Florida Bills Fanatic

I doubt that ownership will be willing to move on from McD at this juncture. I think the Pegulas understood the roster train wreck that McD and Beane inherited from Rex and Whaley. Fixing the cap situation, adding decent talent in the draft, and making smart moves in free agency are indications that the organization is moving in the right direction. Both Pegulas and Beane have spoken about building the team to be competitive for the long term. Even though the record was not good in 2018, the team played hard and seemed to be as prepared as their weak roster could be. With all of this, it doesn't make me think that they will be making any knee jerk reactions now.

This study is a load of crap. I've been to games in many stadiums with many different fan bases. I've been to see the Bills in London. Bills fans have always been represented in very significant numbers, regardless of the team's record. Living in Florida, I've been to a number of games in Miami. They don't sell out their games and maybe up to a third of the attendance is from opposing teams. It may even be higher than that when the Cheatriots or one of the New York ( Jersey ) teams are there. Trying to quantify support from a fan base is illusive at best. As someone stated earlier, attendance during bad years and support on the road is part of it. Enthusiasm; before, during and after the games is the intangible that really tells the story about a fan base.

Lotulolei hasn't been a pass rusher throughout his career. His game is to tie up two blockers on running plays and create space for the linebackers to make plays. He is difficult to move off a spot. He isn't and hasn't been a guy that has commanded a double team in the passing game. He isn't a guy that can generate quick penetration into the pocket and disrupt the timing of a play. Quite often, he comes off the field on obvious passing downs. I'm expecting that Oliver is that quick penetrating DT that is impossible to handle with a one on one block. I believe his style of play will be similar to Gerald McCoy or John Randle. Time will tell whether Oliver can do that. If he can't, it will likely have been a bad selection at pick number 9. I believe that he will deliver the results that the Bills want and turn out to be a great draft pick. If Hughes, Murphy, and Lawson can't take advantage of their opportunities, the Bills should move on from them.

The sacks from DT would be great but there may be more benefit in forcing opponents to alter their pass blocking scheme to the benefit of Hughes, Murphy, and Lawson. I'm also hoping for the inside pressure to force premature throws and some interceptions. I don't know how it will play out but I can't wait to see Oliver in real game action.

Can you say pre-nup ?

not at all but I would like you to cite an example so that I know better where you are coming from

News media people that think the rest of the country wants to continuously hear about the Giants, Jets, and Cowboys. Domestic violence purps being permitted to return to the league and earn millions of dollars. Players with legally binding contracts deciding that they will breach those contracts by holding out until an owner gives them more money. TV timeouts when I'm sitting in the stadium in single digit temperatures. $6.00 hot dogs and $10.00 beers! 410

Tragic and inexcusable. Nothing else to say

It's hard to argue that on paper the training camp roster isn't significantly improved from last year. A year ago, the team didn't have five offensive linemen worthy of a roster spot, much less be starters. Although there are plenty of questions with the o-line, finding five capable starters and their backups should not be a problem. Even the receiver group is a much better than last year. Whether they perform or not will become readily evident in camp and in preseason games. I don't believe that they have a long term difference maker like an Andre Reed or Eric Moulds but there should be enough talent to be decent for a couple of years. Based on this, I'm mildly optimistic for a better season.

By most accounts, Guden is not expected to survive this season in Washington unless they make a big run in the playoffs. Few people outside of their fan base expect that to happen. Given all of that, what kind of coaching candidate do any of us really expect to be interested in a Washington job? Ryan was a bottom of the barrel candidate and was probably thinking any job was better than no job. I'd be interested in knowing how many coaches turned them down before they had to reach low for Ryan. I'm just glad that Buffalo isn't in that kind of situation anymore.

These draft results confirm what many of us thought at the time of that 2016 draft. Whaley rightly deserves the blame that he has received but so does Wrex and the scouting/personnel department. It was no mystery to me why there was a house cleaning in the scouting department and the front office was cleared out as well. Is anybody surprised that neither Whaley nor Wrex have been given another chance by an NFL team? When the 2017 draft occurred, we were lucky that Whaley wasn't even allowed to pick out the donuts for the draft room.

Me either! We just need to see how the free agent additions and the 2019 draftees play. If they work out, maybe some of the naysayers will come around. Based on some of Beane's comments from earlier in the year, I expect him to concentrate 2020 spending on contract extensions to retain key talent already on the team. He has made it clear that building through the draft and retaining talent is how he wants to build the team. I don't expect another free agent off season like we had this year. It will probably be filling selective needs or upgrades. It's nice to have cap flexibility and ownership willing to spend when required.

