Flip Johnson

I'm still trying to understand the negativity around this team. The 2017 Bills went to the playoffs and lost a close game on the road to a team that came a quarter away from the Super Bowl. In the offseason they lost two aging starters on the offensive line and the QB of the 31st ranked passing offense. Because of those personnel losses, "the schedule," and because the O-Line looked bad in a preseason game, they will now be one of the worst teams in football. Come on. The 2018 Bills are stronger at WR, RB, TE, DL, and LB than they were one year ago. The strongest unit on the team - the secondary - is stable. QB is a question mark, but it isn't a high bar to meet. They are in year two of a highly competent coaching regime. There is good reason to believe they have upgraded the offensive coordinator. The special teams will continue to be solid, and I believe they will figure the O-line out. This team isn't going 5-11 or 4-12. Just because they will be better in 2019 doesn't mean they are "rebuilding." This is a repeat playoff team.

Don't put it past Fitzy to put three good games together. To be honest, the Bucs have some "nobody believes in us" potential. They have a lot of weapons in the passing games - Evans, Jackson, and good tight ends. Fitz can still put the ball in the hands of playmakers - meanwhile the whole league is trying to figure out how to tackle. He will put up numbers.

Reilly will be easy to put on the PS again. I don't see the Bills exposing McCloud, who has definite ability with the ball in his hands, or giving up on Coleman this quickly.

Would have 3 more long catches if he could track the ball in the air. Foster goes after long balls like a 12 year old learning to play center field.

Clay dropped a 5-yard pass in a preseason game and he's going to get cut. When do the real games start?

I don't think anything tomorrow can clarify the QB situation unless someone gets hurt or McDermott chooses to make his choice public. McCarron could play the entire game and if he does well he might be in the hunt to start. Peterman could start and I won't know whether McDermott thinks the #1s need work or he is resting his true starter in Allen. Allen could start and vice-versa.

Rob Johnson's offensive line was terrible. It didn't get good for Flutie - he just hid it with mobility and quicker decisions. Even with Glenn-Incognito-Wood, this team's pass protection has not been good in a long time. Tyrod just masked that.

It less of a criticism of Shaq and more of an indictment of Rex's antiquated understanding of the modern NFL. With teams now throwing 65 - 70% of the time and making quick hitting throws in 2 seconds or less, there just isn't a huge need for big, strong, slow "edge-setting" defensive linemen. Shaq got over drafted. Lawson would pile up sacks fifteen years ago - if QBs held the ball for 3.5 seconds like they used to.

Edmunds is going to be fine and we are not signing a washed up 30yr old to be our MLB. When your MLB is slow (Bowman) your whole defense is going to look slow. When Edmunds gets his sea legs - and it won't be long - this defense will look scary fast.

Schmidt does not crush the ball. His long all of last year was 60, and his long in preseason (short sample, but beautiful weather) is just 49. Cory Carter had a bigger leg. I am not sure Ryan is getting the job, because Schmidt is consistent and does a nice job pinning teams inside the 20. But Ryan would not make a beeline here if he didn't have a chance.

It's okay to wait for the regular season before suggesting that someone might be on the of the worst FA signings of all time.

Thanks for keeping us all updated. I see no indication from the Bills' comments that this is a likely or even preferable scenario. One thing that the "redshirt" camp fails to point out is that Allen is not sitting behind Brett Favre, Drew Bledsoe or Joe Montana. He is not exactly learning at the feet of the master. AJ McCarron and Nate Peterman have 5 NFL starts between them. People talk like we should start McCarron against the Ravens as though he is some graybeard veteran. He is not Matt Cassel. He has barely played in the NFL. When McDermott, Daboll and Culley are comfortable Allen's going in there and the comfort level is on a relative scale.

He signed a 1yr/4M deal after weeks on the open market. I think that tells you the general consensus of the league. We may have some growing pains this year but we won't miss Brown.

