Ethan in Cleveland

Darkhorse is an interesting choice of words. As many have said, most expect the players to play well. I will go with Cody Ford as my dark horse candidate to play really well. Many expect him to be competing just for a roster spot. My darkhorse to lose his job is Feliciano. He was never that good but seems to be a fan favorite. He drew little FA interest that we know. He is on my short list of surprise camp cuts.

We do know. When he was traded to Seattle he was a SB winner and a superstar.

I have defended Dareus and given McD crap for not coaching him up and taking the easy way out by trading him. However it's wrong to say he had no role models. He had Kyle Williams playing next to him. He had Hughes who by all reports is a good locker room guy. Maybe if McD and Frazier had been his initial coaches instead of Ryan it could have turned out better. Dareus is one of many NFL players to get the second contract signing bonus and then give up. He won't be the last. I still suspect given the right circumstance Dareus could still play at a high level. At least be solid rotation guy.

Good comments so far. How about Ryan Lindell? He was a really good kicker. If the Bills had a better offense he probably has a much higher total point total.

Beating the defending champion Steelers to clinch a playoff spot but not the Division title yet

Wow that was really cool to watch. A few thoughts... I was ten and knew nothing of the streak and was just beginning to follow NFL football. I knew very little of the details of this game other than the victory and the post-victory celebration. I knew more about the rest of the 1980 season including Cribbs amazing year and sadly Ferguson's ankle. Cribbs and Butler could play in 2021 NFL. Maybe Smerlas as 3-tech DT. Not sure there is another player on either team athletic enough to play by current standards. The 2020 Clemson, Alabama, or Ohio State team would have beaten either the 1980 Bills or Miami by 20 points. I know people say current bad NFL teams would lose to the best college teams but that is non-sense. However the talent difference between 1980 and 40 years later is undeniable. I suspect even some average collefge teams beat these teams from 1980. My God were these players small. I think the announcer said a 270lb OT. Reggie McKenzie looks like he is smaller than some current NFL safeties. The color analyst said Ferguson was most underrated QB in the NFL. He is on my short list for most overrated Bill of all time second only to Talley.

Wasn’t Dak leading the NFL in yards before his injury? Last year Elliott took a step back as their o-line was banged up. If they can stay healthy they will be very good. Same goes with the Bills

Agreed. They get paid regardless. Why not let them all dress. Blowouts happen all the time. Good opportunity for a few live reps for the bottom of the roster.

Toradol is an anti-inflammatory. It is not a narcotic. So in some way it is treating the injury but also offers analgesia. No different than aspirin or ibuprofen or naproxen. As with most things there is a good use indication for toradol but it has probably been abused. Not sure why anyone would cite a bleeding risk. The real risk is kidney injury with prolonged use and dehydration. I would worry about a 300 pound DT in the Florida heat getting acute kidney injury more than I would bleeding. The players will just substitute a different anti-inflammatory in pill form that is not regulated will be my guess.

Did you not watch the last two SuperBowls? It was all defense that won both games.

Based on what? Titans beat the Bills last year and the Browns were more competitive than the Bills against the Chiefs in the playoffs. Many extenuating circumstances in the Titans game of course but to dismiss them seems a bit odd. Brown's off-season has been great so far. They addressed their secondary and added to the DL. Titans are the team to beat in the AFC South. AFC North will beat themselves up all year and the winner of that division may only be 9-7 in the end but they will be a tough out in the playoffs whether it is the Browns or Ravens. Bills still have the second best QB in the AFC. If the pass rush gets better they have a great shot at the SB. The AFC is a lot closer than people think. The Packers lost because of their defense. They already have a top 3 WR if not the best WR in football.

Did they change the rules? I didn't read that the games were played in shorts and no pads. Until the games are played all this media drivel is worthless.

Turnovers. He threw 10 picks last year which doesn’t seem like a lot. However Rodgers only threw 5 and Mahomes threw 6. He still fumbles a bit too much but that did get better. He has had red zone fumbles but no red-zone interceptions - though I recall at least two dropped end-zone picks. Sooner or later it will happen. Will be interesting to see how he responds.

