billsfan89

I really championed this team going after Diggs, I thought that the price was a bit steep but it was worth it. He brings the all around WR1 dimension that this team needed.

Where are you going to find this road grading guard? Either you are going to have to pay 6+ million on a free agent for a more proven option, spend a high draft pick or go with a cheaper less proven option. I would rather restructure Mitch's deal to try and save 3-5 million and then use that money to help with resigning Mongo and D.Williams as opposed to cutting him and leaving a hole that is going to take other resources to fill. I also think Mitch is vastly underrated at center, Mongo might be a better run blocker (although I would rate Mitch's run blocking as average at worst) but Mitch is a tremendous pass blocker much better than Mongo in that respect.

To me it all depends on the assessment. With missing the Denver game he has had 4 weeks off, if the doctors say that he is healed then I would rather work him in over the course of two weeks slowly. Maybe 10 snaps against NE and 15ish against Miami? I remember reading a sports science article that going from 0 or near 0 to 60 when coming back from an injury is not always optimal for recovery. He is so huge to the team's Super Bowl aspirations that I am for caution as much as needed.

100% Barkley will be here next year as the backup. I think depending on how they view Fromm in 2022, if they feel that Fromm is a quality backup by then, then I can see Barkley being cut. Who knows what the hell will happen. Just enjoy the ride

Out of the 7 other teams that are likely to make it to the playoffs I think half of the possible playoff matchups are cold outdoor cities. Cleveland, Baltimore, KC and Pitt are all cold and outdoor areas, might as well have a home game in the cold weather outdoors vs an away game.

I wouldn't be shocked to see him come back on a limited snap count in NE and MIA. I think he would be best served to have two games on a limited snap count to get into full gear for the playoffs.

I really do hope the Bills can close out the division against Denver. This game is far from a gimme even if the Bills are favored. Denver has a decent to good defense, playing in Denver is always a challenge and the Denver offense while inconsistent does do some things well and can pop off a decent game. Very interested in seeing just how things go in this game. It's a shorter week for these teams and I am wondering if that favors the home team? Luckily the weather appears to be cold but little chance of rain or snow.

The US population seems to be among the most susceptible to misinformation and has a high level of distrust (both justified in some respects and not in other) of the government and other official sources. So I do feel some pessimism regarding if we can get to that 70% vaccine threshold. Me and my wife personally would get the vaccine in the Spring or early summer when it becomes available (we are nether old, extra vulnerable or essential workers) as by then we will have had months of people getting it and I think by then we would know what if any major risks are present. I think there will at the very least be limited attendance at Bills games next year. Some teams have limited fans this year and by next season they can track the data to see if those games resulted in outbreaks. Given that the 2021 NFL season will be probably past the threshold of mass availability for the vaccine I do think it is possible for full attendance.

Cowherd is one of the worst pundits out there. He is constantly wrong, arrogant, ill-informed, and annoying. He has such a poor logic for almost anything he says. I caught he once saying that he would love to have invested in the AAF a few weeks before the league went bankrupt. I don't know how or why this clown ever became popular.

I don't see Lee Smith or Butler leaving a hole. I think you can find a vet minimum player to replace Smith who is a very niche player and Star comes back to replace Butler so no hole there. Setting the cap at 175 million would be a disaster for the NFL as almost all of the league would be completely up against or way over it. I think they either do what the NBA did and keep the cap about what it was projected to be but then keep a percentage of the players salaries in escrow and claw back whatever is needed to make the owners balanced in terms of their share of revenues or simply borrow more from future revenues. The TV deals are where most of the NFL revenues come from so I doubt they can't get by. I hope that 175 number won't manifest because then John Brown, Mitch, Hughes, Butler, Addison, Smith and Tyler are all gone and so would 2 out of the 3 players we need to resign

I think Milano is going to come back on a one year deal. I just don't see a long term deal at the 8.5+ million he envisioned pre-Covid. I think the offers he gets are in the 5-7 million dollar range with a limited guarantee for 3 years. So taking a one year deal in the 6 million dollar range makes sense for him. It is a huge raise for him and lets him rebuild his value if he can stay healthy and get that bigger deal. The Bills get him back for one more year at a reasonable cost. My main goal for the Bills this off-season is to simply maintain the core five free agents of Mongo, D.Williams, Milano, Andre Roberts, and Levi Wallace. I do agree you can let Milano walk if he prices himself out but the rest you should be able to retain.

I think they can sign them all. More than likely if the cap is set at around 195-205 million the Bills will likely have with cuts (Vernon Butler and Lee Smith) and possible restructures (John Brown, Mitch, Addison, Hughes and a few others) the Bills will likely have 45-50 million in cap space to play with, The Bills will need about 15 million of that for the rookie pool (about 6 million for 6 picks) and an emergency fund (usually about 10 million.) So that leaves the Bills with about 30-35 million to play with and I think with all of that they could just barely manage to resign D.Williams, Milano (who I think will take a one year prove it deal due to his injuries), Mongo, Roberts, and Wallace. Granted I don't think that they can do anything else besides resigning those 5 but getting a key special teams player and 4 starters back from a 10+ win team is a huge accomplishment. The team can then use the draft to fill out the remaining holes on the roster or to get younger and deeper at certain positions. This is a good team, keeping key players together is a win here.

