BADOLBILZ

But ideally you can at least mix it up and still have personnel suited to defend the passing game. When the Bills drafted Edmunds all of the talk was about how athletic he was and his rare potential as a coverage LB. My hope when the Bills signed Klein was that they would eventually put him in the middle.....where he played in Carolina...... and start working Edmunds as a strong side edge player.........where he could cover the TE or rush the passer. I probably won't get to see that......but it's not that big of a stretch to use him more like Pitt uses TJ Watt...........it's not like the Bills employ a base DE on the strong side........they run Hughes and Bam Johnson over there and neither are even remotely stout against the run. With Milano healthy.......*maybe* we get a peak at what that might look like. Edmunds has been playing better but his skill is wasted as a sideline to sideline type and frankly he is not so good in zone coverage.....instincts in general are not his strong suit........he is probably better suited to going man against a TE or even a slot WR or covering the RB on wheel routes etc.. I like him in motion a lot better than flat footed.

I'm pretty sure Norman travels with a collapsible podium...........he lives for attention and the podium is a lot easier to cover, he can keep two hands on it and not get flagged and it won't stiff arm him.

We can only hope.

They definitely can.......especially against the kind of personnel the Niners use........their passing game shouldn't be that hard to contain. Also this is the least important game on the Bills schedule so if they are still going to be trying out things on defense........this is the game. If Kittle were playing it would have been a chance to put one of the LB's over him and see how that might look like against Kelce in a potential playoff matchup.

Pretty sure a very effective cheater came up with that.

I like the Guidry world series pic. That was a 9 inning gem. Game 4.......October 15, 1977 in Los Angeles.......4-2 win for Yanks with a Reggie Jackson HR.

1) $7.8M cap figure to cut him $8.2M cap figure to keep him $600K is the vet min Beane is quite obviously very big on insurance policies.......and he's burned more than a few million cap $ playing that game with the lines....see Spencer Long and the oft-inactive Trent Murphy situations this season. They were going to save a $1.75M off Star's base pay and let it play out.......get his dead money down to a quieter $5M and more than likely dispose of him after this season(hence the injury guarantee that you thought was an "actual" guarantee). Star got the last laugh on their pay cut plan........he got the year off and all he has to do now is show up for activities next spring and summer and collect that base salary. 2) Here's the thing about "space eating"..........that is not really the only job of a 1 tech Too many fans confuse the 1 tech and the nose tackle position. The 1 tech is not aligned over top of the center like a nose tackle........he is in the center/guard gap and that gives him the chance to shoot gaps and get into the backfield. The Bills generally don't use a NT alignment because they want both DT's to have the ability to make plays in the backfield. Having a player with the ability to make plays behind the LOS allows your defense to keep the same personnel on the field regardless of the down and distance situation. The big problems with Star: he flat out can't make plays behind the LOS + he isn't powerful enough or active enough as a tackler to force teams to double team him(they often have not). Too often he was just a 1 for 1 exchange of bodies and the extra OL were able to get on the Bills LB's or the RB ran right past Star without him getting a hand on them. On the same plays Harrison Phillips was getting off those blocks and slowing or tackling backs. Edmunds was often not getting much protection at all from Star. I personally thought they should have cut him and was thrilled to see them pursuing DT's who can actually get to the QB or make a TFL.

Ever count how many major programs are in Texas? Now count how many in Ohio. Or Indiana. Or Alabama. Or South Carolina. It won't be easy for someone to really turn around U of Texas permanently..........the in-state competition for talent is cut-throat and well funded.........you can't own the state like a lot of the current football factories do. And in Texas.......you can't cheat as easily as you can in some places either..........they have a RICH history of blowing each other in for violations...........it's quite comical actually.........and a good reason for Urban to avoid Austin.

Everyone being a free agent and signing one year contracts would be the fairest thing.(Charles O. Finley) But then players would make pennies on the dollar in that much of a buyers market!(Marvin Miller) The tag is a very small concession for a system that promotes yearly average salary increases far in excess of what an open market would produce. In an open market Dupree might have gotten a 5 year contract for the value of the one year contract he is receiving this year.

