mjt328

At this point, the biggest thing we are going to miss from Kyle Williams is his leadership. With a rotation of Ed Oliver, Star Lotulelei, Jordan Phillips and Harrison Phillips, I just don't see a big drop-off coming with on-field production. Last year, we also had Shaq Lawson sliding inside on passing downs. With Lorenzo Alexander getting near retirement as well, the Bills could really use some defensive players to step up as leaders. Jerry Hughes is the next oldest, but he's never come across as that kind of guy.

Remember that we are talking about 2018. Not what a player has been throughout his entire career. Charles Clay was terrible last year. Absolutely no separation, hands of stone and nothing after the catch. I don't think we missed anything when he was out of the lineup and Jason Croom was playing. So honestly, it could be argued that Lee Smith is an upgrade over last year's Clay. He is a better blocker, and his pass catching couldn't be worse than what Clay offered in 2018. In the same way, Kyle Williams also took a step back in 2018. At least in the pass rushing department, you just didn't see the consistent burst off the line. He wasn't a liability. But he wasn't his normal Pro-Bowl self either. I don't think it's unrealistic for Ed Oliver to give us similar results as a rookie.

Absolutely no on Bell. Maybe on Clowney. Not sold he's a real impact player. Rudolph would be worth a Day 3 pick.

Nope. Mark Clayton and Mark Duper played with possibly the best Quarterback of the late 80s/early 90s in Dan Marino. The Dolphins had very little rushing attack to speak of, and were one of the highest volume passing attacks of that era. It was inevitable that receivers in that offense were going to put up pretty good numbers. To be Hall of Fame worthy, it can't just be about the stats... especially in a situation like that. Neither Clayton or Duper was consistent enough, and neither guy really struck fear in opposing defenses. Teams feared Marino, regardless of who he was throwing to. Contrast them with someone like Andre Reed, who had similar stats during the same time period (and most considered a borderline inductee). The Bills were more of a balanced attack, and Reed's stats were always competing against a HOF running back Thurman Thomas. Reed also had another HOF receiver across the field in James Lofton, and still managed to be the focus of Buffalo's passing attack. There was always a sense that Reed was an actual threat himself, and it wasn't all Jim Kelly. And finally, Reed had many HUGE games without Kelly in the lineup -- most notably the Greatest Comeback.

Do you really think the coaching staff will keep a guy on the 53-man roster (not to mention active on gameday), who is not a primary backup, does not play special teams and would only be useful to run 1-2 truck plays every week? Not going to happen. Honestly, Tyree Jackson will be lucky to make the 53. He's a long-term developmental QB, who went undrafted. Most teams will not carry 3 QBs on their primary roster, and I don't see us doing it either. Unless he plays fantastic in training camp/preseason, the Bills will stash him on the practice squad.

Fantastic response, and exactly what I was trying to get at. The question of "when life begins" is not something that can be answered by science. Scientists can look into a microscope and understand what is happening biologically. But the determination of when it actually becomes life is completely open to interpretation. At the end of the day, it comes down to a person's moral beliefs. Many Christians are against any form of abortion, because the Bible states that God "knew" each person before they were conceived. Their stance is not based on being anti-women or anti-choice. They simply believe abortion at any point is killing a human life. Some denominations have extended this to even forbid birth control, but that seems to be a very small minority among the Christian population. Others (like you mentioned) may point to implantation, which occurs within a few weeks. Others may look at the fetal heartbeat, which is about 3 weeks. I've heard others point to when pain can be felt in the womb, which I understand is around 20 weeks. In my opinion, society should err on the side of caution. If there is a chance you are killing a living human being, you do your best to avoid it. All other questions and circumstances come secondary. I can certainly understand if a pregnancy threatens the mother's life, because in that situation you are trading a life for a life. But I don't see the justification in any other circumstance.

The issue of abortion really comes down to only one question: When does life begin? All of the other discussions about women's rights, health concerns, rape victims, etc. are vitally important. But they mean absolutely nothing until you have answered this question FIRST. When does life begin? Because regardless of the other circumstances surrounding the pregnancy - AT SOME POINT you have to acknowledge the "fetus" has become a living human being. And whatever point you believe life starts (conception? 8 weeks? 5 months? birth?)... then at that very point, abortion is the same as killing a living person. There is no other way around it.