Fever Pitch the book, which is about soccer has an incredible paragraph about loyalty and sports, that describes a lot of what being a Bills fan is like. "I had discovered after the Swindon game that loyalty, at least in football terms, was not a moral choice like bravery or kindness; it was more like a wart or a hump, something you were stuck with. Marriages are nowhere near as rigid - you won’t catch any Arsenal fans slipping off to Tottenham for a bit of extra-marital slap and tickle, and though divorce is a possibility (you can just stop going if things get too bad), getting hitched over again is out of the question.” - Fever Pitch

Where is Joe Webb when you need him?

I think Mahomes is talented an in a good situation - I'd be surprised if he busts. However - every coach talks about "culture." Culture equals "the way we do things around here" - it's not a concrete thing but it's a compilation of actions and attitudes put together. Whether you buy the importance of "culture" or not, I do think that McDermott believes that culture comes first. Tyrod had serious limitations but McDermott/Beane love(d) him as a leader and a competitor. They could live with him in 2018 and they could live with passing on a prospect like Mahomes, not necessarily because of his flaws, but because they didn't want to bring a prospect into an unestablished culture. So they got a great player in Tre White, and the ammo to get their guy in 2018. Allen is entering into a situation where "the way we do things around here" is already established and I'm convinced that is hugely important to this regime.

Chris Watson the punt catcher and the worst cover corner we've ever had.

Good article. Here's what I like: 45 year old Sal Capaccio sees his media colleagues like Sullivan, Gleason, etc. cranking out derivative columns for the last ten years. Now they're out of work. Capaccio doesn't normally write longer stuff like this thing - good for him to stretch himself in the summer time. As for Beane himself, he and McDermott have the same ability to be forthright about their perspective, while also keeping total control on the actual inner workings of the organization.

Ludicrous. He'll be 56 this fall.

There is reason to hope for Streater because the evidence in training camp last year was that his athletic ability was still there. He's still only 30. For all of the handwringing about our WRs, the big questions for me are really at the top: Can Benjamin stay healthy and can Zay Jones take the leap? After that, we have so many guys like Deonte Thompson last year that have the potential to come in and help. Kerley, Holmes, Streater, Reilly, the draft picks, Robert Foster, etc. and we only need a couple of them to do anything.

He had to play too much last year. I think he can still come off the edge and help them out situationally this year.

The Bills have no pass rush but they are going to cut Lorenzo Alexander? Okay. Foster is going to have trouble unless he really shows on ST. Most of those spots are already taken and the Bills seem to be high on Dupre, Reilly, Streater, etc., to say nothing of the likelihood of a free agent signing or trade at WR.

I'm not making a request or saying that it is a good idea. I am not a professional QB evaluator. It is possible that the Bills want Allen and won't need to move to get him.

Are we entirely sure Josh Allen won't be available at #12? Let's say we can't or don't get up to #2 and QBs go 1,2,3 - Darnold/Browns, Rosen/Giants, Mayfield/Jets. Who would pick a QB next? #4 - Browns - would have just picked a QB #5 - Broncos - already have Keenum, think they are a contender now. #6 - Colts - have Luck #7 - Bucs - have Winston #8 - Bears - have Trubisky #9 - SF - have Garropolo #10 - Oakland - have Carr #11 - Miami - maybe Miami would consider a QB Obviously other teams are in the mix and could leapfrog into that position. But it is possible that a) the Giants don't take a QB and b) no QBs are drafted between 4 and 11. If the Bills are set on Josh Rosen, none of that helps. But I suspect that they may be interested in both Allen and Rosen. Beane has the liberty to go slow and continue to evaluate because he has the ammo to get up into the top 5, but the possibility exists that a guy they like falls to him. Everyone seems to want Beane to give away the farm to get to #2. He may do that, but this is a case where patience could be rewarded. The Bears last year gave away a fortune to move up from #3 to #2 to get a player they could have stayed put for. The Jets may have just done the same thing if the guy they want is Mayfield. Beane may get his guy by staying put or making a smaller draft day trade and still keep all or most of the war chest. http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000922017/article/bucky-brooks-mock-draft-30-new-york-jets-land-josh-rosen

they went to the Super Bowl?