BigAl2526

Hopefully, everybody on the line stays healthy through training camp (and the regular season) and Kromer can help Saffold and Quessenberry gel quickly with the rest of the line in whatever role they will play. They should give the line a pretty decent upgrade, and Kromer is one of the best O-line coaches.

Good thoughts You make a lot of sense.

It's well known by Bills fans that Brandon Beane restructured a number of contracts in order to create cap space the Bills could use to sign free agents. That got me to wondering. Why didn't the Bills write the initial contracts in a more cap friendly way instead of having to restructure. Is it possible that the initial contracts are written the way they are in order to provide for mor flexibility down the road? With one of the highest payrolls in the league, are the Bills likely to have continuing cap troubles next year and beyond. I think in theory, that could be exacerbated by all the restructuring. Restructuring normally involves converting salary to bonus money. Big prorated bonuses create dead cap money issues when and if those players are cut. I like the way Beane has built this team and I think the recognition he enjoys as one of the top GMs in the league is well deserved, but it there is something to be concerned about, the cap issues might be it.

Feliciano has always been a player who had limited talent. He tried to make up for that lack of talent by playing with a lot of emotion. He tried to be the tough guy. Not every player has the same need to show same emotion as overtly as Feliciano does. Maybe he doesn't understand that.

I'll have a better idea in about 7 months.

If it turns out there is something to it, Chris Collinsworth could find himself in some doodoo with the network. I suspect the league would be unhappy with him too. The league hates controversy with anyone connected with NFL football, and not just players.

I know Rob Gronkowski had his fling with pro wrestling. I wonder if he'll go back to that. His cheap shot attack on Tre White proves he'd be a natural.

I looked up his pro day results. He might be a good kid with long arms, but with a 40 time of 4.85 he's going to have a hard time sticking as a defensive back. I know sometimes I over estimate the importance of speed sometimes, but he's competing against guys that have times 3 tenths better. That's a lot when you're trying to cover the likes of Tyreek Hill.

Congrats to the Bills on getting the draftees all in the fold. The UDFAs are pretty much a given. They wouldn't be Buffalo's UDFAs if they weren't signed.

Right off the bat they're spending a bunch of that rest capital. They go from a Thursday night opener to a Monday night home opener. Almost a third of their rest advantage gone by the second weekend.

The subscription issue is real. Some people can afford to subscribe to every service necessary to see all the games in a season as the NFL contracts with more subscription based providers, but some can't. As it happens, I can probably see NFL games on Amazon Prime through my daughter's subscription. I am on a fixed income and my wife and I have to be careful with our expenditures. We cut the cable a few months ago. We were going to have to pay like $180 to Spectrum for internet and cable. We went with a competitor for high speed internet at $50 a month My wife has a modestly priced streaming service for a couple channels she especially likes. Otherwise, we're depending on free streaming services and a roof antenna. I already know that I won't be able to see the Bills vs. Tennessee because it's on ESPN. If my daughter wasn't an Amazon Prime subscriber, I would miss the December 1st game at New England. I'm not asking for pity. We made a choice on how to allocate limited resources. The thing is, there are probably significant numbers of persons who will be affected by the migration of NFL games to subscription based broadcasters.

They didn't show the tent where Tyreek camped out while waiting for the ball to come down.

I think Elam has the best opportunity to have a great season. I have two reasons. First, he should be playing most of the season across from Tre White, who is a consensus top five CB in the league. As long as White can demonstrate that he's healthy and confident after his ACL injury, opponents will likely avoid attempting to pass to White's side. By the way, Buffalo also has one of the best slot corners in the league. Consequently, Elam is likely to get tested early and often. That will only be exacerbated by Buffalo's high scoring offense. Buffalo has to potential to force opponents to play catch up. That means more passing and less running. An improved run defense from the Bills would help too.

Today, (May 10) Buffalo Rumblings is reporting Buffalo at Rams for the Thursday season opener as a rumor. Buffalo Rumblings rumor article.

None of the defensive ends Buffalo has drafted recently have elite speed and quickness, but that's no surprise given where they have been picking, and the need to address other shortcomings. I haven't given up on any of them, but their success is going to have to come from strength and technique rather than the aforementioned speed, quickness and bend around the edge. I think it's just going to take a little time for those young guys to enjoy the kind of success that a Joey Bosa might have out of the gates of his pro career.

This makes a lot of sense. During the season at least, I presume that it's not the best time for trying to tinker with fundamentals and mechanics.

Let me get this straight. The Texans gave KC a conditional 2024 7th round draft pick to take Lonnie Johnson off their hands? I'm wrong you say? Maybe it's the news reports that got it reversed. Lonnie should have stayed at TE. Did I get it all straight?

That list can't be right. Jones missed Cole Strange.

Whether or not someone was a threat to draft Elam ahead of #25, I don't mind Beane playing it safe as long as he was able to put together a solid draft.

Looking at his scouting report, Raheem Blackshear draft profile, he's not a first round draft prospect who slipped through the cracks. He's not super fast or quick. He's slender and is not going to be fit for any heavy duty inside running. He doesn't always make the right decisions. I think he needs to prove he's a better special teamer than Taiwan Jones, who has much better speed. The one thing he has going for him in that competition is youth. Taiwan Jones is 33. That is old for a running back/special teamer, and it's possible he's lost a step, or will soon.

There are 12 offensive linemen on the roster. That's three more than the Bills are likely to carry on the 53 man roster. The maximum roster for NFL teams is 90 this time of year. There are 37 who won't make the team. Three extra offensive linemen are not a lot. David Quessenberry was likely signed mostly to serve as competition at swing tackle. Seven of the twelve are interior linemen. I'm including Cody Ford as an interior lineman though the team still lists him as a G/T. The tackles, I think, are pretty much set in the minds of Beane and McDermott, and they don't need to look for a lot of new talent. I don't think Beane and McDermott have the same feeling about the interior. Yes, Saffold, if he is healthy, is a starter, but he's not a safe bet to stay healthy. Bates seemed to have played well late last season, but that's not a long time to make assessments that determine rosters. I think Beane is open to and interested in upgrading the overall talent in the interior of the line, even if it ends up just changing up the backups. The caveat, as always, is cost and cap room. If they have too many on the roster, they can always cut a fringe guy, if they find a better guy. Yes, there are some fringe guys on the roster. Jacob Capra anyone?

McDermott would never say publicly if a certain player screwed up, but if McDermott agrees with Levi's assessment, could that be a contributing factor in the decision not to try and re-sign him?

I remember another veteran QB who was vocal about not mentoring the rookie the team brought in. The veteran was Brett Favre, the rookie was Aaron Rodgers.

It's not that Strange is a bad player. He's smart, a quick learner, and plays with solid technique. In addition, he's projected to be able to play center too. The issue is he certainly would have been available in round 2, and quite possibly in round 3. Would Belichick deny there was a player he might have liked as a Patriot besides Strange who got picked somewhere between his first round pick and the start of the third round. There must have been someone. If not, why didn't he trade down.

Tanner Owen played left tackle in college, which of course is the most demanding spot on the line as far as movement skills are concerned, but his lack of length makes him an ideal candidate to move inside in the pros. Maybe he's the next Ryan Bates and will offer similar position versatility if he develops.