elroy16

0-3 teams make the playoffs about 2.5% of the time. The Bengals desperately need this game and will probably play like it. Bengals O-line hasn't played well, Bills need to minimize big plays and force them up and down the field. Thankfully, this is what the Bills D is to a T. Bengals run offense is awful, hopefully we'll see a lot of 3rd and longs. I assume McDermott will have these guys ready, they don't strike me as a team that will get complacent and assume the enthusiasm/excitement for a hope opener will be enough to get a W.

He's great when he fires off the snap and blows up gaps. Of course that can lead to him leaving the middle of the field wide open when he's fooled on play action. I'm not worried yet. I'll gladly take a MLB that is slightly below average against the run but good against the pass over the opposite. He's still young, he's super long, and athletic, I think at worst he'll be average against the run, which I can live with.

All the DT's really. Against the run they were doing a good job at filling gaps (outside of the first drive) and against the pass they are collapsing the pocket. No longer are we seeing the edge rushers look like they might get home only to have the QB step up in the pocket and sit there for an extra 2 seconds. They may not be blowing up the line every play, but they're consistently getting a good push. The D-line as a whole isn't really spectacular, but they play very well as a unit and compliment the secondary very well.

That makes me get way more into the game and way more pissed when they lose. Granted I still do it every game, but it definitely doesn't help me.

Lots of open seats, pretty pathetic for a game so early in the season.

https://buffalonews.com/2019/09/09/buffalo-bills-skurski-ed-oliver-nfl-new-york-jets/ Great attitude from the rookie too. It was refreshing to see the line as a whole play really well. They were stuffing run lanes, batting passes, collapsing the pocket, and rarely let Darnold have time to sit comfortably in the pocket.

I can admit that Belichick is one of, if not, the best coach ever, but is a bit much. You talk like he's literally never made a single mistake, he's made plenty of poor draft picks and signed players that haven't worked out. Trading a 6th round pick for some info into an offense that's very similar to something he's run for years would be incredibly short sighted. I can't imagine for a second Belichick doing that, especially for info into a team he's beat more than any other in the league.

One thing I heard Beane mention on WGR about the practice squad that I didn't know before was that if you sign a player off of another team's practice squad, you have to keep them on your 53 for 3 weeks. Another random tidbit I learned while listening to Taron Johnson on WGR was that before coming to Buffalo, he hadn't played in the slot before, he was always on the outside. I'm excited to see how much more he can develop with a year under his belt.

"It's hard for me to... remember exactly what was going on during the draft." 6th or 7th round pick, I can buy that. Third round pick though? You should remember that. This guy just instills confidence at every level.

This feels like one of those situations where another team tries to poach him and the Bills elevate him to the 53 to keep him. We'll see, hopefully that doesn't happen, but I think he'll be on a 53 man roster at some point this year.

Reading those made me want to run through a f*&#ing wall. This was the most encouraging though. Other good ones about his improvement that I liked.

Not to mention trading some guys that were probably going to be cut. https://theathletic.com/1178480/2019/09/02/from-diluted-to-dominant-bills-o-line-leaves-2018-in-distant-past/ I definitely was wrong about Groy, I thought he was going to be solid. I can't believe Mills lasted so long. This is just year one of the O-line rebuild. Hopefully next year they'll only have to add a piece or two to continue to build a very good line. Let's just hope this year's is good enough to properly develop Allen and allow them to put together an offense that resembles a legitimate 2019 NFL offense. I'd like to think it is, but I've been fooled before. Kudos to Beane and McDermott for addressing the player and coaching side of the O-line.

The Athletic had a good article about him. https://theathletic.com/1154574/2019/08/22/he-can-be-a-beast-in-this-league-how-darryl-johnson-became-the-surprise-of-the-bills-draft-class/ Length Bend Instincts Competitive Work Ethic These sound like the makings of a first round edge rusher, certainly not a 7th rounder.

The bolded makes sense and it would be very interesting to see their QB rankings/ratings. It's impossible to know if their strategy worked out well or if they were stuck with their second favorite. You make a fair point. I'm glad they did their due diligence before making the most significant jump up to the top 10, but I see your point.

Beane talks about that. The last part is the most important. If they had traded up to say 3, then met with all of the QB's, and then realized they really only were in love with Mayfield and Darnold, they could have been screwed. In that case, maybe the Jets jump to 2 and then Mayfield and Darnold are gone and the Bills are sitting there with their thumb up their ass with no plan. I see what you're saying, but I don't think you should be disappointed by their timeline / plan. They wanted to do their due diligence so that they wouldn't be stuck with a high pick they paid a premium for and then not have a QB they loved when it was their time to pick.

Paid site, so I'll only post parts. The Athletic is well worth the price, tons of great articles. https://theathletic.com/1167351/2019/08/29/is-your-guy-ready-for-the-league-inside-the-bills-decisions-meetings-and-scouting-trips-that-led-to-josh-allen/ The video of inside the plane while they're hitting strong turbulence would be very interesting to see. Nothing crazy new or anything, but a good article going through their process.

Darryl Johnson seems like a lock at this point.

That is a freaking gut punch to those fans this close to the season.

Damn I am pumped about Oliver and his future. The pre-draft character concerns look like nothing at this point. He's doing everything he's supposed to be doing. I can't wait to see him reach his potential.

100% correct. Sure, Allen throws to his primary target a number of times, but the author totally ignores that this is part of being a good QB, finding the best pre-snap matchup. On the seam throw to Sweeny, he makes a check (Which the author doesn't mention) and throws a perfect pass with anticipation. On the corner route to Sweeny, he makes a great throw with a muddy pocket. Allen definitely doesn't run at the first sight of pressure or his first read not being open. Pretty much a trash article.

After watching "Every Kyler Murphy run and pass" and all of Allen's throws, I assume this is how the author views football. Pass far = good Pass short = vanilla/bad He's chucking it down field, but doesn't complete a single pass beyond the sticks. Somehow that is better than completing short passes and moving the ball.

lame

I'm curious to see if Nsekhe plays tonight. Was he left out of team drills on Wednesday because they're about to trade him, discipline, injury, or something else?

Far too often over the years the middle of the field is abused by other teams because the linebackers and safeties do not cover well. Between Hyde, Poyer, Edmunds, and Milano, it looks like this team might have this issue covered.