Alphadawg7

I agree with most of this. Couple notes: I would have put TJ Yeldon in Blue as I think he likely makes the roster. They obviously wont keep just 2 RB's when one is a rookie. They tend to want to bring rookies along at a slower pace, and while I am certain Moss likely starts week 1 as Devin's backup, I still think they will want a veteran in that room given Devin still only has one season under his belt with this being a no preseason and COVID impacted camp. I think I would swap Sweeney and Smith in the red and blue. I think Sweeney showed enough last year to have a leg up on Lee who doesn't offer much outside of blocking and has struggled with penalties while in Buffalo. Especially with Kroft healthy and being their as a vet presence around Knox and Sweeney. Harrison Phillips is a Lock, especially with Star opting out. He was our best DT before getting hurt last year, and they love this guy. I wouldn't have him in Blue Outside of that, I would have put the list together the same everywhere else.

My bad, didnt mean to include a *spoiler* ha. But yeah, I just love football and enjoy all the behind the scenes about the players, their lives, whats going on with the pandemic, how they are all handling it. Based on this thread, seems others just want to see football plays only, which is fine and their preference. But Hard Knocks for me has always been about so much more than "football" itself, and thoroughly enjoy the series and never find it boring. Honestly, one of my favorite parts of the overall series history is watching the coaches and how they each handle their teams. And this year has two good ones as I very much like both HC's.

Great move! Now Beane!

I too have loved hard knocks since it’s debut. And this year will be even more interesting IMO, seeing on the inside how teams are handling this pandemic. Loved the first episode. My absolute favorite part of episode one was watching Ramsey not give into the media pushing him for a click bait quote about his contract. Thought he was quite mature in his response. To me, this sheds a lot of light IMO in how media tries to shape the public perception of a player. Ramsey has often put his foot in his mouth as a young cocky player having a lot of success. No doubt about that. At the end of the day, these players often start to mature and learn from these mistakes, but the media never wants that to happen and they want to keep pushing that narrative constantly. So major kudos for Ramsey taking a stand and not falling for it giving into the bait they were trying to ram (pun intended lol) down his throat. Living in LA, all I’ve really heard is very high praise for him in the locker room as a teammate and a leader. I know some people within the Rams organization too who have nothing but great things to say. Like Diggs...media is gonna probably try and get sound bites out of him at times because he voiced some stuff or posted some cryptic stuff while in Minnesota. But sometimes, all that’s needed is a change of scenery for a player. As a hardcore Bills fan, and a Rams fan as my second team living in LA, I have given them both a clean slate on their new teams in terms of being “potential distractions” and everyone else should too IMO. Obviously if any of the old shenanigans start to resurface at any point, then of course it’s fair to continue to question their character again. But I honestly don’t think either will be a problem with their respective new teams.

Hmmmm...yet I know several nurses working exhausting and insane hours in packed hospitals from COVID. So maybe take your own advice, try looking at media other than Faux News, Breitbart, and OANN...all fake news sites...and also stop taking idiots on twitter as facts.

IMO Duke > McKenzie. What do we even need McKenzie anymore for? He's only a gadget player, and we have a number of people on this team who can handle those gadgety routes. He's really small and never made any real impact other than a cool play 2 or 3 times a year. I want to score points, and I would rather have a big target who can high point passes or be physical in the Redzone vs a small gadget guy that rarely touches the ball. I have nothing against McKenzie, but this is a rebuilt WR core and I just don't get the roster spot he would take up in those listing him as making the final roster. I don't feel like he brings enough to the table to justify beating out some of the other guys that are in the locker room, including Duke. My way too early WR depth chart predictions: Locked up: Diggs, Brown, Cole. Starting outside guys and slot are 100% locked barring injury. Highly likely to make the cut: Roberts (for his ST contributions), Gabriel Davis. If we keep only 5, those above are certainly the most likely to be the 5. 6th WR spot: Duke, McKenzie, Hodgins, Easley. For me, Duke has the edge here, and Hodgins is the most intriguing given he's a rookie. I also would not count out Easley, they keep bringing him back, so they seem to like him. And with the rest our WR group upgraded and bigger already, he could sneak in as a backup slot WR if he shows out in camp. NOTE: Roberts will likely be 6th on the depth chart IMO, so technically who ever wins this "6th spot" will probably be ahead of Roberts either week 1 or sometime during the season IMO. My final prediction (we keep 6): Diggs, Brown, Cole, Davis, Duke, Roberts. Hodgins and Easley go to PS I think less experienced players like rookies and Easley are going to be hurt by not having a preseason and as much prep time. Duke has a year in our system and some reps with Josh. The team seems to really love Duke in the locker room as well, so do the coaches. He plays with an edge to him as well. So, for me, do not underestimate the lack or prep time to players new to this team. Its going to be MUCH harder to make the roster this year for later round rookies and UDFA rookies than its ever been due to the deep and talented roster coupled with the impact of COVID on reps and opportunities.

