billsfan89

McBeane has to put a lot more talent around him on offense. I mean they have the cap space and draft picks to address various needs so it isn't like they can't do so but that's a big challenge. Besides Dawkins, Allen, and maybe Foster I don't know what good young pieces exist on the roster. Teller and Zay possibly but I am 50/50 on them. So at best you need a WR1, 3 offensive linemen, a tightend of the future, and an RB of the future. I know they have 90 plus million in cap space and a full draft class but that's a lot of acquisitions to hit on in one off season. Plus they might need a player or two on defense.

I am not sure if Foster can be a WR2 but I am starting to think he might be. A few weeks ago I though Zay was a WR3 and Foster a WR4 gadget type. Now I am thinking Zay is a bubble WR3 or high end depth WR4 while Foster is a WR3 in the mold of Tyler Gabriel with potential to be a burner WR2. I still would still want the team to try and find 2 proven WR or 1 vet and draft a WR high up. But Foster has made me more of a believer.

It could be, but I think the Fins are going to be possibly playing for a playoff spot (They could be in a win and need help scenario.) So its not a game I would favor the Bills winning. In the event the Bills finish 6-10 they probably pick between 8-11. I honestly am not too upset about them ***** up their draft position but I tend to just want the team to play well and lose a close game haha. I do think that this regime has in early returns on 2 drafts shown that they do know how to draft. So the more picks they have the better. I think they do like to trade up to grab talent so I wouldn't be shocked to see a trade up happen either. Overall I think when you have a front office that knows how to draft getting more picks is never a bad thing. Just to clarify I wouldn't hate BPA either but if a good trade down is there take it.

I think Jones could progress more in year 3. In year 1 Jones looked completely lost and not worthy of being on an NFL roster. In year 2 Jones at least looks like a low end slot receiver. That's not saying much in isolation but it is a huge leap of progression from year 1 to 2. Zay is still young and the QB situation this year was a mess. Give Zay an off-season to build off of his improvement in year 2 and to develop consistency with Allen and I think he develops into a solid WR3. That being said I think the Bills likely need to make a big play for at least one WR via trade or free agency. Foster, Zay, and Mackenzie are all showing that they are capable WR's but I wouldn't want to enter into any season just relying on them. Personally I would bring in a vet WR1 and a rookie WR in round 2. Let Zay, Foster, Mac, and a rookie battle it out, depth is never a bad thing.

2018 was the most important draft for McBeane because that was the one where he had to land his QB. Although the 2019 draft is important because now you have to get talent around the QB getting the QB is still the bigger decision. I think this off-season is huge because the Bills are now in the place where every franchise wants to be in position to spend big while a QB is on a rookie deal. The Bills are in a position similar to where the Rams were in 2017 and the Bears last off-season. Now its time to put Allen in a position to win with a year of experience under his belt and a good defense in place.

I suspect the Bills will lose to a highly motivated Pats team next week and at least one or two of the teams ahead of them will win (Giants, Falcons, Detroit, or Tampa Bay) I also think the Dolphins game could be a game that the Fins need to keep their hopes for the playoffs alive so that might be a tough game to win. So if the Bills lose both their last two games they will at least draft between 8-6. A good spot to be to nab an elite OT or even trade down.

Cousins has lived up to his end of the bargain, he has been a mid-level to upper mid-level QB (I think its inarguable that he has been at least about average) and despite the various regressions of the team they still are in line for a wildcard birth (Two games left they are playing better recently and their destiny is in their own hands to make the playoffs.) But I do think that the Vikings overestimated their offensive line (Very puzzling they spent their first round pick on the defense when a stud guard like Will Hernandez was on the board) and seeming forgot that Keenum masked a lot of the o-lines issues with his mobility. Cousins is a pocket passer who has some mobility but mostly works within the pocket. But 2018 was the year that the Cousins win now move was supposed to pay off. In 2019 they can keep a lot of the team together but they might lose some defensive talent and they don't have the cap space to add talent. Its clear that the Vikings are going to have to spend their draft picks building the O-line and try and hope they can keep Barr on defense. Maybe if you have better protection for Cousins and better run blocking for Cook (Who has come on strong to end the season) and Murrary the offense becomes a top 5 unit. Then if you keep a good defense together it can seemingly work without needing to have elite components everywhere.

I think Shady can be an elite 3rd down back who can play other downs on occasion. But I think the Bills need to find a back to take the early down work. I am not too high on Ivory but I would keep him for depth as I think he can fit that role. The team does have a need to draft a RB between round 3-5 in order to give the team much needed youth at the position.

