BurpleBull

Exactly, it was only day one, so that pass isn't necessarily a precursor of things to come. Matthew Fairburn (@MatthewFairburn) Tweeted: Nathan Peterman created some fireworks during 7on7. Two deep completions, one to Andre Holmes and another to Cam Phillips. https://twitter.com/MatthewFairburn/status/1022927569027588097?s=17

Kind of low snap, good zip, bad ball placement, is what I saw. I'm sure his new-found throwing mechanics are still a work in progress and that he will continue to work at it against more intense team competition until it becomes second nature. Has Peterman thrown an interception so far in training camp?

Probably fair to say that A.J. McCarron quietly had the better day of the group.

I have absolutely no clue. Ducasse seems like a decent addition whatever the case.

Lol. I'm glad I'm seeing the velocity talked about all off-season...the reporters made mention of it too. Day one.

I meant to ask you about this earlier in the day but didnt get the chance to, what do you mean when you say you aren't buying the Ducasse thing anymore?

Ball needed to be more to the outside. But... I see the zip!

With a stronger arm the Bills essentially have a brand new QB in Nathan Peterman, but it's the bolded parts in the last two paragraphs especially, that I've long held, as to what would likely put Peterman over the top in the competition. from Democrat and Chronicle “I think he’s a very confident young man and he’s resilient,” said Beane, who was impressed by how Peterman handled the adversity. “You saw a guy who got knocked down hard. Not all on him, either, but the greatest thing about what Nathan did was he never pointed a finger and that says a lot, because it’s hard.” Rather than spend the time between the wild-card game and the start of the Bills’ offseason program sulking, he got right back to work. He went out to California and spent time at 3DQB, which is a biomechanics training facility that helps quarterbacks, as well as baseball pitchers, hone their mechanics and throwing motion. Tom House, the former major-league pitcher who through the years has counted among his NFL quarterback clients future Hall of Famers Tom Brady and Drew Brees, worked with Peterman, and if the Bills’ spring practices were any indication, Peterman has come back a better player. Beyond the mechanical adjustments Peterman made, what Beane really likes is his grasp of the game, particularly the Bills’ new offense under Brian Daboll. “He’s super smart,” said Beane. “He’s not going to tell you how good he is or how smart he is. He’s just Steady Eddie every day and you love how he approaches the game. I know Sean’s been there more than me, but even I’ve stopped in there a couple times when Daboll’s had those guys in (the meeting room) and they’re writing stuff on the board. He’s playing Jeopardy! with them. He’s trying to just see what they know, and Nathan is really, really smart.”

I feel like I read on more than one occasion that the staff would like to have reached a decision on their QB some time during training camp. I thought some point during preseason made the most sense, but I'm just rolling with what's been suggested.

Yes. But I think Mills is very serviceable and gets overlooked a lot as being such, because he was thrust into the lineup after first being thought of only as depth. He's had games where he's struggled and I think people choose to hold on to those memories when judging him instead of making themselves aware of his positives. He struggles in space sometimes against the run and speed rushers can give him problems at times too but he definitely understands technique as a pass protector and is more sound as a pass blocker than people give him credit for.

I had no idea LG was Miller's natural spot. That would be interesting to see. But then you have to factor in Ducasse. After Incognito, he had the highest grade of any linemen. This is why I have a feeling that the Bills have better depth on the O-line and are better off then people think right now. Don't forget about Wyatt Teller at G. Really want to see what he looks likes in game action.

Alright man, we're entering the championship rounds. Time to see if anyone is declared winner.

Ahh, man I don't know. I feel Bodine might be better suited at G than Groy. Bodine looks really short at C somehow, I think it could be his short arms and lack of reach that does that; defenders seem to get into his body quickly and push him back because of it, but he did bench press 225lbs. 40 times and he can make blocks upfield. Groy on the other hand has the length and although he doesn't seem to be superior at any one thing, does seem like he would be better at stabilizing the interior of the line; Groy also looks slower and not very athletic. But let's see how things play out.

