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Wow, I'm kind of surprised they did that. Thanks for the feedback.

I don’t see the schedule-makers giving any AFC team two homes games to start the season during a year in which all AFC teams play an extra road game. For that reason, I’m still thinking Bills/Rams for the opener.

They always put a premiere matchup in the opener. I agree with you that they could put Jets/Lions up and get huge ratings but they want a game people get excited about, not just that they’ll watch. Bucs/Rams is premiere also.

Just read this snippet in a Buffalo News article this morning…we’ll be seeing some more games released over the next couple of days: The full schedule will be released at 8 p.m. Thursday, with teams announcing their opening games at 6 p.m. The NFL intends to continue to release selected games each morning this week through its broadcast partners, with games revealed Tuesday on "CBS Mornings," Wednesday on "Fox & Friends" and Thursday on the "Today" show. Since Today is on NBC, which airs Sunday Night Football and the Thursday night opener, I think it’s a good bet we learn whether the Bills are at the Rams week one on Thursday morning.

Wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest.

@GunnerBill yeah, I used to defend Whaley to a certain extent as well, in that he didn’t get to hire “his own” HC. But some of the decisions he made were just awful — such as trading up to draft Sammy Watkins. I know at the time I was excited about that move but that was the fan in me, not somebody responsible for building an organization. I think that incident shows Whaley actually was given the power to run the franchise, because we all know how Saint Doug felt about it. I agree with your sentiments about Pittsburgh under Tomlin likely being his last shot at being an NFL GM.

Not necessarily. We have no idea what conversations his agent has had with Buffalo or any other teams. I’m pretty sure Jerry has something very specific he’s looking for if he is going to keep playing. I’m guessing he doesn’t want to take a vet minimum (or close to it) deal to play with a team that is not a Super Bowl contender. If Buffalo doesn’t want him back, I’d give it better than 50/50 odds he retires.

I think most people believe Tre’Davious has good ball skills, and he has a grand total of 16 INTs in 77 regular season and playoff games. INTs don’t tell the whole story.

Both teams actually have some exciting players and are expected to compete for playoff spots this season. I do think the casual NFL fan will be watching Bills/Oilers though.

FTFY. Yes, Whaley is respected as a judge of talent. He brought talent to the Bills. He just never grasped how to build a team (culture, salary cap).

Zay Jones was a beast in college. He lost his confidence early in his rookie season and it has taken him years to get it back.

Disagree. The NFL is likely thinking that the casual fan will be flipping between games...providing their advertisers with two channels of eyes during primetime. It's no different than Sunday afternoons...the diehards of each team stay on their game, but everyone else is channel surfing. Also, going back to your comment in the other (now closed) thread about why Bills/Rams won't be W1, I think the email and app notice from the Bills does not suggest what you say it suggests. it is a general statement about "all home openers" being announced at 6 p.m. on Thursday in advance of the entire schedule. Nothing hints or implies that the MNF game isn't the Bills home opener.

Love getting the Oilers early. Rich/The Ralph/The Cap/Highmark will be juiced and I don't think the game will be close.

Why?

I hear several people saying this and my question is...why? The Bills are a SB contender with an exciting team. They will be on prime time at least 5-6 times. In past years we've seen teams on primetime in successive weeks, plus there is an 11-day gap between these two games.

I wouldn’t have recognized Banchero either, with that huge TAR HEEL plastered over his face.

I’d be willing to bet Beane offered Jerry a vet minimum deal (or close) and told him to come back if he couldn’t find better on the market.

Yeah, it was obvious even back then that Marcel deserved our empathy and was likely burdened by significant mental health issues. I blame the Bills’ FO at the time for not realizing this and dedicating significant resources to the situation (or drafting someone else). I feel like if Marcel had been brought into the current Bills culture the story would have ended differently.

The Steelers can bus to all their games.

Yup, and I’m sure you heard Beane’s comments about him not being fully recovered from ankle surgery last year as well. I’m very pleased with where the RB room sits right now with Motor, Cook, and Moss. Edit: and the real reason I opened this thread was to comment that Rich Eisen is another national NFL media guy who has really taken a shine to the Bills. Nothing but positivity about Allen and what Beane/McD have accomplished.

Didn’t Epenesa break Tua’s ribs? Anyway, to suggest that the Bills “missed” on those three DEs at this stage is spurious at best. Let’s give ‘em a bit of time.

Whaley is still wondering how in the world Diggs is still a Bill and wasn’t cut because there was no way Buffalo could afford to keep him.

Every year the NFL opens with the defending SB champs against another high quality opponent. Every. Year. They don't simply throw any game out there because "the ratings will be strong no matter what." They want to start the season off with a bang, and a game that will get people talking. Bills/Rams checks every box.

First of all, @corta765, thanks for all of the effort you put into this! For some reason I like schedule predictions a heluva lot more than mock drafts. I think the lustre is off the Pats*** after they were blown out in the playoffs and made no significant moves in FA -- plus they had a bizarre draft. They get two primetime games and that's it. Maybe the Bills are one of them, but I tend to believe the NFL doesn't want to put another potential blowout in that spot so my guess is that it's NE/Miami for one of their night games. The Bills are opening in LA on TNF. There are so many reasons to put this game there, and few not to. It's the Super Bowl everyone "wanted" to see, and could even be a preview of the next one. Aside from that, I have no clue.

I haven’t read the whole thing yet but the Baltimore stuff was interesting. In a nutshell, execs opined that Baltimore gets the benefit of the doubt but this was an odd draft with who they selected (and didn’t select).