Nihilarian

What's funny is that this was a run first-team last year that decided to try zone blocking for the first part of the year and that failed. Then had the backup QB in Peterman start against the Chargers. We all saw how that went in the first half so they went back to Taylor who was able to avoid the rush better than Peterman and survive the game. The offensive line was bad last year and that was with pro bowlers at C, LG and those two O linemen who were pro bowlers on last year team are no longer on the team. (Woods, Incognito) Now fast forward to 2018 and the team wants to be a pass first team with Peterman starting against the team that was #1 in the NFL last year in defensive takeaways with +17. Now this year there is no Tyrod Taylor to fall back on and only a rookie who is not ready to start. Just to refresh some memory Taylor only had 4 INT's all of 2017 and Peterman..well we know. Things could get very ugly, very fast in Baltimore week one and go downhill from there... The first overall pick in the 2019 draft might not actually be the plan this year but it could be the result.

So this year the team is going to attempt to be a pass-first offense by getting the ball out quickly? With Nathan Peterman as the starting QB? What I saw last year was Tyrod Taylor with his limited passing yards, only a few 200-yard games, and no 300-yard passing games. Granted he was very cautious with the ball and didn't want to throw an INT as he only had 4 INTs all year. (Peterman had 5 in one half) TE Charles Clay was the leading receiver with 558 yards, 2 TDs (49 rec, 74 targets), and behind him was RB McCoy with 448 yards, 2 TDs(59 rec, 77 targets), 3rd was Deonte Thompson with 430 yards, 1 TD (27 rec, 51 targets). I truly hope that the current offensive line will give Peterman the time needed to get the ball out quickly so that the offensive passing game actually works like it is supposed to work. From what I saw this preseason though is that the coaching staff took it easy on Peterman in giving him the confidence to be the starting QB. He started in the first game against Carolina and went against the backups with Cleveland and Cincy. That first game all three Bills QB threw for over 100 yards. I don't know that Peterman would have fared that much better against those first string defenses but I sure would have liked to see him play against them and play better than AJ McCarron, Josh Allen did. I'm very concerned that the Bills line won't hold up especially in the middle without Woods and if that is the case Peterman won't have more than 2 seconds to get the ball out. Again, hope it works.

While I agree with most of what you say and to me coaching is everything. Those teams you named win mostly because they have great QB's Pats, Tom Brady GOAT, Saints were crap for so many years without Drew Brees. The Chiefs have been winning with #1 overall pick at QB in Alex Smith. That said, you gotta have talent in key positions, QB mostly and skill positions. The thing is that great coaches are also usually great at talent evaluation and find the players needed to build a team properly. What I find in today's NFL that really bothers me is so many teams think that they need a 100 million dollar DE or DT and yet want to try to get by with .50 cent OT's, OG's. To me, I think it's equally important to protect that franchise QB as it is to rush the passer. Both sides of the lines should be nearly equal.

Last year the Buffalo Bills got a lot of breaks that went their way and they finished the season #7 overall in point differential @+9. This is something that isn't sustainable due to an oblong spheroids bounce... and luck. Tyrod Taylor had a lot to do with that as he only had 4 INTs all year. Peterman had 5 INTs in one half...

Rex put Mario in his archaic 3-4 scheme which needed DE linemen to handle the O tackles straight up so the linebackers could make the plays. (instead of mostly rushing the passer) Which if you look back at the talent on the team at that time the Bills had some of the best defensive line players in the game and some of the crappiest LBers. The very last thing Mario wanted to do was take on a 330LB offensive tackle or drop back into pass coverage. Same with Dareus, Kyle as they wanted to rush the passer and not take on blockers so the scrubs behind them could try to make a play. Kinda why Rex ruined a top 4 defense and turned it Into a 20 something bad defense

While I can understand why so many Bills fans wanted Mack the price was simply too high for a few reasons, two first round picks and obviously the money. Which were both cost prohibitive in my view. Then he is undersized compared to Mario who is 6'6'' 300lbs. They used to say Bruce Smith was somewhat undersized at 6'4'' 262 lbs for a DE. Mack is 6'3'' 252lbs which is linebacker size. This new regime has an all new scouting dept and next years draft is said to be loaded with pass rushers. So I would think if these new men are worth their salt they should find a defensive player who can get 10+ sacks a season. NFN but there were 15 players who had more sacks than Mack last year. If you are building from the ground up and just dumped 50 mill of dead cap space. Then why spend that much for one player that is not a franchise QB. Mario did cost 100 million dollars and for two seasons under Pettine/Schwartz the Buffalo Bills (Mario) did lead the NFL in sacks with the #4 defense overall under Schwartz. But because the Bills didn't have their franchise QB to lead the offense all that defense went for naught. Mario was cheaper because no first rounders needed and it still didn't work out.

Gailey used smoke and Mirrors to make his offense work with 5 WR sets and only one decent WR in Stevie Johnson. Plus he would run the ball out of the shotgun so opponents weren't 100% certain of what they would get on each play. Once teams figured out that bumping the Bills receivers on the line to disrupt the quick timing throws and stacking the box to stop the run... Gailey's offense was done. Smoke and Mirrors only works for a limited time and real talent is needed to win consistently.

