billsfan89

The money isn't an issue for the Bills there is enough left in the 2019 cap to absorb a big contract and a lot of space still to come in 2020 (and fat that can be cut in 2020 to make additional space. ) But to give up significant draft capital (I think it would take a 2nd and a 4th in 2020 at minimum) and take on a big contract for a really good but possibly not elite player is usually a move that backfires. I think a trade for Kyle Rudolph at a much more modest price if this team is really looking to add one more piece to the roster before the season starts.

I like the idea of a bye week into round 2 as an incentive to finish in the top 2. Home field is nothing to sneeze at but the bye is a much greater reward and makes the regular season mean much more.

I don't know why people think taking out 2 pre season games would soften the blow of adding 1 or 2 regular season games. The starters barely play in game one of the pre season and they don't play at all in game 4. Effectively for the main players on the roster they only play 2 preseason games.

6 or less wins without a catastrophic amount of injuries is firable in my opinion unless there is some other context. 7 wins is borderline but I think given the faith in McD's culture they would keep him for one last shot. 8 or 9 wins and I think you keep him on his current deal. 10 or more wins and I think you have to extend him.

Business is based off of continuous growth. From the NFL's viewpoint it is just another Avenue to get some revenue and they can't set a bad precedent by having one franchise not act senselessly greedy.

Most likely going to roll that over a nice chunk that will make next off-season one where they can splurge a bit and keep their own young players.

Zay had a decent year last year. He looked dramatically improved from his rookie year where he looked like he didn't belong in the league. Granted Zay didn't light the world on fire but he at least looked like an NFL player in year two. I think its fair to say that Zay's roster spot isn't safe but it is also hard to say that on most NFL team's they have 6 WR's better than Zay a third year player who was a former second round pick coming off of a decent year. I think the WR talent on this team certainly makes him safer than on a lot of other teams but as I said before it's not like a lot of teams have more than 3 good WR's on their roster.

A lot of non-contact injuries happen during the season, a lot of torn ACL’s happen non-contact. I think that the issue with these non-contact injuries isn’t an issue of conditioning. Most players as I said are in good shape all year round. Yes there are some lazy NFL players like Dareus who once they get the big bonus they phone it in (although Dareus was talented enough to be a pretty decent NFL player even when he phoned it in.) But I think 90% of NFL players are conditioning most of the year. Also adding in more OTA’s and mini-camps won’t make lazy players less lazy. To state it again that I do agree with you there should be more OTA’s and mini-camps along with longer training camps. 10-15 years ago there existed too many OTA’s where teams were meeting up twice a month for weight training, conditioning, mini-camps, light practices, in addition to longer training camps. It was too much for teams to have weight training in the end of February and the middle of March, have conditioning workouts in the beginning of April, have rookie mini-camps in late April, then weight training in the beginning of May, Mini Camps in mid May and early June, strength training in early July then training camp in July. But now the players have rolled back OTA’s and training camp (I think the camp roll back is worse) way too much. Teams meet two times for OTA’s and Mini Camp and that’s about it (rookies have their own separate camp) there should be at least be some more OTA type activity and the training camps should be a few days longer. There is a balance and it is way off.

These guys workout 11 out of 12 months of the year at worst. So I think that the idea that these athletes are out of shape is laughable. This isn’t the 1960’s where training camp was literally to get guys in shape after spending the off-season working jobs. That’s not to say that I think that they have pulled back a bit too much on off-season mini-camps and workouts but the issues the shortened training camps and OTA’s cause is more so an issue with chemistry and integrating new players and draftees to the team than injuries or players being out of shape.

I would love for the Bills to trade a 5th for Rudolph. I think the TE position is a mess. You have Kroft who is hurt and I think will start the season on the PUP. Behind Kroft you have Lee Smith who is a blocking TE more of niche in 20% of offensive snaps. Knox a very raw rookie who will likely need a year or two before he can be a starter, and then a mishmash of players like Croom (who wasn't that impressive) and a 7th round pick in Sweeney. Rudolph would instantly upgrade the weakest position on the team at a fairly modest price and make life for Josh Allen easier. You can PUP Kroft so that he can come back and be healthy as a TE2 (Put Smith and Knox behind Rudolph and Kroft) or at least you don't have to get desperate at TE with Kroft. Overall I think the Bills would be fools to not trade for Rudolph if the price was modest.

Raiders needed some help along the interior of the O-line and Gruden loves him some veteran players. And I am honestly mixed on this because Richie was mostly a good player and good locker room guy in his 3 seasons here. But it looked like after 2017 he had a bit of a breakdown both mentally and physically. I think if his body isn't as catastrophically damaged as he claimed in his retirement then I think he can be a decent to good guard for a Raiders team that needs some help there. However I think that this signing will more than likely just fizzle out with an injury at some point in camp or during the season. Richie seemed to barely make it through the 2017 season and has some miles on him. I think his body is more likely to wear down then he is to have a mental breakdown.

