billsfan89

Last year with a less talented support system Fitz did have some success against the defense. So I am not too sure he can't get some points.

I think if Fitz is going to cut this team up it is going to be in the short and mid-range game. And with Milano and Edumonds out I could see Klein (who is a better run defender than a pass defender) being picked on in the short range game. Fitz did have some success passing last year too. I just wouldn't get too confident about this game, yes I expect the Bills to win even with Milano and Edumonds out but this isn't going to be an easy win especially with the two LB's out. If I had to predict the score I would say 31-21 Bills but the Bills are only up one score late. It just seems like one of those trap type games where the injuries to the LB corps can be exploited by the Fins in the passing game.

I like Ed Oliver to be the elite guy on the D-line, I think he will be a Pro-Bowl player this year and down the line a possible All-Pro. But I do agree that the line is more so comprised of Average players in depth roles and moderately above average players starting. The O-line is a sum of their parts. Mitch in my opinion is a top 5 center, elite top 3 pass protecting center and an average or so run blocker but a key leader at a position where that matters a lot. Dawkins is a lower top 10 LT but the rest of the O-line are solid players. Spain solid middle of the road guard, Ford is a decent player, Feliciano a solid starting caliber guard, Ty a solid tackle, Winters is a high end backup low end starter and Bates a swiss army knife good depth player. Overall I am impressed at the depth on both sides of the line. The O-line is built more so in the vein of the Giants O-lines from the late 2000's and early 2010's. Five average to above average players who have great chemistry with one another and play as a strong unit. There might not be a lot of elite perennial Pro-Bowl talent on there but there is no weak link and the chemistry will hopefully (if they can keep Mongo for 2-3 more years and Ford continues to improve) be there to the point where so many of these guys have 3-4 years playing with each other. No win in the NFL should be taken for granted. Edumonds and Milano being out will make the middle of the defense vulnerable. Klein I think I can fill in at one position and be decent but hopefully the other guys can hold the fort for one game. I do agree that it is better to even risk losing to Miami than to risk injury to two critical starters especially if the risk to losing in Miami is lower than average.

I am not sold on Burrow. The Browns secondary is not healthy. Greedy Williams, their 2nd round pick at safety and several other key players in that secondary are hurt and outside of Ward that secondary wasn't that great to begin with. So Burrow throwing a good number on them even in a somewhat competitive game (But the Bengals were playing from behind a lot of the game too inflating stats) is not very impressive. This banged up Browns secondary might be one of the bottom 3 or 4 in the league at the moment. Even when healthy that Browns secondary was a bottom 12 secondary in the league.

This D-line has 7-9 legit starting caliber players on it. Even the guys like Johnson and AJ rounding out the rotation are still decent to solid players in their own right. I have never seen a D-line in Buffalo have such tremendous depth. Both sides of the line are deep. The O-line has several players on the bench that could start for a lot of teams in the league.

Ford played decent to end the season once Ty went down with injury. AJ not even dressing while a concern I wouldn't exactly call a need for panic or a pattern just yet. Ford looked pretty good today.

The issue is that the designed runs expose him to being hit in a way that is not more avoidable. Without Josh bulldozing his way forward those runs are less effective. The design of the play is the issue. If the running game isn't working with Singletary or Moss just go with short passes and screens more. No need to take unnecessary risks with your potential franchise QB.

Allen should have reign to run if he scrambles and nothing is there. Don't take the running threat away but these read option and designed run plays are designed in a way for a QB to take contact. No issues with Josh running if he does it in a smart way. But stop designing plays for him to run.

The designed runs have to stop, they are what took Cam Newton from league MVP to a player that can't stay healthy. I get that its tempting every time you need 6-8 yards to just jam a big 6 foot 5 QB into the fire but you have to be thinking about him as a 10 year investment.

I agree there aren't likely to be any good kickers out on the market, but I would rather take a chance on a guy off the street than a rookie who keeps missing kicks? How many missed easy kicks does it take for him to be cut?

