hondo in seattle

As you probably know, no HC hires his dream staff his first year in the saddle. The best coordinators and position coaches are typically employed and under contract. When he came to the Bills, McD hired the best unwanted castoffs that were available. Over time, he'll continue to build his staff. This season, it sure feels like we have upgrades at the QB and OL coaching positions.

Congrats on changing your lifestyle and best of wishes in your continuing sobriety!

It's a low-risk, low-reward proposition - just a goodwill gesture for his dad. Pike's girlfriend in the story - Dani Cogswell - went to the same high school as my daughter. Dani was a great young lady by all accounts. I believe she was the 3rd ranked gymnast in the country when she was 9 or 10. Switched to cheerleading later on and led the HS team to the national finals. Effervescent, talented girl - killed by drugs. Very sad story.

The salary cap is generally good for the Bills because it prevents big market/high revenue teams from buying their way to championships at the expense of small market/low revenue teams. But I don't understand why any Bills fan would advocate for a salary cap for coaches/trainers/GMs at this point in Bills history. We have one of the richest owners in the NFL and he's demonstrated a willingness to spend those riches on the team. Why would we want to cap his spending???

I saw this too and was encouraged. Our OL looked physically overmatched at times last year. But other times they simply looked unprepared. I'll say this for Greg Roman - the running plays were well-designed and the offensive linemen, while not road graders, were typically in the right place at the right time doing the right thing. And that created running lanes. Unlike last season. The article says Bobby Johnson was "engaged and energetic." I'm guessing this is in contrast to Castillo who was what? Disengaged and lethargic? Games are won and lost in the trenches, as they say, and this will be a better year.

Any interest? "Rudolph is a potential trade candidate out of Minnesota after extension talks between him and the Vikings broke down on Friday morning, sources told NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport. There is interest in Rudolph's services around the league..." "Rudolph, soon to be 30 years old, hasn't missed a game since midway through the 2014 season and hasn't seen his production dip too much in recent years. The tight end reeled in 64 catches for 634 yards and four scores in 2018, and Rudolph made a Pro Bowl appearance in 2017." http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000001030498/article/vikings-could-trade-kyle-rudolph-after-talks-break-off

The kid from England, I think.

I really wanted DA to stick around this year. I was hoping Allen would stay healthy and we’d never actually see Anderson line up under center. But I thought DA could be useful in the mentor role.

Some of those mediocre guys are better than the bad players they'll replace. The others are good depth guys. Overall, we're going to field a better squad this year than last. And we're still looking at roughly $80 million in cap space in 2020. Watching Beane work, I've always thought 2020 was the year he'd field the team he really wants.

Maybe I'm wrong but Gruden doesn't seem to be a guy with really strong principles who worries much about the character of his players. I think Gruden likes to see the good in people so he's open to giving them second-chances. Rather than judging & condemning the mistakes people make, he tries to understand them (explain them away) and sees a brighter future. So it's no surprise Richie ended up in Oakland. Incognito played hard for the Bills when he was here so I wish him the best.

This is crazy. NFL teams spend millions doing their due diligence on potential draft picks. They employ teams of professional scouts, watch hours & hours of tape, interview countless coaches, attend dozens/hundreds of games, and sometimes hire private investigators. High paid draft gurus in the media have trouble saying anything accurate about the early draft picks. But Thor supposes he can fairly evaluate each team's haul of UDFAs! It's ludicrous. His personal expertise and the resources he can tap pale in comparison to those of a NFL club. Yet he has the hubris to hand out grades?

In the end, we're going to judge Beane on the players he did get. And rightly so. But it would be interesting to know all the potential trades he turned down so we can evaluate the opportunity cost.

Many of us watched every single snap last season. How many national media guys can say that? I think some of us want validation from the national media. I don't. I know what my eyes are seeing. And right now my eyes are telling me there is cause to be optimistic. And yet until the Bills start winning it's just reasoned hope.

