Alphadawg7

They weren’t the top 2 receivers, that assessment is wrong. So your whole premise here is based on their performance when they were NOT the top 2 guys. So it’s a completely irrelevant statement. And wrong. The objective is to reach and win a Super Bowl. Something those other teams didn’t do. When was the last time a team won a SB and had a 1400 receiver that season? And how many SB winning teams had a 1400 yard receiver that year the past 20 years? Hint…it’s not the number you seem to think it is not is it a prerequisite like many of you think around here.

LOL...come on, do I even have to point out why this is such a silly comment? You just took that part of their season last year when they had LESSER roles and targets than they are expected to have this year and said that "ain't gonna cut it" in a 17 game season (implying this year as primary targets). Obviously that isn't going to cut it...they were the 5th and 3rd targets last year and now are likely 1 and 2 this year. Sure...in a 17 game season putting up the same numbers they had as lesser targets "is not gonna cut it". For their ACTUAL roles LAST year, those stats are quite good. Shakir was the FIFTH target last year and over the final 10 games, he had LESS than HALF the targets Diggs and yet still led the team in receiving the final 10 games...and on the season, Shakir had an insane 13.58 YPT while also leading ALL NFL WR's in catch % (which probably still kills you after you spent all last offseason and even during the season arguing "Shakir can't catch" because of one play you saw against Miami in the postseason). Kincaid was the 3rd target on this team and as a rookie he went out and put up the 4th most receptions and 10th most yards for any rookie TE in NFL history despite playing on a team with a target vacuum like Diggs.

Geezus...all the misguided panic in this thread. No this isn't "where we are"...we had a guy at the END of the bench at best that just got sent to IR...a guy who was already trending to not make the roster. So they are looking for another camp body guy to come in who maybe can compete for the end of the bench or just get cut in a few weeks. You people act like the Claypool injury changed anything. He was already a long shot to make the roster after all the missed time as it was.

This is what so many people miss about what they are doing. Diggs was a failure in the post season his entire time here where his stats are no where near his regular season. THANK GOD we won't have to watch another OC call a fade from the 3 yard line to a short Diggs that never works.

I mean he may make the team, but he doesn’t get a free pass of dropping as many passes as he wants. It’s not been a couple, if he keeps dropping them I can’t see how they keep him. He had a terrible preseason game too. Claypool being done helps, but I don’t think he has a guaranteed spot yet. His preseason game All-22 was terrible

He was already likely not gonna make the roster falling behind missing so much time. This doesn’t change much of anything IMHO outside giving Burrito Hands MVS a slightly easier path to make end of the roster so he can drop passes in live games.

you think signing him guarantees he makes the team? He still has to earn a spot and he’s dropped a lot of passes, not just a couple

It’s not up to Josh though. I’m sure they will weigh his opinion, but McD hates when the ball hits the ground either via drop or fumble, and no one has put the ball on the ground more this camp than MVS. MVS also had the worst preseason game of any offensive player actually competing for the roster. So I don’t think he’s a lock at this point. He could still make it, but he’s dropped the ball a lot so far…a lot.

It would be great, but probably unlikely. The center and Allen need time together, and SVPG hasn't spent any time as it is with Allen. When we drafted him I thought he could compete for the starting gig, but only if he was getting some reps with the ones. And with the guys ahead of him, there wasn't a need to rush him along, so he hasn't gotten any time with the ones. Given he has had zero time with Allen thus far, I think any chance of starting this year will come down to injuries opening up the possibility. I do think he will maybe start getting some live game reps with the backups in blow outs with the backups, but I think realistically, his chance to compete to start at center will probably not come until next season.

To be honest, I was not looking forward to doing the review myself, and I only did it because I wanted to really see what the film showed around the offense in the first half. But once I did, I came away feeling a lot better about what I saw in just about every aspect. McD was pretty pissed about the number of penalties in this game in his post game presser, so that is not going to bode well for anyone. But, I don't know there is anyone behind him that is making a case for that likely last spot there and he has reportedly had a good camp and he did some good things in this game.

