billsfan89

Dilfer isn't wrong but the Bills just don't have a choice. The worst QB in the league is Allen's backup. Sadly I just don't see any alternative to playing Allen. I wished that the Bills had a decent O-line and some receivers for him to throw to but sadly they are eating a lot of dead money to get out from under contracts and they made two big trade ups that gutted draft capital. They have a compromised roster that Allen is suffering from.

My hope is that the Bills if they do land a top 2 pick are able to get a trade down to acquire a haul of picks. I am not sure how coveted the QB prospects will be in this upcoming draft nor am I sure the Bills will land a top 2 pick. If the Bills end up picking in the middle to back end of the top 10 (Which is where I think they will end up picking between 5-8) I hope there is either a WR or OL prospect worth taking up that high. But free agency is where they have to re-infuse the team with talent to make a run with Allen while he is still on a rookie deal. They in my mind should be able to land a top guard and one of the top two centers on the market. Adding two starters on the interior OL would help the OL improve greatly, although I would prefer also fixing the RT spot too, I am not sure the team would spend on three big OL contracts but two is a must. WR should be addressed at least partially, the market for WR's isn't great but even getting two solid players there would greatly help Allen. Defensively the team should look at a slot corner as it is a cheap fix to one of the few needs the team has. The only primary need on defense would be pass rusher adding a vet on a short deal might work out to improve the only weak aspect of the defense. I suspect that if the Bills are drafting between 5-8 the three top picks should be on the offensive side of the ball. WR, OL. and WR/TE should be the first three picks position wise (Although you never know how prospects fall.)

It's tough that the Bills couldn't have hit on that pick (Or at least Zay hasn't panned out yet, its only 25% though year two) it would be helpful for the team going forward to have a good young WR, it would make building up that unit a lot easier to do.

Hughes will be 31 next season and I am not sold on Murphy on anything other than a situational pass rusher (Still has 12 more games into the season maybe he shows more) unless Lawson shows that he can be a front line pass rusher I think the Bills should looking into adding a veteran pass rusher. Clowney is a dominant front line player and would worth a massive contract, I don't think that the Bills would pursue him if he even hit the market but a dominant pass rusher is the one few remaining big front line needs of the defense (I see Hughes as a 2nd pass rusher and Murphy as a situational player, jury still out on Shaq but he looks more like a situational player.) Odds are the big money in free agency will be spent along the O-line as there are a lot of good interior O-line players on the market. But I do feel like the Bills should pursue a pass rusher even if it is a player like Brandon Graham on a short term deal. I do think if the Bills do end up with a top 2 pick there might not be a trade down worth it and it looks like the top two picks might be pass rushers (Oliver and Bosa) it just might be a point where the Bills circumstances dictate that they take a pass rusher a top the draft and they don't address WR until round 2.

Whaley and Co filled out the offensive side of the ball fantastically in free agency/trades. InCog was a gem, Shady was a steal, and even Clay was solid although overpaid. Plus for all the **** Tyrod gets he was a cheap and massive upgrade over the play at QB. It was just the defensive scheme change took at top 5 defense and turned it into a mediocre defense. If somehow the team could have kept Schwartz but still made the same offensive moves (Which to Rex's credit the Roman hire and the InCog signings were his ideas) then I honestly think the Bills would have made the playoffs and won 10 plus games in back to back seasons maybe even winning a playoff game or two. Now I think the 2019 off-season is one of the most critical the team has had in a very long time. They need to hit on 4 or more free agency signings and bring in another solid draft class. WR the biggest need but a fairly weak WR class. Odds are the draft will be where WR is addressed more. Interior O-line is a very strong class and probably where the team can really fill needs and spend money. Pass rusher might also be a spot worth taking a shot at.

Gilmore was a very good player, but I never thought he was a top 5 player at his position at best he was arguably bottom top 10 for one to two seasons. His last two seasons in Buffalo he was a very inconsistent player, getting burnt or playing very well from game to game. 2014 and 2013 were his best seasons but as I said he was never an elite corner in those years. White is playing at a top 10 level right now and could easily be in the conversation as a top 5 corner soon. I wouldn't write of Revis as not being a really great corner that one year he was with the Pats*. On that team Revis was a top 5 (if not top 10) corner in the league. He might not have been quite Revis island but he wasn't that far off.

A lot of players love it early on in their career (Less pressure but you still get to live in the NYC area, hell the old area was closer to New York city than most parts of the outer boroughs) but then they usually want to play in bigger markets as they get deeper into their 20's. There are exceptions of course. Brodeur might be the best ever at his position and he never left until the very end of his career and even one guy who left in his prime Scott Niedermayer left to play in the New Jersey of the West Coast Anaheim (Mainly because he wanted to play with his brother too.) I think if you want the least amount of pressure but still want to be in a relevant area playing for a secondary type team like New Jersey or the Islanders is probably your best bet. The Nets, Devils, and Islanders being the second tier teams of second tier sports (No offense to hockey and basketball but in terms of local popularity in NYC Football is king and baseball rules the summer) makes those three teams virtually invisible. Even the Jets and Mets can fly under the radar a little bit more than a team like the Brewers or Bucks can in their respective markets.

