Alphadawg7

Here is the thing...yes, totally get your point, and that certainly can be viewed as a strong vote of confidence in him making the roster. But playing devils advocate for a second, is Taiwan Jones really so good he needs to be protected by sitting him? I mean we played substantially more important players (that we did not have to play by any means who are locked into their starting jobs) both games. Guys they treat with bubble wrap are usually the ones they can't afford an injury to. And I am just not convinced Taiwan fits that criteria. It could also be he is so one dimensional that they don't need to see anything from him and they are using this time to look at the guys who would have to fill his spot if they didn't keep him and see how they fare before making a decision on Taiwan. I have nothing against Taiwan at all, and if he makes the team then great, means he is so good on ST that our unit is stronger. And honestly, in most cases I would have projected him to make the team. BUT...I am still just having a hard time finding someone to cut to make room for him. Every time I find a way to free up a spot, its to make room for someone that seems to fill a bigger role/need. For example, in this version I dropped Hart again, but I also needed to make room for Stevenson who I think is making a late push here for a roster spot. That pushed us up to 7 WR's (which truthfully I still think is unlikely and we keep 6, meaning its probably a battle between Kumerow and Stevenson if so). Well if we keep 6, then I have an open spot again I can see for Taiwan, which very well might happen. That being said, there are some developments that definitely increase the odds he makes the team (assuming he wasn't already locked in, which he might be). One that stands out for me is Sweeney in a walking boot. If Sweeney doesn't make the 53 either due to being cut or put on IR, well there is Taiwan Jones spot right there. If say Kumerow or Brieda doesn't make the team, there is also a spot for Taiwan. So I totally agree that Taiwan still has a good shot to make the team, and maybe it already is a foregone conclusion.

Could be a cut elsewhere, maybe Sweeney or something...then add him back once they move Phillips to IR. But when I wrote this, it sounded like Phillips might be out into the season...if its more likely he will be ready week 1, then I have him still making it over Butler. So just depends when more is known about his timeline.

Agree they both get a lot of snaps this year between the two, regardless who starts. Interesting, thanks for the update. When I wrote it, sounded like it might linger into the season. Agree on the safeties I originally had him on my 53, and wanted to put him back on this one. But struggled where to find the room. But overall, I think he has a real shot at the final 53 Brown I think is looking quite promising too. Beane has become the best GM in the NFL for me. I get he wont get the recognition without a SB trophy, but he is hands down top 3 at the very least. I think Kumerow could potentially be a surprise cut at this point. I am not calling it, and I do still have him on the roster, but I think he is more cuttable than some think. McKenzie fumble...Stevenson return...and Kumerow dropping 2 passes all in the same game actually all worked against him. If Stevenson secures a spot, good chance we only keep 6 and Kumerow would be the odd man out.

So what two players are you cutting then to make room based on the rest of the 53? Its a lot easier to say they keep them than it is to actually go cut 2 more players to make room for them. I dont disagree they have legit shot at roster, but I am having trouble cutting somewhere else to make the room.

This is how I felt too in version 2.0, but Hart had another poor showing again I felt in game 2 and nearly gave up a safety when he gave up a sack near the goal line. I thought he needed to at least have a solid performance to have a chance to be a back up tackle here. With the report that Brown and Doyle injuries dont seem serious, I just think Harts chances have run out. However, that doesn't mean we wont add one once cuts start happening though, which is obviously also still a possibility

Yeah, Sweeney isnt locked in by any means, but the staff and team really seem to just love this guy and hes done well when on the field. But the one thing working against him is that Gilliam is versatile enough to where he could be an emergency TE 3. In the past we have kept 3 TE's and a FB though.

