Dragonborn10

Tie-breakers. Coaches don't admit it but some games are simply more important than others. Of course they try to win them all, but a win over Tampa Bay is far less important than a win over an AFC West opponent. The KC game alone could mean making or not making the playoffs and maybe as many as 6, 8, or 10 draft spots.

Thanx for the support Hope I can edit this thread after the third preseason game to Ragland being named a surprise starter. Enjoy the season!!!

Been saying it for years. You need to blitz Brady early and often. Yes he will beat you many times but it only takes a few hits, a tipped pass, or a bad throw to stop them. You can't stop him by not blitzing. Best take your shot and see what happens.

Colts at 13? Luck may not be healthy enough to start season and is perennially overrated. Gore is ancient and Hilton is one trick pony - a very good one trick but not a great WR. But Dallas at #2??? So many QBs are better than Dak. Based on him alone, Dallas is closer to 10th. I reserve the right for him to prove me completely wrong in season two.

For those that are so certain the NFL will be ok, think of what you would have said about boxing or MLB in the 80's. Sports change over time. The only thing that does not is money. The NFL will survive because the NFL has managed to do what no other sport has - appeal to everyone. The NFL has made strides to appeal to women, minorities, young, and old. NBA is close. But all other sports are closer to having niche fan bases than broad appeal. Concussions will have an impact. Some athletes will look to other sports like Samarzdjia did but that will still be rare. Technology will advance. Maybe they do something radical like weight/size limits per position, seriously addressing PEDs, or other player safety rule implementations. But in 10 years, I think the NFL will be as dominant as it is today relative to the other sports. I think viewership of all sports will decline, at least as how it is measured now(fan attendance and tv ratings), but NFL will still be most watched.

PFF ranked Mills as fourth worst RT in pass protection. He is far from even being average. I posted options to improve. Even in my own post I ultimately went with sticking with what we have. WTF is it with this board lately??? Its just discussion.

1. Agree 2. Highly touted by who? He was a first round grade by the pundits that fell to the second round and drafted by a GM and HC that are gone. You and I have no idea how McDermott and Beane graded him. 3. Agree 4. I'm not surprised he is taking snaps with the second team. That is where he should be. I'm surprised he isn't taking snaps at the other LB spots. How much does versatility matter in a back-up? Can he play special teams? 5. Agree. In the end I would be shocked if he was cut as it makes little sense until he gets on an NFL field. Is shocked a better word than surprised? PS - Were you surprised when team leader Fred Jackson was cut? How about fan fav Brian Moorman? Starting LT Langston Walker? These kind of responses to threads puzzle me. It's just a discussion board. Every year we as a community post predictions on surprise cuts, our final 53, and a host of other topics in July. Even the title of the thread is a question. I enjoy the back and forth.

Not to derail my own thread but agree about safety. They should bring back A. Williams this week

Mills doesn't even look good in camp and Dawkins has yet to challenge him by all reports. I still think S, LB, and TE are worse position groups especially with regard to depth, but right now whoever starts at RT is the worst of the 22 starters by far. Options: 1. Deal with it until Henderson comes off suspension. Let Mills and Dawkins platoon until Henderson comes back then cut Mills 2. Give one or more of the interior lineman a few practices at RT - Ducasse played OT in college, Groy has played a few games at OT too. 3. Austin Howard - he and Ryan Clady are the only OTs on the top 50 FA list. He might be worth a look 4. Trade Wood for a very good RT. Hear me out. I would not do this but it could be a scenario. Groy played as well as Wood last season. Wood is in the last year of his deal. Wood is 5 years older than Groy. If a team loses a center in camp, the Bills might be in a position to take advantage of their need. Most likely scenario is just deal with it. If Cordy is healthy, they can slide protection help to the right side all game long.

All good points. I too would be shocked if he was just cut. Agree with others, perhaps he is traded. Maybe he is just working his way back into contact. Maybe McDermott is giving P. Brown every chance to win the job knowing how well he played in the 4-3 in the past.

According to reports he has yet to take a rep other than backup MLB. I suspect they would rather have a backup MLB that can play multiple positions like the others have been doing. Just like Cardale Jones, this kid has no ties to this regime and seems at least on paper to not fit the defense. I never liked the pick, but was hoping he could push P. Brown out of a job. So far the best I can hope for now is P. Brown bounces back to 2015 form. Thoughts?

Agreed. I like it when athletes are honest. He has a body frame perfect for a 4-3 DE. He never played OLB in college. Still he was fat and slow last year. He had shoulder surgery not knee surgery. He could have shown up in shape and 20 or more pounds lighter than he did even with the shoulder injury. But past is past. They need this kid to be a star. Play fast and get to the QB just like Mario said.

