billsfan89

The Bills traded away Sammy, Darby, Dareus, Glenn, and Tyrod. Besides Darby (Who did not fit the scheme McD intended to run) all those players were either older or injury prone. Getting value for those players while shedding their contracts is the proper way to build a team. Do you think that this team would be a contender with those players on this team occupying 60 million on the cap? Sammy is making 16 million a year for the next 3 seasons and when the Bills traded him Sammy was a injury prone player. Dareus was a 28 year old player on a massive contract who was a under performing malcontent in the locker room. Cordy Glenn hadn't played a full season since 2015 and was on a massive contract, he was also 29 years old, not ancient but not young. Tyrod had one year remaining on his deal and although I would have preferred to keep him for the final year but the draft compensation was solid and he was gone after one year anyway. The only young player without a massive injury history the team gave up was Darby. The method to success in the NFL is to build around a rookie QB on a cheap contract. The Bills have Allen who once the 2019 season comes around will have 3 years remaining on his deal with a 5th year option. The Bills will be in a position to add a massive amount of talent in short order around a young QB instead of paying injury prone older players.

Shocked Gruden wanted to go defense. James is balling out but Kolton Miller is quietly putting together a nice season in his own right.

Snowden exposed the government spying on its people en mass illegally, basically we have no 4th amendment and Snowden exposed it. Bradley Manning exposed war crimes being committed on behalf of the American people. There was a good that was being done by what they did. Yes it did put people at risk in doing the right thing but their aims and end results were towards a good that was apolitical. Is America about upholding what is right or the aims of our governments interests? Because if America is about doing the right thing then I don't know how you can't consider exposing corruption and war crimes a bad thing. I am not saying that Senators and their families lives are more important but rather the person putting those lives in danger did so for a political aim. Which serves no purpose but a self serving one.

What this person did was awful, it literally put the lives of Senators and their families at risk for nothing more than a political gain. Edward Snowden and Bradley Manning are heroes who put their lives on the line to expose corruption. !@#$ off if you don't want to know what unconstitutional war crimes your government is committing.

Your trade proposal was somewhat reasonable (Although I think they would have to take back at least a 3rd in 2019) but there were other posters saying Shaq and a 4th or 5th which was absolutely absurd.

Gruden is an offensive guy, I doubt he is going to trade his number one young receiver for Shaq !@#$ing Lawson and a 4th or 5th round pick. Cooper has two 1,000 yard seasons in his first three years and has been outright dynamic at times. He is on pace for 1,100 yards so far this season. He has a 5th year option at a fairly reasonable rate for his production level. Why is a draft bust in Lawson and a mid round pick enough to attain this guy? I wouldn't mind trading for Cooper but it is going to take more than Lawson and a mid round pick. It probably would at least take a 2nd rounder or two 3rd round picks to make this trade happen. I would consider it for that price because I think Cooper will be cheaper and as good as any WR on the market next year but that's probably a price most on here wouldn't be willing to pay.

McD was responding to a question about the depth chart and roster adjustments, so it isn't a matter of him not being focused on coaching but just responding to a question asked to him. Once you hit past the draft (esp with the draft being much later than free agency) you pretty much have the principle portions of your roster is about 95% set. There aren't many June cuts now with the post June 1st designation. The only significant additions to rosters beyond the draft are usually trades (Any good free agent is signed by that point) or the occasional cap casualty. Neither one happens often unless you are the 2017 Bills. The culture is built year long so that is always a (no pun intended) process. Overall I think that the X's and O's and general culture are a big part of in season and off-season decision making so I don't think that him answering a question about the roster means he isn't focused on the X's and O's.

The context of the quote is odd too. The question seemed to be asking what is your strategy in figuring out the roster and depth chart. And in that respect culture is huge and important. This isn't and X's and O's question more of a philsophy question. In that context the quote makes more sense.

It seems very negligible in terms of player safety. I mean how many OT games would go past the 10 minute mark? 5-10 a year maybe? That's not really going to make an impact, but you probably increase the amount of ties a year from 0-1 to 4 or more which is really going to impact the game.

