billsfan89

Bledsoe in 2004 had 20 TD's against 21 Turnovers (16 INT's plus 5 fumbles lost, Bledsoe had no TD's rushing.) Josh had 29 TD's (20 passing 9 rushing) against 13 Turnovers (9 INT's plus 4 fumbles.) Josh also had 3700 yards overall to Bledsoe's 2900. Give me 2019 Josh all day.

That 2004 defense is in my opinion by far the best defense in the modern NFL to not make the playoffs. The 2004 defense was insane. Pat Williams and Sam Adams were beastly hippos that clogged the middle while Schobel was a dam fine speed rusher off the edge. Behind them was London and TKO two Pro-Bowl LB's. The secondary featured Nate and McGee as a quality pairing of corners and they also had Miloy and Vincent as one of the better safety pairings in the league. Comparing the 2004 to 2019 teams I would give the defenses a push, a possible slight edge to the 2004 on special teams but an edge on offense to the 2019 team. But while both teams are comparable talent wise. The coaching makes the huge difference. The 2004 defense had 5-6 legit pro-bowl talents and another 3-4 high quality starters on it and a few good depth pieces. The 2019 defense was 4-5 Probowl/high quality players and then just a bunch of starting caliber guys. But the 2019 defense rolled huge with depth and insane with how well they were coached. The 2019 team played much more disciplined and had more talent on offense and a better QB. Whereas the 2004 team was a team that rode a hot RB and a hot defense but would always be shaky in big moments. Outside of the Cleveland game the Bills rarely threw away games. Whereas I felt like in 2004 this team always had a knack to give away games.

80-90% of NFL teams are screwed if their starting QB goes down for an extended period of time. The Bills have a decent backup in Barkley. I am confident in Barkley to keep the team afloat if Josh misses a stretch of games. But if Josh is out for the season this team is screwed and that would be the case for almost any team. The team's fortunes rest on Josh plain and simple.

I think the Jets are in a bind and they would consider trading him in conference. If the Browns wanted to go "all in" and trade a 1st for him I think the Jets would have to take it as I am not so sure there are going to be a lot of teams that is going to trade a 1st for him and offer him the big contract.

Very interesting, I think Cam was better off redshirting a year so to speak to get himself healthy but maybe the Pats are planning on doing that?

The issue is that the medical system in states like Arizona and Texas are getting overwhelmed.

Citing Norman as a big factor to the success of the corner position opposite of White is fair. Right now the Bills have opposite Tre T.Johnson a good slot corner but one that has trouble staying healthy, Levi Wallace a decent number two corner but someone not really wowing you either, Norman a reclamation project with experience within the system, another reclamation project with experience in the system in EJ Gaines and some other lesser heralded players and late round picks. It's not an exciting group so if Norman has a bounce back year that could be a big factor to the defensive secondaries success. Defensively I don't know who else is a big X factor. You have a pair of vet safeties who should be solid, a pair of very good LB's and a decent third LB and a deep D-line with a lot of starting caliber players. The only other defensive X-Factor is maybe Addision as the edge pass rush is being led in large part by him as Hughes hasn't put up big sack numbers (good pressure numbers recently though) but they need someone else who can get after the Qb off the edge.

He scored 51 in a game in 2019. Currently he is not on a team but I suspect if he wants to play in the NBA's bubble league a team might sign him.

Huge hole? I wouldn't go as far as to say that. Hole implies that the Bills have a proven bust or a washed veteran combo at QB. The Bills have a big question mark at QB for sure. Josh is still a developing QB and a lot of the Bills fortunes are going to rest on just how well he can do. But I would qualify Josh as a question mark because he is coming off of a season of progression and not regression. Yet his quality of play must at least moderately improve.

I agree, at least make it the team's first pre-season game. The fact that the Hall of Fame game is a 5th pre-season game for some teams is ludicrous.

