Florida Bills Fanatic

Mario was not worth the money he was paid. He played okay when he played but his best days were behind him. He was not the dominating guy you would expect from that level of pay. He certainly didn't help lead the team to the playoffs. I watched him very closely and I watched a number of other players walk down the road because Buffalo didn't have cap space to keep them.

Although I understand how some people are enticed by the prospect of landing a first overall draft pick with freakish athletic ability, I don't see it happening. The salary price will be extremely high and it just feels Mario Williams 2.0. He has missed a bunch of games and his productivity doesn't justify the type of contract he is looking for. It just feels like it would be the start of a journey to salary cap hell. It seems contrary to the way Beane has told us that he will construct the team. I may be wrong but I wouldn't bet on it.

Thanks for the post Virgil. I agree with the vast majority of your observations. It became clear to me early on that winning the game was very important to Detroit. Their coaching staff under delivered last season and are probably feeling the heat from poor showings in this preseason. They ran a lot of line stunts, blitzes, and combination zone coverage on defense. On offense, it appeared that they had a game plan expecting a lot of simple zone coverage from Buffalo. As I watched the Bills, it was equally apparent that they were doing a lot to focus on talent evaluation.

It will happen if the players benefit financially, the NFLPA gets more roster spots (dues paying union members), and the owners get more revenue ( increased tv contracts and stadium revenue from the two increased regular season games). Unbridled greed will drive all of the parties to make the change. The NFL is all about the money.

Enough to string together a couple of first downs but only if the o-line is getting the job done. If the line is stinking it up, get him out.

Practices are a more controlled environment and the probability of a hit that takes the QB to the ground in practice is significantly less than in a preseason game. This debate over sitting guys vs. playing them will always exist. IMHO limiting preseason game exposure is more important than the benefit of live game experience. I don't want Allen being taken out by some d-tackle that's on the bubble trying to get noticed by his coach. Let's face it; preseason games don't contain the real defensive schemes and full offensive game plans that the players will see in the regular season. In the end, it's a matter of the risk vs. the reward. Teams will make that choice and decide on the best course of action for them. I bet Rivera would make a different decision today.

I agree with you completely on this. The Jests are a dumpster fire. Injuries, suspensions and lack of talent on the o-line don't bode well for them. I think the Jests and Miami are in a race to the bottom of the AFCE. I don't personally care which one finishes at the bottom as long as both lose a lot of games on that journey.

I picked Knox because we have seen so little of his play after his injury. Actually, I want to see all of the new guys play. This is a great situation for the team. It's been a while since the team has had this many new guys with potential to start filling the roster with quality depth. This is the result of Beane's approach to team building. As for me, I'm just going to sit back and enjoy the journey of this franchise to become consistently competitive.

You are absolutely right. This guy and his agent are out in left field. He has two years left on his agreement and he is butting heads with the owner of the team. It's not like he is negotiating with a GM in fear for his job. Zeke would do well to recall the Jerry Jones /DeMarco Murray saga. Jerry let a league rushing champ walk away without batting an eye. In this case he has Zeke under contract for two years plus the franchise tag. That sounds like a lot of leverage to me. It also doesn't hurt Jerry that the rookie Pollard has looked pretty good in preseason. You can tell that Jerry is feeling it when talking about the new contract they signed with Smith. His quote about there being less of the pie today than there was yesterday was a priceless shot at Zeke.

Unfortunately not, but you may have had some nightmares over them.

I think she has his Hammer pants too!

I appreciate the amount of time you put in to create your predictions. I agree with a lot of what you have written. IMHO, I think you are seriously wrong about the Saints, Carolina, Jets, Bears and Colts. KC won't win 19 but they will be the number 1 seed in the AFC. After that, Reid will find a way to flush another great team before getting to the Super Bowl.

I don't know why anyone wastes their time listening to this moron. The posters on this forum routinely express more actual knowledge of the game and the team than you will ever hear from Schopp or the Bulldog. They're just pathetic.

It was a great trade for the Bills. Got a few good years out of Shady and Philly sent Kiko packing.

I have been a Shady fan for a long time. It has been fun to watch him over the years. His game is based on quickness and that short burst of speed to hit the gaps. He appears to have lost some of that ability in the run game. He is still a dangerous receiver and can still beat a guy in space. IMHO his future will be as a third down back at a much reduced dollar contract with another team after this season. Let's hope he can stay healthy and pull off one more good season in 2019.

When can we move off the trade Shady mantra? A 6 mil contract, 31 years old, and declining productivity equals zero trade value. No team is going to trade for him based on his performance two or three years ago. There are currently better options than him in free agency right now. I hope there is some mentally deficient GM out there that just can't go on without taking Shady off our hands but I doubt that one exists. The only real options for the Bills are to keep him or cut him. I expect them to keep him and start the season using him. If the productivity isn't there, his usage will evaporate. As for Zay, he may not have shown enough productivity to garner much interest around the league. In a scenario where a team loses multiple receivers, there may be some minimal interest. Other than that, I'm not expecting a trade. IMHO he's good enough to be a team's second or third receiver but clearly not a lead dog.

Actually Cardale Jones had a decent game today. He made several really nice throws. He may not hold a roster spot in LA but he has a decent chance to catch on somewhere.

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Kicking game looked bad.

Exactly.....how many times have we gone off the rails over a couple of preseason games just to be crushed in the regular season? Granted, the roster appears to be better and deeper, but let's wait until the games are real.

I was at that game and he had ample opportunity to slide. He chose not to so that he could make a first down. Had the defender not lowered his head with a bad form tackle, he could have creamed Allen. I'm sure the coaching staff explained this to him. A starting QB needs to be aware of the longer term ramifications of getting injured and play smart.

The quantity of runs may not be the real issue. Running as the game and the play dictates should be the determining factor. Take what the defense is giving. Getting out of bounds or sliding to avoid contact needs to be the priority. Hurdling linebackers is just a stupid thing for a starting QB to attempt regardless of how cool it was.

I believe that the only time he ever stopped running his mouth was at his post Super Bowl press conference, after Denver kicked his butt. He pouted like a little girl and walked away from the podium. That has to be my favorite Cam Newton moment.

I'm not sure anyone really needed to dupe Rex. He's just an idiot that was in way over his head. If his old man hadn't had a successful NFL coaching career, he would have been lucky to be a beer vendor in a stadium. What a waste of two seasons for the Bills.

I'm greedy! I want both of those guys to become great tight ends that the Bills have lacked forever. Time will tell.