mjt328

Most are calling this draft class historic - in terms of defensive line talent. It's very strong at the top, and deep all the way through the first 2 days. That doesn't mean the cupboard is totally bare on the offensive side. There are a handful of offensive linemen slated as mid-1st Round talents, quite a few wide receivers with late-1st/early 2nd Round grades, and many also believe this would be a good year to take a tight end early. In my opinion, the key for the Bills will be adequately filling holes in Free Agency, so they aren't stuck reaching for a position instead of player. If they end up picking too high, it may be very difficult to pass on one of these generational D-Line talents. Especially with Jerry Hughes getting older, and Kyle Williams probably retiring at the end of the season. Which of course could leave them short on picks to address all the holes on offense. Right now, they need help at WR, TE, OT, C and OG. That's five spots, assuming Zay Jones and Wyatt Teller play good enough to warrant another year in the starting lineup.

Even if you think those teams are better, that still puts the Bills in the Top 6-7. I've already stated why I believe Buffalo's PPG is misleading. I don't have the time to break down each of these teams and know for sure. But my personal observation is that Buffalo has a ridiculously high amount of points scored from either turnovers returned as touchdowns or field goals where the opponent already started in scoring position. They also seem to have a very high number of drives starting on the wrong side of the 50, and I wouldn't be surprised if time of possession were very lopsided. But my biggest point to consider... Buffalo's two worst defensive performances came in Weeks 1 and 2. I think it's fair to say that Buffalo's defensive stats are being weighted down heavily by those two games. And it's fair to say that many of the weak spots people attacked in the first 6 quarters of the season, have been locked down for the most part since halftime against the Chargers. Compare that to teams like Jacksonville and Baltimore, who have been going the opposite direction over the last month.

It's not inevitable. But it does happen. Even the best defenses let up touchdowns. Take a look at the other top defenses in the NFL right now. Everyone has bad drives and even bad games. All things considered, I would have a very hard time coming up with 5 defenses currently better than Buffalo.

I don't like to rely purely on statistics, because they can be very misleading. Saying opposing offenses may have "laid off the gas" with big leads against us is a legitimate point. Just like defenses with big leads often allow garbage-time points and yards. At the same time, a stat like Points Per Game doesn't account for the multiple turnovers returned for scores and short-fields. From my eyes (and I do watch other teams around the league), I think it's safe to say the Bills are currently Top 5 in the NFL. It's important to look at what the team is NOW and not just what it was back in the first quarter of Week 1. They started the season playing very poorly (Baltimore and San Diego). But adjustments were made around halftime on Week 2, and things really started clicking at that point. We've also seen massive improvements from Tremaine Edmunds and from our #2 corner spot. Both were getting picked on early, and have since held their own. In my opinion, the only real hiccup since halftime of the Chargers game was against the Colts. I'm not holding the blowout by the Bears against them. They had a shutout in the 1st Quarter. The first TD they allowed was on a short field (37 Yard Line). Then the Bears got a Fumble Return TD, an Interception Return TD and another short field (23 Yard Line). The Defense had no reason to play hard, knowing we had no chance of coming back.

Just because there were comparisons between Carson Wentz and Josh Allen, does not mean they were equally prepared to enter the NFL. And just because Allen hasn't progressed as quickly during his rookie season, does not mean he can't eventually be as good or better than Wentz. The question coaches need to ask, is whether Allen will progress quicker/better by playing or by observing. This was a debate we had when Allen was first drafted. This was a debate we had during training camp and the preseason. This was a debate we had when Allen was inserted into the lineup in Week 2. Everybody has their own opinion on the matter, but there is honestly no way to determine which way is correct. Matt Barkley probably gives us a better chance to win our next game. But at 3-7, we need to be looking beyond our next game. We need to be looking at what is the best method for developing Allen into a franchise quarterback, so that he can be ready to carry our team in 2019 and beyond.

Football players are just like the rest of us. What prompts the regular/everyday working person to change jobs? What do they consider important in an employer? I think most of us would admit that MONEY is the most important factor MOST of the time. No matter how much we may enjoy working somewhere, if a competitor offers a significant pay raise - then we would absolutely jump for the bigger salary. But at the same time, some people may not like picking up their home and moving. They may be willing to take less money from their current employer, so they can enjoy the stability of staying in one place. They may want to live close to family or friends, or not want to pull their kids out of their school district. Some may put emphasis on the work environment or what their boss is like. For football players, this would be choosing a GM or coach they have familiarity with (why the Bills have attracted so many from Carolina). Veterans may prefer a certain offensive or defensive scheme, which takes advantage of their skill set. And for every person that wants to live in warm weather, surrounded by exciting nightlife - there is another person who hates hot summers and enjoys the peace and quiet.

Benjamin has continued to lose playing time as the year progresses. I'm pretty sure his effort (and lack of production) have indeed gone noticed.

Dedicated film-watchers have been telling us for several weeks that Zay Jones was getting consistent separation. You just can't tell when the QB isn't getting the ball to him. Robert Foster was burning people back in the preseason. But he was having serious problems tracking the ball in the air, which is why he ended up on the practice squad for the first half of the season. Kelvin Benjamin has never been able to get separation. His value has always been in using size to win jump-balls. For some reason, it just seems like he can't come down with those contested passes anymore. Which pretty much makes him worthless.