2. DALLAS COWBOYS PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP: Left Tackle: Tyron Smith, 79.7 overall grade Left Guard: Connor Williams, 85.7* (2017 college grade) Center: Travis Frederick, 90.8 Right Guard: Zack Martin, 92.2 *Right Tackle: La’el Collins, 50.7 Jordan Mills (65.7) was much better than La'el Collins in 2017, despite Collins playing alongside all-pro talent in Dallas; Collins graded out as 67.3 in 2015 and 42.1 in 2016. There's no evidence that suggests he would have been an upgrade to the Bills' offensive line, if life wasn't made easier for him playing alongside elite talent on Dallas' offensive line, yet you still feel better about him than the entire Bills O-line situation. Mills' grade of 65.7 may have been his best yet playing alongside Ducasse since signing with Buffalo; Ducasse's 75.5 rating was better than Dawkins' 74.5 and his was better than Wood's 67.9. Who's to say that the coaching doesn't simply, genuinely feel confident that this fairly new O-line can grow together and take another step entering another year together vs. this notion that coaches and the front office elected to ignore the offensive side of the ball? Keep in mind that Wyatt Teller was drafted and by all accounts he seems to be a real find in the fifth round; 98.8 pass-blocking rate and 89.1 run-blocking rate in 2016 at Va. Tech. I don't think this current Bills' regime is anything like past ones. But as you stated, preseason is nearing and it will give us all a better picture of where the team may stand entering the new season and how far along in progression certain players are.

They passed nothing to you, because like many in here, you have already set your mind to thinking poorly of the unit. You started off giving the Jags D-line props for having sacked Taylor a whopping two times with their star-studded lineup, then after I point out how certain mishaps that you were crediting their line for creating wasn't directly due to a dominating Jags defensive line, you search for and find a new way to discredit the Bills O-line performance. It's now masterful defensive gameplanning that was responsible for their All-Pro lineup only mustering two sacks, nothing that Jordan Mills, Vlad Ducasse, or Dion Dawkins had anything to do with. True enough the Jags set out to stop the bootleg, but you're fooling yourself if you think a unit that had 50+ sacks during the reg. season, sat back as spies the majority of the game to ensure Taylor never broke the pocket. The play of the guys entering a new season had everything to do with slowing their pass rush. You are just unwilling to give the team you root for any credit for it. The Bills didn't put up more points largely because of Taylor's safe style of Qb'ing and missing big throws when opportunity presented itself.

You left DE Mike Love off the list. I think he's red with the chance of falling in the blue category. Same with Austin Proehl as a slot receiver.

Thanks man.

The Bills returning O-linemen played admirably against the Jaguars D-line in the playoffs, where the intensity is ratcheted up another level. They all passed the test and against an O-line that comprised of all Pro-Bowlers and one former. It was both Wood and Incognito whose struggles really stood out on certain plays. But all and all the Bills O-line held its own collectively. The Bills put together the longest single drive versus the Jags all season in that game, so it's not as though the Jags defense kicked the Bills around the field all game long. The Bills only scored 3 because Tyrod Taylor missed what should have been a TD toss to O'Leary in the end zone and because of a questionable play call at the goal line. Neither interception was due to pressure. Taylor's was due to a tipped pass and Peterman's from not driving into his throw and putting much behind his pass. The tackle that knocked Taylor out of game was Dante Fowler's only tackle of the game, and it was a dirty play if you ask me. Almost every bad play that stood out protection-wise, came at the hands of Eric Wood, meanwhile Jordan Mills did a good job at neutralizing Yannick Ngakoue for a good portion of the game.

No. But in the event that he did...

