Ethan in Cleveland

I've posted this before. There was a restaurant that did not survive the pandemic, called Pok Pok. They made the most incredible Vietnamese fish sauce wings. The owner eventually started restaurants in NYC and Vegas. None survived the pandemic. Here is a write up on how to make them yourself https://www.oregonlive.com/coronavirus/2020/03/how-to-make-pok-poks-fish-sauce-wings-at-home.html

Dareus' first four years blow away anything Oliver has done. Yes Dareus went to crap but he was a great talent, and Oliver has not come close to the dominance that Dareus showed his first four years. Beane got us Allen but he has had quite a few failures as well. Ford is a bust. Epenesa look that way too. Teller traded away. And the jury is still out on Edmunds. Beane signed Williams to a significant extension only to cut him one year later. And let's not forget Beane signed a guy that quit at halftime. Have to be really careful assigning praise or blame with the retrospectoscope.

There are plenty of teams with worse QB situations. Seattle is eating Wilson's $26M in dead cap money and they just don't want to take on Baker's contract.

Lol, so was our defense for the wrong reason

Makes sense. I guess the other way to spin it is Beane could have sat tight and taken Booth or another CB or traded down like Tenn did and still got a CB. In the end, it only cost a fourth and if Elam plays well they have two excellent corners for the next few years. Every team has roster issues. Bills had a massive hole at CB, two aging safeties, and the interior O-line is still at best a work in progress.

Curious.Do you mean this to be a positive statement as in he may have learned from one of the better coaches in the NFL? Or a negative as in Marrone also served on Payton's staff and has been hired multiple places never really having great success at any of them. Any chance he can help remind Bass to squib it or help align the defense in crunch time?? That likely would help more than anything he will do with Josh. Sorry could not resisit.

Knox

Nice job OP! Very well written.

He is when healthy which may be due at least in part to his size. Why not just draft a prototypical sized LB? Look at the position groups the Rams or Tampa Bay puts on the field. I do understand the trend is to have speed and range at LB. However, no linebacker including Edmunds or Milano can defend these elite TEs. So giving up size for coverage ability is not always a good trade off.

Ford Lawson Haack Gilliam Kumerow Boettger (cop out as he will be on PUP list) Even though they did not draft a guard, Ford has been really awful. It would be great if he was serviceable, but he looks like a complete bust. As I posted elsewhere, I think they bring back Hughes and Lawson is the odd man out on the DL. Epenesa gets one more year to suck and then is let go. Gilliam should not have been on the roster last year. With two credible TEs and no need for a FB bye bye Kumerow Bills drafted an extra CB and LB that can play teams. I think they are set at WR with Diggs, Davis, McKenzie, Crowder, and Shakir. Add Stevenson for a returmer and I think that is all the WR spots they will keep. I would favor bringing Sanders back if they want to keep 7 or if they cut Stevenson. Kumerow mainly lined up at outside WR in obvious passing downs. That should be Howard or Cook lining up outside on those plays. Kumerow offers little that younger cheaper guys can do instead. He was worse. Honestly he played RT better than he played either guard spot. He is a bust. Good call. They drafted two linebackers that can account for his 5 tackles a year.

After 4? What does that mean? No way Basham is getting cut. I just think if Hughes came back he would get more snaps than Basham.

I had Allen, Rosen, Mayfield, then Darnold. I liked Lamar better than most and still do, but I still had him fifth. There is always some luck to the draft. If Mayfield and Allen were gone to the Browns and Jets, Beane was still drafting the third guy on his list. We will probably never know who that was.

Facts are not appreciated around here.... Still hoping they bring back Hughes. I think he would still be better than Lawson or Basham at reserve DE.

Yup. I already had Kingsbury on my hot seat list. Now he moves up a few notches. Without Hopkins for over a third of the season, and in that division they will be lucky to win 7 games.

Wait are they playing 17 games again this year?

New England made the playoffs last year if I recall. Many AFC teams seem better on paper and I would not predict NE making the playoffs this season. But no one thought they would make it last year. Lots of things can happen especially wit ha team that has all the pressure to win now like the Bills. Some teams thrive with that others do not. Bills weren't prepared to beat the Steelers week 1 last season and got outcoached in snow game and KC playoff game. All that said, this team should win 12 games and no doubt one of those 4 losses will be unexpected. Its just how the NFL is year after year.

There is almost zero chance McD loses his job no matter the outcome. Even if they finish out of the playoffs he will get one more year. Let's hope he is better than Bill Cower and Andy Reid and can get the job done sooner rather than later.

I agree. McD has gotten much better but there are times like the New England snow game that he still doesn't trust Allen's arm. But there are many times where he should be conservative too. If you have the great QB, you don't need to be reckless and give the other team easy yards or extra opportunities. Keep making smart decisions, learn from your mistakes, hope the pass rush will be better, run a more balanced offense. Truly hope Josh has 1/3rd as many rush yards this year. It will be a sign the offense is much better.

Except apparently in linebackers…there the Bills go small

Let's hope McD chooses Allen's arm in the wind and snow instead of Araiza's leg.

Good topic. Agree with your top two. 1. McCarthy 1a. Rhule 2. Vrabel 3. Rivera- won't be his fault but defense alone does not win them 8 games. Wentz will need to play very well to keep them from finishing below the Giants 4. Kingsbury - they were terrible down the stretch last season. He has a QB controversy brewing. If LA doesn't get complacent a third place finish in the division is really possible. 5. Carroll - would seem odd to trade away Wilson and then can the coach without a viable option at QB. But as you said age alone probably keeps him on this list

Ravens had best draft but the Chargers are the team to beat to get to the Superbowl. Good thing they are in AFC West and probably win the division with 10 games. Bills can go 12-4 and host AFC Championship. Ravens, Browns, and Bengals will slug it out in the central too. Colts might run away with the South but I'm not convinced Ryan is still any good and he has always choked in the biggest moments. Agree 100%. If they can get through the first month with a rookie and Jackson or a yet to sign FA at CB they will win 12 games easy. Need White at full strength for the playoffs not for September

The team is far from stacked at the OL. But its time to move on. Hopefully this kid can be the AJ Klein role on the cheap this year. Edmunds never leaves the field. I rag on him all the time, but the dude is durable and plays in every defensive alignment. He even lines up outside three or four snaps a game.

This was encouraging to read. I think it reflects the players drafted and not necessarily the fact the OL was not addressed and WR not addressed until the 5th round. Reuter seems to like the 3rd round LB. Hopefully he is a playmaker. We play so much nickel and if Milano gets hurt this kid will need to step up. And as others have said, when they play big nickel he should be better than Neal or the other backup safeties.

I chose B-. They got a starting corner to pair with Tre for several years. Well done even if it cost a 4th round pick. Cook adds a skill set the current RBs do not have. WR was addressed late with a guy that may be a steal. Hated the 3rd round pick. The 6'8" stiff should be comical to watch in camp. Tenuta may be first draft pick to get cut after OTAs. Impressive to draft someone with less skills than Doyle.