Ethan in Cleveland

2000 Buffalo Bills 11 231 132 57.1 21.0 1,700 7.4 154.5 8 3.5 3 1.3 52 29 4 10 68 86.5 1999 Buffalo Bills 15 478 264 55.2 31.9 3,171 6.6 211.4 19 4.0 16 3.3 54T 40 7 26 176 75.1 1998 Buffalo Bills 13 354 202 57.1 27.2 2,711 7.7 208.5 20 5.6 11 3.1 84T 36 8 12 78 87.4 2017 Buffalo Bills 15 420 263 62.6 28.0 2,799 6.7 186.6 14 3.3 4 1.0 47 36 4 46 256 89.2 2016 Buffalo Bills 15 436 269 61.7 29.1 3,023 6.9 201.5 17 3.9 6 1.4 84T 33 7 42 192 89.7 2015 Buffalo Bills 14 380 242 63.7 27.1 3,035 8.0 216.8 20 5.3 6 1.6 63 45 11 36 212 99.4 Board favorite Flutie vs Board punching bag Tyrod. Stats do suggest TT got worse each year but they also changed OC and the entire offense in 2017. 2015 Greg Roman was OC. What if Rex doesn't get rid of Roman in 2016?

The second lowest interception percentage in NFL history. Ultimately that was not good enough to win in Buffalo. Rivers was a turnover nightmare last year. My guess is Tyrod will start 8 games and the Chargers will be 3-5 and turn the reins over to the rookie they get in the draft.

I had a thread on this game several months ago. Amazing if you watch it. The offenses were great but there were also a number of turnovers. And the defenses for both teams made some big plays too. The closest the Bills came to punting I believe they faced a long 3rd down and they turned the ball over. If not for that turnover they would have been forced to punt.

Stram was pretty good as an analyst in this game.

The players voted on the framework of the contract. The official deal was still being written. The NFL can not just change the wording without the consent of the NFLPA. Both sets of lawyers will be crafting the final wording of the document.

I only disagree with your assessment of Lawson on the right vs the left. I think he outplayed Murphy and by year's end Lawson was starting opposite Hughes. The fifth year option and the tags are not about the money. It is about controlling the situation and not losing a bunch of guys and retooling through the draft. They had enough cap space to overspend last year and this year. Also flying in the face of what Beane says about drafting well and retiring your own guys. But its water under the bridge. Beane rolled the dice and he found replacements that in some cases may be upgraded for Lawson, Phillips, and Zo. Kudos to him. Now I would argue they still need two edge players in this draft. They are old on the edges.

I hated the PED Murphy contract from day 1. And I think Beane screwed up not using the 5th year guarantee. Lawson has outplayed Murphy and if I had to choose between the two I cut Murphy and try to bring Lawson back. But Lawson was never coming back was my guess. I was not articulate in my post. I think the guys Beane signed will be able to replace Lawson and Phillips reasonably well.

It's not the international games that are the problem in terms of COVID. NYC, Detroit, and New Orleans could still be disaster areas.

Don't overthink it. They drafted Oliver the year before. They were not going to invest that much for a back-up. Like others have said, Phillips and Lawson were a by-product of the secondary providing great coverage. It was pretty rare to see clean 1:1 wins by the DL that affected the QB early in the play. Both hustled and played to the whistle which earned them their money. They will be fine without Lawson and Williams. I would have kept Lawson and cut Murphy but once McD and Beane make up their mind they rarely change it - see Peterman, Gore, KB, Sammy, and Dareus. Biggest weakness last yer was lack of pass rush and it hasn't gotten any better. RT is probably better even if Ford doesn't get better. That leaves back-up RB and P as the other libilities. I'd be fine if the first two picks were OLB. Better yet I'd move Edmunds to OLB as I'm still not convinced he is the answer at MLB.

Rookies can get better. But having options is a good thing.

You wrote "their signings". That in fact is stating he was a signing. Proper English would have been their acquisition which would be inclusive of free agency or trade.

