billsfan89

The defense is very very good and is possibly a top 5 defense in the league. The defense is good as is. The interior Oline remains my only concern for this team.

Thanks for the honest response. The amateur “eye test” is all fans typically have regarding Oline play so there is a lot to be subjective about.

Has D Williams been bad at guard? I am seriously asking. I thought he played well there against the Texans and Chiefs and was serviceable against the Titans. I personally am comfortable with him and Brown at the right guard and tackle. It’s the LG spot that in my opinion in the hole.

The Fins “math” made sense because they were underdogs on the road. Generally speaking chasing points is bad unless you need it to cut the lead back down to one possession or you are down 5 and need to cut it to a field goal or some other specific reason. Overall I would like to see the NFL get rid of the kicking extra point and replace it with a 1 to 3 point conversion system. A standard two point conversion becomes the extra point. Moving the ball to the 12 makes it a two point conversion and moving the ball to the 30 makes it a three point conversion.

My point was that officiating is always shitted on. So I am not sure if something that is constantly being criticized is worse now than it was in years past. When was NFL officiating considered good? When was it not broken? Seriously asking. Officiating in every sport is has subjective components that are constantly criticized by fans. Now some points of contention are coherent and worth taking a look into. Often times the league will make points of emphasis of rule changes to adjust to legit issues. But a general criticism is just always there no matter what. I can’t think of a single time in my 20+ years as a sports fan where anyone in any sport has praised officiating in general. Every single fan base always complains about the refs both rightfully and just a general B word session.

Every year people complain about the referees in the NFL. When was officiating in the NFL ever good?

Good Oline players have gotten traded at the deadline. Duane Brown from the Texans to the Seahawks happened in season. Not sure if I recall any others in season but it isn’t impossible. Unlikely yes but I think if some bad team could be willing to trade a guard for a pick or two. Norwell makes little sense as I can’t see his cap number fitting but maybe Hernandez from the Giants is a possibility but I am not sure he is much of an upgrade from what is on the roster.

Josh is definitely in the MVP conversation. Kyler Murray, Stafford, Brady and Rodgers are also in the mix (Henry too but that ended sadly) but we have a lot more football left to play should be interesting.

Ed had one of his best games against the Fins, playing a 3 tech he finally is back at his natural position. He has been putting in a very good season his best as a pro. Very excited to see how he finishes the season.

This team doesn’t need a running back, Moss is a capable power back and Singletary a nice backup. The team needs Oline help particularly at guard.

The O-line is a decent unit but the depth is not there like it has been in years past and they are a guard short at minimum. Dawkins is a very good LT, D Williams is a good player at either guard or RT, Mitch is a quality center and thus far from what I have seen from Spencer Brown I think he is a capable tackle. Even Mongo at guard isn't tragic like Ford was earlier in the season. It could be the team's weakness but that says more about how good the team is that an OK O-line is its weakness.

The only way I could rationalize the Falcons trading him is if the Falcons want ammo to trade up for a QB. If the Bills offer a 2022 1st and 4th along with a 2023 2nd (which is a haul of picks that I would consider giving up) that would put the Falcons in a position to make a better offer to trade up. But even then is a late 1st, a mid-round pick and a future 2nd really that much in terms of trying to trade up to get a QB? I would absolutely be for the Bills giving up multiple premium picks for this player but I just don't see the Falcons wanting to give him up even for a haul.

Fair enough but I don’t see needing a 2TE set as necessary for the offense to roll. I think they like Sweeney, he is a home grown player they drafted and is in his third year. I get wanting someone better but I doubt the staff views it as a priority.

I don’t really worry about the NFC teams since you are only facing one and it would be in the Super Bowl. The AFC thus far is not really scaring me.

I hope this is true, not that I think Von Miller would have been a great get (would like to have him but not at the draft capital the Rams paid) but I hope it is a sign the Bills are acting aggressively at the deadline to add a piece or two to the team. The AFC is theirs for the taking and if I am McBeane I am desperately trying to land an impact guard as the final piece to get this team over the top.

I am fine with rolling with Ike and Bates if Brown and Mongo aren't ready to go. Bills have to be looking for a guard at the trade deadline.

I would instantly trade a first round pick for Lindstrom. He fills both long and short term needs and might be that missing piece both this year and next year. But I just don't see the Falcons parting ways with a young highly productive guard with one more year plus a fifth year option left on his deal. I am going to assume the Falcons will be in the market to draft a QB next season. I think for any young QB you are going to want a good guard in his prime in place. I just don't see it happening even if the Bills were willing to give up a first.

