CincyBillsFan

I think this guy nails it. I jumped to the conclusion that he was a kroft replacement but this might be more about improving the running game. Especially the H-back stuff. And for the record Hollister is a much better receiver then Smith was. I've seen him make some great catches over the years.

My first response was thinking that the Bills had lost their collective minds. But on further review this was a solid signing. There is no QB controversy. This is all about upgrading the back-up position in the event Allen goes down. I you consider how the Bills offense relies on Allen's mobility then Trubisky is a clear upgrade over Barkley. Sometimes it's really that simple.

Cowherd just reported that the only teams Watson is interested in are Denver & SF. I would love to see him go to Denver so that the AFC West winner will have 6 losses every year!

The thing I find interesting about the RB position is how much it's lost it's allure. Call me old school but I have a sinking suspicion that the conventional "wisdom" here is off base. Sure spending $20 million per year on a RB is not the way to go but in 2019 I watched a RB single handily take his mediocre football team to the AFC conference championship winning two playoff games on the road to do it. I have seen McCaffrey produce over 2,000 yards in offense as the ONLY serious offensive threat on the Panthers in 2019. RB's can and do have impacts every bit as big as WR's do. Answer me this question: if a healthy McCaffrey or Delvin Cook or Alvin Kamara was on the Bills roster last season do you think we'd be Super Champs? I do. I can't even imagine the damage McCaffrey would do catching 5 yard passes from Allen and turning them into 10 - 15 yard gains as Diggs & Beasley run riot through the middle of the field. With a McCaffrey type RB there's no more spying Allen as he rips teams for 80 yards per game without taking many hits. I know the game has changed but it hasn't changed as much as folks are saying. In the playoffs two routine screen passes were botched by Singleterry that McCaffrey or Kamara would have either taken to the end zone or had huge gains on (the slip versus Baltimore and the drop versus KC). When you're a SB contender those types of plays matter. I get we don't have the money to spend lavishly on RB. But the notion that the draft is the only place to look and that our running game issues rest mostly with the O-line are misplaced IMO. If we can get a solid guy in FA we should. If they're to expensive then we should be willing to draft a RB in the 1st round.

Well to start with we're not paying their salaries so yea we'll take the 22 oz ribeye please!

That's how I approach EVERY off season! You should see how good my teams are after I'm done signing all that talent.

I agree that we can't stand pat at RB. I'm of the opinion that the problem with our running game has more to do with the RB's then the O linemen. So given the limited remaining budget and a desperate need for an edge rusher my logic says focus on upgrading RB while keeping our fingers crossed that Ford and the current Guards can combine to get the job done. It might also be more economical to get a better blocking TE or H Back to help the running game then upgrading the guard position. For me the prioritization is simple: Edge Rusher then Defensive Tackle then RB then TE then Guard. By the time we get to guard I doubt we can pick up someone better then what we already have. I'm all for drafting a Guard in rounds 2 - 6 if the right guy is there. But I don't trust putting a rookie in a Super Bowl contenders interior O line unless we have to because of injury.

December 1969 was a vivid memory for me. I had earlier memories but this one stands out. The Bills lost to the Chiefs for the 2nd time that season. The score was 22 - 19 and for the 2nd time Stenerud kicked 5 FG's to beat Buffalo. I remember my dad and uncle complaining that they shouldn't even allow FG's in football. They wanted to ban the damn things. I remember being surprised at how angry they got. A month later our whole house was packed and rooting hard for the Chiefs to win the Super Bowl. My dad & uncle loved it when Stenerud kicked those first 3 FG's to put the Chiefs up 9 - 0! Back then the AFL/NFL rivalry was a real thing. The NFL lost something great with the merger. You old school fans know what I'm talking about. There was a camaraderie among AFL fans that was unique in sports. We all rooted for the Jets in the 1969 and then the Chiefs in the 1970 Super Bowls.

I could also see them standing pat at guard. They may conclude that they're good enough and they actually have decent depth at the position. This would allow them to focus resources on more pressing needs: D-line, TE and RB.

And their QB play after Tom left. And I don't see that changing next season.

I had the exact same reaction. But for Bengal's fans down here in Cincinnati their take on Allen is based on the late explosion he had on Prime Time and the playoffs. So they're a but behind the curve. The football talk radio guys down here routinely mention Allen and "elite" in the same breadth. They say that for the Bengals to have a shot in the AFC Burrow has to develop into an elite level QB like Mahomes, Allen & Jackson. As an aside, Lamar Jackson has absolutely destroyed the Bengals so you won't get many folks in Cincy throwing out that he isn't an elite passer. In the AFC North they know he'll be a headache for years to come. Then if the Bengals can get out of the Division they have to tangle with Mahomes & Allen. So in their minds everything depends on Burrow.

