Logic

I hear ya. I felt the same way about RT La'el Collins out of LSU in the 2015 draft. His situation was pending legal issues instead of health red flags, but still. He was a 1st/2nd round talent. His agent warned all 32 teams not to draft him, because of the legal situation and because he wanted to be able to pick where he went. I wanted the Bills -- who badly needed a RT that offseason -- to call his bluff and take him in round seven. Even if he never signs here, what's the risk? A lost seventh round pick? Big deal! Sure enough, he signed with the Cowboys as a UDFA and has been a good player for them ever since. Meanwhile, it took the Bills until last season to settle the RT position. Teams should spend late round picks on high risk, high reward players way more often than they do.

Has he been fitted for his gold jacket yet? Look, no one denies that Smith has talent. The reason he fell is because teams were wary of is history of blood clots. It's not news that he's a capable player. It will be news if he stays healthy and proves 31 other teams' (32 if you count KC waiting until round six to pick him) medical evaluators wrong.

Davis Webb had it right. You have to be adaptable each time you play, because as the game unfolds, clinging to one set strategy will get you beat. He was also correct that snagging some 2:1 ports is always a good move.

Great post. Thanks. The only changes I have are that I believe they'll drop either Butler or Phillips at DT and use that roster spot on a third tight end (at this point, likely Tommy Sweeney). It also would not surprise me if they only carried two backup linebackers on the 53 and used the extra roster spot on a young WR, either Hodgins or Stevenson -- I don't think they want to subject both to waivers. Otherwise, I agree with your list.

Strange. This seems to run contrary to every report we've heard from every different Bills reporter who has witnessed camp live every day, as well as praise that coach McDermott gave Rousseau on GMFB today. I'm not discounting your report. I wasn't there, so I have no idea. I'm just saying it seems to be the opposite of what most people covering Bills camp are saying.

Peter King of Football Morning in America (formerly Monday Morning Quarterback) was at Bills' camp today. Figures he just happened to be in town for what was apparently Allen's worst camp performance yet. Expect a "Allen's contract extension was risky, based on what I saw, he might regress!" blurb in this week's FMIA column.

I don't believe anyone has yet listed the guy I'm thinking of: Cody Ford. As far as I can tell, he's in a great place mentally and physically, is fully healthy, and has been a mainstay in the starting 5 at RG. I've also read on a few different occasions that he has opened up big running lanes for various running backs. You don't hear much in camp reports about interior o-linemen, but all signs point to him being on track to claim the starting RG job.

Consistency? Matthew Stafford has played 12 NFL seasons, during which he has thrown for over 45,000 yards, 282 TDs, and has been selected to the Pro Bowl. His addition to the Rams currently has them positioned with the seventh best odds to win the Super Bowl. His career record is 74-90-1. Not enough for you? Dan Fouts had a 15 year career, during which he threw for over 43,000 yards, 254 TDs, was a six time Pro Bowler and two-time 1st team All-Pro, and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. His career record is 86-84-1. Barely over .500. Wins are not a QB stat.

Wins are not a QB stat. The 2000 Ravens went 12-4 and won the Super Bowl with Trent Dilfer at QB. The 2002 Buccaneers went 12-4 and won the Super Bowl with Brad Johnson at QB. The 1985 Bears went 15-1 and won the Super Bowl with Jim McMahon at QB. Surely Dilfer and Johnson must be great QBs, and McMahon must be the greatest of all time, right? Football is a team game. There are 22 starters and 53 players in all on an NFL roster. Wins are not a QB stat. Now if you want to talk about QBR, QB rating, Completion percentage, touchdowns, turnovers, ANy/A, etc...have at it. But wins? Not a QB stat.

My two favorite parts of this comment: 1.) Citing "wins" as a meaningful QB stat. 2.) The insinuation that Lamar could or should get paid more than Patrick Mahomes p.s. Josh's 2020 season was arguably better than Lamar Jackson's 2019 MVP season. p.p.s...

I'm so glad this ridiculous thread came back to life 😆

Maybe Kelvin Benjamin was totally right about Joe Judge. Maybe the "scream in your face, treat you like children", macho man head coach model just doesn't work in the 2021 NFL.

Not bad for a parody of a quarterback prospect.

Chase Young is 265. Also 6'5". Epenesa saying he wants to play at 260 doesn't seem too far off the mark, though maybe those five pounds make more of a difference than I think.