Dont underestimate the power of HGH

Had he kept Schwartz, Rex and that 4-3 wide 9 defense would have easily made the playoffs. Mario probably is still on the team and playing well. No less than 3 high draft picks could have been used on safeties, QB's, and TE's. And Rex would almost assuredly still be the HC. He was never that bad with clock management. He made some bad decision before the half and attempting some FG's that were not likely to be made. But all in all had the defense been maintained, Rex is still here. All that fat bastard had to do was add in a few exotic blitz packages to run 3-5 times per game. But no he has to switch everything and make our elite DL look and play horrible.

Wow he looks 20+ pounds lighter in this pic. http://buffalonews.com/2017/07/29/slimmed-shaq-lawson-wreaking-havoc-early-training-camp-bills/ Says he is weighing 268 and played last year at 275. He looked closer to 295 last year. This is great news. He looked more like a DT last year than an OLB. He should be a terror at DE. Our entire DL should bounce back in a big way from the Ryan disaster. Cheers....

Is the deadline urban legend?

Steve Young Kurt Warner Aaron Rodgers And your question is unfair. TT has been the franchise QB for two years now.

Kirby, I agree with all your points. If Peterman looks ok in camp, I think they will cut Yates and go with just two QBs to start the season. If TT gets hurt the season is lost anyways. There was no point in wasting further time on Jones. They can focus all their attention on TT and Peterman. Yates already knows the offense. If he looks great in camp, go ahead and keep him. If he is terrible as we suspect, just cut him late in camp.

1. Back-up TE - can Logan Thomas become a legit threat? Can he be the Bills version of Terrell Pryor? 2. LB - Will Preston Brown return to 2014 form? I think he will be a training camp cut. Is Ragland fast enough to play in the nickel defense? If not he won't be on the field for 2/3rd's of the defensive snaps. 3. White/Darby - If he is a plug and play replacement for Gilmore, that is a huge hole filled. Darby was terrible last year. Can he rebound? 4. Safety - most teams play three safeties in multiple packages. I'm not sure we have two that are worthy of significant playing time. My hunch is they will sign a veteran training camp cut or better yet make a run at Revis. 5. Back-up QB - I would be fine with TT and Peterman to be honest. I would rather have an extra roster spot for a WR, DB, or lineman. If any QB other than TT starts the season is lost anyways.

Josh Reed is first team suck

Sorry mate, but Talley is top of my list for most overrated. Followed closely by Ferguson. Neither belong on the wall. Maybe if Fergie hadn't twisted his ankle the early 80's would be a different story. As for Talley - he, Marv Levy, and Jeff Wright lost the best chance the Bills had at a SuperBowl victory.

Schobel is second all-time in sacks for the Bills. He is 68th all-time in NFL. That is 14 spots ahead of Biscuit and 38 ahead of Hansen. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/leaders/sacks_career.htmHe is in very good company on that list. Agree - he is not close to a HOF guy. He is a solid Hall of the Very Very Good in NFL, and certainly a great in Bills history - second best DE after Bruce though Mario Williams had more raw talent than Schobel. As for Moulds, Fletcher, and Jackson I agree with you. They are good players knocking on the great category but not quite. Jackson is a great story but he is 10th in yards/game in Bills history. He is not in my top 5 (Thurman, OJ, Shady, Cookie, Cribbs) at his position. Larry Centers is an interesting choice. For a short window of time, he was the best in the NFL at his position. Bledsoe still talks about him on the radio.

He is almost guarantted to make the team. He doesn't count as a roster spot and they got rid of CK. Unless he flops in camp, which seems unlikely, he will be kep on the suspended player list and be a early-mid season addition to the squad. What will be interesting to see is if he beats out Mills and they decide to cut Mills and use someone like Groy as the back-up RT for the games Hendeson is still suspended.

Reid is a very good coach when all is well. He is awful in critical situations. He has choked in the playoffs multiple times. His teams are poorly prepared and perform poorly in critical situations. When all is calm, he game plans well. He is just not good when the pressure is increased. Of their first 7 games, only one looks liek a sure win with the Eagles at KC. The rest are tough opponents. They could be 2-5 after first seven and Andy will panic. A geat trade that looks better every day.

Byrd and Gilchrist belong on the wall. However they belonged on the wall long before Tasker, Talley, and Hansen. Schobel was a better player than Talley and Hansen. He has 16.5 more sacks than Hansen in two less seasons. Hansen played with Bruce Smith for 8 of his seasons. I believe you are seriously underestimating how good he was.