I am not that high on Kingsley, but by all reports he has had a strong camp and so I was interested to see how he did...and he showed well enough in this first preseason game. I think we aren't as deep there this year, so I think he is trending towards making the roster right now. I will say this, this season is his best shot to make the roster as next year that unit is going to very likely get bolstered IMHO with a significant addition via FA, trade, or the draft. We have a lot more cap room next season to do so, and we got 3 extra premium draft picks to go along with all our normal picks. Plus, if I am not mistaken, I think the expectation is we might get another one with a comp pick, but even if we don't we already have an extra 2nd and 2 extra 4ths.

I don't know if Davis ascends to starting RB status as a rookie, but it is certainly possible he could be the early down back come midseason, especially if Cook keeps having ball security issues. I do think its quite possible it can be more of a 1A/1B situation by midseason (or maybe sooner) than say one of them dominating snaps the back half of the season. I can see them riding the hot hand too at times or sitting someone for long stretches in a game if they put the ball on the ground like McD has done at times in the past.

I do not know if I am going to have the time to invest in doing this for all the preseason games as I have a pretty busy August moving forward, but I did have time to do it this time. Admittedly, I didn't have as much time as I wanted for this, so I spent the most time on the first half offense and less time on the defense as a whole or the 2nd half as whole where I more focused on players I was the most interested in. So here are my take aways: Offensive Line - I am going to start here because this was a consensus big concern coming out of the game. The good: Pass Protection. Overall I was quite impressed with the pass protection throughout the game. It did well until Buechele got in the game and got sacked 6 times. Before I started the review I saw a stat on twitter that showed PFF only credited the OL for one of the 8 sacks in the game mainly because 6 of them were on Buechele where he had a whopping average of 3.5 seconds to throw but was running around like a loon. And I have to say that isn't wrong. More importantly in the first half with Allen and then Mitch against a lot of Bears starters, the OL did quite well in pass protection. The bad: Run Blocking. To the shock of no one, we struggled all game to open anything up for the RB's. To be fair, the Bills really only installed 3 runs for this game and did no scripting or game planning, however, still you can see that timing was a big issue for the OL. This is to be expected given its the first real live action for these guys as a unit and the OL is a group that needs to play as one and there were just a lot of timing issues where guys were not getting into the second level as intended or getting shoved into each other. NOTE: This was also the Bears second preseason game, so also not a surprise they are a little sharper coming out. Standout: One player that I left very impressed by is SVPG. He had a strong game overall and I think this kid is gonna be a player. Can't over value reps against the 3rd stringers and guys not long for the roster, but he popped on film and it is what you want to see from the rookie, showing out when he should be. I don't expect him to start week 1, but this kid will be our starting Center sometime down the line IMHO. Takeaways: I am not really sitting here concerned about the OL right now. The pass protection was strong and the run blocking had a lot to do with timing, there was even a play where the center didn't seem to know the right snap count. The issues I saw in the run blocking were all very correctable and coachable things, many of which will get better with more reps. If at the end of preseason it is still an issue, then my concern levels will rise accordingly, but I do expect to see an improved showing next week. Running Backs - Since the run game was a big concern, moving straight into the running backs. The good: Ray Davis Running: I think this guy is going to be a bigger part of the offense than people realize. He did not get a lot of running room obviously on his 4 carries, but all of that was on the fault of the OL. There was one carry that stood out...there wasn't much of a hole, but there was a hole and he hit it fast and hard that turned what could have been a loss of yards into positive gain of about 3 yards. This is completely contrary to a similar play where Cook had a hole and rather than hitting the hole quickly he danced around until the hole closed. Receiving: Davis continued to show he may be our most reliable pass catcher out of the backfield this year as Cook has been struggling with more drops again all camp. While the expectation with Cook was that he would be a major receiving threat, and he can be when he holds on to the ball, we may see a lot of his targets shift over to Davis because McD hates when the ball hits the ground. Pass Pro: He had 2 pass pro snaps and he did his job quite well on both. Limited size, but pass pro is always the thing that keeps rookie RB's on or off the field, so seeing him do it well in a live setting after reportedly doing well with it in camp was encouraging to see and why I think he is going to be more involved as rookie. The bad: James Cook I am not down on Cook, and this was just a tiny sample size, but there are 2 plays that stood out for me. To be fair, the OL failed him on all of his carries but one, however its the one that stood out and why it added to what I would say was a bad day for him even though it was very limited day. Play #1: He had only 1 play where the OL did their job and provided a hole to get through, however, unlike Davis above who hit the hole fast and hard to get positive yards, Cook danced and let the hole close, something he has done at times in the past. Cook for me is explosive in space, but he isn't always fast to find the creases to get through the smaller holes and opportunities. This is where I think him and Davis differ where Davis has great acceleration and tends to hit the hole quickly and with aggression on his tape in college. Which is why he was my RB3 in the draft. Play #2: This one was his lone pass protection play and he just didn't do a good job at all and it is the one where Edmunds knocked down the ball. Its one play, and I felt Cook improved last year in pass pro to be fair, so not going to panic here over it. But these are the only 2 plays where doing his job was completely in his control and didn't do his job. Takeaways: Admittedly, I am high on Davis overall and was pre-draft too. But, Cook had a strong season last year, so how big of a role the rookie would have was still a question mark, and still is, for this next season. But, Davis has proven to be more reliable as a pass catcher in camp so far where Cook has dropped several passes he needs to catch. And I think Davis may be the more explosive runner when it comes to hitting the holes and could prove to be better in pass protection than Cook as well despite the fact Cook IMHO improved in that area last season. As we sit right now, I am starting to think that Davis and Cook may split more than people