elroy16

So far it seems like Edmunds is passing all of the mental tests with flying colors. He reportedly is approaching the process the correct way, just like Allen, taking it seriously and acting like a pro. They both appear to know that getting drafted is just the beginning and the real work is ahead of them. Not only are they saying the right things, everything coming out of OBD says they're putting in the work as well.

This made me laugh, also very excited.

That would make sense, especially if you think about him signing with his old DC where he can go back to what he used to do.

The analytic guys LOVE Tyrod and his low int numbers. silva trashed McDermott after he benched Tyrod and said Sean was putting himself above the team. It's fine to side with analytics, but silva takes the Buffalo pessimism to a weird level. He recently called them the worst run organization in football. Had he said from 2000-2016, it would be hard to argue to hard against him. Now they have owners willing to spend whatever they need, a front office that has people going up for GM jobs elsewhere and are highly regarded, and what looks like a promising young coach. I don't see it.

Decent piece on Lotulelei with a quote that stood out to me. http://buffalonews.com/2018/06/07/despite-hefty-contract-bills-lotulelei-is-ok-with-not-being-a-star/ As always, a new player mentions the process, one eleventh, or earning the right to play. And the quote that was interesting to me. I'm not sure what exactly was going on in Carolina, but it doesn't sound like he was enjoying himself and maybe wasn't giving 100%. It's interesting that he followed his old D coordinator, you might think he was part of the problem, but I assume that isn't the case. I hate saying, "I hope this millionaire athlete can stay motivated," but I try to catch myself, they are just people after all. God knows I could stand to be more motivated at work. Anyway, hopefully we can see him come in and play well. I doubt he puts up more than 3-5 sacks, but he could have a much bigger impact than his stats show if he plays at a high level.

This was in the Bills mailbag. The relationship part is interesting because when you hear the players talk, they talk about how much of a family environment it is. They talk about McDermott asking about their family's and how they're doing outside of football. The way McDermott had players share their stories last year shows what kind of environment he's trying to build, one that is very close and where people truly care about each other. I'm sure we've heard before about being dynamic or forward thinking, but I tend to believe it a bit more with this staff. Not only because Daboll comes from organizations that really push match ups and the details, but also because of my belief in McDermott. Last season was embarrassing in terms of mashing a square peg through a round hole on offense. I would have preferred McDermott figure that out before we watched an entire season of it, but it's refreshing to see them make a change before it's too late.

I never said CK was a top athlete.

Then why do teams keep players around that get suspended? Why don't the Pats cut Edelmen who's about to miss a fourth of the season? Why don't the 49ers cut Foster? Why don't the Bengals cut Burfict?

Weinstein was a top executive at an extremely lucrative company that made a ton of people very wealthy (just like pro athletes). I don't know if he's easily replaceable or not, I'm going to guess no. I never said I thought Kaep was above the law or rules. You guys are twisting what I said into all sorts of other ****.

I wouldn't call him a top athlete, but that could turn into 20 pages just like every Tyrod thread. 49ers are still keeping Foster around. They kept Aldon Smith around for a while after he got in trouble a bunch of times. The Ravens kept Ray Rice around for a while after his incident. There are countless examples in sports. Athletes and regular joe employees are not the same, that was my point, nothing more, nothing less.

True, but you can't say that without acknowledging pro athletes are nothing like normal employees. We are easily replaceable, a top athlete in his prime isn't.

I don't understand this sentiment. It's not just you, I see similar replies to a lot of threads about players rebounding, having a big year, or developing. My point is, what are they supposed to do? Tell media members that can't do interviews? At this point it's all talk. It's not like he's skipping practice and telling everyone how good he's going to be. He's there, walking the walk, as far as he can at this point.

I posted this in another thread, but it's dying so I'm guessing it won't be seen. I'm definitely expecting the D to take a step up this year. They still probably won't have a great pass rush, but the run D should take a solid step forward which will lead to better 3rd down scenarios. The pass D was solid without a good pass rush, so with a slightly better pass rush, we should still see a very good pass D. The depth on the back end was tested last year, I hope the additions of Gaines, Neal, and Thompson will help prevent a drop off if/when guys get banged up. I really think Edmunds is going to be a beast against the run and in coverage, I can't wait to watch him play. In terms of Frazier not blitzing, it'll be interesting to see if that changes. McDermott showed double A gap pressure with Thomas and Kuechly in Carolina. Edmunds showed at times he can be a strong blitzer in college. I want to see him in coverage for the most part, but he could be a big time chess piece out there.

That'd make sense. On WGR they're showing there's only practice yesterday and today, so that's where I was coming from. Edit: I'm an idiot.

Damn, so no media at any of the practices this week? That's lame. Edit: I'm an idiot.

I feel like Murphy isn't getting talked about a lot. He put up some very solid numbers in 2016. If he and Lawson play well, the front 4 could be a very good unit which would be a big help for Edmunds. If it doesn't and they continue to struggle containing the run and getting to the passer, they'll really need to address that position next year.

The WR group is a question mark, but it's not much different from last year. If anything they'll be better since KB will have all offseason to gain chemistry, Zay will be in his second year (I know he's hurt and terrible, so it might not matter), they signed Kerley who's not great, but has some production in the league, and then they have a bunch of young guys looking to make a name for themselves. It's not a strong group, but they didn't lose a bunch of production. The o-line is a big question mark, there's no question about that. Groy filled in nicely at C when Wood was out, so I'm hoping he or Bodine will be serviceable at center. Richie was a loss, but he wasn't playing much longer, so might as well see what they have. Hopefully they can solidify that spot this year so next year we can see an established unit. Hopefully someone can cement themselves into the RT spot. If Mills can improve his pass blocking, he wouldn't be terrible, but he's a big weakness. Daboll is the wild card. Can he get that side of the ball to overachieve or will the Bills continue to only ever be good on one side of the ball.

What are all these holes on defense? Last year they had a poor run D, but then they added 3 pieces to the front 4 and a high pick to replace the MLB. They replaced the lost starting CB with a proven vet while adding depth in the draft. You can question the depth, but "lots of holes" is not accurate.

I don't think I knew this, that is very encouraging when you think about Edmunds development. I knew Edmunds was in good hands with McDermott, but having someone like Babich as his positional coach as well is great. A quick google search of Babich shows that Urlacher chose Babich to present him at the hall of fame induction ceremony. I didn't think I could get more excited about Edmunds, but it keeps happening.

First one that pops in to my head, probably because it was brought up in another thread at some point not too long ago, McKelvin returning the kickoff against NE on Monday Night Football. If you insist on returning it, you better have two hands on it and go down easy, neither of which he did.

Big year for Shaq. I think he'll spell Murphy and hopefully there's very little drop off.

I'm getting giddy about this defense.

If he starts the season, I'm expecting a rough beginning. Hopefully he can get some of the kinks out the first 3 weeks (at Ravens, vs Chargers, at Vikings) because they are going to be tough, no matter who starts at QB. I expect a good amount of short to intermediate passes off of PA or RPO's. Pound the rock a bit and force the LBs to focus on the run, then let Allen hit guys up the seam or on slants. I think Allen will try and allow his receivers to make more plays, whether on tighter coverage, back shoulder throws, or 50/50 deep passes with Benjamin being his favorite target since he's the best receiver on the team in regards to these type of passes. On slower developing PA, I think we'll see a good amount of digs and corner routes, Allen throws those well. I have no idea what his stats will look like, they might not look very good because I think they'll be pretty conservative and rely more on their defense. Hopefully Allen is good enough towards the later part of the year that they open it up a bit more.