Logic

As others on Twitter pointed out, he didn't state his opinion with much conviction. By saying "If he succeeds, its because they put enough talent around him", he's hedging his bets. He can now claim to be "right" either way. Also, try as I might, I can't seem to find any background info about Aaron Schatz. I get that he runs Football Outsiders, which as far as I can tell is just an analytics website. What is it about Schatz that qualifies him to know what he's looking at any more than any other football fan? It's great that he can extrapolate numerical data or spot statistical trends, but why should I believe that he knows how to evaluate quarterback play any better than my Aunt Marcy?

Spencer Long working as a starting guard is extremely telling to me. I envisioned the staff preferring that he be the swing backup to all three interior spots. Knowing that they like him enough to ensure that he gets some starting LG reps this early -- even though Morse and Bodine aren't on the field -- tells me that they believe he can start at guard for the Bills. I agree with them. I'm high on Long's potential to return to his pre-Jets form, when he was an above average guard for Washington. I'm also intrigued that they have Spain working at RG. He has, if I'm not mistaken, been a left guard his entire career. If Long, Spain, and Ford all win starting roles and perform well, the Bills will have fixed the offensive line in just one offseason. Here's hoping.

One thing that really impresses me about McDermott and his staff is that they recognize shortcomings and failures and fix them. They don't waffle, they don't hem and haw, they just make the change when it's warranted. Rick Dennison, gone. David Culley, replaced. WR and RB coaches, gone. O-line coach, gone. Tyrod Taylor, replaced. O-line talent, upgraded. On and on down the line. This coaching staff makes mistakes. All of them do. The fact that they are quick to recognize said mistakes or non-working components and act quickly to fix them is crucially important and bodes well for the future. The difference between the first half and the second half of last season offensively is night and day. The scheme itself evolved, the offensive personnel evolved, the formations and the times that they were used in the games evolved, and what they asked of Allen evolved. I think really highly of Daboll. The ONE aspect of his playcalling that I'm still not sold on is the running game and usage of LeSean McCoy. Yes, I expect that offensive line improvements will help in a big way. But the failure of Daboll to effectively involve McCoy in the passing game last year was egregious, too. A weapon like McCoy should not be getting 7-10 touches a game, as he sometimes did last season. Daboll HAS to find a way to get McCoy involved. His ability to utilize his running backs and improve the running game as a whole will be absolutely necessary if the offense (and Allen) are to succeed this season.

Yeah. It's clear to me that you need coverage AND pressure, not just one or the other. All the pressure in the world won't matter if your corners can't cover their guys. Likewise, all the great coverage in the world won't matter if the opposing QB has an eternity to sit in the pocket and wait for someone to get open. You need pressure, you need coverage. Not sure when it became an "either/or" proposition.

Right on. I hope he gets paid. I suppose it won't be in Buffalo. I think the staff has hope/faith that by this time next year, Dawson Knox is ready to settle in as the Bills' long term starter at tight end. As such, it's hard to see them committing big cap dollars to Kyle Rudolph.

The addition of a guy like Mik'Quan Deane -- rather than pursuing a "name" player like a Kyle Rudolph -- tells me they're fine rolling with Knox, Sweeney, and Croom until Kroft comes back healthy. Hopefully the rooks can get up to speed quickly.

I really wouldn't WANT to wear #32 in Buffalo. That's some bad ju-ju right there. P.S. I hate that Devin Singletary is #40. There hasn't been a good #40 at running back since...Gale Sayers?!

It's real simple, and there aren't two sides to it: Jerry Hughes is a very good edge rusher. The Bills improved their team next year by re-signing him. Letting him walk away while he's still highly productive would have been silly. NOT liking the play of Jerry Hughes or the fact that the Bills re-signed him is also silly. If you look at Jerry Hughes and think "that guy's just not a very good edge rusher, and the Bills shouldn't have re-signed him", then you don't know what you're looking at. Opinions can't usually be wrong, but that one is. Any questions?

I'm having a hard time seeing how you got your screenname. Anyway...Sounds like a 3-4 month recovery window. Probably will start season on PUP list, will resume play around week 4. Honestly, though, not having your presumed starting TE for all of training camp is not a tenable situation. Beane should be on the phone to Minnesota and get Rudolph in here ASAP.

What the Bills SHOULD do: Trade for Kyle Rudolph. What the Bills WILL do: Re-sign Jake Fisher Ugh.

I don't even buy it, to be honest. He said publicly multiple times "I'll play wherever a team wants me to play". He's also known as an extremely dedicated, professional, and coachable player who is mature beyond his years. Do I believe his preference by far was to play LT? Of course. Do I believe he told teams "don't even draft me if you aren't going to play me at LT"? Nope.

