Dave Allen

I'd bump the Browns down to Tier 3, and bump Miami up to 3 based on their FA moves. Otherwise, rock solid.

I don't see it. During the next few years White, Edmunds, Allen, Milano, Dawkins and Oliver are going to get paid, and those new contracts are going to have to be offset by a lot of new rookie contracts. It won't be long before the Bills won't be able to afford the free agent depth of low-tier starter contracts, and will need the draft to fill those spots. Beane's always three steps ahead, so I'm guessing he keeps all of his draft picks and gives them every chance to stick. If not, that's an acceptable risk, and they can identify some for the practice squad.

My bold, reckless prediction? Beane trades up for Winfield.

Bottom 10, easy. Possibly bottom 5. Problem is Belichick. Dude doesn't have enough sense or courtesy to suck, even when common sense says he should. Even with a bottom-5 roster, I wouldn't put it past him to whip the Pats to 8 wins. Maybe more.

I always liked the dude. Hope he does well.

Long term, OL improvement is going to have to come through the draft. After the team pays Allen and White and Edmunds and Milano and Dawkins and eventually Oliver, there won't be room for any significant FAs. In fact, they're going to have to get rid of some of the guys they already have and lean more on first-contract guys.

Thanks, bruh!

I'll admit I didn't look that closely, but it seems to me that Miami is spending recklessly. I didn't see any outlandish contracts, but it seems to be more of a 'buy a bunch of guys' situation than any real process. No doubt they're going to be a lot better, though, at least in the short term.

link?

I never had the change to wear the Phillips jersey my son bought me for my birthday in January. Dang...

Good for him. He worked hard, and deserves his payday.

Veteran leaders/ process guys have a value that extends past what we see them do on the field. If they're in the locker room teaching the young'uns how to be process guys also, then they are worth the extra money. There were several other teams that had more talent (on paper) and couldn't/wouldn't step up because they had no culture, no leadership (coughcoughdallascough). That's what leadership is worth.

Top offseason priority is locking up some of their players. Negotiate long-term contract extensions with Milano, Dawkins, Poyer and Feliciano. See if they can keep Shaq, Spain, Johnson and Phillips from hitting FA. And make it budget-friendly, because Tre is going to break the bank in a couple of years. Keep your own, then worry about bringing in new guys.

I'd like to have him back, but I wouldn't blame him for going to the highest bidder.

.. He's a bust, PERIOD. You forgot the all caps. You can't expect to be taken seriously without them.

I do't think the starters will play much. It will be a good opportunity to gauge a lot of guys who haven't had much playing time.

This is horrible. Prayers.

I think they are both scheduled to be UFA after the season (somebody correct me if I'm wrong). I'm all for resigning both of them, but I couldn't blame either of them for wanting to test the open market. If they continue playing the way they have been, somebody will be willing to pay a lot of money for either or both of them. I doubt Beane will want to get into a bidding war with anyone, but with the team's cap space he may be able to front-load contracts to make it worth their while to stay.

Looking at the big picture, I think the offense and defense are better than they were last year, and are on track to get even better next year. My concern , like most everyone else's, is the offense. The total is less than the sum of its parts. The OL is ranked higher. Brown and Beasley are upgrades from last year, and so are Singletary and Gore. Allen has a higher passing percentage. It might not be full of Pro Bowlers, but you'd think by looking at the roster the offense would be more productive. Is Allen regressing? Is it the play calling? Honestly, I don't have an answer.

What I think frustrates a lot of national media about Allen is that, among all other quarterbacks, he is unique. He can't be lumped in with Cam Newton and the other QBs, or the strong-armed guys. His natural skills off the charts. His strengths AND his flaws are both at the opposite far edges of the charts (for now). His first-half performances have been lacking, his second halves have been great. On one hand, it makes it impossible to peg him, or rank him against his peers on a comparable scale. On the other hand, he gives his detractors enough ammo to keep taking swings at him. What stands out to me are his comebacks. To me, the fact that he's has performed so many fourth-quarter comebacks says more about him than any other metric. The man is clutch. The fact that many of them came against 'lesser' teams is meaningless. You do it this many times, it means something.

I trust Beane. If he's not holding his own, he'll be gone after the season and they can use the savings to pay Jordan Phillips.

Last-minute decision to attend the game next week. Is there any certain section Bills' fans are congregating, or are we just taking over the whole stadium?

Most people don't think of human trafficking when they're hiring a hooker.

Calling it now, to the Pats. Because of course.

I love this crew, but my best guess is we'll see it switched up a least a couple of times during the season before they settle on a solid line-up. Terrific call to keep 10 OL on the roster. It's too hard to find a workable O-Lineman if someone gets hurt early on. Either that, or they're keeping CM as trade bait - you can never have too many sixth-round draft picks.