berg1029

I saw most of the fourth quarter and some of the third. A few takeaways on Allen: You hear about how he zips it around, but actually seeing it live for the first time was eye opening. He really puts some pace on the pigskin. His receivers will have the advantage of being used to the ball speed, whereas opposing DBs from here out will likely have issues catching it The inaccuracy worries that were discussed during the draft process really weren't visible. He seemed to have no trouble hitting receivers in stride. Most importantly, it looked like he was putting the ball where only the receiver could get it. He had a few head scratchers. One was the fourth down play where he threw the ball as he was going down. Another was the miscommunication between him and McCloud. Not sure what happened there. Was the error on his end or McCloud's? I don't know. Either way, with more practice he should be able to cut down on these sorts of plays. His athletic ability. He is quite talented at avoiding oncoming rushers. He showed he can take off and gash the defense with his feet. Even on that blooper fourth down play, he was still able to avoid the pass rush (now he just needs to learn to throw the ball away in that spot). Allen is going to make the offensive line look better than they actually are. He is no statue back there. Overall, it's hard not to be excited about his potential and the team's future with him at QB. It genuinely feels like he could be an AMAZING quarterback. We've all watched EJ, Trent, Fitz, Losman, etc. etc. This just feels different. I'm not 100% sold on him yet (it's just one game), but you can clearly see why they drafted him as high as they did Finally one last thought on Foster: This will probably be an unpopular opinion. The guy had a bad game and there is clearly stuff to work on. I know a lot of people are down on him and calling for him to be cut. However, keep in mind that he was getting open and was in position to make some plays. That's half the battle right there: creating separation. If he can put his athletic ability together with some of the other stuff, I could see him being a real good receiver. He seems like an ideal practice squad candidate to me

All hail General Beane!

It's really a 7th rounder? Is that a conditional pick? I hadn't seen what round the pick was. Woah!

First of all.. it's just training camp. He's probably testing the limits of what he can and can not get away with. Better to do that in practice than an actual game. If the picks continue into the regular season, that's when they need to worry Second of all:

Wasn't Kelvin Benjamin acquired via trade? I'm assuming you're not counting draft picks that we traded for. Fun list, thanks for it. Would be interesting to see where the Bills stack up vs other teams in terms of "homegrown talent". It feels like they have let go a lot of their former draft picks recently.

He played pretty well at the Senior Bowl. He ended 9-13 for 150 yards, 19 yards rushing, with 2 TD passes. Not too shabby. Baker Mayfield, on the same team, (the North) looked abysmal. Mayfield went 3-7 for 9 yards with -4 yards rushing. My memory is that Mayifled left the game after only a few series, because of some family issue. So Mayfield definitely had an excuse for not being able to perform. Tanner Lee (6th round QB to Jax) also was on the North and didn't perform too well

The order for the division aside from the Pats at number 1 is likely irrelevant. At this point, I would be surprised if the Bills, Jets, or Dolphins make the playoffs. I would actually be surprised if the Pats didn't have a better record, seeing as they play the Bills, Jets, and Dolphins 6 times a year.

Believe it or not, the draft isn't a science. The best you can do is make an educated guess as to whether someone is going to pan out. To stake his career on ONE draft pick is absolutely ridiculous. Additionally, he wheeled and dealed until we had a high enough pick to take a shot without completely mortgaging the future. And as for the "wouldn't trust him to take another swing" comment: Based on their success last year through the draft, I would argue that (thus far) he has a great track record of success in the draft. Yes, it's just one year. And yes, they were working with the information provided to them from Whaley's scouts. But his personnel moves, his one draft, and his ability to wheel and deal should tell you that he knows what he is doing. Why wouldn't you want him to take another shot?

JA seems like a really nice guy. He makes it easy to root for him. Let's just hope he is as good on the field as off of it

ok

. I do think it's a bit early to write off Peterman or even McCarron, as so many people already have. Either of them is capable of becoming a quality starter, and could potentially serve as trade bait going forward if they play decently this year (assuming Allen isn't ready to start). With that being said, a large majority of super bowl winning teams do not have a starting QB who is just a "quality starter". They have a QB that is good to excellent, i.e. the type of player that can consistently make the pro bowl Allen is clearly the guy Bills fans should be rooting to win the job. His ceiling is much higher than either of the other two. He has the talent that could potentially result in us being a Super Bowl contender, if the kid can put it all together.

