Shaw66

Both.

Good bet. I hope it isn't Diggs! Man, it's all so competitive. Absolute dogfights for a job. Talk about managing the roster. Receivers added since January 1, 2019: Beasley, Brown, Knox, Kroft, Williams, Diggs, Hodgins, and Davis.

Yeah, Diggs. Yes, you plan for subs, but at some point it's next man up. And carrying McKenzie to run the ball maybe 15 times a year just in case Diggs goes down is a pretty limited use of a roster spot. And it's enhanced only a little bit if you're all so carrying him to return punts in case Roberts goes down. Carrying a guy for those purposes is a luxury, especially because Roberts can back up Diggs in the jet sweep department, and Hyde and others can back up Roberts on the punts. In other words, although McKenzie is something of a gadget player, there's nothing that he does that is so special or so valuable that gives him an advantage. I think he's more a young guy who makes himself as useful as he can while you see if he develops. But we've seen him for a couple of years now, and he doesn't give much evidence that he's developing into a particularly useful player. Now, that's my take. McDermott may think that his versatility is itself so useful that he wants to keep him. And I also don't know how much they value his special teams contribution. What I do know is that whenever I see him on the field, I feel like the Bills are weaker. Particularly how he fields punts.

I think he catches the ball against his body most of time and he rarely makes tough catches. They will put Doggs in motion. They won't need McKenzie in that role.

Right. I will be VERY surprised if Robert's doesn't make it. I dont think McKenzie makes it. He just isn't an NFL receiver, and Diggs (and Roberts) will take his jet sweep touches. McKenzie isnt a major contributor, a leader or a guy with much upside, so he is at risk. Similar things can be said about Duke, which is why he is at risk, too. So I think there's an open spot for one more. This is great. There are plenty. One reason we believe in those guys is that Jason Peter's was one, too. A project with a back story.

I think that's probably correct, although I'm not awarding a roster spot to any rookie beyond round 3. If Williams is clearly better than Davis in training camp, then the coaches may very well be thinking that Williams is in the top five and Davis is looking to win one of two spots. That's especially true if Williams is better in camp and Davis shows some special teams promise. The addition of Diggs makes McKenzie somewhat more expendable, because he's never shown great stuff as a receiver, except the jet sweep. With Diggs and Roberts, they have that covered. Foster needs to emerge big time or prove that he's so important to the special teams that they can't let him go. Given all this competition, Hodgins almost certainly is on the outside looking in. So there's clearly a route for Duke, but like you, if I had to bet, I'd say he probably is looking for a job in September. (And I wouldn't be surprised if he finds one.)

Exactly. Much tougher competition for one fewer spot than last season. Still, I won't be surprised if he makes the team. The big question is will he be noticeably better than last season (in other words, can he build on a rookie season where he showed he at least can play with guys in this league)?

Right. In particular, there's almost always tough competition at the backup receiver spot. Diggs' arrival makes the competition that much tougher. Think of it this way: There's really only one spot for Williams to compete for, and that's the #4 receiver slot. Is he going to be the guy who gets on the field in double wide or empty backfield sets? If he isn't that guy, then he needs to be a special teamer or a developmental player who has showed promise. Developmental player was his role last season; tough for him to be in that role again this year.

If I had to bet, I'd be with you. He didn't make the progress I expected last season. But I didn't say I expected he'd make the roster. I said I expect he will be better than last year, and I said that given the realities of the 2020 season, a guy with experience seems to have an additional edge. I said I wouldn't count him out yet.

