Shaw66

Nicely done. Very nice.

Why do we love Kyle Williams? · We loved that backflip in college · We loved when this LSU Tiger, looking more like a Teddy Bear, came to Buffalo · We loved how the news from training camp day after day was Williams made another play · We loved that he started as a rookie · We loved that he was a fifth round pick · We loved that he was tough and still a sportsman · We loved how after a couple of years he knew he was supposed to be a leader, but he didn’t know how · We loved how he started speaking up and doing more, sort of awkwardly at first, doing it because he knew HE had to do it · We loved how he embraced our new owners and our new GM and our new coach · We loved how eventually it was all there, the play, the leadership, the stability in tough times, the self-assured modesty, the graciousness · We loved the leadership · We loved watching him get to the playoffs · We loved the message – that this is what can happen if you commit completely to becoming everything you can be · We loved how, through all of that, he was still a kid playing a game · We love him like family.

I tend to agree with you, but that's not McD's process. If you heard his speech to the team before he introduced Kyle who was announcing his retirement? McDermott is selling commitment to self, team, family and community. The way to succeed, in his model, is to prove yourself in all four categories, all the time. Listen to Allen's press conference today. He's talking about Kyle, about Buffalo, about what this city stands for, all of it. That's the package that McD wants every player to embrace.

Yes, you're correct. I was just picking up on the idea of passing the torch. It was BOTH a passing of the torch from the ultimate in work ethic to the younger generation who must pick it up AND a passing of the torch from the Wilsons to the Pegulas. McDermott wants pride in the community, the history of the organization, the colors. He's selling all of that to his players. I'm sure he wants his players to know about the Wilsons and AFL and all of that. So the last guy from that entire era, the last guy connected in some way to the beginning of the franchise, is now retiring.

I agree, sort of. I just watched some of the press conferences about Kyle. It's pretty emotional. Kyle said he is the last person left in the organization who had a direct relationship with Marv Levy and with the Wilson family. So he signifies the total transition to new ownership, GM and coach. McDermott is telling his players that they got to watch a guy do it exactly as it needs to be done to succeed. And he's telling them that now they must do it. It doesn't mean the other vets will go, but it means that the young guys now must be the guys who carry the team.

I'd guess Clay will go, but I would not be surprised to see all of Alexander, Murphy and McCoy stay, just like the Bills kept Kyle. I say that not so much because I think they ought to stay but because of how I perceive how McDermott operates. McDermott's been clear that he wants leaders in the locker room. He got Murphy because he has the heart and commitment that McDermott wants in all his players. I think that's why he kept Williams and Alexander, and I think that's why he likes McCoy. Ultimately, McDermott wants homegrown leaders, but it's going to take him a few years to grow them. In the meantime, he needs the next best thing, which is guys who started elsewhere, who have adversity in their careers and who have fought through it to be the best players they can be. I think, for example, that McDermott wants McCoy because McCoy will play his heart out next season because, well, that's what McCoy does. McDermott wants his youngsters to see, up close and personal, a star at the end of his career, a guy who's already made his money, a guy who could coast through 2019 just to collect one more big check, but who nevertheless is a guy who is doing everything possible to win. McDermott wants that in his locker room. McDermott built a special relationship with Kyle shortly after McDermott arrived in Buffalo. He knew, from reputation and from he saw in his first days in Buffalo, that Kyle was one of those guys. Now he's losing Kyle and he has three left. Their value to the team, in McDermott's view, goes far beyond what they do on the field.

See, I think McDermott and Beane see it differently. I think, but I don't know, that McBeane are all about young players who fit what they want to do. I don't think they have any interest in talented old vets like Green. They kept Alexander and Williams (and McCoy) because they are EXACTLY the kind of team players they want as leaders. They don't want to take a chance on some vet in the hope that he'll become such a leader. They want to grow their own leaders. In the environment that they're creating, they MIGHT spend big dollars on a guy who's coming off his first contract, but they'll be cautious about such guys. If the guy isn't re-signing with his original team, it means he hasn't emerged as a leader on the team. McBeane don't want good players who aren't leaders. So that leads me to believe that the Bills have literally more cap room than they know what to do with. They don't need an extra $6 million in cap room, because they aren't going to be signing a lot of guys for more than $5 million a year. And that, in turn, leads me to believe that if they think McCoy has gas in the tank, and if they think he's a leader (I think he is), they'll keep him.

