Logic

I liked Humphrey, too. My only answer to why they picked Brown instead is: depth. If Morse gets hurt or they decide to move on next year, they’ve got Feliciano and Bates and Boettger to step in. The first two guys have shown that they can be pretty effective at center. Meanwhile, if Dawkins or Williams goes down or if Williams can’t keep up his high level of play, the Bills would have been counting on Bobby Hart. All it takes is one injury to an OT and we would’ve been counting on BOBBY HART to keep Josh Allen upright. That’s a terrifying thought.

Statistically? Probably. As others have noted, a more balanced offense, a better defense, and the return of crowd noise could lead to less statistical production. Personally, I’m anticipating a regression in passing yards, touchdowns, and even completion percentage. Note: I still think Allen will have an excellent season and lead the Bills to a great record and the playoffs. I just expect statistical regression for a number of reasons. I think he can be a better QB this year than he was last year, but still regress statistically.

Thanks for the map, but it's much more informative and interesting to look at individual cities and municipalities. For instance: The map in the original post shows that one needs a higher salary in the state of New York than in the state of Oregon in order to own a home. Zooming in on specific areas, though, changes the picture quite radically. Zillow lists the average home price in Rochester, NY at $185,000. Meanwhile, it lists the average home price in Portland, OR at $542,000. I could own a palace with acreage in a nice area of Rochester for the same price I'd pay for a 1-bedroom, 1-story house in a bad area of Portland. As a general aside: The cost of home ownership in most major metropolitan areas is just out of control. Very discouraging to those of us who don't own a home but would like to.

I saw yesterday that they have defensive lineman Cam Heyward listed higher than Josh Allen. Heyward is a very good player, no doubt about it. That said, he had 4 sacks and 7 TFLs in 2020. Any system that would rank Heyward higher than a QB (the most important position in the game) that scored 45 TDs and finished second in league MVP voting is clearly absurd.

Like with most of these debates, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. Ed Oliver is not a bust, and he has had flashes and stretches of good to great play spread throughout his first two seasons. On the other hand, he has not (yet) been what the Bills clearly felt he could be when he “fell to them” at 9. They drafted him to be a game wrecker. Coming out, there were John Randle and Aaron Donald comparisons. He has been nowhere close to that level up to this point. So everyone’s a little right and a little wrong. He’s not some huge disappointment. He’s also not — to use McDermott’s parlance — affecting the quarterback consistently enough. He’s not converting his pressures into sacks often enough. It seems quite fair to me to say that this is a huge year for Oliver. The 5th year option will be coming up in no time, and he needs to show definitively that he is worth it.

That’s fair. I think Allen being kept upright is hugely important to point production, too. He had a great passer rating from a clean pocket, but a below average passer rating when under pressure. I think that Allen protected by Dion Dawkins and throwing to Sanders, Davis, and Beasley might score more points (and turn the ball over less) than Allen protected by Bobby Hart or Spencer Brown and throwing to Diggs, Sanders, and Beasley.

I can buy the argument that the WR corps would survive the loss of Diggs better than the O-line would survive the loss of Dawkins and better than the defense would survive the loss of Tre White.

Phew! I was almost gonna feel much safer attending a Bills game there for a minute. Close one!

Read Pennstate's post two spots above yours. Bills of Rights? Sheesh.

Riiiiight. Clearly the sports leagues haven’t all been staging much more successful seasons, with vastly less infections, since players began getting vaccinated. Clearly. You mean to tell me the vaccine isn’t 100% effective, only about 95%?! If only we had known! 🙄

I’ve felt all along that an open air stadium in Orchard Park is the best possible outcome. Game days in Orchard Park are unique and awesome. There’s no guarantee that that awesomeness would have carried over to a downtown Buffalo game day experience. The stadiums I’ve been to in city centers haven’t been NEARLY as fun as Bills Stadium. I also think this plan has the clearest path forward to actually succeeding and being built and not getting bogged down in politics and red tape.

I DO think the way Cole is going about this is selfish, yes. That doesn’t mean he’s not a courageous football player or that I don’t respect his past tenacity. It just means that right now, in my opinion, he’s making a selfish decision. With regard to your final sentence: the millions of people choosing not to get the vaccine absolutely ARE affecting the rest of us. Prolonging the COVID nightmare and eliminating any chance of beating this thing once and for all, instead making it do that we’ll all likely have to get boosters every year, and making it so that the virus gangs around and keeps mutating and killing more people. Vaccination decisions DO affect everybody. That’s why it’s called a “public health” issue. Lastly, Cole DOES have the freedom to have whatever stance he wants. At the same time, I have the freedom to say he’s being selfish and that his reasoning is ill informed. Freedom to have a position does not mean freedom from the consequences of that decision (in this case, continued COVID protocols and public backlash).

This is gonna turn into a big, dumb, unnecessary distraction for the Bills. The worst part is that there's not an easy answer, because simply cutting him likely won't sit will with many Bills players. Beasley seems to be quite popular in the locker room. From a pure football standpoint...his loss would hurt, sure, but there are other WRs willing and able to step up. McKenzie, in particular, seems ready for the moment. Because of what I mentioned above, though, it's not that simple. I don't love reading that teams like the Dolphins and Broncos are close to the 85% threshold, while the Bills have become the poster boys for the "anti-vax athletes" movement. So gross. The selfishness of Cole's anti-vax stance and Twitter rants is pretty evident anyway, but the degree to which he is now making himself a distraction and putting himself above the team just adds to it.

