BADOLBILZ

Team defense(yards allowed) alone is an antiquated way of judging a defense. The two years where they were top 10 in both points allowed and yardage they had a double digit sacker. McD's defense team rank in points allowed 2011-2016: 27th 18th 2nd 21st 6th 26th That's inconsistency and it's a bit disingenuous to call a team like that a top 10 defense in an era of so many advanced statistics. Points matter in the equation. Here are the Bills ranks in points allowed under McD: 18th 18th 2nd 16th People can talk all they want about how they use the back 7........and no question McD does a good job there.........but the defense doesn't work right without that pass rush..........it's the #1 component.

So if you aren't in the top 4 DE's in the NFL you aren't excellent? Greg Hardy had 26 sacks and 48 QB hits in a 2 year stretch. Charles Johnson had 12.5 and 11 sack seasons. In truth, the Carolina McDefense was inconsistent..........his 2016 defense ranked 26th in points allowed and 21st in yards. The great season they had(2nd in points and 2nd in yards) was 2013 when Hardy and Johnson both put up double digit sacks from the DE position. That's excellent DE production.

They had excellent DE's in Carolina...........Greg Hardy, Charles Johnson and prime Mario Addison.

Edmunds blitzed 67 times without generating a single pressure last season. On paper he is ideal.......unfortunately games aren't played on paper they are played on tv.

Agreed

When the Bills went empty backfield last year, they were doing defense's a favor. It bogged the offense down. For an old, immobile soft-tosser like Big Ben it might be a way to utilize his recognition skills and hide his lack of arm strength. But for a young guy who can make every throw like Allen......no thanks. Stretch the field......use play action to create separation.......use an extra blocker to buy time for longer routes to develop.........give your skill players room to work so they don't get battered. I could make a highlight reel of body slams that Beasley and Diggs absorbed last season and when it mattered most, in January, they were beat up and it showed. And that was with mostly 11 and 12 personnel. So many things wrong with the 4-5 wide stuff. Fans should know this by now but there is still a perception that the empty backfield/4-5 WR approach is playing wide open.

I think Sanders will be fine.........but he hasn't been a big ypc guy in a long time........like 6 years. That's fine with end of career Peyton Manning and Drew Brees........they couldn't push the ball downfield anyway............but I'd like to see more diversity in the receiving corps. Brown declined last year........but he's a 14.8 ypc guy for his career and stretching the field has many benefits.........hopefully Davis can continue to be a field stretcher but it won't be because of speed. And like I've said.........not a big fan of the 4 and 5 wide stuff.......it just becomes dink and dunk and as defenses pin their ears back to get to the QB.....and the top 3 should probably be Diggs, Beasley and Davis, IMO. As for Shenault........he had an OK rookie year........not even as good as Davis though..........and of course Jefferson smashed NFL rookie records for the Vikes with the pick the Bills traded them..........it was a very impressive group of WR. Given his injury history and style I still don't think Shenault is a guy I would put a first round grade on.

Oh they definitely need the depth at WR...........especially if running a lot of 5 wide because of a lack of TE's. Emmanuel Sanders reportedly loves the up-tempo offense but that's likely because he can catch a lot of passes and pad those reception stats. More short passes = more hits on the WR corps though............that volume took it's toll in the playoffs. Like to see them push the ball down the field more and put less wear and tear on WR, ideally.

The back problems might have scared them off...........it didn't appear to be his play(in game at least, as you've noted). It is a little weird that they have always wanted a vet in every room and don't have one there. Hope Daboll doesn't get all wicky-wacky and go 5 wides all the time...........that just makes your offense more about small plays and inept running the football. Then you run into a defense that's prepared/equipped to neutralize that set and it can get ugly.

They were pretty awesome last year so that's a tall order. My concern with the group is still not having that deep threat that physically threatens defenses into playing off............because that dink and dunk 5 wide stuff we saw Saturday is a recipe for beat up WR's, amongst other negatives. Maybe Davis continues to transcend his modest speed/quickness talent and fills that role..........but Sanders and Beasley will not........and it will be hard for Diggs to match/top last season. Especially knowing he will probably come into the season a little banged up.

Just sayin' for all the concern expended........it really wasn't hard at all to get to 53. Same thing last year. Easy. Keeping 3 long in the tooth DL instead of just 2 over the younger, team controlled Bam Johnson was the only really debatable move. As I said..........the waiver wire around the league would be LOADED with recognizable young WR names.........not likely that Stevenson would have been picked up on waivers..........the Bills situation is just precarious at WR with Beas and Davis unvaxed, they had a lot of motivation to keep 7 and he was there and familiar with the offense and could be IR'd.

