Florida Bills Fanatic

I was at the game and I remember going home thinking that the team had quit on Ryan. I'm glad that I wasn't the only one to think that.

I agree with you. Until they deliver some results, it is mere speculation. I can say that in my opinion, none of our current guys have the physical skills of Eric Moulds. He was the real deal and the Bills could use a guy like him.

Until we know Daboll's plans for the offense this season, it is tough to know how the final 53 will shake out. There are always surprises and I am often surprised when I see good special teams players hit the street to retain a marginal depth player. Most of the opinions that I have read here are plausible with what we know now. We'll have to continue to watch what happens in camp and the preseason games.

I agree with you. This is a make or break year for Mariota. He has been unable to stay healthy and really has not become the passer that the Titans had hoped he would be. Losing Lewan puts Mariota in a bad situation. In addition, Henry really benefited from Lewan's run blocking and he will miss that for four games. Vrabel is a smart guy and he will try to lean on the run game and short passing game. Delaney Walker and Dion Lewis will be more important for these four games. Vrabel needs to do what he can to protect Mariota during this suspension.

Foster is still good enough to start on a few teams and I bet he will be looking to go to a team with a chance to start. I don't see him having a legit shot to compete for a starting role in Buffalo. He would be fantastic depth but he won't settle for that.

With the talented young people that the Bills have in their FO, it is just a matter of time before some of them move to other teams for promotional opportunities. Keeping them all for this season will provide the Bills with flexibility to fill future openings when they occur. It also won't hurt to have another capable guy to help prepare for the 2020 draft ( since the Bills will be picking later than in the recent few years ).

Detroit and Raiders look to be too high.

Blades are probably made by forced labor in the back of some South Florida massage parlor!

This is just a really sad situation. For those that think this is a really bad episode, I fear the end game for Richie will be "off the meter" bad. Without the NFL/football providing some boundaries and structure for his life, I believe he will spiral further out of control.

I think the player has almost zero leverage at this point. I don't see the Chargers throwing Gurley type money at him. They may very well offer him an extension with significant money but nothing crazy. As someone already pointed out, he has missed a bunch of games and the team will be somewhat reluctant to break the bank with a ton of guaranteed money. They have several contracts to deal with next season that will play into this situation. If he sits for a season, he'll miss out on earnings for this year and will still be looking at the franchise tag in 2020. If LA lets him walk after 2020, he will be in significantly less demand than Bell was. He shouldn't count on another team being as dumb as the Jets. The Chargers have some options as well. There are still some unsigned veteran backs available and there are always a few late cuts in camps around the league. Ekeler is a decent third down back who could fit with a couple of veterans to make a workable committee. I don't think LA will panic and cave in for crazy money. It will be best for both sides to reach a deal and I think Gordon deserves a reasonable extension.

Good post. I don't believe Beane will be pushed into a corner for any player except maybe for a franchise QB. When you look at the best teams with the best cap management, they have about six guys that are highly paid because they carry the team. If the Bills are working on a similar plan, it isn't too hard to guess who Beane may value and pay highly in the future. This doesn't mean that they won't pay some guys well but not at a level that elite players receive. Other than White, most of the recent draft picks and free agents still have a lot to prove. This includes Dawkins, Allen, Edmonds, and Milano. As fans we get emotionally attached to players, want to keep them even when the price is higher than the value of the player. GMs can't allow that to happen or they eventually crash the team and lose their jobs. Beane appears to be too smart to go down that road.

Bieber....? ouch Was he in the concussion protocol when he provided these responses?

I agree with you on this. In addition, Star needs to do a better job of keeping the guards off our linebackers. His role is to engage multiple guys in the middle and fill space. He was inconsistent last year.

Monte Ledbetter, Tom Day, Charlie Ferguson, and Wayne Patrick are some that I have met over the years. All were great guys.

Although I wouldn't bet money on this, I wouldn't be completely shocked if Frank pulls it off this season. All it will take is an injury or two and he will be right there to get the carries to make it happen. I thought he was all done when he signed in Indianapolis and then again in Miami. Obviously, I was wrong. He has proven to be a tough guy that works hard and he isn't a quitter. He's an easy player to like.

For a guy who has one foot out of the league, putting yourself in a questionable situation isn't very wise (if it actually happened). He may be completely innocent in this situation but given his other problems, many won't give him any benefit of the doubt.

I agree with you. Pegulas don't have exclusive rights on dumb comments by an owner. I lived in Indianapolis for a while and I believe Irsay may be the gold standard in dumb owner commentary and behavior. We should all be thankful that Buffalo isn't dealing with something like that.

I think you are correct in your assessment. An injury or two may change the situation. A late cut from another team could also change the status quo. At this point, we'll just have to watch it play out. In any event, I'm just glad that the team has options that are much improved over 2018.

I agree with you. When you take into account the frequency of injuries in the league, having four guys that can play is more of a necessity than a luxury. In this case, it is a good deal when Foster has a cheap contract.

When it comes to the evaluation of talent, real football people like Polian, Parcells, Bellicheat, and countless others are clearly more qualified to assess talent than some journalism major that writes sports stories. If you think all of the football coaches and executives are phys. ed. majors, it would serve you well to do some background research. If football people are literally wrong all the time, the best players available wouldn't be on teams. I would accept that there are frequent errors and that is due to the inexact nature of their business. Fortunately, it is a self correcting system. GM's, personnel executives, and coaches that get more things wrong than they get right find themselves out of a job. Sports writers are seldom dismissed for the accuracy of their predictions. Like I said before, if you want to place your confidence in sports writers, that's your right.

It was a moment of insanity. I'll strive not to let it happen again.

Injuries are part of the game, no doubt. When you look at his play, he was very good. He was the best option available and was being courted by other teams. Putting a rookie center in front of Allen was not an option that the team was ready to accept. The Bills paid what was necessary to make the signing, unless you feel that the Bills just threw extra money at him out of the goodness of their heart. As far as not being able to develop their own, we should not forget that this is all the result of a rather unexpected career ending injury. Front loading the money when the team had a lot of cap space was probably a decent strategic decision and it was likely necessary to close the deal. High profile free agents, that have multiple options, are going to have a higher price and more favorable terms. Time will tell whether or not he is worth the money. I put more faith in the real football people that evaluate players and make these decisions instead of sports writers who base their opinions more subjectively. If you want to place more credence on the sports writers, that is your right.

Great post! You nailed it in a great summary. Thanks

I agree with you for this season. I believe that Yeldon will be the third down back next season with Singletary being the lead back. It won't surprise me if McCoy, Gore, Yeldon, and Singletary are all on the final roster this year. It is rare that teams don't have running backs injured and missing games. Last year, the Bills experienced this with questionable depth talent. I believe that Yeldon and Singletary were brought in to improve the reserve talent this year and to be the main guys for next year. McCoy has absolutely no trade value with his age, contract cost, and last year's performance. I don't expect him to be cut either. Given the struggles of the o-line last year, McCoy's poor season isn't completely on him and McD knows that.

I agree with you. It's hard to identify a good offensive team that does not have a good center. This will prove to be money well spent. I have trouble with many ESPN evaluations of teams and individual players.