Completely ridiculous and untrue. Conservatives have NEVER been against helping the poor. They have NEVER been against helping the sick. They just don't believe the government is the answer to fixing all of these problems. The government is inefficient, wasteful and corrupt. Absolutely nobody can dispute this. Take a look around and see how your tax dollars are used. Despite the ridiculous amount of money brought in each year, most school districts are failing terribly to properly educate the kids. Highways, bridges and other infrastructure are falling apart. Why would I want to put the ones responsible for this MESS in charge of MORE things? People pushing for free "Medicare for all" have no idea how much this would actually cost them in taxes. And what happens when our government runs out of money to pay for it (like they always do)... Regarding Carlin's comments, I've NEVER heard of a conservative against food stamps, school lunch, limited unemployment benefits or a certain level of welfare. The problem is, all of the government handouts in the world will NEVER succeed in getting anyone out of poverty. History has proven this time and time again. If anything, it creates a culture of people dependent on the government to support them. The only thing that will make a poor person successful, is a good job and a hard work ethic. I would much rather contribute my hard-earned dollars towards a charity of my choice. Or help pay for someone's doctor bills with a Go Fund Me page. Or donate food and clothes to the local food pantry. Or send money to disaster relief. Most of the conservatives I know are VERY generous and compassionate in helping people. They just prefer to do it THIS WAY, instead of supporting yet another government spending spree.

Unless there is a surprise cut or trade, I don't see us adding anyone else that will get significant DE reps. It's pretty clear Beane wanted to add another pass rusher to the mix this offseason. But there just weren't a lot of good free agent options on the market (almost every top DE was franchised), and we didn't have enough early draft resources to address everything. Considering we went into March with needs at four different OL positions, WR, TE, RB, DE, DT and CB... I think we can still consider the offseason a resounding success. In my opinion, our defense was Top 5 after the bye. The only player we lost was Kyle Williams (who wasn't quite the same player anyway), and he was replaced with Ed Oliver. We added more depth at Cornerback, which should make our secondary even more consistent. It would have been nice to add a fierce edge rusher, but I think we'll be OK with the same rotation from last year. At the least, our defense should be the same as in 2018. The key to adding wins to our 6-10 record is the improvement of Josh Allen and the offense.

Based on pre-draft rankings, nobody came close to topping the Jaguars. Josh Allen was ranked between #3-5 on almost every major site. They stayed put and landed him at #7. Jawaan Taylor was a Top 10 player on most sites, and I never saw him lower than about #15. They got him in the 2nd Round.

How does he come to this number? What defines a blowout? We lost five games by over 20 points. The Ravens, Chargers, Packers, Colts, Bears. I'm assuming he's also counting the two Patriot games, which were NOT blowouts by any measure. The first was very close until the 4th Quarter, when Derek Anderson threw a pick 6 and blew the game. The other was a 12 point loss. You will notice that these lopsided losses came in the first half of the season (while the defense was still getting its footing), and mostly with Peterman/Anderson under center. After the Bye Week, we were .500 and competitive every single week. Bull. This is a recent trend, which can only be traced back 2-3 years. There are countless examples of QBs who had defensive leaning coaches, and went on to have fantastic careers. Most notably the old man who has been dominating our division for two decades. Thanks to Sean McVay, 90% of recent head coaching hires are offensive leaning. So the trend should be expected. But didn't Miami hire a defensive coach in Brian Flores? I guess that means Josh Rosen and the Dolphins are screwed too. The Patriots would be the team to beat in the AFC East, even if they drafted one guy in the 7th Round and surrounded Brady with XFL castoffs. This point is totally irrelevant. Agreed. We improved more and still have a better roster. Not surprised Cowherd is skeptical. Most in the media are. However, I think it's ridiculous to say we are "miles away" from competing. And it's insulting to downplay our chances, but simultaneously talk about how great the Jets (who won 4 games last year) and the Dolphins (who were favorites to get the 2019 #1 Pick exactly one week ago) are going to be.

