msw2112

We will also need help at LB. Edmunds and Milano look to be two solid starters, but Lorax is aging and there isn't too much after that.

My gut feeling is that this will be his last year as a Bill. Age will eventually catch up to him and he has a large cap hit. If he defies the odds and continues to play at the same level, I could see him staying an additional year, but the team may restructure him at a lower number (if he is willing) and they will definitely have to draft a "RB of the future" next year whether McCoy stays or not. I was surprised they didn't draft one this year and the FA's they have brought in at the position are all older guys, so there really isn't a successor on the roster.

I agree with those above who projected our front 7 to be: Hughes, Star, Kyle, Murphy Alexander, Edmunds, Milano This is, of course, based on WHO IS ON THE ROSTER RIGHT NOW. We may well add a LB between now and the start of the season who could start (likely in Lorax's spot). I think we are set on the line. I also agree with the post directly above this one that says we are thin at LB.

I'm not completely sold on the Allen pick, but I did notice that a handful of these TD passes were thrown late in the 4th quarter, often when the team was down by one score or less. One of them was thrown in double OT. That gives me some hope that Allen has that intangible quality to rise to the occasion when the team needs him the most. This is something the Bills have sorely missed in recent years. I like Fitz and Tyrod, but they tended to do the opposite when the game was on the line. From what I have read elsewhere, the 2017 version of that Wyoming team was absolutely horrible and it was Allen's skill and determination that willed the team to a winning record and a bowl victory.

Excellent point. So would I. And I was more on the Rosen train than the Allen train. And, in regards to Cleveland, who out there on this board, when Cleveland picked an Ohio State DB with the 4th pick, had flashbacks to the Bills taking Donte Whitner with a top 10 pick a few years ago? Whitner was a good prospect and had an OK career, but NEVER should have been picked in that spot and I suspect the same will be said about Denzel Ward down the road. The Whitner pick made me sick to my stomach, as did the Aaron Maybin pick a few short years later. I realize that I went off-topic, but this is where the stream of consciousness led me.

I agree that the Bills should do whatever they REASONABLY can to trade up and select a QB, or perhaps to get lucky and have one fall to them at 12. If they are not able to do this, however, I will forego the suicide route. A stud LB like Tremaine Edumunds and a stud OL or WR in the first round, followed by a "2nd tier" QB prospect like Kyle Lauetta with one of our 2nd round picks would not be a terrible result. We'd still have another 2nd and two 3rds to address needs. The percentage of first round QBs that bust is pretty substantial, so I'd rather end up with a stable of good players than a Jake Locker, Blaine Gabbert or Christian Ponder. Personally, I am not a Darnold or Mayfield fan. We've seen so many busts from highly rated USC QB's (Leinart, Sanchez, Barkley) and Darnold regressed last season, throwing a lot if INTs. I like Mayfield's numbers, but am concerned that he's a "system QB" who also happens to be on the short side and is a douchebag. I like the pocket passing ability of Rosen, but have concerns about his concussions. Allen has a high ceiling, but a very low floor. I will have to trust the Bills scouts and front office on their evaluations of these guys. If the Giants are willing to make a deal without having to forego next year's 1st, or perhaps the Broncos at 5 or the Colts at 6, I am on board, but if we are going to get completely fleeced, I am OK with going the alternate route.

Relax, folks. Clay is a depth signing and may even end up as camp fodder. While I agree with most here that we need help in the WR1/WR2 area, I don't see the signing of Clay at this point in time as having any impact on that. I don't think Beane and McDermott are saying - "Great - we just re-signed Kaelin Clay - now we're all set at WR!" I would guess that their thought process is more like "Hey - we just got a depth speed WR who we are familiar with at a cheap price. Let's see if he can grab one of the last roster spots at WR and if not, we can cut him with little to no cost or risk and go with somebody else."

This makes me wonder why we signed Ivory AND Jones AND Cadet. Jones and Cadet are probably cheap and could be cut if beat out by a rookie, but Ivory got good money with a big chunk guaranteed. Ivory's stats have declined the last couple of years and he is a physical runner approaching age 30. Somewhere along the way I saw information indicating that Ivory's stats were actually worse than Tolbert's last season.