Bengals fans were hoping to sign Williams this off season: http://thebengalsboard.com/Thread-Daryl-Williams-Re-signs-with-Bills And it's always fun to read a take on the Bills like this from another fan base: Yep, hurts for us Bengal fans, for sure. However, can you really blame the guy for wanting to stay with the Bills? They have one of the most rabid ban bases in football, in Bills Mafia. They have a good team, with what looks like a potential future All-Pro in Allen at QB, they made noise in the playoffs, and are doing their level best to keep the band together. Meanwhile, you have the Bengals. The Bengals missed their sweet spot with 5 straight playoff appearances, their chance to get noticed and command respect from Big Market USA. The team that was, is now diminished and pretty much starting from scratch with a new franchise QB, and a handful of younger, talented players. If I hadn't been a Bengal fan my whole life, it would be really tough to not love the Bills, as a new football fan.

It's a desperation move. The Patriots are running out of options. And check out Newton's 2019 season at Carolina before he was hurt to see that the guy was already sliding fast. If the Jets & Dolphins aren't careful the Bills will inherent an AFC East every bit as inept as the one that NE enjoyed for 20 years.

My guess is that this deal is a good one next year and then a great one for the Bills the following three years as the CAP salary spigot opens up fully.

The Bills were a QB away for over 20 years. That tall order can be as high as Mount Everest.

IMO the reason to sign Allen now is to avoid trouble in the future and get the best possible deal. Since we're all ignorant of what Allen thinks about the process I'm just spitballing here but if Jackson & Mayfield get extended by their teams and Allen doesn't do the Bills create the seeds of discontent and make future negotiations more difficult? I get the Wentz/Goff concerns but honestly Bean has to ignore them. Signing Allen to the best possible long term deal for him and the team will need an imaginative & aggressive approach by Bean. My sense is that once free agency wraps up this will get managements full attention. I don't get the wait until later position on Allen.

You guys are missing the big picture here. This is an obvious attempt to convince DeShawn Watson to lobby for a trade to Miami. By bolstering their O-line in this way, how can Watson say no to the Dolphins?

Funny this topic came up. Driving around town today and listening to the NFL station on Sirius radio the guys doing the show were BOTH saying that after studying Zack Wilson film over the last week they were willing to put him ahead of Lawrence! I'm not ready to go there as it seems like sacrilege to question TL. But I'm seeing more of the so called "experts" saying that Wilson is a lot closer to Lawrence then people think. It would explain why all of a sudden the Jets GM says he'll answer the phone if someone calls about acquiring Darnold. And in the same announcement he praises Darnold through the roof. If the Jets have come to the conclusion that Wilson is an outstanding, elite prospect then it makes more sense to take him in the draft then give up all those picks for Watson or try to get Darnold to work out. In the last two national championship games.

Great effort, thanks for doing this. For my part I would keep Morse as he's a steady eddy vet presence on the line and doesn't cost that much. But your scenario certainly works. Collins from Michigan is interesting. He was a solid WR who didn't benefit from very good QB play in 2019. I'm hoping for more at RB and TE though Sweeney is a definite dark horse and Knox played well down the stretch. It would be HUGE if Knox & Sweeney really stepped it up next season. And there is a good possibility that they just might.

File this under images I'll never be able to erase from my memory - thanks a lot!

Bitter

Well that was a surprise. I wish him best of luck in Phoenix. IMO 31 million with 23 million guaranteed is to much so while I'm disappointed that the Bills didn't get him I would have been nervous if we did get him at that price.

My guess is we would see more foreign games? Maybe Toronto will want to welcome back the Bills! Of course knowing how much the league likes the Bill's we would probably face Cleveland in the first game ever played in Kabul!

This is a great insight. He's like a kid who grew up with parents who wouldn't let him eat junk food and then he goes off to college and discovers the Taco stand & doughnut shop right next door! Like you said he's earned the right to be flirtatious. I wish him luck wherever he goes,

To be clear I said that Watson MIGHT turn into the AFC's version of Stafford if he was traded to Miami or the Jets. You need to get that right to understand my point. And it's NOT flip flopping to point out that you judge a QB based on MULTIPLE factors including stats, leadership, toughness & wins. Again you seem to have failed to grasp that my point was that a QB should be judged by more then just the stats and that intangibles play a big part in the assessment. But can we at least agree that Watson has been fortunate to play on a very good football team through his first 3 seasons? Last year was the first time the team around him sucked. At least that's what your the records you posted above seem to say.