First, what a game! Amazing to see the vast majority of our starters on offense sit and still have their way with mostly the starting unit of an NFL defense! Not to mention the greatly encouraging showings of our young DL as well, as they have all through camp and the first preseason game. Lets just jump into it...obviously there are not going to be significant changes with each one of these are there are not a lot of roster spots really up for grabs. But this is also about predicting the starters and depth chart too. Offense: Total 25 QB Allen - Trubisky RB Singletary - Moss, Brieda FB - Gilliam (not in bold because we wont ever "start" a FB in this offense, but Gilliam will be the only FB on the roster) TE Hollister - Knox, Sweeney WR Diggs - Kumerow, Stevenson WR Sanders - Davis Slot WR Cole - McKenzie OL: Dion, Jon, Mitch, Cody, Daryl - Ike, Bates, Brown, Doyle Defense: Total 25 LDE: Hughes - Obada, Boogie RDE: AJE - Addison, Rousseau DT: Star - Butler (Phillips will INITIALLY make the final 53, but solely to be put on IR so he can return, but Butler will be here at least to start the season with the injury to Phillips) DT: Oliver - Zimmer WLB: Milano - Klien, Smith MLB: Edmunds - Dodson, Matakevich LCB: Tre RCB: Levi - Dane NCB: Taron - Neal SS: Poyer - Hamlin FS: Hyde - Johnson Specialists: Total 3 K: Bass P: Haack LS: Ferguson CHANGES from 2.0 - ADDITIONS WR/KR Stevenson - Admittedly, I am still quite skeptical we keep 7 players at WR, but they drafted Stevenson to return kicks, and he did just that and made a nice offensive play too in the first preseason game. But I am wondering if they could successfully stash him on the PS at this point, and for that reason may tempt them to keep 7, especially given McKenzie muffed a punt in the same game. They could cut Kumerow too, something I felt likely wouldn't happen, but dropping 2 passes this week didn't help his case. DT Butler - The injury to Phillips now I think makes Butler safe. Harrison will initially be kept so he can be put on IR with the ability to come back in season, but come week 1, Butler will be the backup to Star in the meantime. CHANGES from 2.0 - SUBTRACTIONS OT Hart - I briefly added him to the roster just skeptical we would run with our 2 backup rookie tackles, but at this point its really hard to say what will happen at OL with the injuries. But Hart I just think isnt worth keeping and think we will add someone available before we keep Hart. If the injuries are no significant, I think we just roll at this point with our 2 rookies. DT Phillips - He will make the initial 53 before being moved to IR. This thread is a roster prediction for week 1, so I left him off it as Butler will fill that reserve role behind Star come week 1 now that Phillips has another knee injury. NEW TE STARTER - Hollister: In version 1.0 I listed Hollister as the starter before quickly making an update mid week when McD gave pretty strong praise to Knox overall camp. In 2.0, stuck with Knox. But after watching Knox again drop a pass he easily should have caught and watching Hollister play so many snaps and make a lot of plays, I am now reverting back to that I think Hollister might surprise and start at TE. I am in no way saying its a lock, but I have to believe the staff is frustrated to see the ball again hit the ground, and Hollister has impressed IMO since returning to the field. NOTES: AJE: I had him as the starter out the gate, and I feel like all he has done is validate that prediction thus far and is a near lock to start opposite Hughes week one. That is not even a knock on Addison, its just how good AJE has looked thus far. Addison I still expect to remain on the team and play a good amount of snaps in a rotation to keep our guys fresh and constantly bring pressure, but I am growing more and more confident by the day that AJE will be the week 1 starter. 6 Linebackers: I had us keeping 6 all the way, and now I think we are nearing a lock for 6. Smith and Matakevich have I think sealed their spots here and both are also very good on special teams. Taiwan Jones and Daryl Johnson: I am still struggling to get them on the final 53 without injuries coming into play. Not sure who gets cut to make room for one of them, and currently I still have neither making the team. And barring more injuries, I can't see a path where we keep both. I still think it seems to be a stretch we keep 7 WR's, so that would open a spot up if we keep 6 only...but then who is the odd man out, Kumerow or Stevenson? Both have a made a strong case to make the roster. I think Stevenson is trending up hard, and Kumerow stock might be a little down after dropping a couple passes this week. He did make up for it with some nice plays too, but the margin of error to make this final roster is razor thin. McKenzie muffing that punt actually hurt Kumerow more than it did McKenzie as his role on the offense is secure, but it opened up the chance for Stevenson to challenge again for KR/PR duties and a roster spot. A trade of Addison would open a spot, but I still dont think they intend on doing that. He is worth more to our SB run than we will get back in a trade at this point. He likely backs up AJE but will see plenty of reps in rotation still. And there just isnt any financial incentive either, so I think given we need to throw all we can at Mahomes, Addison will be here this season.

