technobot

Exemplary work ethic, and he's already a leader. Great attitude; he's very positive and has swagger without being a cocky prick. There's no fear of any idiocy from him during the offseason, he's too busy working on his game and building chemistry with his teammates. For some reason he strikes me as the type that is furious with all the "Josh Allen is trash and will never amount to anything with his atrocious, unfixable accuracy issues". Like smashing objects every night angry, we just never hear about it. Where Mayfield wears it like a shirt, Allen doesn't but I really believe it's there and it burns. Not that this kid needs any extra motivation, he's clearly a self-starter. None of this guarantees anything, but he's easy to root for even if he wasn't the QB of my favourite team. Get it done starting this year, Josh, you've got some talent around you now.

I'm cautiously optimistic, but I agree things seem different. I'm thrilled with how free agency started for the Bills, but won't delude myself into thinking they've stacked pro-bowlers across the board. However, Allen has been given enough pieces to (hopefully) succeed. I don't expect him to turn into Jim Kelly or Ben Roethlisberger this year, but I do expect progress. If there's substantial progress, I think many of us will be (pleasantly) surprised with the results, but for me, that is not the expectation.

Agree with sign/trade for/draft an edge rusher. Let's see how Edmunds develops this year, hopefully both he and Allen take a big leap. You would hope that Edmunds' floor is as an edge rusher, and that we will see hints of ceiling starting this year. But don't give up yet, IMO.

Agree, but this is like bizarro offseason. They had a ton of money, warned everyone they would be judicious, and then did that while doing the total opposite of what the pessimist in me expected. Talk about keeping all options on the table... AB, OBJ, now Clowney? Is tomorrow's news "Beane inquired about the availability of Aaron Donald?" "It can't hurt to ask..."

Bills UFAs: Ryan Groy (OL), John Miller (OG), Jordan Mills (OT), Taiwan Jones (RB), Deonte Thompson (WR) Replaced with: Spencer Long (OG), Jon Feliciano (OG), Ty Nsekhe (OT), Frank Gore (RB), John Brown (WR) I see what you did there, Beane (and FO) Obviously not including the others, including "the prize". Also realizing we haven't seen any of these guys play a down together but I'm liking the replacements. The OL can't possibly be worse (easy bar to clear) and despite lots of money being thrown around, most of the contracts have easy outs if things go south. Judicious, indeed.

Agree, I want to see DD renewed and reinvigorated this year, playing alongside quality lineman. Let's judge him after that, last year was a tire fire.

Getting way ahead of myself but 2019 is like the anti-2018. Yes, having a metric ton of cap room is key but contrast the praise being lavished on Nshekhe and with the reactions from signing Newhouse or Bodine last year. Won't even pretend this guy was on my radar, but the feedback from NFL pundits/fans is positive. FO had a plan and are executing. They chased one "premium" name, and I have no qualms with giving a well-regarded, starting center a large contract. Smart moves with the receivers, and Nsekhe is icing on the cake. Agree with the sentiment it gives us total flexibility in the draft: draft Best Stud Available, or trade back and accumulate picks.

Big *if* but *IF* they were able to sign him and D Williams... talk about flipping the script. Last year, JA "protected" by a bottom 5 offensive line, offense had a dearth of playmakers. This year, the line is potentially good, but at least above-average, and the offense would have added a Top 5 playmaker, in his prime... At that point, would the real Josh Allen please stand up? Also, that's fine calculated spending aggression, taking advantage of Allen's cheap years. To temper the eventual letdown, I'll try to convince myself "not in a million years"

Will admit I was never a fan of this, even in theory, but it's intriguing. Talk about giving your young quarterback a playmaker... I doubt it will happen, but then again I never thought this FO would be interested in AB. It's really different this year hearing the Bills be "in" on so many big names.

I think it's a textbook "process" signing. He's a well regarded player and teammate and will (hopefully) show the way for the RB(s) we draft/sign. Another veteran voice in a locker room that is trending younger, and a vocal/example leader unlike McCoy. Insurance if McCoy goes down, otherwise 2/3 RB by committee/game situation. I would guess they supplement by drafting RB later in the draft. They could have gone the "just draft/sign a young guy" route but perhaps they preferred a "known quantity", Gore's age be damned. I doubt the goal here is to get Gore 300+ touches... IMO it's a solid move, fits with their culture, and Gore is still productive.