The Bills Expectations will be to at a minimum win the division and win a playoff game. I think given the relative inexperience of Josh Allen the pressure to win a SB will not be there. This team has to get more seasoned in the playoffs together and follow-up regular season success now that there are expectations for regular season success. 10 wins and the playoffs was a good season last year even if the playoff loss was heart breaking (clinching by week 16 was sweet and this could have easily been an 11 win team had they needed the last game against the Jets.) I think expecting 11 wins against a tougher schedule and to win the division is a good regular season and playoff success even if it is just one win is a must. This team isn't in Super Bowl or bust mode just yet (Although you adjust your expectations) but they need to close that gap between a good team and a contender in this up coming season.

Dak's cap hit with the franchise tag currently sits at about 31.5 million. How much lower is his cap hit going to be if he signs a deal that averages 35 million a season? The cap might also not go up in 2021 and 2022 as projected making his contract more of a burden long term. Yes they could add Jamal Adams in 2020 but the Cowboys aren't a Jamal Addams away from competing for a title. The Cowboys with Dak's 31.5 million dollar tag deal have 60% of their cap committed to their top 10 players. For reference the Bills have about 38% and the Saints (who have a hefty QB contract) have 45%. You need depth to win in the NFL and having a lot of top end talent can easily be eaten away with even just 2 or 3 injuries. The Cowboys are looking like the Rams roster heavily committed to a lot of hefty contracts at the expense of their depth. The only difference between the Rams and Cowboys is they haven't bankrupted their draft picks nearly as badly. But with Dak eating up 15% or more of their cap and Amari and Lawrence combining for another 20% of their cap that team is not going to get past 10 wins and one playoff victory unless they either draft amazingly or Dak plays well beyond his best.

Do you really think that had the US done nothing the economy wouldn't have been impacted at all by Covid? Covid has a death rate of about .2% to 1% (it varies because so much is dependent on the health of the people infected and we don't have the data yet.) For the sake of a nice round number let's say that if Covid hit the general population at a .5% death rate that would mean that if Covid ran through the US population it would kill 1.7 million people. The economy would suffer if the population lost 1.7 million people, consumers aren't going to want to go out and have confidence in an economy if they don't think they are safe from a virus that has killed 1 out of 200 people. The economy was going to tank no matter what action the government took. The choice you are painting is false. It isn't Covid safety or the economy.

I think some people are vastly underrating our LB core. Edumonds was playing at an All-Pro level the back half of last season and was still a high quality player in the first half of the season. Milano has been a borderline Pro-Bowl LB the past two seasons. Both could easily make the Pro-Bowl in 2020 (assuming there is a season) and Edumonds could easily make the All-Pro team. Yet when talking about our LB core there is a significant minority of fans who seem to view the LB corps as an average unit. If a Possible All-Pro and Pro-Bowl pairing (along with Klein who is a starting caliber player as the third LB) is meh to some people I don’t know what people would consider to be a good unit?

Haush was good under 50 but over 50 yards he lost his range. Haush isn't a bad fall back option if Bass can't cut it but it was wise to try and take a chance on Bass as not having range in your kicking game is a big handicap.

But the current Cowboys core with all of those players is at best a 10 win team. If they didn't have to reserve close to 40 million this offseason and going forward for Dak they could have added 4 to 3 pieces or retained Byron Jones and added 2 more pieces to the roster. The Cowboys in the short term might be able to keep the team together but are they really going to be able to improve a roster that is capped at about 10 wins?

