BigAl2526

Houston and Indianapolis are among the weakest teams in the league at the moment. Tennessee is better than that, and might provide some competition for the Jags, but the Jags are arguably division favorites. I I don't see them going to the Super Bowl though.

It's true that the Bills offensive line has underperformed the needs of the offense for several seasons. It makes the Bills easy to criticize. Any media observer has the right to be critical, and certainly the Bills have earned it based on the inadequate attention paid to addressing the offensive line. As far as the coming season is concerned, nobody really knows whether or not the most recent off season moves will fix the problems.

I absolutely agree, but Buffalo didn't throw $15 million per year at any free agents on the offensive line, so in the minds of some pundits they didn't do anything meaningful.

I think there are some pundits who believe if you don't throw a boatload of money at a player or players to fix an area of the team, you didn't do anything. Buffalo was restricted in what they could do this off season. I think they did more than most of us thought they could. They didn't throw out big contracts on the offensive line, but they did sign some players who are pretty well respected and have lots of starting experience. I think the offensive line will be better than last season. With improvements at running back and a new weapon at tight end, that might be enough to reduce pressure on Josh Allen.

Happy Birthday Kim. I hope the day comes quickly that your health crisis becomes a fading memory.

I don't think they expect Dantzler to win a starting job. If he does, the Bills' CBs as a group are a lot worse than I think they are.

What can he do to get faster? His straight line speed is average to below average for a linebacker, and he's a defensive back. He's smart and instinctive. That allows him to play faster than his timed speed, but he could be better if he could improve his speed.

The more I hear, the more it seems as if the Bills wanted to move on from Leslie Frasier and the year off was a way to allow him to save face and perhaps avoid the negative impact on future employment possibilities that firing him would have. The only questions with that scenario are why the Bills waited so long to announce the year "sabbatical." If they had, they could have hired a defensive coordinator right away rather than Sean McDermott having to do two jobs. If that's what happened, perhaps it is a clue that Sean McDermott was itching to do the defensive coordinator job himself for a while.

It's definitely a philosophical position of McDermott. He wants to rotate to keep players fresh. It's not going to always be equal though. Better players, especially those with a history of endurance and durability are going to get more reps. Those players who produce less are going to get less playing time, as will players coming back from injury and younger players who are early in their development.

I don't think the one year deals have much to do with the sense of community that exists on the Bills. The Bills are pretty careful about signing free agents that are a culture fit, and that goes for one year free agents as will as long term acquisitions. I think the Bills like long term deals when they can fit in their cap management strategy, but when the cap is tight, they use the one year deals to pick up some talent at bargain prices. I'm sure Leonard Floyd would love to get a multi-year big money deal, but this late in the off season that was not going to happen. He signs for less money than he might be worth on a one year deal and collects a paycheck in anticipation of getting a longer term deal next year. Maybe he can collect a championship ring along the way too.

We are going to see some creative zone blitzing. I don't think McDermott's philosophy is to "bring the house" very much, but he'll definitely blitz more than Frazier. It helps that the secondary might be really good this season. That is something of an assumption, based on a hopes that Tre White will be back to the form of earlier in his career, Hyde and Poyer can stay healthy and the young CBs (Elam, Benson and Jackson can continue developing).

It could be that we don't know the whole story. Perhaps the Vikings are in negotiation with the Jets and Cook had received permission to negotiate a new deal. Of course, it can only be signed if the trade goes through. The Jets could be a very tough team this season, but I'm not sure that the GM is using a strategy that can work for long term success. It seems to me as if they might be mortgaging the future. If Buffalo can hold them off for the AFC East crown, I wouldn't be surprised to see them collapse next year.

This is huge, especially if Von Miller isn't quite ready to go in September. Of course, having two top pass rushers at the same time isn't bad either. If Buffalo can deal with the middle linebacker issue, they really could be scary good and a nightmare for other teams to have to face.

I made the assumption because I saw reports that it was a four year deal, yet I also saw reports that he would be a Bill through five seasons. The extension after 2023 would reconcile the those two different reports. If the new contract affects this year's compensation, then either one of those two reports is wrong or there is some explanation I can't fathom.

Well, as an extension, the new deal kicks in after the 2023 season. In any case, the Bills obviously have a higher opinion of Oliver than lots of fans. Judging from the comments of the defensive line coach the other day, Oliver's need for grown is mostly in the mental aspect of the game, anticipation and decision making. Obviously, the Bills think he can make the jump in production.

I would never allow my Bills fandom to affect relationships with persons who are not fans or even fans of arch rivals. Nor would I allow it to affect decisions I make about people I hire for services or places I go to shop. You made the right decision as far as I'm concerned.

Now if he can just catch the ball. . . If memory serves, I believe Shakir was one of several Bills receivers who experienced a fairly high drop rate in 2022.

Play smarter and anticipate.

I remember reading his articles in the Times Herald when I was in college. I'm 71 now.

The more I hear about Shell, the more hopeful I'm becoming. He was regarded as a backup caliber offensive tackle when he came out of college, but has started 72 games and at least according to Miami's head coach, he has improved every year. McDaniel also says he can play left tackle. That may mean he is a legit swing tackle possibility if he does not beat out Brown. I still think the Bills would like Brown to win the starting RT job and Doyle to win the swing tackle job because they are both relatively young, athletic and on their rookie deals. Shell is a real good insurance policy in any case.

I have many reasons for optimism. My main reason for pessimism is that the Bills may not be able to adequately replace the unique combination of size and athleticism that they had at middle linebacker with Tremaine Edmunds. I'm a little concerned that if Von Miller is not 100% to start the season the defensive ends could struggle again to get pressure on opposing QBs. I think the offensive line is going to be fine, maybe not the best in the league, but better than they have been. I think the running game will be more dependable on offense. I think the offense is going to cut down on turnovers. Barring injury I think the defensive secondary is going to be much better. I expect marginal improvement from the interior defensive line in run stopping.

I think that while McDermott and Frazier start with the same basic defensive scheme, they have never been in philosophical lockstep with each other. Since McDermott hired him to coordinate the defense, and Frazier is certainly competent in doing that job, McDermott trusted him and allowed him to run the defense in the way that he (Frazier) wanted to run it. I would be shocked if the defense wasn't more aggressive.

A return to the Bills was one of several possibilities for Frazier. It is still a possibility until either the Bills or Frazier rule it out, but it may never have been the most likely possibility. Frazier has always hoped for another crack at a head coaching gig, and the Bills may well decide to go in a different direction anyway after McDermott tries his hand at calling defensive plays.

Should be some good competition at right offensive tackle. The knock on Shell is that he's not been able to play a full season for a while. I think he's pretty much limited to playing right tackle, which is a handicap if he's competing for a backup job. Lack of versatility is a huge disadvantage. Of course, Tommy Doyle lost his second season to a major injury. If Tommy Doyle has not been affected long term by his injury, I would guess he has the inside track in any competition because he's young and on a rookie deal. That depends on him making a pretty leap in development. Quessenberry and Shell by comparison represent known quantities. They are decent, but not great or even real good players. Spencer Brown is probably as big an unknown as Doyle. He wasn't very good last season, but Beane and the Bills believe it was due to the fact that he lost an off season to training and condition due to an injury suffered in 2021. Maybe he suffered lingering effects from the injury as well. I'm really hoping the Bills are right on Brown. I would much rather the competition involving Doyle, Quessenberry and Shell be for the backup role.

Definitely an area to focus on if he wants to improve his game.