BarleyNY

The bullpen comparison is terrible. A pitcher isn't graded on his warm ups, he's graded on pitching live or in a game simulation where he would warm up and then pitch as if he was in a real game. His velocity in those two situations should be the same. What's most concerning about a low velocity at the Combine is that there's no reason a QBs mechanics shouldn't be as perfect as that QB is currently capable of. The more common problem is a great velocity at the Combine where there is no pass rush or distraction due to reading a defense/calling audibles/etc., but seeing a worse velocity in game situations due to a player's mechanics breaking down.

http://www.spotrac.c...falo-bills/cap/ $27.4M right now. That doesn't include 5 of the recent signings. That'll reduce it somewhat, though they shouldn't be big money deals. Rookie pool will be about $6M. Then there's always a few million saved for use during the season. Let's see where we are when the dust settles from those deals.

Might not have much of a choice

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/buffalo-bills/cap/ $27.4M right now. That doesn't include 5 of the recent signings. That'll reduce it somewhat, though they shouldn't be big money deals. Rookie pool will be about $6M. Then there's always a few million saved for use during the season. Let's see where we are when the dust settles.

It really couldn't be worse than under Rex, but I'm a "show me" guy. McD hasn't been a HC at any level before. That doesn't mean he'll fail or that he isn't up to the task, it just means he's unproven. Obviously I hope he acquits himself well here and I like that he isn't showboating like Rex, but he's still got a lot to prove. That's all I'm saying. Let's not get ahead of ourselves and give credit for what's not yet been earned.

Hyde is a quality signing. Bringing in a player like him at safety was desperately needed. But Poyer isn't a guy you want starting. Cleveland is as desperate for safeties as Buffalo is and they didn't want him back. He reminds me of the Dray signing last season. The Bills needed another S on the roster, but Poyer is just there in case a drafted S isn't ready or one doesn't fall to us in the draft. He should be depth.

Yeah. Talk is cheap. How can everyone who saw the Rex Circus not know that? We will know if there is a good culture here soon enough, but there's no way to know now.

I agree with your course. I'd tear it down to the foundation, tank it and build up for 2-3 seasons from now. Brady will be gone and we (hopefully) would be built to win. The problem is that Whaley can't do that. How can he sell a total rebuild to Pegula? I have to think Rex was forced on him and he went to Pegula with something to the effect of "I put talent on this team that should be able to win, but the coach I didn't want fell down. Give me my guy at HC and we will win." He couldn't go to Pegula with "We don't have the coach or talent to win." because he'd just be firing himself along with Rex.

Kinda like that legendary 1974 Steelers draft class. 5 HOF players. Oh, and by the way, they were all juicing. Steroids weren't banned yet and the Steelers really pioneered their use. Some teams and coaches are very adept at determining what players can make a big jump with a little help from the chemists.

Can't tank under Whaley. No way for him to sell that to Pegula and keep his job.

Likely something like that was involved. It happened so quickly.

Brady fell so far in the draft in part due to a perceived weak arm. Velocity wasn't measured at the time. He made corrections that fixed the problem. He definitely does not have a weak arm now. I'm not sure what was done, the coaches must've fixed his mechanics and probably some sort of (ahem) strength training was involved. In his first season it was noted how much his functional arm strength improved so quickly.

It auto corrected four times?

The reality is that if it's a true indication of his arm strength, then it's pretty damn close to over for him as far as the NFL. If it's due to correctable mechanics, injury or some other freak thing then that's not a deal breaker.

...........and it does t look good for Deshaun Watson Ball velocity numbers (MPH) from the Combine: 60 - Mahomes 59 - Webb 56 - Kizer 55 - Trubisky, Evans 53 - Peterman, Kaaya 49 - Watson https://twitter.com/dpbrugler/status/840334987958329346 For those unaware of the standards, 55 is the generally accepted minimum. Watson's 49 is the equivalent of a CB running a 5.2 in the 40. Either something was wrong with him (or the measurement) at the Combine or he's going to plummet in the draft.

Davis

It's the right thing to do.

Note that income tax is based on where games are played. So he'll be out about $400k on that $16M. One caveat, states with no income tax often have increased taxes in other areas - property, local, sales - to get their revenue. And then there is cost of living, etc. Not sure about any of that in this case. This reminds me of an MLB prank. The managers told two young players that they'd been traded from LA to Montreal (when the Expos were there). The players were reeling from the thought of going from the likes of Hollywood to middle of nowhere Canada when Lasorda sympatheticly deadpan s "Wow, that's a huge pay cut going to Canadian dollars." It was hilarious.

I could get past the kneeling thing, but not the backpack.

Not a tank. Tyrod is now a 2 season bridge QB, which is what he should be. The FO isn't blowing it up though. No big slashing of vets and accumulation of draft picks. They're trying to be competitive while building for the future. I'm not saying it's what I'd do. I'd do the full on rebuild and tank. But Whaley isn't, he's trying to hold it together and break the playoff drought while gearing up for the future.

The cap floor is calculated using cash spent - not cap space - over a rolling period of several seasons. The Browns were already over the minimum limit before this all started.

Tyrod's revised deal makes him a 2 year bridge. The Bills will be looking for their long term answer at QB, but it's debatable whether this draft is a good place to find that.

Not coming into the trade. If Cleveland cuts Osweiler then they'd have his whole $16M guaranteed salary hit as dead money.

To be fair, people were complaining about a contract that just got slashed. How many are still complaining?

The salary cap floor is based on a moving average of cash paid. The Browns were over the minimum before FA started.