I am not comp pick expert, but it seems plausible

Why is this a topic? Not a chance in a year we are expected to challenge for a SB we are entering the season with Webb or Fromm as our backups. And our offense is too complicated to add another QB after a proposed trade of Mitch. Nothing is ever 0% chance, but this is as close to 0% chance as I can think of. It makes literally zero football sense. We already have a stacked roster, its not about adding more pieces later, its about winning this year.

McKenzie with ST major blunder…Stevenson with the big ST play. Gonna be interesting to see if this tempts the Bills to keep 7 at WR, something I just didn’t think we could do just because of needing that extra roster spot elsewhere. But Stevenson now making that at least seem like a possibility again

Curious, what did you disagree with me on my stock up/down post

Stock up/Stick Down notes first half: STOCK UP: Trubisky showing he can be a starter in this league and we have the best backup QB and best overall QB room in the NFL. Kumerow locking in his roster spot Hollister stock way up and making the TE1 battle look a lot closer than perceived prior to this game. Rousseau stock soaring proving to be ready for a major part of the rotation this year. AJE showing he is ready to start (something I projected in my roster mocks). Singletary again showing he’s the best RB on this roster right now and will open as the week 1 starter. Gilliam I think locked down his roster spot, one I felt was already safe, but I think now it seals his spot for those who speculated he be cut to make room elsewhere STOCK DOWN: Knox with a drop again, TE1 becoming more interesting position battle Brieda another game showing nothing, starting to question his roster spot in my roster projections. I think he may be becoming a guy who might be near the bubble going into final preseason game McKenzie (as a returner) with the muff…doubt it changes much for him, but definitely a big no no. Made nice offensive plays to make up for it though

Stock up/Stick Down notes first half: STOCK UP: Trubisky showing he can be a starter in this league and we have the best backup QB and best overall QB room in the NFL. Kumerow locking in his roster spot Hollister stock way up and making the TE1 battle look a lot closer than perceived prior to this game. Rousseau stock soaring proving to be ready for a major part of the rotation this year. AJE showing he is ready to start (something I projected in my roster mocks). Singletary again showing he’s the best RB on this roster right now and will open as the week 1 starter. Gilliam I think locked down his roster spot, one I felt was already safe, but I think now it seals his spot for those who speculated he be cut to make room elsewhere STOCK DOWN: Knox with a drop again, TE1 becoming more interesting position battle Brieda another game showing nothing, starting to question his roster spot in my roster projections. I think he may be becoming a guy who might be near the bubble going into final preseason game McKenzie (as a returner) with the muff…doubt it changes much for him, but definitely a big no no. Made nice offensive plays to make up for it though

He certainly is over rated by some around here, but Beane and McD were very vocal about having someone who has that break away speed, so I expect him to make the final 53 mostly on that even though he had a pretty meh first preseason game. His spot is by no means secured yet though, he certainly is someone who could get cut if he doesn’t show well the next two outings.

Ha, I didnt even know he was in Tampa Bay at all...even worse then.

I dont feel bad for him, few people I know here in LA that know him said he is a total douche. More importantly...QB needy AZ gave up on him right away after investing so much in him. Then Miami uses a 2nd round pick to acquire him as a QB needy team...gave up on him right away. SF Forty Niners with a blatant and obvious interest in exploring other QB options not named Jimmy G brought him in and didn't see much in him to even let him compete for a back up spot. I mean even Nathan Peterman, with the worst TD to INT ratio in NFL history in his appearances still has a job and has stuck with his second team. Its time Rosen faces facts...there is only one common denominator here, and its him. 3 teams who needed a QB didn't give him more than 1 season, and two of those teams used valuable resources to get him to their respective teams. So to me, he is clearly not doing his job well enough either on the field, study room, or locker room...or maybe all of the above. Thats on him, and so I don't feel sorry for him personally. .