That's true about them pursuing Reader but he isn't just a space eater........he can play the 1T like Lotulelei did as a rookie......he can force the double or he can split the double. He tackles RB's and can get to your QB. He was the whole package in 2019. Harrison Phillips was turning into that "active" 1T before the knee injury. Hopefully he gets back to that. He was an absolute tackling machine in college.

3 first downs and out has almost replaced 3 and out as a good series. Where does a 1-down guy with very limited mobility fit in a game like that? The answer probably is a defense that is OK with being bottom half of the league......like Seattle at this point.....I don't see McD being ok with that anytime soon.......maybe when he is 70 like Pete Carroll.

It's also part of what's great about the franchise tag. Like it or not.......salaries in the NFL are mostly unguaranteed for a reason. Dupree halfassed it for most of his first 4 seasons.........and then brought his A game in his contract year..........the franchise tag is typically applied to guys who do sh*t like that.

Regarding Star: The Lotulelei "2021 half season" guarantee.......which now applies to 2022......is only guaranteed for injury. He simply got a $1.75M pay cut in 2020 in exchange for guaranteeing his 2020 salary.........which was about the best they could hope to get back.......because his unamortized bonus money made it untenable to just release him outright. The $2.5M injury guarantee was Star's agent getting Star a parachute in the event that he were injured in 2020. As John Feliciano pointed out........Star opted out because his pay was guaranteed..........an unfortunate tactical error by Beane who didn't realize at the time that players would be allowed to opt out and get their 2020 salary pushed to 2021. Going Forward: Expect them to try to keep doing what they have done this season...........it's not a compromise..........it's a choice. With defenses employing nickel or dime defenses over 2/3 of the time you are obviously seeing teams go with just 2 LB's that can play 3 downs..........there is an inherent sacrifice in run defense that choice. So in an era where there isn't really such a thing as a "running" down anymore........it makes sense for a 40 front to not have to switch out a run-defense-specialist-1T mid-series. Get your DT's to do the 1T dirty work in small doses and in return for good work give them one-gap reps. And then if and when the opponent goes to the pass on early downs you aren't left with a bad matchup on plays where the most damage can be done............or you don't get yourself caught running guys off the field and unprepared at the snap in a defensive switch when these high powered offenses go up tempo. Nobody is pitching shutouts on defense anymore...........there are more first downs played than ever.........steady pass rush and coverage are what you hope for........and not having to substitute your front on a down to down basis is a lot more valuable now. Especially to a team defense like the Bills.

The improved LB play has really stood out and gotten a lot of attention. But they made a decision this offseason to load up on athletic DT's and try to be more of a pressure defense(as mentioned in your OP)........and now that they are familiar with what they are being asked to do they are getting more pressure as a front and doing a better job in run defense as well. Run D is mostly want-to and technique and with the Bills rotating 9 DL all game they shouldn't be too worried about them getting worn down by the run. I have been teasing the people who mistakenly think they miss Star Lotulelei.........but everything they have done since the end of last season has said they don't value that traffic cone 1T any longer. 1) They cut Star's pay 2) They signed pressure guys Jefferson and Butler 3) They cut Vincent Taylor at the end of camp 4) They have games where they de-activate the only true 1T they have in Phillips(who is actually a tackler when healthy) 5) They even rotate the undersized Oliver between the the 1T(and sometimes nose) and 3T. And at the peak of their in-season struggles what did they do? They added an undersized hustling DT in Justin Zimmer(instead of finding another big body) and played 6 guys in the box against the Chiefs. It's hard to play a 4-2 in today's NFL and have one of the 4 be incapable of making plays behind the LOS. The current top 6 seeded teams in the NFL are the top 6 scoring teams. You aren't very likely to win the SB unless you can outscore the best teams..............and since points come in the passing game that's what you have to be disproportionately focused on stopping.

Sal is always peddling easy answers. Yes, by a lot of metrics the Bills look like a team that is lucky to be 8-3. But that doesn't mean they need a "label" to explain that away. And being the worst second half defense in the NFL is not really the definition of resourceful...........struggling over and over in 3rd quarters is not being resourceful.........an inability to adapt is not resourcefulness. The Bills are a good team with a difference making QB..........they have had some issues with discipline in assignments and focus and are probably one playmaker on either side of the ball from being able to finish lesser teams much earlier........but they have the potential to get better still this year too.