The issue is that it is a big risk to take a chance paying an above average but not quite elite QB top 3-4 money at the biggest money positions. That means you aren't getting top 7-8 play at the most key position and you are paying him a kings ransom which surrounds him with less talent and pretty much sticks you are a 8-8ish level for years to come. I doubt the Redskins regret not paying Kirk Cousins a big contract. But I do think that the Jaguars regret handing Bortles a big contract and I think the Dolphins regret paying Tanny a big contract too (And I think the Titans will regret handing him one too.) I also think that the Rams are starting to worry about that Goff extension (although I think he can still pan out it is crippling that team.) I think it is much more frequently that teams regret handing less than proven QB's big contracts based on speculation. Yes some teams luck out and lock in a Russell Wilson on a good deal as he outperforms his previously big contract (Which is made even more of a deal as the cap goes up.) However I think the outcome is far more likely to be that a team regrets their big QB contract than loves it. I guess my point is that if you have a Mahomes or Brady or Rodgers type QB who is consistently a top 5-6ish QB pay them. Even a consistently proven top 10 QB over 3 seasons like Matt Ryan is worth big money (the positional advantage is far too great even for a guy in the 8-10 range.) But if you have a guy like Dak whose best season was one year being a top 10 QB statically I am not so sure I want to pay that guy the big money top 3 QB deal. It just seems difficult to justify paying an above average QB on speculation of improvement. It seems like that is a decision made by a fearful GM as opposed to someone who actually thinks the QB will justify the contract.

I wouldn't say he looked like Peterman but Dak looked subpar against top defenses. If you are paying Dak you are paying him on speculation that he will improve his quality of play.

A bubble league is going to be very logistically difficult for the NFL. You are talking about probably 500 to 1000 people per-team that would need to be sequestered and possibly more if families are included. 53 players plus 12 to 16 PS players, dozens of coaches, dozens of trainers, dozens of equipment managers, dozens of grounds keepers and security for stadiums and additional general support staff. Plus add in the referees and the broadcast personnel and you probably have close to 500 people for one team. Toss in then the hotel and other service staff for those people and now you are talking about building a self sustaining society of 32k people in a bubble league. It's not impossible but it isn't easy.

A single NFL team probably has 1000 plus people involved in its operation during regular times take out the ticket takers and vendors during live games but replace that with the hotel and housing staff needed for a bubble league and that number probably hits 1000 or at least close. Bubble leagues are a logistical nightmare and we are seeing the NHL and NBA hit the wall with these reopenings. Both are still pushing through but it is being harder and harder to get players and staff sold on this. The NFL operating without fans alleviates some of the caution of super spreader events but it still leaves you with trying to isolate thousands upon thousands of people and implementing massive testing and safety protocols. It isn't an easy thing is my point. It sounds like an easy alternative to just do the NFL without fans but when you break down what that means it isn't easy.

For one that isn't true young healthy people have died and while rising case numbers aren't bad on their own the number of people in hospitals is rising in many states which is very bad. Arizona is reaching their capacity for ICU beds and hospitals are becoming dangerously close to being compromised. Other states like Texas and Florida are also hitting the 80% threshold and looking like they will shoot past it in days. This situation is being completely bungled by the US.

The idea of a bubble league sounds easy but the logistics are hard. The NHL NBA and MLB are all running into issues with these logistics and they aren't anywhere near the same logistical nightmare the NFL could be. And keep in mind it isn't just the players health you are looking out for. In addition to the 53 players plus the 12 Ps players you probably have 100 plus people that support the team. Dozens of coaches, trainers, equipment managers and support staff. Then you have the grounds keepers and security at the venues along with other staffs and personnel for the hotels and isolating venues players could be forced to stay at. Toss in the TV crews and you are easily looking at thousands of people. I think it is possible that they can do a bubble league but it is going to be a lot harder than people think

I don't think any teams had traded for a teams first that year but I do remember that any and all draft picks in the mid rounds stood. So if you traded for a team's 2nd round pick you got it. The NHL didn't have the same level of conditional picks that it does now so it was a bit simpler.

The NHL had a cancelled season due to a lockout in 2004-2005 they held a draft and used a weighted lottery system.

Not sure if this is going to end too badly for the Jets. They should be able to get at least a first round pick for him and their 2020 fortunes aren't resting on Adams as good as he is and getting a lot of draft capital and future cap relief might help them out more than Adams in the next 4 years.