What is the one spot on the roster that still has a hole?

[akcash]

Right Tackle. I think if Nsekhe could stay healthy he and Trey Adam's could man that spot maybe at split reps like he and Ford did last year.

[Cruiserplayer]

The challenge consultant should be replaced .

[SirAndrew]

23 minutes ago, papazoid said:

TE

Yep, when you look at the Super Bowl winners of the past decade or so, most teams had decent TE’s. It’s become an important position in pro football. I think we can be successful without huge production from the TE, but can we take the next step without a reliable TE ? My biggest concern is not necessarily lacking an elite TE, but having players who will hurt us. It’s one thing to lack production, but it’s another to miss blocks and drop passes on a regular basis. That’s an even bigger issue than not putting up huge numbers. 

Edited May 4, 2020 by SirAndrew

[Buffalo_Stampede]

I still think we're missing that elite edge athlete to take the defense over the top. We're missing that home run hitter at RB. 

 

That's about it. Not too worried about TE. This is how you find a top TE. You develop them. We have some good young tight ends to work with. 

[billsfan89]

There are some positions that could be upgraded but we are talking about marginal upgrades to the edges of the roster. Punter, veteran TE (Would love someone better and more reliable than Kroft) and depth in the secondary and at linebacker are all positions the could be upgraded but none of those positions are likely to be the difference. This season comes down to Josh. If he says the same this is a 10-11 win team tough but lucky to win a playoff game. If he regresses this is a 8-9 win bubble team. If he takes a modest step up to being a top 12-10 QB I think this is a 12+ win team with a legit shot to win 2 playoff games or more. 

 

Josh has the receiving core, offensive line and RB combo to put together a good offense. The Special teams unit (which was decent last year) got upgraded and the defense should return to being a top 5 unit. With reasonable health this team is going as far as Josh is taking them. 

11 minutes ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

I still think we're missing that elite edge athlete to take the defense over the top. We're missing that home run hitter at RB. 

 

That's about it. Not too worried about TE. This is how you find a top TE. You develop them. We have some good young tight ends to work with. 

 

I think the defensive line has enough to produce a consistent pass rush, yes it would be nice to swap Murphy for Clowney on a one year deal but I think they are counting on interior pass rush to produce a lot of pressure and Addision and Hughes to be good pass rushers off the edge. I think TE is a concern because if Kroft is hurt and Knox is a year away from being consistent this team becomes much more reliant on 3-4 players in the receiving game which could stifle the offense just enough against elite defenses. Hopefully Kroft proves everyone wrong and Knox is more consistent but I get that being a concern on the roster.

[Ethan in Cleveland]

QB and MLB. If they dont play better, none of the other moves will matter.  Both are young and improving and if they continue to get better this team will win the division and host a playoff game.

As for a position that still needs an upgrade, it has to be OLB. Unlike TE, Bills have a rich history of great OLB play. Just not sure McD's defense is designed for an attacking OLB.

[Buffalo_Stampede]

20 minutes ago, billsfan89 said:

 

 

I think the defensive line has enough to produce a consistent pass rush, yes it would be nice to swap Murphy for Clowney on a one year deal but I think they are counting on interior pass rush to produce a lot of pressure and Addision and Hughes to be good pass rushers off the edge. I think TE is a concern because if Kroft is hurt and Knox is a year away from being consistent this team becomes much more reliant on 3-4 players in the receiving game which could stifle the offense just enough against elite defenses. Hopefully Kroft proves everyone wrong and Knox is more consistent but I get that being a concern on the roster.

The defense is top 10 no question, but I still think they will have to carry us. I don't think the defense is elite. They're going to be really good, but I don't know about being able to carry us to the Super Bowl like some other elite defenses have other teams. Hopefully Ed Oliver becomes force next year.

 

I would also like to get a dependable veteran TE other than Kroft. Kroft would be fine if he were dependable. His injury history is a risk. I don't see TE as a concern however. I'm very excited about Knox. He looks like a future star at the position.