Jim Schwartz was (and still is) a great coordinator. That doesn't necessarily translate into success as a head coach. Supposedly, when he was HC for the Lions, he had issues with player discipline. Schwartz would have likely been a better and more successful HC then Rex (with Buffalo). With that being said, I'm happy with McD thus far and so the "what ifs?" don't really matter too much because at the moment it would appear as though we have a quality HC

Honestly, I think they have been that bad at stopping the run. Basically since Dick Jauron took over in the early 2000s, we have been pretty darn bad at stopping the run. Every season, it feels like there are one or two games where the other team literally doesn't pass the ball and literally just runs it down our throats (think Saints game or second patriots game from last year, the games vs. the dolphins in years past with Jay Ajayi, etc.) IMO, the Bill's pass defense was good because we have a had a good secondary for a long time. We've been blessed with really good defensive backs, think about all the good ones that we've had over the past 10 or so years.

This. Our run defense has been horrendous for so long. Anyone that helps to improve it is going to get viewed favorably by the fanbase as a whole. Yearly run defense ranks for the last 10 years (by rush yards/game): 2017: 29 2016: 29 2015: 16 2014: 11 2013: 27 2012: 31 2011: 28 2010: 32 2009: 31 2008: 22 I'm pretty sure that even before 2008, it was still really bad, so this trend goes back even further I think. How can we be so bad at stopping the run year in and year out? Blows my mind. The one year that stands out is 2014, the one year we had Schwartz as the D coordinator. What an awful mistake it was to get rid of him

This is what happens after 3 years of Tyrod. Anyone that actually gets rid of the ball in a timely fashion is promoted to savior status

Based on talent alone, you would have to pick the Browns. But the Browns are the Browns, which means the BIlls will probably end up winning more than them regardless of who plays for Cleveland

the offensive line being worse is going to make a lot of those other position groups look worse on offense.

Oh for sure. Week in and week out though, I would expect his work load to be approximately the same

This was my take on it too. He said some stuff about giving other writers a chance (wherever he goes, he's going to prevent people from getting a shot) and some stuff about people dying earlier (he then went on to say that he is basically going to do the same thing for NBC, so I doubt it's really about lightening his work load ).

First off, a majority of the time Peter King writes an interesting column. I enjoy reading it. Secondly, his reason for leaving is "i have to make room for the next set of writes here at SI, i'm a 225 something pound gorilla that doesn't leave room for other writers!" (paraphrased) a) there are young writers at NBC too, believe it or not. It's not some grand altruistic move on his behalf for the rest of the staff if he is screwing another set of set of young writers over at NBC once he moves. So don't try to sell it at this selfless act. Whatever his exact reason reason is for moving, it is not this. b) calling yourself a 225 pound gorilla is weird. it's also pretty egotistical. even if it is true with regards to his column

Whether or not I think he was the right choice is irrelevant. I am a fan now because he was drafted by the Bills. I root for all Bills players to succeed

Nothing wrong with trusting your instincts on a player, IMO. He's only getting flak because he publicly admitted to it. If you're deciding who to draft with the number one pick, wouldn't you trust your instincts about possible draft picks? It's not always about just about the numbers

I really wish I had your confidence in Allen! He has it all-brains & the physical attributes. But it's not always about measurables.. here's hoping he can put it all together. As for Philips, I did a double take when I read he had the most tackles on the team. A nose tackle leading the team in tackles? What?! Incredible. He even had like 8 sacks I believe. If he has half the success that he did at Stanford, he's going to be an excellent pick. The one knock i have against him though is that these penetrating interior D linemen seem to present issues for the run defense at times. Maybe pairing him up with someone like Star will allow Star to maintain the gaps/occupy blockers and Philips to be more aggressive in making plays in the backfield. Might be interesting to look back at how exactly Stanford got him to be so successful

Haha, I think you have a bone to pick my man. Take a deep breath and relax! Which pick did you like the most? Tremaine Edmunds Which pick did you like the least? Josh Allen, because I feel like it's too risky for a pick that high (really hoping he works out though! so much potential) Which draft picks will start this year? Edmunds, Phillips Which late pick (post third round) has the best chance to start this year? Wyatt Teller Which pick won't make the team? Austin Proehl (rooting for him though!) Will Josh Allen start at any point this upcoming season? Yes, I believe at some point they will give him a chance Were you satisfied with the Bill's draft? Tentative yes, we gave up a lot of picks to move up for 7 and 16 (in what is considered to be a deep draft)

Which pick did you like the most? Which pick did you like the least? Which draft picks will start this year? Which late pick (post third round) has the best chance to start this year? Which pick won't make the team? Will Josh Allen start at any point this upcoming season? Were you satisfied with the Bill's draft?