Florida Bills Fanatic

Because we haven't built the downtown dome yet...lol

I was at the game and you are correct. The Oilers also played a very poor prevent defense. The Bills also started playing a very aggressive man coverage defense to take away the short passing game. The Bills defense came out in the second half and played a very physical game. They dominated the line of scrimmage. I also remember Talley being very animated encouraging guys on the sideline and whipping up the crowd. It was a great game to see in person.

You may very well be correct. If one of the consensus top three DE's are there at 22, I believe Beane will grab him. Thereafter, on day two, I believe he will be hunting receivers and CB's. The moves that the Bills make in free agency may cause me to change my expectations. I also expect Beane to make at least one trade to move up on day two. Given the information that has been put out from a number of sources that there are at least 16 WR's in the draft that will grade out as day one or two picks, Beane has options. There also isn't uniform consensus on the top five WR's in the draft. I trust that the scouting departments for NFL teams have a better handle on this than any sports writer.

I see your point. I think most people would say that they want a very good free agent that isn't over-priced and over-hyped ( Cooper ) to improve the team in 2020. They would also say the they want to draft a really good wide receiver with a pick that provides good value for the longer term (not over-drafting a guy ). In summary, most want a free agent that can play immediately and a draftee that will become the #1 guy sooner rather than later. The problem as I see it is that too may people latch on to the hype and those are the only players that they want the Bills to get. Fortunately, Beane and company won't be impressed by the hype and will improve the team without a journey back into cap hell.

Someone should tell Joe B. to put down the tequila and step away from the bar.

I couldn't agree with you more. I expect Beane to try to address DE and WR in the first two rounds. I think the order will depend on who he was able to sign in free agency. The wild card in all of this may be a talented guy slipping to them in another position of need. Regardless of who is selected, the "woe is me" crowd will appear to trash the selections. I find the rants entertaining.

You're exactly right. There is too much money at stake for the players and career time for them is a limited resource. The 17th game and extra playoff games boost league revenue and therefore the salary cap. The NFLPA may try to push an increase in roster size to increase the number of dues paying members (their revenue).

Good post. Rosen's best outcome is that some team misses out on the QB game of musical chairs and he becomes the consolation prize for a desperate team. He might also get a chance if a team loses a QB in preseason. As unlikely as any of this may be, such is the life of Josh Rosen. Personally, I wasn't high on him coming out of college and I'm not shocked by any of this.

At the end of the day, the feeling of the fans is irrelevant. For owners, players, tv execs, and agents; it is all about increasing the revenue. We fans are a resilient breed. The wounds scab over and heal. We will continue our pilgrimage to the stadium, pay to park, drink ten dollar beers, complain about the officiating, whine about losing, and get ready to do it again the following week. Some will like the changes and some will hate them but very few will give up following their team because of them. That is the reality that the owners are banking on.........just sayin'

Your memory is accurate. I remember people talking about him as a sub 4.4 forty version of Marshall Faulk. The hype train was definitely rolling for CJ. The Bills definitely did not need a running back at the time. His selection was a poor choice by a bad management group.

You make a great point and I think you are exactly correct. Detroit needs serious help on defense. They don't have a lot of picks to spend to move up. What better way to have the effect of moving up to get your guy without actually moving up? All they have to do is convince Steven Ross and his band of football idiots that they are serious about making this move. Then Miami needs to make Washington a crazy offer that they can't refuse. The result for the Bills would be positive. Burning up some extra draft picks to get a guy that would probably be there for Miami anyway. Tua appears to be an injury machine and it doesn't bother me if he ends up in Miami.

Based on your response, I suppose you are expecting a TE to be drafted in the first couple of rounds or obtained in a high profile trade. I don't see any difference makers being available in free agency. I guess we'll see if you are correct. I doubt it but we'll have to wait and see.

With the needs at WR, O-line, pass rusher, D-line, and CB; the need for TE falls down in the priority. That was the point of my previous post. After spending a third and seventh round pick last year on two guys that have shown pretty good potential, Beane won't be giving up on them to spend big bucks or more high round draft picks on more guys. He may replace Smith, Kroft, and Croom with better second tier veterans. This is what the whole Olsen thing is about.