Personally my read on the situation is that the economy for the middle class has not improved since the 1970's. In the 1980's Reagan cut taxes and didn't cut spending. He got the top end of the economy going but the manufacturing base and middle class didn't see much overall benefit, wages stagnated. The best thing Reagan did was pursue cutting inflation which did stabilize things for your average consumer but beyond that the economy in the middle started to erode. In the 1990's Clinton raised taxes moderately but continued on the deregulation and free trade path in order to be a centrist. The economy at the top flourished but the middle class and wages did not see much benefit. Bush II cut taxes and continued with deregulation and it led to a nice sugar high where once again people at the top got rich but manufacturing and middle class wages went down. Then after the Bush years the economy hit the biggest recession in generations and Obama pushed through new deficit spending (Bush also bailed out the banks) at the same time the fed flooded the market with cheap money (QE) and low interest. It stopped the bleeding and thanks to cheap money and low interest for years the economy at the top got going but wages kept stagnating and manufacturing and middle class jobs didn't grow enough. Now Trump pumped in some tax cuts and deregulation and its taken a top of an economy that was doing good and juiced it up. But its just not resonating with the average middle class American and the policies aren't addressing longer term needs (Education, Infrastructure, Healthcare, and Energy.) The tax cuts sugar high should continue in 2019 but in 2020 and certainly by 2021 the economy will hit a recession and the fed will not only have to cut rates but it will also have to do QE again. And honestly that might not be enough to stop the bleeding.

If a trade down isn't available I wouldn't mind taking a mauler RT. RT is just as important as LT these days (often times the best pass rusher will be lined up against the RT) and although there are a lot of O-line players available in free agency there aren't too many top tackles available. The best players are along the interior O-line. I agree that if Oliver or Bosa fall take them but assuming the Bills are picking between 5-9 getting an a young O-line player on the right side to bookend with Dawkins for the next 5-7 years will greatly help the team solidify the O-line. I think they can address WR in round 2 (in addition to supplementing free agency/trade) and nab a running back in round 3 or 4. I am optimistic about the teams ability to address major needs on offense and supplement the defense with talent. I don't expect a huge splurge in free agency but I think they sign 2 major players on offense and a significant player on defense via free agency and then going hard on offense during the draft. Considering how good this regime appears to be at drafting I think a trade down isn't a bad idea but unless the QB draft class is stronger than projected it might be a case where no team in the middle or back of the first round needs a top 10 pick that badly.

If Edmunds turns out to be a consistent probowler for 5-7 years then the pick will be worth it. The Bills swapped an early 3rd for a mid 5th to trade up to 16 to take him, that's a significant cost but its not tragic to move up to take a prospect you think is elite. Value is a valid concern but a modest trade up to acquire an elite player is not something a team will likely regret.

Cousins did what he was supposed to do with the Vikings but the Vikings regressed defensively and along the O-line. Cousins is a pocket passer with some mobility, he needs at the very least a decent O-line to protect him. The Vikings O-line in 2017 wasn't special but they were decent, they didn't do too much to improve it in 2018 other than add a 2nd round pick to it. Now the Vikings have the worst O-line in football and their defense went from top 2 to 11. The Vikings overpaid for Cousins because they were so desperate for a QB to go with a roster they thought boasted elite receivers (It does), a solid running back combo (It does), a decent O-line (turned out to be a disaster of an O-line), and a dominant defense (defense turned out to be good but far from great.) Without those other elite components the Vikings regress to where the Lions were last year. The Vikings in 2019 are going to have to make some hard choices with their cap. They probably are going to have to let defensive starters Sheldon Richardson and Anthony Barr go in free agency and they might have to let go of one of their bigger defensive contracts too. They do have a little fat to cut but mostly they would be lucky to only have to cut marginal talent and maybe retain Barr. The Vikings are going to have to have a big impact draft class in 2019 (Probably need 2 O-line starters) and pull some cap magic to retain Barr and maybe get lucky signing a low cost vet or two.

I will admit I was a Rosen over Allen guy, although I did understand why the Bills made the pick I was still concerned the Bills fell for a big arm instead of a more complete prospect. I would still say the jury is still out on both. If the Bills had a do over based off their rookie years they stick with Allen 11 times out of 10. That being said their careers could still shake out either way, so I don't think Bills fans should anoint Allen anything just yet nor should anyone consider Rosen a bust yet.

