billsfan89

Aren’t third round picks always the last to sign because of the digression involved between the team and the player with how the contract and bonuses are structured? It seems like it is par for the course to have third round picks take a bit longer to sign. But the contract is still slotted so it isn’t likely to have a long holdout like back in the day.

I think they can only be flexed out of one of their primetime games as the flex doesn't happen until the latter part of the season.

The Pats have built up a "brand name" with football fans due to always winning for nearly 20 years. That's simply going to happen. They are also coming off of a winning season and feature a curiosity factor (how good is the Pats system or was it Brady.) It isn't hard to figure out why they got a good slate of prime-time games. I also think they hedged their bets trying to put one of those fives games into a December slot where it can get flexed. I think the Pats will be a boring team to watch, bad offense, good defense and ST well coached but unable to move the ball against better defenses. I still wouldn't be shocked if they were an 8 win or better team. Good coaching and a good defense and ST unit can carry a team with a mediocre offense.

Bills need to be 4-2 after that opening 6 games, they then need to take care of both the Jets and Pat's to get to 6-2 and split Seattle and @Arizona to get to 7-3. They then need to come out of the bye and finish 4-2 which should get them to 11-5 and a division title.

The Jets had a lot of top heavy signings which resulted in a top heavy roster. A roster that was susceptible to injuries. Any amount of injuries can overwhelm a team. However had the Jets been deeper they would have been able to withstand the injuries they did have better and maybe not put themselves in as deep of a hole as they did. I think the Bills had only 2 signings that were 9 million aav or more (Mitch and Brown) whereas the Jets had something like 5-6 in the 2019 off-season.

I don't know why they don't just have all replay reviews happen from a replay ref like they do in the NCAA. I find it stupid that it is up to the coaches digression to decide wither or not the referees made a bad call or not. It's not a big deal now that all turnovers and scores are reviewed but it is still a pet peeve.

I think people don't understand that the testing was already very lax to being with. I think people thought the NFL was doing more randomized weed testing than they were and thus are thinking that it went from being policed to open season. When in reality we are going from a token level of testing to no testing. Not much is going to change.

The Jets starters vs. the Bills starters were about even maybe slightly in favor of the Bills. But the Jets built a top heavy team in 2019 susceptible to injuries due to lack of depth. The Bills roster was built to be deep on both lines and have a lot of roster flexibility. The Jets sustained a few key injuries and their team fell apart. That's poor roster construction in the NFL esp when you have a QB on a rookie deal.

Fully agreed, but in the circumstances NFL players found themselves in prior to them fully eliminating the testing now wasn't that hard to beat the test. You got test at one given point in the year and all you have to do is abstain for 6 weeks of the year to be free to smoke the rest of the year. Not exactly a hard thing to do. But I do think that it is better to just eliminate the test and ask players to be responsible like they are with alcohol.

Weed is a mental addiction for some people its physical addiction is very low in most people if existent at all and you should be able to quit cold turkey without any physical problems or minor ones like irritability and haziness. I think the pee test is up to 6 weeks if you are a heavy daily user but yes you could beat it with just 2-3 week clean. If I were an NFL player I would do 6 weeks just to be safe as I have had friends who have failed pee test after not smoking for 30 days. Literally you stop smoking for 6 weeks and you can be good the other 46 weeks of the year.

The NFL's testing on weed was basically that you got a pee test for weed the first week of training camp. If you tested clean you didn't get tested until the next season. A heavy daily smoker like Hernandez just had to stop smoking 6 weeks before camp to pass the test then they would be allowed to smoke the rest of the year. It was basically an addiction test.

I don’t see him being anything more than a camp body, with AJ added to the DE mix the team has 4 DE’s plus Johnson (who would be the 4thDE if they carry Addison as a LB) so I can’t see this singing being anything more than camp depth unless massive injuries happen.

Aaron Hernandez beat the NFL's weed testing, I doubt many players habits are going to change.

I just don't see Billy B with a quality defense, competent O-line, and good special teams unit not getting to 6-8 wins. Their RB duo is solid and their receivers aren't as tragic as people make them out to be. Their biggest question is the QB and who he throws to. But I can easily see the Pats just asking their QB to game manage and take what the defense gives him and getting a few wins by not making mistakes and playing tight defense.

It is all about the QB in this league and I think Darnold will rival Allen as the best QB in the AFCE over the next 4 years. I think the Jets GM this past off-season has also shown to be a much more prudent approach that might help them build long term. What concerns me about the Jets is Darnold who I think will ascend to being a top 10 QB. When you have a good QB you could get to 8-10 wins fairly consistently. The Fins and Pats don't really have as good of a QB situation which casts doubts as to how they can compete long term.

The Colts in 2010 were dependent on having a great offense built around Manning. Their defense had eroded and their offense was propped up by Manning. Take away Manning and that offense collapses and they have nothing. The Patriots have great coaching, a very strong defense and special teams. The Colts had none of those things. They had a great QB and some pieces on offense. Take away the QB and the offensive pieces are less effective. Take away the QB from the Pats they still have the coaching, defense and special teams. Are the Patriots worse than the 2018 Bills? The Bills had a horrid offense but a quality defense and well coached team scratched out 6 wins.