For some people, their religious faith comes across as a big part of their personality. Lots of NFL players may be Christians, but not everyone talks about it openly or wears it on their sleeve. Drew Brees (for example) is a devout Christian. But it's not something he is instantly recognized for publicly - at least compared to someone like Tim Tebow or Reggie White. I get the impression that Nathan Peterman's faith is something that also stands-out strongly whenever people get to know him. Similar to how Kyle Williams is recognized for his hard-work and leadership, or Ryan Fitzpatrick was recognized for his fun/goofball personality. In terms of "bias" towards Christianity, I find it odd how much Sean McDermott gets criticized for seeking out high-character players. It's something that literally 90% of coaches, general managers and scouts around the NFL cite as important factors in evaluating prospects. Our staff has never remotely hinted that a person needed to be a Christian to be on this roster, or that anyone with off-field issues is not welcome. They stuck by LeSean McCoy this offseason. They stuck by Zay Jones this offseason. And they tried bringing back Ritchie Incognito.

It's all about the Quarterback. Over the course of this season, some fans have convinced themselves that Brandon Bean/Sean McDermott somehow assembled the worst overall offensive team in the history of the NFL, and literally nobody on that side of the ball was worthy of playing in the pros. But yesterday, we saw that with "decent" QB play, the rest of the offense CAN move the ball, CAN score points and CAN look generally competent. Don't get me wrong. The Jets are really bad. And that was a big factor. But the most important thing to remember about this season is that: 1. Nathan Peterman has played HISTORICALLY bad. 2. Derek Anderson wasn't good 10 years ago, and only signed up to be a mentor. He had no intention of playing. 3. Josh Allen is an extremely raw rookie, who needs time to grasp the game. I've been arguing with people who think it IMPOSSIBLE for this team to be competitive by the middle/end of next season. But yesterday was a clear illustration that IF we can get Josh Allen playing on a similar level to what we got from Matt Barkley, this team can absolutely be in playoff talks for 2019.

We should always be rooting for the Bills to win. Just because a team is in rebuilding mode, doesn't mean they should be trying to lose games. The problem with too many on this board... they just can't reconcile those two concepts.

38 points. The Bills scored 33 points in the last 4 games combined. (9, 6, 5 and 13). They have scored 46 points in the last 5 games combined, and are climbing to within reach of that total.

The Bills scored 33 points in the last 4 games combined. They now have 31 at halftime.

Historically, the sport of football has always fluctuated back and forth. I would like to believe that Defensive Coordinators will eventually adapt - coming up with new schemes, player combinations and strategies to counter everything we are seeing today. Instead of Cover 2 or Cover 3 being used everywhere, something brand-new will take hold of the league and Defense will become an actual thing again. I would like to believe that... But unfortunately, I think too much of what we are seeing is the result of rule changes. Defensive players are now being handicapped at every turn. They can't touch the receiver at any point after 5 yards. They can't have any contact when the ball is in the air. They can't tackle with their head in a lowered position. They can't touch the quarterback below the waist or above the shoulder. They can't even fall with their body weight on the passer. Defense will always be important -- in a sense. It's just that elite defenses might eventually be those who give up 25-30 points, instead of those who give up 10-15.

The league has always been this way. For all the talk about parity, the same teams (those with the best quarterbacks) always rise to the top of the standings. The Patriots with Brady. The Steelers with Roethlisberger. Those teams have been at the top for 15+ years now. The Colts and Broncos were good when Manning was around. Not so much since then. The teams with good/not-great quarterbacks see some year-to-year fluctuation in the middle of the pack. Chargers, Ravens, Bengals, etc. The teams with poor QB situations like the Browns, Jets, Jaguars or Bills get the occasional good season thanks to strong defense, but it doesn't last. They eventually fall right back down to the bottom. Usually when you see a new team suddenly become dominant (Chiefs, Rams), it's because they suddenly have a new hotshot QB. Hopefully that's what we eventually get out of Josh Allen.

It happens all the time. Every year, you can can find teams (offense or defense) that go from the bottom of the NFL to the Top 10. SO MUCH hinges on the development of Josh Allen. He was very raw coming out of college. Right now, he's struggling with pretty much everything - reading a defense, holding the ball too long, throwing mechanics. Even slight improvements in any of these areas can make a world of difference There are many factors in Goff's improvement. McVay's system helped. Adding receiving weapons helped. Improving the offensive line helped. But don't discount how much better Goff himself became as a QB. The Rams were the perfect example of an offensive turnaround. I think a team like the Chicago Bears is more of a realistic goal. They have improved drastically with some solid (but unspectacular) free agent additions, and marginal improvement from their second year QB. I don't get the impression McDermott is "comfortable." He wants to win. He wants to get better. Even if he didn't expect this level of bad from his offense, I think he knew they would struggle. That's why he talks about being run-heavy and relying on the defense. Not because it's a long-term strategy. But because he knew it would be necessary with a rookie QB.

