corta765

Typically the owner has to sign off on that type of thing. When the Colts and Jags played a while back part of it was because it was inevitable given the opponents the Jags have and Andrew Luck being there to finally get a marquee player/team in and the Colts just happened to be division. But its the NFL sooo ... lol

Jax is heading though to Buffalo and they could easily say will just stay the ahead or after the game they host. They would have the advantage of time adjustment, knowing the area, neutral site, and preparation vs. going to Buffalo where they don't have any of those. Denver was not announced as one of the five teams hosting a game abroad, it was BUF, TEN, JAX, KC, & NE.

I feel like it is smart move on Jax if you can just stay another week in a row. It is still a neutral site game which helps them and they know the place way better then Buffalo. Hopefully for the Bills if they play the Jags it is a better ending then last time 💀

So with the upcoming London game I was pretty sure the Bills would play the Raiders as I thought Brady was going to go there and that was an easy matchup for marketing and exposure. But with him retired (will see lol) I think it reopens the door to a few opponents now. Just to recap Euro games almost never feature division games, it happened once with Colts Jags which was destined to happen as the Jags play there yearly but otherwise it is generally avoided. The NFC East home games against NYG and DAL are for sure not gonna be moved as those are once in every 8 years and both are big market draws. With the division games scratched and two NFC east games scratched I leaves these four and I have ranked them accordingly. Obviously FA and the draft can change this: 1. Denver - With Sean Payton going to Denver it is a perfect redemption story arch and it gives some buzz to the game. Denver did play in London last year, but that has not prevented the NFL from putting teams there for two straight years. I would imagine the game would be earlier in the Euro timeframe which starts in October and ends in early Nov. 2. Jacksonville - They made the playoffs, they have Lawrence, and they actually could benefit playing back to back weeks in England as they host one every year. Instead of traveling back they would already have a routine and the time zone change adjusted for which is a sizeable advantage. 3. Vegas- They still have some decent players, but realistically they might be fourth now in division. If Rodgers goes there I could see them jumping to #1, but they need a splash at QB to make a move up. 4. Tampa Bay - They regressed badly last year with an aging lineup that now doesn't have a QB. The NFL is pretty committed with their Euro games and they at least try in advance to put games that are potential duds from happening. Let me know what you think might happen

You mean you don't want some drunk dude peeing all over next to year creating a splash zone and puke on the floor?

So if you think there is a guy in the draft that can be your guy long term and you think Bates can do fine for a year or two as you grow that player then move on from Morse OR ask for contract restructure. I do not disagree he is older despite playing well and another concussion could be it, but you can't just up and cut him considering how important he has been for Josh. We all remember the glorious Russ Bodine experiment!

I would agree but Beane is super big on keeping guys they drafted. I think Buffalo is going to do everything they can to sign him because of that. If Chicago doesn't get him as I have read they may have interest, I can see him staying.

If you look at Manning, Brady, Big Ben, Rodgers, Brees once they got paid they all had years where sometimes you felt like "wow their team looks really good this year" and other years the looked more mortal as a result of losing players with the cap crunch or some not ideal drafting left a roster more barren then other years. That is where the Bills are now, how they address the issues this offseason will dictate many people's feelings. If they add a truly good OL or two and draft a top WR with Edmunds still here I probably will feel good with the team on paper even with some attrition losing Poyer and some others (Dorsey and Frazier a whole different issue, hope to god Dorsey evolves/Frazier should've been canned). But if they run back a similar offense without much added, Edmunds and Poyer leaves, etc.. probably will feel more like a down year. Regardless it is the nature of having a top QB, the last 3-4 years the roster was relatively fit with no real holes and you could use the resources as you wanted. Now you have to pick carefully and hitting a draft can create a potentially stronger roster, but missing and you really are scrapping to fill the gaps. Jeremy White on WGR has brought up how the best QB's go through 3-4 different core's of players in their career, Josh is probably entering a new one as Poyer will most likely join Brown, Beasley, and a few lesser players of ex Bills. Wouldn't be surprised if Morse is cut if he won't rework his deal. Long story short hitting for a real on guys in this draft and next would be pretty big towards giving the team some options roster wise again with money and cap help.

He is where most fans are at this point. They can/should breakthrough as they have a good base built with an elite QB, but time has passed without any success so some fair questions are now being posed because something is not working. Doesn't mean it is over by any means, but four years of Josh in his true prime has led to 0-4.

Did I miss what our new cap number was?

With Allen's cap hit now part of the equation I am at a similar point. They should be a playoff team yearly as long as Josh is healthy, but where they go with that fluctuates so much. Right now if they try running again back a similar group and unit it just feels like a burnout Ravens esq where you can compete but your fighting with less of a full deck by your own doing.

Honestly I won't know how I feel until we get free agency, draft, how schedule lays out, etc... They have some holes specifically at WR/OL that I need to see improvement on to feel better, but overall they are running back a lot of the same guys. My current feeling is lukewarm based off where they are at this moment personal and coach wise and they feel like a team who may have a down year where it is a wildcard team. But again so much needs to happen across the board it is pointless to put a target or goal up. They have Allen so I expect them to be a playoff team and have a shot yearly because of it, how I feel about that shot will change as the offseason progresses.

Pretty much the same. Overall C+ not including Diggs, including Diggs then it is a B+. You got some average starters out of it but missed on a DE and RB you hoped could be more then being replacement level.

Syrod Saylor....? lol

100% true. I distinctly remembered for the 2014 the day before it leaked Buffalo they were gonna trade up and take Sammy to the point I remember looking at a coworkers screen who found the post.