The Colts were a bad roster being propped up by an all time great QB in Manning. Once you removed Manning the team collapsed. They didn't have a good defense and their offensive components were all connected and made better by Manning. The Patriots however are much better coached and they have been carrying their QB the past two seasons with a great defense and rushing attack in 2018. I can't see the Pats winning less than 5 games. The defense is a top 10 if not 5 defense (remember in 2018 when a top 5-10 defense carried the Bills to 6 wins), the ST unit is very good, and their offensive line should be better having several players coming back from injury. On top of that they are well coached which is a huge advantage. I just don't see a complete collapse.

The NFL unlike the MLB or NBA is very volatile. Injuries and luck in close games are always two big equalizers. Injuries can derail any season in any league but they are much more likely to happen in a given NFL season. Then of course there are always 2-3 close games in an NFL season that come down to a missed field goal or a late turnover or something very goofy. If those 2-3 games go against you a team that should have won 10 games wins 7 or 8. I genuinely think this team if reasonably healthy (every team has injuries) and no regression from Josh is a 10-11 win team and is easily a 12 win team with even moderate progression from Josh. But you just never know in the NFL what is going to happen.

To me the jury is still out on Flores, yes he did scratch 5 wins out of a team that probably should have only won 1-3 games BUT all he did was win 5 games. Many former NE coaches don't pan out long term and I think I am going to see what Flores does in year two with more expectations and talent before I call him a good coach. What doesn't make me afraid of Miami is their QB situation. Fitz is a mediocre QB and Tua in my opinion won't last at the NFL level health wise. If Tua is a bust that's at least 2-3 seasons burnt at the QB position. Why I think the Jets are the more looming threat is that they have the QB. I think Darnold will establish himself as a top 10 QB in the league next season and long term if nurtured right could be a top 5 QB. When you have the QB the rest of the team can fall in place a lot easier. They can sack Gase and find someone that can build around Darnold long term. The bottomline is that I am not so sure Flores is a good coach and if their QB situation with Tua doesn't pan out they are in for a rough time in the next 3 seasons. Whereas if Darnold is a top 10 QB the Jets despite their coaching will be competitive.

The Fins to me have a lot of issues along the O-line, a lackluster QB situation, so/so receivers and a defense that is fairly average. They scream a 7 win team to me. I don't know how well they are coached because Jauron would win 7 games with a ***** roster and I didn't consider him to be a good coach.

All the time Miami makes these big free agency splashes and I never see them have any level of sustained success. I think the Jets and Miami are mid-level teams who will win between 7-9 games depending on how lucky they are with injuries and close games. The Jets have the QB and rebuilt their O-line smartly this time, but they lack weapons and their defense is nothing more than average. Miami lacks a lot of talent in several areas but is improved and they are well coached. Both teams are a year away. Who I am not sure about in the division is the Patriots. Their defense and special teams are good but their offense could be tragic but I wouldn't put it past them to scratch out a decent offense with what they have. I could see the Pats winning 5 games or 11.

The Jets problem is their coach talent wise they are only a step behind (probably 2 starting pieces on defense and a reliable receiver away from having a similar talent level to what the Bills had in 2019) the 2019 Bills team talent wise but the coaching is mediocre at best. Gase scheme wise isn't a bad coach but he doesn't seem to know how to handle and mold the culture of an organization. What makes me fear the Jets long term is that I think Darnold will be a legit top 10 QB. But I question their ability to get enough talent around him in the next 2 seasons when he will still be on his rookie deal and if they won't dump Gase and rest their ability to compete by the time Darnold is due for a big cap hit. This past off-season the Jets actually acted pretty prudently. It was just the mess that was 2019 (lots of high end signings that ignored depth) free agency that set the team back. The Jets quietly rebuild their O-line with some smart signings and added several pieces to their offense via the draft. Their defense while nothing fantastic isn't tragic. I think Gase is a much bigger hinderance to that organization than their current GM (who wasn't there in the 2019 free agency period.) Gase is a good offensive mind but watching that team and that organization you see a team that has not culture and can't get out of its own way despite a not so bad talent level and a good young QB. I like Darnold he is what the Jets have going for themselves. Gase is what will hold that team back from winning more than 10 games in Darnold's rookie contract.

Their secondary is not that good besides Jamal Adams and they have an anemic pass rush. Their defense will be average at best.

Roberts game isn't based off of speed all that much and he isn't coming off of a major injury so I think his level of play should maintain. His best qualities are his reliability in fielding the ball and his patience in the return game.

Davis I think is a lock over McKenzie, I think that the competition for WR 5 is going to be insane (WR6 will be Roberts as a return man) McKenzie, Foster, Duke, and Hodgins will all be competing for one roster spot.