initially thought in his rookie year. And that is less a knock on Cook, and more an endorsement in Davis being able to provide value this year that gets him on the field more than maybe you would expect for a team with a returning 1200 RB from last season. Wide Receivers - Overall, this was a good showing for the ones that matter. The good: Shakir - Not a lot needs to be said, but he did what most of us expect from him this year and that is just be the best WR on the field for us. He won his routes easily and displayed his YAC abilities that got a lot of people calling him Deebo-Lite. Samuel - Small sample size here, but one play that popped for sure was that WR screen was a thing of beauty and the way he exploded off the catch and followed his blockers was excellent. He looked the part out there on all his snaps. Coleman - Now, this is going to get some push back from stat sheet checkers seeing he only caught one ball on 3 targets, but that isn't the full story. Coleman did quite well on the routes he wasn't targeted. I watched every route he ran and many were clear out routes where he did exactly what was intended and drew the coverage with him. This is something Davis did a lot of and what was an important part of the offense, especially after Brady took over. Davis was limited in many areas of his game, but 2 things he did well was commit to the dirty work which is clear out routes where you can't sell them unless you commit to them like you are expecting to get the ball and of course his blocking. Seeing Keon run those clear outs like any other route was great and encouraging. Doing the dirty work is only going to increase his snap %. First target - This was a thing of beauty. He earned 5 yards of separation on his stop route for an easy turnaround and run for the first down. If he can do this consistently, he is going to be a chain mover all day. 2nd target - This was his worst route, especially considering it was clear they were clearing out the middle to isolate him and get him the ball. He didn't get through the physicality cleanly on this play (something he will need to keep working on) and the result was that his cut wasn't sharp so he was blanketed the whole way through. The positive of the play is that Mitch makes a piss poor decision to force him the ball still and then compounds that with an awful throw, but Keon saves the play and played great defense on the play showing his awareness and good football IQ on the play. I can think of MANY interceptions that were intended for Gabe Davis where he was just oblivious and failed to prevent it adequately. So not a good route, but still some positives on this play to take away. 3rd target - This one IMHO is a TD or PI if Allen is the QB. That close to the endzone there is going to be contact on the route he is running all the time. He made a good turn and was headed for inside position on the DB, which is exactly what you want from him on this route. The DB tugs a bit at his jersey while having his hand on his chest that disrupts the cut from being clean and then Mitch throws a bad ball where the DB is over the back of Coleman 2+ yards before the ball even reaches him and sails out of his reach. When you watch it back, I think the reason PI wasn't called was because the pass was so bad. Had Allen been in and thrown a good ball, Coleman either uses his position despite the contact to make the TD catch or we likely see a PI flag thrown. His ability to go up and get the high pass was 100% impacted by the DB over his back on his shoulders, its undeniable. The bad: MVS - I will be surprised if he makes the roster at this point. Without question, of all the "relevant" players with legit potential to make the roster, he had by far the worst day. He has had several practices with bad drops, including ones with multiple bad drops. He also showed poorly in his blocking in this game as well. There was literally nothing I would label a "good" result from this game. Hamler - He did not have a good day either as a receiver or as a returner. I think Hardy is looking more and more probable for the roster and the return job (more on him later). Takeaways: I think there is a lot to be optimistic about right now in regards to the receiving group. I already know the same 5 or 6 people are going to jump all over this with all their doom and gloom, but the facts are the facts. Right now, the receivers as a whole are having a great camp. I have LONG been high on Shakir since he was drafted, I have started multiple threads about him in the past 2 years, and all reports is that he is "always open" (along with Kincaid) in camp and he showed that again in this first action. Samuel I think is going to be a fun piece of the offense whose speed and explosiveness may be getting undervalued by some around here. Coleman's strong camp and what I felt was a strong overall showing in his first preseason game gives me confidence that he will make an impact as a rookie, and not just in what you see on the stat sheet either. Quarterbacks - Not a lot of mystery here...Allen looked good, his one pass deflection had everything to do with Cook whiffing on his pass pro. Mitch made some nice throws and also made some terrible throws. Buechele isn't an NFL caliber QB and is camp fodder IMHO and I am doubtful even makes our PS. I think Mitch is an upgrade from last year, but like with most teams with an elite starting QB, I don't think there is much hope if 17 misses any relevant time. Defense - Because I was limited on time, I didn't spend as much time on the defense as a whole, but I did go through a few players who I had the most interest in. Elam - I thought he had a good game and played well. I feel really good about our top 3 DB's...depth is another question, but the top 3 guys I feel good about. Solomon - I thought he had a strong showing and did well in the run defense as well. Kingsley - Had a decent showing and I think this year may be his best shot to make the roster, if not, he never will. Hardy - This kid had a strong game as a DB, and with Hamler struggling both as a receiver and screwing up a return, I am starting to think this kid is going to make the roster because he has more going in his favor. The receiver room is deeper and harder for someone like Hamler to crack. Meanwhile, the CB room is top heavy and thin behind guys like Taron, Rasul, Benford, and Elam. More importantly was how many snaps he played on the outside this game and the fact he did quite well with them. I think most saw his as a NCB more than anything, but he is showing (at least in this game and some at camp) some outside potential as well. The bad - There was plenty of bad, but most of that came from fringe roster guys and didn't bother going through them all. Takeaways - I think there were some encouraging signs from some of our younger guys that hopefully they can build on. The fringe guys got abused and I am less concerned with that. Gable for example has no chance to make this roster, but I can see him as a PS guy. He is no where close to ready which is to be expected. Best part of the game was no significant injuries. Oliver was cleared to go back in, so no concern there. There were quite a few relevant injuries across the league in this first full preseason weekend, so grateful we got out of there relatively cleanly.