McDermott doesn't want his team losing discipline, but you know he liked that moment, too. I'm sure Mills was as much a part of the post-game locker room celebration as any other Bill, maybe more so, and McDermott desperately wants that togetherness. It was a memorable game for many reasons, with a lot of important stuff happening even though the game was meaningless in the standings.

That's great!!! Thanks, I'll fix it. I don't worry too much about the cap space. I worry about the players I want on the team. Especially in 2019, when the Bills have a lot of cap room, whether they save some cap space by dumping McCoy seems less important to me than whether he's a guy who fits what they're trying to do. If I understand the cap situation, if the Bills keep him, it will cost about $6.5 million in cash and $9 million against the cap. Both of those numbers are manageable in the current situation. If they cut him, they'll save all the cash and will take a $2.6 million hit to the cap. That means cutting him would give the Bills an extra $6 million in cash and cap to spend on players. Obviously, $6 million is enough to buy a couple of good players, maybe three. But there already is a lot of cash and cap for signing a lot of players, so I'm not sure exactly how much difference it would make to the team. I think it all depends on what the Bills - McBeane - want on the field in 2019.

Fair enough - I'll agree that this season his productivity did look very much like Spiller's. I think the more important point is the one I mentioned in the OP. I think McCoy still has everything he needs for a 1000 yard season, but he has to play in an offense designed to create the kind of opportunities that McCoy needs. Again, not saying Ivory is the future, but it's pretty easy to see that Ivory is not going to star in an offense that's just right for McCoy and McCoy will have trouble starring in an offense that's just right for Ivory. Ivory is a tough, inside runner who gets yards between the tackles with quickness and decent power. A lot like Fred Jackson, actually. He's not a guy you're looking to get one-on-one in space. He does okay in that part of the game, but he doesn't scare people. McCoy is the opposite. He DOES scare people out there. He's tough and will run inside, but that isn't what makes him special. So I think the important question, which I don't know the answer to, is what kind of running game are the Bills trying to build? If they think they can have a run-pass complementary offense that can use a guy who's going inside, outside and catching passes, I think you'll see at least one more excellent season from McCoy. But if the game they want to feature is pounding the ball inside with play action to set up the passing, McCoy may be history.

Yes, yes, yes. The Gabbert stat was mind-blowing. The single most important thing for the Bills over the next 8 months is to retain Daboll. Allen and the rest of the offense needs continuity more than anything else at this time. There is no single player in the draft or free agency that means more to the Bills' 2019 offense than Brian Daboll. And I'm not saying Daboll is a star. I'm just saying the Bills' offense desperately needs stability. Let's see them build on Allen, Jones, Foster, Dawkins, Teller and a couple of other returnees.

I'll readily admit, I may be wrong about McCoy, but I would NEVER compare McCoy to Spiller. Spiller knew NOTHING about changing direction, and McCoy has built what is probably a Hall of Fame career on changing direction. If McCoy has one more 1000-yard season, he's in the Hall of Fame. His last 1000-yard season was, uh, last season. I'm not ready to retire the guy.

We've seen Allen throw all season, and we haven't seen him miss that consistently, ever. Which makes me think those weren't misses. They were looking for the back shoulder throw.

By the end of the game it seemed clear to me that those back shoulder slants were intentional. If I recall correctly, the first one was really ugly behind Zay. Then there was the touchdown throw that Zay made what seemed like a miraculous spin and catch before he sprinted to the pylon. Then there was another one. Along the way, there was one where Zay began his turn before the ball was delivered, at which point I was sure the Bills had come into the game looking for that play. Watching the replay of the TD, it looks to me like Zay may have been surprised the ball got there that quickly but not surprised that it was thrown behind him. He made a really nice play on the ball, but I think he was able to do it because he was expecting the ball to be there.

A memorable season? For me it was memorable primarily for Allen and Edmunds and not much else. I mean, there are some interesting stories about players (Kyle, Lorenzo, Foster and a few others), but when I look back five years from now, what I'll remember will be Allen and Edmunds and how their rookie seasons were the beginning of whatever it is they do over the next four seasons. Busts or stars or something between.

