billsfan89

He has been ugly this season. Bills made the right move to not overpay for him, granted I thought he was a pretty solid corner in his time here but far too up and down to make him the 8th highest paid corner in the league when realistically he played somewhere in the range of the 22nd to 32nd best corner in the league in his time here. Tre has been a stud far better than anyone could project so the Bills not only went with the cheaper option but they went with the better option.

I think the conservative play calling is a function of the faith placed in the defense and the kicker kicking a dome. McD knew that if he gained any sort of positive yards on those runs that he was wiling to kick that 55+ yarder. Although I would have went for a pass on first down because Atlanta knew a run was coming and they stunted the run and the Bills offense was basically there to kill the clock. Expect "Conservative" play calling late in close games, a very good defense means you can afford to play not to lose games since you can count on your defense more often than not to bail you out. Bottom line you offense is more likely to lose you games than your defense. So expect your playcalling to reflect that.

It's fair to speculate that the few calls that went the Bills way and the Injuries to Sanu and Jones helped the Bills squeak out a win. But I can't help but think that the win is no matter what a positive. The Bills would have in the past found ways to win this game. Instead the Bills won can't be anything but a positive.

I don't think they need to make a huge move but they need to bring in a credible vet if Matthews is out long term. Maybe a Brandon Marshall type.

That's unfortunate, I can see a trade happening if a WR becomes available from an 0-4 team. Maybe if the Giants lose today they take a 5th rounder for Brandon Marshall?

Other than being a "disciplinarian" I don't think there are many similarities. McD is looking like a modern styled disciplinarian coach. Modern players don't respond to old school drill sergeant style coaches anymore. But players coaches have their own pitfalls as we just saw with Rex. McD demands accountability and is building a culture. But he doesn't do so in a heavy handed manner. I think his style and command of the team works well esp for a team coming off of 2 years of Rex. 60 yarder in the meadowlands is not a sure thing, can't fault him on that call. Your defense is playing good give them a shot to give you the ball back with good field position.

Didn't really pay much attention to Dareus out there. Rush defense got gashed at times but was stout a lot of times too. Overall I think that for the long term health of the defense Dareus better turn things around.

It could have been called either way in all honesty. I always prefer to let the players and not the refs decide it. I also think the argument that the ball was uncatchable holds water (Although had the receiver had a clean release maybe the receiver would have had a play on the ball.

Exactly, I think as a fan you have to hope that Dareus gets it in gear and plays like he did in 2014 when he was one of the most dominant interior d-linemen in the league. Dareus has the talent to anchor the middle of the defense for the next 3-5 years at a dominating level. For a guy you are committed to for this season and next season you want to get that high level of production out of him. The front 7 only has 1 other young player in it (Shaq) so you kind of want your 27 year old defensive tackle to be a dominant player to help anchor the defense for the future. As for Glenn I think it is a case of health, he seems to be well liked and buying into what the new staff is trying to implement. It's just getting him on the field and healthy. I say be extra cautious with his injury. Sit him out until after the bye week. Maybe an additional 3 weeks off gets him healthy. Now do I think Dareus will get it in gear? I am not sure. The rest of the veteran players seem to buy in and those who weren't were shipped out. Dareus seems to be the only one to be on the outside of that. So hopefully being that isolated in terms of attitude helps him buy into what the coach is doing. It might not happen and the team might just be stuck with an above average player production wise who is a bit of a malcontent.

If Sammy was on the team I would be surprised at Zay's slow start. But without Sammy there, the defensive attention is locked in on Jones a lot more. I wouldn't be surprised if teams are gearing coverages and putting their best corners onto Zay a decent chunk of the time. I am hoping Zay has more of an impact as the season progresses but I don't expect flashy numbers at all given the circumstances of the offense (no true #1, primarily a rushing offense, and a offense that is going to be playing conservative due to a defense that will keep them in games.) I still like Zay's long term outlook as a player but the circumstances he finds himself in just aren't conducive to putting up big numbers.

Bills need Shaq to pan out because outside of him and possibly Preston Brown and Dareus (And who knows how much longer Dareus will be here) the primary players on the front 7 are older. Hughes is 31, Kyle is 34, Lorax is 34, Humber is 30, and there aren't a lot of young players behind them that you can say are the heir apparent. Shaq could be a guy that this D-line gets built around for years but if he busts then the Bills might have to invest multiple early round picks in the front 7,

There are no franchise QB's you can invest that money into in this context. Any QB worth a big contract almost never becomes a free agent. In the past 15 years a franchise changing QB has become a free agent 2 times, one was Drew Brees and the other was Peyton Manning at the age of 37 coming off of a serious neck injury. It's not like the Bills choose to give Dareus and Glenn big contracts over giving that money to a QB. Of course you want a QB worth (And keyword is worth) 100 million but those are typically players you resign not players that become free agents. Every team is willing to hand out a 100 million contract with huge guarantees to a franchise QB. But you have to find one first and you aren't finding one via free agency. So please refrain from painting the picture of these big Dareus and Glenn contracts were the reason the team couldn't sign a 100+ million dollar franchise changing QB. That's simply not the dynamic. If what you are saying is you would rather have a QB worth giving a big contract to as opposed to a DT or OT then all you are saying is something very obvious.

The NFL is a battle of attrition, I know fans and even coaches think week to week and want their best players out there as soon as possible. But I always think it is better to sit a player out a week or two longer than needed than to rush them back a week or two earlier and make an injury worse. It's much better to let an injury heal to as close as 100% for an extra 2-3 weeks than to push a player out there too soon and they make the injury worse and are out 5-8 more weeks.

