BillsFan4

I think Butler would be viewed as an upgrade in most NFL circles. He's had an awful lot of success as a DB coach (#2 rated passing defense 3 of the last 4 years). And he is looked at as a defensive coordinator, and maybe even head coach (eventually) in waiting. I cant remember seeing anyone say that about Gill Byrd. I don't remember him ever even being brought up in DC or HC conversations. I just don't see how you can say it's cronyism when we are talking about a guy with such a successful track record as a DB coach.

It is very frustrating to watch. They struggle so so badly to break out of their end, as well as transitioning through the neutral zone and entering the offensive zone. Far too often, when they finally do get it out of their zone, they just chip it into the neutral zone (or lose possession in the neutral zone) and turn possession right back over to the other team so they can go right back on the attack. They really struggle entering the offensive zone with any speed, too. It's like for some reason whenever they approach the opponents blue line the puck carrier slows down. Or they just stop moving their feet when the puck is passed to them. I really don't get why they struggle with some of these things. You can see they can do this stuff in spurts. They just can't do it consistently for whatever reason. Sometimes I wonder if it's just effort level...

I wonder if we will eventually find out whether or not Cousins was actually willing to sign there. I have no clue if he was or not, but I just got the impression, from listening to Cousins as well as some of the stuff I've read/heard, that he really didn't have much interest in staying there. If that was indeed the case then I can't really blame Washington for making the trade. You can do a lot worse than Alex Smith for the next few years.

I am still a bit disappointed that the Bills couldn't acquire Smith (again, because I felt he might have been a realistic shot at an upgrade for next season). But now that I see the Skins are giving up Kendall Fuller too, I am much less upset. The Bills would have had to give up one of our better young players to have any chance of getting this deal done (and maybe an extra pick, or a 2nd to beat out the skins 3rd) and I doubt I'd have been ok with that. Then add in that monster 4 year extension (5yrs total) with a huge guarantee, and I'm definitely feeling better about this... lol.

To be totally honest, I am kind of bummed out. I really felt like trading for Alex Smith was out best chance at a QB upgrade for next season. I'd have been perfectly fine giving up a 3rd for him, and a player (depending on who that player is, anyway). I'd have even been fine giving him $23.5M a year, although 5 years wouldn't have really interested me. I just hope that Beane is somehow able to upgrade the QB position for next season. I don't really care how, or if it's a rookie or a vet. I just want a true upgrade. Ideally, that upgrade could also be a long term solution. But please, at least give me a good bridge QB!

Oh man I sure hope Beane is able to make this happen! You're getting my hopes up..lol P.s. - i'd love to know who the potential upgrade is!

Wow. Well damn, now I feel stupid for even taking you serious.

Who did they hire that is considered a "yes man" or spineless jellyfish? John Butler is a highly respected coach, and I have never once heard of him being called a yes man or spineless. Quite the opposite, actually. Where are you getting this information from? Seems to me that You are 100% purely speculating about something you have absolutely no clue about. Also, McDermott is known for his excellent work with secondaries. He's had consistently good secondary play in almost every year as a DC, and has developed some very good young players throughout his career (like Josh Norma, who was a 5th round pick). What makes you so positive that Byrd was responsible for the secondary's play? McDermott was the one who assembled the entire secondary anyway, and the one who put the successful scheme together that they ran. IMO he deserves a whole lot of credit for their play. And how can you say nobody can defend "this clown" when you have absolutely no clue why Byrd was even fired?

I am guessing that they must feel he is an upgrade on Byrd then. Maybe this is who McDermott wanted last year but Houston wouldn't let him go?

Still painful to watch. We should have won that SB. Definitely out coached, by far. Also goes to show just how long Belichick has been torturing the Bills.

Seems strange. Definitely not a move I expected. But I also don't know how much of the success of the secondary he's really responsible for. I mean, obviously he deserves some credit. But that is probably McDermott's strongest area of expertise (esp. since he played the position himself), and he has had very good secondaries for most of his career as a DC. I am guessing there had to be a reason for this and I'll give him the benefit of the doubt for now. But I am going to reserve my final judgement until more info comes out... and ultimately it will come down to waiting and seeing how the secondary does in the coming season(s). My guess is they will be just fine.