“What a Meal” I’d love a better draft pick, but I like wins more, especially wins over division rivals. The Bills’ 42-17 walk over the Dolphins was well worth the pick. There was a lot to like in this game. Of course, it was a meaningless game. The Dolphins may have mailed it in, in which case we saw nothing much more than a pre-season game. Whether it previewed the 2019 Bills is a question that won’t be answered for nine months. Still, it’s a win over the Dolphins, and that’s enough for me. Easily as satisfying as a great meal. This was the kind of game that fans want out of their team every week. It wasn’t flawless; it’s hard to play 60 dominant minutes in the NFL, and the Bills sure weren’t dominant for stretches of the game. But it was a kneel-down win, with a lot of big plays, takeaways rather than giveaways, effective (although still imbalanced) running, efficient passing. Few penalties. Great win. And, to make it sweeter, or maybe bitter sweet, it was Kyle Williams day. With the Bills out of the playoffs, McDermott was free to script the show to highlight his retiring leader. Kyle in the backfield at the goal line – a shot at a TD in his last game? No, just Kyle being a good football player, getting the assist on Josh Allen’s quarterback sneak. Kyle in the slot, shedding a defender making a solid catch and run in the right flat, his exceptional athleticism on display. Kyle sent onto the field for the final time late in the game. The Bills immediately call time out and summon him to the sideline for the fans’ final ovation. It was great stuff. Maybe I’ll write something about Kyle during the off-season. For now I’ll say just this: we saw what makes Kyle special when Kyle realized that McDermott was taking him out of the game and that this was the end. He wanted one more play or maybe one more series. He wanted his career to end the way he always played: playing every down he could, making every play he could. He’s a football player, and football players don’t come out early. At that moment, we saw what’s special about Kyle. Kyle said no and tried to wave off the substitute. He could have insisted; he could have just stayed there and forced McDermott to let him stay. Few players could get away with that; Kyle could have because the crowd would have been with him, and he knew it. But that isn’t Kyle. Kyle isn’t about individual power; he is the ultimate team player. He understands better than anyone that each player and each coach has a role, and he understood in that moment, just as he had in every other moment since he first put on a Bills’ helmet, that he had to do his job. He wasn’t going to challenge his coach publicly on his last football play. Kyle accepted some congratulations and left the field for the final time. I just love the guy. A short request for your help. The Bills Backers in Boston gather every Sunday at the Harp. A long-time Harp employee, big Charles, died unexpectedly last week. Apparently, over the years Charles became a Bills fan himself. My wife and I met him when we went to the Harp for the first time just this year, and he couldn’t have been friendlier. There’s a GoFundMe page with more about Charles and to help support Charles’s family. The wait staff at the Harp today donated all of their tips, over $1000. If you’d like to help, the link is https://www.gofundme.com/honoringbigcharles. Thanks. Kyle wasn’t the whole show, not at all. He was the dessert after a great meal. Also on the menu were: LeSean McCoy. He still has it. It was there again on Sunday. Give him the ball in space, and he’s going to get you everything that’s there, and usually more. The Bills were horrible at getting him the ball in space this season, for a lot of reasons, and he didn’t get a lot of those chances against the Dolphins. When he did, he was outstanding. The question for 2019 is why didn’t McCoy get the ball in space more in 2018? If the answer is the offensive line, then if the Bills can fix the line, McCoy should be back. But if the answer is the Bills’ offense doesn’t and isn’t going to feature a running game designed to get guys in space, then why would they need Shady? Maybe the Bills would rather have a running game that is more suited to Ivory’s style (whether or not Ivory is the guy), a running game that features straight ahead power and shiftiness in tight spaces. McDermott sort of signaled last week that McCoy will be back, and I hope so. In the right offense he is explosive. He’s fun to watch, and he’s a great teammate. Tremaine Edmunds. I’ve beaten up Edmunds often this season, and I still saw some of the things that must be better if he’s going to be a dominant middle linebacker, but against the Dolphins some of his special skills were on display. His interception was exceptional, and not just because he made a pretty spectacular one-handed play. What made the play was his speed – if Tannehill saw Edmunds, he decided Edmunds couldn’t get there to make a play. If he didn’t see Edmunds, it was because he was too far out of Tannehill’s field of vision. Either way, a guy who essentially wasn’t in the play reacted and took the ball. His sack also was exceptional. He took on the block (something he must improve) and essentially jumped over the blocker and grabbed Tannehill. It wasn’t a power move, but it was an amazing athletic move. Not many guys make that tackle, at least not that way. My favorite Edmunds play was his one-on one tackle in the hole in the first half. He read run and reacted to fill the hole, planted his shoulder, wrapped up and took the guy down. Those run stops are what’s been missing from his game, and if he’s learning that, he can be the star that Sean McDermott wants in the middle. Zay Jones. Nice patterns, nice catches. He’s good evidence of the size of the jump from college to the pros. It took more than a full season for Jones to raise his game to the level of an effective NFL receiver. McDermott’s patience with him seems to be paying off. He needs some help next season. Levi Wallace. I’ve been sleeping on Wallace. Last week I saw someone touting the quality of his play, and Sunday I saw it. Really nice deep coverage on that throw to the goal line up the left sideline. A couple of excellent open-field tackles. Teams need a lot of corners, and Wallace is a nice addition. Josh Allen. There it was; the win over the Dolphins showed what Josh Allen can look like when he puts it all together. He HASN’T put it all together yet, and we saw some of that on Sunday, too. The runs, of course, were spectacular once again – the Dolphins clearly misjudged his speed. It was Allen’s play in the passing game against the Dolphins that we’ve been looking for. He took more checkdowns, which increased his completion percentage and helped sustain long drives. He hit his receivers regularly, and they made the catches. He avoided sacks. In other words, he did the things winning QBs do, and he didn’t do the things losing QBs do. He also continued his education. He threw more inaccurate passes than usual, and I’d guess that was the evidence of his introduction to the cold and wind at New Era in December. He threw a rookie interception, but he can learn when to make that throw and when not only if he makes some of those mistakes. He recovered nicely from the INT. He still has a lot to learn. How good was Allen on Sunday? Well, his passer rating for the game was 115. Brees and Mahomes, probably the best this season, are in that range for the entire season and have a lot of games in the 120s and 130s. But when you roll in the running and other factors, as the QBR does, Allen’s game was essentially as big as the best the other two have played this season. Brees had a higher QBR in only three games this season, Mahomes only twice. That’s a good game. It’s one game, and a meaningless game at that, but it’s what we’ve been looking for. See you next year. GO BILLS!!! The Rockpile Review is written to share the passion we have for the Buffalo Bills. That passion was born in the Rockpile; its parents were everyday people of western New York who translated their dedication to a full day’s hard work and simple pleasures into love for a pro football team.