 

Sweeney also deserved to be active all year IMO. I think he has potential as well. It's a good group, much better situation entering 2020 then 2019. Knox and Sweeney got valuable experience.

Edited May 4, 2020 by Buffalo_Stampede

[BuffaloBills1998]

36 minutes ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

I still think we're missing that elite edge athlete to take the defense over the top. We're missing that home run hitter at RB. 

 

That's about it. Not too worried about TE. This is how you find a top TE. You develop them. We have some good young tight ends to work with. 

What home run hitter RBS are out there right now?

26 minutes ago, billsfan89 said:

There are some positions that could be upgraded but we are talking about marginal upgrades to the edges of the roster. Punter, veteran TE (Would love someone better and more reliable than Kroft) and depth in the secondary and at linebacker are all positions the could be upgraded but none of those positions are likely to be the difference. This season comes down to Josh. If he says the same this is a 10-11 win team tough but lucky to win a playoff game. If he regresses this is a 8-9 win bubble team. If he takes a modest step up to being a top 12-10 QB I think this is a 12+ win team with a legit shot to win 2 playoff games or more. 

 

Josh has the receiving core, offensive line and RB combo to put together a good offense. The Special teams unit (which was decent last year) got upgraded and the defense should return to being a top 5 unit. With reasonable health this team is going as far as Josh is taking them. 

 

I think the defensive line has enough to produce a consistent pass rush, yes it would be nice to swap Murphy for Clowney on a one year deal but I think they are counting on interior pass rush to produce a lot of pressure and Addision and Hughes to be good pass rushers off the edge. I think TE is a concern because if Kroft is hurt and Knox is a year away from being consistent this team becomes much more reliant on 3-4 players in the receiving game which could stifle the offense just enough against elite defenses. Hopefully Kroft proves everyone wrong and Knox is more consistent but I get that being a concern on the roster.

Clowney is overrated and would be stupid to pay someone 16 million for one year

[billsfan89]

Just now, Buffalo_Stampede said:

The defense is top 10 no question, but I still think they will have to carry us. I don't think the defense is elite. They're going to be really good, but I don't know about being able to carry us to the Super Bowl like some other elite defenses have other teams.

 

I would also like to get a dependable veteran TE other than Kroft. Kroft would be fine if he were dependable. His injury history is a risk. I don't see TE as a concern however. I'm very excited about Knox. He looks like a future star at the position.

 

Sweeney also deserved to be active all year IMO. I think he has potential as well. It's a good group, much better situation entering 2020 then 2019. Knox and Sweeney got valuable experience.

 

I don't see any regression in this defense. The D-line is 9 deep with quality players, Milano and Edumonds are one of the best LB pairs in the league and they are young. Klein is a solid third LB. Hyde and Poyer don't have major injuries and are 30 and 29 respectively I think they should be good for at least 1-2 more seasons. White is in his prime as an All-Pro Corner, T. Johnson is a good slot corner and they have Levi Wallace and other good options opposite White none of whom should see significant regression. 

 

I think they should remain a top 5 defense, barring unreasonable levels of injuries. I think the offense will play better by simply having Diggs and continuity (Last year they entered in with 9 new starters on offense this year only 1.) The defense doesn't need to be leaned on too heavily. I also think with the ST additions they made the ST unit could moderately improve a solid unit. 

 

This team is also well coached and good at developing players, which might mean the emergence of players who are lesser known esp on the defensive side of the ball. To me it is all on Josh, can he put together a modestly better season? If so this team will win 12 games and be in contention for a bye. 

[Don Otreply]

For all Intent and purpose we are pretty much set, technically all positions could be better, but what is most important is that the offense and defense as individual units are on the same page, and execute correctly on every play. 
 

