billsfan89

Almost every team that makes a deep playoff run either has a quality O-line or is sunk by their crap O-line. O-line play can be volatile and made better by QB play but in the end the O-line is the fulcrum of the offense. If your QB is constantly under pressure without blitzing and the running game isn't working due to no holes opening up then your offense is crippled to the point where you can't win consistently in the playoffs. Yes some teams with great QB's can fake it till they make it without at least a decent O-line. But in the end you face a team that has the defense and offense that can make you pay. It is however harder to find and retain O-line play which causes wild variations in O-line play year to year. It used to be you could find plug and play guards, centers and RT's in the 2nd and 3rd round of the draft rather easily 10-15 years ago. But due to colleges adopting the spread offense there isn't the same level of consistency and "plug and play" development at the O-line position. O-line players now take 3 years sometimes even 4-5 years to fully develop, whereas typically in the past by year two you could have a player developed going through the ringer a bit in their rookie year and getting two off-seasons of strength and conditioning. So good O-line play across all 5 positions is dramatically more expensive and thus something that teams up against the cap will sacrifice.

The Giants likely won't be resigning him. They have Leonard Williams playing well (whom they invested a 3rd and 5th round pick in) and Simmons a 1st round pick from 2019 finding his footing. I doubt they are going to want to pay big money in free agency to retain him when they have so many needs elsewhere on the roster. It would make sense for the Giants to get value for a good but not that high in demand player (he isn't much of a pass rusher.) Overall tossing a 4th for him would greatly help the needs of the team and he is possibly a player the team can resign. It would be great if under the right type of deal to see Star and Tomlinson on the same D-line rotating in that "grinder" position. While you have Jefferson, Oliver and possibly Henry (if he looks fully recovered) as the penetrating DT's. That rotation would be balanced greatly.

For a second I was hoping the Bills traded for him haha. The Ravens get richer at a reasonable price esp for a rental. Overall I think that the Bills need to make a move. Tomlinson from the Giants would be a great addition, maybe Irving off the street at DE too? Tomlinson from the Giants is on a nothing cap hit and would fill the need of a quality big body. I think that's the type of move that can be made.

In an office setting do you want someone on your team that doesn't want to be there?

You don't know if Spain asked to be released or start. Guys have to be comfortable being on the bench and Spain might not have been. In the end you need cohesion in that locker room too.

I don't consider the O-line to be a huge issue. Both tackles are playing well, Mitch is a good center, and I think Ford at the guard position will pan out. Winters is a below average player but not a bad backup to have, Mongo should come back and help that guard situation. Yes they aren't run blocking well but they are protecting Josh and I think the issues with the run game are more so to do with how impactful Josh has been through the air and Mongo's absence. The D-line on the other hand has been a complete disaster I fully agree. Ironically Jefferson and Addison have done their parts for the most part. Its been Star's opt out, Hughes regressing with age, Harrison seemingly not being recovered from his injury, Murphy not being effective, Ed Oliver not progressing and AJ not having an impact due to the weird off-season are all big issues that are causing the defense to regress. I would overall say that the team needs to target a player like Delvin Tomlinson, he would bring solid size and strength up the middle and cap wise is cheap and draft capital wise wouldn't cost too much either. He would be a nice rental that the team could sign long term (would love to see Tomlinson and Star as the grinders, Oliver and Jefferson as the pass rushers.)

He must have been a malcontent or locker room issue. I think that they would have kept him for depth if he wasn't being an issue behind the scenes.

I don't see Yannick happening but if the Vikings continue to lose and Yannick indicates he might not resign, maybe Minny tries to recoup that 2nd rounder? It's unlikely but not impossible. From what I have read on Tomlinson he is a good run stuffer, not a zero in the pass rush department but more of a hold the middle type guy. Former 2nd round pick in 2017 just has been a fairly effective player on a bunch of bad teams. I think Tomlinson fits this teams needs on so many levels and would greatly help the run defense. He would keep players off Edumonds and limit the big gains up the middle. I also think longer term he might be more than a rental. I would love to see the team when Star gets back have a rotation of Tomlinson and Star as the grinder big body types, Ed Oliver and Jefferson as the penetrators with Harry competing for his job in the rotation.

Minny could always sign Yannick back and recoup the draft capital they invested in him. I agree that's unlikely to happen but if Yannick wants out due to Minny losing that could be the variable that puts him out on the market. I think a trade for Delvin Tomlinson is much better and would at least patch up the run defense. Tomlinson would make sense for the Bills cap wise and cost only a mid round pick.

I actually think Ford did play better to end last season when Ty got hurt and he was just out there. I think he can settle in as an above average LG which isn't great but its not a bad piece to have.

If the Bills are making a big splash I would target Yannick from Minny. JJ Watt is toast, the Bills need younger or prime talent not an overpaid once great player. Give up a 2nd rounder and a 6th rounder and Murphy (as salary filler) and see if Minny bites. Yannick would greatly impact the pass rush and set the edge. Another name to keep an eye on for a more modest trade would be Dalvin Tomlinson. He is a DT from the Giants who is on the last year of his rookie deal. He is a big run stuffer (6 foot 3 320 pounds) very effective but the Giants might not have him in their long term plans with Leonard Williams and Dexter Lawrence being heavy investments at the position. I would float a 4th round pick for Tomlinson, he shouldn't impact the cap much and could be just what the middle of the defense needs at the right price both in terms of the cap and in terms of the draft capital needed to acquire him.