Not exactly sure what sports writers are supposed to do... Everything related to the draft is about predicting and speculating. It really doesn't mean anything until the guys step on the field. This year, the Bills are getting lots of praise from the media. They drafted highly ranked players, and in most cases got them lower than they were expected to go. Last year, they got mixed opinions based on what writers thought about Josh Allen. The same fans who were upset about Allen getting bad grades last year, have absolutely no problem ridiculing the Giants for Daniel Jones.

The 5th Year Option does not extend him for another five years. It tacks one additional year onto his deal, making him a free agent in 2021 instead of 2020.

Based on where he was drafted (last pick in the 2nd Round and 9th WR off the board), he was definitely being over-hyped in the sports media. That doesn't mean he was a bad prospect, he sucks or that nobody liked him. It just means that NFL teams saw him as a Day 2 pick, while the media was anticipating him landing in the early/middle 1st Round. For Buffalo, it sounds like the WRs (not just Metcalf) just happened to fall in places that didn't work for our draft board. Our first two picks (Oliver and Ford) were easily the best players available. Before we picked again, there was a run and a total of six WRs came off the board. It's very possible that Beane saw Metcalf as good value where he went, but just wasn't willing to part with more draft capital to make the move.

This one is easy for me. Tyrod Taylor. When the starting QB goes down, I want someone who can be steady/consistent. Someone who will manage the game, avoid turnovers and let the other starters pull the team to victory. I don't want someone who will come off the bench and try to be the hero. The reason this guy is an NFL backup is because he's not good enough to carry a team by himself. To me, Taylor is the ideal backup. He's a game manager, who won't blow the game with stupid turnovers. The fact that opponents need to specially gameplan for his unique running ability is a plus... because as a backup, they might not be prepared when he comes into the game. On the other hand, Fitzpatrick (while possibly a better QB overall) is erratic and inconsistent. He's going to be fantastic one week, and terrible the next. You never know what you are getting off the bench. Get him on a bad week, he could throw 4 interceptions and completely blow the season. Get him on a great week, you could be creating a QB controversy.

My guess is that Shaq Lawson gets the 5th Year Option. It's only a one-year extension, at a pretty reasonable price ($14 million). With our extensive cap space in 2020, that amount won't cause us any limitations in upgrading the rest of the roster. He's also shown gradual improvement at a premium position. I think it's a low-risk/high-reward. Unless Jerry Hughes falls off a cliff this season, I also expect him to get an extension of 1-2 years. He's easily our best pass rusher, and not a player who would be easily replaceable. At his age, we may be able to get him at a discounted number from what we are currently paying. Pass Rush is certainly something for Beane to consider adding more bodies to the rotation. But it's not terribly pressing. Both of these extensions are very realistic, and would give us until 2021-2022 before the position became a glaring problem.

I prefer to go by Yards Per Attempt (YPA), as opposed to total yardage. Otherwise, stats are going to skew against teams who are on the field a long time (like us). Passing Defense - We allowed 6.3 YPA, which was tied with Chicago and Baltimore for #1 in the NFL. Rushing Defense - We allowed 4.2 YPA, which was tied with Pittsburgh for #9 in the NFL. In addition, we were tied at #8 for takeaways (27) and #14 in sacks (41). Obviously, these were fantastic numbers for our Defense. Which makes the points/game number (23.4, #18 in the NFL) come across as pretty bizarre. In my opinion, the narrative that our poor offense HURT the defense is very legit. And the stats do seem to back it up. The numbers show that teams were not moving the ball on us, yet they were scoring a lot. This tells me that opponents were putting up points on short fields, and off turnovers. If our offense improves in 2019, this should be good news for our defense as well. I'm also encouraged that our worst defensive performances came in the first half of the season (most notably Weeks 1-2), where Tremaine Edmunds was struggling to gain his footing and the Vontae Davis CB position was a disaster. The team still had some bad games, but things were significantly better in the last 7 games.

