ComradeKayAdams

I count 10: RB: McCoy, Gore DL: Hughes, Lotulelei, Murphy LB: Lorax, Milano DB: Hyde, Poyer, White Everyone else on this roster probably needs the reps in some way.

Every NFL roster has an active 46, an inactive 7, and then the practice squad. Why not keep Wade among the inactive 7 and have him learn the game there? Who gives a flying ***** if we keep him over Perry, Yeldon, Murphy, McCloud, Wesley, McDermott, Love, Yarbrough, Lacey, Marlowe, Lewis, etc. on the 53-man roster? Players such as all of the aforementioned will be readily available as free agent/practice squad/waiver wire pickups throughout the regular season. Wade has elite athletic skills and is already 28.3 years old. How much more NFL career time does he have left? Put him on the roster and give him a chance to play in November and December when injuries take a toll.

So 41% of this list played at least one season during The Drought Era: 2 P - Mohr, Moorman 2 K - Christie, Lindell 3 QB - Flutie, Bledsoe, Fitzpatrick 3 RB - Henry, Jackson, McCoy 6 WR - Moulds, Price, Josh Reed, Evans, Parrish, Stevie Johnson 2 TE - Riemersma, Clay 6 OL - Fina, Ruben Brown, Teague, Peters, Wood, Incognito 9 DL - Hansen, Ted Washington, Pat Williams, Schobel, Kelsay, Kyle Williams, Dareus, Mario Williams, Hughes 1 LB - Fletcher 7 DB - Winfield, Clements, McGee, McKelvin, Jairus Byrd, Aaron Williams, Gilmore With all of this talent, you'd think the Bills would have slipped into a wild-card playoff spot once or twice over a 17-year period... More likely, this list is engaging in what I call "recency bias." Obvious examples: Josh Reed, Charles Clay, Trey Teague, and Chris Kelsay have no business on a top-100 all-time Bills list.

In 1965 only, the deal was that the AFL Champions were to play the all-stars from the rest of the 7 AFL teams during the AFL All-Star Game. This technicality aside, I still would argue that the mid-60's Buffalo DB's were the best in franchise history. I like the OP's thoughts here, however. This current group absolutely has the chance to be the best ever in franchise history. White is ready to emerge as a first-team all-pro. Hyde is already borderline. Poyer is already Pro Bowl caliber. I need to see a lot more from Wallace, but he already has shown glimpses of being Pro Bowl caliber. And the other 6-7 guys provide incredible depth, most notably Taron Johnson as the nickel.

That era has a special place in my heart because I was introduced to the Sabres and the NHL through the EA Sports video game, NHL '94. It's crazy to think that the 92-93 Sabres roster had 4 Hall of Famers on it (LaFontaine, Hawerchuk, Hasek, Andreychuk/Fuhr) and probably 5 WHEN Mogilny gets elected.

Allen's development in year 2 is far more important than upgrading from really good defense to elite 1 year earlier than planned. We can get Clowney or someone similar next year in free agency. But if we lose Nsekhe, all we have at tackle to protect our franchise QB is Dawkins and maybe the rookie Ford. I'd offer a 2nd rounder and Lawson for 1 year of Clowney, but probably not much more than that. Dawkins, Nsekhe, and Ford are untradable in my opinion.

I can't really disagree with any of this. But here's the thing about sacks: there are actually very few other times in a modern NFL game where the QB gets hit. On most QB running plays, he will either slide or run out of bounds. And if a defender so much as breathes on a QB after he has thrown the ball, a flag comes out. So there is a very large psychological component to rattling the opposing team's QB by vicious sacks. This, of course, is in addition to the loss of downs, yardage lost, and potential fumble from a sack that can all be pretty devastating to an otherwise promising drive. So I still don't think sacks are an overrated defensive metric. Take the legendary 1985 Chicago Bears, for example. They were dominant in practically every statistical category available, but everyone from the 1980's remembers them for their QB sack numbers. The only ones who didn't were the opposing QB's who were concussed or had PTSD-related memory loss from having to face them. Here are the 8 categories I use to measure the quality of an NFL defense, followed by the 2018 league ranking for the Bills: Yards-per-game: 2 Opposing passer rating: 3 Interceptions: 7 3rd down percentage: 8 Rushing yards allowed-per-carry: 9 Points-per-game: 18 Sacks: 26 Red zone TD percentage: 30 I believe these Bills are knocking on the door of elite status, but the pass rush and the red zone defensive packages need to get a lot better in order to be considered a serious challenger for the title of #1 defense. By the way, I believe we are a single Clowney trade (and relative health) away from reaching this goal. So if Clowney is actually available for anything less than a 1st round draft pick, then Beane needs to strongly consider this offer.