I really liked the Titans coming out of this season. The defense and offense are loaded with talent and they massively upgraded their coaching. I projected them to make the playoffs and compete for their division. They honestly should take care of the Bills even if their offense struggles.

Haha, I totally missed that, just got back from a wisdom tooth pull at the dentist barely able to think at the moment.

You are a prisoner of the moment. Lots of people are calling Star a space eater and a lot of people think Star is having little to no impact so you are blending the term to think that people are just using the term to cover for someone's bad play. Watch the difference in the Bills run defense last year when "Space Eater" Darues was there vs. when he left. The Bills had a lot of bad years defending the run when they didn't have a capable space eater after Pat Williams left. The term is basically a catch all for a DT that is a good run defender. A guy like Snacks Harrison is a great space eater who holds the line consistently against double teams and makes it very difficult for a team to run up the middle. To look at Star's impact I think you have to take a look at how effective the Bills rushing defense is. I think the Bills run defense this season with Star being a space eater has been so so. The team has given up 3.2, 4.2, 2.3, and 4.4 yards per carry in their 4 games. That's not bad but not great either. But the term isn't code for bad player it is more so trying to describe a role a player is performing that might not results in defensive stats.

The Bills drafting in 2017 and 2018 has been really good so far on the early returns. In 2017 there looks to be 3 very legit starters. White is a number one corner, Dawkins a solid LT, and Milano a starting caliber linebacker. Even Zay Jones still has time to turn into a productive player. The early returns on 2018 are pretty promising. Allen the jury is still out but Edumonds is showing a lot of promise while Phillips and Johnson are off to good starts while Neal could also be a late round gem. Factoring out Allen for the moment the past two drafts could yield 6-7 starters (possibly 8 if Zay ever develops) that's pretty dam good drafting. Overall I am much more worried about the teams pro-personnel decision making than anything else. This team will need 4 or more impact free agents on the offensive side of the ball and while we have the cap space to make those moves I am not confident that money will be spent properly.

PFF might actually not. That's not a knock on PFF but mainly the limitations of football analytics. PFF does not know what Star is supposed to do within the scheme. PFF grades a lot of their D-line metrics based off of getting past the line of scrimmage. Star shuffling along the line and trying to occupy a gap might seem like the is getting taken out of a play. But the scheme might have called for clearing the way for a linebacker. I don't think Star is doing all that well but I don't think he is doing bad either. Star is a space eater who attacks blockers however he lacks the gravity that a really dominant space eater commands. He certainly is overpaid.

Maybe TBD's resident cap experts can chime in but would there be any positive or negative cap impact on trading Clay before the deadline? Right now the Bills can cut Charles Clay in 2019 and save 4.5 million on his 9 million cap number and be clear of any remaining cap charges in 2020. If the Bills were to trade Clay for a mid to late round pick to Cincy or some other team does that save the Bills anything significant in 2019? I think if you can get a 5th round pick and there is lets say a bigger cap savings in 2019 from trading him then you have to consider it. But if there isn't a cap savings and you can't get a highish pick for him then you are better off keeping on of your only decent receiving option.

Ties aren't the end of the world for regular season games but the shortening of the OT quarter to 10 minutes is basically making it much more likely for teams to tie and 5 minutes of additional game time isn't exactly going to massively do anything. Right now 10 minutes allows teams to exchange field goals and leave about 2 minutes on the clock. If the team that kicked the first field goal can't score then the game ends in a tie, but if you added the extra 5 minutes you would allow at least 1-2 more possessions and lower the likelihood of a tie. I don't think you have to get rid of ties but the solution should be to make them more rare. College overtime is way to gimmicky and doesn't feel like a natural extension of the game as it is played in regulation. It's much more similar to hockey's shootouts which are gimmicky and un-reflective of the game (but at least are confined to the regular season.) The NFL has a good system they just need to allow teams to play a full 15 minutes. The big issue with 10 minutes is that if two teams kick a field goal those drives usually eat up about 4 minutes each and that only leaves about 1 possession left. Going back to the 15 minute format would allow each team with at least 1 additional possession with plenty of time on the clock. If teams can't score in that time frame then fine end it in a tie but at least you have a format that limits ties and isn't gimmicky.

