Rockinon

I too have enjoyed your weekly posts, Bill. It was always fun to read your opinions and they always seemed to lighten the mood when other posts seemed to have a negative effect on the board. You are going to be missed on Sundays. Anyway, as I occasionally disagreed with some of your posts, there is one item I will have to refute in this one..... The Bills defense is not going to crash and burn. Far from it. I'm pretty confident that the defense will bounce back this year. There is simply too much talent for it to be otherwise. Perhaps it is for the best. You will be able to sit back and simply enjoy the game, and I have a hunch that it will be even more than you expected. Thank you for the time and effort that you put in and I truly hope you make the most of your time spent with family. That is what Sundays are really about anyway. We love you, man.

I honestly think the defense just had a brain fart last year. No one seemed to know what they were doing until late in the season. It was visibly apparent later in the season that the guys were communicating better prior to the snap. Guys were getting lined up where they needed to be. Early on it was obvious that no one knew there assignment. I'm pretty confident the defense will at least be top 10 and I'm hoping top 5 in the NFL. That will decide some games for us. As for the offense, I expect to see a more consistent product. Last year there were flashes but there were a lot of things they tried that didn't work. No doubt the defense took a nose dive last year, but that was last year. As far as I'm concerned there is only one way to go....up. For the offense they looked great at times and I'm just hoping to see an improvement.

This^^^^^ What are we.....the media?

Don't hold your breath. I really do believe that Rex Ryan is committed to letting the defensive linemen do what they do best. He tried a bunch of different things throughout the year and it wasn't until the last couple of games that he actually turned them loose. It was so effective that he couldn't possibly be thinking of screwing with it. He can call it 3-4 all he wants but it is most definitely not a traditional 3-4 with a big fatty at the nose. The defensive line will be collapsing the pocket with strait up bull rushes and with stunts. They don't want t a big nose because he will likely not have agility that is needed. People have been undervaluing the importance of having a guy like Kyle Williams next to Dareus. Now will we draft a DT? Probably. But it is going to be a guy that can get into the backfield consistently and who has the agility to run stunts and pulls. If they draft a DT it is going to be a clone of Dareus or Kyle. Both can get off the snap in a hurry and wreak havoc. Frankly, I don't want a big lumbering slow NT.

I love how everyone takes Rex Ryan's quote about being "all in" and assume he means to run his specific defense. What he actually said was all in to play Buffalo Bills defense. What does that mean? The last couple of games last year, he took input from the players themselves turned that dominant defensive line loose to get after the QB. It payed off. Not only that, but the communication on the back end was better too. Don't be so quick to think that our defense needs a true nose tackle. I am more inclined to believe that the Bills are looking for a DE and possibly a replacement for when Kyle Williams retires. I have been seeing a lot of comments about freeing up Dareus and we do need to let him get involved in collapsing the pocket. That is what he loves doing, but if you put Kyle next to him or pick up one of the promising DTs in the draft, that would go a long way toward freeing him up. I can see all of the hand wringing over Nose Tackle and how everyone is going to react when we don't draft one. Things may not play out that way at all. There's going to be a lot of surprised people come draft week.

This^^ I've been thinking a lot about why the DLine's performance plummeted last year and I think it is because they were held back. I honestly don't think this article was far off the mark. http://bills.buffalonews.com/2016/03/14/251322/ We have some dominant DLmen that were asked to play passive roles. That isn't going to cut it next year. Maybe Blake can get these guys revved up.

Bills picked up 3 6'2" receivers at the end of the year last year. Don't see that happening. They currently have 9 receivers on the roster.

Damn!!! This guy can kick. He can also do kickoffs. That would free up a roster spot.

I'm happy he is there. Can't think of a better place for him.

Rex spoke highly of Powell before he got injured. Wonder if the Bills are thinking to pick up a veteran low cost LB in FA as insurance so they can take a gamble on Jaylon Smith. Some say he won't go in round after medical exams at the combine. May not be able to play at all this year. Could be a trade down, to pick up additional picks and go DL and LB.

Can't seem to help myself. That just popped up on twitter. Thought it was new. Looking for some positive news on Cog and got that instead.

http://www.buffalorumblings.com/2016/3/6/11169934/bills-lowballing-ignoring-incognito-per-report Don't kill the messenger.

Oh great. Now you're going to throw percentages into this.

I like the way you think.

I hear ya there. My biggest problem with Rex is his big mouth. I tend to think Rex had been working with Brown all season long and was getting frustrated enough to say something to the media and also to let Lawson take over the job at the end of the year. One thing I do know is young guys often don't take criticism well. Maybe Rex felt he needed to push his buttons a little harder. We can only speculate but I'm not ready just say Rex was wrong. He may very well have had a good reason to be vocal about it. Maybe blowhard Rex should have kept his big mouth shut. Either way, I don't think we have enough information say one way or the other.

I'm aware of what others have said. Just tend to draw my own conclusions. I think those games were more about the defense and less about the opposing QB, but then again what do I know. And Amen to the disappointing season and turning it around this year.

I don't know that he was calling him out then. I'm pretty sure all season the coaching staff was all ready pushing him. How could they not since Brown was the one calling the plays on the field. Rex mentioned to the media what Brown needed to work on. Brown and the rest of the team all ready knew that. When Rex spoke to the media, he all ready called him out. Probably long before that day.

I agree...it sucked. Just not so much the last couple of games.

Lash out? Rex is the coach. His job is to be critical of the players. He also said that the plan going forward was to get him more involved. You make it sound like he was throwing him under the bus or something. Brown is young and needs to improve his craft. Nothing wrong with telling him so.

Not really. The defense looked like they getting lined up to make a play quicker. They appeared to be communicating on the field better and got after the QB better. A lot of things seemed to be clicking. It was apparent that everyone knew their assignment and playing as one cohesive unit.

Also explains why the defense didn't suck the last couple of games. Wonder what the plan is going forward.

Wow. What a great read. This is a pretty good analysis.

That is interesting. All of this restructuring is quickly changing the landscape. May be that this small amount will be just enough to get Incognito on board. Just say no to Cro.

There are a lot of ways to move money around. Lets hope the front office and the players can come to a middle ground. So far, it sounds like Incognito is the only one dragging his feet(understandably). This may be his last chance to cash in before retiring. One thing that is looking good for this team is that the players are actually wanting to stay here. And prospects are actually wanting to come here. Makes the moves that the front office are trying to make easier. I was a little alarmed at our cap situation but the more moves are made the better things look. Glenn resigned long term would be big, but it should be understood that if Tyrod continues to impress, room will need to made all over again. I'm amazed by how much talent is on this team now. I wonder how far they can keep pushing the envelope to keep our starters.

There could be other moves. Just because Glenn has been franchised, that doesn't mean they won't continue to work on his long term contract. A front loaded long term contract could actually free up the cap space that would have been used against the cap. Some other players could also be a work in progress. The 23 million all ready freed up is more than half spent with Glenn's franchise tag. That is probably item #1 on their list right now. Can't remember the deadline for being under the cap, but the Bills could actually resign Glenn by then to a long term deal. That would put some serious money into the pot.