For about a 10 game stretch in 2019 maybe so, but in 2020 he was one of the worst players on the field. Please go back and watch the games. You will be hard pressed to find 5 impact plays all year. He had a really impressive stop on a 4th and goal against San Fran. That was his highlight play of 2020. The worst was him almost tearing his groin and falling flat on his face as Cam Newton ran past him into the endzone. In between was a high number of tackles 5+ yards downfiles, many missed open filed tackles, horrible angles to the ball and terrible blitzes up the middle. He played better down the stretch presumably as his shoulder was healing but he was also positioned outside with Klein at MLB. I 100% agree he physically looks like a guy that can dominate but he has terrible instincts, is slow to diagnose run and pas splays, and just doesn't make plays. Is that intelligence, is that football savvy, is that inexperience? I don't know but I know what I see on film. If he plays like he did in late 2019 and the kids at DE play well the Bills defense has a chance to be top 5.

Nice post. Different perspective in responding to the OP. As you said not everything was a hole and RB or WR were more luxury picks if made in the first round as opposed to true needs.

Not true. The DE position at best is an unknown and collectively is far below average. If Hughes shows his age and the kids don't develop it could make or break a SB run. Zimmer is below average and Star is an unknown coming a back after a year of no football. However many teams have players coming back after opting out so the Bills are no different. MLB was a massive weak spot last year either due to injury or talent or both. This year will define Edmunds' career. LG is below average but has good potential. I've never been a Morse fan and he is at best average. Remember he was a healthy scratch last year for the AZ game after clearing the concussion protocol. I'm still stunned they didn't draft a center in the third round instead of a swing tackle. Williams is elite in pass blocking and below average in run game. The whole OL is probably a top 4 unit pass blocking but collectively below average in run blocking. They get little push at the point of attack but they pull and block downfield well. I'm higher on Knox and Wallace than others on this board, but I understand their arguments. As with Edmunds, this season probably defines Knox's career trajectory. QB play as with any team covers up some holes and every team has a position group or two that is weak. Bills have an elite secondary, elite WR group, and QB that played like a MVP last year. Allen likely needs to play close to that same level with real development of the DL to make a SB run.

The most impressive thing for me is his willingness to embrace a pass first offense. Crucify me if you want but I’m still not sold on McD. This is still the same guy that started Peterman and Murphy. He is still the same guy that has seen his defense get shredded from time to time. He is still the same guy to be out coached by Andy Reid twice last year. All that said, one of the biggest plays in franchise history was made by Taron Johnson dropping back in a McD zone defense while rushing four guys. His scheme produced one of the great wins in franchise history.

Julio is not happening. They don't have the cap space and they are not giving up a first round pick for a 32 year old WR.

Actually it is the opposite. Yes the money is paid in full at the beginning of the year but the real risk is they cut the player the following year. Then all that prorated signing bonus money becomes dead cap space. That is how they lower the cap hit this year by spreading it over the next several years.

You asked if it had anything to do with Allen extension. And I answered. Allen’s new contract when it is done is an extension. It will have no impact on his salary in 2021. It’s how the CBA works for second contracts of draft picks. So the answer to your question, freeing up salary cap space in 2021 has nothing to do with Allen’s extension.

Silly article. Again it seems they don’t even watch the games. Josh doesn’t take that many chances throwing the ball especially in the red zone. His issue is fumbling and it got better during last season too.

No

This trio concept is at least 5 years out of date. If you have a great RB that is fine. But the modern NFL offense has replaced the running back with an all world TE or slot WR.

He had Calvin Johnson, one of the greatest WR to ever play. My top 5 pure arm strength Vick Allen Mahommes Elway Rodgers

I suspect he will be top 10. If they went off talent alone and not favor the QB position he might be lower than the WR trio of Diggs, Adams, and Hopkins. But given QB's get a bump my guess he will be top 5. There are some intriguing non-QB players to rank. Quenton Nelson is by far the best guard in the league. Kelce and Kittle are superstars. Besides Aaron Donald there are several defenders that are top 10 worthy as well like Ramsey, TJ Watt, and Joey Bosa.