At the ripe age of 60, I’ve only placed one bet in my life. But I’m sorely tempted to put $100 down on the Bills on the over. Barring catastrophic injuries, I don’t see how all the changes don’t give us another win.

The cap situation that Beane inherited might not have been an unmitigated disaster. But I think it's safe to say that Beane didn't love the player roster or salary cap situation the Bills had at the time. So he created a multiyear plan to fix each of them. That plan left the Bills with the lowest active cap roster - by far - in the NFL last year. Every one of McD's 6 wins came against teams that paid more for their squads and arguably fielded more talented players. McD never lost to a lower paid roster and often won against higher paid rosters. McD did his job. Beane's plan resulted in the Bills having approximately 10 draft picks and $80 million in cap space this offseason. He seems to have used his capital wisely - considerably upgrading the roster without mortgaging the future. The Bills still have $30 million in cap space this year and $84 million next year (3rd in the NFL) allowing for more upgrades in the near future. It looks like Beane's getting his job done, too. So far, I'm happy with these guys.

I get your point. I saw Tasker play. I know he changed games and I'm ambivalent - not entirely negative - about his inclusion in the HOF. I see both sides but happen to lean toward 'no.' But for the pro-HOF games, I'll throw this out from Bruce DeHaven... “He was the first guy I ever saw anybody actually use three guys to try and block him as a gunner on a punt. He forced people to do things that no one had ever done before on special teams." "I coached for Bill Parcells in Dallas for four years. I remember him talking about whenever we played Buffalo, telling his team, 'The first thing we’ve got to do is we’ve got to make sure that we contain Steve Tasker because if we don’t get him blocked, then we’re gonna get beat.'" https://www.profootballweekly.com/2018/08/29/team-for-the-ages-steve-tasker/aoj8sc8/

I'm not a betting man. The only football bet I've placed (not including a few small wagers with friends) was on a Bills game where I thought Vegas had the line all wrong. I lost that bet. But I'm tempted to try again. The 6.5 over/under seems remarkably pessimistic. Barring catastrophic injuries, I don't see how this offseason doesn't produce at least one more win.

I don't think even McD or Daboll have a clear idea yet about the starting five - though I'm interested in how others see it all coming together. It's going to be an interesting camp. The coaches are going to have to evaluate these guys quickly so they can name the five starters and start developing some teamwork. Man-for-man, it seems we're far better off than last year though the lack of continuity/potential lack chemistry concerns me.

Tasker was special on special teams. But it's... special teams - only a few plays a game. I'd love to see him get in because he was a great Bill but I'm not convinced he deserves it.

Before the draft, an anonymous scout told Bob McGinn that Metcalf was a “media creation.”

I guess Beane was serious when he said BPA. He nabbed a RB on Day 2 but no WR.

I’m a 60 year old man and combat vet. I don’t ever cry when facing misfortune. It’s not who I am. But that video teared me up. Viva los Bills! Best wishes to Pancho!

Here's how I look at it. The Bills get their money from ticket sales, tv contracts, and and licensed gear purchases. In other words, we pay Beane. I'm going to let the man do the job we pay him to do. If at first I don't like a pick, I'll research further to find out why Beane liked the guy. And then hope Beane is right. We'll find out as the season progresses. I won't pretend to be smarter than Beane and his team of professional scouts.

I might not be a fan of every one of Beane's picks. But I am a fan of every player we draft.

With all the comments about other wall-worthy players, this thread has me daydreaming about something. Imagine Cookie and OJ - in their prime - both in same backfield at the same time. I think OJ just might be the most naturally gifted runner ever. And Cookie was an amazing FB. It would be the best HB/FB combo ever by a long shot. Gawd, I'd love to see it. In regards to the original subject of the thread... When Lynch came to Seattle, my local friends here asked me about him. I told them he's a hard runner and will do great things in Seattle. I'm not always, or even often, right. But in this case I was. Lynch's talent was obvious. But having said that, count me in the club that thinks he should be on Seattle's wall, not Buffalo's.