starrymessenger

In place of Murph, not Shaq. JMO. You forgot to mention Ed. We have a couple of 3techs who can bring pressure up the middle. With Clowney bringing it from the edge look out. He would also shore up the run D, something we could well use at times.

Sacks dropped off this year. Previous two he recorded 9/9.5 per. Regardless he is extremely disruptive and a complete DE. He is a dominant player and would help take this D to another and much higher level. I think Beane should have a run at him assuming the price is for value and not totally stupid money.

I would avoid trading for a guy with a spotty track record (Perriman). Would love Mike Williams. Shenault or Higgens in the draft.

Judon is a better risk than Shaq because he has been a productive player for a longer period of time. Shaq has only come on in the last year and a half. But that's the main reason why I see a significant difference. In 2019 I think they both played at a high and at a comparable level. Ravens have a somewhat different philosophy on D than does McD. They tend to lean heavily on their best guys as featured players perhaps sacrificing some of the benefits that a rotation system can deliver, but also giving those players additional opportunity to generate raw stats. It used to be Suggs. Now it's pretty much Judon. I'll admit it's an inexact comparison and can be debated but if you adjust Shaq's sacks, solo and combined tackles, tackles for loss, QB hits/pressures etc...for the fact that Judon played maybe more than 300+ additional defensive snaps and played in 1 more game, Shaq's totals match up very well. I like both Shaq and Philips but I do think a few of Philips sacks were a little soft. I think that was less the case with Shaq's (ex maybe Denver). Also of course Shaq is better against the run. I also think some folks don't realize just how good Shaq was this year. He.was quite outstanding IMO and quite possibly our best and most consistent D-line player. The question is does he play better only because of the payday (and once paid will laze out) or has he developed to this level with the possibility of further improvement. Just a guess but I think he's probably just now coming into his own. He's only 25 (3 1/2 years less than Judon). I think I'd be inclined to sign Shaq ahead of Philips but I wouldn't mind having both as well as an edge rusher in FA or with an early draft pick if for example Epinesa is there in the first (doubtful unless we move up). H. Philips will take over from Star in 2021 who won't be on the team then. Jerry Hughes is gone that year too. Contrary to some IMO Murphy is released in 2020. All of that frees up a lot of cap space in the next 2 years so if they see a FA edge rusher they like and are ok using it for this purpose I think they can afford it. Of course a guy like Judon will never be as valuable to the Bills as he is to the Ravens because of the rotation that McD employs. Could partly explain why the Ravens would consider franchising him.

Really like Drake as FA target.. I think there is too much emphasis on a bruising back and not enuf on a complete back. Drake can run with power but he is fast with good burst and has a gear Singletary does not have. Drake is very good receiving out of the backfield. The two of them together would give the Bills a lot of top tier talent at the position. Probably not something the Bills would pursue and Drake will probably be signed by Zona.

Is that necessarily so even if Murphy is not with the team in 2020 (and Star and Hughes are gone in 2021)? Replacing an underperforming pass rushing DE with a better one is a good idea IMO esp if you don't have to sacrifice other pieces that are good fits. Having said that I'm not in favour of grossly overpaying anyone.

Havent seen much of Yannick but I've seen a fair bit of Judon over the years. I like Judon. He sees the field a lot and the Ravens tend to lean on him. He gets lots of tackles and 9.5 sacks is nothing to sneer at. Not clear to me though that he would'nt be more part of a rotation just based on what all McD seems to do with line players. So his totals would likely go down, including possibly even his sack total. Same could be said about Yannick who also gets lots of snaps, more than he might get here. And how much better is 9.5 or 8 sacks over 6.5 (I know 3 and 1.5 respectively). Judon is right now a better player than Shaq but probably not that much better. Lawson is also trending up IMO and could continue to improve. He should be entering his prime. If a good one falls to them in the draft I would expect the Bills to pull the trigger on a prospect. If so, I believe they would try to sign Shaq.

I think he had a very good year, was an impactful player. I'm not so sure it would be easy to get the same performance out of a replacement player. I hope they can work something out that satisfies both parties. Sure a legit edge guy would help put our D over the top but most edge rushers are not three down players and Shaq is already in a rotation. I would like to have both Shaq and an edge rusher.

Hardly the WR coach's fault that all of his starters suffered season ending injuries.

Looks to me like Allen is going to develop into an above average starting QB and quite possibly a franchise guy. I get that a veteran presence can be helpful but I'd like to see the Bills draft a young prospect as often as they have the resources available to fairly develop one or get a good idea what exactly the serviceability and upside of the player might be. Minshew was a sixth rd pick and looks like he can play.