Black Mirror is the best thing going on Netflix. 3 new episodes come out on on June 5th. Stranger Things is Netflix's big hit and for good reason it is dam good. A lot of my favorite Netflix originals have been canceled in the past year or so. American Vandle, Dare Devil, Punisher, and so many other good show have been given the axe by Netflix unfortunately.

A lot of those Hero Ball interceptions will improve with better protection, better receiving options, and more experience hopefully. Allen improving his footwork might also lead to less opportunities for interceptions and the need to play hero ball being diminished. I hope that all these factors come together to improve Allen's play.

He is also an older player, not super old but getting more guaranteed money 2 years from now is nothing to sneeze at. So I think Hughes likes the team and values getting guaranteed money upfront as opposed to risking having a subpar 2019 season.

He might not be a top 5-10 player however he probably would have gotten paid like one had he reached free agency (remember free agency is always about over paying guys) so to retain him for one more season to see what you have in him isn't the worst idea given the more limited commitment a one year option offers.

Teams running a 4-3 don't really carry 5 DT's. There are barely enough snaps for 4 DT's in rotation, with a fifth DT in rotation that would dilute the snaps for one of the DT's currently on the roster.

The Bills gave up on KB and the older WR's and just rolled with the younger faster players at WR. It helped to space the field and get Allen more open players to throw to. It better utilized Allen's skills and power arm. I think that with Brown joining Foster and Zay there is plenty speed at the WR position. Toss in Cole who adds a tough crafty WR in the slot and I think Allen really has a much better set of receivers to throw to. I really do hope they pull of a trade for Kyle Rudolph. Rudolph and Cole would help Allen make those easy throws over the middle and in the short range.

Would you keep 5 players at DT? If not who would you cut? H.Phillips who is a 3rd round pick from last year and showed promise. Star whose contract is impossible to get out of this season and plays a valuable role (even if he is overpaid.) J.Phillips who played well in his role and was brought back on a one year deal of mid-level value, or Ed Oliver who you know won't get cut. I think the Bills with the addition of Oliver are set at DT. I am all for trying to upgrade the team but I think a trade for Kyle Rudolph would be a better avenue for improvement.

He has been solid but unspectacular thus far. 7 sacks in 2016 and a stout run defender but not the dominant interior presence he was billed to be out of college. Still I think he has been productive and he is turning 25 this year so there is plenty of room for him to grow and improve. I doubt the Jets move on from him unless they get a massive haul (2nd round pick or more) and considering he is on the last year of his contract I doubt the Jets get such an offer.

The Vikings would be trading Rudolph to give them some cap relief. So they wouldn't want to take back a contract like Shaq who doesn't break the bank but would add salary. I also think that it would be foolish for the Bills to dump Shaq given the depth and quality at DE isn't great. Sure Shaq is kind of OK but he is still one of the top 3 DE's on the roster and Murphy one of the other top 3 is a big injury risk.

It is very frustrating to hear that James got less money. I think James was a better option outright but factoring in health then it was a no brainer to just spend a little more on James (assuming you had to outspend the Lions a bit to make it happen) than go with an unknown and injury risk in Kroft. I think the Bills should just PUP Kroft and bring in Rudolph if it only costs them a 5thround pick, I would even consider Rudolph for a 4th. I think Rudolph can come in and give top 10 TE production for a fair price (and his contract wouldn’t be a hinderance to future free agency plans) at his age and injury history. You can then have Rudolph start, Lee Smith be the blocking tightend, Knox be a backup receiving TE, and have Sweeney, Croom, and the rest battle it out for the 4thspot until Kroft returns if he returns. I think if the Bills are serious about surrounding Josh Allen with talent then they should be aggressive in making sure there is a good receiving option at tightend esp if the cost to bring in a good one is fairly modest. Knox has potential but is raw, Kroft is hurt, Lee Smith is just a blocker, and Sweeny/Croom and the rest leave a lot to be desired.

Sadly I think you are correct. Not sure if the Bills can go out there and find a vet in free agency or not (honestly have no clue who is out on the market.) Maybe Kyle Rudolph becomes an option.

I don't think quality of losses or wins matters that much 8 wins and 8 losses is the result. You are what your record says. I think how many injuries and how your players develop is the appropriate context to consider. I think 8 wins would be borderline, I would lean on giving McD another make or break season but 7 or less is firable in my opinion.

I think 9 wins is a fair bar. Obviously context matters, if there are massive injuries or Allen gets hurt then you can reevaluate. But under normal conditions I think holding a coach coming off of a 6 win season to improve by 3 games is a fair standard to have. I am not saying it's an absolute standard but I don't think McD should be safe in any circumstance. If McD goes 7-9 and there aren't any mitigating circumstances why should he keep his job? It's not without context but McD shouldn't be a completely safe coach either.

I think if he can get it together mentally he has a good shot to be a backup QB in this league. It's not like he can't be some team's third string QB talent wise. But the issues have always been his mental ability to be a professional combined with some injury concerns. But I hope that he does well, I always hate to see someone squander talent due to off- the field concerns.