If that's the case, I'm even more thrilled.

If that's the case, I'm even more thrilled!

So, reading the tea leaves, Beane and the FO actually had a plan to sign one of the top 2 centers in FA. They actually had a backup plan if Paradis fell through and no, they weren't settling on a future with Spencer Long as the starting center. Do I assume too much? Well done, Beane, but listen to the posters and go get a D Williams; maybe that's part of the overall plan, too...

I'm happy that at least the Pegulas don't "make the call" in the war room like Haslam has been accused of doing. Unless they do, in which case... make it stop. Terry does seem like the type to let the people he hired do their jobs. I agree that finding the right people is the hardest part whether it's Haslam or Pegula's problem.

"I should've known way back when... You know why, David? Because of the kids. They called me Mr Glass."

Until I've got my dancing reps in I'll just reply here: 60-80% on both as well. They've made mistakes, some head slapping moves in both years have also found some real diamonds in the rough. RE: Beane, not quite sure about his pro personnel operation because I'm not sold on the free agent signings over the last 2 years (and I don't hate Star at all, liked the signing, but agree he's not quite the game changing run stuffing, 2 blocker eraser I was expecting). I am however encouraged by what seems to be their "under the radar" or even scrap heap type pickups (Wallace, Foster). In two years (I know he didn't run the draft in year one, but I'll lump it together) it just "feels" they are hitting on more picks than I've seen with other regimes. I realize this is probably wish-fulfillment type thinking but my hazy memories of drafts throughout the drought were good player here, good player there with nothing in bunches. Contrast to what I think has been a solid 2 draft haul to build the core of a good, young defense, and a potential franchise QB who has given fans hope heading into next year. RE: McDermott, very conservative, but most coaches are. He seems to get the most out of marginal NFL type talents, and motivation is probably a strength. Interested to see if he can learn from and correct his mistakes, there have been some discouraging signs but it's early. Would like to see how well he does with a (hopefully vastly) improved roster/offense. Really seems like a partnership with Beane (what Rex said about Whaley buying the groceries and Rex making the meal, except McBeane actually do this). Let's see how they spend that stack of grocery money this year; I'm onboard with being judicious and rolling what they can into 2020 to set the stage for resigning the core. Excited to see Beane, McDermott, Allen and the defense's progress in 2019.

I realize it wasn't listed, but I agree with the "hands" sentiment... large catch radius type would complement Allen well (who I feel will never be the pinpoint accuracy type). That kind of a receiver is probably a "size" kind of guy, ideally. Before Foster's emergence I would definitely say "speed" type, and even with his arrival you can never have enough of those. But IMO the first type is required, immediately, for Allen's sake.

No sir. Agree with the Cowboys (trauma of SBs 3 and 4 will never ever heal, but the better team/coach simply won). Never really hated the Giants (the one that truly got away) and the hatred for the Redskins faded quickly, I've felt sorry for them through the Snyder era. For some reason the Saints (dirty bounty hunters), although I'd like to see Brees win one more before he retires. And the 49ers from high school rivalry with friends who were fans but the hate has probably faded at this point. I think Rodgers comes off as a bit of a whiny prima donna but I still feel he's an all time great QB (who was probably wasted) and like Brees, wouldn't mind seeing him win one more. But no outright hate or even dislike for Green Bay or any other team in the NFC other than the ones I've listed.

Nice find. I don't think McDermott and Beane are adverse to giving second chances, and I'm sure they do their research to make sure the player is making an effort to be a good soldier. They kind of did the same thing with Foster, using a PS demotion to "wake him up" and it seemed to work. I'm sure if Williams reverts to being a bad apple they will have no qualms moving on. It's a nice move, feels like low-risk high-reward.

Good points about his 40 time but let's not discount the fact he's this giant kid, strong as an ox, and probably has elite speed (for quarterbacks) wearing 20 lbs of pads and equipment.

