BigAl2526

Obviously, careers in the NFL are a finite length. Not even Tom Brady can go on forever. When it comes to older players, I'm sure GMs have to go through a difficult process of trying to evaluate a given player's reasonable career lifespan, costs and risks. I don't think it is an automatic that players like Sanders and Beasley will either be retained or cut loose. I could see Beane coming to the conclusion that Isaiah McKenzie has more upside and lower risk of injury in 2022 than Beasley, not to mention being more cost effective if the cap is tight.

I agree, the Bills may not lose again this season. That's not what I expect though. I've been saying I think the Bills have the talent to beat any other team in the league when they are playing to their capabilities. I haven't seen any confirmation yet that they are ready to play with consistency down the stretch. Honestly, that's probably going to be a matter for hindsight to settle in early January.

Maybe it's just me, but it seems like there have been more huge upsets this season than usual this season.

Incomplete. We haven't seen enough of Basham to evaluate him. I presume that's because the team is deep at DE and Basham still needs to develop some. In any case, Two Bills Drive is not where I would go to get an objective and trustworthy evaluation, though there are some here who can come much closer to that than most of us. Hint: I am not one of them.

Clearly, Buffalo needs Spencer Brown to stay healthy. He's better than Daryl Williams at right tackle, and Williams is the Bills' best guard. Every other guard on the Bills' roster appears to be a liability in one way or another. I doubt that there is any way to address that successfully between now and free agency. I expect an effort will be made in the offseason to fix it. I think Buffalo hopes that Tommy Doyle can develop into a solid swing tackle so there's no need to switch Daryl Williams out to tackle every time Spencer Brown gets hurt. The other question Buffalo will have to answer is how long can they use Morse at center, and do they think Ryan Bates has starter potential..

Mac Jones is the same kind of QB as Tom Brady. I'm not saying Mac is another Tom Brady by any means, but he has a similar skill set. He makes quick reads. He has decent, but not elite arm strength or athleticism, but he throws an accurate ball. Belichick and his coaching staff has two decades of coaching that kind of QB. That automatically makes them a challenge to opposing teams. Another thing that does not change with Belichick coached teams is the fact that even if they start out slow, they develop over the season so that they make very few mistakes down the stretch. I'd much rather face the Patriots early in the season. That said, if the Bills play to their capability, I think they beat a Patriots team even when the Patriots play well. The moral of the story is, don't screw it up.

Wallace is a good cornerback. He has some ball skills and is technically sound. However, he is always going to be somewhat limited athletically. If the Bills face a team with more than one receiver that possesses an elite or close to elite skill set, particularly receivers with either elite speed or elite size and strength, Wallace is going to struggle. Like any team, the Bills are not going to be able to have elite players at every position. There may be an opportunity to upgrade from Wallace at some point, but Buffalo may continue to go with Wallace and try and upgrade elsewhere. A lot depends with the way the draft falls, what is available via free agency, and what the Bills' cap situation looks like at any given point.

Thanks for stopping by and giving us some comic relief, Spags. You are almost as helpful to the Bills' and their fans' hopes as the Jets themselves.

The Patriots are a formidable opponent. I'm sure Belichick will watch the film of Buffalo's loss to Jacksonville very closely, but then every opponent the Bills face will do that. The Jets didn't mimic Jacksonville because they aren't set up to play a Cover 2 defense. I imagine Robert Saleh figured he was better off to try and do what his team is comfortable doing. Essentially he was in a lose - lose situation. Belichick has preferred to play man defense recently, but if he thinks the Cover 2 is the way to contain Allen, I don't think he'll have any problem playing it. The Bills actually have a relatively tough stretch coming up. The Colts and Saints are not going too lay down and play dead. I expect and hope that the Bills get at least some Cover 2 looks, because Josh Allen needs to learn how to beat it. That said, I think he can.

I sure would rather have a bye than not.

I certainly agree. The primary antidote to an overly QB centric offense would seem to be a reliable running game. I don't know that Brian Daboll can scheme that given the running backs and interior offensive line personnel he has to work with.

Should Beane decide not to make a move for one of these guys, I wonder what the explanation would be.

I think that Buffalo is only capable of running the ball (using running backs) against some teams. Part of that is the interior linemen for Buffalo, and part of it is the running backs. Otherwise, I think Buffalo has an unusually large playbook on offense and can do a lot of things. Daboll is good, but I don't think he always makes the right choice on the best way to attack a given team..

I think the Bills have enough talent to have an explosive offense. There is also room for improvement. Some of what happened last Sunday is probably on Daboll, though certainly not all of it. When there is a massive failure like last Sunday, there is going to be plenty of blame to spread around. Josh Allen made errors. The offensive line blocked poorly and committed a bunch of unnecessary penalties. The WRs dropped more balls than usual.

I voted Bucs because that's where all the divas seem to end up. The Raiders make a great deal of sense, with the Henry Ruggs situation.

You'd think it might be possible to have one player who was good at holding for a place kicker and punting.

Sounding like it may be a career ender for Ruggs. I imagine that he'll be charged with something like vehicular manslaughter. Unless he's got a real good attorney, he might be facing a few years in prison. He may or may not be able to get back into football after doing 3-5 years. He may be young enough when his sentence is over, but he's got to convince a team that he has reformed and it's worth taking a chance on him.

I don't think there is anything wrong with having the flexibility to do lots of different things on offense. It's up to the OC to make a decision about what his offense can handle. The explanation given for Buffalo's first half struggles was Miami's game plan to play a different defense than they have in recent history. I wondered why it took so long for the Bills to adjust, but that's a different issue from having an overly complex offense. I think Josh Allen is going to continue to mature. Hopefully Brian Daboll will, as he faces defenses trying different things to slow the Bills down, learn to change more quickly on the fly, and trust his maturing QB to make the reads on the field. I think they'll be OK. It's a good thing when the bumps occur against a poor team like Miami. At least Buffalo can overcome the glitches. When a good team comes up with a wrinkle that catches Buffalo off guard, (like Tennessee) it's tougher, but Buffalo doesn't have too many of those left in the schedule. If I'm right, then over time opposing teams should be progressively less effective and confusing the Bills with defensive "curve balls."

Lotulelei is a little lighter than he's played in years. He's more fit and is thus playing faster. I don't think it's an illusion.

No, I don't think it is an issue. I think it is a combination of the Bills getting more production from Knox, getting more production from Sanders than Brown last season, and also defenses perhaps focusing on taking Diggs away.

White has weaknesses. He's not real mobile. He processes slowly. His history says he doesn't have a great pocket presence. As film becomes available, defensive coordinators will scheme to take advantage of areas that he struggles with. I wouldn't be surprised if White starts for a while, but teams will catch up, and White will return to earth. I expect that next Summer, the Jets will still be wrestling with the issue of who should start.

It was an 11 yard drive that consisted of 3 runs. Yes, the last run was by Josh Allen, but I think it is reasonable to attempt to score when you receive the gift of the ball on the 11 yard line.

It would be a shock if Tennessee can continue their success with Henry on the shelf. Tannehill is a good QB, but the Tennessee offense is predicated on having an unstoppable high speed bulldozer in the backfield.

Yes, Miami changed up their defense on Buffalo, incorporating more zone defense than has been their habit. During their losing streak, they have been gradually playing more zone, having been almost exclusively a man coverage defense early in the season. Buffalo has played zone defenses though. Does it take a whole half to realize how much zone Miami is using and make the adjustments?

They wont mind a million dollar backup.