Correct......but name one situation where you can compare HC hires/setups/rebuilds etc.. as "apples to apples"? No two are exactly alike. It's a non-argument. In the NFL most observers/critics/players/coaches fill in the unknown with absolutes to decide how much to invest on the field...........and that's how a guy like Belichick keeps finding dudes to run thru the wall for him.

Dallas should definitely fire McCarthy.......that hire was inexplicable, IMO............then they should hire Kris Richard as HC and let him bring Rod Marinelli back as DC............it would be an upgrade but at the same time not a total shakeup or a bunch of guys brought in that have to learn the organization. That would be a different example of the kind of off script you are talking about. Richard is sitting out voluntarily until he gets AT LEAST a DC job.......but it seems to me from everything I have heard that he is a better HC candidate than a DC one. He checks some boxes that would be wise for JJ to consider checking.

Yep 0-2 in playoffs 1-6 versus chief rival I am looking forward to McD doing what it takes to engineer a second defeat of the Patriots and an extended playoff run.......but I'm not a Bills player who has to trust the process........and to those guys perception is reality.

Excellent work, thanks for the info. I think 8 is always the over under for HC firings. Having Patricia as DC would help Daboll in the same way that having Gus Bradley helped Anthony Lynn. If you are going to hire an unknown like Daboll who has been fired from 3 coordinating jobs in the NFL you really need him to bring a staff you can sell to the fans. But I think that there will be somewhat surprising retread hires as well so Daboll is far from a lock for a HC job. I do think that the situation is more ripe than ever for college coaches to jump though too. A lot of these college programs are losing epic dollars this season and the chaos in college football has to be maddening for a HC. I suspect more than a few major college HC's have been asked to forego payments or take salary cuts........and they are working as hard as ever. The NFL is a steady ship by comparison.

You're kinda' building a straw man here. But fwiw.........Beasley and Diggs offer a lot of the same to your offense...........Diggs averages 11.8 ypr and Beasley 11.7 ypr.........Diggs is 36th in RAC and Beasley is 38th in RAC. You can't get much closer than that. So while it would be a big loss, not having Beasley doesn't sink your chain moving efforts. John Brown is a career 14.8 ypr guy..........as mentioned earlier in this thread he might be the best Z receiver in the NFL..........and he was by far the Bills best WR in 2019. So I don't know where you've come up with this hyperbole about Beasley being "far, far" more important. What having Brown does is push the defense beyond the sticks so Diggs' short receptions with zero RAC would be first downs instead of 2 yards shy...........that was the case early in the season when Diggs was catching first down after first down. It helps Beasley get space too.......but he starts becoming real small target 20 yards down the field...........where Diggs at 6' with long arms is still a viable option downfield if they decide to flip he and Browns' routes. So give me a healthy Brown and Diggs every time.

That and they've physically slapped the McD Bills offense around a couple times and are liable to be very confident in their chances of doing it again. I am still pissed at Matt Judon for the cheap shots on Allen in that Peterman-inspired opening day debacle in 2018........definitely prefer to avoid them in WC round but whoever it is they have to win a game or 4 in the playoffs this year.

Foster was a rookie who put up 540 yards in just 43% of the teams snaps.....20 yards per catch........he was projecting as a potential WR1.......then poof! Zilch. THAT 2018 draft and UDFA class looked very deep and promising in their rookie years too..........since then they look like two first round starters and a bunch of spare parts. Except of course for Wyatt Teller who they regrettably dealt to Cleveland.

My personal favorite was drafting and developing a 34 defense for 22 years and when it finally has reached the point where it is the identity of a perennial playoff franchise and they have the best NT in the game...........they hire Greggo and dump Ted Washington and the 34. It cratered the on field product of the franchise and they spent a fortune trying to get back what they had and it set in motion all the failure to come. The Bills could have done what the Steelers did..........ironically it was a former Steeler GM that wrecked it.

He looked like Star..........didn't make any sudden movements or tackles.......but better than a typical Star-lead result and for 5 cents on the dollar.....3.2 ypc by Chargers. All Star jokes aside..........success in run defense is primarily want-to and execution.......we have seen improvement of late and I'd attribute much of it there.......they are better at the point of attack. The Bills current run defense is allowing 4.7 ypc........up from last season at this time but improving........and right in between where last season's SB matchup Niners(4.5) and Chiefs (4.9) finished in 2019.