I also think 7 wide receivers is probably a stretch but I've been surprised by the team over the years. Until I see them in pads, I don't have a strong opinion about any of the potential bubble players. Sometimes flexible players that can fill multiple roles, cause an unexpected cut. For instance, if Duke Williams can run the deep seam routes, work the short zones, and be a capable run blocker, maybe he is kept and a TE is cut. At this point, who really knows?

I was in agreement with you on the relative importance of right tackle. That changed for me when I watched Denver crush the Carolina o-line in the Super Bowl. Most of the damage came over the right tackle. Good edge duos are more prevalent now than they were several years ago. Teams can't hide a weak player at right tackle any more.

Like some of you have already indicated, I expect Cody Ford to struggle early. The learning curve for o-line is usually a lot longer than many other positions. He will have to deal with the complex mental part of the o-line game and also the speed/physicality of line play in the NFL. I believe he will eventually be a very good player and will be the long term answer at right tackle. I also think McD will not take a chance on Allen's well-being until he is convinced that Ford is up to the job. Since they have decent options at this point, Ford doesn't have to be thrown in the fire.

If they miss the playoffs this year, O'Brien will be gone. This team has a lot of talent and the owner will probably be very unhappy. With this approach, the owner can hire a GM and a new head coach at the same time. This is surely a decision made by the owner. As long as the scouting and personnel departments are intact and functional, the team can be okay for a while. This isn't a move that you would see from a team that expects to be successful this season. To me, it looks like the prelude to tearing things apart for a major rebuild. If that's how it works out, we can scratch an AFC playoff contender for the next couple of years. I'm more than okay with that.

With our pathetic offense last year, the defense was on the field a lot. In addition, between turnovers and bad special teams play, the opposition frequently had a short field. These factors distort the numbers a bit. I agree with you that the Bills played too soft in the red zone. The lack of good d-line play really showed up here. They generated little pass rush and gave up too many rushing yards inside the 20. All of these things need to change for the Bills defense to make significant statistical improvement.

Anything that provides a distraction for any potential AFC playoff team is okay with me. I hope both teams have to deal with this for a long time. This will probably cost the Texans a chunk of money and a draft pick, if it is true. In the mean time, the clock keeps moving, the Texans need to get along with selecting their GM, and the Cheatriots hang onto their guy. Caserio may get a job title change so NE can justify hanging onto him but BB will never relinquish control of the team. Caserio loses out on getting to be a GM in the league at this time.

The only way the Bills face Jones in week two is if Eli is hurt. The New York news media has continued to throw Eli under the bus. They have unjustified expectations for the Giants and are looking for any glimpse of hope (Jones) to make a fast turnaround. I'm not an Eli Manning fan but to ignore how bad their o-line has been for the last four years is disingenuous. Even when they had a decent record, there were holes in the offensive side of their team and Eli was under significant pressure most of the time. I expect them to be bad again and I expect the New York sportswriters to be apoplectic over it. Long time Bills fans know what a bad team looks like and the Giants have that look.

You're probably right. The Bills need four guys that can play. I can't remember a season where at least one of the top receivers didn't get hurt and miss games. Having receivers that can play both outside and in the slot helps that too. I think a rotation early in the season will give the best guys the chance to emerge and prepare the others to replace injuries.

Anything that puts an AFC potential playoff team in the crapper is A-okay with me. The Houston draft was not good. They did little in free agency and can't get Clowney signed or traded. I get the sense that the Texans are circling the drain.

This analysis focuses on pass coverage and the data supports the determination. If performance in run defense could be factored into this, I believe White would jump ahead of Gilmore. During his time in Buffalo, Gilmore was not good at all in coming up to play the run. In fact, he seemed very hesitant to get into the play. Maybe the injuries early in his career have created this behavior. Both Fuller and White are very good in run support. As far as the future cost of a contract, I'm not worried about the Bills being able to retain him. Clearing cap space last year and the conservative free agent contracts this year set things up to be able to pay their best players. White is definitely one of the best players and they will pay him.

I agree with you for the same reasons. From what I have been able to read about him, he is very quick off the ball and will be more of a speed rusher than the other guys on the roster.

I think you are exactly right. This is clearly about the money. If the skins were to throw some more green in his direction, his problem with the medical staff will evaporate. He has no leverage during the duration of his contract. The Bills shouldn't get involved with him. Injuries and past suspension are enough reasons to stay away.

ESPN is a dumpster fire of sub par sports reporting. I can remember when Sportscenter was widely watched and considered a good source of legitimate sports reporting. They've lost that and haven't been good for quite a while. It doesn't surprise me that they have a lot of turnover with their employees.