Inigo Montoya

Hey Scuba guy, Tell your friend that, yes in fact, it is the same Indianapolis O-line that was bad for years but turned it around in 2018. The Colts finally began to invest in the O-Line in 2018 after Luck got pounded for years and lost all of 2017 to a lingering shoulder injury. In fact, when Luck came back and played in 2018, the Colts O-line gave up an NFL fewest sacks that season (18). The Colts finished 10-6, made it to the Divisional round of the playoffs, and Luck threw for over 4,500 yards with 39 tds and only 15 INTs. Luck and the O-line had a great year in 2018, hence the surprise when he retired at the end of the season. To quote PFF from 2018; "We knew they’d be better, but I don’t think even the biggest Colts homer could have foreseen this coming. Drafting the highest-graded rookie guard though and the second-highest-graded rookie tackle will do that. Everyone and their mother predicted Quenton Nelson would be a stud, and he was as a second-team PFF All-Pro, but Braden Smith going from college guard to pro tackle was a wildcard. Fortunately, that card came up aces as Smith was PFF’s 25th-highest graded tackle on the season." 🍻

All fair points BillsVet. I agree that Beane identified the O-line as a big problem on this team and devoted a fair amount of resources to it, but I think it was a smart move to do so. Look at Darnold and look at Allen. I'm not going to state that O-line play is the main reason they went in opposite directions over the first three years of their careers, but I think O-line play certainly played a significant part. I think Beane would prefer to build this team through the draft, but in this instance, he really had no choice but to build the line in free agency. He didn't have multiple drafts to stock the O-line with talent and depth, and he didn't have the luxury of time while Josh Allen was trying to develop his game to wait on multiple drafts. I think we will see some draft capital spent next week on a center who will hopefully step into Morse's shoes after this season. If Ford, Boettger, Bates, and Lamp continue to develop we will see your vision of a young affordable O-line in front of Allen. Dawkins and Williams are locked in on reasonable tackle contracts. The interior of the line should get better and hopefully less expensive going forward. Beane simply didn't have any choice but to build the roster the way he did and the results was a 13 win season and a trip to the AFC Championship game. I'm hard pressed to find fault with Beane's strategy. 🍻

I agree BADOLBILZ, I thought Antonio Williams really provided a spark and was running angry, something that we hadn't seen out of the backfield all season. I was hoping he'd get some playing time in the playoffs but I don't remember him carrying the ball at all after the Miami game.

I'm certain McDermott and Johnson will be all over run blocking this off season / pre season trying to shore it up. Having someone like Brieda who is a threat to get around the edge should help. I like Singletary and Moss but neither has the speed to really threaten the edge. That lack of speed allows defenses to stack the box a bit more. If the defense needs to worry about outside containment more because of the speed of the RB, that should help spread the LBs out and create more space for the RBs to do their thing.

I was looking at some stats from last season and saw that PFF had the Bills O-line a top 10 unit in 2020. I went back and looked at the previous two seasons to see where the Bills' O-line had ranked. I knew that first season would be bad. One of my main recollections of the 2018 season was how terrible the O-line play was. Beane, McDermott, and Bobby Johnson have made one hell of a turn around in three years going from the 26th ranked O-line to the 10th. From Beane going out and bringing in capable lineman, to luring Bobby Johnson here from the Colts after the 2018 season, it would be fair to lay a lot of the credit at Beane's feet. I think Bobby Johnson deserves a lot of credit too. When Beane poached Johnson from the Colts where he was the Assistant O-line Coach, the Colts had the 3rd ranked O-line in the NFL. Below are the PFF rankings from each of the last three seasons, along with their comments about the Bills' O-line that season, and a link to the articles so you can see where the other O-lines ranked. 2018; Rank 26th "Very similar to the Jets, there wasn’t much to get excited about with the offensive line in the preseason and their end of year ranking reflects that. If there was one silver lining, it’s that rookie guard Wyatt Teller only allowed eight pressures in his eight games this year." https://www.pff.com/news/pro-2018-nfl-offensive-line-rankings-all-32-teams-units-after-week-17 2019; Rank 21st "The Bills invested in their offensive line this offseason between free agency and the draft, and we’ve seen improvement from the unit over last season. Those additions along the line, combined with an emphasis on the short passing game and a resulting quicker release from Josh Allen, has lowered the signal-caller's pressure rate roughly seven percentage points from where it was last season. The Bills’ top pass blocker has been Dion Dawkins with a 76.4 pass-blocking grade." https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-offensive-line-rankings-following-2019-regular-season 2020; Rank 10th "The offensive line is just one example of how the Bills have done a tremendous job of building the right way around a young quarterback. They didn’t throw a lot of high-value resources at the offensive line, but they did take a fair amount of chances on players in free agency and continued to bring in guys who could contribute and eliminate areas of weakness. A good example of that is right tackle Daryl Williams, who earned a 79.4 grade for Buffalo this season. Williams had a strong year at right tackle with the Panthers in 2017, but an injury-shortened 2018 campaign followed by a down year in 2019 across all four guard and tackle positions allowed the Bills to take a chance on Williams in free agency on just a one-year, $2.25 million contract. It’s safe to say that contract has paid off for Buffalo." https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-final-2020-offensive-line-rankings Look at this growth in Buffalo's O-line and contrast it with the Jets who also drafted a new franchise QB in 2018 and utterly failed to support him in any way with adequate O-line play. Jets' PFF O-line rankings; 2018 25th 2019 28th 2020 29th The Jets are once again back in the QB hunt spending more valuable draft capital and the Bills are looking to lock up Allen on a long term contract this off-season. The importance of Beane completely revamping the O-line allowing Allen to develop into the QB he is today can not be overstated. We head into the 2021 season with the 10th ranked O-line intact and I would expect that they continue the trend and get better again this year. Last year the O-line was a revolving door of starters and playing positions. With a consistent starting five and the opportunity to play in their natural positions, I expect the O-line to take another step forward. Kudos to management at OBD who took a team weakness, the O-line, and just like the WR corps, worked to transform it into a team strength.