The only thing we know for sure is that Mitch Morse will be our starting Center. I really think they are going to give Dion Dawkins another crack to start at Left Tackle. He will probably start there when training camp begins. Hopefully he will run with the opportunity. But if his 2018 struggles start to pop up, the leash will not be a long one. We have too many other options. If Dawkins can't lock-down LT, then he probably slides into the Left Guard spot. What happens with Dawkins will begin a domino effect on the rest of the line... The reason Ty Nsekhe signed here, was because he saw an opportunity to start (which he wasn't going to get in Washington). His versatility is key, and I think Beane/McDermott see him as a chess piece who can move around to where he's needed. At the same time, his age keeps him from being a long-term answer. Personally, I think he starts training camp at Right Tackle. But if Dawkins struggles - see above - then Nsekhe will immediately slide to the left side. As a rookie, Cody Ford will need to earn his place in the starting lineup. I think he starts training camp as a backup, and will need to wait for opportunities to open up. If Dawkins wins the job at LT, then Nsekhe stays at RT and Ford will probably start his career on the bench or at Right Guard. If Dawkins ends up at LG and Nsekhe at LT, then Ford will become our starting Right Tackle - which is where I think the staff ultimately sees him. Based on starting experience and talent level, I think Quinton Spain has the best chance to win the final spot. I think he starts training camp at Left Guard, but could end up on the right side if all the other pieces get shifted around. Spencer Long will probably start training camp as the Right Guard. But ultimately, I believe he becomes the first interior OL off the bench. Jon Feliciano had a great path into the starting lineup in March, but now I think he and Wyatt Teller are fighting for backup roster spots. So ultimately: C - Morse LT - Dawkins or Nsekhe RT - Nsekhe or Ford RG - Long, Spain or Ford LG - Spain or Dawkins

The year with Da'Rick Rogers was the best. Some fans were screaming for him every pick after the 2nd Round (kinda like the DK Metcalf/Hakeem Butler crowd this year). Rogers kept falling, and falling, and falling. People were getting madder, and madder, and madder at our front office for not trading up and grabbing him. He ended up not getting drafted at all, and we got him as an UDFA. People were talking like he was going to win the #1 WR job in camp. He ended up getting cut completely, and never did anything in the NFL.

Personally, I'm of the opinion RBs can/should contribute from Day 1. So if you think LeSean McCoy and Frank Gore still have a year left in the tank (which the front office seems to believe), then a rookie RB will pretty much just sit the bench for the first year. Just seems like a bit of a waste to me. I'm not upset. I trust Beane. Just a little surprised we went RB so early. He must have been true BPA on their board.

Very surprised to see us go RB so early.

The DK Metcalf freak out on this board is hilarious. In a few years, we are all going to be laughing about it. It's not just him falling in the draft. There were EIGHT receivers taken before him. Clearly the NFL did not have him ranked as highly as the hype he was getting.

Well sure, there are definitely variations. Just like Star Lotulelei and Ed Oliver technically don't play the same position either. Some guys are better fits as a 4-3 DE, as opposed to a 3-4 OLB. No doubt. I just think it's "closer" to group a DE like Jerry Hughes with an OLB like Von Miller, than it would be to group him with a DE like JJ Watt or Aaron Donald.

Because 4-3 Defensive Ends and 3-4 Outside Linebackers are basically the same guys... At the same time, 4-3 Defensive Tackles and 3-4 Defensive Ends are basically the same guys. If Josh Allen had been drafted by the Giants last night, he would have been a linebacker. But since he got drafted by the Jaguars, he will be playing defensive end. In the same way, Ed Oliver would have been a defensive end for the Giants. But he will be a defensive tackle for us. More people are now starting to refer to the positions as Edge Rusher and Interior Defensive Line, and I personally think it's more accurate and easier to help identify what a guy's responsibilities actually are.

I think even the people who really liked Jonah Williams, Andre Dillard, etc. were assuming Ed Oliver would be gone by #9. Not to mention, Jawaan Taylor, Cody Ford and Dalton Risner are all still available. Good chance one is available when we pick.