Really sorry to hear this. My wifee befriended Charles on our first visit to the Harp, and he was a genuinely fine man. It so happens we're in Boston this weekend and will be at the Harp for the game. It will be a sad day.

I think you are correct about this. McBean do not seem to want to run a star system here. They want to have a lot of interchangeable players who are good at their jobs. I think that a receiving corps like you described is likely, with the expectation that someplace along the way they may draft or acquire a true number one. However, I doubt they would they will burn a high draft pick for one in 2019.

With all due respect to the OP, I don't think you are paying attention to what Beane has said. The Bills are not going to be trading draft picks for players. The Bills want young players to train in their particular process and they are not interested in acquiring older players and certainly not by trading draft picks for them. Plus, I'm not sure you're correct about the free agent market. If the talent is lower in free agency its because teams are resigning the players they want, not because they're trading them. There are exceptions, like Mack, but I think the market is still pretty good.

I haven't paid a lot of attention to the oline, and I really don't have any expertise there. They've been consistently bad at the run game all season. Pass protection has been better the past six weeks or so. There are two kinds of good offensive linemen: those who are just plain good from day one and those who learn and grow over a few years to become good. Dawkins and Teller might be in the latter group, and maybe Miller, but time seems to be running out on him. As I said somewhere in the last day or two, I hope the Bills get a stud olineman with their first pick and get a good olineman in free agency. Add two good guys to the existing talent and the oline will get a lot better.

Merry Christmas, all!! Best wishes for a great 2019.

I generally agree with this. I have no inside knowledge, but I'd guess that the Bills knew the wheels were coming off Incognito. I'd hate to see McCoy gone, but he definitely isn't part of the Bills future, so I wouldn't be surprised if they moved on from him. I feel the same way about Williams and Alexander, but I wouldn't be surprised if they're gone, too. Valuable as they are, they also aren't part of the future. Keeping them means the Bills have two big holes to fill in 2020, and they might prefer to begin dealing with that problem in 2018. Missed tackles. Right. I didn't comment on that. I've always admired the Patriots' tackling. They are consistently good tacklers.

