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I don't get the sense that McD has a huge ego. When you're competing at the level he's at, you need to have some kind of ego, otherwise you're not going to instill any sort of confidence in your team. I haven't been fond of all the personnel decisions they've made. It's clear that McD uses competition to motivate his players. He consistently says he expects all players to be competing for their position at all times. Players that can't buy into that aren't going to be here. Does that mean Sammy was that type of player? I don't think so. He always came across like a competitor and a guy who wanted to win. But, he also wanted to get paid, and he knew Buffalo wasn't going to go past a certain limit, Buffalo knew their offer wasn't going to be good enough so they sent him off while they could get something in return. That's the nature of the business sometimes. Darby wasn't a fit for the system, along with some other guys. My only concern is that I hope Team McBeane don't pass over talented players because they don't sense the proper level of motivation or competition from them. Those things can be developed with strong leadership in the locker room. I just don't want to see them constantly choose character and intangiables over athletic talent. Teams need a healthy mix of both kinds of players. And if any coach or GM thinks they can build an entire team solely of "their kind" of players, I think they're mistaken. That'd be asking for a near perfect situation and that doesn't happen anywhere, let alone football. I feel it's going to be an interesting season. I think they're going to be close/competitive in most games. I think they'll surprise us with a couple more solid wins over good teams. But I also think injuries and the lack of depth may cost them some games against teams they should probably beat. The off-season will be very interesting. I'm interested to see what their draft and free agency strategy will be.

Carwell Gardner

I'm pretty sure he just straight up doesn't see it. His height is a disadvantage for sure, this is why he's so inconsistent throwing from the pocket and why they need to continue to move him around in order to give him better visibility and clearer windows to throw into.

Except he showed up to this camp in the best shape he's been in and his attitude was also solid, according to a guy that knows him pretty well, that being Kyle Williams. Clearly his being late for the Ravens pre-season game really put a bee in McD's bonnet. And he's seemed to always struggle with leg injuries in some form and that has a huge impact on how a DL plays. I'm wondering if they're just trying to work him back in slowly and not overwork him and cause another injury. He made some good plays yesterday. He was blatantly held on a play where the Bengals picked up a critical first down but eh whatever.

All I know is they can't continue to think they're just fine with what they have around Taylor. He's a QB that needs a strong supporting cast in order to win. All they have right now is McCoy and a run game that they can't get working. They need to step back from whatever they've been doing and look at what's worked in the past and try to find a way to implement those things back into the system. I feel like they're not doing all they can to put the offense in a position to succeed by fielding the current group of WRs they have. None of them can get separation, none of them are a threat to stretch the field and the one that's presumed to be the most talented of the bunch at the moment can't find his hands. Of course they all need to play, practice and prepare better but even if they take those steps, this WR/pass catching group is comprised of a bunch of low-level players that wouldn't start on most teams. They don't have a go-to pass catcher for when the run game isn't clicking. And they can't rely on the run game because the OL is still trying to fine tune Dennison and Castillo's concepts. I just don't understand coaches insistence on running their scheme and doing things their way. I've always believed a team is at its best when coaches coach to the natural strengths of their players. For the past two seasons this team has been an excellent running team, what they were doing was working extremely well. A new batch of coaches comes in, sees that and says, "Hmm, while it does appear to be very effective, I'm still going to scrap all of it and start fresh with all of the stuff that I know how to coach." I'm not saying do exactly as Roman/Lynn did, but at least keep some of those elements in the game plan while introducing some of your own. Instead they took the last two seasons they spent perfecting that scheme and tossed it in favor of a scheme that doesn't seem to be outfitted very well for this current group of players on offense.

Who exactly is he supposed to throw to when none of his guys are getting separation? Did he hang onto it too long a few times yesterday? Yeah. But at the same time, when they'd show the replay, there was virtually nowhere to go with the ball. The last play of the game was him trying to force one and we saw what happened. He's the type of QB that needs a solid supporting cast. He's not one of those super rare guys who can put a team on his back and pull out the win regardless of the personnel around him. There are very few guys in the league like that. It's a team effort. And the offense really underachieved yesterday however they were not put in the best position to win because the coaches felt four unproven wide receivers and one decent tight end would provide enough on offense to produce a win. They intended on relying on the running game which they haven't been able to get rolling. So yeah, I put it on the players but I put it on the coaches and front office as well. They did not put the offense in a good position to find success.

I feel similar to the OP here. I feel like the FO sold them short as did the coaches decision to roll with only four healthy receivers. One is a second round rookie who can't find his hands, another is a 6'5" vet who must be on Taylor's s-list because he doesn't target him at all, then they have a career special teams guy and a kid who was on a CFL practice squad a couple years ago. I understand the focus is on the future but in the present tense, they have a defense that is good enough to keep them in every game but on offense they really set those guys up to fail yesterday. May have been a different story if Clay hadn't gotten hurt, but now they really need to explore other options because they're not going anywhere with that current WR group. Call up Reilly, flip one of those six early-round picks for a pass catcher, do something, because if they don't, I feel like that's a slap in the face to the guys on defense. Those dudes are balling out, getting turnovers, limiting teams to 20 points or less. And then the offense gets on the field and can't get out of their own way. If part of the "process" is to neglect your offense and waste a super talented defense this season then I'm not sure what their real plans are.

I understand the plan has been to build for the future but in the present tense, I feel they have sold the team short when it comes to options on offense. Believing you'll be alright heading into a game with four very average receivers isn't doing all you can do to put the team in a position to win. We understand this year is all about the growing pains and rearranging things for the future but in the meantime, they've got a defense that's talented enough to produce some wins and it's short-sighted on their part not to try to put some talented guys around Taylor. They talk about the process, process this, process that, part of that process is doing all you can to put your team in the best position to win. Their willful neglect of the receiver position is a failing part of their process right now. They need to fix it.

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.