I thought the Titans were a team that was not a good matchup for the Bills in the past two seasons. They have a physical front four and a RB so dynamic he wears down the defense and exposes the team to a shootout scenario. But with Henry on IR I don't really feel "scared" of anyone in the AFC. The Browns were another Titans like team that I thought could give the Bills a bad matchup but with Baker hurt, Conklin hurt and the team not clicking I don't see them being a threat. The Chargers and Ravens in my opinion are the two best teams in the conference but the Bills matchup very well with them. The Bills have proven to be able to formulate a good game plan against Lamar and are better equipped to go up against their defense thanks to Knox, Sanders, Moss and hopefully Spencer Brown brining more physicality to the team. The Chargers offensively don't in my opinion line up well against the Bills defense and I think their defense might give the Bills some trouble I feel that Josh can do enough against them. The AFC is the Bills for the taking but things change dramatically week to week. Right now the Bills just need to focus on finding some guard help at the deadline if possible and beating the Jaguars so that they can just pile up wins.

TE2 isn’t a concern for me given that they can go 4 wide with Gabe Davis if Sweeney isn’t able to be a decent TE. Also Knox isn’t likely to be gone much longer. I think this team is likely to feel confident in Levi as a CB2 and while I feel that maybe you could upgrade there I just don’t see the coaching staff that has stood pat with Levi in past seasons where his play wasn’t as strong suddenly moving to upgrade when he is having his best season. As far as getting a better punter I would be all for it but not sure what’s out on the market either via trade or via free agency. As far as Mongo I don’t think his worst play from 2019 to 2020 was pathetic. I would say below average at worst. Either way this team’s biggest need is to move him to the bench as a high end backup.

The Fins D-line out played the Bills O-line early and schemed their defense to take good advantage of that. Daboll was slow to react to the Fins scheme but once he got the play calling down right the offense was rolling. The defense was solid throughout a good bounce back game against an offense that was playing decently and has some talent. The Special Teams had one of their worst days on the season. Haack had a bad punt and Mac made a bad muff that lucked out for the team but could have cost the team the game. Overall I would give this team a C+. It was a good enough effort to win by multiple possessions against a mediocre team. But a slow start offensively and a bad day by the Special Teams unit allowed an inferior team to hang around despite an impressive and consistent defensive performance. Had the Fins not missed that first short kick and fumbled on a bad miscue before the half this team would have been down 6-10 points at the half. Good and Great teams find ways to win these games and the Bills simply were the more talented team and won. The Bills need to come out sharp against a Jags team that is wounded but has played some teams tough. It's great the Bills got to 5-2 but they have to keep piling up these wins against lesser competition before hitting the hardest stretch of the schedule. Need to be sitting at 7-2 before heading into the stretch of games that is most difficult on the schedule (Colts who are better than their record, at NOLA on a Thursday, Patriots who are a solid team and at Tampa Bay one of the best teams in the league.) Fatten up on these bad teams.

I don't think Edumonds is a problem for this team, he is a good MLB who works within the system. He isn't a great player but he is a net positive on the team in my opinion. TE2 isn't an issue as I actually think Sweeney is a decent backup and with Gabe Davis the team has other players they can shift TE targets to. Haack has been a poor punter thus far (most ranks I see him in the mid to late 20's) whereas Bojo by comparison is ranked top 10 in most punting categories. But I think this team can survive a below average punter. Levi I don't see as an issue, could this team add some depth at CB? I guess, I don't know who is behind Dane Jackson but adding a 5th CB as some depth isn't bad but McD seems to be able to find some players there that work in the system home grown. I don't see it being an area they address. That only leaves Guard as an issue. If Brown can come back kicking in D.Williams in my opinion gets you capable play at one guard spot. At the other guard spot however you have Mongo who is not tragic like Cody Ford but is a below average player (after turning in two seasons where his play ranged from average to above average, definitely think the weight loss hurt him.) The other internal options to replace Mongo are Ike, Ford and Bates. Ford looked like a marginal backup when out there he is a complete desperation option who should stay on the bench. Ike and Bates are your only real options currently on the roster. I think they like to have Bates on the bench as he can play all five positions in a pinch. Which only leaves Ike out there as a possible option. I know most on here hate Ike for some reason but I thought he played at least at a startling caliber level last season and he was a big piece as to why the O-line got better to end the season. I would put Mongo on the bench and start Ike, there isn't a trade coming for a guard unfortunately. 4 PM EST.

Bass is another really successful McBeane draft pick. A 6th round pick for a dam fine kicker is a great find.

I also think that they start to press on things a bit more once they encounter negative performances.

It's a fairly banal answer after a rookie puts up an impressive performance. I do suspect that White will regress.

The Bills defense was fantastic. They held it down early while the offense figured things out. The offense eventually figured it out and got not only the shorter passing game but also the ground game going. They were able to pass to set up the run and just close things out. The defense had one big mistake on that fourth down that put the game back in doubt but the offense got the clock down and kicked a field goal to retake control of the game. A frustrating early going but they got a somewhat comfortable multiple possession win out of it. Hopefully Daboll learns from his mistakes with the game plan. As far as game balls give it to the defense and Cole Beasley. Beasley was the reason the offense got it back in gear.