Brown would have been a 10 year starter in the 80's, 90's. or early to mid 00's. He was fundamentally sound against the run (Always went to the right hole and made the plays that were run at him), he was big enough and strong to not get mauled by most offensive lines (he was able to hold the point of attack) and honestly he seemed to be able to captain the defense in terms of calls and adjustments by all accounts. However he was never an elite run defender (I would say he was average to slightly above average) and he was piss poor in pass coverage. In a game where a balanced offense is 40% running you need your 3 down MLB to be at least capable in pass coverage (While being elite in run defense.) Edumods on the other hand is pretty good in pass coverage as a rookie and has the physical tools to be an elite player in terms of pass coverage. Edumnds also shows the ability to play the run well in terms of physicality and speed. Edumnds needs to round out in terms of his instincts, he will hit the wrong holes and miss on some plays in between and outside the tackles. He also needs to polish his coverage a bit more (He is relying on speed and length in coverage as he can be out of place.) Edmunds mistakes and flaws are more so a product of his raw nature and youth. Edmunds on the back half of the season has played a lot better than he did in his first 5-6 games where he looked outright lost at times. So I think people frustrated with Edmunds struggles are forgetting that Brown was what he was and his style of play was not exactly conducive to high end production in the NFL at the MLB position.

One year in no team has buyers remorse unless the pick was considered a huge unfathomable reach. All 5 rookie QB's went in appropriate draft slots. Rosen over Allen you could argue but Allen was a prospect that would have been drafted in the top 10. So no there is no buyers remorse from any teams just yet. Now year 2 if a QB doesn't start to at least progress beyond their rookie production then you start to have buyers remorse.

One game does not a season make, any defense has bad games where they give up a bad clutch drives. Even the Bears defense (a defense most consider to be the best or among the best) got 30 points hung on them by the Giants with several long clutch drives last week, they also gave up 31 points to the Fins earlier in the year. When analyzing a defense you have to take a look at more than just one or two games. You can argue they are a good but far from elite defense and make a compelling case. However your argument has to be better than well in this one game they stunk.

People kind of forget with 3 games left there is very little a coaching change can accomplish. A coach has 3 weeks to implement new techniques and schemes, that just isn't likely to do much if anything. A change early in the season at least offers the team a chance to change scheme with months to turn things around. If this team was in a playoff push I would say they should fire the ST coach as you have to try and do something even if it is on the margins. But there is no need for such a worthless move in a lost season. Fire the coach in the off-season.

I have watched all 32 teams play this season in at least one game so I have at least given the eyeball test to each team once. You can look at defensive stats and defensive analytics to compare how the Bills grade out generally. I feel confident in saying that there aren't 10 defensive units better than the Bills. Right now I would say that the Bears, Cowboys, and Ravens defenses are better than the Bills. Then there are about 4-5 that are in that arguable similar range.

Is the defense the best defense in the league? No. Is the defense a top 10 unit in the league? Yes. Is the defense a top 5 unit in the league? Arguable. The defense to me ranks somewhere in the 4-8 range. Its a dam good unit maybe even a borderline elite unit, however it is not the best in the league. I think there is much potential as the young players get their wings this season to take the unit into next year and with an upgrade at one or two positions and some depth additions the defense can be firmly in the top 3 units in the league.

I see the McD vs. Jauron comparison and I don't quite see it. McD played uber conservative against the Jets, but he generally has shown to be much more aggressive than Jauron was in both game management and in scheme. McD's defense is much more attacking and aggressive in general. McD has also made more aggressive decisions too. So I don't see why these comparisons get brought up more and more.

The last step that separates a talented 8-8 to 10-6 team that hopes to win a playoff game from a 11+ title contender is closing out games. In the NFL if you have a high degree of talent games usually come down to a few plays towards the end of games. Super Bowl teams know how to close out games. McBeane is going to have to address the lack of talent on offense and patch a hole or two on defense while McD has to take a step up as a head coach and insure that his teams are prepared consistently for as many situations as possible.

Special teams has been below average all season, the spectacular play of Haush has kind of made things seem better than they are too. If the Bills had a mid-level or worse kicker they would be among the worst special teams units in the league. If the Bills want to make a big leap next year they have to address special teams in a big way, you have the kicker which is the hardest component to get so grabbing a new coach, new punter, and sprinkling in a couple of versatile specialists is fairly easy to in terms of resources.

The Jets game was kind of the perfect loss for lack of a better phrase The mistakes that lost the game were mostly on the special teams unit (which is an easy unit to fix resources wise, esp when you have a good kicker in place) and the game showcased a lot of positive features of the team (Although some negative ones too.) The loss of course not only helps with draft position but it also helps that the Jets get lower in the draft too. Overall I am not too distraught about the loss other than the Milano injury.

Holmes was a JAG who was older and pretty much was what he was at this point of his career. Better off for the Bills to let him go elsewhere and use those snaps on younger players. Glad to see he caught on as he might not have that much longer in the league.

I believe so, Miller and Groy are very expendable sadly I think Miller after a promising start to his career has been ruined by the scheme (Maybe he can turn it around on another team.) Mills I would like to possibly see back as a backup but I am not really going to hate it if they go with a younger player on the bench.