No disrespect...This notion DB's will be all over him because he is "not a burner" doesn't make a lot of sense. He isn't any slower than guys like DeAndre Hopkins, Davante Adams, etc. In fact, Keon's pro day 40 time was faster than both. There is an over exaggeration about him not being a "burner". Is he the guy you want to send on all kinds of go routes...probably not. But can he make big chunk plays, get open deep, catch long TD's...absolutely that potential is there just like it is there with guys like Hopkins, Adams, Brandon Marshall, etc. And Coleman has excellent athleticism, agility, and body control. On his first target, he got 5 yards of separation on his stop route for the catch and turn up the field for first down. He ran the fastest gauntlet of any WR in the draft, which is a more significant indicator of in game play speed than sprinting in a straight line with no contact or coverage. As far as the handsy stuff, I assume you are referring to the 3rd target. In that area of the field so close to the endzone, the DB's are on top of all WR's, it had nothing to do with him being a burner or not. And if you watch the play, Keon wins that route where his job is to get to the inside of the DB...which is why the DB grabs his jersey on the cut and goes over the back of Keon when the ball is still 2 to 3 yards away. The reason it prob wasn't called PI is because Mitch threw such a bad pass. But if Allen was in, and he threw a better ball that is either a TD or PI. Now, its one preseason game...no conclusions can be taken from it. But I think between his excellent camp, what he showed in the few chances he had in this game, there is a lot of reasons to be excited about the kid. Nothing is for certain, but you would be hard pressed to find many other people whose stock has been rising as much as his.