On a field goal in that range he shouldn't have a kick be that close to where the refs can miss it. As for his replacement, I am not sure what free agent kickers are out there but they can't keep trotting out Bass if he keeps missing gimmie field goals.

Milano's absence is almost always really apparent the past two maybe even three seasons when he misses games. I think he is more critical than people realize. Then again almost any "good" starter has their absence noticed on any team. But he does always seem to be getting banged up.

Bass is an easy miss away from being cut. A kicker almost always has a short leash, let alone a kicker who hasn't really proven anything. And considering that a bad kicker can cost you games I think Bass can't afford another chip shot miss. Bass didn't cost the team the game but he flubbed 6 points and took what should have been a wire to wire blowout and made it a bit tighter.

I think he will have an up and down rookie year but I think he will be a good player if healthy and the coaching is decent. My only concern with him is can his frame hold up? Ferguson was the Jets tackle forever and was 1 inch shorter and 35 pounds lighter. I am not sure if a man that size playing a violent sport knees can hold up

The lack of crowd noise will likely be the one thing that makes this season play significantly different than any other barring any outbreaks.

I see this as a 3 week deal hopefully. Norman was a fairly low risk chance, hopefully they either don't need him or he gets back after 3 weeks and is healthy and rolling.

I kind of agree that it is Dabolls job if the offense doesn't at least finish as a better than average offense. Diggs, Moss, O-line continuity and more experience for Allen are all key reasons why progression is expected from this offense. I don't think this offense has to finish top 5 in the league but top 10 or close is a must.

That's my thinking as well, I think they roll with Ford and Williams on the right side. I think they want Ford long term at RT but given the Feliciano injury and the unexpected resurgence by Williams I think they get Cody to establish himself at RG before trying him out at RT again at some point in the future.

My take away from the game is that the Chiefs will likely be contenders again. Great offense and a solid defense no surprise there. The Texans will likely be carried by Watson again. Their WR corps should be good enough if they can get Cooks going and healthy but the O-line remains an issue and I don't see the defense being elite. Texans will likely win 7-9 games.

Sometimes staying healthy can be by design (Having young players or players with less of an injury history along with superior training and conditioning staffs) and depth can help with injuries. But yes there is always a luck component to injuries that makes the NFL very volatile and can hit even the best prepared teams. That being said I think the Bills are doing a lot better with injuries since the Pegulas invested more into the training staff and the facilities. In the Greggo/Mularky/Jauron/Gailey eras the Bills were always getting hit a lot harder with injuries (and I think that stat of players on IR bore that out) and it made winning with a flawed roster that much harder.

That's my take on it, got to know who's out there in case something happens.

People underestimate depth in the NFL. The typical NFL season is so often about surviving injuries than anything else.

Edumonds is a stud, not sure why you think fans and others around the league overrate him. Butler might or might not be a liability but I think Harry could be a big anchor to the run game. It wasn't a coincidence that the 2019 team started their 4-5 game stretch of poor run defense when he got hurt after the Titans game.

I don't see the worry with the D-line especially against weaker offensive lines like the Jets. Star might be missed in the rushing defense but H.Phillips return might help mitigate that. I don't see Jordan Phillips loss being that big of a deal in the ground game. J.Phillips was not a good rush defender. I think Jefferson and Butler will be more than capable of filling in that gap. Overall I see the D-line being more of a concern against top 10 offensive lines. I think better O-lines might handle this D-line but we will have to see. I think McD prides his D-line as being built off depth and with the additions of AJ, Jefferson, Butler and Addision it should more than make up for the loss of Star, J.Phillips and Shaq.

I wonder what the average for players on roster from 2016 is in the NFL? With how steep roster turnover and injuries are. I would expect the average to be maybe 8 or 9? I would suspect a team like the Steelers that has had the same coach long before 2016 would probably only have about 10ish players from 2016 and that would probably be near the top of the league.