Rochesterfan

How about Peterman - he is in Roethlisberger class right? Practically the same arm strength, but Peterman is more mobile. Sarcasm off.

You could be absolutely correct. It also could have a lot to do with Brown being even better than expected at route running. I know many people thought it would be Brown at 1 WR and Foster at the other both running a bunch of go routes. I think Brown has shown versatility and both horizontal and vertical speed and they are using that. These routes are not as good for Foster and he is struggling. Late last year he was good on go routes and deep crossing and out routes, but seemed to struggle with other route combos. I think they want to get his attention and get him to “evolve” into a more complete WR. He needs to learn and get better at other routes and now is the time. Knock him down a peg and rebuild his confidence throughout camp.

I think he was talking McCarron and leaving Peterman as the starter.

Only because it was a weekend. Flagship station by backside. What a joke.

I found it interesting - mostly the fact that listening to coaches and players talk about the unmeasurable value. The fact that a good and efficient run game puts a bigger defense on the field to help open up the passing game and changes defenses scheme. Similarly a good passing attack can do the same thing for a teams running game. This is one of the reasons I like McD’s defensive approach to long athletic LBs - they can play both the run and the pass without much change helping the defense hide their intentions even a limited amount and gives some flexibility.

Beasley is also really good at running option routes and it is imperative that he and the QB see things the same way. I think Beasley is probably truly open on every play, but at specific times like right out of a break and it takes a lot of communication to ensure they see each other and can get into the right throw.

It is really hard on Day 1 of TC to even get the slightest clue on what an OLine or a DLine guy actually does. With no pads and no serious contact - the linemen are just learning simple technique. I know Astro said a few nice things, but listening to guys like Sal - he basically said there was no real point in watching interior linemen until the pads go on. Several guys did mention Hughes because of his speed, but that was it. Sal and Chris Brown also mentioned that Ford got the start because he was healthy throughout the minicamps and was the only RT not to miss time. He did not read much into Ford starting Day 1 unless it repeatedly happens throughout camp. On the other hand - Phillips was healthy throughout the minicamps and therefore should be ahead of Oliver with a years experience in the system and not missing time. I am not reading anything into Day 1, but if it does not change by Game 3 of the preseason - then people have some cause to wonder.

Yep - they also had Brandon Beane on earlier. That’s it. These guys are not always great, but they are significantly better than Schopp.

Had to change my radio.com app to the Rochester station. Not much better, but Schopp is just being stupid.

To me the first question is by what measure? Yards/points/plays/3 rd down efficiency? I think the Bills will field an excellent defense by most of those measures - probably top 5 in many categories and that is how I voted. I don’t think they are quite physical enough to be #1 across most categories. I think they will field a top flight pass defense and a good run defense. If the special teams and offense help out - then they could be great.

Said he would be working from home in Texas - outside Houston. It did not sound like he would be spending a ton of time in Buffalo unless needed. Sounded to me like a he will be another trusted set of eyes and ears around the league and a second base for scouts in the south to talk with.

I would not not want them to see eye to eye all the time or they would continue to make the same mistakes over and over. You really want them to have different opinions and neither have the ego to just say this is how it has to be, but really discuss what is best. Most importantly you do not need the Rex/Marone and Whaley or Brandon dynamic where one guy talks bad about the other to the owner and you end up with a horrible dynamic where discussion is squelched.

I really like both of these guys. Leadership is one of the hardest things to get right because everyone has egos and everyone wants things done “their” way. The quote: “You do have to be honest. We don’t always see eye to eye. You never are. There’s too many things,” Beane said. “I don’t see eye to eye with every scout I have. But we encourage people to say what’s on their mind and I think that gets you to the right answer. Don’t take it personal. And if you don’t take it personal you can get over it even if you disagree.” That is what true leadership is about. A great leader understands that discussion and communication make a stronger unit overall and that your team needs to be able to speak freely and truthfully and you need to listen. Great find Yolo.