I didn’t say we didn’t, I am referring to the false stories that persisted around this from even main media outlets that reported more things than actually happened.

Nothing I said was about you needing to change your opinion. You know what I wrote and what I meant.

Answer is simple...be objective for once rather than ram your snarky views on Keon into every comment. You don't need to keep referring to him as a "contested catch WR", you don't have to post a snarky response to another poster that the most important people being the refs didn't call the PI as if that means anything in terms of whether or not he was held. And you know he was, its on video, which is why you defaulted to a snarky deflection comment again so you can keep selling your negative crusade on that play. You just come across as being more invested in being "right" about Keon by unnecessarily throwing shade all the time than you do him and the Bills succeeding. No one expects yours or anyones opinions to change on a measly preseason game...but you don't have to ram your negative views of Keon into every comment. Kid has had a great camp, made a great play on his first target, and yet you consistently try and focus on what ever you can nit pick negatively instead.

Take these with a grain of salt...doesn't anyone remember when we "acquired" Antonio Brown and all the false stories around that when we never even made a trade offer?

Except he isn't a contested catch specialist. But I look forward to hearing you spin your takes on him later. And grabbing his jersey with the left hand and holding his chest with the right hand on his break then going over the back of the receiver when the ball is still 3 yards away from the WR is obvious PI. But for you to acknowledge that doesn't support your bias, so why would you right But he was over the back of Keon holding him down when the ball was still 2 to 3 yards from even reaching Keon...to me that should always be called. And Keon had the route and position, so that is a potential TD without the interference. To be fair, it wasn't a great pass either, so a better pass would have helped.

He did an excellent job on that PI save for sure. Terrible throw by Trubisky. And yes, that stop routes was a thing of beauty and I think that is what a lot of people (not saying you) miss on Coleman is that he is incredibly athletic and agile, especially for a guy his size. For those who didn't get to see the game, here is the clip of that play I do respectfully disagree on the potential PI though. Go watch it again from both angles. On the break in the endzone, the DB grabs his jersey from the back with his left hand while his right hand is holding him on the chest. Then DB goes over his back holding his shoulders down when the ball is still 2 yards in the air away from reaching Coleman. It is textbook PI IMHO, and I am not just trying to make an excuse or what not. Regardless of this play...it just brought up the frustration that it just seems like our guys never get the PI call in the endzone...like Diggs against the Chiefs. Then those same refs call ticky tack fouls on our DB's, even phantom calls at times, in those same games.

Huh? Every offense is always vanilla in preseason. The point of preseason is not to show your hand, but to run basic concepts, get the rust off, get the feel of live timing, etc. The longer Josh has to stay in the pocket, the more likely he is going to take hits. There is absolutely no reason for Josh to be standing in the pocket long enough in the first preseason game to take deep shots down field. Its about the new guys, the new OL, and Josh all getting some snaps in live action to get the feel and rhythm together in a game. There was never any chance they were going to drop Allen back and let him fling the ball deep down field today. Name of the game was take the snap, make a quick read and get rid of the ball or throw it away, do not take any hits.

The near pick was a terrible pass by Trubisky and the incompletion Coleman had position and was being held or it was a TD but refs didn't call PI despite the mugging. What that more egregious was because of the ticky tack call they made on Lewis earlier and then let Coleman get mugged in the endzone with no flag. And his catch he ran a great route and got wide open and turned it upfield and made the first down.

I would without question give it to him over MVS

MVS in midseason form with the Drops

No, you’re ignoring the blatant hold on the play and the terrible pass on the first. You want to be negative, you are intentionally twisting things to paint the negative bias you insist on selling. But you know that