Exactly I can't see MLB's commanding more than 10-12 million a year. A great MLB can be an integral part to your run defense, a major part in defending the short and intermediate passing game while also adding in a little to your pass rush. However they aren't primary pass rushers and the market for them isn't too crazy.

I live in the NYC market and I can tell you that there really isn't much anonymity playing for big teams in those markets. Yes it is less of a hive-mind but it is also a type of market that can magnify everything you do on a much bigger scale. It's a different kind of challenge. When players in New York (Particularly the Yankees, Giants, Knicks, and Rangers although the Jets and Mets get good coverage) do something it become much likely to be national news because of the interest in the market. Then there is the hyper local NYC media which is its own hyper focused hive-mind. I think the best markets to play in are second tier big city markets. Playing in Anaheim or New Jersey is probably the most chill places you can play. You are in big markets where other teams command attention (while there are other things going on) and you don't have a hyper local focus on you.

Allen looks like an overmatched rookie playing with sub par talent around him. He makes some electrifying plays and flashes his potential but he is raw and doesn't have a whole lot of help. Hopefully the game starts to slow down for him. He is by all accounts Allen is a bright kid and an extremely hard worker by all accounts. So I think he will continue to progress. It probably will continue to look bad in the coming weeks but hopefully as he gets into the second half of the season you really start to see some progression.

In the Texans game I saw 1 or 2 solid deep balls but he doesn't clock it back often this season. I don't know if he doesn't trust his shoulder or arm or if he is still feeling out his arm and playing it conservative. Either way something looks off with him.

15 and hour as a national minimum wage is way too high. That's not to say that in certain areas of the country like NYC and LA that 15 isn't a fair minimum wage. But once you get into lower cost of living areas 15 an hour isn't just a living wage it is a lower middle class or better wage at an individual level. I think a lot of people who advocate for a 15 dollar an hour federal minimum wage do not understand the lower cost of living in a lot of other areas of the country. Although I do tend to agree that the federal minimum wage is due for an increase. If you adjusted the federal minimum wage for inflation it would be 8.75 an hour. Right now I think we could probably raise the federal minimum wage to somewhere between 9.50 and 10 dollars an hour phasing it in over 3-4 years. All reputable economic studies show that lower to modest increases to the minimum wage help job growth. It's when you do insanely high increases in too short a span that it hurts job growth. Another point to make is that you can't use automation as an excuse to keep wages low. Unless you want no minimum wage (Which would have a horribly depressing effect on wages) then robots are always going to be able to outperform humans cheaper. Robots have a 3 dollar an hour cost, so why would keeping the minimum wage at 7.25 prevent robots from taking that job if they do it for 4.25 an hour cheaper?

5 games in and Luck shows he can take a hit, run well, and throw short passes. But the long ball and even intermediate ball are still missing (At least consistently.) I hope as the season goes along Luck shows greater progression.

I think you need at least 1 quality WR and 1 decent WR in free agency, yes you are going to probably have to spend 2 high draft picks at receiver but if the Bills are drafting really high up like picks 1 or 2 and there is no trade down than the best players will be pass rushers. Which means the Bills are likely going to take Bosa or Oliver. Which means early rounds 2 and 3 will be WR picks and those playes won't have as high an impact. Which in my mind makes grabbing 2 veteran WR's a priority. You don't need 2 high priced guys, I think one higher end receiver like Tate and another decent one should do. I think you are better off loading up on the interior O-line money since the free agent class is much stronger there. But the cover is so bare at WR That they will need at least 2 veteran players there. Defensively the only need I can see is pass rush and slot corner. There are a lot of good vet pass rushers out there that can be had on short term deals. Although I think if any player that could possibly reach the market is worth a 20 million dollar contract it could be Clowney. Even with 90 or more million in cap space I think it might be hard to go out and get both Tate and Enunwa plus a higher priced tight end like James (Trey Burton level money for him) while still spending on the O-line. I would love to see it happen but I just think the choice will be to go higher on O-line and add 2 skill position players.

Is Enunewa a free agent? If he is he wouldn't be a bad pickup. There are two elite centers hitting the market in Marpet and the center from Denver. Either one would be a great addition while there are a good amount of guards hitting the market and adding an elite center plus a good guard would greatly help the O-line.

24-10 Titans. I think the defense will keep the Bills in the game but the offense just won't be able to do much with Allen under pressure and WR's unable to make any plays.

The WR's available in free agency aren't that great. Golden Tate and John Brown (who the Bills tried to sign this past off-season) are probably the best targets the Bills can get. The Bills will probably have to spend 2 out of their first 3 draft choices on the WR position. The good news is there is a lot of options available along the interior O-line. The Bills can and should be able to nab a great center and a good guard and have plenty of cash to grab Tate and or Brown. They can even do all that and add a pass rusher if they still want one.

