Ethan in Cleveland

Well there is a very good example of the second scenario on the Bills already... Zimmer was an UDFA and is on his 6th team (Bils twcie) including a stint in the CFL. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Zimmer yes

Except Simms has been on the Allen bandwagon since he was drafted so it's not really a hot take.

He was just a bit ahead of his time. He was probably never as quick as Welker or Edelman but he was quick enough to be a nightmare matchup. The coaching staff didn't know what they had, because, let's be honest a 5 ft nothing slot WR was not a thing in the early 90's. And as others said, who are you going to take catches away from? Remember the Bills offense was more about Thurman running than it was about Kelly throwing. No way they were taking a TE off the field for a fifth WR and take away the run threat. Reed did a lot of his damage underneath which and his attempts were not going to be less. In 2021, Reed and Tasker would complement each other just liek Diggs and Beasley do now. Both pairs can go across the middle and Diggs and Reed could run all the routes.

My Top 10 1. Allen 2. Diggs 3. Hyde/Poyer - interchangeable players at the most important spot on McD's defense 4. Bass - many games last year and next will come down to crucial kicks 5. White 6. Williams - hope he does not have a let down year after getting paid 7. Hughes - as always pass rush is key and Hughes is still the best of the unit 8. Morse - this team will only go as far as Allen can throw. Morse is a very good pass blocking center and Feliciano is my surprise camp cut 9. 2nd WR - don't know if it will be Sanders or Davis but if the Bills want to make a SB the #2 WR probably needs 750 yards of receiving 10. Oliver - again pass rush is key Why don't I have Edmunds or Milano? Well my thoughts on Edmunds are clear. Bills win despite him. Bills have proven they can win without Milano. They are better with him and I hope he can play 16 games

As a pass blocker he is truly elite. As a run blocker he is not very good

Stupid and short sighted not to build a dome downtown Shh. This board doesn’t take too kindly to facts

Of course he does. But the government and employers have a right and really an obligation to set workplace rules.

Every workplace is struggling with how to deal with vaccinated vs unvaccinated people. It’s your choice not to get vaccinated. But when did choices stop having consequences?

I like the picture. You don't think if Star had retired they wouldn't have drafted another DT instead of two DEs?

My top 6 for 2021 Chiefs Bills Browns Chargers Ravens Titans Chargers lost a lot of close games and may have the third best QB in the AFC. Browns have a pass rush and improved their secondary. Roethlisberger is shot. Colts best player is a guard. Miami chose the wrong QB and despite a good roster will struggle to get to 7 wins with Tua.

Savannah is a great 2 day trip. Good architecture. Good food. Not much to do after 2 days though

It's not puzzling at all. He is far better than Zimmer and Phillips. His return allowed them to focus on DE in the draft. His return let's Oliver exclusively play the 3-tech. He's not a superstar but he is an adequate DT that helps the entire rotation.

Agreed! There was no difference in play last year. Bills offense was historically great with little camp and no OTA's and no pre-season games. And that was with two new WRs, Ford at OG, and a new RT. These OTA's are meaningless except for the very bottom of the roster. Just expand the PS and let teams carry a few extra guys into the season.

That’s not the point. I agree with everything you said but Virgil and others say the player should “honor the contract”. The teams don’t honor the contract so why should the player. The team can cut him and the player can hold out to negotiate a new deal. That’s the system. Why blame the player and absolve the teams? As you said all parties know the final year money is fantasy. If the player is bad they get cut. If the player outperforms the contract they renegotiate. Skipping OTA is standard practice when renegotiating.

Nobody really knows who has the power. Beane came after McD. Im sure almost all decisions are done by consensus but who has the final final say is unknown.

Does Belichick honor those deals? No. Does any team? No. Why should the player have the same expectation? Did you say the Bills should have honored John Brown's deal instead of cutting him?

Cool. Nice job finding that. Seems like a silly thing to motivate professional players that way, but it seems to work. Even Brady seemed to respond to slights as motivation.

What are you missing on their plan? The have a great o-line and d-line. They have a capable QB and they invested heavily in the WR and TE spot. This offseason they tried to fix their secondary. It's practically the same playbook the Bills have taken only the Bills fixed their secondary first and are now addressing the d-line. Honest question. Has he ever done that before? I am not aware of any time where he took a perceived slight to the team and used it for motivation. If he has let the board know. I'm not saying he hasn't I just don't recall a time where he did or the players talked about him using that specific motivational tactic?

No one has addressed my other point. Maybe the staff did a good job in developing him but it just took too long to see the finished product. Heck maybe he completely regresses next year. Who knows.

Yes and no. Teller and Thomas were already on the team when they added more talent at TE and guard. But you are correct, teh deeper the roseter the more liekly they are to lose a quality player. This year will be no different i'm sure. They are usually good for one "IR" draft pick per year. I'm sure you will see one of the swing tackles or the C/G from the 7th round tweak a calf and be put on IR to stash them for next year.

And what? If you don't like the thread don't read it or don't comment on it. Logan Thomas was the lead story for the NFL section of ESPN.com today making the thread timely.

I didn't say he was the missing piece. I agree he may very well be a one-hit wonder. Good take. I do think on balance McD's staff seems to coach players up more than not. As others have said, he may have been getting better just not fast enough and they made the move to draft Knox and Sweeney.

After seeing Logan Thomas break out with the WFT, my initial thought was how did the staff miss his future development having him in Buffalo for two years. It's not as if there was a superstar TE that got 90% of the reps. Of course it reminds you of the Wyatt Teller story as well. I then decided to put a different spin on it. Maybe the Bills' staff is the reason he has progressed. Maybe they deserve a lot of the credit. Maybe they can do the same with Knox and Sweeney,

Still massive question marks at the linebacker position and our safeties are getting up there in age. Beane needs to hit on two of the three DEs he drafted. If they are at least solid then he can spend draft capital on safety and center next year. If Edmunds doesn't get better or Milano proves to be injury prone they will have big holes to fill. Chargers will be a factor this year if Herbert does not regress. They had a great off-season. Sadly so did KC and Cleveland.

I was at that game. Amazing! Huge Bills fan attendance. I have a signed Thurman jersey. It would be cool to get Jim Kelly and Bruce Smith as well. I was not born but a Cookie Gilchrist jersey would be awesome. I have a signed ball from the 1980 team. Real pen ink - not something that was mass produced. Butler, Cribbs, Ferguson, Smerlas, Williams, Haslett, Freeland and Nixon and even Mickemeyer are all on there.