  If Josh ups his game, as well as the O line upping theirs, and the receiver group fixes the excessive drops the O will roll this season, and the team will kick azs. Yes it’s on our QB, but he alone can’t beat the other eleven guys on the field. 
 

Go Bills!!!

[billsfan89]

1 minute ago, BuffaloBills1998 said:

 

Clowney is overrated and would be stupid to pay someone 16 million for one year

 

Clowney is a lot better than Murphy and on a one year deal keeps his motivation. I wouldn't sign Clowney for a 16 million dollar deal but I would offer him a deal in the range of 12-13 million which is only 4-5 million more than you would be paying Murphy. I think for a 4-5 million dollar hit it would be worth it to try and upgrade the DE spot with a player who can be very very disruptive. 

[Paup 1995MVP]

25 minutes ago, billsfan89 said:

 

I don't see any regression in this defense. The D-line is 9 deep with quality players, Milano and Edumonds are one of the best LB pairs in the league and they are young. Klein is a solid third LB. Hyde and Poyer don't have major injuries and are 30 and 29 respectively I think they should be good for at least 1-2 more seasons. White is in his prime as an All-Pro Corner, T. Johnson is a good slot corner and they have Levi Wallace and other good options opposite White none of whom should see significant regression. 

 

I think they should remain a top 5 defense, barring unreasonable levels of injuries. I think the offense will play better by simply having Diggs and continuity (Last year they entered in with 9 new starters on offense this year only 1.) The defense doesn't need to be leaned on too heavily. I also think with the ST additions they made the ST unit could moderately improve a solid unit. 

 

This team is also well coached and good at developing players, which might mean the emergence of players who are lesser known esp on the defensive side of the ball. To me it is all on Josh, can he put together a modestly better season? If so this team will win 12 games and be in contention for a bye. 

Agree with everything you said EXCEPT getting to 12 wins if Josh plays modestly better.  12 wins is a great season in today's NFL.  I think Josh Allen will have to improve considerably against what looks to be a much more difficult schedule for us to be a 12 win team.  He can do it.  But he will have to improve his deep ball dramatically and process things a whole lot quicker.  He is a gunslinger.  He needs to get back to that mentality.  And he should run when he can.  He is a great running QB.  Basically don't be afraid to make mistakes.  Let it rip.  We did not draft him to be a game manager.  If he stays cautious, that's on the coaches.  

[njbuff]

Shorter thread titles.

[Thurman#1]

We have no real holes, positions where the starter is significantly below NFL standard. But that's not all you need to win a title. You need impact players, in particular at impact positions. You need to either have few injuries or great depth. Our depth is very good but injuries could still drag us down. You need good strategy. And you need the players to play together synergistically. And you greatly increase your chances of getting a title when you have a QB playing at a top ten or twelve in the league kind of standard.

 

As for real holes, though, no, I don't think we do.

[Thurman#1]

5 hours ago, gjv001 said:

As ESPN kept reminding us during each Bills draft selection, Josh Allen was the third most pressured QB last season. That being said, I would think we still have something to plug on the Oline.

 

 

Yup, He was pressured a lot. He was also one of the QBs who held the ball longest, as ranked from quickest to slowest, he was 29th, as per Next Gen Stats. It's not difficult to see that there is likely to be a bit of correlation there. Hold the ball longer and you make the job of the OL harder. In fairness it goes the other way too. This OL wasn't bad by any means. But equally they sure weren't great. What they were was professional. Slightly above average, possibly? Hopefully they'll be better this year with a year together under their belts to gel and perhaps someone beating someone else out by playing better.

 

 

4 hours ago, Nihilarian said:

This gets my vote as well. 

 

Tough to believe that this regime can't see the difference between an all pro OG and a journeyman as the former elevates the play of the players next to him. The one singular thing that was good about Rex Ryan was that he understood how important it is to build a top offensive line, hence Richie Incognito. 

