BarleyNY

I suspect the $60M in cap space double counts the carryover, which is a little under $19M. I'm seeing spending of a little less than $123M. So, using round numbers, a cap of $140M results in an adjusted cap of $159M. Take away spending of $123M and they'd have $36M to spend before any cuts or contract adjustments.

The issue with a rapidly rising salary cap is that it going to benefit most the teams that are already built for contention. Those teams are going to be able to afford to re-sign all of the players that they want to re-sign. Teams that are looking to improve are going to be sitting with a bunch of cap room and stuck with a relatively poor free-agent class. If the salary cap really does jump to around $140 million next season I don't necessarily think it's a good thing for the Bills overall, although it would allow them to retain Hughes, which would be great for the defense.

Mike Polk and Jerrod Cherry on the situation (D-bags United for Johnny):

Must be a lot like hitting a couple beautiful drives and knocking down a 35 foot putt on your way to a round of 117.

Reading IS fundamental. I'm still waiting on your rationale for why you have Watkins so highly rated. My eyes tell me he's in that 20-25 range right now (with some room to grow) and, low and behold, that's where his production is. You think he's much, much better than that so I'd love to hear why. If you really did watch all of the Tampa games you might have noticed that Evans has outperformed Sammy as well as his teammate Vincent Jackson (who incidentally also has better numbers than Watkins) despite having a terrible running game and the likes of Josh McCown and Mike Glennon playing QB. Please quit making things up.

Wow. You think Sammy Watkins is the 7th best WR in the league. Just WOW. You should get out more. Maybe watch some other teams (even if they aren't playing the Bills). Or at least take the Dark Navy glasses off to watch. For instance, while Kyle Orton isn't better than average at QB (and is probably a tad below) he's still better than a lot of other QBs out there. Lots of WRs play with injuries (some more than others), crappy QBs, one dimensional offenses, etc. Don't make excuses just for your boy, Sammy. Watkins is not even the best WR in his class - Evans looks to be that. Exactly how has he distanced himself from others in that class like Beckham Jr. or Benjamin? He hasn't. Do tell me why he's so great - besides wearing the right uniform.

We can start with a very imperfect list of receiving yards and work from there: http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/player/_/stat/receiving/sort/receivingYards After removing the two TEs above him Watkins would sit at 23rd, about where I think he should be. Now I admit that some of the players above him on the list I might not rate as better than him. But for every one of those I can find one below him that I'd rate as better. Now the ball is in your court. Use that list and tell me who with more receiving yards you would rate below Sammy. Then I'll give you a list of everybody I would move above him.

He's a 7 who could top out at 8. I see him as a potential top 20 WR in the league, but probably never a top 10. Right now he's comfortably in the top 32, probably in the 20-25 range. His injury concerns are something he will have to overcome. He is just a rookie and this is the first time he's been through an NFL season so maybe training and physical maturity can help there. While I can see how the Bills were so enamored with him I still say they gave up too much - especially for a team that was (and is) unsettled at quarterback. The Bills could have had Odell Beckham Jr. or Kelvin Benjamin at 9 and kept their picks. They also could have had Evans, who is looking better than Watkins at 4 or in a lesser trade up. But I expect Watkins to be a very good player in this league for a long time. A team can do a lot worse than that when they move up in the draft.

We will have to agree to disagree about this. It's a good system, but it isn't one that is complicated for a QB to run. Difficult, yes. Complicated, not really.

Just to add on to what has been said, Baylor's offensive system is pretty basic even compared to typical college systems. It's a big transition even for a QB coming out of a system with pro elements, but RG3 had a much bigger jump to make. Luck, in contrast, played for Stanford which is about a close to a pro system as you're going to get in college and he had a lot of learning to do as evidenced by his early struggles. I think RG3's main issue as a pocket passer has to do with reading the field properly and quickly. This is where many QBs fail. Kapernick can't do it and it's sidelining his career. Teams are making him stay in the pocket and beat them that way and that's what teams are making RG3 do. His injuries are making it easier because he can't run like he once did. Lastly, determining what will happen once players like him get into the NFL limelight and are handed the kind of money he's seen is always a projection. Sometimes they don't put in the time they need to and sometimes they work, but can't do it. Rumor has it that the reason Manziel isn't starting for Cleveland is because he hasn't put in enough time and he doesn't understand the offense well enough. RG3 came from a military family and looked like he would be the kind of guy who had a tremendous work ethic, but rumors in Washington are that he sees himself above the others on his team and it has really cause locker room problems.

Crap. That's right. The team concept that no one player is more important than another. Good catch.