I think he has a lot of talent and is a better QB than most of the QB2's and QB3's on NFL rosters. He's also better than some of the lower end QB1's. I also have no problem with the whole anthem protest/social justice business. That said, just because I have no problem with the protest stuff, a lot of other people (on this board and elsewhere) feel differently, they are entitled to their opinion, and I don't think that the media circus and the negative attention that he will bring to wherever he signs (if he ever does get signed) is worth it.

I liked Robey with the Bills and thought they should have kept him, but wow, that's a lot of money for a player an undersized nickel (no pun intended) corner.

Josh Allen

If my memory serves me correctly, it seemed to be common knowledge that Whaley was gone after the draft. I don't recall if Beane's name was also being thrown around at that time, but I suspect that he had been identified behind the scenes as a serious candidate prior to the Whaley dismissal.

What if Russ himself donned the Jills uniform? They wouldn't have to pay an additional salary.

What happened to Greg Schiano? He had signed on as DC for Ohio State, but it looked like he was reconsidering that because he was in the mix for the Pats' DC job.

Excellent summary!

I have no interest in the hype, lead up, etc. I have not and will not watch any of the coverage. Once kickoff comes, I will watch. Although I don't love the matchup and I detest both fanbases, I am a football junkie and this is the last game to see for months. Also, although I am not a fan of Philly teams, I like some of the Philly coaches. Pederson seems like a decent guy and a good coach, and I would like to see Reich and Schwartz win a SB. Finally, I look forward to getting together with friends, eating, drinking, etc. It's an event and an excuse to be social on a Sunday evening, when I might otherwise be doing something around the house that is not fun.

I'd draft Rosen. I think he's the best QB available. Darnold concerns me, as we have seen other highly touted USC QB's fail (Leinart, Barkley, Sanchez), plus he didn't have a particularly good season. Rosen's team wasn't very good this year, but his individual play was impressive. He has great arm talent and while his personality/attitude raise some questions, he may have some Jim Kelly type of swagger to him. He's also a bright guy. Allen is too big of a crapshoot, as although he has the measurables, he hasn't played against a high level of competition and has not shown that much in the games he has played. Mayfield has swagger and some Russell Wilson type of ability, but he also has some Johnny Manziel in him. If Mayfield is the guy we really want, I would trade back.

Didn't Dennison work under Kubiak for a number of years? Given that relationship, I doubt that Kubiak would be interested in a job that was created by the firing of one of "his" guys. Just my gut feeling on the topic.

As a Bills fan, I found the game entertaining. Any game in which I care about one of the teams and the teams are within one score for the entire game has drama and pressure. I was on the edge of my seat and nervous the entire game. That said, if I was not a Bills (or Jags) fan, I would have likely found the game to be boring and borderline unwatchable.

While Watson has some valid points, you can't live your entire life in the negative. The Bills accomplishment means a lot to a lot of people, it's a source of civic pride, and hey, winning football is fun! We can enjoy the Bills success AND also be concerned about the many issues facing the Buffalo community, the United States and the world.

Kudos to the front office for this excellent FA acquisition. These are the kind of FA moves that really improve a team (Poyer, Hyde). Signing 4th string guys and camp fodder is necessary, but usually doesn't improve the team and the big time FA investments (see Mario Williams) usually leave you in salary cap hell. Let's hope to see more of these kinds of effective signings in the offseason, plus a good draft with all of the capital we have. These supplements to a solid team with a winning record and a playoff appearance bodes well for the future. As a side note, if Benjamin can get healthy for next year and Gaines re-signs and can get/stay healthy, these acquisitions will also reflect very well on the front office.