While it's not unthinkable that Dawkins could move inside, I think people are giving up on him too fast. First of all, while he DID regress last season, it's not as if he was outright terrible. Secondly, let's remember that he played next to some AWFUL left guards, which surely affected his play negatively. The lack of a quality center and, thus, the lack of cohesion and correct line calls all season probably ALSO negatively affected him. Last but not least, he has said himself that this last season was a real wake-up call, and that we will all be seeing a new and improved Dion Dawkins. I also don't think the coaching staff would want to just give up on their young left tackle so easily. In an ideal world, I'm sure they'd prefer that he stay at LT and succeed at that position. Otherwise, Franchise LT is back on the list of needs going into next season. Finally, the presence of a 33-year-old journeyman swing tackle on the roster likely won't affect Dawkins' status on the roster as much as the presence of an incoming first round LT (Jonah Williams) affected Cordy Glenn in Cinci. The ONLY thing that will throw a wrench into everything I just posted is if Nsekhe is far and away the best player on the field at LT, thus forcing the hand of the coaching staff with regard to who starts at that position.

I'm with you on Teller, and have been wondering if he's capable of switching from the left to the right side. I DON'T believe the coaches are just going to give up on him after one season in which he showed some serious promise. HOWEVER, Spain has played LG his whole career, and I think that the coaches would like to have Spencer Long be the versatile interior swing backup, in an ideal world. As such, having Spain and Feliciano battle at LG and Teller and Boettger battle at RG might be the best way to go. Also, while Teller is my bold prediction to start as well, Spain is my bold prediction to be cut.

He literally said FIRST starting alignment. He means the very first way they line up at OTAs.

Cian Fahey has hands down, without a shadow of a doubt, the absolute WORST football takes anywhere on social media. And to make matters worse, he's absolutely confident in his opinions to the point of extreme arrogance, and air of moral superiority, and a habit of mocking and blocking anyone who dares to disagree with him. He is an absolute clown shoe.

Fair enough. I don't think McDermott and Beane will be so quick to give up on a 5th round pick who played really well at times last year in Wyatt Teller. It seems like every year, there's a veteran that gets signed that everyone thinks was a "free agency steal". Fans count on said player starting and being a key contributor, when in fact said player winds up getting cut or riding the bench or not producing. I won't be shocked at all if Spain beats out Teller, but I also won't be shocked if Teller wins the job and Spain either rides the pine or gets cut.

I think he was just saying this will be the FIRST alignment. Beane has shown a history of allowing his tenured players get the first crack at starting reps, even if only for a series or two. It's sort of a gesture of respect and acknowledgement. Along those lines, I might agree with the idea except with Teller in place of Ducasse, since that's who ended last season as the starter at LG. When it's all said and done, my prediction is Dawkins - Teller - Morse - Long - Ford, with Nsekhe as the swing tackle and Feliciano backing up the interior.

This is pretty much the only thing that will truly be interesting to me. Ty Nsekhe is the wild card. The contract they gave him indicates to me that they may view him as a short term starter. If so, and if it's true they want Ford to start out at RT in hopes of winning that job, does Dawkins get pushed inside to LG?

Except that the Jetss are our division rivals. There is ABSOLUTELY reason to believe that they'd ask a higher price from a team they play twice a year than from a team in the AFC West. Also, I expect you'll still be hanging around our boards and touting your Chiefs if/when they regress this year and barely secure a Wild Card spot?

To the people saying that Pete Prisco has always been a Bills hater: I don't see it that way. He HAS openly criticized the Bills a lot over the past 20 years, but they've almost always deserved it! Think of the amount of bad GMs, coaches, draft picks, and players that came through Orchard Park the past couple decades. Prisco was mostly RIGHT to criticize that stuff. It tells me that he actually probably knows what he's looking at a little bit! The fact that the Beane/McDermott regime and their decisions since taking over represent the first time Prisco has spoken highly of the Bills in years means he's just seeing what WE'RE all seeing as fans: The team is finally in the hands of competent people and is making smart decisions. Prisco a hater? Hardly. He just has working eyeballs.

Thanks for transcribing that! Really appreciate you taking the time. It was a radio interview.

Pot calling the kettle black.

It's Fox Sports. They're the ones who allowed the rigged "best fanbase vote" to go on without any mention of all the cheating on behalf of Titans fans. So, I guess what I'm saying is....Fox Sports Twitter polls are worth about as much as AOL stock at this point.

Any time someone starts a sentence with "Not to be a Debbie Downer", I just immediately stop reading.

For one thing, the Bills should re-sign Jerry Hughes. He is still highly productive and I'd venture to guess that his ability to make plays is put to better use in McDermott's defense than it would be anywhere else. As long as Jerry is open to an extension and not asking for the moon, he should be re-signed. So that gives us Murphy and Hughes to start with. From there, a couple draft picks to infuse the position with youth should be all that's needed.