Florida Bills Fanatic

As much as we spend time focused on CB, I'm more concerned about the play of Micah Hyde. He seems to be slow to react to passes over the middle in front of him. He's missing tackles and appears to be out of position. Maybe he has to play deeper because of concern about the play of the corners but whatever it is, it isn't delivering good results.

I don't care how much rest the Titans have had. They have had little actual practice time. Their secondary is slow and has been vulnerable. Diggs and Brown should have big days.

I'm not as concerned as many people are. When you look at the game flow, playing with a lead causes teams to change their strategy. The secondary backs off, fewer d-line stunts, less blitzing, and more deep zone coverage. It's about trading yards for time. I do think Frazier and McD have gone to it too early in some games. The Bills also seem to come out flat after halftime. This falls directly on the players. In addition, the injuries to Milano and Edmunds have had a huge impact both in run defense and pass coverage. I also think that Oliver is playing hurt (more hurt than many believe) and it has slowed him and the pass rush down.

Beane has probably already compiled a list of current free agents and practice squad guys for this situation. He may also be fielding calls from some of the losing teams that will be having a fire sale. Other than Houston, it may be a little early for teams to start dumping guys into the trade market but there are at least four other dumpster fire teams out there.

I do have to admit that my sphincter was a little puckered up as I watched Matt Barkley looking at the tablet on the sidelines getting ready to enter the game. That's about as close to hysteria that I have gotten so far this season. Let's all hope we don't have to deal with that prospect again.

Darren Waller is no joke. Hyde, Poyer and Edmunds better play a lot better than last week. I expect Gruden to pound Jacobs until the defense shows that they can stop him.

I heard it would be Hoyer.

His ego drives him to do things to remain relevant. He has created some good music but it has been a while. A lot of musicians don't know when it is time to go away gracefully. The usual tip off is when their music starts being played as elevator background music or as a jingle in advertising. Really, someone from the so called garden state should take a drive around their community before taking shots at Buffalo. Just sayin'

Not necessarily

In most states, worker's compensation laws protect employers from many types of legal actions. I doubt any law suit will deliver the response that most of us would like to see. It will take internal action by the league. In addition, the players are ultimately responsible for doing the things on the field. It will take some fines or suspensions to get players to speak out about the type of direction that Williams is giving to his players. A responsible owner would send Williams to the unemployment line but as we all know, the JESTS have no such owner.

Just talked to a friend of mine that has been a life long JESTS fan. He works in sports media. He lives about half way between New York and Philly. He declared that he lives in the septic tank of professional football (LOL). As some have pointed out, the fans are apoplectic over the front office and coaching staff but have now focused on the poor ownership. They also believe that there will be a fire sale, much like Miami did and will be aiming to draft a new QB (Lawrence). He also believes that both Gase and Douglas are goners at the end of the season.

You could be correct about this. Some teams are only interested in a DB that can play excellent press man to man coverage. There are not many of them around, so they have to pay them a lot to keep them. McD doesn't depend on strict man to man defense and can get good use out of other skills. I think he places a high value on smart players that don't make mistakes and guys that are willing tacklers. As you say, Norman was a good example.

The league has communicated that they are in the process of changing some future games of the Steelers and Titans in order to schedule their postponed game. This will impact a number of other teams. Until they release these changes to the public, it isn't necessarily a done deal that the Bills will be playing the Titans in week 5. We all just need to chill at this point.

McD's big nickel defense is susceptible to off tackle runs to the slot DB side. The Rams ran there repeatedly with success. I think T. Johnson had 11 tackles shortly after half time. Edmunds did not appear to be moving well. His best plays were made when it didn't require much lateral movement. Hopefully another week to heal will help him. Hyde looked bad again this week. He has been slow to react to the intermediate passes over the middle. He was playing pretty deep against a team that doesn't have a real deep threat. The Rams also took advantage of the DE's that were crashing down on the running plays. Even after giving up a couple of bigger gains on sweeps, they made no adjustment. In general, the defense looked like they were content to play soft pass coverage, avoid big plays, rely on the big lead, and watch the clock run out on the Rams. Two turnovers made that strategy look like a poor choice. Even with all of that, McD will make the right moves to correct the issues.

My point was that I doubt that the Bills had high expectations for Kroft when they signed him (and over paid him). They were desperate to fill a glaring hole with no good options. Stats didn't tell the whole 2017 story but the game film did. He's an average receiver and below average blocker. I do agree that they probably expected more than they have gotten from him. Staying available to play has been his biggest failure.

They paid him because there was competition to sign him. He was the only free agent that offered any sort of upgrade to the existing roster. If they were confident that he was as talented as you suggest, he would not have been signed to a shorter term deal. They had no great expectations but they were desperately trying to fill a significant void in the roster. His signing was criticized at the time by several different sources in the sports media. Kroft was viewed as an average guy that just got over paid because of supply and demand. It was also interesting that the Bills continued to bring in other guys to evaluate/try out even after the Kroft signing. As we all know, they eventually went on to draft Knox and Sweeney.

We need to remember that Kroft was signed when the Bills had nothing at TE and the free agent market was void of any real talent. He was the best option available. That's why his original contract was as good as it was. He was never viewed as a guy with the talent to be a viable long term starter. If Daboll has no confidence in him, we'll see more four WR sets or more H-back/fullback formations or a steady diet of Lee Smith. I suspect that the Bills will run the ball more than they have in previous games. LA has been giving up some decent rushing yardage.

I agree with you on this. I saw a fair number of his college games and was impressed with him. I had no idea that he would adapt to the NFL as quickly as he has. He does not look like a rookie on the field. He has a real chance to be one of the few rookie WR's that produces in their first season.

As we all hoped and you astutely observed. Kudos

Exactly...should be a no brainer

Given the pathetic state of the Phins, McD may be taking a calculated gamble to protect some key pieces of the defense for the long haul. They already play a lot of "Big Nickel" and Miami is not much of a threat to run the ball. Their best offensive weapon is hurting and will be a game time decision. I expect to see a lot of single high safety coverage and Poyer being in the box most of the time. Klein and company don't need to be spectacular, just solid with no blown assignments. The Bills have some tough games in upcoming weeks and will need Milano and Edmunds healthy for those games. I also expect the Bills offense to run the ball a lot given Miami's weak front seven. Hopefully get a lead, burn up the clock, and play solid pass defense.

You couldn't be more correct. The o-line was terrible. Maybe just as poor as last season, despite all of the new additions. His receivers were bad as well. Between the drops and short arming attempts in traffic, Darnold was always behind the chains. Darnold's situation is more of a function of the lack of surrounding player talent, poor coaching, poor front office, and an owner that apparently doesn't care. We shouldn't expect a young QB to overcome all of that, regardless of how much help Palmer provides.

Looking at league wide statistics can be misleading. When you group guys punting outside with the dome punters and the guy punting in Denver, there is an advantage bias. No doubt he has messed up some punts but so do some of the other guys out there. I believe he is on a short leash and can be gone in the wink of an eye. For right now it's his job to lose and I have no doubt that Beane will release him if his performance is not what they want.

Sometimes it has more to do with doing a favor for an agent than it does with real interest by the team.

I'd say you did better than a B. You should go with a B+. You were certainly better than some of the dart throws I read here.