BillsFan4

Both Glenn and Dawkins play LT. They tried Dawkins on the right side and he struggled mightily. He couldn't even beat out Mills. Maybe Glenn can play the right, I don't know. But as of now it seems like we have 2 starting caliber LT's on the roster. The OP asked if the Giants were willing to take 21, 22 and Dawkins for the #2 overall pick. I still say yes. That would be amazing value for Dawkins IMO. He played well last year in spot duty but he still has a lot to prove. Who knows how high our 1st will be next year, especially if we were starting a rookie QB... All this stuff is just pure fantasy though anyway. It'll take more than Dawkins, 21 and 22 to get the #2 overall pick. And I don't want to trade Dawkins BTW. It was just the scenario the OP presented was too good to pass up for the Bills. 2 late 1st round picks and 1 player for the #2 overall pick so we can draft our hopeful long term franchise QB. Something we haven't had in 20 years. We've had numerous good LT's in that same time. We can replace a LT easier than a franchise QB that's for sure.

I think it's pretty safe to say that Chris Trapasso is a Mason Rudolph fan... lol.

I love Dawkins, but if the Giants were actually willing to accept 21, 22 and Dawkins for #2, I think I'd have to do it. Thats really not that steep of a price for the #2 pick, and like you said we still have Glenn who we know is a franchise LT. Outside of this foot injury, he really hasn't missed time or shown to be injury prone. So I'm relatively confident that he will be a reliable LT again. Problem is that i don't think it's a realistic scenario. it'll take take more than that to get to #2.

http://www.nfl.com/player/nickfoles/2532842/gamelogs?season=2013 I wouldn't say that he just played the best football of his life. I mean, obviously a great playoff/Super Bowl performance trumps a great regular season performance, but he actually had games in 2013 where he performed better than in the SB. Like week 9 of 2013 for example - he threw for 400+ yards, a 78+ comp. % and 7 TDs. Problem is it took him 4 years to repeat a similar performance. He has been so up and up and down in his career. Even in his best season (2013) he was up and down. He's never been able to earn a full time starting position in 7 years in the league. IMO there's good reason for that. Id much rather shoot for the kid with the sky high ceiling and a real chance at being an elite NFL franchise QB who can elevate those around him. I have a very hard time calling Nick Foles a franchise QB...

I agree. Watkins would be a better fit (on the field) as a speed receive playing the outside (since both Zay and Matthews are most comfortable in the slot) and Watkins is a more talented WR but I don't think there's much of any chance the Bills want him back, and I'd be surprised if Watkins has the Bills very high on his list either. From everything that came out after he left, it really sounds like his time in Buffalo was toxic - for him, his teammates and (previous) coaches. I would honestly be pretty surprised if McBeane wanted him back in the building. As far as realistic options go, Matthews on a short prove-it deal seems much more possible to me than Watkins coming back. Chances are probably high that neither of them will be back though.

Absolutely I would if the price and term were right. Like maybe Something around Robert Woods $6.7M cap hit on a shorter term deal.

No way they just released him, right? If wo they must feel he is a HUGE issue in the locker room. I would be shocked if they just outrighr released him though. It has to be a trade, if true.

The only way I want Foles is if the cost to acquire him is cheap, and the plan is to have him as a bridge QB. A 2nd is the absolute most Id give up for Foles and im not even crazy about that. I get why hes enticing to some. Id said myself that I'd love to have him after watching that SB performance. When he's playing well, he can look great. But the problem is that's he's been consistently up and down in his career, and when he's down he can look pretty bad.. Even during his career 2013 year he was kind of up and down. There is a reason that he hasn't ever been a full time starter for an entire season in his whole NFL career. It's not like he's all that young either. He's 29. So he probably is what he is at this point.

Aaron Rodgers, Kirk Cousins, Russel Wilson, Joe Flacco, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Derek Carr, Jimmy Garoppolo, Dak Prescott, Andy Dalton, and that is only looking at current QBs.... That's about 1/3 of NFL teams who found their current starter in the late 1st or later the draft. The highest pick out of the QBs I listed was Flacco at #18.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000919867/article/kirk-cousins-options-open-vikings-mulling-qb-decision Sounds to me more like the Vikings expect Cousins to get $30+ Million on the market (and are debating if it'd be worth it at that price), rather than them actually making that offer.

