billsfan89

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.

The Bills roster has flaws but it certainly is the most complete roster they have had since 2015 (Coming off of a top 5 defense in 2014 and adding a lot of offensive talent) but unlike 2015 the Bills actually have the coaching and culture set up to capitalize on the talent. I also think the approach to building the team is much more sound beyond just having good coaching. They have a coherent plan at QB and appear to understand how to acquire defensive talent both via free agency and via the draft. BUT the results thus far through 2 seasons have been mixed. So although on paper the team looks to have added a lot of talent in areas of weakness while retaining almost every component of the team that was successful it still has to bear out on the field. I think anything less than 9 wins is fireable for McD. So while the positivity this off-season has been deserved it still has to play out on the field.

Just do all booth reviews like in college. Why do we trust the coaches to make a limited amount of reviews? Just let the professionals do it and find a way to streamline it as much as possible.

A lot of people were projecting Glenn as more of a guard or RT coming out of college which is why he fell to early round 2. Obviously he was one of the better LT’s in the league from 2012 to 2015 (and fairly healthy as he started most of his games in 2012 to 2013 and started all 16 games in 2014-2015.) But unfortunately for the Bills Glenn got hurt in 2016 and again in 2017 (although whenever he was on the field he was still a good player.) So I think after the Bengals couldn’t keep him on the field in 2018 it is probably a good idea for them to put the rookie Williams at LT and kick Glenn next to him. Hopefully Cordy can revive his career as a guard. I think if Glenn can stay healthy at guard the Bengals O-line could be greatly improved. The Bengals spent their 2018 and 2019 first round picks along the O-line (J.Williams and B.Price) if both those players can round into form and Glenn gives them some solid play I think things will turn around for them quick.

I think you are correct that the running game could be utilized against smaller DT’s however Donald grades out pretty good against the run so it is not like 290ish pound DT’s are going to be ineffective against the run always. Even the Pats threw a lot of short and intermediate passes (what has been a big part of replacing the running game’s useage in modern NFL offenses) in their playoff run as opposed to being a uber run heavy offense. Brady threw it 44 times in the divisional round against the Chargers and although the Pats ran a lot that mostly came after they were up and salting away the clock. Brady threw it 46 times in the AFC championship game and his passing was much more effective than their ground and pound game (none of their 3 backs average more than 3.9 yards per carry.) So I don’t forecast the running game making a comeback (Much like old school back to the basket centers never made a comeback in the NBA even though they were facing smaller competition) in the modern NFL at least not in the old school ground and pound sense. I think you will get 2-3 playoff teams each year that will be successful with a great defense and an offense based off of running and avoiding turnovers. But those teams won’t get past the conference championship because some other team will have a QB and more consistent offense to pair with a good defense. Is it possible there will be exceptions? Yes of course but in general teams that have good QB’s on rookie deals and teams with veteran QB’s taking a pay cut will be the consistent Super Bowl contenders. Great defenses like the Broncos in 2015 and the Legion of Boom are hard to sustain past a 2-3 year period, keeping a good O-line and skill positions core around a bad QB while also keeping an elite defense together is hard to do under the cap even if you aren’t paying a QB much. I could be wrong (I am just some D-bag fan on a forum) but to me the trend to get smaller and more athletic along both sides of the ball is going to continue. The running game will still be a component to NFL offenses esp as running back like Bell, Barkley, and Gurley that are both rushing and passing threats emerge. But I see the running game staying at 30-40% of offensive snaps as opposed to the well above 50% it used to be. Teams used to on average run the ball 50% of the time. Now that average is about 40%. I think it won’t go much below 40% but it won’t ever sniff 50%.

I disagree that a heavy mauling run first offense is a sustainable approach to winning in the modern NFL. Yes if you have a dominant defense and a stacked O-line you can play that way. However keeping a defense intact is hard to do in the cap era. Typically a defense has a 2-3 year shelf life as a top league unit. Even Seattle's defense which was a lot of young guys drafted together only had a 4-5 year dominant run before falling down to less elite status and those defenses were composed with 3 extraordinary draft classes. I think in the end you have to build a passing attack long term to sustain success in the NFL. To draw an NBA parallel again, the teams that tried to go big and old school against small ball lineups mostly failed. To argue for a run first offense as a long term strategy will fail.

Baker had one of the best rookie seasons in a long time. The team won 7 games and a tie, the team acquired a big name player in Odell (as well as Hunt) and some defensive talent of note (Vernon, Richardson, and Greedy.) Overall I think it is understandable to think a QB who had success as a rookie will have more success with greater skill position players around him and the defense which was decent in 2018 could be improved given the talent acquisitions. The Jets acquired some sexy players but they had a horrid record and their roster has more questions. The Bills acquisitions were more wide spread but less top heavy and the national media doesn't pay attention to the Bills much let along a Bills team coming off of 6 wins.