My son and I went to the Nashville draft two years ago and had a great time. Would love to go to another one sometime. This year I’ll be in my living room watching it on the tele. Safe travels to all my TBD brothers and sisters who are Cleveland bound. Hope you have a great time.

This year I will likely watch the Draft from my living room and wait and wait for the Bills to select. (This drafting at #30 is a new phenomenon) After pick #10 I think anything can happen. I don't see Beane selling the farm to move up into the top ten, but I could see him go after a "difference maker" in the teens and early twenties if he can swing a deal. The thing I dread the most is finally getting to pick #30 after waiting three hours only to hear that Beane has traded out of the 1st round. I hate to think about sitting there all night watching awkward man hugs with the Commish, listening to draftniks blather on about everyone else's draft picks, and not even see my Bills on the clock once. We're nine days out from the Draft and it's time to call your shot. Does Beane; 1. Trade up 2. Stand pat 3. Trade back My prediction is that Beane will trade up and grab a player between picks #20 - #23

I would prefer to see Trubiski getting the reps during the preseason so he can try and develop at least a little bit of chemistry with the rest of the offense if Allen misses time and Trubiski has to play. Fromm can start the last half of the last preseason game, otherwise McDermott should have Trubiski out there soaking up preseason reps.

Agree Bear, especially considering this will be a 17 game season.

https://www.espn.com/chalk/story/_/id/31268324/kansas-city-chiefs-tampa-bay-buccaneers-open-highest-wins-totals-ahead-17-game-regular-season AFC EAST Bills (10.5), Dolphins (9) Patriots (9), Jets (6) AFC NORTH Ravens (11), Browns (10) Steelers (9), Bengals (6.5) AFC SOUTH Colts (10), Titans (9.5) Jaguars (6), Texans (5) AFC WEST Chiefs (12), Chargers (9) Raiders (8), Broncos (7.5) NFC EAST Cowboys (9.5), Washington (8) Giants (7), Eagles (7) NFC NORTH Packers (11), Vikings (8.5) Bears (7.5), Lions (5) NFC SOUTH Buccaneers (11.5), Saints (9.5) Panthers (7.5), Falcons (7) NFC WEST Rams (10.5), 49ers (10) Seahawks (10), Cardinals (8)

It's always equal parts electrifying and terrifying when he takes off with the ball.

The CDC just halted administering the J&J vax because of concerns in woman of child bearing age developing blood clots. For a woman of child bearing age, Rachel Bush, who has already had COVID-19 and now possesses natural immunity, is it not at least reasonable for her to have a concern about receiving the vaccine? Why does everyone have to rush straight to the barricades on this topic?

My ACL tore two seconds into watching this video...

The Browns became a ball control, run first team under Stefanski. Njoku only had 29 targets last season. By comparison, Dawson Knox who was 6th in targets on the Bills last season, had 44 targets. I just think Njoku was underutilized in the passing game last season. 🍻