Almost all quarterbacks are BAD as rookies. Jared Goff was awful his first season, and he now runs the best offense in the entire NFL. The biggest complaint I keep hearing is that Beane didn't surround Josh Allen with tons of offensive weapons as a rookie. But even if you surround a rookie QB with talent (see Dak Prescott for example) - he EVENTUALLY needs to prove he can succeed in the NFL on his own merits. This team isn't built for now. It's being built for 2019, 2020 and beyond. So quit trying to judge this team NOW.

We are talking about the difference of ONE YEAR. Focus on the offense in 2018. Focus on the offense in 2019. It doesn't matter. We were starting a rookie QB this year. We weren't going to be good, no matter what we did. The worst four offenses in the NFL are Buffalo, Cleveland, Arizona and the NY Jets. Guess what they all have in common?

I agree. There certainly needs to be overall balance when constructing a roster. But the roster construction isn't done yet. This was always a 3-4 year rebuilding project. And it was always unlikely we were going to be competitive in 2018. If the front office identified 12-13 spots that needed immediate upgrades, and we only had enough resources to address about half this year... does it really matter if our 2018 cap space and draft picks were split equally? Let's say that instead of signing Star Lotulelei and Trent Murphy to big contracts, we replace Murphy with an free agent offensive lineman. And then instead of drafting Tremaine Edmunds, we grab a rookie wide receiver. Our offense is a little bit better. Our defense is a little bit worse. We still have major holes on the roster that need to be addressed in 2019. Overall, I see no difference. We went defense-heavy in 2018 and will go offense-heavy in 2019. When we look back at the roster in 2-3 years, the ORDER we did things in will not be the difference in success or failure.

Agreed about Allen. This season has always been about his development, first and foremost. The real question is whether it's better for him to learn by playing, or by standing on the sidelines. There are strong arguments for both sides.

The Bills have been in the .500 area for quite a few years now. I think we caught a few breaks to finish 9-7 last season, and wasn't sure we could replicate the lucky bounces we got. On top of that, this year's schedule always looked brutal. As the offseason progressed, it became very clear that we were drafting a Quarterback in the first round and weren't going to have the resources to upgrade all of the big holes on the roster. Going into Draft Night, I figured we could use help at QB, WR, OT, two OGs, C, two DTs and CB. Even without a trade-up, it just wasn't going to happen. We were bound to have some pretty big holes going into the season. Considering everything, I always figured that 7-8 wins would be a massive accomplishment. The defense had too much talent to see us winning less than 3 games. So sitting at 2-7 just over the half-way point... pretty much on track with what I figured.

I disagree with the basic premise of this article. Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott are not trying to build a defense-heavy team. If the front office wanted to play conservative/run-heavy/low-scoring styled football - then WHY IN THE WORLD did they spend so much time acquiring draft capitol and then trading multiple picks to move up and grab the riskiest - highest ceiling Quarterback in the entire draft. They could have just kept Tyrod Taylor or gone for a mid-level veteran and used all of their picks on defense. Just because they have used more resources on the defense SO FAR, doesn't mean that is the plan for the long-haul.

Completely different situations. When Rex Ryan came to the team, we had one of the league's best defenses. His GM then went on an offensive spending spree - adding LeSean McCoy, Percy Harvin, Charles Clay, etc. The Bills were making every attempt to win NOW. The offense was probably good enough to at least make the playoffs as a wild card, but Ryan's schematic changes on defense dragged everything to the ground. I think if Ryan's defense had shown improvement in his second year, the Pegulas probably would have kept him. But when a coaches' specialty is the worst part on the team, it really makes you wonder what he brings to the table. In his first year as coach, Sean McDermott was able to do more (better record and playoff berth) with less talent. And since the day he walked in the door, we've been in a piece-by-piece tear down and rebuild. As said a thousand times... this regime did not believe long-term success could be achieved by building on the foundation Whaley left. They felt we needed to blow EVERYTHING up and start over. You may disagree with Beane/McDermott that this technique was necessary. But nevertheless, that's what they did. And it would be premature to judge whether this plan was successful, long before they actually finish rebuilding.

There will be talent available. We just need to find it. One year ago, the Chicago Bears were in a very similar position as us. They had a rookie QB with virtually no weapons, and a terrible offensive line. It was hard to get excited about their Free Agent pickups. Taylor Gabriel. Tre Burton. Bradley Sowell. Even Allen Robinson was coming off an ACL injury. But all of those guys have made a big impact, and really helped turn the team around.

Most NFL coaches are average. In order to be successful, they need talented players who fit their scheme (especially at QB). I don't think Sean McDermott is anything special. He's average. But you can't expect him to win games, when the offensive talent is below standards and our quarterback play is this terrible. Firing McDermott just restarts the endless cycle. You just bring in another average coach, who wants to change schemes and bring in his own guys. The offense takes a step forward. The defense goes backwards. Let this regime finish this rebuilding plan. Give them 4 seasons. Then judge where the team stands. If the talent level isn't good enough, then fire Brandon Beane. If there is talent, but it's underachieving, then fire McDermott.