Dawkins needs to improve as a pass blocker, John Miller was solid as a rookie, Mills does a good job at holding his own for the most part and Ducasse has been decent himself. PFF doesn't dictate the future, the future dictates to PFF. Keep in mind that after the 2015 season, PFF suggested that the Bills most likely had its franchise QB in Tyrod Taylor. Sorry, but the Chargers game wasn't the litmus test for the O-line last season and I do know how much folks like to refer back that game when they want to undermine some part of the offensive unit. The litmus test was the Bills O-line vs. the much more fierce Jaguars defensive line in the playoffs. The O-line passed the test. However, the irony in your pointing out the departures of Wood and Incognito as reason why struggles on the O-line should be expected is that it was both Wood and Incognito who the Jags D-line had their against in that playoff game, with a defender splitting between both Incognito and Wood for a sack, with another defender beating Wood outright for a sack. It's very possible that too much is being made about the departures and not enough credit is being given to the guys still here.

Yeah man, I just think it's an inaccurate assessment on your part. I've held to the belief that Jordan Mills is a decent starting RT for a minute now, went back as promised and viewed game action of him and he's what I've held him to be all along pretty much. Jordan Mills falls somewhere between serviceable and solid. He's certainly not the god-awful RT he's typically made out to be.

But you don't even know what Daboll plans to do with the offense based on the current roster. You don't know how run-heavy the Bills plan to be this upcoming season. The Bills may feel like they have the type of players in place on the O-line that the offense can succeed behind until they really start committing to the offense. If that's the case then there was no need for them to go crazy in FA or in the draft. I really think people's take on the O-line being neglected and overly ordinary is way overblown. The quality of the O-line should be judged primarily on production, not the names that it is comprised of. I have this feeling that Russell Bodine will prove to be a better pickup than people believed him to be.

I agree 100%. I wasn't trying to suggest that the Bills are all squared away on offense heading into the future, but that the pieces in place are solid enough to get better production with a more creative and competent OC drawing up plays and calling the shots. I think eventually, sooner than much later, the Bills will add a game- breaking, game-changing offensive talent to the mix in the form of WR or RB. I've got some recordings of Bills' games on discs and I'm going to watch one before the night's over, I'll see if I can pick up on the horribleness that is Jordan Mills. I think I was in the minority, but that first year that Mills replaced Seantrel Henderson I believe it was, I thought he showed solid enough ability that warranted keeping him around for depth if nothing more. He's no Peters, Glenn, or even Dawkins for that matter but he's not the Colin Brown of Bills' RT's either from what I've picked up. Hiding the Colin Brown in you is a very hard thing to do.

It's really hard for me to buy that he's as awful as he's made out to be. The guy played and started in every single game of his four seasons as a Bengal. When have you ever known a Bills player to be as bad as Bodine is said to be and kept around for four seasons, starting every single game? Nobody Bills player comes to my mind. Remember Colin Brown? Now that guy was horrible at LG at a time when the Bills were desperate for an upgrade and it didn't take long for the coaching staff to realize it. Perhaps Bodine had naked pictures of the owner's wife and that could explain why he was kept around so long, being so bad.

I think McDermott wants to run a playclock-controlling styled offense, I believe it was his intention last season to control offense through the run, but still have the ability to make the big play and keep the clock moving with the pass, but under Rick Dennison, the pass part never came together and the run game caught on late. Daboll got good production out of a program with a talented offense lacking a true QB and known more for its defense; Daboll's a younger offensive mind, likely more in tune with today's game, and perhaps more creative than Dennison. Daboll hadn't had the opportunity to call plays since 2012, I think he would like to prove that he's grown as a coordinator since that time and showcase at the highest level that he brings more to the table, with the likes of Benjamin, Jones, Clay, and McCoy at his disposal than Dennison and others. The offense may seem to be playing second fiddle to the defense, but perhaps the coaching staff feels that the pieces are already in place and a creative and competent offensive coordinator is what was needed most to put it all together, not bigger name acquisitions. If the Bills offense can come close to the same production of the Alabama offense last season under Daboll, then I don't think we'll have to worry about the 10-7, barn-burners.