Peterman is NOT Fitz! Fitz learned to survive on some bad teams and in doing so has great escapability with an outstanding ability to run when needed. In 2010 Fitz's run average was as good as Mike Vick. Peterman doesn't have that Fitz type escapability so when he is under great pressure he makes great mistakes... takes the sack, throws the INT. Fitz didn't always make the right choice either. Anyone else notice that the only start Peterman saw in preseason was week one against Carolina and the Panthers didn't blitz much. Besides their vaunted D line didn't really pressure the QB like I've seen them do in the past. Something I doubt the Ravens, Chargers, Vikings will do. It's my take the Bills FO/coaches took it easy on Peterman so he could gain confidence heading into the season. I suspect we will see Allen before too long.

How many Bills players in the top 100? Two pro bowlers still on the roster from last year in McCoy, Hyde.

Some of the current Bills O linemen aren't bad run blockers so If that's the way they want to go forward most plays they might be thinking that they will be okay. OTOH, when opponents stack the box and dare them to pass and they don't have more than 1.5 seconds because the line can't hold their blocks and the receivers can't get separation...well then things will fall quickly. It's all going to be on Shady to do his Barry Sanders moves and if he can't make it to the line of scrimmage...

It's kinda scary to think this team is going forward with the same offensive line players. Like some sort of magic potion will give them the extra talent on gameday or something. The plan to tank for real this year? Because Vontae Davis looked almost as bad at CB as did the line players on every string. Shades of Doug Whaley drafting EJ and then asking him to start with Erik Pears at OG. If that year's line (2014 because Pears had a -25 grade)was ranked 30th I gotta think this year's line will be Buffalo's worst ever. The 2018 Buffalo Bills leading the league...in sacks allowed and Interceptions.

Doubt that will happen as the current Buffalo Bills offensive line is still so very offensive... as it's very frustrating waiting for each new regime to comprehend that you NEED talent on BOTH sides of the lines. Hey, Bill good to see you hanging in there.

They didn't have the money to pay him what he wanted as it would cripple their cap space. And more importantly, he didn't make their defense that much better last year with him on the team. The Bills paid 100 million to super Mario and had Dareus, also had the #4 defense in the NFL and still didn't make the playoffs. Plus this.

This season it's not all about the QB's...well it is to a degree. But it's more about that offensive line and "IF" Beane can upgrade it at some point. The middle of that line hasn't been this weak since before Eric Wood and you would think that having an all-pro playing at a particular position would make the coaches/FO realize how important that position is to the line. Same with the left guard position. 6 wins max unless they fix that line... We all saw that all three QBs currently on the roster can make the throws if given time to throw.

In my view, Whaley's forte was on the defensive side as he seemed to bring in better defensive talent than offensive ...and yet he missed on Khalil Mack. Also, I think that the Sammy Watkins trade up defined his career as a GM in the thinking that a stud wide receiver would greatly help his choice at QB in EJ Manuel. Clearly, he must have watched nothing but highlight film of Sammy at Clemson but he didn't take into consideration that most of Watkins yards were obtained from screenplays. A play which the Bills don't run very often. I can recall that right after drafting Watkins the Bills FO stating that they were still looking for that big, tall red zone WR target. If that were the case then why didn't he simply draft WR Mike Evans who has had four 1000+ yard seasons for the Bucs. The man failed to build a decent offensive line to protect his rookie QB and didn't have enough common sense to make certain that EJ would be developed properly by having an NFL QB coach, an NFL veteran QB or at least an actual NFL offensive coordinator to teach him. As it was EJ, Jeff Tuel, and Thad Lewis were all left to be taught by Nathaniel Hackett who is now Blake Bortles OC. At the time Hackett had no experience as an NFL OC and had been the OC at Syracuse under Marrone. Whaley failed on many levels, so many positions, so many wrong choices on building a team the wrong way. Heading back to the topic of this thread. The only place I think this FO, Beane McD have partially failed in is rebuilding the offensive line quickly as was needed. McD did draft Dion Dawkins to play RT last year which was a great move to shore up a badly manned position. The problem was Dawkins was needed at LT where he did a masterful job his first season. Woods neck injury, Richie's mental meltdowns happened sort of fast and this FO probably consulted their O-line coach to see how they stood in that department and Castillo probably told him he had things under control. This FO also must have consulted with that line coach to determine how best to handle the situation. Although McD must think highly of his coach in Juan Castillio. I think that will change after this season or I hope it will. The way I see it is that this team is desperate for quality talent at OC, LG, RG, RT in that order. Meaning that most of the line needs to be rebuilt though next years draft or some trades made. How Beane handles this offensive line problem will define how Josh Allen develops which could end up defining both McD and Beane's careers in the NFL.

No way AJ doesn't make this team or gets traded considering the shape of that offensive line and their backups. If Peterman starts I suspect he will last about a half against the Ravens and Allen might make it a few games. If this regime wants to survive the season they will probably need more than three QB's.

How ya like me NOW!

I'm thinking McD is going to be happy making some of these cuts...

I turned the game off...

And that's the starters. The backups wouldn't make a college team.

Welp, now we know that more than just the offensive line sucks... 1st pick overall here we come

A lot of draft sites have the Buffalo Bills selecting the #1 overall pick next year and I'm starting to think they are right

It's otherwise and it's been that way all preseason.

Hey, just noticed that the red zone is working if you have it.