At this point in the off season, there is a lot of speculation and misinformation being tossed around. I don't believe that TE is a pressing need. When a guy like Olsen becomes available, it just makes good sense to kick the tires and see if you can make an incremental improvement in the roster. If they sign Olsen, one of the other guys will become expendable. In any event, this isn't going to be a big deal that alters the potential of the team to any great degree.

Unfortunately for him, that's not how owners look at it. Some would also argue that Dallas was carried by Zeke (pun intended) and Dak just managed the game. I think he was more than that but certainly not an elite player. I always enjoy seeing turmoil in big D.

Dalton is likely to end up on a roster where a team is looking for average qb play or as a bridge to get a new draft choice ready to play. Don't forget about Hill either. He'll get a chance to compete for a starting job somewhere.

Overall, Joe B.'s assessment seems fair. I put some of the blitz problem issue squarely on Daboll. He persisted in going empty backfield against teams that blitz with regularity. This put Allen in some bad spots on third down, unnecessarily. Better use of screens, draws, and receivers running hot read routes will curtail the use of the blitz against them. Daboll needs to improve on this as much as Allen; maybe even more.

Sounds like something that a troll or agent would throw out there. I guess they're one in the same ....lol. IMHO fat chance anyone is going to pay Phillips $15m per year or risk being stuck with that sized contract to try to facilitate a trade.

Good points! There are some reasons that players will want to be extended. Any contract that White signs will pay him significantly more than the fifth year option for that year. As others have pointed out, his new contract will have some significant upfront money and guaranteed money. Don't underestimate the value of having millions of dollars a year or two earlier. The reality of injuries is real. It does not have to be a career ending injury to have a major impact on the future value of a contract. Some players and agents do subscribe to the bird in the bush philosophy to take what is there when it is there. IMHO the chances of an early extension are a long shot, but not impossible.

Unless Beane has a better player under contract to fill their roster spot, why would he cut any of these guys? $9 million more when you already have over $80 million in cap space doesn't make a compelling case to create a bunch of holes in your roster. With some better free agent signings, I can definitely see some of these guys being released. I doubt that they cut Sweeney in any of these scenarios. I say that because they didn't try to move him to the practice squad and risk losing him. He is a low cost player with some decent upside potential. If Beane decides that he requires more cap room and lacks better roster options, he can also restructure some more contracts.

I would not call Murphy, Kroft, Morse or Long high risk. Other than Morse, the other three were not huge dollar signings and therefore not much risk involved. Guys like AJ Green aren't going to sign low cost contracts because some desperate GM will pay them. Not for big money. Risk was fairly low.

I don't expect Beane to take on any high risk players. I can't think of one that is worth spending money to get. AJ Green is a decent guy but has developed an injury history that is typical for players his age. When you look back at the recent moves made by the Bills, they haven't signed any head cases or players with any red flag character issues. There are other low risk options available to address the Bill's roster issues.

You could be right but the complex funding arrangements made to make the massive LA construction cost work, presumed two occupants. Someone would have to ante up some big money to move the Chargers. I find it unlikely but the NFL never ceases to amaze me with some of their decisions.

and some decent size to make plays in the red zone

Excellent post! The hard salary cap insures that the competitive aspects of teams on the field remain reasonably close. Revenue competitive differences come into the picture with what an owner is able or willing to spend for coaching staff, training facilities, medical staff, player support, etc. Some owners are also cash flow strapped so that they are unable to spend as much on signing bonuses and other up front payments. Fortunately, Pegulas are in the top one-third of owners in terms of personal wealth so some of these factors are less critical to them. They will most likely look at things in terms of their return on investment and growing the value of their franchise. They also have to endure the whining of fellow owners that complain about their smaller revenue take when they play on the road in Buffalo. Make no mistake, the Pegulas are in this to make money and will do what optimizes their opportunity to make money for the long term. Having not seen their economic analysis of the options to build new or renovate, I won't venture a guess. The only thing that is a given is that a bunch of money (private and public) is going to be spent to enhance the profit generated by the Bills.