I am going to assume the cap is going to be set around 195 million at worst, I think the 175 number is unlikely. I think they would rather borrow slightly from future increases (which are massive) to keep the cap flat or at worst a small cut as opposed to a massive decrease followed by massive increases. With that being said I think they will restructure Morse, Hughes, Addison and Brown's contracts, they will take slight paycuts in exchange for a few million in cap relief, I also think they cut Butler (barring a beastly breakout) and Lee Smith to free up about 10 million in space. Assuming they can shave 10 million via restructures and another 10 million via cuts to Smith and Butler the Bills should have about 50 million to work with. With the rookie scale and emergency money that gives the Bills about 30 million to work with. With that 30 million I would do the following. 1- Resign D.Williams - This is probably going to take 12 million a huge chunk of the useable cap space but its worth it. D.Williams will be 29 in the 2021 season, and considering that O-line players typically play well into their early 30's (usually fall off around 32-34) he could easily anchor that spot for 3-5 more seasons. 2- Resign Mongo - I think Mongo is a key component to the line, an above average RG who communicates well with Mitch and company. I think they could easily sign him to a 6 million aav deal similar to Spain but with a bit more guaranteed. 3- Resign Milano - I think given Milano's injury history I think you could offer Milano a one year 6 million "prove it" deal. I think he takes it considering his banged up season he likely wants one more chance at a huge contract and staying with the Bills on a huge raise works for him. 4- Resign Levi Wallace and Andre Roberts - That leaves about 6 million left to play with and about 41 players signed, rookies and minimum guys set aside for 20 million. I think 6 million is enough to bring back Andre Roberts and Wallace. Two key players who would bring you up to 43 players singed and the rookie class would and other minimum players would fill in the rest. There isn't a lot of room for free agency additions but keeping Roberts, Wallace, D.Williams, Mongo and Milano would retain 4 starters and 1 key special teams player from a 10+ win team and allow you to use the draft to fill in any gaps. Maybe add a prime time TE in round 1 and a DE in round 2 and get younger in the secondary in round 3? Ideally I would love the cap to be 205 million to be able to retain the key 5 players and add a piece or two but I would take a 195 million dollar cap to work with.

If Josh is a stud Top 5 to 7 QB year in year out then you are right in a sense, but there usually is a pattern of regression in the talent around a QB when the big cap hit comes due. I for once don't want to worry about the future and I just want to enjoy the ride now.

The Bills window of contention will be the remainder of Josh's rookie deal and 5th year option. Just enjoy the ride.

I liked Douglas's approach to the 2020 off-season philosophically. He went for depth and avoiding weak spots over big top heavy signings. But his more expensive singings have ranged from average (Fant) to underwhelming (McGovern) and his more low key singings like Van Rotten and Andrews have been busts. The only good thing that you can say about Douglas was that his signings are easy to get out of and won't tie down the Jets long term and that he drafted Becton who looks to be a really good talent at LT. Douglas's first draft class looks like ass outside of Becton, his free agency crop was a bust and I just don't see why you would have faith in the guy to install a new coach and get a new draft class and free agency class to help out a new QB. Just scrap it all and start over with a new QB and a good LT.

Maybe a team with a vet QB looking to build a better defense around them (Atlanta or Detroit) could take a look at him. But if I am going with a retread as a coach give me one with a more proven track record than Frazier

I don't think Frazier will get many looks as a Head Coach. Mainly because I think McD gets more "credit" for the defense. However Daboll is getting "credit" for Josh, which means another organization interesting in drafting a young QB would look to get him in to help build and develop. But then again you never know how these owners handle things, The Chiefs OC has been a HC candidate for two years and he hasn't gotten a job.

Not shocking the Steelers are one of the most popular teams in the NFL nationwide and the Bills have an underrated nationwide following.

I would scrap Douglas and start fresh. But fortunately I think you are correct and Douglas selects the coach.

The Jets aren't in the worst position to rebuild if they get Lawrence. They have Seattle's first round pick this year and next year which should help any team rebuild, they have Darnold who they could flip for I would say at least a 2nd round pick which can help add a piece, and they have a lot of cap space. The issue with the Jets would be that they would need to fire their GM and coach and execute a singular vision for the team. They need to follow the blueprint that the Bills did with McBeane. Granted the Bills had Whaley in for a few months, but I think McD sold himself as needing the call on who the next GM would be. Overall I think the Jets like most teams that will be drafting number one overall simply in need to do a proper 3 year rebuild with a GM and coach brought in together. If they can get the QB and coach right that's 70% of the battle right there.

No matter who the Bills play in the wildcard round they are likely to play a tough opponent, the Bills need to focus on sealing up the division against Denver.

Ravens had to lose.

He was a very good QB, got them to the Super Bowl in 1997, but yes he was far from a hall of fame player.

The defense being mediocre to terrible while he was here (despite inheriting a top 3 defense) is the reason he got fired after 2 seasons. Carpenter in 2015 was still a solid kicker, 85% on the season only missed 2 kicks inside 49 yards out of 22 kicks and was 3 of 5 from 50+ and Rex still won just 8 games.