GASabresIUFan

Thought this was interesting. https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/ranking-top-10-nfl-practice-squad-classes-lions-eagles-bills-lead-the-way/ Cbs needs a better editor. Cine has played 10 NFL games not just 10 snaps. That said, I agree with their overall comments. The International designation for Jonathan is really smart on Beane’s part. Nice way to add a 17th PS player. Many of these guys have NFL experience. I can see Gouraige making the team as a backup in a year. I can also see Cine making the Bills by mid-season. I saw him often in college and he is a terrific athlete. If McD and Addae can get him back to the player we saw in Georgia, we have gained a future starter for nothing.

So there are only 5 impact QBs in the NFL? Only 5 impact RBs? Good thing we have a RB that finished 3rd in yards from scrimmage in the NFL. What about DT? Oliver finished 4th in sacks, or can there by 10 DTs since teams usually play 2. Do we have to wait for PFF or ESPN to tell us their top 5 or can we think for ourselves? I’m sorry for being a little sarcastic, but these definitions that are being proposed are way too limiting or too subjective or too media driven. They don’t account for emerging or young players that are beginning to make huge impacts for their teams or players that don’t get media accolades or positions that are stacked with talent. For example ESPN’s top 100 didn’t list T Johnson. Isn’t he acknowledged as the best slot corner in the NFL? What about Cook? Last year was a breakout campaign. Does he have to replicate that season again to be anointed as an impact player or can we all agree that he was one of the top 5 backs in the NFL last year and hope we get a repeat performance this season. Oliver and Dawkins are two of the most underrated players in the NFL. Who cares that the media rarely sings their praises. They are indispensable to the Bills. Would you trade Benard for Edmunds? Yeah, didn’t think so! He was 12th in tackles but isn’t an impact player because we stop counting at the top 10? So how about Diggs? Is he still an impact player? He is the only receiver to catch 1000+ the last 5 years but he was outplayed by Shakir in the 2nd half of the season on 1/3rd of the targets.

11 to 12. Cook repeats his 1500 yards. Kincaid and Shakir go over 1000 yards each and Josh has his best season spreading the ball around. Rousseau leads the team with 11 sacks while Oliver chips in 10 as well. All the naysayers on this board start posting about all our good young impact players like Cook, Kincaid, Shakir, Benford, Williams and Benard and wonder when Rousseau got so good.

Your definition is so subjective as to be useless. How do you quantify it? The player has to be an all-pro or pro-bowler? Well T Johnson is an all-pro and Dawkins and Cook were pro bowlers last year. Are you seriously saying an interior D lineman (Oliver) with 9.5 sacks last season wasn't an impact player? Are you saying that our O Line, lead by Dawkins, which allowed the fewest sacks in the NFL didn't make an impact? So when Shakir goes over 1000 yards this season will you call him an impact player, or will you wait until ESPN or some other media outlet labels him as one?

Who are they releasing from the practice squad to make room for Cine?

Couldn’t happen to a better team.

Go Dawgs! Go Bills!

How do I explain this team? Out with the old failed core of Morse, White, Hyde, Poyer, Diggs, and Davis and in with the new core of Cook, Kincaid, Shakir, Coleman, Benard, and Benford. Out with the feed Diggs to power the offense and in with Josh spreading the ball around to keep defenses off balance. Out with McD and Dorsey calling plays and in with Brady and Babich. Out with cap hell and in with some measure of fiscal responsibility achieved with turning over the oldest roster in the NFL. Out with poor early drafting of guys like Ford, Basham and even Epenesa and in with good early drafting like Cook, Kincaid, Torrence and Benard (and hopefully Coleman and Bishop). Sometimes change is a good thing.

Because Buffalo

Except Shorter didn't go to a lower school. He went to Penn St and Florida. He averaged 14.7 yards per catch in his 3 seasons in Florida with almost 1400 yards on 95 catches. He is also 6'5" 228 and was once a 5* recruit out of high school. This was not some nobody. I personally wouldn't have drafted him because I tend to avoid Gators, but Shorter was a legit risk with a late round pick.