I love Duke's story, so I've been a Duke fan. But putting that aside, I think what you say is short-sighted. I think "he is what he is" is wrong. He was, essentially, a rookie last season. Yeah, he'd been in an NFL camp once before, and yeah he played in Canada, but Canadian football is more like glorified college ball, and Duke didn't have much of a college career. So he was like a rookie, or rookie+ last season. Look for a minute at all of Dawson Knox's ugly moments last season. That's what rookies play like. Knox saw more time than Duke because he had no competition at TE, so he had more opportunities to make plays and drop passes. We're all excited about what we think will be natural improvement for Knox, and I think we'll see Duke get better, also. So to say Duke is what he is isn't correct. He will be better this season than he was last season. Now, of course, he needs to be much better, because Diggs is taking one of the receiver slots, Roberts is more or less a lock, so there are two or maybe three slots left. One or more of those slots requires a serious special teams contribution, and Duke hasn't shown that he can be that guy. But he has one big thing going for him, and that is that his biggest competition should come from the rookies, and the rookies will have very limited opportunity to prove themselves this month. At least one of them has to be a real stand out, because Duke will not go quietly, and because in this season it's a big risk to go with unproven (rookie) talent. There's a good chance there will be more injuries than usual, and there's also the chance of losing guys to COVID-19. Coaches are going to want reserves they know can count on, and rookies beyond the third round usually can't be counted on. If Duke shows the natural improvement I expect he will, he will send a message to McDermott that says he can be counted on. Plus, McDermott wants guys with Duke's intensity and competitiveness. Any receiver fighting for a backup role will have to bring it at the same level or more. The rookies have one month of camp to prove they have it. I think it's way too early to count Duke out. Ordinary spring and summer, maybe. This summer, it's different.

This is a wise comment. It is EXACTLY what we kept hearing about Dawkins, and about Glenn, too. There are a couple of points about this. One is that all the reports are and have been for five years or more that college offensive linemen are unprepared for pro football. They are asked only to do a few very simple things, most important of which is to hold their blocks for no more than about 1.5 seconds. Why? Because the QBs are taught to make one read and either throw it or run for your life. The other is that most of us, including me, to think that that if the Bills don't have a Hall of Famer at some position, he has to be replaced. In some cases, if the guy isn't a Hall of Famer, he just needs to go. But if he's a tackle and he's not a Hall of Famer, he has to move to guard, which is somehow a less demanding position. It's particularly a problem at tackle, because just about all of us remember Jason Peters, so he's the standard. If the guy isn't Jason Peters, he isn't good enough. Finally, people keep underestimating how important it is for the offensive line to operate as a team. That's more so than any other position group. So the best guy for an offensive line position is not necessarily the most talented guy. If he doesn't operate well within the team, he isn't useful. The opposite extreme is the wideouts, who have team camaraderie and all that, but what they do on the field is pretty much independent of what the other guy is doing. So our view of how good an offensive lineman is, speaking for myself and I think for most people posting here, much too narrow. I have very little understanding of how well Dawkins is functioning as part of that unit, and that is perhaps the most important question from a coach's point of view. What about Winters? Well, I have the same reactions as many of you: Injuries are a concern, successful starting experience is a big plus, talent level seems high, Morse praise says something positive. Beane continues to get high marks upgrading talent across the lineup. Look at all the veteran additions across the defense. Two nice veteran additions on the O line. Diggs. Excellent personnel management, so far as I can tell. As a GM, if you have tough choices to make, it means you're doing well. Remember all the drought years, when the Bills would sign a free agent and the discussion was about which current dog should be cut. In those days, free agent signings didn't create tough choices.

Yeah. I'm experiencing no real buildup to the season. I feel like "please start, please start, please start. Yay! We're starting! Who are these guys?"

For me, it feels like I won't get excited until final cuts.

I'm glad I don't read what you read.

Not Eligible

Two things about that. First, Beane knows how he wants to manage the roster. He sees the same kind of potential need you do. He just doesn't come here and explain the moves to us. Second, I dont remember the examples, but this isnt the first time he has let a vet go early so he has a better shot at catching on with another team. I think Beane cultivates a reputation for being fair to his players.