Mongo would be a surefire 1st round pick in the “Bills players I wouldn’t want to pick a fight with” draft.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: There are two guys on the Bills defense who, if they have breakout seasons, will absolutely transform the unit: Tremaine Edmunds and Ed Oliver. If, as the article predicts, Edmunds goes from being good to great, and if Ed Oliver responds to Star's return (and thus his own return to his more natural position) by being the terror we drafted him to be...totally different defense. The Bills defense is actually getting a lot of juice back this year that it lacked last year: Milano and Edmunds, who both struggled with injuries all year, are healthy. Star returns. Oliver gets to play his natural 3T position more often. Epenesa believes he has found the right weight/speed balance, was starting to come toward the end of last year, and now gets a legitimate offseason program. Rousseau, Basham, and Obada added to the rotation. Dane Jackson, now comfortable after a year in this system, competes for a starting spot. That's A LOT of potential internal improvement. Edmunds and Oliver lead the way, though, with regard to their potential impact on the overall defense.

When I read "McDermott flies with the angels", I thought it was a bizarre, mafia style way of saying he had died. Ya know, sort of like "Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes". Sheesh. I'm glad that's not what it was. He just sat in an airplane for a little while. That's WAY better. What a relief.

Anyone know if they’ll be selling compliance pretzels in the concourse?

These things go both ways. Logan Thomas and Wyatt Teller didn’t do squat here and then broke out elsewhere. On the other hand, current Bills Jerry Hughes, Daryl Williams, Jordan Poyer, and Micah Hyde are all quite good and were all either traded or allowed by their previous teams to walk in Free Agency. Scheme fit, depth chart, opportunity, chemistry...there are a lot of variables that factor into a player’s success or failure with a given team. Painting in broad strokes on this issue is ill-advised.

His physical talent was elite. His heart, will, and drive to be great were practice squad level. A real shame. Looked great in a boat captain's hat, though.

Marshawn Lynch. I wonder what would have happened if he had a decent play-caller and an opportunity to contribute in meaningful playoff and championship football games. I guess we'll never know.

I call BS on......pretty much everything you're saying. First, with regard to any notion that Ertz has a bad attitude or is any kind of loafer or diva or crybaby: No. Just no. Please find anyone ever saying one bad word about Ertz's character, locker room presence, leadership, or effect on a locker room. He's been a high character player and a team leader his entire career. Here's a quote from Ertz last year: "I kind of play with my heart as much as I can. Obviously it’s been frustrating at times, it’s been difficult. I said all along I want to be here for the long run. I don’t know for sure and if that feeling is mutual, but I know I’m going play this year like it is my last year, and I’m gonna leave everything I possibly have in the tank for this team and the city. It’s what this city deserves, nothing less. So I’m going into this year that I’m gonna leave it all out there, whatever happens happens. I’ll let the details be with my agent and Howie [Roseman]. But I’m going to do everything I can to give the city what it deserves, and that’s everything I possibly have even if it means playing with that lacerated kidney. Whatever it takes to win football games and do whatever I can to kind of leave a mark on this team and the city.” Sheesh. Really sounds like a locker room cancer. Despite being the Eagles' all time leader in just about every major category at the tight end position and setting the all time single season receptions record at tight end, the Eagles lowballed Ertz. He was hurt and disappointed. It's not as if the "Eagles front office is dysfunctional" rumors haven't been in full swing for two years running now. Still, despite the contract nonsense, coaching turmoil, and Carson Wentz's severe regression, Ertz played through multiple injuries and did NOT mail it in or complain. Feel free to post any video or legitimate piece of evidence to the contrary. I don't think you can or will, because I don't think that evidence exists. And one more thing, according the article at this link: https://phillysportsnetwork.com/2021/04/27/zach-ertz-trade-2/ : "...the arguments that Zach Ertz is slowing down are not backed by statistics. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Ertz’s top speed and separation on routes remained nearly unchanged. In fact, he created more separation on average per route this year than in 2019! This is shocking considering his lack of production and perceived athletic decline. At the same time, Carson Wentz regressed massively." If you don't want Ertz on the team, that's totally fine. I get it. You're certainly allowed to have that opinion. But to try to justify your position by spouting nonsense about a "pouty face" or Ertz being some kind of washed up malcontent, well...that's just absurd. All of it. He does NOT have a bad attitude, he DID play through multiple injuries, he (at least according to NFL Next Gen Stats) was STILL gaining separation, and he's about to turn 31, not 36 or something. This idea that he magically lost all of his athletic ability overnight -- which seems to be based solely on a down 2020 in which he faced multiple injuries and bad QB play and team dysfunction -- is silly. The idea that he's anything but a smart, savvy, high character veteran are not founded in reality. While he's not a Kittle or a Kelce, the fact remains: Ertz' 2015-2019 stretch would rank as the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th all time best tight end seasons in Bills history. Is he an elite game changer at the TE position? No. Is he better than any tight end currently on the Bills roster until proven otherwise? Absolutely. Is all of the stuff you said about him "pouting" based solely on your opinion and unable to be backed up by any facts, quotes, video evidence, or reality-based evidence? Yes.

Good post. While it is certainly possible for an "average-at-best" player to -- by sheer luck and coincidence -- stumble onto some top 10 defenses over the course of his career...at some point -- like when said player has been on six such teams in seven seasons -- it would seem reasonable to wonder if perhaps said player is CONTRIBUTING to this consistent success rather than merely remaining a starter on said good teams by sheer luck and coincidence. Put another way: for an "average-at-best" player, Star's presence as a starting member of a top ten defense in six of his seven seasons is surely cause to at least consider re-examining the "average-at-best" label. Either that, or it's just luck and coincidence. I know which possibility I find more likely, though I'm sure ScottLaw or BADOL will be along shortly to tell me how wrong and dumb I am and what a waste of oxygen Star is -- again.