Since when? Besides Allen, what about Cook, Kincaid, Shakir, Dawkins, Torrence, Benard, Rousseau, Oliver, Douglas, T Johnson and Benford to name 11. Cook was third in scrimmage yards by a RB and a pro-bowl player. Shakir had the highest number of chunk plays per target of any receiver with at least 600 yards last season, even better than T Hill. His 15.7 yards per catch lead all slot receivers and was 12th overall in the NFL. T Johnson is the best slot corner in the NFL and an All-Pro. Oliver was 4th in sacks by a DT last season with 9.5. Bernard was 12th in tackles in the NFL with 143 as a 1st year starter. I can keep going if you want? We have plenty of impact players.

I've added 3 polls to the thread. QB - Same. Trubisky vs K Allen is a wash. Although White could an upgrade as the 3rd string RB - Significantly Better! Cook is back, Johnson moved from the PS and proved to be more effective than Murray. Evans earning a roster spot (IR) was an interesting development. Adding Davis is a great complimentary back and he should be able to do what Harris and Murray couldn't. TE - Improved as Kincaid now has experience and Knox is healthy. I'm looking for 100 catches and 1000 yards from Kincaid this year. WR - Worse on paper because of no proven No. 1 receiver, but could be more effective on the field. Davis, Sherfield and Hardy stunk last year and Diggs' effectiveness plummeted around mid-season. Shakir looks ready for the No. 1 job and the group of Samuel, Hollins, Coleman and MVS are better than Davis, Harty and Sherfield OL - Same! Less experienced but probably more talented. 7 of the top 9 return with draftees SVGP and Grable "replacing" Morse and Bates. This should remain a team strength DE - Better because of better depth. Lost Floyd and useless depth in Lawson and Ford. Miller back and healthy. Smoot is an depth upgrade. Rousseau goers back to his natural position and Solomon looks little a 3rd down havoc maker. DT - Better because of better depth. Oliver and D Jones return. A Johnson and Carter are upgrades on Phillips and Settle. LB - Same, but could go either way. If Milano comes back healthy and Williams proves effective, then the LB group will be improved. If Williams stinks in coverage and Milano doesn't come back the group will be worse unless someone else steps up like Dobson did. CB - Better. Douglas outperformed White (when he played). Benford and Elam have more experience. S - Worse. Hyde and Poyer, while aging and slowing were still effective. Rapp was fine when he came in for the injured Hyde, but we still have no idea who else is starting between Hamlin, Bishop and Edwards. Maybe Lewis gets the start. Specialists - Same It's hard to call the team better, but the team is younger, more athletic and has more upside if the busload of kids prove effective. Another note is that the Bills started 6 new 1st and 2nd year starters last season (Benford, Benard, Cook, Shakir, Torrence and Kincaid). Despite a significant youth movement, the current squad will only have only possibly 2 or 3 new 1st or 2nd year starters in Coleman (R) at WR, Williams (2nd year) at LB, and maybe Bishop (R) at S.

I have long wanted Beane to add WRs throughout the draft. After all how do you develop skill players if you don’t draft any? That philosophy has clearly changed for Beane. In the last 3 drafts he has utilized top 64 picks on Cook, Coleman and Kincaid. Prior to these drafts Beane had never drafted an offense skill player in the first two rounds except Josh. This change is overdue. I hope he continues to add WR depth in next year’s draft. I also agree Shorter was a lousy draft pick. All that said, missing on a 5th rd pick is the norm. I’m much more an annoyed about missing on Boogie Basham and Cody Ford. Those are two 2nd round misses that have hurt the club.

Left out. Are we really bashing Beane for missing on a 5th rd pick? This is same guy who found all-pro T Johnson in the 4th, Gabe Davis in the 4th, starting WR Shakir in the 5th, future starting C SVPG in the 5th and starting CB Benford in the 6th.