View PostFireChan, on 17 November 2014 - 12:24 PM, said: Mike Shanahan actually ruined this kids career. There is truth to both opinions here. I'd add in Snyder for the trifecta. Running a heavily Baylor influenced offense was bound to put RG3 on the fast track to the broken down QB heap. He was incredibly fast, but not elusive (like Vick). That should have led to a transition to becoming a pocket QB from the beginning, but that never happened as he is still poor as a pocket QB. The only question is: How much blame should be assigned to each party for that: - Did Snyder insist on immediate success and force Shanny to go with a plan that optimized short term success? His track record and considering the bounty paid for him both indicate this is very likely. - How much effort did Shanny spend trying to transition RG3 into a pocket QB? One would have to assume that some degree of this was necessary simply due to transitioning to the NFL, but if the coaches put forth the effort it sure didn't take. Or maybe his injuries sidetracked the development plan. It would be interesting to know what the plan was. - Lastly, how much effort did RG3 put forth to learn the passing game? And if he did put forth the effort, is he capable? He's a smart guy by all accounts, but he also seems a little too wrapped up in the spotlight so I wonder. Ultimately it is on him to develop his pocket passing game or he won't have much of a spotlight to enjoy anymore.

Nice, factual analysis. I'd add one important factor - this Sunday's game could make the week 17 game quite a bit easier. Denver and New England are almost certainly going to get byes, but NE has the head to head tiebreaker for home field advantage. If the Bills give Denver a loss this Sunday then there is a much, much greater chance that NE will be resting starters on week 17. The Bills have the opportunity to put themselves into position for that game to be meaningful. The odds are still long, but maybe not quite as long as they appear.

I've watched all but two Browns games this season. Their two worst games have come against the two teams with the two best defensive lines they've seen - Houston and Jax. That's the reason I think the Bills will win although Josh Gordon is back and the impact he makes shouldn't be overlooked.

If the game was moved because the city of that team was going through a terrible natural disaster where people were dying and/or the recently deceased former owner of that team had just left my struggling city a 9 figure charitable donation I think I might just let the carrying their DC off the field thing go. Seriously, either one would have been plenty for me to personally get over it.

Quite the on-again-off-again relationship he has with God, no?

Locker should have been included in the poll. Honestly, I'd bring in two off that list and Locker. Him being prone to injury is an issue obviously, but he can play when healthy. Ditto Bradford. Get me those two, or try. Then work the list.

I don't have an issue with the NFL waiting on announcing changes of the game time and/or location. If they said they were moving it, but didn't say where and when there'd be a ton of speculation and misinformation floating around. It would cause problems and make them look unorganized. Just think about all of the real and fabricated "leaks" being tweeted around. Everyone knows the game won't be played on Sunday at 1 pm in Orchard Park. Once their ducks are in a row we will all find out where and when. Just sit tight.

My big fear there is something no one is talking about - flooding. If we get the temps (and rain) expected that field is going to be a big, muddy swimming pool. Not to mention all of the homes, roads, etc. that'll be flooding. Maybe, but I doubt it is in Orchard Park. So many are going through so much. That could be ME without beer! I shudder to think.... lmao. That was hilarious.

The Bills are currently in 7th place in the race for the two wild card spots. Note that this already accounts for 4 division winners, so that makes them 11th overall in record in the AFC. Out of 16 teams. We could talk tiebreakers (where there is little help), but just to get to the point where they come into play the Bills would have to almost win out anyway. 5-5 now and 10-6 is going to be needed to get a WC spot. Heck, there might be a 10-6 team that doesn't make it so 11-5 would be needed to be certain of getting a spot. That means the Bills have to either win their last 6 or go 5-1 and get some help on tiebreakers. Anyone see that happening? I didn't think so.

I wouldn't if I was him.

David Shaw, current HC of Stanford, is a true leader of men and an excellent football mind. I'm not sure he can be pried away from there as he is a perfect fit at Stanford, but Pegula should try. Next choice is Jim Harbaugh. Why even include the likes of Cowher, Gruden and Dungy? It is highly doubtful that any of them is ever coaching in the NFL again. Maybe if the money was great and they were walking into a phenomenal situation they'd consider it, but that sure isn't the case in Buffalo.

Agreed. No reason for the Browns to move on from Manziel anytime soon unless he is bombing or a ridiculous offer comes along. The Bills don't want him in the former case and can't afford the latter. That is hilarious. Bills hot garbage = the 22nd overall pick from last year who has barely seen the field. In what universe does that happen? And what makes you think that Pettine is fond of EJ? Even if he likes him as a person what makes you think Pet think he's a good NFL QB? Certainly not his play on the field. Incidentally, I've heard about how Manziel has been doing in Cleveland. Other than being very late to a team meeting early on there hasn't been anything negative. He has improved and is doing well overall in his development although he is way behind Hoyer in his presnap recognition, which Hoyer excels at. The coaches and front office are very happy with the success Hoyer is having and are giving him his due. Some wonder if Manziel can be even better than Hoyer (who has shown some inconsistiency), but they aren't pulling a successful QB out of the starting spot and disrupting the team chemistry. Hoyer is getting his shot and Johnny is in the wings for the foreseeable future.

My uncle was a trustee of Hinkley. Loved that park with the little lake and dammed off swimming area.

I know what I see. When I watch Orton I see a QB who is, at best, an average game manager type QB. He's a guy who'd be a quality backup, but not much better than marginal starter. When I watch Manuel I see a QB with a ton of physical talent, but poor accuracy, pocket presence and anticipation. He's a guy who will be lucky to be a decent backup in the NFL. He has plenty enough talent for some team to the and develop his game, but his odds of doing so are very, very long.