I never once claimed that they were undoubtably good moves. I was addressing NastyNate, who said that they were undoubtably bad moves and I just don't see how you can say that yet (and I gave my reasons as to why). I personally like the trades so far, but my whole point was that it's way too early to say with such certainty whether we won or lost them yet. Time will tell. So I definitely wouldn't call that being a homer. Id call it being rational. And I don't see anything wrong with trying/choosing to look at the positive side for now, instead of focusing on the negative. It's something I always try and do. I don't understand the point of even following the Bills if someone chooses to look at every move in a negative light (not saying you do, just some fans in general). - disagree on Dareus for the reason I outlined in my previous post. If you like to refute some of the specific reasons I gave as to why, I can respond further. - I thought Benjamin was pretty good his sophomore year too. Actually, I think he's been pretty good most of the time he's on the field. He's definitely dealt with injuries but I don't think I'd say he is damaged goods. Let's see what happens going forward. - Benjamin is under contract this year, where as Sammy is a free agent. Trading away Watkins and trading for Benjamin makes a whole lot more sense when you look at the entire situation. Sammy admitted himself that his attitude in Buffalo was garbage, and that he was selfish, angry and consumed (by that anger). He said it had a negative impact on his relationship with the coaches and his teammates. He was a loner here. He talked about how he would be upset after games the WON just because he didn't get the ball enough. He said all he cared about were his own numbers. Nickel Robey said of Watkins in Buffalo - "In Buffalo, he wasn't open with anyone, he wasn't talking with anyone. He was self centered..." Benjamin is exactly the opposite. He's known to be a great teammate. He fits the culture the Bills are trying to build. Watkins didn't. This new regime is getting rid of poisonous players like Watkins + Dareus and building an actual team. So far is say that it seems to be working... the culture around this team seems night and day different than it's been.

How can you possibly say this yet? - We didn't even use the 3rd round pick from the Darby trade yet. What if we draft a guy that ends up being an impact player for the Bills for years? And we may get a 3rd round comp pick for Matthews, too. So let's maybe wait and see what the pick(s) turn into, and see what Darby does in his career in Philly before declaring winners, yeah? Plus our secondary was fantastic without Darby. He wasn't a scheme fit in zone coverage and was said to be struggling with the zone concepts. - Benjamin played all of 6 games for us. He was injured. He had surgery though and should be 100% by training camp. He's been a legit #1 WR so far in his young career. We got him for a 3rd and 5th. And guess what, if he walks we likely get a 3rd round comp pick back. On one one hand you say we lost the Darby trade because we got a 3rd, and then on the other hand you'd say we lost the Benjamin trade because we gave up a 3rd... Its hard to compare a CB to a WR, but I would say that Benjamin is at least the same caliber of player Darby is, if not better. - Dareus wasn't worth the money and seemed to stop caring after he got paid. He wasn't playing anywhere near his 2014 level on the field and looked lazy and/or like he didn't even care half the time, and he wasn't buying in. He was the Bills highest paid player and would have had a huge cap hit this coming season (and a couple more after that). You need your highest paid players to be setting the example for the rest of the team, and Dareus was setting a terrible example. What type of message does it send to the rest of the team if the Bills keep Dareus around at his salary? IMO it sends a bad one. How serious are the Bills going to take McBeane if they let their highest paid player get away with many of the things they are preaching against? They were trying to change a 17 year losing culture and shipping out Dareus was a big part of that IMO. The Bills ditched an overpaid, underperforming veteran who is one failed drug test away from a 1 year ban, saved themselves something like $50M on their future cap and actually got a pick back for him! Look at the Jets - Wilkerson situation. Very similar to the Bills - Dareus situation, except he hasn't has the drug and legal issues Dareus has. They couldn't get a thing for Mo so they released him.

He'd be smart to sign in LA if they make him a competitive offer. McVay is a brilliant offense mind. If anyone can get Sammy producing the way he's capable of, it's McVay. And with a full offseason with Goff, I'm sure he'd start targeting Sammy more too.

