GASabresIUFan

Does anyone really think this was the entire offense Brady installed? Remember this is week 1 and the starting offense had almost no reps in preseason. In addition there were 4 new WRs and one new RB plus a re-tooled OL playing its first NFL game together as a group. To expect perfection and expansive play calling is a little misplaced. Oh yeah, they still scored 34 points and if it wasn’t for the fumble and facemask they might have scored 45. As to the play calling early, one the first drive we had two first downs on 3 plays before the fumble, and on the second drive we had 60 yards and 3 first downs before the facemask erased the TD and caused a FG. Nothing wrong with the play calling even if a little vanilla. Overall 9 receivers had a catch. We ran for 130, passed for 230, executed well in the red zone and put up 34 points. Take the win and let’s go squish the Fish.

What about Hamlin? There was a great deal of hand wringing about him starting, but I thought he played fine. Still the fact that he has now come all the way back from that injury is a miracle. There was no hesitation in his play. He made some solid tackles. Overall a pretty solid effort for his first start in 20 months.

No bad, but also not very good in the 1st half. That's why I also mentioned QB containment. Honestly, its the first week of the season and the starters didn't play much in the pre-season. I'm not really surprised that there are issues to be ironed out. FYI: The highlight of the game from a team overview was the 9 receivers who caught the ball. 2 RBs, 2 TEs and 5 WRs all had catches today. As Josh gets more comfortable, good luck to teams trying to stop that diverse a passing attack.

Know what the best thing about a game like today is? The coaches and players leave the field knowing that have things to clean up, but they still got the W. The O was solid most of the game and the D was decent in the second half. Under things to work on 1) kick off coverage 2) some OL issues (Torrence & Dawkins) and creating holes late in the game/ 3) Containment of mobile QBs 4) Stopping the run. 5) Some blown zone coverage assignments. Kirby Smart would say that he's happy the team got the win, but there are many teachable moments this week in practice.

It's called Cam Newton disease.

Allen and Groot top the list. Coleman and Shakir made some huge plays in the passing game. Cook had another solid performance (110 total yards) including a couple of very important first downs. Bernard had 10 tackles.

Taron Johnson got hurt. Elam isn't a slot corner. I believe Lewis and Ingram are the guys on the roster will reps in the slot, but I could be wrong. The depth chart show Elam as Douglas' backup. Edit: The article on ESPN says Lewis played Johnson's role and Ingram played in dime formations.

It's a little early to blame the coordinators. The defense got off to a rough start, but after falling behind 17 -3, the Bills offense outscored the Cards O 28-3. Only a special teams failure (TD & 2 pts conversion) kept the game close. Not bad considering T Johnson got hurt. I'd say Babich and his players picked it up. On offense, if Josh doesn't fumble that ball, we are probably tied at the half and the offense still put up 34 points. That's a 578 point pace for the season. They put up 451 points last year. I'd say Brady did fine.

Beane and Coleman fans 1, Beane and Coleman haters 0. What an excellent first game for "non-starter" Coleman. The catch along the sideline was exactly what Beane drafted him for. Josh seemed pretty comfortable in game 1 of the season throwing him the ball and letting him make a play.

Considering we scored to end the half and then scored to start the next half, I’d say we faired pretty well throwing to Cook, Coleman and Shakir on those drives. This is also game one of the new era. I happen to love how hard Shakir plays and think he is going to be Josh’s go to receiver, but Keon had an excellent debut.

Like the big play by Keon near the endzone? or the 2 big plays by Shakir including the TD?

Josh completed passes to 9 players. Welcome to the Diggs-less Bills.

Hopefully he’ll be suspended for Thursday’s game.

None

How healthy is his turf toe?

Good walk through against Tenn Tech. Very exciting afternoon. Really enjoyed NIU ruining NDs season and getting a $1.4 million check to boot. Also congrats to Iowa St for taking down Iowa. Another embarrassing loss by Auburn as well. All in all a surprisingly good college football weekend.

I have zero idea of how Shakir, Kincaid, Samuel or Coleman will do tomorrow. It will all depend on who AZ will try to take away. Josh, for the first time in 5 years has a chance to take what the D gives and throw to the open guy. I do expect Samuel to line up in the backfield, in the slot and on the boundary. I’m hoping Brady sends him on a deep pattern or two.

Did you know that a coach with McD to start his last name has never won a Super Bowl?

Yes, I know this is plenty early, but Beane’s extension of Brown means Beane is already looking ahead to next year. I honestly thought he’d let Brown walk. Cbssports.com also posted a mock 2025 draft already with the Bills taking a WR (Isiah Bond) to pair with Coleman. So where could our needs be? Offense: We look pretty set at QB, RB, and OL. I can see a need for a blocking TE to eventually replace Knox. We could also easily invest more in WRs, but for some reason, I don’t see Beane drafting a WR in the first. Shakir’s develop will likely influence that decision. Defense: DE: This is a huge area of need. McD’s defense needs a strong pass rush and a complement to Groot is a necessity. DT: Oliver and Carter are the current plan, but more depth needed. LB: Benard and Williams may be the short and long-term answer, assuming Williams has a good season. If not, LB could be a need. CB: Benford is a given. Can Elam replace Douglas next season. If not, CB becomes a priority S: Rapp plus Bishop. Can they make something of Cine? What if Hamlin has a good year? Thoughts?

His cap hit for this season is nearly 3.6. I’m going to very curious how this contract hits the cap this season. Why sign an extension now if it doesn’t help us cap wise this season or at worst not hurt us this season.

Hamlin

Does the extension create more cap space for this season?

Samuel is one of fastest WRs in the NFL and if you look at the depth chart they have him on the boundary. Brady will be lining Samuel up all over the field, but don’t be surprised if he utilized more on deeper patterns than he was previously.

…. besides Samuel.

…..besides Samuel.