 

I dunno, perhaps they expect development, growth, continuity out of the starters from last season. However, I just don't see it. One of the biggest flaws on last seasons offense was the ability to score in the red zone with the run game...besides the QB running it in.  Last season Singletary had 2 rushing TD's as did Gore. Allen had 9 himself and 510 yards rushing. This can't stand. Derrick Henry had 16 rushing TD's. Dalvin Cook had 13 rushing TD's.

 

Cam Newton has proved that running QB's don't last in this league.

 

The one thing to take note of is when Josh Allen doesn't have all that much pressure on him he performs so much better. This helps him gain confidence and will help with his accuracy. 

 

 

We don't have any journeymen as starters. You're right, though that we also don't have any All-Pros. But I'd argue that Rex lucked into Incognito as he was available cheap. Credit to him for reaching out to Richie, but if Incognito hadn't lost it, he'd likely still be here. This regime loved having him till it became impracticable. Can you point out any Richie Incognitos out there for being picked up? I can't.

 

But Cam Newton didn't prove that running QBs don't last in this league. He proved that some running QBs don't last in this league. All you have to do is look at Russell Wilson to see that it's possible to last. But fair enough that it can be dangerous.

Edited May 4, 2020 by Thurman#1

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

18 minutes ago, Thurman#1 said:

 

 

Yup, He was pressured a lot. He was also one of the QBs who held the ball longest, as ranked from quickest to slowest, he was 29th, as per Next Gen Stats. It's not difficult to see that there is likely to be a bit of correlation there. Hold the ball longer and you make the job of the OL harder. In fairness it goes the other way too. This OL wasn't bad by any means. But equally they sure weren't great. What they were was professional. Slightly above average, possibly? Hopefully they'll be better this year with a year together under their belts to gel and perhaps someone beating someone else out by playing better.

 

 

 

 

We don't have any journeymen as starters. You're right, though that we also don't have any All-Pros. But I'd argue that Rex lucked into Incognito as he was available cheap. Credit to him for reaching out to Richie, but if Incognito hadn't lost it, he'd likely still be here. This regime loved having him till it became impracticable. Can you point out any Richie Incognitos out there for being picked up? I can't.

 

But Cam Newton didn't prove that running QBs don't last in this league. He proved that some running QBs don't last in this league. All you have to do is look at Russell Wilson to see that it's possible to last. But fair enough that it can be dangerous.

agree completely. 
 

the o-line is a solid B to B+, especially if you consider that we have pretty good depth there too. We have a stud center, and above-average LT and LG. 
 

I actually feel really good about our line. 

[MarlinTheMagician]

No, we were close last year, but not ready to win yet.  We are now more experienced, and very talented.

 

Of course, the players we are counting on do need to play to or near expectations.  Some will, some will not, some will exceed - as always.  How we do in that ration really will dictate our outcome, I believe.

 

*ratio (sorry for the typo)

[MarlinTheMagician]

Punter.

But it feels great to have that as an answer!  Bojo makes me very nervous, even though he played better as the season wore on.  He seems still to be a shank waiting to happen.

[BringMetheHeadofLeonLett]

Knox may turn out to be a Jeremy Shockey, and ima enjoy watching for him to grow... and the rest of the swirling crew we call our tight ends, but for right now I'd call that our least predictable group.  

[BuffaloBills1998]

2 hours ago, billsfan89 said:

 

Clowney is a lot better than Murphy and on a one year deal keeps his motivation. I wouldn't sign Clowney for a 16 million dollar deal but I would offer him a deal in the range of 12-13 million which is only 4-5 million more than you would be paying Murphy. I think for a 4-5 million dollar hit it would be worth it to try and upgrade the DE spot with a player who can be very very disruptive. 

But the problem with Clowney is his motivation. He shows up then doesn’t and takes plays off. 12-13 million is too much. 6-7 million is all I offer. No one is going to pay him 16 million for 1 year. Plus he’s injury prone on top of it.