He has been an average to slightly above average LB, which considering the talent of the unit going into the season has been a huge addition. Brown has stepped up and looked more like he did his rookie year which has also been huge.

The Falcons could very easily be 1-2. So I think that the Bills have a shot if the defense continues to be dominant. That being said I do think that the Falcons squeak out a victory. Mainly because I think that the Falcons offense has a better chance to be successful against the Bills defense as opposed to the Bills offense being successful against the Falcons defense.

They aren't this perfect team that they were advertised to be after a off-season of big additions (Gilmore, Cooks, among others.) But they are still one of the best teams in the league even after the regression of certain units and the Eddleman injury.

Sammy is a stud when healthy. They knew they were getting rid of a talented player. But they got a good corner for the system and pocketed a good pick. The team also avoids having to franchise or pay Sammy a big contract if he has a big year (a hard decision to pay a player with health issues a big contract or let him walk for nothing.) It was a smart longer term move (I think the fact that Sammy had some baggage with the organization also makes a clean break more appealing) but you know you shipped out a good player.

I think it also doesn't help that Rex was the coach the first two years of his huge contract. Dareus for sure was one of the top defensive players in the league in 2014 and was pretty dam good from 2011-2013. He certainly justified a big contract either from the Bills or from someone else. But he gets his huge money while the team has a undisciplined players coach at the helm. Rex lost that locker room and Dareus lost his focus. Now McD is trying to get him back on track but the damage might be done. I think that with Sammy and Darby gone you really have Dareus out there on an island. It seems like all the other vets have bought in and the rest of the team is new. Hopefully McD is able to get him to buy in because this defense can be that much more scary if Dareus buys in.

Dareus to me is still and above average effective player even though he is supposedly not busting his ass out there. I really hope that he gets it in gear, because he is an absolutely dominant force when he is locked in. If this defense is going to be dominant against the better offenses in the league then they will need Dareus out there performing at a high level. Interior pressure is the most direct way to get after a QB and Dareus can be a great interior pass rusher and run stuffer. Hopefully McD can find a way to reach him, otherwise I see a pennies on the dollar trade coming in the off-season. Dareus still being a effective player and the tantalizing potential he has leads me to think that a team would take on his large contract for a mid round pick. Some team desperate to improve defensively would easily be willing to give up a 4th or 5th round pick for him hoping that a new environment could turn him around or at worst they get a above average player who is still better than what they had. For me it is frustrating that he isn't the dominant force he can be, as good as the defense has been they need Dareus to be the man up the middle if they want to be dominant against New England, Atlanta, and other elite offenses.

When you have a very good defense and a dam good running back and a lack of weapons in the receiving core your passing attack is going to be much more conservative in order to avoid turnovers which maximizes your chance of winning. That's not an knock on Tyrod, Tyrod doesn't need to throw the ball a lot and he has to keep turnovers low. It also doesn't help that he doesn't have dynamic weapons in the passing game. This team can win with Tyrod not putting up big numbers, in fact its most advantageous for the gameplan for him to play conservative.

I think that Zay would have really benefited from a Sammy Watkins type presence at the receiver position. That's not to say that I don't think that the Sammy trade was good but rather that the offense not having a true number 1 receiving option could be impacting his ability to get good matchups. Jordan Matthews is a nice player but he isn't a number one receiver, Charles Clay is a solid tight end but he isn't a dominating presence like Gronk or Kelce, and they don't have another high end receiving option out there. So Zay is going to see a lot of high end coverage coming his way. That's going to result is less production and it could be impacting his confidence. I think Zay figures it out and I also think that the coaching staff finds a way to get him involved and get his confidence going. Although I don't think any receiver or tight end puts up monster numbers on this offense, simply because the defense will likely be good enough to keep them in most games and the rush attack will be the most effective way to move the ball. Also the offense will be low risk in general to avoid turnovers.

I think O-line is no longer the plug and play position it used to be. 10 maybe even 5 years ago guards, centers, and right tackles drafted in the first 2-3 rounds were thought to be safer impact picks who could come in and start right away and play at a fairly high level. But with the spread offense being so popular in college and the evolution of NFL defensive lines O-linemen are not only lacking fundamentals (thanks to the spread) but they are playing against defensive lines that are pass rushing completely differently. The leagues top defensive ends are pass rushing more so against the right tackle because thanks to the high use of shotgun in NFL offenses there really isn't a blind side anymore. On top of that defensive tackles are much more agile and much more capable of rushing from the inside due to defenses needing to generate much more pressure. So I don't expect Dawkins to do much this year, hopefully he learns the offense, gets a hang of the NFL lifestyle and regimen, gets comfortable with his teammates along the O-line, and polishes up his fundamentals a bit. Then maybe next year with another off-season under his belt he can take over at RT but even then he might struggle on the job.

I think people forget that trades can be mutually beneficial. The Bills needed a corner that better fit their system and the Rams needed a true number one receiver and were willing to part with a 2nd round pick and a corner to add a play maker to that offense. The Bills got a player that fit their system and added premium draft capital.

The Bills offense won't be putting up huge or impressive numbers this season mainly because the defense will be good enough to keep the Bills in a lot of their games this season. So expect a lot of conservative play that will keep turnovers low but also muzzle the numbers a bit.

Hogan would be a nice addition as I think he would be among the top 3 receiving options at the wideout position. Gillislee would be the primary back behind McCoy and I think he would be doing a bit better than Tolbert but Tolbert hasn't been bad in that role at all. The Bills would be a bit better on offense if they had both player but neither would be anything more than a supplemental offensive talent.