Well that could be why he won't be back, if he views himself as a #1 WR (and is looking to get paid that way). I can guarantee that the Bills don't value him as a #1. I wonder if they ever even made him an offer though. It didn't really seem like the Bills ever had much interest in negotiating a new contract, which is a bit surprising since he seems to fit their ideal personality traits to a 'T'. Yeah I think they view Zay as their a lot receiver of the future. Shame that Matthews couldn't find a long term fit here though. Definitely a Buffalo type of guy, personality wise.

Holy crap! I like Cousins, but not at $30.33 million per year. Sucks for the Bills though. We really needed him to land in Denver or with the NY Jets for draft purposes.

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/cap/ Browns have $108 million in cap space for 2018. The 49ers had more at $110 million but now they're down to $67 million with the Garoppolo contract. According to spotrac we are 16th in total cap space as of right now. We have a ton of dead cap this year. As of right now, the Bills will have the 5th most cap space next season (2019) with $97 million. https://overthecap.com/salary-cap-space/

It's all good. I'm pretty sure you did say that the record was good with Gaines. At least that's what I thought you said, since I was agreeing with you... lol I was just giving you the record with him in the lineup vs out of the lineup because you said you couldn't remember what the exact numbers were.

Von Miller on the toughest guys he's ever played against (good read) - https://www.theplayerstribune.com/von-miller-the-5-toughest-guys-in-the-nfl/ He lists Chris Ivory as the toughest RB he's faced and tells a pretty cool story about facing him.

Well, Shady should be happy. He specifically said (I believe it was at the end of the season) that that he wanted/needed a better #2 RB to help carry the load. Now he has one! I think he will be a very good compliment to Shady's running style too.

I hope you're right!

Bills were 8-3 with Gaines in the lineup. Pretty impressive IMO.

Bills are killing it in free agency so far! They've had 2 players in for a visit, both of whom went on to visit multiple other teams and both still picked us! I am not used to this. Neither factor into the comp pick formula either.

There are definitely players in the NFL that are dumb. But it seems like quite an assumption to assume "most are just slightly smarter than a rock"... I'd be interested in reading the sources you got these cold hard facts from if you wouldn't mind sharing the links. An NFL playbook is not exactly kindergarten stuff. You have to memorize a complex playbook about as thick as a dictionary. There is a ridiculous amount of stuff that goes into basically every play call, too. You have to know what you're doing, as well as multiple other players on the field - on offense and defense. Then you have to make split second decisions based on what type of coverage you see pre and post snap. Something as small as which way a safety or linebacker turns/looks can change your responsibilities on a given play. You have to know multiple concepts for each and every play, and then be able to execute them properly base on those split second decisions. Depending on what position you play, you have to not only know your own assignment but everyone else's assignment too. On every single installed play. Of which there are easily at least 50-80+, or even 100+ depending on the coach, and that's per week. That's not even mentioning the separate plays installed for 3rd downs and for the red zone. You are having to do all do all of this against other professionals who are not only trying to stop/beat you, but also trick you as well. I would venture to guess that you have to be a bit smarter than you are giving them credit for in order to learn everything that goes into preparing for a game. Check out this video. He talks about how Jon Gruden used to install 200-250 plays A WEEK! 150+ passing plays, 20-30 3rd down plays, 15-20 red zone plays... every week. Here's a good story on how hard it is to master an NFL playbook (according to a neuroscientist - https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2014/08/04/how-difficult-it-memorize-nfl-playbook-neurologist-explains Just out of curiosity I decided to briefly look into average intelligence of NFL players. Heres a huge list of NFL players wonderlic scores. A score of 20 is considered average intelligence. There sure are a whole lot of NFL players who scored higher than that. In fact, most of these test scores are above average - http://wonderlictestsample.com/nfl-wonderlic-scores/ Heres the average wonderlic scores by position - http://www.assessmentpsychology.com/nfl.htm Seems like most fall somewhere between slightly above average to slightly below average.

That's fair. Rudolph is definitely not my first choice, but I can't say that I'd be pissed f we drafted him. He does have some intriguing aspects. I am willing to give the Bills brass the benefit of the doubt on whatever QB move they make, though.

I'd be totally good with them giving up a 2nd for Foles and still drafting a rookie high in the draft. The only thing id worry about in that scenario is that it may make it harder to re-sign Foles (if he had a good season and the Bills wanted him back). There's always the franchise tag in that scenario though. But I wouldn't really want to give up a 2nd for Foles and have the Bills think they could punt on drafting a QB because of it.