Ayjent

He’s getting better, and I think he is an exceptional athlete that if he continues to be driven and develops being on the page with Josh could be an elite weapon that is unique in how he is used. He will eventually get more calls as he learns to sell it better.

The ref did a poor job explaining the penalty on the first 2pt catch by Coleman. The question is whether it was illegal contact that should have been an offsetting foul. The no catch was correct, the no call on illegal contact was probably wrong, but Baltimore got away with a lot of contact beyond 5 yds all game. Maybe the Bills did too but i didnt see that make a difference on any given play.

I agree with this. It baffled me to go for it an take points off the board and a potential 5 yd penalty assessed on the kickoff. I get having that advantage if you are a point closer you force Baltimore to think about going for 2 on their next TD, but if you don't get it you are chasing it like the Bills were. I think the last 2 point attempt was a clear penalty on the CB that the refs just totally whiffed on or didn't want to call bc of the criticism it may bring. I think Baltimore playing it that way was really smart, bc worst case the Bills have to try again a yard closer and best case we saw play out. I also think if Baltimore makes the PAT the bills kick a PAT in that situation as well, so in a way it all kind of washed out, and I don't think it really impacted the end of the game as much as people are speculating it did. The defense was atrocious for most of the game, but it was better in the 4th when the game was on the line, and you have to give them credit for rising to the moment, although there are clearly major issues as we were all concerned about. Its curious because everyone can see it and the Bills willingness to stand pat with their guys looks a little stubborn and potentially damning down the road. I also am getting a little tired of hearing how complicated McD's defense is. If the results were better, okay, but come on...we all see what vulnerabilities this team has against physical teams and this isn't anything new - its been a longstanding issue and for a defense that is light and predicated on speed. And speed is what they don't have enough of now at the S positions. Teams are getting to be more physical, and the Bills are not equipped to handle it on the back end of their D. They invested in the D Line, which is great, but you need to create opportunities for them to get home and that has been an issue before they went so heavy in investing in the DL this offseason. Bill Barnwell, who I'm not the biggest fan of because he lets stats drive the narrative rather than stats adding context to the obvious, makes a good point in a recent ESPN article about the Bills' D - it is pedestrian aside from turnovers the past couple of years. And that tracks. The fact that McD is saying "buckle down" and all that is great, and I'm sure that there were mistakes and bad plays contributing, but we could all see that they were outclassed for most of the game and just not talented enough on the back end.

And he benefitted from the reverse the year before when Josh had better stats but Lamar won MVP. Its a valid critique but equally applicable to the past 2 MVPs.

Hell yeah! Ed Oliver was awesome in that game. At least someone was holding it down on D. I actually thought the DL was pretty good, it was everything behind them that was problematic.

This is exactly right. Bernard goes full speed into the C peeling off instead of breaking down where the hole opened up. He may have been engaged by the C regardless, but it may have given the rest of the D some time to react. I'm not even sure where he was going at that angle like a bat out of hell. And honestly that was the only chance the Bills had at creating any disruption to Henry's momentum. This team is supposed to be built to get sideline to sideline in exchange for being a little lighter. They simply aren't fast enough (mentally or physically) at Safety to shore up any failures that happen in front of them and it is antithetical to their philosophy which is why it is baffling that they let last year's most glaring problem remain this year's most glaring problem. If you don't have people who cause enough disruption in coverage to let the DL get home or have the speed and ability to make tackles in the run game in the secondary you are just spinning your wheels no matter how much you invest in the DL. It isn't like the Ravens got creative and changed up their run game, they just did what they did last year but better because they had Flowers which the secondary had to respect.

The media hype about who could and should win versus the evolution that occurs during a season is always fun to watch, and it always comes down to the unexpected contributors, injuries, and playing your best when it matters most. I don’t take too much stock in the hype. I do think the Bills have a good shot but in my mind no one is the favorite. Opinions will swing wildly like trying to hold a slippery fish during the first few weeks as people try to project how everything plays out based on the early performances relying on irrational connections to past seasons and teams figuring things out. I do have reservations about how the D will hold up in the playoffs, but hope that McD evolves, and to me that is the biggest question - it has to be. It’s been the glaring issue, it’s been the place of heavy investment and it’s time that we see a better showing when it matters. And I worry that all the investment in the line is lost on the absolute inability for them to be disruptive bc they don’t have the ability to play tight enough coverage providing easy, quick throws and a porous pass defense. A ton of investment on that side of the ball for years and still major questions. I love what McD and Beane have done but at the same time this is where they’ve been bumping their heads and it’s very interesting that this is the major question about the team heading into the season. I think this is also the season where it is likely someone wants to pluck Brady for a HC gig after it. So I do think there is urgency to bring one home. I love that they aren’t saying it out loud while teams like the Ravens feel that they need to - that’s confidence and a mature team that knows this is a marathon. I think the offense will be better, and it may need to be for the first part of the season as the Defense figures things out.