Yea that is a new wrinkle as is the flexing of MNF games this year. I can easily see the Bills starting with four night games (2 MNF, TNF, SNF) and then the back end of the season from week 12-13 on you see matchups either division or in conference that have the ability to get moved so were not stuck with the Broncos flaming out like last year.

That is not fully true. The same way teams can make requests on where they play to open the season, end the season, their bye, primetime games etc... the networks do get some say to the NFL. CBS got KC at 4:25 so I would assume it reverts back to night, FOX probably would get the Bills PHI and as it is the first time in a few years I would also get a 4:25 national spot. CIN I would think by be MNF again or otherwise at night as this year went sideways. But you are correct the days of CBS/FOX being specific to one conference are evolving into more the league itself and the NFL can dictate matchups in spots they want.

I came over from there after the great purge.

Not completely. Some years the matchups are good where they do AFC other years its all NFC. With the 3rd game now at night it seems that AFC is getting more of a spot, but as recently as 2018 all three games were all NFC.

My enthusiasm is pretty low for the first time in a long time so I have not done my normal look into next season as I typically do, but I would say Buffalo will have a pretty large presence in nationally televised games again this year. They maybe are not the bell of the ball like this prior year, but the ratings have been huge, they still have a very good team with marketable players, and their games typically are very entertaining all things the league network, and sponsors love. I will do my annual post once we are on to 2023 in March but this past year literally half the season was a nationally televised game//prime time game. Primetime games are anything that is either at night or at the 4pm window for me. Looking at the opponents it is a pretty solid schedule before FA or the draft with the usual suspects like KC/CIN leading the way, playoff teams like JAX/LAC/MIA, and the entire NFC East which the NFL loves. I would be stunned for Buffalo to open the season two straight years especially as they would be on the road if they went to KC/PHI/CIN. Plus the AFC East in general improved last year so I would expect a division game or two again in a primetime window. I also agree with others that another Thanksgiving game probably is not there this year as maybe KC or CIN takes the Bills spot. One of the things to remember with the schedule is teams have the ability to request to the NFL certain things they prefer from game times, days they play, how many primetime games they get etc... the NFL doesn't do everything for each team, but they do really try to honor requests as much as possible. My guess after hearing Beane's comments and the chaos of this season is Buffalo requests to open at home this year, no Thanksgiving, and probably a little more limited amount of at least home night games with a goal of a little more rhythm and normalcy. The Bills already are going to London which is always a big enough thing in itself, so despite the teams popularity I can see the NFL backing the Bills down a little from this past year. KC actually played on Sunday 14 of the 17 games with just one MNF game, a TNF game, and a Saturday game. Buffalo on the other hand had 7 games that were not on Sunday. Networks can also protect games so maybe KC goes back to night but CIN is the 4pm spot and the Eagles stay in FOX's national 4 pm window rather then going primetime. The Bills do have to go though to LA for the Chargers so there is no stopping that 4pm window. My overall guess would be this: 9 primetime window game games 4 at night. Plus possible Saturday flex game in DEC and final week Sunday 1x SNF (DAL) 1x TNF (at Division my guess NYJ) 2x MNF (MIA//at KC) in London at PHI 4pm national at CIN 4pm national at LAC 4pm national This would be still a pretty large window of non 1pm games with over half the season still in the spotlight, but only three games non Sunday. As I said things can change on the attractiveness of matchups with FA, draft, trades etc.. but this would be my general guess in terms of what we look like in overall.

They can't both teams are home for their games

Ah we say this everyone year. You do not know until the games are played what your looking at. KC/CIN will be yearly, after that PHI is great and DAL is tough. Division games are always hard. Even so look at the home piece and realistically 8-1 should be the minimum, so be a.500 road team.

Let me be very clear with this Sean McDermott has done a superb job since taking over to take a franchise from the ashes into a highly competitive winning club. He developed a QB no one gave an ounce of a shot at being anything and did change the culture where players who would never come to Buffalo. At the same point time is not limitless, they have not even reached a Super Bowl, and it is fair to say the team has regressed in achievement the last three years with this coach and staff in which decisions he directly made had a negative impact on his teams chances. Josh is now entering the 6th year of his career and decidedly in the prime of his career. He realistically has 4-5 years before all the hits start to catch up and his mobility slows a bit. The guy as is carries the burden for the team to an uneven level that finally crested this season. The rest of the AFC exist and is challenging while the Bills have went 0-4 in the playoffs when they had their largest resource pool they will get with Josh and this team. Fan expectations need to move past being happy the team is good and not garbage and understand the goal is larger but also very limited. I don't disagree that just dumping McDermott would probably be an overaction unless you truly have someone set to take over you think can do better. But some true changes need to be made in some capacity whether its a new coordinator on D, new assistants, etc.. This team has ran the same group across the board back for years and the results have diminished. They have certainly been reactive in prior off-season's to try and fix their flaws so I don't doubt the work will be attempted. But two things have been true for a bit now which is unless Josh is superman in the post season like last year, the offense does not have enough support and the defense has been a mess every elimination game.

Whoops my bad they made it seem like he was. Just read he restructured, that helps a bit.

BOB is a pretty decent coordinator who has won with crappy QB play in Houston. The major problem remains the talent around Mac is just not there and they are dead last in the division in skill position talent. Add in the retirement of David Andrews also on the offensive line it will take a lot of work to make something functional. I think Mac will look better and probably much like his form his rookie year with some improvement, but again even with some internal improvement his cast just does not have a lot to work with.