I'd argue Jerry Butler.

On paper, these guys have a legitimate chance to be the greatest Bills team of the 21st century (I know, I know...not saying much...just get to 10-6 and be competitive in a wild-card loss and you've won this title). The depth is looking strong at virtually every position except maybe tackle. The 2019 schedule looks very manageable at this early stage of the season. I wish we had an elite #1 WR and elite #1 DE, but I believe Beane will get us those pieces next year. Most importantly, the 2019 Buffalo Bills look like the true definition of a TEAM - guys who actually like each other and like playing together and like working hard every day to achieve a worthy goal - rather than just a haphazard collection of talent like we saw with the Whaley and Donahoe rosters of the past. Just look at the character traits of each of McBeane's first round draft picks to see what I mean: White, Allen, Edmunds, and Oliver.

Harpy? Harry? Haughty? Hegemony? Hypocrisy? Humility? Hearsay? Hokey? Hilarity? Hospitality? Hockey? Homebody? Husbandry? Heraldry? Herpetology? Hardly? Hardy? EDIT: Nevermind. I believe you meant hanky-panky.

If he keeps this up over the next few weeks, we may not be able to store him safely on the practice squad.

We really don't disagree on that much. I think Love, Thompson, Stanford, and M. Alexander can secure their roster spots with good performances tonight. The other 8 spots (6th WR, 4th TE, 8th and 9th OL, 9th DB, punter, 2 more for ST) will take a little more time. But we both agree that McCloud, Sweeney, Bojorquez, and McDermott have inside tracks to 4 of those spots.

It's amusing and sad to see how much the Democratic establishment, CNN, and MSNBC are out to destroy Tulsi. You can't have a principled candidate who is against regime change wars and crony capitalism. Nope.

1. Ridiculous. 0% chance of Teller over Bodine? Really? Bodine is like the fourth string center behind Long and Feliciano. He's awful. Teller still has potential. 2. Some teams only go with 3 tackles on the 53-man roster since 3 tackles are often all that are activated on Sundays. Beane may also go after an Aug 31 cut elsewhere. McDermott's spot is far from secure. 3. Yes, I've been following training camp reasonably close. Getting significant minutes in training camp is a good sign, but there are still 4 preseason games and almost 4 full weeks left before cuts. 4. Most special teams spots are too hard to predict for anybody in early August. And none of the 3 guys you mentioned are Stever Tasker. The more I think about it, the more I dislike your posts. You make it sound like everything is already resolved, and all that's left for Coach McClappy to figure out is which punter named Cory to keep. If that's the case, why play the preseason games at all and risk injury? The answer is that training camp practice and actual game performance are two very different beasts. I stand by my assessment: 12 of the 53 roster spots are still very much up for grabs.

I would say that there are 41 roster spots set (barring future injuries) and 12 open. Of your list of 53, I'd put the following 12 on the bubble: Bodine (I'd choose Teller instead) McDermott McCloud Sweeney Love Thompson Stanford M. Alexander Marlowe (I'd choose J. Johnson instead) Gaines (I'd choose C. Lewis instead) Pitts (I'd choose V. Joseph instead) Bojorquez

There's a very real chance that none of our last 4 2019 draft picks make the team, though I'm not sure it is wise to try and sneak LB Joseph and S Johnson onto the PS.

You mean the guy who trashed the city of Buffalo on his way to the metropolitan utopia that is Baltimore?

Yes. There are many thousands of bathroom stalls throughout WNY that will run out of toilet paper during these next few weeks.