I like Vosean, Jacquan and Siran as promising late round picks. Bills are pretty good at evaluating DBs, hybrid LBs. Partly why I doubt they break the bank for Poyer. Even if he is not ready to crack the lineup as a starter next year I'd be surprised if Vosean wasn't playing STms.

Whether he's worth it or not I expect Jack to dump Marcel to sign Yannick then draft a DT.

I'm a little surprised he still wants to play. Maybe just me but seeing him come off the field after the Titans game he looked broken. Don't think to have ever seen that before. Usually after a loss he looks angry or sports a disgruntled poor loser face. Contrary to what he says I don't think he has anything more to prove. Unless of course he's dreaming of becoming the difference maker on an otherwise talented O lacking a good QB and wins another Super Bowl. Then he can tell the naysayers what for. I'd love for him to go to Cleveland for no other reason than to see Baker wearing a suicide vest as he rides the pine and watch the Browns likely comically implode yet again. My guess is that if NE commits to finding him some playmakers he will back down on his decision to not give the hometown discount and will remain with the team. With that defence and better talent on offence, a Pats team with Brady under centre would still be pretty good. If the Pats don't cooperate, his refusal to take the discount allows him to drive a harder bargain with a FA suitor. I think Tom's pretty much done and should retire before he embarrasses himself. Right now he's a good mid-level starting QB and really nothing more. And most of that comes from his experience and knowledge of the (only) offence he can reasonably be expected to operate. Truth is the guy is diminished in terms of his physical skills. He has always been limited in terms of schemes he's capable of executing.

He's a top 5 corner and will be paid accordingly, probably by the Bills. He's a great player but everybody has strengths and weaknesses (or less strength in a performance catagory if you like). There are better CBs than Tre when in pure man coverage (though he is good). He seems to play off a lot so can be late closing on slants sometimes and I think he can be beaten over the top by a burner if 1 on 1.

This is the best clip of the action. The pass was pretty much perfect and could have been caught but it would have been a sensational play. Close but no cigar. Funny how people can interpret the same action differently. When he goes up for it Duke's body is rotating away from the ball possibly in an effort to adjust to the trajectory of the pass and possibly to box out the defender. In that situation it would be difficult for Duke to get both hands on the ball when it first gets there. So what he tried to do was deaden/stabilize it with his right hand and then lock it up/posses it with his left. But the defender got his hand in to prevent that. Tough chance.

Surprised to see that some think he's good in run support. I see (or think I see) him messing up his gap responsibility and whiffing on tackles a lot. Not to mention getting trucked. He's much better in pass D if my eyeball impression is right. But given the scheme and McBeane's uncanny ability to develop DBs 8-9 M per as has been suggested seems crazy to me. With 9 picks we ought to be able to draft a good safety. We also have a couple of STmers who might be ready to step up.

He shouldn't kill himself, but somebody (though not me) should definitely slap him on the wrist for opting to double team a second rate interior lineman when JJ Watt was lined up in front of him and flew into the backfield unblocked. There was no TE next to Ford so Im guessing the DE was his assignment.

Yes and I'm saying they won't resign him to an extension. And if he threatens to hold out I'd look to trade him. They might be thinking of doing that anyways in advance of the draft.

Correct. And IMO the Bills can do better and don't resign him. Not for what he will be looking for in the way of comp anyway.

I expect to be better than NE in 2020, whether Tom stays or goes. I'm sure the Bills braintrust is targeting the division championship as indeed they should be.

Nope. I'm for seeing if Webb can develop into a reliable backup/spot starter. Or use a late round (not early round) pick to develop instead if Webb is not that guy. The only veteran backup I'd be tempted to sign over a prospect is Fitz, who is the best in the business. Of course he's under contract anyway.

Agree. And even then.....if he has trouble seeing the field you might not be on the hook for a big payout but you also have to value the roster spot. Great as he has been his value is zero if not healthy. This is said to be a fantastic draft for WR coming up. Chances are you can get a high end prospect in the late rounds. So take two if the value is clearly there.

I was not surprised DK dropped in the draft. I liked him but in the second. I also liked Samuel and especially AJ Brown better, and long term still probably do.

Absolutely agree. But is this something that happens a lot and that gets treated as a touchback? Some rules are honoured more in the breach than in the observance. If that's the case it's hard to argue that it's a live ball. If it's not, and this event is an outlier then the call was really very wrong.

This was a point made by the commentators in yesterday's game: it happens all the time and is not called a live ball. Just wondering if this is true. Does anybody know?