A crippling trade for Green Bay if it doesn’t give them a huge lift. That’s a lot of cap space, and draft capital. He’s a good player but the Bills showed what to do against him.

I guess that is supposed to be the frozen parking lot feel. Textures like that on any shirt look like shirt without the r.

They would have actually been a lot" cooler" with some low weight red outlining to accompany the blue

He is a typical game manager type with very low mobility. Good quick release, knows where to throw the ball and how to read the D, but he doesn't have great pocket presence and think he does have some issues throwing the out routes

Kyle Trask in Tampa was a bit surprising as a 2nd round pick that didnt look awful but really has never had an opportunity to play much in his time with the Bucs. Although i get why the Bucs went with an experienced backup with their aspirations this year. Bridgewater was coaching HS football and getting in troubke doing it. Just weird that Bucs made that investment, and have had 3 OCs in his 4 preseasons. I thought Trask was over drafted but he is a very accurate passer and in the right offense could be pretty effective.

It'll be interesting - if he turns into a core ST player, then he'll dress a lot more than he won't and I would expect that to mean that players like Moore or Samuel may be inactive on gameday. Samuel you can probably count on being hurt or dealing with some type of nagging injury throughout the season.

Samuel has a terrible contract and not saying this is the case but it certainly feels like he is playing his leverage to some degree to skip camp, preseason and practice. Keeping him sends a bad signal too. He's also hard to trade bc you basically have to find a willing partner to take on 7+ mill this year for a guy that has done very little as a Bill and missed pretty much all of camp and preseason and has been dealing with some type of nagging injury for the past 3 seasons (23, 24, and this one). I absolutely hate the prospects that Samuel makes the team and Shaver's doesnt, but there's agood chance that is the case. I think keeping Samuel is just going to irritate everyone unless 30 catches and 300 yards for a guy that may or may not be 100% at some point is something that makes him invaluable. I think Moore has been available but i havent seen him make any plays that separate him from other fodder in the preseason. In fact if you were just looking at guys without knowing how they got to the Bills i think he'd easily be middle of the pack of guys who will be cut. I know practice matters and we only hear reports but i also think the games are what you are paid for and if dropping balls and losing yds on short passes keeps you on the team Shavers is doing it all wrong. Id be interested to see what Shavers could do and i do believe that he has the talent to makeplays with the starters but that is still an unknown so i get it.

This is exactly right. Consistency is what separates guys who are fringe to be on a roster from all-pros. Cole has shown way too much inconsistency, coupled with not a lot of flash.

I'm not as worried about White as the Safeties. White is a smart player that understands where he needs to be and how to play things. His physical abilities just aren't where they used to be. He will be a serviceable starter until Hairston is ready to start. Bishop better have just been rusty with being out and then limited, because they can't be happy with what they saw against Chicago. Hamlin is what he is, a guy that is limited in range and coverage and makes the D vulnerable and have to play differently. I think the Bills will be very actively looking for someone they can sign. Bishop just looks like a guy that doesn't have it, and I know that seems premature, but I've not seen a single thing from him that looks promising in any game he's played. Usually you can see the talent even if there are things that are clearly not up to par. I'm not seeing it. I'm not really sure why McD's defense puts such a high emphasis on the S position being so difficult. It just makes replacing people difficult. D is a lot of instinct and if you have guys overthinking things it can definitely cause them to look lost and mitigate what they may be good at. So could that be the case with Cole, maybe? Hopefully...but I don't think so. And here is the thing I see, which I admit I may be wrong about because I don't know what goes on everyday behind the scenes: you have what you have, and sometimes you have to make do and find ways to optimize it. Sometimes it feels like that isn't happening enough on the D side. It's very scheme primacy, rather than talent primacy. I think they do a ton of good things with player development, but also I feel like the talent is sometimes there and they are a little stubborn in how they want to use it. Again, just trying to figure out how there are misses in what Beane and co do on draft day with such high picks and what happens from there on the D side.

BTW - I think Andreesen may have played himself off the team last night. He had a really tough night. Oh he stood out...as a liability. But I don't disagree with those who are saying he is safe. He is. And that is the issue, not because there are better options, but bc there aren't.