I say it all the time. It's coaching and quarterbacking. Yes, the Bills could use some better players, but they don't have to be that much better. Everyone complains about the receivers, but it's much more about scheme and quarterbacking than receivers. Looks at the Pats and Seahawks, two teams we saw yesterday. They have better receivers, to be sure, but they aren't standout guys. Among their receivers there isn't one guy anyone would trade a first-round pick for. They aren't first-round talents and no one would trade a first-round pick for them. What do they have in common? A great quarterback and an excellent head coach. I'm not hoping about Allen. It's based on what I see. I see a guy who can throw from the pocket as well as anyone out there. I see a guy who can throw on the run as well, or nearly as well, as Rodgers and Mahomes and Wilson. I see a guy who can scramble with the best and outrun linebackers. I see a guy who works hard and studies. I see the arm. Essentially what I see is a guy all the tools - arm, size, speed, brains - who just needs time to learn the nuances of the game. And I see a guy who's learning almost week by week. Do I recognize that he might not make it? Sure I do. But he brings everything to the field that he needs to be great, and that's as much as you can ask for a rookie. If he isn't better next season, I'll have to reevaluate. What I expect is that, having gained a lot of experience this season and then having the entire off-season as the entrenched starter, having Barkley to work with and having an off-season to work with his receivers, Allen will be a much improved QB who will hurt defenses with his arm regularly.

I tend to be optimistic about McDermott, but you certainly could be right. I've said it a few times. There are a lot of things about the Bills over the past two years that are evidence that the coaching isn't as good as it should be. Penalties. The whole Peterman saga. The absence of a veteran backup for Allen. However, there's a big learning curve to being a good head coach. It takes years to learn to be really good at it, and there are plenty of examples of guys who weren't great at it to begin with, including Belichick and Gregg Williams. So I'm willing to wait. As I said, 2019 is when McDermott has HIS team, and when he's had a couple of years to learn things.

Whether you agree or not, McDermott believes that young players grow and improve from year to year. I think if we could get McDermott to come on here and talk about his perception of the Bills' starting offensive talent, a lot of posters here would be disappointed. I think McDermott would say that he thinks a lot of guys, including Croom, Foster, McKenzie, Jones, Dawkins, Miller, Teller and probably a few others will continue to improve. I also think he would say that as each guy improves, he makes the players around him better. It's particularly true with Allen - as he plays better, all of his offensive teammates will play better. But it's also true about linemen, and even about receivers. Many people have commented that what hurt the Bills more than anything else this season was losing Incognito and Wood. That's true, and not simply because they played well, but because they also helped make the people beside them better. It doesn't take a lot of new talent to have a big impact on the team. Suppose, for example, that the Bills get a stud left tackle in the draft and a quality veteran guard in free agency. What's the impact on the offensive line? It could be huge. Maybe move Dawkins to the right side, send Miller or Teller to the bench. Those are two completely possible changes, things that could be done very comfortably within the Bills' draft situation and position and their cap space, causing no real disruption at all. But they could mean a huge improvement in the offensive line. Add one quality receiver to go with Foster and Jones (and maybe some better offensive line coaching), and think about what happens: Run game improves (with or without Shady), pass protection improves (and we've seen how well Allen throws when he has protection), receiving game improves and passing gets easier. More importantly, think about the complementary effect of all those things: running game improving makes play action more effective, which helps the passing game. Play action effectiveness makes pass protection easier for the offensive line. Having a complementary offense reduces three and outs, which helps the defense. I'd be amazed if the Bills clean house like some people would like to see. I think the Bills go to camp with all of the people who end the season as starters (except for any retirements and free agent departures). But I don't think they start the 2019 season with all those guys still starting, or even on the team. I think what we're going to see is a lot of rookies and free agents in camp, AND WINNING JOBS. We're going to see Milanos and Fosters and guys like that taking jobs from guys like Mills and Miller. It's going to be the process in full bloom, with competitions at many, many positions, and the smartest, hardest working, toughest guys are going to win the jobs. For me the big question is whether McDermott has what it takes and whether he will have the right team of coaches to be able to compete with the best coaches in the league.