For all the declarations and even some hand-wringing about players the Bills would cut being claimed by other teams...........looks like UDFA Nick McCloud is the only one. As good of a preseason as the Bills had in the games they played.........there weren't many surprise performers and value additions........guys like Lamp and Hollister didn't materialize as hoped and Obada and Breida were just OK. CB and TE came into the offseason as areas of need and don't appear to be improved at all. Edmunds and Oliver didn't really show anything new. Cody Ford disappointed again. Fortunately they were already a very good team but it would be nice if there were more really intriguing new talent stories. Rousseau is really the only big addition at this point that appears poised to improve his position group.

It just never occurs to certain people to be helpful first. Take the low hanging fruit with some geek-baggery like mocking someone for not knowing the rules of the practice squad. It's safe to say that at least 50% of Bills season ticket holders do not know the PS rules. AT LEAST.

Hundreds of readers saw that this guy didn't understand the PS situation...........but you gotta' be that second or third guy on the pile to make him look bad instead of explaining that they have 16 PS spots. Make yourself useful once in a while.

How many overall tickets they can sell isn't the important number..........it's about maximizing revenue. Less inventory allows them to charge more for those 60K seats. They have likely determined that the amount over that is going to have to be cost conscious buyers who will dump their tickets on the market when the weather or team isn't good......devaluing the product in the eyes of those attending...........and of course the table smashing riff-raff that they actually want to get rid of. The objective isn't to squeeze 10K more in at $100 revenue each per game from Joe Sixpack...........it's to get fat cats in luxury seating like @teef to triple the amount they spend.

It was a funny post. Wawrow was livid and exercised his privilege to insult @Shaw66 after he basically called Wawrow a hack.😂

Then beard trimming scissors. Don't use clippers on anything you don't want to turn gray about 5-10 years premature. Even the best clippers just shred the end of the hair rather than cutting it clean........and the body responds with more coarse hair.

The WR cuts around the league are going to be among the most interesting. Josh Imatorbhebe was cut and IR'd by Jax last week and passed thru waivers.............there was a guy on here insisting with me during the draft process that he was a generational talent because he had a 48" vertical jump. Nobody even brought him in for a look. I really don't think it's a given that Stevenson gets claimed if the Bills cut him. Plenty of guys have a couple nice KR's in preseason and get cut. He didn't set the field ablaze and had about 4 different injuries in limited snaps. Nice prospect, but after 3 very strong WR drafts there are a lot of them in the NFL now Going to be a lot of guys out there that teams/scouts were intrigued by.

But it's harder to finish near the top of the league in team defense (yards allowed) like the 2018 Bills if your special teams aren't so woeful that they allow opposing offenses the best starting field position in the NFL. @GoBills808 would say that special teams make your defense worse!

Yeah, Houston has been more individually impactful.......injuries leveled him up with Addison at times but when healthy he's just superior to Mario. 8 sacks......including 2 safety's..........a FF and 2 FR's (Addison was a zilch in those columns). He basically made more than twice as many big plays. If a pass rusher like that is only worth $4M then a guy with like 60% of his production on similar snaps isn't likely to be getting 60% of that..........he's likely to be getting the league minimum.

Part of coaching is not having your team quit on you mid-game. Not Levy's finest moment.

Shaq is the opposite of a glue-guy...........Dolphins and Texans figured that out. Not easily motivated......not dedicated to his craft........he upped his effort for his contract run in 2019..........the Bills were wise not to re-invest in him.........he has otherwise been pretty much the same JAG in every other season of his career. He doesn't play teams either and really doesn't have much athletic upside left. Johnson was much cheaper and has a year of that cheap team control left (well, technically Shaq does too if you want to pay that guy $9M in 2022).........he was definitely worth getting back the 5th rounder they used to get him at least.

Teller was a better prospect........some considered him as a guy who should have gone in the early rounds of the draft.........but it appears that they traded the young, high ceiling player to retain a vet who is on his last legs.........which is what Spencer Long was as well when they dealt Teller. I will be surprised if not cutting bait on Addison last winter ends up looking like a good move in the long run. Maybe he bounces back this year though. I liked the signing initially because he was a consistent producer and the contract was easy to get out of. @GunnerBill did not like the signing and he looked correct on that one last season. One of the few, lasting bad memories of last season was watching old Mario flail around chasing Kyler Murray allowing him to get off the Hail Murray throw. They got smaller and less athletic at the position today.

https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2019/08/browns-trade-for-wyatt-teller-bills-guard.html