I agree for the most part with that too, it’s his to lose. I’m just projecting a final 53 in which he narrowly loses, but by no means guaranteeing it or anything. Just really depends on the back end Depth chart battles at a couple other positions. They have been as much, or even more, complimentary on Daryl Johnson too, but it’s gonna be hard to keep both without a surprise cut or some sort of trade IMO unless they want to run thin at another position to make it happen. Main reason I don’t have him making it is because I think someone like Kumerow will fill his role and we just have too much youth at DE and OL making us maybe keep an extra guy or two there. But like I said, Taiwan is essentially right there with Daryl Johnson as essentially the 54th guy in my roster projection, meaning if they keep one less anywhere I projected I think it would be to go to one of them.

With only 3 preseason games and knowing the starters likely play 3 of the remaining 8 quarters of football this preseason, that first game was much more important to evaluate the other guys, especially deeper roster guys that would play heavy on ST. So I dont think Jones sitting necessarily means anything as they aren't going to use him at RB, and they already know his full capability on ST. So IMHO, I think they sat Taiwan because there isn't anything they really need to evaluate on him and gave the reps to guys who need it and they need to see more of. Taiwan isn't so valuable they need to sit him, I mean way more important players who are roster locks suited up for the game and played. So I highly doubt it was to "protect" him more than it was to get more ST reps for guys they need to evaluate further. Just my 2 cents though

Dude I just sent that play to a buddy of mine like last week that was talking about Clay lol. I was like yeah, this is what I will remember hi for...this and never reaching his true potential. Didnt have a terrible career, but he had the tools to be more, just lacked the mental focus and passion to be great.

I will admit, I personally have high expectations for not only the front 7 but also the defense as a whole this year. If our front 7 plays up to its potential, the combination of its depth, youth, veteran experience and a talented secondary gives us the potential to be special on defense this season. I am expecting a big season from Edmunds, especially having size upfront again and him being healthy. I think Oliver has his best season yet, and I expect a breakout season from AJE as well. We may not have a league leading type sack player this year, but I think that will be more about being so deep and rotating players a lot. But I do think we can be one of the leaders in sacks as a team this season.

I think you are referring to Josh Thomas maybe? They said some nice things about them too, so he seems to be in the mix as well.

Very well could be a cut once Dion is back, fair point. My main reason for him on this version is simply I am not sold they will be comfortable with 2 lower drafted rookies backing up both tackles this year, just hasn't been their style to lean on rookies that much. Then again, Hart hasn't exactly "won" himself anything either lol. So he is someone I can still seeing being cut if they feel good enough about Brown specifically.

But 20 total TD's and lets not forget he missed a little over 4 games as a rookie too. So his rookie stats look worse, I mean his final 6 games he already looked like a completely different QB after returning from injury. So the 12 passing TD's definitely lack context and paint a worse picture. I always felt Allen takes more crap for his first season because no one looks at the context of it or his development down the stretch (speaking media and non Bills fans, not about you). I mean he missed 4 games, turned it on down the stretch and was working with WR's who are either out of the league now or barely hanging on to a roster spot. He finished with 20 total TD's, and based on how he played those final 6 games, he probably reaches 25 to 30 total TD's as a rookie had he not got hurt in that Houston game despite a bad OL and terrible weapons around him. So I always say his rookie year wasn't as bad as its made out to be.

I definitely agree with you on that, and I would have a hard time seeing 7 and 3 respectively. Personally I think its going to be 6 and 4 with DJ the odd man out. If a trade happens at DE, then I can see DJ on the team. I still don't think we are moving anyone though. Addison makes no financial sense, and they have had high praise for him. Hughes is our best pass rusher and a team leader and major locker room guy. Our 3 youngsters are locks, and Obada has arguably had one of the best camps of anyone on the team. I just struggle to find a move here that lets us keep DJ.

In the first preseason game, Frazier rotated in some of the DE's into the DT rotation. At one point our DL was Rousseau, Obada and Boogies at DT, and AJE on the other side. That just made this puzzle more intriguing, especially with Frazier saying he thinks they could add value there and wanted to get some looks at it while also giving heavy praise to Daryl Johnson. I mean would they consider 7 DE's and 3 DT's??? Seems less likely than going 6 DE and 4 DT, but then again they are getting looks at our DE's at DT at the same time, so who knows at this point.