Logic

Exactly what someone who wanted to get maximum value back for Jimmy Garoppolo would say 😏

I guess they believe in Tua enough to give him a couple seasons to prove he's "the guy". If he's not, they have extra 1sts the next few drafts as well.

In before 43 more people say "it's a smokescreen". I'm not saying it's NOT a smokescreen, by the way. For what it's worth, Benjamin Albright, who is right about the Bills more often than he's wrong about them come draft time, has also heard that the Bills are looking running back at 30. Don't shoot the messenger. I don't have a horse in this race either way.

https://www.nbcsports.com/edge/college-football/cfb/player-news/headlines/10038711?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter Pro Football Network's Tony Pauline hears that the Pittsburgh Steelers, Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills are all high on Alabama RB Najee Harris. Pauline initially forwarded the Steelers and Dolphins as players for Harris back during the Senior Bowl. And that, the analyst writes in this week's mailbag, has not changed in the interim. He is now hearing that the Bills could be in on the 6-foot-2, 230-pound Alabama standout, too. The Steelers and Bills (pick Nos. 24 and 30, respectively) are right in range for Harris near the end of the first round. Miami's spot is slightly trickier for a running back -- they hold two Day 1 picks, No. 3 and No. 18 -- simply because they're picking higher. A trade down by the Dolphins from that No. 18 selection, if Harris is their target come the draft, would make sense.

I still can't believe the Bills were able to trade a defensive end they were going to cut anyway for an offensive lineman who can play all five spots! Granted, they also traded away Wyatt Teller for a 5th only to see him become a top 10 guard. Ya win some, ya lose some. With the Bates trade, I feel like they really won one.

@Bray Wyatt @Victory Formation I’m guessing he may be the primary swing tackle in 2021. However, the Morse, Feliciano, and Williams contracts are all structured in such s way that any of them could be cut after this season with minimal financial blowback. Bates says he wants to be a center in the long term. I could see him continuing to work at that and taking over the starting center role in 2022.

Homer.

I think Breida -- assuming he makes the roster -- will be active on game days this year. Instead of having six active WRs, like last year, I predict five active WRs and four active RBs. So they essentially swap out Roberts for Breida. It would be silly not to give a gameday jersey to the fastest offensive player they have. I bet they will.

***Every time I've ever seen Ryan Bates step into the starting lineup -- from the first preseason game onward -- I've liked what I've seen from him. With the way the contracts of Morse, Feliciano, and Williams are structured, I think it's possible Bates gets a crack at the starting lineup outright in 2022. At worst, I see him being a very valuable utility guy here for as long as we can afford him. https://theathletic.com/2477632/2021/03/26/they-saw-something-in-me-ryan-bates-knows-the-value-he-brings-to-bills-talented-o-line/ Ryan Bates was one preseason game into his first training camp with the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2019 when he got a call from an unknown number. He was on FaceTime with a friend and had a date scheduled with his girlfriend that night — dinner and a movie. Like he does with all unknown numbers, he declined the call and let it go to voicemail. Then he got a text from that same number. It was Eagles general manager Howie Roseman. “Oh, no,” Bates said. He told his friend he’d need to call him back and immediately called Roseman. As he heard the dial tone, Bates assumed he would be cut. Why else would the general manager be calling an undrafted rookie on a Friday morning? That wasn’t the case. Bates’ time in Philadelphia was over, but Roseman informed him the Eagles were trading him to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for defensive end Eli Harold. “It took us by surprise,” Bates said. “I didn’t really expect anything. That’s not really something that happens to undrafted free agents being traded after the beginning of preseason. I called my girlfriend to tell her, ‘Hey, dinner is off. You have to drive me to the airport.’” Bates grew up just outside of Philadelphia and was an Eagles fan growing up. He got to play alongside Jason Kelce and Jason Peters, two franchise icons. In a blink of an eye, it was over. His offensive line coach told him to take it as a compliment. The Bills approached the Eagles and sought out Bates after seeing him in one preseason game. That said something about him as a player, particularly an undrafted player. “They saw something in me that not a lot of teams saw,” Bates said. .............. This offseason looked like it could provide an opportunity for Bates with questions about the futures of Morse, Jon Feliciano and Daryl Williams. All three are returning, leaving no obvious path to a starting job for Bates. But the way the Bills structured those contracts leaves them flexibility with the veteran pieces on their offensive line in 2022 and beyond. For now, Bates is Buffalo’s swing tackle with Ty Nsekhe departing in free agency. But Bates is much more than that given his ability to play the entire offensive line. As the Bills have looked to save money, Bates is an affordable utility player to have. ...Bates isn’t content, either. He understands his role but wants more. His goal is to be a starting center. Morse, who has been a mentor and friend to Bates, occupies that spot currently. Feliciano has played there as well, but that’s where Bates sees his future.

I appreciate the post, but pre-season strength of schedule forecasts don't mean much to me. Things change SO MUCH over the course of a season. What looked like an easy stretch of games can quickly become a very tough stretch of games, and vice versa. In 2020, for instance, the stretch of games that went New England, Seattle, Arizona, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Pittsburgh looked INCREDIBLY tough. Then it turned out that New England stunk, San Francisco were the walking wounded, and Pittsburgh's bubble burst. When it was all said and done, the Bills went 5-1 in that stretch. You just never know.

