BigAl2526

I think defenses have decided that James Cook has to be stopped and are stacking the box more in the last couple games (Miami and Tampa) In the Buccaneers game, I think Brady started to figure that out and adjusted his strategy accordingly. Houston will look at what Buffalo did and try to counter it. That's how the NFL works. The best teams are not one dimensional. If opponents focus on shutting down one aspect of their offense, they will have the ability to do something else. No defense can shut down everything at the same time. Most of the time there is a guessing game going on between offensive and defensive coordinators on opposing teams when the teams are multidimensional.

They have several tough games down the stretch, but then, so do the Bills.

Oops. I knew that. You're the first of three who called me out for my booboo. Davis Mills, all right?

With the Bills' run defense, I'd be concerned with Donald Trump's tough running up the middle.

Stroud has been slow to recover from a concussion. The last I heard he's still considered iffy for the Bills game considering it comes after a short week. We may be facing Miles Davis, who hasn't been bad in relief. I don't think he has Stroud's mobility though.

The Bills are probably more shorthanded at DE than at tackle. Until they can get another DE on the roster, using Sanders is probably what they'll do. I have to say though, I don't know how much worse their run defense could have been had Jordan Phillips played more snaps

Coleman has had a season and a half to show signs of maturity. He hasn't. It makes it seem doubtful he's ever going to grow up. His trade value is minimal though. I would guess somewhere in the 5th to 7th round range.

Shavers is not at all sudden or twitchy. He was getting opportunities because the Buccaneers left a backup cornerback on an island with him. If defenses make a point of trying to take him out of the game, I think he'll probably disappear. Kudos to Shavers for taking advantage. He showed he can be effective in making a defense a little more honest in their coverage schemes.

The virtual measurement saves having to bring the sticks out to measure, but has nothing to do with where the referee places the ball.

McDermott was effusive in his praise oof Hardman. He's here to stay at least for a while.

Bishop is certainly going to be the starter moving forward at one safety spot. He is a quality safety with upside to be one of the better ones in the league. Rapp was never more than backup quality, the same with Hamlin. At this point in his career, Poyer is probably the equivalent of Rapp. Hancock may be the future at the other safety spot. He's done some good things, but I think it's a bit early to know his ultimate ceiling. He might have solid starter potential. If the Bills don't add a quality safety or draft one with potential, they will probably be OK next season, but I think they would be better off if they did add someone.

Not every year, but he's going to be named to a few.

I think they are a long shot to make it to the Super Bowl. They have a steep climb to get back into the division lead as New England has the easier schedule. That means they likely need to take the wild card route. Then they need to hope that Ed Oliver and one or two others on IR can make a miraculous recovery.

He looks more like a librarian than an NFL head coach. I suppose librarians can have a drinking problem too.

It certainly seems like Coleman's leash is getting shorter. With Gabe Davis on the PS, along with Samuel and Moore getting snaps on the outside, Buffalo does have a few options. That's not even considering Mecole Hardman.

Short of a trade, which didn't happen, there is not a whole lot out there. I think Za'Darius Smith is still out there. Fox is something at least.

I assume they assessed Kingsley Jonathon in practice and decided he didn't have what it takes to help the Bills. Too bad. I can't believe Morgan Fox has a whole lot to offer.

I think the loss to Miami was maybe 10-20% injury related, and 80-90% mental state. As Steve Tasker said today on OBL, it is incredibly difficult to maintain a laser focus week after week in an NFL season, mostly due to the fact that everybody is dealing to some extent with pain. The focus needs to be maintained throughout the week of practice, not just on game day. I think the Bills let down their guard, and when it became evident that Miami was going to be tougher than expected, the Bills could not recover from their lack of focus last week. If they can't get up this week given their embarrassment last Sunday, they don't deserve to make the playoffs.

Cook has an amazing ability to "get skinny on inside runs to slip through small gaps, but when that wasn't working so well versus the Dolphins Brady seemed to have no effective fall back options. Screens to Shakir behind the LOS didn't work either. A healthy Palmer may help a bit and there's a chance Hardman could too. At the moment there's not much else the Bills can hope for.

I doubt there are any free agents available at this point who combine both size and speed. The small speedy guys who are with the Bills now haven't moved the needle all that much. I suppose it doesn't hurt to try another one.

Yeah, if reports heard by the OP are true, he's done. I don't think the recovery for the PCL and MCL is quite as long as for the ACL, but he's certainly not coming back this season or the playoffs. I think he might be fully recovered for the preseason. Nice video clip, but I think its Kingsley Jonathon who will get activated from the PS.

Aside from Tyreek Hill, most of the Miami players on IR seem to be depth players and part time starters. Damar Hamlin, Taylor Rapp and Ed Oliver were starters for Buffalo. We had hopes that Michael Hoecht, Dorian Strong, and TJ Sanders were going to develop into solid rotational players. Buffalo played most of the Miami Game with three defensive ends. For a while, Buffalo had none of the initial 2025 starters (Benford, White, Johnson Hamlin and Rapp) on the field in the secondary. The rest of the time, they just had 1 (White).

I think it will be a struggle for the Bills to try and repeat as division champion. I don't their championship window is closed. They need to find wide receivers and they need to solve the injury bug. If I'm counting correctly, The Bills started five defensive players who were starters in game one this season, and three of those have lost time this season and might be less than 100%.

Bishop essentially lost his rookie season to injury. That means he lost all that development time. It was no reason IMO to judge him a bust. Safety in Buffalo's defensive system is a very complicated position to learn. There was no guarantee he was going to learn and become a productive safety for the Bills, but also no reason to be shocked that he is becoming what the Bills had hoped for. It just took some time.

I don't know, it might take him a while to get accustomed to walking around outside this time of year with bare feet.