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Nice. Yeah, it gets so friggin' old to see constant criticism and name-calling of these players. They're human beings with a really interesting job. But people tend to think the amount they're compensated for playing is a free pass to belittle and demean them. I feel for Dareus. Not gonna make excuses but the dude has had a pretty rough life, constantly losing people he's close with, making immature decisions. I was excited as camp kicked off when I heard Kyle state that Dareus was the healthiest and most engaged he's seen him since he got here. Not sure if he's regressed on where he was at the start of camp but hopefully he can get by the injuries and start to play with a chip on his shoulder because that's exactly what McD is looking for. He's gonna play the players that are showing that they want it. Motivation seems to be lacking for Dareus but man, he's the highest paid player on the team. What Beane said back in August is still true. They expect more from the guy with the biggest contract. If he's injured and that's affecting his game that's one thing but if he's just not putting in the effort then he's not gonna be here much longer.

"Cancer" is a bit too strong a word. None of us had any clue how he interacted with teammates and coaches during his time here. He was never in the news as a guy who was turning things upside down in the locker room. In fact, he was beginning to emerge as an outspoken leader. I remember after the 2015 season ended he said something like, if guys aren't buying in they need to go, myself included. I liked that he was starting to show some of those traits. And the reason he's gone is because they knew he had no intention of re-signing here.

Gilmore always seemed like a slow starter. Last season was a good example. He wasn't great through the first few games but picked it up as the season went on. Perhaps that'll happen up in New England for him. I always like Gilmore but the more I watched the more it seemed like he had a hard time taking ownership for bad plays or for being out of position. I'm not sure if he doesn't communicate/listen well and get himself in the correct spots pre-snap but it got pretty old to see him get beat and then turn around like, "Where was my help? Who screwed this up? Wasn't me!" Other than that he's still a decent player. Good athlete, studies his opponents, etc. Just hate that he wound up in NE.

This is expert analysis.

Folk cost TB the game. Left 9 points out there.

Benoit is good at breaking down film and explaining how/why certain plays worked. I've been following him for a while now and one of the first things that I noticed about the dude is he can be extremely critical. He'll at least admit when he's wrong, though. But, yeah, I don't think he just revealed some grand secret about Taylor. They have to customize the offense to his skill set which is the smart/only thing to do. Don't force the guy to play outside of the things he already does well.

Not sure if they have an actual grudge but there do appear to be times where some writers come off as miffed that they didn't get the inside info they thought they deserved. When the new regime took over they made an effort to be a more tight-lipped organization with less leaks and that seemed to irritate some of the BN writers. The non-stop criticism and negativity expressed by some does get old. Understood I can read someone else's posts but the justification for their negativity always falls back on the playoff drought. It's like their cover-all excuse to write with a negative slant. We get it. Some guys seem to get hyped up when discussing ways the team can lose. Last week on a show one of the hosts was all but falling out of his chair when discussing Atlanta's run game. "If Atlanta gets that run game going, the Bills are dead! Dead in the water! Forget it, they can forget it, if Atlanta can exploit the run on the edges this team is done!!" Aren't they supposed to be unbiased? And any given Bills player could have an outstanding game and these dudes are gonna talk about, "Let me tell you why Player A really isn't that good. Calm down, Bills fans, this guy is an inconsistent poopyhead who will fail us next time, I guarantee it! What? He's league MVP? No no no, lemme tell you exactly why this guy is a clown show, a total amateur!" Bah.

I like reading Benoit's stuff but I also disagreed with his take on the pass rusher situation. Hughes has been lights out and Lawson is coming along. Yarborough provides solid depth. Plus, all but Mario Williams are still on the line that set franchise records in sacks in 2013 and 2014. I hope they start getting more production from Dareus soon, but yeah, I think they're alright with pass rushers.

The degree of arrogance which some of your journalists write with and interact with readers could stand to be dialed back some.

I think Darnold will be fine. These kids get so over-hyped that the minute they look human everyone throws their arms up and says "This kid sucks!" After last season when his hype train left the station and people started calling for a tank to draft him I was like, the guy has 10 starts to his name and has three more years of eligibility at USC. To throw away a season on the off chance this kid is gonna decide to declare for the draft is a horrible idea. Rumors circulated earlier before the season that he was leaning on returning to USC after 2017 anyway. But yeah, the hype gets a little ridiculous but either way there are plenty of traits to his game that make him a first round pick.

If you're curious as to where the actual term came from, I believe it stemmed from them signing Nick Barnett in 2011. He tweeted that he thought the fans up here were like a "mafia" and then that Del Reid fella turned it into a hashtag and it picked up steam from there. Del runs 26shirts.com, a charitable organization that creates Bills/Buffalo themed t-shirts with the proceeds going towards local families in need. In recent years they have extended into Pittsburgh and a few other cities, I think.