I'm sure McDermott and Frazier are looking for a very specific skillset. If you look at Dean Marlowe, he played slot, big nickel, backup safety, special teams. They got a lot out of him. Sean Davis may not have been starting safety caliber, but perhaps the coaches have reason to believe he could successfully fill Marlowe's utility role. Alternately, they're showing Marlowe -- who I bet they want back -- that they're willing to move on without him, in an effort to get him to lower his asking price. Whatever the case may be....if Frazier and McDermott have earned the benefit of the doubt at ANY position across the roster, it's safety, in my opinion.

If I was an NFL wide receiver, the last thing I’d want to do is play in a Greg Roman offense. Roman is an elite run game coordinator — possibly the best in the league. But he is an awful, AWFUL passing game coordinator. Really bad.

Amari Cooper has never cracked 1200 yards in a season. Stefon Diggs had over 1400 last season. Ceedee Lamb had 935 yards last season. Cole Beasley had 967. Michael Gallup had 843 and 5 TDs. Gabriel Davis had 599 and 7 TDs. Then Buffalo has McKenzie, who caught 5 TDs, and Sanders, who had 726 yards and 5 TDs. Dallas' group has the POTENTIAL to be the best. Based on actual proven PRODUCTION in the NFL, though, and taking top-to-bottom depth into account? I'm going Buffalo.

https://www.carolinahuddle.com/topic/168856-obada-is-a-bill/?&page=3#comments If anyone cares to read the opinions of Panthers fans, click the link above. They mostly all wanted Obada back, and they're mostly all upset that the Bills poach all their good executives, coaches, and players 🤣

If "WR group" doesn't include tight ends, then Tampa Bay is not superior to Buffalo, in my opinion.

** I had planned to make a post talking about the new phenomenon in Buffalo: Players taking less money or declining to hit the market altogether because they want to stay in Buffalo. I can't EVER remember a time like this in Bills history. Off the top of my head, Matt Milano, Jon Feliciano, Isaiah McKenzie, and Levi Wallace all either refused to meaningfully test the market or took hometown discounts to stay in Buffalo or both. This speaks to what Beane and McDermott have built, and it speaks to the fact that culture is real. Oh, and playing for a 13-3 squad with a franchise QB doesn't hurt, either, and that brings us to this article from The Athletic: https://theathletic.com/2472211/2021/03/24/josh-allen-has-gone-from-question-mark-to-selling-point-for-bills-in-free-agency/ "Buffalo has long been considered a free agency outpost. That reputation was earned. Those searching for a big market or warm-weather locale won’t have Buffalo high on their free-agent list. That led the Bills to have to overpay to land some of their notable free agents. They also have New York’s hefty state income tax working against them on the financial side. But what has historically bogged down the Bills in free agency more than any of that is a lack of winning. When The Athletic’s Tim Graham wrote about the “Siberian Stigma” that used to surround the Bills, Beane identified a quality quarterback, a contending team, stable leadership and ownership that invests as criteria the Bills now sell to free agents. The first two have only strengthened after a 13-3 seasons in which Allen received MVP votes. 'I think when you have a guy like Josh Allen leading your franchise with a guy that players can trust like Beane and McDermott, honestly, that’s where it starts,' said Jon Feliciano, who re-signed with the Bills prior to hitting the open market. 'I think that’s why you see a lot of us coming back and taking less money or whatnot – just to able to go to work every day and know that we’re all truly going for the same goal. A lot of organizations will say it’s all about winning, but at nut-cutting time, they do some other things. So I think the biggest attraction beside Josh Allen is you know you’re going to be in an organization that’s in it for the right reasons and is doing it right'."

So many cap experts here. I love this time of year.

Not everyone can be Gibran Hamdan.

28-year-old athletic freak coming off a 5.5 sack (would’ve led our team) year and signing fir what I assume will be a very affordable deal? Sign me up! Beane likes to go into the draft without having any glaring needs. He’s done it again, and I bet he’s not finished adding FAs.

Barkley is a career 58% passer with 11 TDs and 22 INTs. Trubisky is a career 64% passer with 64 TDs and 37 INTs. This isn’t rocket surgery.

Seems to be a pretty common refrain this offseason. When was the last time players were lining up to take less money in order to stay in Buffalo? Maybe never?

Do you believe that signing free agents is the only way for a team to improve from one year to the next? Do you not believe it’s possible for internal improvement from young players to improve the team overall? Josh Allen hasn’t stopped improving. Ed Oliver and Tremaine Edmunds and AJ Epenesa are all young and could improve. Gabriel Davis, Zack Moss, and Cody Ford may all improve. The team as a whole may improve by virtue of better health, a full offseason, and continuity. Lastly, they still have three top 100 picks in the draft coming up. I don’t disagree they need to improve in order to beat the Chiefs and make the Super Bowl. Who’s to say that adding big ticket free agents is the only way to do it? Who’s to say they won’t otherwise improve? Who’s to say they wouldn’t beat the Chiefs if the two teams played next Tuesday? The Bills are returning essentially an entire roster that went 13-3 against a really tough schedule last year, and has many young players that haven’t peaked yet. I think people need to rein it in a bit with the “we’ll NEVER beat the Chiefs!” talk.

One great thing about our coaching staff is that they relentlessly self-scout, recognize and work on their shortcomings. If I had to describe this ability, I'd call it........wait for it........ A growth mindset.

I wonder if the Bills considered Isaac McKittrick as an alternative before re-signing McKenzie?

This thread seems like a good place to bring this old gem back to life 🤣 :