Cautious optimism. He seems too conservative for my liking but you can say that for more than half of the HCs in the NFL. He does seem to motivate well and has a knack for getting the most out of players who are fringe NFLers. I will admit I was down on him for most of this year but we'll see how he does with a (hopefully, vastly) improved roster. I will venture this: in two offseasons, with considerable churn/jettisoning of non-process players... he's broken down and (partially) rebuilt a quality defense. Run defense not-withstanding, it seems to be the makings of a "modern NFL" defense (stop the pass). I wouldn't say elite, please don't hate, but it definitely has the potential. Credit can be shared, but despite my criticism/skepticism of McBeane they have to get some kudos for: White, Milano, Dawkins (whether guard or tackle I still think he's a piece), Zay (whether a good 2 or 3, the potential is there), Allen, Edmunds, Philips, T Johnson, Wallace, Foster, (maybe) Teller. They lose marks for the some misses as well, and some true head smackers (Nate Dog) but especially on defense, they've built a solid core. Not all of those guys will be pro-bowlers but from limited evaluation, they seem at least like good, young, core pieces moving forward. Keep building out the rest. I'm probably drinking a little process kool aid here but for two seasons, this seems different than what I've seen before. My memory is probably fading with age.

Good game, and go Rivers I hope he wins the big one. And really happy for A-Lynn... the guy is a quality head coach and I like his aggression. San Diego got a diamond in the rough.

As awesome as it would be... wow. Talk about being the "entire offense"! Stats like this would make my created/all 99s franchise-mode QB in Madden blush.

Much like Allen, I'm excited to see what he does in year two and (hopefully) see them both take it to the next level. Also like Allen, I saw improvement during the year, so there's optimism. He has work to do and weaknesses to address but the foundation is certainly there... it's headshaking to consider Edmunds is only 20. Worst case scenario, the Bills have a guy they can probably turn into an elite pass rusher. Best case scenario is something beyond Urlacher, *THE* ultimate "modern NFL" middle linebacker/quarterback of the defense. If Milano bounces back completely from his injury and also takes another developmental step, the Bills will have quite the pair of linebackers. I'll enjoy watching this reality show to see what the result is.

I was very pessimistic on Day 1 of the draft; I'm not a scout and I didn't watch much if any film or tape (is that a thing in 2018) on him... so will freely admit my judgement was formed by the analysts and whatever I had read leading up to the draft. I was unimpressed and becoming depressed before his injury, even with the Vikings game (although that game obviously showed some flashes). Post injury, he has started looking like he can be "it", and I started becoming cautiously optimistic. Now? Yeah, I'm all in. He's obviously not "there" yet, but I think he can get there. His ceiling is sky-high, and I'm still of the belief he doesn't even have to reach it for this team to be successful as long as Beane and McDermott do their jobs and surround Allen with the proper pieces: other playmakers on offense, and a stout offensive line. It looks like the Bills are on the way to building a good, potentially elite defense, and that can only help a young quarterback. I've always been the first to comment to my friends "a running quarterback will eventually get himself killed" and that is still my worry for Allen, but man... the kid is a pure playmaker. Watching him run is hilarious: this giant white kid who isn't even sneaky fast, he's just fast, full stop. I remember being frustrated watching EJ Manuel because I had been told EJ could run and be a playmaker yet I never saw him do anything like Allen has. His ability to scramble, extend, improvise and fling is reminiscent of Roethlisberger, except he's not getting killed out there... yet and hopefully ever. Agreed that he must improve as a passer, but I don't think he's going to be the Brady type and don't think he needs to be, either. He definitely has to improve his accuracy, but for me, it's best to temper expectations realistically and realize he'll never be pinpoint accurate... and that's OK. It goes without saying that pairing this kid with a "catch anything, large radius" type WR (like what Benjamin was advertised to be) will make Allen positively lethal. While understanding the Miami game was not a do or die type game against an elite opponent, Allen still made passes he wasn't making earlier in the year, against professionals whose job is to prevent such passes. I think part of the package will be several throws every game that will be in another area code and will occasionally make you shake your head. He's clearly a process guy, and will try his hardest to become the guy the Bills need... if he doesn't get there it certainly won't be from lack of effort, or off the field stupidity, or ego, or any other nonsense. This is a strange spot for me because for the first time since Kelly... there's legitimate hope (for me) that the Bills have a guy who might truly be the franchise QB they've been searching decades for.