Honestly Hancock if his injury isn't that bad could play himself into a starting role at some point this season if they keep him. He played the first touchdown too shallow and wasn't aware enough of the receiver's depth, so I did see some warts in his game. But the guy looks like more aware of where he needs to be and how to play things than Bishop. I have honestly not seen a thing from Bishop that makes me think he is going to be anything but an injury prone meh player at best. I really hope that is a terrible take I'm making, but at this point he should be way more in command of where he needs to be and how to play things. Is that also a product of being paired with Hamlin? Could be. Hamlin forces the defense to play deeper than they need and there is no way a pass rush is getting home when the quick underneath routes are wide open all over the place. Pair that with bad tackling and short underneath routes are house calls. Hamlin may have the starting experience, but the reason the pass D was terrible last year was more a product of the Safeties than the DL. You can have guys getting close to home but if a decent QB is behind center they've already figured out where to go before the pass rush gets there because it ain't like the Bills are choking up the receivers with tight coverage. I get that personnel deficiencies in one spot can hurt your entire defense, but sometimes you've got to give some part of your D a chance to succeed. Play tighter and give the DL a chance to win. If you give up a big play fine, at least you aren't getting destroyed all game. If you aren't then you didn't need to go all in on upgrading the DL.

He was picked up as a projected starter. He clearly isnt the same as either Davis or Diggs but im pretty sure they were expecting more than what he produced. So as a starting wr he was projected as a replacement - but to replace what Diggs or Davis brought to the offense sure you can make that argument - i think they wanted a RAC wr that could get separation on shorter routes and make them into bigger gains or get open early and often. They went out and got Moore and Palmer for similar reasons. I dont think anyone was or is under the illusion Samuel would be Stephon Diggs in his prime. But im pretty sure they expected 600-800 yds with the best case sniffing 1000. Im not sure they have those expectations anymore with him and to a degree they seem like theyve made contingencies accordingly.

I think you are taking some liberties with what im saying to make a point but whatever. To be fair his production didnt really drop off from 2022 to 2023, but toe and foot injuries are usually redflags on receivers and that was why he was available in FA most likely. Bottom line he's had significant nagging injuries that limited his production for two straight years and last year more than the year before (2023). While he's played in a lot of games despite those injuries- there haven't been many games where he isnt limited by those injuries even though he gets snaps. That hurts the offense and gives the Bills a guy that isnt practicing fully and getting in rhythm with be integral to what they do. And the Bills see he's trending that way again. Im sure he is frustrated and the team is as well - its a tough game and almost all of these guys bust their asses to play in the league. The body of some just cant stay healthy or optimal. I dont remember that many people being on the Samuel train before he signed with the Bills. Im not always that active on the board but usually check in enough to see what's going on so maybe people were. I just remember the big thing was people wanting a top tier WR and i dont think anyone was under the impression Samuel was that. People wanted a top level WR from the draft. And they still do. I think a lot of people thought his connection with Brady and being paired with an elite QB in Allen where Diggs and Davis were gone could lead to him having a breakout season once he signed with the Bills, but the turf toe was lingering/reaggravated in camp and he really didnt have an impact until late season. He may be back but weve seen the guy suit up and be a nonfactor. Its tough to cut someone else who can contribute to important depth, especially if it means one less OL or DL roster spot to hedge at WR on Samuel's ability to play AND be a factor.

I hear all of that. And agree with you, but I’m just getting the sense that he is rarely going to be 100% and that is why he was available to the Bills in FA last year. He simply wasn’t available to justify taking up room on a roster, and that hasn’t changed with the Bills. His 31 catches and 253 yds weren’t worth the investment last year and he is just now available with another injury that tends to be a nagging one throughout a season - so by keeping him you are just limiting the WR room with a guy that is likely to be out or limited for more of the season than the guys you would likely cut. To me I just have a gut feeling that he’s cut or traded although I can’t imagine he has much trade value - but something is better than nothing. Again, an injury prone slot wr that is coming off a 253 yd season with a pretty hefty contract for what he brings isn’t going to fetch a lot of interest. But cutting him is a lot of dead cap so he is a big penalty to cut - so I understand why people think he is tough to cut. Honestly it appears to have been a bad gamble by Beane. Maybe they can throw him in with a trade for one of the reserve OL. Trading him solves a lot of cap problems.

I’d rather have Shavers than Samuel. I think Samuel is a dud as much as I wanted him to be good. He doesn’t bring a whole lot to the table versatility wise and with Moore and Palmer he is kinda expendable.

I'm starting to feel like keeping Shenault and Shavers and cutting Samuel is a real possibility. I think Samuel is just not available enough and Shenault covers the same versatility and special teams.

I think Tre was fine. I also think he is a strong presence in the locker room and a mentor for these guys in the secondary and that is worth a lot more than just his play. I thought he made good tackles for short gains on those that were completed but for the one decent gain he gave up. Not exactly a liability. The defense had issues getting effective pressure especially in containment of running lanes and outside contain.

Seems like a guy that thrives on short passing game and I can see why Seahawks wanted him bc he compliments Geno's dink and dunk passing, but i think the bottom line is he just isnt that good of a receiver. Just like Percy Harvin he just isnt a great route runner and that matters a lot in the NFL (I know different types of players -Harvin was incredible once he got the ball but was rarely healthy). Sure they could use him in a variety of ways but there are other guys on the team good enough for that role.