout O-line, decent skill position players and elite defense but they had to pay the QB and the RB and the rest of the team is deteriorating and the QB and RB won't be good enough to make up the difference.

I am not a believer in the Titans, they are a tough team 10 or so wins and they won't be an easy out. But I am just not a believer in their QB to be elite in the playoffs when it matters (And Tanny is a solid QB but far from anything elite even in the regular season.) They have a very good supporting cast but not one that is elite enough to carry an averageish QB to a deep playoff run. I put them in the same standing as the Colts tough defense, solid pieces on offense and a decent QB but just not going to make a deep run.

The last time I remember anyone from ESPN predicting the Bills to be in the Super Bowl was 2003 when pundits thought the Bills would retain their high powered 2002 offense but have a vastly improved defense, ending up where only one side of that equation was true. The top teams being mentioned are probably the Chiefs, Bucs, Packers (assuming they keep Rodgers), Bills and a few dark horses like the Browns, Ravens, and Rams sprinkled in.

If he had played in a “normal” college season and had a solid season (not even a spectacular one ) he probably would have went in the top half of the draft most years if not pushing into the top 10. The Bills not only got a great value at pick 30 with his college production and athletic profile but they also got him into the right situation. He isn’t being counted on to be the savior or even a major contributor year one. They have Hughes and Addison vet guys in front of him and Boogie and AJ other young guys that can get snaps and contribute. If he comes in as a situational player and gets 3-4 sacks and some batted balls that’s all he needs to do to have a successful rookie year. Really excited to not only get the high ceiling guy but have him in a situation where he won’t have to play over his head.

ESPN had to compete with the internet where you could both watch highlights of any game you wanted on demand and get punditry. So ESPN couldn’t just rely on people tuning in for sports highlights to get views for Sportscenter. They also were no longer the primary place for sports punditry. So about 10 years ago they embraced the whole cable news “embrace debate” format starting with First Take and then infecting the rest of their punditry. It had short term gains but put off a lot of people long term. Then YouTube punditry took off more and people turned off ESPN. They just feel victim to the times and they could only adjust so much.

The Bills lost the AFCCG also due to the fact that their entire receiving corps was badly hurt. I think that gets over looked. Not saying the Bills would have won had they been mostly healthy but the game would have been more competitive.

My expectations are going to be similar to Edumonds rookie year. He will make some flashes but he will have some growing pains. The key difference is the Bills not only have two vet players in front of him but two young players to soak in some snaps at DE too. He can be brought along more slowly which is a good thing.

His only year missing any significant action was 2019. Before the AFCCG he played all 16 games plus two playoff games in 2020. So I don't think long term durability has been his issue. I think Fischer is a good chance for the Colts to take. They lost their starting LT and didn't draft a tackle in the draft that would be a capable replacement. So going with a vet like Fischer is a sensible chance to take in my opinion. Esp on a one year deal.

Bucs Bills would be insanely great from a football perspective. 11-5 Super Bowl Champion that retained all 22 starters and most key role players vs. a 13-3 team that won 2 playoff games and retained almost all of its starters. Cowboys are a decent team but Tampa would likely take that game easy.

Track is way different type of running and a different type of training regime needed. It is an impressive feat for DK at his size with very little if any of that training was able to beat out 2 other track athletes who had been training for that event presumably for years.

The Pats will still be a tough out, but yes the Jets are at the very least a year and more likely two away. That’s good since Miami and the Pats have formidable teams that will be above .500 this upcoming season and beyond. So having at least one team in the division that is building is better than none.

The Jets fortunes rest on Zach Wilson similar to how the Bills rested on Josh. The Jets are in my opinion 2 years away from anything significant but they could be headed in the right direction. Wilson is a young QB you can build around they have a left side of the one that appears locked in. They aren’t in too bad shape cap wise and they have a ton of picks in next years draft. But it won’t amount to anything unless they get Wilson to hit. Personally I am not sure on Wilson but we will see where that all heads in the coming seasons. Short term I peg the Jets as a 6 win team in 2021 and at best a .500ish team in 2022.

Don’t be silly they will improve and pick around 5 or 6

They can win but they won’t be likely to contend given their limitations at QB presently. There are also 2 legit teams in their division. Miami despite their limitations at QB don’t present 2 easy wins for the Pats and the Bills are a complete team with a dynamic QB. So I don’t see the Pats winning more than 11 games and I don’t see them making noise in the playoffs against more dynamic QB’s with good supporting casts.

The Vikings got a great deal for Diggs and had a nice draft, I would just leave it alone. The trade worked out for both parties.

I think the Browns addressed defense properly and return a high caliber offense that gets back OBJ from injury. Talent wise they have all the pieces in place it is just on Baker to see how far they go. I would say they have elite offensive talent supporting Baker on top of an above average defense. It is on the QB now.

The Browns are legit good, they had Oline issues in 2019 and a bad coach. The coach was replaced by at the very least a decent head coach and they fixed their oline. In 2020 they had issues on defense and they improved their defense overall in free agency and in the draft. They also possibly get back OBJ on offense which should only help. I think they win at least 11 games this year and are a threat in the playoffs. Their issue in my opinion is mainly how good is Baker? The team is stacked, great Oline, great running backs, good pass catchers and a defense that wasn’t tragic in 2020 got improved. They will go as far as Baker takes them which could be an early exit or a deep playoff run

Bills being ranked 3-5 seems fair. Anything out of the top 5 is ridiculous but hard to put them over a largely retained Tampa Bay team and a slightly improved KC team.

Here is my predictions QB - Josh Allen and Mitch RB - Moss, Singletary, Breida and Jones FB - None TE - Knox, Hollister and Sweeney WR - Diggs, Beasley, Davis, Sanders, Mac and Stevens Oline- Dawkins, Ford, Mitch, Mongo, D Williams, Ike, Bates, Brown, Lamp, and Doyle Dline- Hughes, Addison, Aj, Obadah, Rousseau, Basham, Oliver, Lotulelei, Butler, and Phillips LB - Milano, Edumonds, Klein, Matakevich and Andre Smith CB- White, Wallace, T. Johnson, Jackson, Neal, and Wildgoose Safety- Hyde, Poyer, J. Johnson, Hamlin Special Teams - Bass, Haack and Ferguson That’s my take on the roster.

I would love to see Ertz added on a modest contract. He would add another weapon to the offense and pair up with Knox nicely. I think the Eagles have over relied on him the past 2 seasons and it led to his decline in production particularly last season. I think if you rely on him as a complementary weapon in an offense he can give you 50+ receptions and 500-700 yards along with 4+ TD's if he stays healthy. But this is a long way from getting resolved as I think the Eagles are hoping to get a late rounder for him and will just sit on the situation for another 6-8 weeks.

Seems like McBeane likes to take chances on guys with high ceilings in the draft and then use free agency to fill in the gaps. Diggs being an exception to this among others. It is a good approach to get "starters" via free agency and then try and go for the moon in the draft.

I don’t see why Ike is the odd man out, he played well to end last season the team also tendered him at a good salary. Not really sure why people are so high on Lamp making the roster over him.

The draft just ended, give it a few months before we get into early mocks.

Seems like he will be ready by training camp. Hate to see a guy get hurt from any team.

I could be wrong but I remember hearing that they did both Dawkins and White but maybe they just did White? Either way Spotrac is not reflective of that so if they had Dawkins done or do Dawkins that should be the breathing room the team needs.