OT should be 15 minutes in its current format. I like the idea of a field goal on the opening drive not instantly ending games as once teams got into sub 45ish yard field goal range teams would basically play uber conservative (Inch the ball up a few yards and stop playing for a TD) and kick a field goal. Now teams are encouraged to actually go for TD's on opening drives. I don't know why they shortened it to 10 minutes as that is basically enabling ties. If team A kicks a field goal and team B responds with a field goal odds are those drives are going to be about 4-5 minutes each. Which means that when team A gets the ball back there isn't much time left in a 10 minute period. Whereas if OT was 15 minutes you probably would have 6-7 minutes left in Overtime where a field goal would win it. I have no idea why the NFL decided to lower the amount of time in overtime, what problem were they trying to solve? Hockey does 5 on 5 golden goal overtime for the playoffs. The 3 on 3 and shoot out is gimmicky but at least it is confined to the regular season.

I agree somewhat, I do seriously question McBeane's ability to bring in free agents. But in the 2017 off-season where McD was having a big hand in free agent acquisitions they did hit on Hyde, Proyer, and Haush. Although the 2018 free agents are looking pretty poor McBeane only had 2 contracts above 3 million dollars a season and although Murphy and Star aren't looking like they were worth their contracts they are only 25% into the season and Murphy's deal is pretty easy to get out of. But the sample size for what McBeane can do with cap space is small. I hope their results are more similar to 2017 where they found 3 starters in free agency than it is to 2018 where they found 1 starter who is overpaid for the roles he provides (Star) and a player whose impact is more so that of a good role player as opposed to the starter he is paid for (Murphy.) The Bills in my mind will need to find at least 3-4 starters on offense via free agency and probably some help on the pass rush side of things via free agency and maybe a slot corner too. Overall they have the cap space to make these signings but the jury is still out if they can find the players at the appropriate price.

The team also has a playoff appearance under McD something no coach has done since Wade.

4 games in he looks great (Although tonight he got carried by his supporting cast) jury is still out and I have the upmost confidence that Mahomes wouldn't look nearly as good in the Bills system with the Bills supporting talent.

Losman and Allen share a somewhat similar draft profile. Both were big arm QB's, good mobility, came from not so good teams, they both had good scores on the Wonderlic (Losman scored a 31 and Allen scored a 37) and they even shared some accuracy and footwork concerns. But Allen is a different beast than Losman. For one Allen has maybe the strongest arm to come out of college since Cam Newton or JaMarcus Russell and arguably has one of the strongest arms to ever be scouted. Losman had a strong arm coming out of college but it was not unreal like Losman's. Another big difference is the intangibles. Losman was thought to have a bad attitude coming out of college. Allen's intangibles are thought to be very good. Another significant difference is Losman's throwing motion was a bigger concern than Allen's. There are also some small differences in favor of Allen as he is three inches taller and just a bigger overall player. Although the accuracy and college production issues were less significant in the case of Losman so there is some positives in favor of Losman but I think that overall they aren't very similar coming out of the draft. Allen is a lot more raw coming out of the draft but Allen also is a much higher ceiling player. Losman had some very positive attributes coming out of college, he certainly was a bit more polished a product, but he was not nearly as tantalizing as Allen and came with big attitude issues to boot.

Zay has come a long way from the awful 2017 campaign he actually looks like an NFL player out there. I hope that as Allen gets more comfortable and Zay feels things out a bit more (remember he is coming off an injury) that the more significant production from Zay will come. If Zay has a decent 50ish receptions 500ish yard season I think he certainly will prove he is worthy of being on the roster for one more season to see if he can develop in year 3. Sometimes player development takes time. I don't think Zay will ever live up to his draft position but hopefully he can be a contributor.