Heh heh. Soiled.

I was shocked to see both the turnover calls go the Bills way. Usually that doesn't happen. Both were close but in end I think they got them right. And yes, Trent Green was abysmal. He was over-emphasizing every little play. "LET ME TELL YOU WHY THIS TWO YARD LOSS IS THE GREATEST TWO YARD LOSS IN THE HISTORY OF EVER!!!" And then he'd pick out someone simply doing their job and emphatically rave about it as if the guy just made the play of the century.

At the time Hogan left they still had some options at receiver. In hindsight I'm sure it'd be nice to have him here but he's not an integral part of any team so it's not like he was irreplaceable. Gillislee is showing so far that he was a product of a well-designed run game. I don't think he's ran for more than 50 yards yet in any game. If I'm being honest though, I'd probably prefer him over Tolbert.

Henderson is going to get a look at RT once he gets back. If they didn't think he had enough talent to at least be a swing tackle they would have cut him by now. Mills kinda won the job by default. Dawkins is a rookie switching sides and still needs time to acclimate to the right side, plus now it seems he may be seeing some time on the left side to fill in for Glenn. And then Henderson, they knew he had the suspension for the first five games, so who was left? Mills. I'm almost certain they like Powell because he can play special teams as a returner/gunner. He's also got some speed to him so he may be a guy they wanna utilize for deep shots down the field. Also, it doesn't hurt them at all to retain a suspended player. They don't count for a roster spot. Only when their suspension is up do they have to worry about either cutting them or cutting someone else to give them a spot on the active roster.

There have been a few legitimate things Rosen has done that have landed him in hot water, well, maybe lukewarm water. None of the things he's done that have grabbed attention have been a) horrible, b) illegal, so, I mean, he's a kid yet and of course this sentiment can fuel comments like, "Well, if I was a kid about to make millions I would certainly clean up my act." Yeah, we get it. Everyone has their reservations on how these players should act but the bottom line is, they're all still college-aged kids with a lot of maturing to do. I think once he gets to the NFL and understands what its like at the next level he'll be alright. And I'd bet on him declaring early for the draft given the team he currently has around him. They aren't in any sort of major bowl contention and won't be next season so unless he just wants to graduate I can't see him staying there another year.

Know who else always has rumblings that he's not a great teammate/leader? Aaron Rodgers. Now, I'm not saying Rosen is anywhere near the level Rodgers is on but not every QB has top leadership skills. Rodgers' talent covers for him, and honestly, if you have a chance at a franchise-changing player and you decide against it because he has some minor red flags concerning his leadership, then you might not have a GM job for long. This has been my only moderate concern with Team McBeane. I understand the type of team they want, high character, team-first, that's all well and good. But don't restrict yourselves from drafting or signing a player who may not exhibit those traits right out of the gate. Things like that can be learned. If the locker room is built on those traits and has a solid foundation, players who need to develop those traits should conceivably be able to join the team and learn/absorb those skills from others. That said, at this point, I feel like Rosen's comments and the rumors about him probably put up some red flags for McBeane. It's clear they want an experienced leader at the QB spot who isn't afraid to take charge and lead the team and I'd be willing to bet McBeane would question his ability and his desire to do that. At this point though, like I said, it seems like Rudolph would check a lot of the boxes they place a high priority on. And he's not receiving the same amount of hype guys like Darnold, Rosen, and Jackson are so I think he'll still be on the board in the first when it comes time for the Bills to pick. Either way, I just want them to identify their guy without a shadow of a doubt and do whatever they gotta do to get him.

I was wondering who would replace Elston and Jenkins. The Coleman signing might signal that they plan to rotate in one more DL during games. Not sure if that has anything to do with Dareus' recent ankle injury. Guess we'll see. And I'm becoming more and more confused out of what exactly they want at LB. Hodges didn't cut it, Ragland didn't fit, Jenkins barely got a chance. They got that Lacey kid playing a lot of special teams but really at this point they don't seem to have much behind Alexander, Brown and Humber. I understand they want LBs with cover skills but ya know, it'd be ideal to have at least some depth there.

To me, Rudolph is 100% the type of player the McBeane Team covets. He has the size, experience and he's a team leader. Experience, leadership and high character were three traits they really emphasized in this last draft. I'm not sure if he has any off the field stuff, I haven't read anything, but at this point I wouldn't be surprised if he's rather high on their list given some of the boxes he's checking off. I wonder how much emphasis they put on those traits. Not every player is going to be a boy scout with tons of experience and leadership skills. I would hope they don't pass over a talented player because he's a junior or isn't an established leader or whatever.

