Utah John

Barkley is the BPA. He's by far a better RB, than any of the QBs on offer are as QBs. The Bills have been pulling off shocking deals that make sense in hindsight. How about our #12, a 2nd rounder, plus more, AND SHADY for the Browns' #1 -- the Bills which always have a strong run game lock in our next great long-term back for the next 8 years. I know, this probably won't happen but it could be they think both Peterman and McCarron are capable guys. Not all the teams that win have the top-notch QB we want -- some do it with great defense and a good running game. I'm not even advocating for this, just pointing out there's another path forward that no one is considering.

My takeaway from this is that Miami is now more likely trade their first rounder (#11, just before the Bills pick). Some other team is likely going to trade up for that pick.

Don't overlook what happened with Dion Lewis. He was very effective for the Pats last year. He signed with the Titans for a four-year, $23 million deal that includes $11.5 million guaranteed. The Pats couldn't match. Why? The contract they gave Gillislee last year. Lewis was so much better than Gillislee that TD Mike was scratched for most games. So the genius Pats did succeed in stealing our backup RB (and that did hurt, no question) but now they've lost their own top RB. Karma.

This does NOT mean Lawson or Hughes is on the way out (although the way things are going, never say never). A few years ago the Bills were so stocked with D linemen they could roll out two complete four-man lines without much change in performance. Guys got old (Mario), guys left for FA (Branch), guys got rich and then lazy (Dareus). Whatever the reason, the Bills need a massive rebuild. This seems like a good signing at a reasonable price.

A QB does so much more than just pass the ball to a receiver like they do in a combine. There's the mental aspect, the ability to use his eyes to fool a defender and get a receiver open, the ability to anticipate a receiver's moves and throw him open, the ability to handle the ball to fool D linemen about what play is happening, the ability to scramble and/or good pocket awareness & mobility, the ability to think clearly when the pressure is on, the ability to recognize what a defense is about to try to do. If it was just passing ability, Rob Johnson would have been our starting QB for 10 years. That didn't work out so well. He was a great passer but a mediocre QB. So it's great that some of these guys have big arms, but do they have the other tools they need too?

They'll let Hogan replace Amendola, but they're going to miss having a Welker/Amendola gnat finding holes in the zone.

There is another possibility, which is that Peterman is the starter and the bridge to the future. He had one chance, against SD's killer pass rush, and he started OK but his team let him down. Then he fell apart. That doesn't mean he's terrible or useless. We put up with a lot more, a lot worse, from Todd Collins. Peterman is not the long term answer but he's a viable option if the shiny new rookie struggles.

Theoretically we could get Watkins back AND have the Rams second rounder, which they spent to rent-a-Sammy. The key question is, will we pay him enough to get him back. I want to point out this is exactly the same question we'd be asking right now if we hadn't traded Sammy, and were trying to re-sign him now. With the key difference that we have that extra 2nd round pick. Of course we didn't have Watkins' services last year, so that might have made the difference in making the playoffs. Oh, wait... Well that was an uninformed comment and I apologize. Watkins agreed to terms with KC yesterday. For a lot more than the Bills were willing to pay now, or would have been willing to pay now if Watkins was still here. So my point is still valid. If we had kept Sammy for last year, we'd have lost him yesterday, and we wouldn't have that 2nd rounder to help get the QB we want.

I respectfully disagree. If the moves don't work out, we'll look like we tried and failed. The meatheads in the clown car are the ones who don't try.

So who's next? Can we find a team desperate for a tight end, who will take Charles Clay off our hands (and our budget) for a 5th or 6th?

And so they got 2nd round pick for a way-overpriced, often-hurt, pretty good player. I'm OK with that. Especially if it was a pretty good player who wasn't going to be on the team next year anyway. A second for Glenn, and the first third for Taylor. Yeah, I'm OK with that.

Glenn like Dareus had his future in Buffalo sabotaged by Whaley. Overpay a guy and he's got to be dropped sooner rather than later.

Cut Incognito and you have to replace him, probably someone not as good who costs more. Doesn't make sense. From everything I've seen he's a great benefit in the locker room and a true leader. Keep him and let him retire here in a few years when he's ready.

The Bills dumped a lot of veterans who had the mindset of loserdom. Yeah, it's the Bills, show up on time, put in a little effort, go 7-9, the fans still love you. The biggest difference pre-McD and post-McD is that the team is now looking ahead to winning. The lazy guys are gone. Players who want to work harder are here. Does Suh fit? I think he does. Put him into a losing situation and he'll be a cancer. Put him into a winning situation and he'll play to win. He's not a leader but he's a potential force. Don't overpay. If the cost is too high let him be someone else's guy. For the right price he could help a lot.