Gaines is just a guy who performed consistently well, and this defense is about consistency. I was sorry to see him go, because he was a real threat to take the job from Wallace. As for Norman, I'm just not prepared to buy the narrative that he's declined physically to the point that he can't play in the league. I don't buy it for a minute, mostly because his so-called "decline" coincided with his move from one of the acknowledged young defensive geniuses in the league (McDermott) to one of the acknowledge dysfunctional franchises in the league (Washington). Richard Sherman has been playing longer than Norman, and nobody's talking about his physical decline. Sherman was coached in Seattle by Robert Saleh, his current defensive coordinator. I''m guessing that Sherman is still a competitor in the league because of brains and coaching much more so than continuing physical excellence, and I suspect that's what we're going to see with Norman, too. That's fair, and I agree it would be nice to have someone better. But I'd guess that if you look around the league, Wallace is in the top half of #2 corners. Maybe not top half of pure cover corners, but top half in corners playing all aspects of their position. Pretty tough to complain about that.

Okay, I read it. It makes at least a credible point - that Wallace was the weakest link in an excellent defense, and the Bills didn't get better at the position during the off-season. They lost Kevin Johnson, EJ Gaines opted out. They've added "only" Josh Norman and Dane Jackson (7th round pick). Of course, "didn't get better" is premised on the author's conclusion that Josh Norman's skills have eroded to the point where he isn't likely to be able to compete for time. I think the argument is pretty weak. First, Wallace can be expected to continue to improve, and if he's the weakest player on my defense, I'm happy to settle for that. That's particularly true that the front seven has gotten stronger. Second, the author ignores how much the Bills defense is a team defense, not a collection of individual talents. It's all about the team working together, and in the defensive backfield it's about the four or five starters, together with the linebackers, playing as a team led by Hyde and Poyer. Ignoring that point causes the author to overstate Wallace's individual skills and Norman's current physical capabilities. Wallace is now a couple of years into playing the number 2 corner position in a team defense, and he can play it just fine. Norman has had several years of experience playing the number 1 position in this very same defense, and sliding down to the number 2 probably is a step he can make. So, yeah, sure, if your standard is perfection, Wallace may be the weak link, but am I worried about it? No.

Well, my reaction to that question is also "no," but now I'll take a look at the article just to assure myself that I'm not missing something.

I thought Gaines faced a big challenge to make the roster, principally from Norman. But Gaines never disappointed in the past, and he could have been valuable this season. There was probably no one farther down the depth chart with a real shot at being a contributor. Sorry to see him go.

That's absurd. Its foolish to suggest that a man who created a $5 billion natural gas company doesn't understand the natural gas markets.

It's very simple to me. Investing in someone with a good track record in the industry is a sound idea. It doesn't mean the investment will be a success, but it makes a whole lot more sense investing in someone who already has shown that he can make money in the industry. Warren Buffett is the extreme example. He's shown he can succeed investing in a lot of different businesses, so people are willing to give him money to invest. Buy low, sell high is a winning formula. Petrochemicals are low. They aren't going to zero permanently, not for a few hundred years. If I want to buy some petrochemicals low, I don't mind having Terry Pegula make the choices for me. He has a track record.

Sounds like a pretty fair assessment. Nice that he's one of only a few who climbed the ladder last season. I agree that he looks like he's moving to tier two. His play has to demonstrate it.

Bill's are trying to squeeze season ticket holders with three year deals. I bought tickets for 2030, 2021 and 2022. Now they're saying I have to buy tix for 21, 22. 23. That's not right. Not my problem if they can't deliver on the first year of a three year deal. Edit: I raised this with the Bills and they agreed that my three-year commitment still will end after the 2022 season. They were quick to respond and were very accommodating. I was told they're working on multiple socially-distanced seating plans on the assumption that they might be able to have fans sometime this season. However, they're struggling with how they can enforce it. Left to their own devices, most of the fans probably will wander down to the front rows of the lower deck. What are they going to do - have armed police to keep people in their seats?

That is absolutely true, and I think it's one of the most positive and simplest solutions to to racism. Just do the right thing. The limitation of that approach is that if you can't see racism all around you, and you don't, there are a lot of right things to do that you're missing.