I wasn't in that crowd, I liked Gilmore and would have preferred to have kept him, but at the same time, it didnt make sense given the plans of the FO.

I never said it was a talent thing. I said his play then was not at the same level it is now in NE. He is widely considered the best CB in the NFL right now, and not one person outside his parents would have called him the best DB in the NFL during his time with the Bills is all I was saying. But my overall point was you just dont spend big on a DB just before you tear it all down and clear out the cap in a full rebuild.

Again, you are missing the point about a new regime coming in to do a complete rebuild and gut the cap issues. You dont pay big money to a CB IMO when you need to rebuild the whole franchise. And while I agree he was always talented, and I liked him, I still think it was the right move. And honestly, it proved to be the right move as we have had a top end corner in his spot since he left for pennies on the dollar.

Not saying his talent wasn't there, I am saying his play on the field was not at the level it is now, nor at the level at the contract he was seeking. But the more important factor was still that you don't spend a butt load of money on a CB when you are about to fully gut the team and rebuild while also clearing out cap space.

I mean no one with any football intellect of any kind would leave off a safety duo that has combined for 600 tackles and 19 INT's the last 3 years. Thats not even being a homer, that is just an egregious and shocking snub. Not only are they one of the best duos in the league on one of the best defenses in the league, but they legit have a case for anywhere in the top 3 and without question are in the top 5.

This thread made it to 7 pages? Shocker. Tre will100% be resigned and stay with the bills. And the Gilmore comparisons as reasoning was not an accurate comparison. At no point did Gilmore play at the level he is currently playing at in NE. He was seen as a pretty good talent, not the best CB in football when McD got here. Most importantly, one of the first things McD and then Beane wanted to do was clean up the cap situation, and signing a CB at that time to a contract that was above his performance was not the way to do that, especially on a team about to go into a full rebuild.

This is what being a great GM looks like. I have been saying and will keep saying it...Beene is without question one of the top GM's in the NFL, and once the Bills put some playoff wins on their record, there will be no way to deny that anymore. His ability to manage the cap, keep players happy, manage contracts, find talent, pull the trigger when he sees fit on moves, get value from our scrap heap in trades, etc etc is as good as anyones in the league.

Not weird, the organization is not run by Terry and Kim. How well the Bills are run is substantially more a testament to the combination of Beene and McD. Terry and Kim still get credit, they are doing the right things. But point is, that its not very easy to find a great GM and also a great HC, let alone both at the same time. Beene and McD have taken a firm grasp on how this team is run, finding talent, the culture, etc. None of that is a dig on Terry and Kim, just saying while they struck gold with our GM and HC, its not something easily replicable either.

Thats a really terrible take on this situation

You have a major flaw in this proposal. That is this: You would have a modified bubble: teams would practice during the week at home and then each division would have a game site that all 8 teams travel to on the weekend. You cant have a "bubble" if teams are going in and out of it. The NBA bubble works because no one is allowed to leave or come without doing a quarantine first. So if the teams are traveling to and from the bubble every weekend, then its not a bubble and its not a safe contained space rendering it a futile process.

Let me see if I got this straight...you did NOT get COVID, just got sick and self quarantined for safe measure...and thats your reason to tell players to "GET TO WORK!". This makes sense to you how? What does you NOT getting COVID have to do about whether a player is comfortable playing with the risk of getting COVID? ?‍♂️

Geezus this thread is disturbing. I cant even believe some of the posts in here. Bottom line: If a player isn't comfortable playing this year, thats their right and no one should blame them. Ive seen the devastation of this disease first hand, its serious. My friend lost her husband who was 38, in good shape, and NO health issues prior to COVID. He got it in March, didn't even need to be hospitalized and recovered at home. But, the COVID caused permanent damage to his lungs and heart. In June, where he had been negative since early April, he was riding his bike alone and died from the damage it permanently did to his organs. That is the major issue...even people who get COVID and have just mild symptoms could die from it in the future earlier than they should have from the damage it leaves in your body after recovering. I got other friends who have recovered from COVID with the same long term issues. My friend Brian has severe scarring in his lungs and other lingering damage and has to go in every 28 days to donate plasma with the antibodies and continue monitoring his issues. If Tre White decides to sit out 2020, I will fully understand and look forward to seeing him back on the field in 2021. As a Bills fan, of course I would love to see our squad at its full strength if we play a season in 2020. But, ultimately, my stance is to support what each players feels is the best decision for them as individuals and their family. This is a personal decision, he doesn't owe the fans or the team anything here, this is about the risk he is comfortable with. Well said...but I would add to Foolish that its also absurd...and kind of disgusting if you ask me.

