billsfan89

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.

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.