dave mcbride

IF (emphasis on if) he has a torn labrum, would you still make the trade?

Moulds sucked in his first two seasons and couldn’t run a route with consistency to save his life. This isn’t actually debatable. No he didn’t. He was terrible in year 2 and I am old enough to remember every game.

I do think that when Sammy was on, he was a far more talented player than almost everyone here. But he often wasn't on because of injuries. He was a disappointment, to be sure, but I would bet a fair amount of money that just about every team in the league had him rated as high as the Bills did. He was ridiculously talented (physically) and ridiculously productive in college. His 2015 season -- over 1,000 yards, 9 TDs, and 17.5 ypr in just 13 games -- has only been matched by Diggs and Moulds. Moulds's 1998 season is probably the best WR season in team history, and he was awesome the next year too (although he missed time due to a hamstring). Diggs's 2020 season is up there too. Interest thing about Sammy: he bounced around a bit afterward, but the coaches that went after him and paid him--McVay, Reid, Harbaugh, Lafleur--all know offensive talent and the passing game. Just a disappointing career. Final interesting fact about Watkins: he played in 8 playoff games, and his numbers extrapolated to 17 games turn out to be 57 catches for 1,088 yards (19.0 ypr), 2 TDs, and 45 catches for first downs.

A couple of people have pointed out that the numbers are skewed by a couple of long runs, and while that certainly factors in, against one of the worst teams in the league (New Orleans) and playing at home, the Bills surrendered 189 on 34 carries (5.6 ypc) -- and the longest run was 18 yards. And that was one of their GOOD games simply going by the numbers. Against Miami, they gave up 130 yards on 25 carries (5.2 ypc) and the longest run was again 18 yards. Even the Jets, who were incapable of throwing the ball and behind all game, ran 21 times for 100 yards (4.9 ypc). Granted, in the Jets game most of the rushing yards were by the QBs.

Yeah on all of this, but "winning the game" is a pretty big thing and you're probably right about that. If that's a TD instead of a pick, I suspect the Bills lose that game.

True. But this is a defense that gives up short stuff to stop the 70 yard plays. It's not working.

The Bills are giving up 5.8 yards per carry. Multiple people have reported that this is the worst in the NFL since 1934, when the short-lived Cincinnati Reds gave up 6.4 ypc in an 0-8 season. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/red/1934.htm Cowherd reported this, as did Florio yesterday in his preview (with Simms) of the Bill Panthers game. Anyway, even though I realize we're only six games in and regression to the mean is a real thing, this is pretty effing bad!

I get that, but they also want to ensure that they're able to adequately assess Gabriel. It's hard to do if he doesn't have any receivers, and Jeudy is their best one.

He has played in 34 out of 40 games for the Bills in his career: 85 percent of them. I would bet good money that this is par for the course for NFL players 2.5 years into their careers. Almost all of them get nicked up and miss games.

Oblique injuries happen ALL the time in sports.

Not true. In 2013, they led the NFL with 59 sacks (which is a TON), beating out the Bills by a couple -- and 2013 was the best sack total season in Bills history. Recall that he had Greg Hardy, who was basically unblockable but also an insane violent criminal. To be fair, he had a reasonably successful second career as a UFC fighter.

Don't look now, but Von Miller is on pace for 10 sacks with the Commanders.

Well, he was on pace for 50 catches/800 yards/9 TDs in 2023. But he got hurt. Last year, he had only 29 catches, but he averaged over 21 yards per reception. He's obviously not Jamar Chase, but he's something the Bills don't have right now. Of course, he's coming off an ACL, so who knows how serviceable he is right now. In theory, though, he's more physically gifted than Coleman and far better suited to the X role: taller 6'4" and faster (4.36 40). Coleman does have a bigger wingspan (78 1/8" to 77 5/8"), which essentially makes up for the inch that Watson has on him. Watson has bigger hands and a slightly better vertical (38.5" to 38"). Watson had a WAY better 10 yard split, though - 1.45 to Coleman's 1.62. Just a better athlete.

Why would they ever trade him? They are gunning for a SB and he's a useful tool. Their current offensive production is a tick below last season's, and he's the sort of deep threat who can open things up underneath. Maybe he's still too injured to make that difference, but in that case the Bills should avoid him too.

Especially ones with SB aspirations!

You are missing the biggest ones. Walsh and Parcells. But not in terms of winning. Sean Payton, Tom Coughlin, and Belichick all won Super Bowls - 9 in total. And Payton certainly considers himself a Parcells guy if you have any doubts (even though he didn’t start with Parcells). In terms of actual winning, Parcells remains the ultimate boss.

It is a story according to Joe B:

Ugh. He's the only guy with decent separation skills on the outside. In any event, he's not playing against Carolina and I'm guessing at least KC.

Charlotte has long been a prime destination for Buffalo ex-pats. The Charlotte metro area is the #1 destination for upstate NYers leaving the state. https://www.buffalo.edu/content/dam/www/news/imported/pdf/January07/CharlotteObserverRogersonEconomy.pdf https://burghdiaspora.blogspot.com/2007/02/little-buffalo-charlotte-nc.html This is why the tickets are so damn expensive!

According to PFR, he's missed 21.2 percent (still terrible!) after only missing 2.4 percent last season. He has seven missed tackles through six games after having only five missed tackles in the previous two seasons.

He did have a truly spectacular pick vs the Jets that sealed the game last season. That game was hardly in the bag too. They could have lost it.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6732294/2025/10/20/drake-maye-patriots-bills-afc-east/ 1. The Bills went 24-6 in the AFC East from Brady’s Patriots exit through 2024. They finally have competition in the division. Maye’s development and the Patriots’ growth come at an interesting time for the Bills. Buffalo ranks fifth in offensive EPA per play but only 23rd on the defensive side. “The (Buffalo) defense is good when they have a lead, but they are small, and you can lean on them a little bit that way,” an opposing coach said. Think Mike Vrabel (listed playing weight: 261) might want to lean on an undersized opponent? Did you see the way the 227-pound Rhamondre Stevenson was running in Tennessee? To be clear, no one is writing off the Bills. “Mentally, as much as anything else, it’s hard to stay that hungry, and I see Buffalo as a team that thinks they can flip the switch at some point, because they have been good for a long time,” an exec said. “They have been taking everybody’s best shot for 3-4 years now. It is just hard to stay sharp.”

There is basically no chance that Manning gets selected in the first round at this point, and I doubt he comes out this year anyway. He was 12 for 27 vs Kentucky this past Saturday.

The whole thing is worth reading.

This was one ridiculously talented roster. There were over 20 legit solid-to-great NFL players on that roster, including multiple HOF-level players.