Good post, OP. It's early yet but it's still nice to get an idea of where things are for this team after two weeks. Numbers-wise, it's interesting to see where TT is at. One guy I wouldn't hold him up against would be Dalton. Not sure if the change at OC will help but that dude has been downright abysmal this season so far. I wonder how much longer that'll go on for before they try McCarron. Hopefully this defense can continue to play the way they've been playing. It's hard to find a reason why they wouldn't. There are several players still there from 2014 who are familiar with the 4-3 and then the other positions have been filled with players who fit that scheme. So, in theory, they should continue to play like they have. I'm not a huge fan of them giving up big plays in the middle of the field but it seems to be in line with what I read earlier this year re: McDermott's defenses. They will give up some yards at times but they tighten up in the red zone and force field goals.

I listen to Howard and Jeremy here and there. I don't think Howard is that bad, seems like his role is keeping the show moving forward and making statements that open up the floor for responses. Jeremy gets a little self-righteous and condescending at times. Schopp and the Bulldog are rough. I've heard them hang up on callers just because they disagreed and one time Schopp cut some kid off for "taking a shot at his guy." The caller said he had called into talk with Howard and Jeremy, Jeremy disagreed with his take and the kid mentioned that to Schopp and as he was talking Schopp suddenly jumped in and ended the call like, "Nah, you can't take a shot at my guy and expect me to listen to you." It was a little ridiculous. I try to understand the position these dudes are in. Most of the calls they get are pretty bad from people who really don't have a very good opinion so it's natural that they disagree and get frustrated. What gets old is that whenever they are met with a caller who has a decent take, they get flustered by it and instead of debating they just keep pushing their own points. It is what it is, whatever. I actually don't mind Murph and DJ because you know what to expect with them. Yeah, Murph wears on you with the company line stuff but DJ has good insight when it comes to on the field stuff and will share some good insider stories now and then.

I'd say the Patriots are going to have issues on defense this season but... it's Bellichick and he'll make adjustments to hide their weaknesses. They may struggle up front, though. Their front seven isn't very good, they don't have any solid pass rushers and they'll be hurting more if Hightower has to miss significant time. They're pretty good in the secondary but yeah, it feels like they may struggle. And offensively, Brady looked inaccurate on throws he routinely makes. Gronk appeared to get hurt on that non-TD catch in the first quarter. But again, it's the Pats, they'll adjust and I'm gonna bet they'll roast New Orleans next week.

Where's OP?! That's another reason Rosen is seen as a franchise guy. His team never feels fully out of it with him under center. He's a player that can always give his team a chance to win even in dire circumstances. That turned out to be one of the most fun college games I've ever watched.

His skills project well to the NFL level of play. I mean, the consensus among scouts whether on teams or as writers is that he is very much a high level prospect. Anonymous NFL executives have said the same. So, I tend to lean on those opinions from, you know, experienced personnel people and people who closely study the game rather than that of a few message board statements who blame an overall bad team performance solely on the QB. And as exciting as Rudolph (becoming my favorite guy right now) and Mayfield played yesterday, they will have bad games this season. Should that be met with new threads stating that these guys aren't worth a first round pick? Unless they have an entirely bad season then I'd say no. Still lots of ball to be played. But given their history and the skills they've shown thusfar you can still expect to see Rosen, Allen, Darnold, Rudolph and Mayfield to be included in the discussion for top QB prospects next January.

Thanks, Kirby. I try to see the big picture. As the saying goes, a QB gets too much credit for a win and too much criticism for a loss. Other guy, I'm not sure where you're going with your comment on not having an OL or a set of receivers. As a GM, or just an organization in general, if you find a guy that checks the boxes you want in your QB, you don't waffle on it and say, "Yeah, but we don't have the receivers for him. And ya know, our OL, while experienced and having two Pro Bowlers, a vastly improved right guard and a solid left tackle, right now just doesn't seem like the best time to draft what we think is our franchise guy." That's backwards thinking. It all starts with the QB. You find that guy and build around him. How many high profile prospects at QB walk into a ready-made situation? Like, none. They all come in during rebuilds and have to take their lumps early in their career as the team takes shape. This upcoming QB class already has a ridiculous amount of hype and pressure on them. They're under a microscope and any rough games they have are going to be extrapolated into a massive ordeal when in reality this is Week One of the season and every single player and coach has to find their groove as the season goes on. It's usually not found within the first game. It's not always about the results on the field. Especially with Rosen and Allen right now given that they don't have a lot of talent to work with. But again, their traits and abilities are what stand out to teams. And teams know they can take those things and coach them up into a solid player.