(R) = Rookie (ST) - primarily a Special Teams Player QB 2023 - Allen & Allen 2024 - Allen & Trubisky RB 2023 - Cook, Harris, Murray, Gilliam (FB/ST) 2024 - Cook, Davis (R), Johnson, Gilliam (FB/ST) (Evans IR) WR 2023 - Diggs, Davis, Shakir, Sherfield, Harty 2024 - Shakir, Samuel, Coleman (R), Hollins, MVS TE 2023 - Knox, Kincaid (R), Morris (ST) 2024 - Kincaid, Knox, Morris (ST) OL Starters 2023 - Brown, Dawkins, Morse, Torrence (R), McGovern 2024 - Brown, Dawkins, McGovern, Torrence, D. Edwards OL Backups 2023 - Van Denmark, Anderson, D. Edwards, Bates, Ifedi 2024 - Van Denmark, Anderson, Grable (R), SVPG (R) Specialists 2023 - Bass, Martin, Ferguson, Harty (WR/KR) 2024 - Bass, Martin, Ferguson, Codrington (R) KR) DE 2023 - Rousseau, Floyd, Epenesa, Lawson, Jonathan (Miller IR) 2024 - Rousseau, Miller, Epenesa, Smoot, Solomon (R) DT 2023 - Oliver, D Jones, Phillips, Settle, Ford 2024 - Oliver, D Jones, A. Johnson, Carter (R) LB 2023 - Milano, Benard, Dobson, D.Williams (R), Matekevich (ST) - (Spector IR) 2024 - Williams, Benard, Morrow, Spector, Ulofoshio (R), Andreessen (R/ST) - (Milano IR) CB 2023 - White, Benford, T Johnson, Elam, D Jackson, Neal (ST) 2024 - Douglas, Benford, T Johnson, Elam, Ingram S 2023 - Hyde, Poyer, Rapp, Hamlin, Lewis (S/CB/ST) 2024 - Rapp, Hamlin, Bishop (R), M. Edwards, Lewis (S/CB/ST) This is a clear movement away from older vets (Morse, White, Diggs, Hyde, Poyer, Floyd, Harris, Murray among others) to youth including 10 2024 draftees/UDFAs. Obviously S and WR are the hot button issues for people on this board. Even with the youth movement, I think there is a good argument that the team is just as good if not better than last year’s squad. I’ll dissect each position group in a latter post. Do to injuries in season in 2023 there are 16 starters returning on offense and defense including Allen, Cook, Kincaid, Shakir, Brown, Dawkins, McGovern and Torrence on Offense, and Rousseau, Oliver, D Jones, Benard, Douglas, Benford, T Johnson, and Rapp on Defense.

Mike White gets the first PS slot, 15 to go Shavers, Hamler and or Shorter at WR? Isabella? Davidson and or McKitty at TE? Edwards, Clapp, Gouriage at OL? Cline and Jonathan at DE? Ankou and D Williams at DT? Gore at RB? Jackson at S? What about Hardy coming back or is he gone?

Who are the bottom players on this roster? Toohill has to be close to the bottom if not player 53. Spector and Andreessen have to be near the bottom. Evans (in 4 weeks), MVS and Ingram have to be there as well. 49 - MVS 50 - Spector 51 - Ingram 52 - Andreessen 53 - Casey Toohill

He must have done something wrong behind the scenes. Besides Collins and his $1.5 mill dead cap hit, the biggest dead cap on the waived or released players were 287K Clapp, 138K Hardy, 100k Britton and 90K Gore.

But if cut him and replace him with another player your cost for the season goes from 1 mill to just keep him to 1.75 to cut and replace him.

That's a weird one. What did he do in camp to make the team?

Big dead cap if cut.

I've updated to reflect the Bills official cut list. Neither Mckitty or Davidson have made the Bills. I'm shocked about Hardy. I guess they figure no one will pick him if he's injured.

UB has their bad apples as well but it doesn't make national headlines because no one cares.

I'm rooting for UGA alum McKitty. What does it say about the Bills that they have more UB alums than UGA alums?