Agree 100% - would love the Minnesota stadium - right down near the canal and waterfront. Give boats access in the summer and a whole new life to the area.

Disagree totally. Disney did not kill ESPN - new ways to get highlights and up to the minute scores killed ESPN. High Speed internet with every score, every goal, highlights killed ESPN. No need to watch Sportscenter because they have nothing to add to what you can see on your phone or tablet hours ago. With no need for Sportscenter - they had to adjust and how to adjust - just like news channels like CNN/Fox News/MSNBC - you make crap up and take controversial positions to get discussion. ESPN is not dead - it has morphed just like news and broadcasting because the info is now available faster and more accurately than they could ever produce. The things that made ESPN great are no longer needed or watched - so in reality you killed ESPN and I killed ESPN and everyone killed ESPN because of our demands for access to scores/highlights/and immediate feedback. ESPN, News Channels, local News, weather, they are all going the way of the Newspaper - dying a slow painful death at the hands of the internet. The issue is anyone - even Cian Fahey - can have an opinion and make news on the internet - so unlike the older methods more false garbage gets out dividing the people even more.

I am hoping this is a joke (bringbackfergy) type thread and not legitimate because it has all the markings: got me thinking, your thoughts, etc. If not - it has no bearing what so ever. First Toronto is part of the Buffalo market - so the Bills can block or get compensation if a team tries to move into downtown Toronto. Second there is the CFL - which has rights to the market and prevents any NFL team from calling any major city in Canada home via Canadian legislative rules. So No - any success by another team anywhere has little impact on the Bills, but especially Toronto. Now lets close this down and move on - my God!

I will not judge too much right now because you have a CBA deal coming up and if the owners feel like the overall salary cap and players percentages are going to go up - getting the deal done now before the CBA could save them huge money in a year or two. We also do not know what is going to become of things like the franchise tag or if there is a strike/lockout that costs the players/owners part of the year and they lose a lot of valuable contract time or even a contract year if the walk out/strike happens after game 1. The smart money was to get ahead of any of the potential CBA issues and get a deal done in today’s dollars and protect yourself and the team from any potential issues. We will see long term if it was the smartest move or not based on his play.

I believe bigger market teams that have built and invested in new stadiums are going to look at additional ways of keeping more of their own revenue in this agreement. For example in the last go around the bigger owners asked for and got more of the local revenue and suite money that used to go into the money sharing pool - meaning a place like Dallas gets more in local revenue than a place like Buffalo (shared partially with visiting teams). I think the next step is these owners are going to push to no longer split their home revenue with the visiting team and the home team keeps all the revenue they generate - making Dallas even more money and putting Buffalo at NEF further behind.

I listened to Goodell and what I hear is that he wants long term stability and viability for Buffalo and the best way to do that is via a new stadium. The new collective bargaining sessions are coming up and one of the things that the big revenue teams often look at is doing away with more and more of the revenue sharing. We always look at these sessions as players versus owners, but the owners often have their own internal wars over how to split up the money and last time the big revenue teams got to keep a larger percentage of home game revenue. I would not be surprised if the team ends up with further losses of revenue if they do not generate more for the league. In the end the TV deal covers most costs, but the extra revenue goes a long way to pay for amenities and that is what is driving Buffalo right now. They may need to increase their own sources of revenue just to help balance out things across the league.

Also just to to clear up one last thing - the average April temperature in Columbus is about 5-6 degrees warmer than Cleveland the last 9 years - a bigger difference than between Cleveland and Buffalo. Columbus also has several years with even more precipitation than Cleveland and Buffalo in April, but there are huge extremes - some years like 2017 they had 48 less millimeters than Cleveland, but 15 more than Buffalo. Others like 2015 - Columbus has 40+ millimeters more than both Buffalo and Cleveland. The number of days with precipitation is nearly identical also. So there is a bigger difference in temperatures between Columbus and Cleveland than Cleveland and Buffalo and Columbus actually has the most precipitation of all 3 many years.