Injuries or something else unforeseen can happen. However I could actually see the Bills trading up to get an elite WR IF they feel a stud number one WR is the missing piece. McBeane has never been shy about trading up for a player they covet. Josh, Zay, Dawkins, Edmonds, Knox, and Ford are all examples of draft day trade ups they have made off the top of my head. That's 2 trades per-draft. So it is not as if McBeane isn't afraid to go up and get their guy. Also if the acquisitions in 2019 and the 2020 free agency acquisitions fill out most of the teams needs and they are really just missing an elite WR for Josh then the move become plausible to trade up from somewhere in the 20’s or teens to a top 5 pick. Atlanta traded a 2ndand future 1stto go up to take Julio Jones because they felt like the only thing stopping them from one of the best offenses in the league was an elite WR opposite White. But I don’t see the Bills having less than 6 wins. This team with one of the worst mismanaged QB situations crafted out 6 wins and the defense that carried the team remains intact and filled with young and prime talent. The offense which was horrid is greatly improved in all aspects.

Much like basketball the NFL is entering into its own small ball era. Defensive linemen are becoming better and better athletes. Linebackers are becoming more like hybrid safeties and safeties and corners are equally as athletic. I think in 5 years you will be seeing Aaron Donald and Ed Oliver be the prototype for DT’s. Sub 300 pound uber quick and uber athletic players. While LB’s will look more and more like strong safeties sub 240 quick and able to cover. The Bills defense is being adapted to that style and it is good to see the Bills being a modern team in that sense. I really enjoy seeing them building to where the league is going as opposed to chasing trends 5 years too late.

The Bills are generally speaking off the national radar esp when the team is average or bad. So I don't know why fans are always shocked or indignant when they get disrespected or ignored by the national media.

Ed Oliver should be a help to the pass rush.

My question with Wentz is can he stay on the field. Dude is coming off a torn ACL and a broken back in two consecutive seasons. Those are pretty serious injuries. He was an MVP candidate in 2017 no doubt and he was pretty dam good in 2018 when he played but he then got another serious injury. I think the Eagles do bounce back as they strengthened their O-line and got added some nice veteran pieces to both sides of the ball. But that is only if Wentz is actually healthy. I do think that the Rams however do fall down to Earth as their O-line is suspect.

No Mitch either on the O-line. We are going to see how good Mahomes is with a weakened O-line and Sammy and their 2nd round pick as their best WR's. Kelce is dam good but without Hill stretching the field things look worse.

They will probably platoon Ragland and Lee. Ragland is a thumper on early downs and Lee will come in on passing downs

I think if a team were interested enough to offer a multi year deal of any consequence he would have signed. He will likely take another one year deal given the red flags vs. good but not elite production.

I personally would have loved for them to trade up for DK at around pick 58 to 59. I would have loved for them to take a chance on him as a Mike Evan's type deep threat even with the health concerns as at that pick you can take a chance. But I don't think any fan can really be that upset with their decision to draft Knox and Single in the 3rd round. Both were players of need even if some didn't feel the value was there. For one the team not drafting a WR means that they like what they have on the roster behind Brown and Beasley. They likely think that there is a good chance Foster and or Zay can develop into a reliable WR. I remember NY Giants fans in the 2007 off-season were bitching how the team didn’t sign any notable free agents. I forgot which pundit said it but he said that if a team has some cap space and doesn’t make any major acquisitions it probably means they like what they have on the roster. That was my interpretation of the Bills draft. They signed Brown and Beasley (so it is not like they are just rolling over the same core that didn’t produce) and they like Zay and Foster behind them. In 2020 if they need some more help they can go to the draft or find another player via trade or free agency.

Almost every team's chances are dependent on their QB. If almost any teams QB gets hurt that's all she wrote for the season. The Bills season rests mainly on Josh Allen both his health and development.

A Tight End that can BOTH run block and be a threat in the receiving game is a huge asset. Which is why Gronk was such a weapon. But Lee Smith is not in any way shape or form a serious threat in the receiving game. He is a one dimensional player whose dimension is diminished in the modern NFL. A dual threat is so much more valuable because you can go smash mouth or toss it to them in the passing game. Lee Smith is not catching many passes. I think blocking tight ends have a place as a niche in certain situations but that niche is probably only 15-20% of offensive snaps, why are we paying good money for that esp when there were decent options on the roster for that.