Bleeding Bills Blue

If not for a fingertip missed TD pass - Could be 17-7 or 17-14 at half. Or if the kick the FG 13-7 or 13-14. Missed FG when buffalo was up 17-10. Back to back quick scoring drives make it 27-24. Allen almost fumbled them the ball at mid field. Reich and Rivers blew it on the last drive. No timeouts - 3rd down and 5, they throw it short of the sticks, and then ran it on 4th and 1 to pick up the first. A minute of clock, got 5 yards and the kicker doesn't have a big leg. So now you need like 40 yards in a minute. They set themselves up for the hail mary for some reason... just a really strange series.

He doesn't fit under the cap and isn't a team fit here. 3yr 38m left on base salary is a bargain for taking a chance on a really good WR. He's older, and missed time last year with injuries, but you can get out of most of the money (so the risk isnt that high) and he's coming off a 6 year run as one of the best WRs in football.

I always come back to the 38 straight points we allowed as kind of the cause of that loss. The defense didn't really play that well against indy either, so i think there are causes for concern on defense.

If the IOL is good at run blocking, then why don't they block well? Singletary averaged 5.1 per carry in 2019 - which is .3 yards less per carry than etienne did last year in college... at clemson.... I think playcalling here has been an issue as well. From under center buffalo ran 300 something plays, and ran on like 2/3. From Shotgun they ran like 700 plays and 2/3 pass. I know we're a pass heavy team, but that just looks a bit like were tipping our pitches. The Outside zone plays weren't there all year, they were ripping through blocks on the backside and destroying cutbacks. I think what an etienne or harris would help the most with is being more of a mismatch to a team that decides to blitz a lot. Or the KC strategy of just holding people - more effective YAC could be a difference in those games. I'm still partial to defense at 30 though, buffalo lost to KC because they gave up 38 straight points across 6 possessions, not anything they did wrong on offense. I'm not set to move on from Edmunds - but signing milano, bringing in adams... its clear they want to see more from him. Not a need necessarily, but could be positioned to upgrade the defense.

Orlando Brown is a really good player too. Big boy, 2 time pro bowler - he's on an expiring deal so i wonder if this came down to money. KC only gets him for a year cheap. If they're investing a 1st i wonder if they're parking him on the left next to Thuney.

I think a lot of this had to do with KC getting out of their gameplan though. From behind they got away from RPOs, and creating trouble at the mesh point. It lets you kind of execute your defense more effectively.

I'm somewhat open to running back at this point? But it depends how the chips fall. If you like one more than the other, do you really spend a 1st round pick on your 2nd favorite running back? I wouldn't. If there's a corner they like there though, they may be able to start and contribute on day 1. I think the issue still comes down to oline for the running attack - i'd be open to interior oline at 30 because i think LG should be an open comp as no one there has really shown much to me. I like running back weapons, but the teams struggles in the red zone and short yardage situations are likely issues up front. You're also then relegating singletary to inactive on some game days, and I'm not one to give up on a running back who has averaged 4.8 YPC and improved as a pass catcher.

In the 2 games we deployed vastly different strategies, but both were predicated on eliminating big plays. In the first game we played pass on every rpo and they ran it all day. In the 2nd game buffalo clogged the middle of the field more and sat in their quarters. That left some plays to be had between zones and they picked us apart. With the bills defense, i think they need to run more man, and they probably need to blitz more. Put pressure on mahomes and do your best in coverage. It sort of goes against everything the bills defense is about, but it might be necessary to win that game.

They ran 50+ pass plays and completed half. A- thats not remotely balance. B- that is terrible execution. 243 net yards across 52 pass plays is less than 5 a pop. They wrecked the line in that game and made mahomes move more than usual.

I don't know that it was David's coverage that made the hugest difference. They were in Mahomes face all night and kept them behind the sticks. KC didn't or wouldn't run the ball and it killed them. They had KC settling for field goals and punting more than Between that and defensive penalties putting points on the board for TB were the difference. Offside on a FG attempt is a 4 point switch, and then letting brady get not 1 but 2 DPI penalties in the last minute added 7 more. 21-6 at half instead of something like 10-6 is a pretty huge swing.

Basically if you aren't in the top couple spots on the depth chart, special teams is a way to get you on the field on a gameday. Otherwise you're on the 53 and inactive and if there's an injury the other guy gets to step in.