Good post. In fairness, drafting players is always a "maybe" proposition, too. MAYBE the mid-round guard we draft will outplay Ford and Feliciano this year or next year. Granted, for a team in the cap position the Bills were in this offseason (due to the COVID-shrunken cap), drafting a youngster probably represents the best and most feasible means of attempting to upgrade the position for the long term, if not the short term. I liked several interior linemen in this draft and was rather surprised the Bills didn't take one of them (other than Jack Anderson in the 6th). As I thought about it more, though, I realized that, for whatever reason, Beane doesn't seem to spend much draft capital on interior linemen. He'll spend it on offensive tackles, offensive and defensive playmakers...but interior o-linemen? It seems to me like he's always "thrown bodies at the problem", as you put it. While that didn't work too well last season (injuries notwithstanding), it seemed to me like the 2019 interior o-line mostly got the job done. Here's hoping that between Ford, Boettger, Lamp. and -- as you pointed out -- Douglas, somebody can step up. Cody Ford suddenly living up to his draft pedigree, in particular, could transform this o-line.

I respectfully disagree that interior depth is/was needed more than tackle depth. On the interior, we have Feliciano Ford Boettger Lamp Bates Devey None of those guys are world beaters, but several of them have starting experience, and several of them still have the capacity to improve. Besides, it's not as if the Bills' offensive line was a tire fire last season. To the degree that they struggled, I would point at least partially to Feliciano and Ford -- the presumed starters -- both missing significant time due to injury. On the other hand, after Dion Dawkins and Daryl Williams, the Bills had just Bobby Hart at tackle. That is SCARY. I have read the opinions of Bengals fans and seen some of the lowlights myself, and if the Bills ever have to depend on Hart for significant snaps, well....not good. Time will tell if Brown or Doyle are actually upgrades, but I view the addition of both guys as very necessary, and chalk it up to some prudent present and future planning by Beane. As for Trey Smith, well....Zero has been calling him "the steal of the draft" since before pads even came on, so...yeah.

To be fair to Knox, it seems like he's been catching the football much more consistently throughout OTAs and camp....until today. This is the first "oh geez!", facepalm worthy drop I've heard about from him this offseason. Still, a "surefire touchdown" in the end zone is certainly not one you want your TE1 dropping -- in CAMP, no less.

Now THIS is interesting. Last year we were hearing about Davis lighting it up in practice. This year, all we hear about is Kumerow dominating, and we've heard barely a peep about Davis. Much ado about nothing? Sophomore slump incoming? What's the deal?

Thinking about Stevenson and Hodgins not making the roster because of the performances of McKenzie and Kumerow. Or having to choose between Efe Obada and Bam Johnson. This whole "having such a deep and talented roster that we're forced to cut some really good and/or promising young players" thing is stressful!

This would be AWESOME. I hope it happens. Also…the Texans are gonna be bad for a long, long time. The speed with which that franchise has gone down the tubes is astonishing. From having Watson, Hopkins, and Watt to potentially being without all three, not to mention a bad front office, toxic culture, and overall lack of direction… If I were a Texans fan, I’d be equal parts furious and depressed.

Based on his involvement in all special teams units and his uptick in offensive productivity this offseason, Kumerow sure looks like he's going to make the team. I didn't realize he was so old (relatively speaking), at 29 years old. Obviously, you have to put the most productive guys on the 53, but it would be a shame to lose out on the speed of Stevenson or the size and red zone potential of Hodgins, both of whom are a good bit younger than Kumerow. Put differently, Kumerow may be the biggest contributor THIS season, but both Stevenson and Hodgins seem to have great potential and might be better LONG TERM bets to help the offense. I'd hate to see either of them get snagged off our practice squad.

Talk about camp feeling like it took forever to get here… These past couple months have been a hell of a year.

Over a quarter-century later and everyone here is like “TOO SOON!!! 🤬” Gotta love Bills fans.

My camp takes. Not sure how "bold" any of them are, but here we go: - Reggie Gilliam's roster spot is in jeopardy. Hollister can play the move TE/H-back role that Gilliam played last year. The staff may want to keep less numbers at TE than they normally would to make space for a 7th WR. - The Bills' best 11 personnel set -- the set they ran most often on offense last year, mind you -- will prove to be Diggs and Davis out wide, with Sanders in the slot. - Harrison Phillips has a monster camp and a breakout year - Levi Wallace will once again hold off challengers and win the CB2 spot. - CB Nick McCloud and TE Quintin Morris will make the 53-man roster as UDFAs - AJ Epenesa will turn heads and will earn the starting LDE role (not that "starting" means much with the way this D rotates linemen)

Unless and until Beasley commits to playing a full season without being a distraction or causing problems, McKenzie ain’t going anywhere.