I wouldn't write the Colts or At Jets game as losses, nor would I write off the Lions game as a loss either. The Dolphins got off to a hot starts but neither Fins game are loses either. Overall I think the Bills have at least 7 more winable games on the schedule (now that doesn't mean they will win all 7 of those game) Both NE games, the Bears, Titans, and Jags games to me seem like 5 unlikely to win games. The rest the Bills have a chance.

Everyone here (and pretty much anywhere NFL related) loves to overreact to everything positively or negatively. After the bad losses the Bills should fire everyone and trade Allen for a 7th if we could be so lucky. After the Vikings game to quote Rodney Dangerfield from the end of Caddy Shack "We're all going to get laid." Coaches will often say they look at seasons in quarters so after 4 games what are you composed thoughts and impressions about the team thus far? Positives 1- The defensive turn around. After 6 God awful defensive quarters the team has been pretty good and consistent defensively. If this team has any hope of trying to win games and develop Josh Allen they will need a consistent defensive effort 2- Josh Allen. Josh Allen has not looked good in 2 out of his 3 starts. But he has flashed athletic ability and he has put together some really nice throws. I think that considering how raw a prospect Allen was coming out of college it isn't surprising to see Allen come out and look very uneven. 3- Young defenders. Phillips, Johnson, Milano, Edumonds, White, and the continued development of a young core of defensive players emerging gives hope that this strong defensive play can be sustained beyond this season. Hopefully Shaq gets added to that list of good young players. 4- Zay Jones. Zay hasn't light the world on fire but he is competently putting together a decent season, after Zay's mental breakdown and injury issues it is good to see him not only playing but probably becoming the teams best WR out of an abysmal core. I could honestly see Zay developing into a quality slot receiver. Negatives. 1- Peterman. The fact that Peterman is one snap away from playing is unforgivable. The fact that this staff got fooled by per-season Peterman twice is horrendous. I don't mind having Peterman as a third string QB but why on Earth have they not explored a veteran backup option? 2- The O-line The Bills might have the worst O-line in football. I know the All-22 has been a bit kinder to the O-line esp in the LA loss (no word on the Green Bay loss as I type this) but watching this team you can see they are losing the battle in the trenches rather consistently in every game but the Vikings game. Playing a rookie behind this O-line is something that could seriously stunt Allen's footwork development. 3- The skill position core. The WR core in particular is outright bad and might be the worst unit in the league certainly bottom 5. KB isn't doing much and Zay Jones putting together a decent season is probably the best thing going which says a lot. The rest of the team is Andre Holmes a JAG veteran and a bunch of young players not doing a whole lot. Clay and the tight ends are decent if you had good receivers but they have limited impact since the receiving core is awful. 4- Shady might be done. Shady was/is a dynamic offensive weapon, one of the things that could have made the skill position core's relative weakness palpable is if Shady was still an elite weapon out of the backfield. With his injury and at his age/miles it isn't looking to good for him early. Granted this is only 25% into the season so there is still plenty of time for him to turn it around but it is sad to see him get off to such a bad start. Overall the Bills are who we thought they were a team that mortgaged veteran players to get out from under contracts and accrue draft capital. They then spent that draft capital on two trade ups to acquire Allen and Edumonds (Cordy Glenn and picks 21, 22, 53, 56, and 65 for Allen, Edumonds, and a 5th round pick.) Those trade ups and the massive dead cap really crippled the teams ability to build a more complete roster. If you trade away a lot of productive veteran players for draft capital (Which also incurs short term dead cap) and then do two big trade ups with that draft capital then there are going to be massive holes on parts of the roster. The Bills are looking to be who we thought they probably were. A team that has some key pieces in place but will have to wait until the dead cap clears in order to build up other parts of their roster.

Luckily he will only get a better feel for the game by playing more. It is going to be a very up and down season for Allen. This is to be expected for a very raw rookie.