So the Vikes are all in for this year. There's no way they can keep all the FAs with so much cash tied up with Cousins. And good for them. Championships don't go to the faint-hearted. BUT, is Cousins really that good? I read the Washington Post web site a lot and the fans there were pretty lukewarm about him. I think the Vikes will put a team around Cousins that's very strong (for now) and with GB's roster depleted due to all the money Rogers gets, and the Bears and Lions being the Bears and Lions, the Vikings have a good shot at winning their division. So they'll be in the top four or five teams, just a little above where they were last year.

So it sounds to me that Jackson is combination of Tyrod Taylor and a QB. That could be a really good combination. Taylor's running last year was held down by the OC and that was a shame. There were a lot of first downs there for the taking but TT had been coached not to run for them, and ended up not completing a pass instead. In 2016, he took those runs and kept drives alive. But, regardless of his running, he just couldn't throw receivers open. Last year he didn't have any good receivers but in 2016 he had Watson and Woods so no excuses there. If you can take Taylor's running skills and add the things an NFL QB is supposed to do, you've got something special. This is how I read Lamar Jackson. He could be the guy we need, particularly if we don't need to sell the farm to get him.

It's too bad he didn't have that surgery much earlier in the season so he could have recovered enough to be evaluated accurately. He was really good in Philly before he got hurt and it's a crap shoot as to whether he'll ever recover fully. A lot of people here are saying he isn't very good but we never got a chance to see what he can really do. Also, of course, TT.

Are we really sure Triplette wasn't retired last year, and just showing up so he'd have a good view of the games? I'm pretty sure it was Triplette who called the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Von Miller for his psych hand-help to Tyrod Taylor. I was happy with the way that turned out but that was really bogus.

I think this is exactly the right way to look at it.

You shouldn't compare Darby in Philly with Darby who would be leaving Buffalo as a FA. Darby saw how Gilmore cashed in and that looked good to him. McBeane got some value for Darby instead of another year of service plus nothing in the future. It turned out the value he got wasn't that good, but Matthews had been great in Philly and was injured a lot here so it's hard to criticize that trade. Benjamin was playing hurt last year. He's going to be much better this year. Check back in a year or two and see if you still don't think he was worth the cost. Dareus was another addition by subtraction. He was a cancer in the locker room and would have been cut for lack of production. McBeane made the best possible deal.

If we were getting the Chris Ivory who was with the Jets, I'd be delighted. He was always one of my favorite non-Bills. Hard runner, great effort. Reminded me of Fred Jackson. His production fell sharply after he left the Jets. Not sure if it was a scheme problem, a personnel problem, or something else. Let's hope he has a lot left in the tank.

I had forgotten about Centers. According to Wikipedia: Centers's 827 receptions are currently the most by any running back and the most by any non-wide receiver in NFL history, until tight end Tony Gonzalez surpassed this mark in 2008.

Patriots players see their teammates cut or traded a lot, usually when they're still playing well. The Pats make it a priority to get rid of players too soon rather than too late. This keeps everyone focused and working hard, but not many of them stick around for very long. They're mostly temp employees brought in to fill a particular role in a scheme, and when that scheme is discarded, players who aren't the best fit for the new scheme go away. It's tough but players all want to get that ring so they put up with a lot to get a chance. All that said, I try to keep in mind that this is fundamentally a game. People who lose sight of that and get too far into the business end forget why they started playing in the first place.

As long as we're making stuff up, let's give the Colts a chance to give the Pats a little payback. The Pats knew they couldn't afford Garrapolo and they didn't want to dump Brady to afford Garrapolo (though apparently it was considered). So they traded him out of the division, and out of the conference. So figure out a way for Indy to screw the Pats by getting Garrapolo traded to the Bills. You guys are better at the tactics than I am. I'm thinking more strategically. Go for it -- figure something out. Maybe make this a four way trade.

It's one thing for the Eagles with all their great offensive weapons to be aggressive. When the Bills wanted to take a fourth down shot last year, the D knew they could stop Shady, keep TT in the pocket, and get the offense ready to go back on the field. You have to play the cards you've got. McD generally made good calls to put the players he had in a position to win. Can we just stop for a second and appreciate the season? My two favorite teams did great, exceeding expectations. The Bills made the playoffs, and the team playing the Pats won the Super Bowl. Let that sink in. Now look ahead to the Pats losing both coordinators, Brady turning 52 or 68 or whatever and finally showing his age, and the Pats players revolting at least a little over the way Malcolm Butler was screwed.