Neal is a gunner. Kummerow was another. Dane Jackson or Wallace can probably do it. Depends how depth charts shake out at other positions WR: Diggs, Bease, Sanders, Davis, and several guys fighting for 2 spots. Those guys likely need to play special teams to dress on gamedays. CB: White, Jackson, Wallace, Johnson, Neal - I think they draft someone here too so the competition ramps up, and again ST can be a differentiator. S: With marlowe gone, the big nickel spot is a bit more open, and they could use to add some depth here that would also participate. NE would usually carry 4 on the active roster, and dress 3. But their teams ace from the group was burkhead, who also contributed on offense.

I think the impact of 4.9 YPC and 4.3 YPC is tougher to quantify than a WR who can have a higher YPC (by yards), or who catches a higher % of targets (gets open,makes plays in traffic etc, creates a higher yard per route run).

They're right on the cusp of paying the QB though, and that means you need more players on cheaper deals. Especially along the lines.

The jump from 2-14 to relevance takes some time. The jets will have a rookie QB and added 1 WR to the worst offense in the league. Defense stunk last year too. So i doubt they move much. I think NE will be more improved, and probably finish ahead of Miami in the division. They added a lot of talent to a team last year that honestly probably performed better than their talent level suggests. Miami will get a premium pick at the top of the draft, but their offense was pretty bad last year and their defense was really overrated. I agree on NE. I think between Kelce, NE's TEs, possibly pitts/geisicki, and then several of the TE's in the NFC - big nickel is an important position that buffalo needs to address. It's something you're going to see a lot of next season, and its something they need to be able to more effectively stop.

If Bojo signs for less than 2.7 its cheaper to cut hekker. Its one of the worst places to punt in the NFL. He probably thought he could do better numberswise elsewhere. I know moorman had a nice career here, but he was clearly the outlier among buffalo punters in the last 30 years.

I think you only do the trade-up if you're comfortable with a group of top tier guys.

I think at 6 they can get 1 of chase, pitts, sewell, smith. So no matter what they're positioned for a playmaker on offense, or upgrading the offensive line. They also still have 4 of the first 50 picks. But they're a 10-6 team with 1 win over a playoff team (a rams game where they had under 150 yards of offense, 8 first downs, and 2 D/ST TDs), and 4 losses to playoff teams where they gave up more than 30 points a game and like 450 yards in each. They aren't a finished product on either side of the ball - and Tua needs to make a big jump for them to stay where they are in the standings. They need some hits in this draft too, as they really only have 1 star player in howard.

I agree on many of the points here. 3 1st rounders last year, and ii didn't really love any of the picks. In a talented WR draft - and at a position of need - they didn't take one. I wasn't impressed with Jackson, and the corner they picked played like 25% of snaps behind jones/howard. If you have 2 good corners under contract for a while, why would you take another? By the time he has a spot to start he'll need to get paid. They also moved fitzpatrick (an all-pro) for picks, and didn't exactly replace him. 4 picks in the first 50, they still need front 7 help, they could upgrade at safety on defense. And on offense they still probably need oline help, and only have Fuller under contract for a season. If Tua is a hit they'll be fine, but if he isn't they're still a pretty poor offense and a turnover dependent defense that isn't great at stopping the run.

And they're positioned well if someone wants a QB ahead of detroit/denver.

And thats the first pick of the draft! how can you not get that one right?

It's also what Whaley did with Manuel FWIW. They still don't have much of a run game, and their offensive line isn't noteworthy. Parker/Fuller/Williams/Bowden isn't bad, and Geisicki is a good player. I think if the option to move down a few picks and get something else in this particular draft year - could be appealing. But to state that a WR/TE pass catcher is the biggest need is failing to look at the big picture. They currently have 2 coordinators this year so i have no idea how that's going to work for playcalling/QB development, and to me a solid run game is usually the best thing you can have for a young QB. Then on defense - I'm not sure they're as good as many believe they are. So while Chase/Pitts may make some sense and give them another weapon - I'm not sure thats 100% what they need at the moment.

Also kinda difficult to really thump with a messed up shoulder.

Same, i don't think i've watched anything bengals since the last time they played buffalo.

I think a bucs brady cover might be in the cards tbh. Make up some of that money he's not getting with the team friendly deal.