Shaw66

I figured someone would come up with some data about his age, etc. I hadn't checked it. But when I said long in the tooth, I was referring to my own impressions of having seen him. I have a friend with great Jets tickets, and he shares them with me for Bills games, so I've seen Crowder in person several times now. My impression has been that he's slowed down in the last few years - slowed down in the sense that he isn't the really tough option he was in his earlier years. Whether that's true remains to be seen, and even if it's true, whether he finds the experience with the Bills to be rejuvenating also remains to be seen. Having said that, I agree with you about the Bills needing a better, younger answer. Crowder at his best can be an answer for a year or two but as you say, the Bills need someone to push him to the bench or off the roster. Fact is, Crowder is going to have show something to take playing time from McKenzie. Crowder is clearly the better receiver, but McKenzie is the bigger threat when he's on the field, and more difficult to plan for.

Definitely a poor man's Landry, and maybe too long in the tooth to be a factor, but I've always liked him. Tough, hard-nosed, serious route runner, good hands. He will know how to complement the other receivers in the route tree. He can be a factor. But he isn't a lock to make the team.

Thank you to you guys who are tracking this. I dont even understand all that you're saying, but I get the big picture. Point is, there's another restructure or two coming. I also get that everyone cou ta on the cap increasing. Still, at some point down the road we have pay for the restructures in cap dollars, and the full value of Allen's contract will hit. How limiting will all that be?

Man, I have trouble believing there's a better GM than Beane. He is a master filling holes. And he has an advantage now because players want to be on this team.

Good point. I think it's quite possible he's playing at a high level, but being willing to pay him is a different question. Still, if he has 12 sacks in his fifth year, do you let him go? Twelve sacks dont come cheap.

What are the chances? Maybe 20%. He doesn't carry the weight or play with the style JJ Watt, so he's less likely to break down.

I ththink certainly not before camp. Kromer might declare him worthless by the end of camp.

I agree, except I dont think Knox will be the priority that Oluver is. In fact, I'd guess the Bills want Edmund's more than Knox. Especially if Howard somehow blossoms.

He will get a new deal with the Bills this summer.

Exactly

Thanks for this.

A couple of things. First, I know nothing about Star's contract situation, but recall when Wood was dine and said he was retiring. Then he backed off, because the timing was screwing up either his situation or the Bills. He waited a few months and then officially announced. Might Star be in the same position? Interesting and generally true comment about Beanes line building. However,I think in the modern NFL the lines are always a work in process. No one keeps their lines together to long, and everyone seems to be backfilling. Of course, the real question is did you draft well, and there Beane gets pretty good marks. He just hasn't drafted a lot of linemen. This morning, we're all pretty happy with that strategy, because we like where the lines are, except for oline depth. Still, I'd like to see more attention paid to the lines. I think every draft should have at least one lineman picked in the first three rounds. Last year, of course, he went heavy on the lines and four of five stuck. Let's see how the three young edge guys do this season.

You know, this is a good point. What are Edmunds strengths? Quickness and speed. Weakness: Strength - he isn't very good once a blocker gets to him. Well, them blockers going to be pretty well occupied now. Oliver or Philips, and Settle, and some collection of awesome edge guys. Offensive lines will have their hands full. Edmunds will have more opportunities to just run to the ball. Still has to make the reads correctly.

I think there are two different things going on. One is strict evaluation of the cap, what moves are available to create space, etc, etc. I've heard over and over that Overdorf is great at that. However, I think in the past, Overdorf had authority to approve or kill deals - if you were the GM and wanted to do something, you needed Overdorf's okay. I think what's happened since Beane arrived is that Overdorf crunches all the numbers, talks about strategies, but Beane decides what cap risks he's going to take. And I think Beane challenges Overdorf to "find a way." I mean, it had to be the case over the past couple of days that Beane was asking Overdorf "how can we do this?" So, Overdorf is still important, but I have the sense that he doesn't have the more or less complete control over the process that he used to have.

I'm sorry, I have just jumped back into this thread, and I haven't seen exactly what you're discussing, but I'm guessing it's how good can Miller be late in his career. Your post caught my eye, because I remember it exactly as you say. In fact, in the Super Bowl years, I used to think that Bruce was overhyped - he'd make a spectacular play here and there, but I never thought of him as a game wrecker. Maybe it was just because he was double teamed and I wasn't paying attention. But then as he got older, he kept shedding weight and turned into something like a fighting robot designed by a mad scientist - all arms and legs and muscle and amazing quickness. Those last few years he was unstoppable - in fact, Miller looked like him in some of the the videos: lining up out wide, so he could get off the line and take two steps before any contact, then just bursting one way or the other with the offensive tackle desperately trying to get hands and body weight on him before he blew by. I'm one who saw Miller had signed and worried immediately that he was too old, but Bruce is the obvious example of how a guy who plays with that style can actually improve. I wouldn't be surprised if Miller has become project #1 for the training staff. How do we get him at optimum weight and strength. And Smith is around OBD, and I'm sure they will sit down and share stories - I mean these are two of the great pass rushers in the history of the game, and they'll talk about their craft at a level that most of us wouldn't even understand. There's a lot of reason to believe that Miller can be a transformative player on the defense for 2-3 years, and maybe 4 or 5.

We paid too much. He wears glasses. Why doesn't he spell his name Vaughn? Can he play in snow? Did his girlfriend ever give back the engagement ring? Oh, that was the other guy. I hear he eats his wings with ranch dressing. I don't know why I'd be unhappy with it, either.

Wow. And at the time we were happy with the consolation prize.

It's still a lot to spend on a guy who has played several years. But in this case, there are other factors. He will play fewer snaps in Buffalo, which may extend his career. He has truly special talent. He's one of a dozen guys or so who can change any game with a play or two. He hasn't shown much sign of s,owing down. Last season, Ata position of importance, he clearly was better than anyone the Bills had. He's won two Super Bowls and was the clear MVP in one. There's just so much that he offers that it's a good move even if he's pricey.

That's good. When they got Bennett, I remember thinking, "What??!!! THIS team got BENNETT, too?" It really is hard to get my head around this.

He'll be under 60 in Buffalo. Why? Because that's the way they do it. And because they don't want to put miles on him needlessly. Some fans probably will be disappointed during the first half of the season, but let's wait to see what he does late in the season and in the playoffs.

Thanks. These are cool.

Thanks, but that thread is already about as long as War and Peace. I've been in and out of it and seen no tweets, but I haven't read 10% of it.

And Miller will be platooned, like everyone else, so he won't have to carry the team.

How did I not know that? Thanks. Addison could be at risk, too. 1 year left, $2 million dead cap.

Hey, I'm an old codger and am not on Twitter, but I have to believe that the Bills are tweeting about Miller. If you've seen tweets from the players, please post them here. Thanks.