Good article on the Njoku situation. https://www.dawgsbynature.com/2021/4/10/22376902/will-te-david-njoku-ultimately-become-draft-day-trade-bait I work with a doc who is a lifelong Browns fan who says the Browns are currently shopping Njoku for a 4th round pick. His salary this year is $6 million, a number that Beane could put together with a little bit of shuffling around. It is the 5th and final year of Njoku's rookie contract. The Browns exercised his 5th year option. He was the 29th overall selection By the Browns in the 2017 Draft. The expectation around the NFL is that he will be on another team by the end of the Draft. A quick Google search brought up several articles focusing on the Cardinals, Cowboys, Panthers, and Rams seeming like good landing places for him. One also mentioned the Bills in passing. Njoku injured his wrist and went to IR in 2019 and only played 4 games, and last season he was just swallowed up by the offensive depth on the Browns roster and hasn't been able to produce like expected. He sure looked good his first two seasons though and he is fully healthy now. His career stats are linked below. He is also only 24 and should have plenty of good years ahead of him. Ertz, who the Bills were rumored to have inquired about, is 30 by comparison. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/N/NjokDa00.htm Would Beane consider bringing in Njoku on a one year contract as a audition for a possible long term extension, or is the $6 million price tag just too steep for a cap strapped team to pay for a player who could walk in free agency after one season? The other wild card is that the Browns may be hesitant to trade Njoku to a rival AFC contender. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see a Battle of Lake Erie in the playoffs this year. I think he would be a great add for the Bills who are looking to make a run this year and have question marks at the TE position. Sitting at #30 in this year's Draft there are no good options at the TE position for the Bills. I think trading for Njoku would be a great use of a 4th round pick if Beane can swing it.

Hauschka was 4/4 that game with a 38 yarder, two 40 yarders , and a 47 yarder as time expired to send the game into overtime. I would have put the game on his foot in that situation.

Here's my thread on the BS penalty calls in the wildcard game. It was ScottLaw arguing that the Ford block was a penalty.........? INCONCEIVABLE!

I started a thread on this BS blind side block penalty after the game and there was some fool arguing with me that Ford’s block was a penalty despite what was painfully obvious to everyone, that it was a horrifically bad call with game changing implications in the playoffs. If I was the vindictive type I’d pull up that thread just to shove it back in his troll face, but I’m not that kinda guy..... I agree with the posters above, two things need to happen next, an official mea culpa letter from the NFL to the Bills, and second, they need to cut Cody Ford a check with interest for their ridiculous, covering their own ass fine.

By the Fall there should be no prohibition on gathering with others. The vaccines appear to be very effective. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, March 29, 2021; “We can kind of almost see the end,” Walensky said. “We’re vaccinating so very fast, our data from the CDC today suggests, you know, that vaccinated people do not carry the virus, don’t get sick, and that it’s not just in the clinical trials but it’s also in real world data.” https://fortune.com/2021/04/01/its-official-vaccinated-people-dont-transmit-covid-19/ By the Fall of this year every person in America who wants the vaccine will have received it. Those who don't want the vaccine are making a personal health decision and with be responsible for their own health situation, good or bad. Those who abstain will be at very low risk to infect those already vaccinated. Those who refuse the vaccine should benefit from herd immunity at that point and be at low risk of catching the virus even without the vaccination. Barring some unforeseen change in the next several months, stadiums should be full this Fall and life should be getting back to normal. 😃

The Bills were that dumpster fire stuck in reverse for decades until McDermott & Beane showed up in Orchard Park Joe Douglas and Robert Saleh are not Mccagnan and Gase. I think the Jets' new leadership team has a real chance to turn things around.

I saw this on the Jets' message board today posted there by someone named Falco21. Thought it was pretty eye opening. "Pretty crazy the draft picks JD has accumulated now: 2021 1st 1st 2nd 3rd 3rd 4th 5th 5th 6th 6th 2022 1st 1st 2nd 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 5th 6th 6th 6th" At this point the Jets are projected to have $73 million in 2022 cap space. https://overthecap.com/calculator/new-york-jets/ Let's hope that Joe Douglas is a horrible talent evaluator... 😳

To draft Sam Darnold the Jets traded with Indianapolis moving up three spots from the 6th selection overall to the 3rd spot. It cost the Jets three 2nd round picks to move up three spots. In addition to their 2018 1st round pick, the 2nd round picks ended up being; 2018 Pick #5, 2nd round 2018 Pick #17, 2nd round 2019 Pick #2, 2nd round A very costly swing and miss for the Jets' franchise. Now they are going back to the well again and hoping for better luck in this year's draft. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn't. The odds are stacked against them. Just like the Bills' long parade of 1st round QB busts, across the NFL there is not a single QB drafted in the 1st round between 2009 to 2016 who is still playing for the team that drafted them. It is really hard to project college QBs to the pros. I still think the Jets would have been better off to trade out of #2 this year for more draft picks and build a real roster around Darnold. I guess that's all just water under the bridge at this point.

I hope Darnold turns into a fantastic QB in Carolina and Zach Wilson flames out spectacularly for the Jets. scha·den·freu·de /ˈSHädənˌfroidə/ noun pleasure derived by someone from another person's misfortune.

Jaret Patterson, running back, University of Buffalo..... Going to drop because of his size into the late rounds, going to continue to be a baller when he gets his chance.

This sounds like another highly subjective penalty similar to the arbitrarily enforced “Crack back block” rule and is going to end up costing teams games. This one is going to be a mess.