Hughes was a trade not a free agent signing

I like it. I wonder if they will let Long go as Williams appears to be a swiss army type that can backup at multiple spots. I still like Ford at RT.

I started the same thread a few days ago. Allen has always been my QB. There are only a handful of needs from the draft now - Edge, OLB, OT, RB, P. And all of those spots are for depth. I would favor a veteran like Winston, Dalton, or Newton. They have enough talent to compete for the AFC Championship this year. They only do that with better QB play. I think Allen will step up. But why take the chance. Find a QB that can win if Allen gets hurt or falters. They have the cap for a one year deal. If they don't get one of those three (which I think there is almost zero chance they will) I would still draft a QB in the mid rounds.

Beane admitted he didn't put a competitive team on the field at the end of that year. The dead cap was his own doing but as you said it was probably needed to move forward.

It's fascinating with the defense first philosophy that his defense gets steamrolled at times. Multiple 200 yard rushing games allowed. Collapse at Houston. I think that probably happens with every team - 49ers against the Saints last year. The lack of a pass rush has got to get fixed. Pass rush leads to negative plays, holding penalties, and turnovers. Even if it means blitzing. The Bills have the secondary that can hold up even if the blitz is picked up. Most of the QB pressures were coverage sacks especially Lawson's.

2018 was on Beane not McD. Beane put a non-competitive product on the field. O-line and WR groups were the worst in the league. We will all forget about it in a year or two if they make a deep playoff run or two.

Yes. DE, OLB, RB in the draft. Then get a punter.

Oh my you are correct. It was Rex.

QB development and pass rusher.

Add Cam Newton to that team with BB and my guess is Vegas would still have them as favorites to win the AFC East. None of us will be confident of a win over BB until the clock hits 00:00(even then many will be waiting for the defensive penalty to extend the game). It took a third QB with a broken hand for the Patriots to lose to McD. And even then it was close. We all know it is mental. The Bills have had enough talent to win more games than they have, but no matter the players, coaches, or front office this team and this city can't get over the mental hurdle of beating BB. When they do it will feel like 1980 opening day game.

Every past regime was able to sign or trade for high end free agents. Bill's have had as much or more talent on defense. It's all about the QB. And as much as I like Allen, the jury is still out.

I'm not totally discounting continuity. I think there is some value there but probably not as much as we think. The Bills started essentially the same 5 or 6 guys at OL all year and I don't think the play got any better from the first game to the last. I think Ford's individual development will have more to do with how the line performs than then fact they are all coming back. I do think there is value to the defense especially in the coverage. I suspect the coverage schemes and the disguises they use are much more sophisticated than us average fans think. Having 4 of the 5 top guys back and Norman knowing the scheme already will be a big advantage. And lastly, the WR adjustments during the routes will take a bit of time to develop with Josh. The NFL game is based on fractions of seconds at full speed. There is nothing but regular season full speed game experience that can recreate those moments.

Everyone stays if they finish sub 0.500? Barring an injury to Allen a sub 0.500 season would mean an epic failure of either Allen or the coaching staff. How many OCs does McD get to pick before he gets the blame? Tampa Bay fired Dungy because he couldn’t get to the SB. All that said, even a mildly down year and I’m sure McD and Beane will be back. However if Allen regresses and he is the one holding back the team, a change at QB could happen. I think Allen plays better but still costs us a game, and McD game decisions will cost us a game. Even with that I don’t see any reason they are not division winners.

Dawkins is a slightly above average LT. I don’t see them moving him to RT unless they sign a veteran. I’d entertain bringing in Jason Peters and moving Dawkins to RT. Bringing back Spain solidified the guard spots. If they had let Spain walk, moving Dawkins to LG may have been contemplated but the more likely move would have been Ford to guard and Nsekhe/free agent at RT. As I posted before free agency, sign Spain and keep Ford at RT will be the best plan and I think that is what they will do.