Totally agree

Is this a real post? The ignorance in this statement is astounding. The fact you just compared essential workers to adults playing a game for your entertainment is mind blowing.

Thats not necessarily true. He could very well be there undecided, probably because he's leaning towards playing, and just seeing how this goes initially before he makes a info decision.

I was mistakenly thinking about Debergs season in KC and got it mixed up when he had 24 TDs and 4 INTs.

I vividly remember that year, and was crazy to watch. Deberg I think only had something like 2 INTs that year if I am not mistaken even. Both him and Testaverde I believe were in the MVP convos at some point as well. Yeah, I think this will happen again. Maybe not see 3 in the same season, but this does happen. I mean sometimes it just takes getting a chance to play, or into the right system, etc. Look at Tannehill (I know he's younger) but he got into a better situation and went from an after thought to taking over in Ten, leading them to playoffs, and looking up a sizable contract. Other notable guys were Chris Chandler, Rich Gannon, Trent Green, Jeff Hostettler, etc. You could also make a case for career retreads of Cunningham in Minnesota, Jeff George in Minnesota, Vick in Philly, Kurt Warner in Arizona for examples. I know several of those guys had big early success in their careers, so maybe they don't fit your criteria as accurately. But Cunningham was considered kind of done when he got to Minny and Vick came back after a long absence and was actually a better QB and not just a runner when he got his shot in Philly. Warner was definitely considered washed up, especially after failing to hold the job over rookie Eli in NY with a pretty pedestrian performance. He was supposed to just be a bridge/tutor for Leinart in AZ, but came in and found his dominance again and took them to a SB, a loss that was one of the greatest SB's ever played. The ultimate story of this was probably Steve Young. Seen as a bust, and then stuck behind one of the GOATS, he was a forgotten man before emerging to be what I consider one of the top 5 QB's in NFL history, and definitely top 10 IMO.

First, McD never accelerates rookies unless he has to (Tre/Edmunds/Knox) due to there not being anyone else or an injury. Most often, he brings them along slow and makes them earn it. So Moss emerging as a starter this year is unlikely given Devins success last year and their internal love for Devin too. Unless Devin struggles in his sophomore year or gets hurt. If Devin continues his play like last year, then I don't see him surrounding the "starter" designation in 2020. That being said, I am fully confident McD will put the best players on the field, so if Moss is out performing Devin, then its still plausible to see him take over the starting duties. However, Devin was quite impressive last year, tied really for the lead in YPC in the NFL, and that was without a prolific passing game around him. So I just have confidence in him to have a good season, and for that, I think Moss will get plenty of touches, but likely wont be a starter unless Devin gets hurt. I really loved the Moss pick, but I just wouldn't be so quick to dismiss Devin as a lead back here still. I am really excited to see these two on the field, and I think it could be a lot like what Panthers had with DeAngelo and Stewart.

Definitely agree with that. But, in all fairness...some of things being called for are warranted and valid. But yes, its definitely gotten way over the top to the point its way more ridiculous stuff trying the cancelled than anything that should be addressed. Examples of something valid: Confederate flag should be cancelled. Its a symbol of the pursuit of slavery, lynchings, etc. Just because the south conveniently forgot its true history and adopted it as part of their "culture" doesn't change its meaning to those it opposed. You don't see Nazi flags flying in Germany for example. But you see Nazi's here flying the Confederate Flag for a reason. Redskins name to me was valid given its a derogatory term to native Americans. Examples of something utterly stupid: Trying to cancel Tom Morello for being "political" because a bunch of idiots didn't understand the word "machine" in the name of his band "Rage against the Machine" was talking about government and not something like a washing machine. Or trying to cancel some business because that businesses parent company has one dude in it who made a donation to the political party or campaign they oppose. Or tying to cancel Robert Downey Jr for wearing black face in a movie from more than a decade ago that the role required him to wear black face...which was also a backhanded jab at the movie industry's reputation for giving white people roles of ethnic characters and should actually be something they supported. Like I said, many many more examples of stupid things people are trying to cancel though. Its out of control