This looks like an accurate statement to me. Analyzing - in chronological order - the 11 starters on offense and 11 starters on defense: Bill Polian arrived in Buffalo on August 1984, inheriting Jim Ritcher and Darryl Talley. In 1985, he played a key role in adding Bruce Smith and Andre Reed. Then in 1986, he hired Marv Levy and added Jim Kelly, Kent Hull, Will Wolford, and Mark Kelso. In 1987, he added Cornelius Bennett, Shane Conlan, Nate Odomes, and Keith McKeller. In 1988, he added Thurman Thomas, Howard Ballard, Jeff Wright, and Carlton Bailey. In 1989, he added James Lofton, Don Beebe, and John Davis. In 1990, he added James Williams. In 1991, he added Phil Hansen and Henry Jones. So what you can clearly see here is that there was a definite core of 16 players in place by 1988, including 4 Hall of Famers and 3 more on the Wall of Fame (plus Tasker). I think 1988 was the point at which the roster simply reached a critical mass in talent. Egos set the team back in 1989, but these locker room issues were resolved by 1990. By the way: notice the remarkably high level of continuity on the 1990-1993 Super Bowl rosters. Of these 22 starters, only 6 missed a single season during the Super Bowl run (Jones and Hansen in 1990, Wolford and Lofton and Bailey and Conlan in 1993). Polian was eventually fired in February 1993, the modern form of free agency began in March 1993, and the salary cap began in 1994. These three factors, along with the natural aging process on the team's core plus the wear and tear from a more physical style of NFL back then, quickly led to the destruction of our beloved team dynasty. But I digress... My point (if I even have one) is that chemistry and talent both matter. But in the case of the Super Bowl Bills, the chemistry took longer to build than the talent. In the case of the McBeane Bills, possibly the opposite is happening? The chemistry is coming together fairly quickly, as this article suggests, and pretty much began to take hold as soon as McDermott became head coach. The talent accumulation is coming along slower, but not at all in any abnormal way (see: Buffalo Sabres). I think next season will be our "1988 season" where the talent reaches a critical mass and we become a serious Super Bowl contender. 2020 will be Allen's 3rd season as starting QB, and Beane will have the free agency money and the draft picks to find an elite WR and an elite DE.

I came to this thread for the potential Russ Brandon jokes, but I leave with only a deep disgust towards the sophomoric objectification of this innocent young reporter (for the record, though, I think Maddy Glab is a total cutie). All of the "2/10, would not bang, elbows too pointy" internet neckbeards should probably apologize and welcome her to the Buffalo sports family.

As others have mentioned, I think we're only an elite pass rushing DE and a backup MLB away from being a legitimate candidate (at least on paper) for #1 defense. Two stats that this defense badly needs to improve on are red zone scoring percentage and sacks. I believe we were near the absolute bottom of the league in each. But one thing that's very clear is that Sean McDermott knows how to build a defense. Notice how he has spent a first round pick each year for each level of the defense (DB, LB, DL). And the continuity of having Leslie Frazier for a third consecutive season as DC helps immensely. There are going to be a lot of options in free agency next spring to get that elite pass rushing DE, so I do believe that the Bills will end up with the #1 defense next year. I don't know if these guys can ever approach the standards that Frazier's Bears set in the 1980's, but there is certainly the possibility that McDermott is in the midst of building the best defense in franchise history (better than the '64/'74/'80/'88/'99/'03/'14 squads).

It should be, but I don't think it is right now. A decade's worth of playoff competitiveness under Beane, McDermott, and Allen should change that. Ideally what would constitute "geographic Bills territory" would be every county in NY state north of Rockland and Westchester, as well as the Golden Horseshoe of Canada. When I say "ideal" Bills territory, I'm referring as much to cultural and socioeconomic similarities with Buffalo as I am with geographic proximity (yes, I realize that many of you will take issue with the Hudson Valley ever being considered Bills territory). It's a bit of a tragedy that the utter incompetence of this organization during the 21st century has meant that the Patriots, Giants, and Steelers have taken over large swaths of what should have otherwise been our young coming-of-age fanbase. I call it a tragedy because it affects things like stadium funding and the long-term viability of the franchise in Buffalo post-Pegulas (which may very well be many decades away).

I don't know. Ask the Pegulas.

Trust the process.

Yes, I am familiar with QB pressures. I honestly don't recall Yarbrough doing much of that either during the past two seasons, though admittedly perhaps I wasn't watching him nearly as closely as you. All I know is that Yarbrough was recently practicing with the third stringers behind Love and the top three (Hughes, Murphy, Lawson). So I don't think he's doing a good enough job distinguishing himself from among his competitors for the 4th DE spot (Love, Harold, Johnson). If he's as talented as you suggest, then he needs to hurry up and show it.