I honestly wouldn't mind it. Anything that gets KD out of Golden State is good for the league. The Warriors passe dominance of the league is bad for the NBA in my opinion. I know the ratings went down the first year Durant went to the Warriors but they went up last year so I don't think that ratings wise or business wise it makes much of a difference but I think personally having one team be so above and beyond better than the rest just makes the whole thing an exercise in futility. Give the Warriors their 4th and Durant their 3rd rings this year. Then lets see if Durant can go to the Lakers and win some and lets see if the Warriors original big 3 can win another one on their own. I still think Golden State would be title contenders without Durant and Boogie but they would be a normal beatable contender. I really have not enjoyed watching the NBA the past 2 years because I knew the Warriors would win if they didn't sustain injuries. It was just all too predictable. Even in the Rockets series when they got down I knew the Warriors would pull it out.

You can roll over cap space in the league now but that does come with some limitations here and there. I do think that the Bills will try and roll over some cap space to save for the extensions of the 2017 draft class. But they have to spend money on some needs. There are 2 stud centers that will be free agents and a good crop of guards available. I hope that the Bills at least sign 2 high end interior O-line players. I also would love to see at least 2 veteran WR's. I think they need one higher end player like Tate and a second tier player too (I would like to see John Brown come in if his price isn't too crazy.) Overall I think the Bills need to in free agency try and target 2 starters along the O-line, 2 WR's, and a pass rusher in free agency (I would also possibly add in a slot CB given the need could be affordable to fix.) Considering the Bills could range from 90-110 million in cap space I think that's not an unreasonable list to accommodate those needs and still be able to roll over a good chunk of cap space.

I hope you are right, I think Star is productive and maybe there is more to his game than meets the eye but I just don't see the Bills rushing defense as being dominant nor do I see Star being the center of gravity to the defense like a guy like Snacks is. But I do think he is productive and I think people calling Star a complete waste are way off. I think our assessment of his value is just different.

I think they will sign Clowney and restructure Watt's contract. The Texans are still a few years away from paying their QB (IF Watson can ever retain his rookie year form) so they can afford to pay a pair of dominant pass rushers.

The only issue with Dareus that is a X-factor is was he an issue with the coaches and in the locker room? Now that doesn't excuse the massive overpay for Star to do the same role but the off-field issues with Dareus make the trade a bit more reasonable as it dumped a lot of salary in 2019 and it got rid of a malcontent. But I feel like the production Star is providing while not useless is something that could have been attained for much cheaper.

Clowney is a pipe dream (I don't think he will hit free agency), honestly I don't expect this team to spend big on a pass rusher as I think if they are drafting top 2 they likely will spend that pick on a pass rusher. But I do expect that they will sign some significant offensive players. I think they can't ignore the WR position or the interior O-line. I especially think that the interior O-line will be a big priority since there will be a good market for guards and centers and it is one of the biggest needs on the team. There aren't any players that will need big contracts in 2019 (White, Dawkins, and Milano all will have 2 years remaining on their rookie deals no one else is really coming up on an extension) so there will not be a need to save money in the short term to save money in the long term. So there aren't many big contracts they need to preserve cap space for. Even then in 2020 more contracts and dead money can come off the books to preserve the need for future cap flexibility. I don't expect a huge spree but I do think there will be 3-4 pretty significant signings on offense maybe one on defense. There are simply too many holes around a young QB for the Bills to not spend something significant around the offense.

The thing is I don't see Star as being an elite run stuffer. He is good in that role but not elite like Snacks. At least from what I saw/see and what the word on him was in Carolina. I think Star at 7-8 million AAV is an overpay you could live with but his cap number next year is 11.5 million, which is horrendous (His number this season is 6.5 which explains the bump despite AAV.) Johnathan Hankins comes to mind as a player the team could have signed for sub 3 million and probably would have done a job not too far off from what Star has produced. They then would have had even more cap space next year and maybe could have paid some more to get a WR.

Sammy isn't worth 16 million even in the context of the market of free agency. I would rather pay Golden Tate 10 million a year (Which I am not sure he would cost that much but I am rounding up) to get better production and a better player in the locker room and save 6 million and be able to get out the deal at about the same time despite signing a player a year later. I would rather draft a WR early and fill other needs like the pass rush with the cap space than have Sammy's injured prone and not even worth it when healthy play on the team at 16 million a year. I also would rather pay Golden Tate 10 million and have pick 56 and a year of EJ Gaines, it's not like the Bills just let Sammy walk for money. Your argument would be better if this was just a is Sammy worth the dollars argument. The Bills got a pretty good return for him on the last year of his deal. In a capped league you have to spend your dollars wisely and draft picks are gold. The Bills not only avoided overpaying Sammy but they got a good draft pick and a solid defensive player in return. Sammy hasn't even done jack **** since he left. His numbers on the Rams offense where he could have easily commanded lots of targets were rather pedestrian. 25% of the way into the season his pace for the Chiefs are 56 receptions, 4 TD's, and 740 yards. If the Bills were paying Sammy 16 million for that kind of production and they found out they could have traded him for a 2nd round pick and a solid corner people would be calling for firings.