Ford hasn't been tragic but I fear that him being jerked around the line looking for a natural fit has hurt his development. In his rookie year Ford was given the RT position but pulled in and out with Ty. Then he gets kicked into RG and then flipped over to LG his second year. The team hasn't done him any favors.

In my amateur opinion I think the defense has regressed due to two main reasons. One is poor scheming. There needs to be more blitzing and stunts. The defense is rarely attacking and counting on the front four which is the other big issue. The other issue is the regression on the defensive line. Fans will see Shaq and J.Phillips leaving and point to that. But Shaq was never a good pass rusher and J.Phillips not a big run stuffer. In fact the two players brought in to replace Shaq and J.Phillips (Addison and Jefferson) have been two of the better players on the defense. The one miss along the D-line's new players is Butler who in my opinion has been a non-factor. Most of the regression is as a result of the 2019 players Hughes - Looks a bit older and slower. H.Phillips - Ineffective probably still recovering from injury. Murphy - Looks worse than last season when he was meh. Star- Opted out Ed Oliver- Not looking bad but not progressing either. Add in the fact that AJ a resource invested in the D-line hasn't had a normal off-season and is a non-factor. I would also say that the Milano and Levi injuries have had a negative impact on the back end of the defense. Right now the three things the front office can do is to adjust the scheme, bring in a run stuffing DT, and get Milano and Levi back. Those should help but without a trade for a war daddy D-line pass rusher the defense will be hampered.

Was he that bad? I thought he was solid, not that far off from last year? Maybe Mongo is coming back and he was worse than my eyes could tell.

If I had to guess the teams that haven't made a conference title game since 1996. Bills, Cowboys, Browns, Lions, Bengals, Dolphins, Texans, and Redskins?

You do realize that Billy B a 6 time Super Bowl winning coach is one of the most conservative coaches of all time. The Patriot way for the longest time was to play great defense, conservative offense and let your opponent defeat yourself. Is that too wimpy a way to win? What about the Patriots is that aggressive? The one time they had an aggressive high powered offense in 2007 they lost the SB to a team that capitalized on the Pats mistakes and played conservatively. McD's path to winning is to ride Josh Allen a franchise QB with a solid supporting cast, a suddenly good ST unit and build a solid defense. The defensive line has regressed this season (which is partly poor roster construction on the part of the regime) and there have been a few banged up players. Otherwise this team has honestly been built well. They built a solid deep o-line, an elite WR core, drafted a pair of young RB's one of whom is starting caliber, and found Josh who looks to be a keeper. They then rebuilt a ST unit into one of the best in the league even with a rookie kicker. And the defense while regressing a bit this year has a talented secondary, a pair of young LB's, and a D-line who was a quality deep unit last season but is suffering from Star's opt out and regression. I firmly believe they can add a space eating DT ( and have the draft assets going forward to trade for a big time DE if needed. Doing those two things will help the D-line and getting back Milano and Levi will help the back end of the defense. Who would you rather be the coach of this team? Because Rex Ryan was really macho and aggressive.

Vernon Butler is 335, he gets crushed consistently. You need someone actually good or even decent.

They signed Lugiet last year, they will bring in someone, how good that person is will be of question but I can't see McD not making a move.

Assuming the Bills at least get 9 wins this season, McD is at least here for 2 more seasons through 2022 if not 2023.

They signed Lugiet last season and Jordan Philips the year before. I think they sign a DT, maybe not snacks but someone.

The problem would be that the fumble would have occurred with about 5 minutes left (if I can recall correctly) and it would have put the Bills at about the 35 yard line. Now even if Josh punches it in there and the Bills take a lead KC no matter what probably would have had plenty of time left on the clock (KC also had their time outs and the 2 minute warning) to kick a field goal and considering how controlling they were in the ground game probably kick a field goal and not leave too much time on the clock. So even if the Bills got that fumble and scored I still think the odds are 75% that KC wins it just becomes more competitive. It would have however been a bit of a moral victory for the defense to have come up with a big play and Josh to get another score when needed. So while I still think the team loses even if they get the fumble and score it still would have made me feel better about the game to know the team scratched and clawed with a contender. The problem is KC would have only been down 1 with about 2 to 3 minutes left only needing a field goal to win. So even if the Bills got that inch and scored it still might not have been enough

Maybe offer him a bit more money? Got to kick the tires.

The organization hadn't made the playoffs in 18 straight seasons before McD through mostly smoke and mirrors (and some luck) got the team to the playoffs in 2017 while at the same time selling off parts for draft capital, they continue to rebuild properly sending in a lot of draft capital to get a proper QB and clear out bad contracts the team regresses, in 2019 the team wins 10 (And easily could have been 11 had they not bagged an unnecessary game against the Jets) and another playoff birth. This team went from not having a franchise QB to having one, this team went from not making the playoffs to making the playoffs 2 out of 3 seasons, and this team went from a laughing stock of an organization to one respected throughout the league. Call me crazy but I think McD is a pretty good coach.

Well force them to elevate him, it literally costs you nothing to try and get him.

I take back every bad thing I said about Bojo in the past. He has been a stud this year, top 5 punter in the league. Outside of Bass's shaky play (which isn't tragic) the whole ST unit has been strong.