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/W/WoodEr20.htm Games played - 10 14 9 14 16 16 16 9 (broken leg) 16 If my math is correct, that's 122 out of a possible 144 games played. At one of the toughest, most repetitively violent positions on the field. You look at his career games played and see a frequently injured player. i look at those numbers and see this - He had consistently started the full 16 games in 3 of the last 4 seasons before the extension (4 of the last 5 if you count this year), and started 14 or more games in 4 of the last 5 seasons before the extension (5 of the last 6 if you count this year). He missed 2 or less games in 6 of his 9 years. I would say that he has been a pretty reliable player for us, especially these last 6 years. How many NFL players never miss any time to injury? Was Eric Wood really injured more frequently than most NFL players? If you never signed a guy who had previously been injured, you wouldn't be able to field a team. And a broken leg is a freak thing and isn't considered something that puts you at future risk of injury, as the fracture site is no more or less likely to breaking again. It heals with equal strength to before the break. You can't predict when some freak injury is going to happen in the NFL, and none of his previous injuries had anything to do with this current injury in any way. Also, I believe the average age of retirement for NFL linemen is 35 (32-38). Eric Wood has just turned 31 in March. The Bills only gave him a 2 year contract extension. That's a very reasonable number of years and he could have most likely got more term in free agency. There was absolutely no reason to think that he couldn't play until he was 33. He wasn't really showing signs of slowing down and had only missed more than 2 games once in the last 5 years before the extension. None of his previous injuries had ever been career threatening either. So there was no reason to think that he was at higher risk for a career ending injury than any other NFL player. Last thing - do you know how common injury guarantees are for established/veteran NFL starters? I haven't looked it up but I'd bet it's pretty common. I bet it's even more common for guys considered at the top 10-15 starters at their position in the NFL, and when you add in guys with multiple pro bowl appearances and other honors I bet the numbers go up even further.

Bummer. I considered him to to be one of the best D line coaches in the NFL. But if his his heart wasn't truly in it anymore, it may be better that he moves on and the Bills get someone new (and hungry...).

He was absolutely fantastic in the first game. All I kept thinking is "man, the Sabres desperately need to surround this kid with more talent". Honestly, I think there's a damn good chance that he'd be considered an NHL super star already if he had a better team around him.

It wasn't an ongoing degenerative issue. It only happened this season, months after he already signed his contract extension. Wood said he got the first stinger of his career in week 5 and then again in week 6 (October 15th). The team then did an x-ray and found nothing of concern. Then at the year end physical they did an MRI and that's when they found this issue.

That would be my guess too.

He just said in his press conference that he got the first "stinger" of his career in week 5 and then again in week 6. They did an x-ray and found no significant damage. Then as a part of the exit physical they did an MRI and found a disc at c2 & c3 that was "alarming" (per Wood) and forced his retirement.

So this wasn't an ongoing degenerative issue that the team knew about before his extension. It only happened this season.

Well that was short and sweet.

Starting now

No it hasn't started yet.

Wood's current contract pays him as the #10 (highest paid) center in the NFL. Seems about right to me... Plus it was only a 2 year extension (for a 31yr old team leader and guy who calls out more defensive coverages than our QB does). It's not like it was a massive 5 year deal like Glenn or Dareus.

This hire makes a lot of sense if Jeremy Bates is indeed going to be their OC. He and Rick Dennison have history working well together. When Dennison was OC in Denver from 2006-08, Jeremy Bates was (supposedly) the one who called the plays for him. Their offense steadily improved (in certain areas) during that time. They were ranked 21st (in total offense (YPG)) in 2006, 11th in 2007 and 2nd in 2008.

Ive been making my case for Alex Smith for a while now. I, for one, would actually be pretty darn excited if we landed him. He wouldn't end the search for a franchise QB but he'd instantly be one of the best QBs the Bills have had in years and I really think he'd be a great bridge QB for us and would have a lot to teach Peterman + whatever other young QB they inevitably draft (hopefully this year). I think having such a knowledgeable veteran QB like Smith would be an invaluable resource to any younger QBs the Bills have on their roster. I think it could go a long way towards developing a rookie properly. He'd also allow us to keep a rookie off the field for a while, build up the team and then be able to insert that rookie into a better situation (with a stronger O line, WR corps, defense etc). For once this actually looks like a decent year to need a QB. My hopes are high that we land one (and hopefully a good one at that).

Lmao. That was funny! That made me actually laugh out loud. Decades, I meant decades. I guess it just felt like centuries... lol Almost 2 decades was bad enough without adding 180+ years to that timeline.