I never liked the Bills' version of Shout, as it sounds like it was recorded by a high school band or a low budget marketing firm, which it probably was. It's just a terrible production. That said, it is part of the fabric of the Bills history/culture and needs to remain. The train whistle is horrible and annoys me every time. It is recent enough that I don't view it a part of Bills history/culture and would be glad if they got rid of it. I have a special place in my heart for Talkin' Proud. It was big when I was growing up and I like it. We actually spun it at my wedding and it drew crowds to the dance floor and was the "wildest" song of the night. And my wedding was in Chicago.... We did have something like 6 hours of open bar, so that might have had something to do with it. I gave a copy of Talkin' Proud to Mike, the owner of Delilah's, the Bills bar in Chicago. They play it at various times during Bills games and people love it. The best part is when everyone "rings the bell." Once again, it may have something to do with the amount of booze that flows there. (They also play Shout after every TD and everyone goes crazy).

Taylor is a good QB. He is not a great QB. He is a good fit for a team with a strong defense and a good running game. He can move the chains and not turn the ball over. He throws a good deep ball. He does not "throw receivers open" and he does not "throw to a spot." He is not a great passing QB and he cannot "make all the throws." His elusiveness and running ability picks up a lot of first downs and compensates for his unwillingness to release the ball before a guy is open. Thus, I think he is a good QB, but he is limited. He is good in a system that is designed to work with his skill set. He played very poorly last Sunday and took too many sacks against the Jests. I'll go there - if Brad Johnson and Trent Dilfer can be Super Bowl winning QBs, so can Taylor. But he has to be in the right situation. Maybe with a different OC, it might work, but we have who we have and it isn't working. The current Bills team is not the right situation and the team is making the right move to see what Peterman has. We will not get any compensation for him because the trading deadline has passed and teams already know that we will be moving on from him in the offseason. Might someone give us a 6th or 7th before the cut deadline to secure his rights? Maybe, but we are not getting compensation to the his value as a player (a starter in the right environment and a solid backup in pretty much any environment). I'm supportive of the move to Peterman, but I am not supportive of those on this board who want to crap all over Tyrod. Why? What benefit do they gain from it? Tyrod is a classy guy who is a good team player, works hard and gives his all. Yes, he gets paid to do those things, but many others get paid to do those things and don't. Go ahead and crap on the guys who beat their wives, are lazy, knowingly take drugs when they know they risk getting suspended, etc. I wish Tyrod well. Go Nate! I will be there Sunday and look forward to him getting the ball out quickly to his big WR's and forcing the Chargers to take the 8th man out of the box, which will open up the running game for Shady!

I live out west now and these WS games are brutal. I'm still at work when they start, so I record them on the DVR. I get home from work, feed the kids dinner, put them to bed and prep them for school the next day (with some help from the wife), then start watching the games on DVR around 9 PM. Even though I can fast forward through the commercials, it still is 11, 12, 1 or later by the time the game are over. I either fall asleep before the end or I stay up so late that I am a zombie the next day. In the past, I just gave up on playoff baseball. This year, because I like the Yankees and because the games have been so exciting and competitive, I have toughed it out and watched them all. I'm a zombie all the time! And it's even worse when I have to double up with a NFL game and/or a Sabres game - now I try to watch TWO games on tape after 9 PM. Tonight is another double-header - Bills-Jests on TV and Sabres are in Arizona to play the Coyotes. I have lower bowl seats near the faceoff circle on the side the Sabres shoot twice. Still working on a plan to watch the Bills game too. Can catch the first quarter/most of first half prior to the puck drop, then may stream the rest on my phone at the hockey game or record and watch when I get home. I have NO IDEA how I can be in a building with 5,000 or so Buffalo sports fans and not know the outcome of the Bills game, but that would be ideal. Enjoy the Sabres live, then get home and watch the rest of the Bills game via DVR on the couch. And I'll be up late and be a zombie again tomorrow! The suffering we go through to be a sports fan - and particularly a Buffalo sports fan!

This chapter meets at a place called Pullano's. It's a casual Italian restaurant and sports bar. They have some of the best wings you will find outside of Buffalo (and the best I have had in Arizona), good pizza, beef on weck and an active Bills chapter. Pullano's is in a western suburb of Phoenix called Glendale, very close to the western border of Phoenix. Depending on where you are in Surprise, it's about a 30 minute drive, give or take a few minutes. I would recommend it if you don't mind venturing a little bit outside of Surprise.