Forward Progress

My better half had the audacity to have her birthday today!!! How could she?!? Now I have to create the illusion that she is getting my undivided attention on her special day while checking the draft status every time she leaves the room or I go to the washroom. I hope the Bills get their guy(s) and my relationship is still intact tomorrow. Wish me luck!

I think that Foles market value is higher if he shows that he honors the commitments he makes in the contracts he signs. If he holds out, he's declaring that if he plays better than the salary of his next contract that he will hold out again, leaving no upside for his next team. Holding out this year reduces his value in his next contract.

Easily my favourite Bill of the past 15 years. One of the most complete RB's to play the game - such a patient runner who could see the holes developing before they opened and perhaps the best pass blocking RB I have seen.

I sure miss Rex right now. I know he never brought us close to the playoffs, but we dominated the offseason.

... and a right tackle. Other than that, our line looks pretty solid.

I think so too. He played pretty well in the power run scheme in his rookie year. I was hoping for Richie/Miller at the guard positions - now it looks like Miller/Ducasse this year.

Richie is (was) a high caliber player filling the LG position for another year or so. Given his age, our rebuild plan would view LG as a hole that need to be filled in this draft or the next. Now it seems that we will need to fill it in this draft, since it's unlikely that a street free agent is still available to use the cap space savings to fill the void. I'm not ticked off at Richie - He was arguably our best lineman while he played here and gave everything he had. I wish he could keep playing, but realistically, Richie was heading into his final season anyway, considering his age. Life is nothing without good health, so I won't criticize Richie if that's the basis for his decision. Our O-Line is looking pretty scary this year.

I will boldly predict that 32 players will be selected in the first round. Go on with your day.

That depends on how much you need to give up to move to #7. If the cost to move from #12 to #7 is more than the talent upgrade form #12 to #7, then it's a bad trade. I feel like trades to move up and down the draft will be waiting until draft day, when both teams know which players are on the board for the team trading down.

http://www.nj.com/giants/index.ssf/2018/03/giants_to_qb_davis_webb_showcase_right_before_nfl.html Here’s an interesting read on the new Giants coaching staff on Webb. They are essentially using the upcoming mini camp to see what they have in Webb in comparison to the rookie QB’s in this draft.

If I was the Giants with a 37-year old QB, drafting 2nd in this draft, I would draft the best QB on the board at number two and not trade down. It's the perfect setting for a young QB to hold the clipboard for a year or two to develop properly. I hope they trade back with us, but I wouldn't make that trade, if I was Gettleman.

...but, then you're using a roster spot that can be devoted to the coveted kick off specialist.

This was the biggest issue last year. Riveron reversed too many calls without indisputable evidence. It was only a coincidence that 4 of these favoured the Pats leading to 2-3 more victories.

Peterman throws a really catchable ball... it rarely hits the ground

Well, at this is a distraction from all of the trade up for a QB talk we've been having.

I am a Bill's Optimist, but don't really align with either of your descriptions above. I don't believe Beane was beat to the punch - I believe he wasn't willing to pay as much as the Jets. The price to trade up to #3 has proven to be very steep and Beane elected to hold his draft picks over moving up. Unfortunately, I believe the Giants are holding #2 to take a QB as well and there may be no opportunity to pick ahead of the Jets. I don't believe Beane is a master of puppets. The other GM's are simply behaving in the best interest of their teams. The actions of the Jets are not part of Beane's plan. No matter how talented I think that Beane is, he can't control or manipulate other teams into doing what they do. The Colts are playing this the smart way trading back to #6 and could very likely trade back again, which creates an opportunity for another QB-needy team to move up ahead of the Bills. I'm an optimist because I think Beane has shown himself to be a very capable GM and I trust that trend will continue. While he can't control the actions of the competing GM's, he can make the best move possible for Buffalo given the assets that he has. He's done a good job of salvaging an ugly cap situation to make it very healthy for 2019. He's done a good job of converting Taylor and Glenn into better draft equity, while creating cap space at the same time. I trust that Beane will place a value on each of the QB's available and will move up if justified, but may sit at #12 and take the BPA if the cost to move up outweighs the value. A week ago, I was convinced that the Bills were moving up to the top 5 to get a QB. Now, with so many desperate teams potentially doing the same, this may not be the smart move anymore. It won't make sense to sacrifice multiple picks for a QB who isn't significantly better than AJ McCarron. This is setting up to be an exciting draft year. I read in the thread about the Colts trading back, that the top 70 picks have starter grades. With 5 picks in the top seventy, we will improve our team sitting where we are. Just five more weeks of unbridled speculation until draft day!! FP

Funny, I love saying I told you so.... but, I didn't tell you so.

Is the separation at release because the WR's don't get separation or because the release isn't timed with the break in the route? It's some of each, in my opinion. Taylor doesn't throw the ball in sync with the route's design where the WR's separation would be at it's best.

This is the explanation I agree with. I cut the cord for cable two years ago and don’t regret it. I couldn’t give up football, so I pay for GamePass (through DAZN, since I don’t live in the US). For people who don’t have live tv and aren’t hooked on a sport, they never will. I wonder if the subscriptions to Streaming football are up as the Network viewers decline.

... and two of them get London for their home game. Ugh!!

I am just happy that our offseason didn't begin in November, like it normally does.

For the first ten weeks of the season, I held a burning cross outside of Ducasse's home. He's been playing at the NFL QB level for the last few weeks, in case you hadn't noticed.

1. Yes 2. No 3. Yes 4. Yes (I think it's best for the Bills if he's gone, but McDermott is loyal to a fault) 5. No 6. No (The best QB available will be the Bill's QB. I don't think that is Tyrod)

Thank goodness we have video reviews to ensure that no team is screwed on a bad call ever again.

My 2 cents on how to fix replay... - Two challenges per team, with a third of both are correct (no change). - End the review on all scoring plays. If the opposing coach decides it is worth reviewing, he can risk one of his challenges and a timeout. - Allow reviews on penalties, especially offensive and defensive pass interference. These are game-changing calls and challenges are appropriate to get them right. I have heard the argument that reviews on penalties will make the game too long, the limit of two challenges per game offsets this concern. - Get rid of the reviews initiated from New York in the final two minutes. If your challenges are gone, they are gone. In this model, every call is either made by the official on the field or following a review initiated by the coach’s challenge. - Reinforce the concept that the ruling on the field stands in the absence of indisputable evidence to overturn the call.