Not sure it is a fluke - looking at the last 9 years of April temperatures the difference between Cleveland and Buffalo is about 3 degrees for both the high and the low temperatures (not 15-20) because Cleveland is also up on the lake unlike Columbus. Additionally, the last 9 years Buffalo has had significantly less total precipitation in April on average than Cleveland. 7 of the 9 years Buffalo has been less with the difference exceeding 30 millimeters difference in Buffalo’s favor in 2 years. The two years that Cleveland had less it was by 11 and 3 millimeters - nearly identical. Buffalo also had fewer days of precipitation in April 5 of the last 9 years and only 2 years did they have more. Based on the true data between the cities it looks like Cleveland is generally slightly warmer (about 3 degrees), but wetter with more precipitation and more days of precipitation (both rain and snow). I do do not see how anyone could logically say the weather difference is what would keep the NFL Draft out of Buffalo. Finally a quick review shows Chicago has temperatures right in the same area as Buffalo and Cleveland and even more precipitation on average than either city for April and they already had the draft. To me it is not the weather that will keep them away - unless Cleveland is horrible- it will be held as a carrot to get a new stadium and some new downtown buildings to host such an event and put on a great experience.

I disagree with your initial interpretation because the Bills will be running a bunch of option routes with certain receivers and the four step allow you to break down your momentum and cut in either direction based upon the reaction of the DB. This includes routes where if the DB breaks down and tries to jump a route - you can accelerate past them. Cover 1 and the Media has also shown videos where the guys are making 1 cut quick out and in breaking routes. I especially disagree with your assessment of the Pats - their slot guys are always using these 4 step cuts when running an option route - where do you think Daboll picked it up. I think you will see a lot of different techniques that these guys are being taught for specific routes just to get a reaction from the DBs. It is critical that they perform the techniques well to allow proper timing with the QB. The 4 step cuts - especially in the slot also are useful to allow the outside WR to pull his DB deeper to help ensure an open area to cut into. I think it may be a corners dream in HS, but playing a good WR and a well coached team - you would jump the route once and they would then burn you the rest of the game. The point of that break is to allow the WR to go left or right and up or downfield totally depending upon the play and movement of the DB - which is why these guys are talking so much about body position and what they are seeing to get on the same page.

It is not my argument you flat out stated: And I am pointing out in the regular season they are 1-6 - if they had played them nearly as many time as the Bills that would equate to 3-18 compared to the Bills 3-20 during that stretch. Not exactly successful- so you are flat out wrong. Even if you include the playoff wins - they are no where near the most successful AFC team versus the Pats during this run. Add in the fact that they play 0.500 against Pittsburgh and Cincinnati and beat the Browns at the same pace the Pats have beat the Bills. The Bills are playing 0.500 ball against the Fins and Jets and then dominated by the Pats. The Divisions matter. During Harbaughs’s time they were a consistently good team early - the last four years have been up and down with both the Bills and the Ravens making the playoffs once and the biggest difference being the one to two extra wins the Ravens get against their division rather than the Pats. But that is all theoretical- my point is you made a statement above to prove a point that Baltimore is probably the most successful AFC team versus the Pats and that is just false. Sorry

Don’t guess because that would be way wrong. Tom Brady has owned Baltimore with a 6-1 record in the regular season. Denver is the only team that has fared well at nearly 0.500 and then Miami. Baltimore has been more consistent, but they have also been in a division with Cleveland and not NE for the last 2 decades and that really impacts total wins and loses as much as anything.

This 100% - I do not want the Jim Kelly - no huddle fast attack. That was great; but I do not need that pace all game long. Give me a huddle when you come out for a few plays and then after you get a first down or two and you have some D-line getting tired - pick up the pace and don’t let them substitute and let the offense dictate the tempo and plays. Use it especially on 3rd down and short - you have the entire playbook - from QB sneak to long pass available and you can get the defense in a pickle before you even snap the ball. It is a huge advantage for the offense and one very few teams take advantage of.