BarleyNY

During the game (2nd half) I remember thinking "Looks like the Eagles figured out the snap count. We're going to have to change that up." because of how well they were timing their blitzes. Seemed like every time they nailed it and never got tripped up. The reasons buffalo rumblings is giving make a lot of sense.

As for Clay, it's better to convert the $10M roster bonus to a signing bonus because unused cap space can be carried forward. It just creates flexibility.

In related news, the Playboy Playmate of the Year says she likes guys with a good sense of humor - and I'm hilarious. I'm totally in.

Yup. I wonder how much having Incognito helped his play this year. He looked terrible with two bad guards next to him, now he looks good with one good guard. Maybe he'd be even better if he had two good ones lining up nex to him.

That'd be optimal with Pets and Tabor. I didn't address Eric Wood specifically because his cap situation is so tough. You nailed it though. Cutting or trading him only saves $2.5M in space and we probably couldn't find a comparable replacement for that. He played better this season too. I'd keep him for at least another year. That OL has bigger problems than him.

Hooray.

I agree with the OP's list except I let Woods play out his contract which is up after next season. Cutting him probably costs money since it results in a cap savings of $1M less the hit of his replacement, which would likely be more. If he gets beat out in camp by another cheap player for a roster spot then so be it. I don't expect him to be the #2 next season unless the team is bringing along a rookie gradually or there's an injury. He's fine for 2016. The problem with the OL is that the two set to leave are Glenn and Incognito. I'd rather them stay and look to upgrade the other tackle and guard spots. The OL could get scary. If Crossman is canned I'd look at Chris Tabor from the Browns. He's been through the meat grinder there and has been the only point of stability through several head coaches and constant roster change. I hear he's not looking to go through another change.

Yeah. NT should be waaaay down the list of priorities in the offseason. Quality WR who is a deep threat and OL head the list. QB is also on it. Replacements for anyone we part ways with on the DL would be high, too. What happens with Glenn and Incognito is huge here. Even with them the OL needs help, but without them that OL is a trainwreck. Realistically we won't be able to fill all of the holes, but if we need to get quality players to fill some of them.

It does seem like he cares more about having been an Eagle than he does being a Bill. I could forgive the emotional stuff with the Chip Kelly interview, but this was thought out in advance. He's a heckuva back, but the Bills are strictly business to him.

The Bills can sure use that cap room so I can totally see them parting ways with Mario. Restructuring is pretty pointless unless he is extended and I don't know why they'd do that. I can't count the number of people who just blurt out "restructure him" like its a solution. Please be specific about it. If you try, you'll quickly see there isn't much to be done. Why not trade him? There are certainly teams out there with plenty of cap space that could use him in a scheme that's a better fit for him.

Taylor is valuable. The Bills don't have their backs against the wall at QB next season because of him. He's better than serviceable and you can win with him. There's a chance he hasn't hit his ceiling so he might get better. That's the good. Then there's the bad. His style (he needs to run to be a successful QB) and size mean he is always going to be an injury risk. He doesn't read the field nearly as well as I'd like. And his accuracy is inconsistent. The good news is that he's under contract next season and we can see if he progresses before investing further. With the almost certain end of the EJ Manuel era coming fast there's also plenty of room for another young QB prospect - and maybe even a veteran - so the door is wide open for competition.

Agreed. I hope we haven't seen Taylor's ceiling, but I'm afraid we have.

Yup.

Two men enter, one man leaves!Two men enter, one man leaves! Two men enter, one man leaves!

Lol

I don't think there's anything all that insightful in that article. An interception might be the result of a bad throw, a mis-read by the QB , a route run incorrectly or failure of the receiver to change his responsibility. Or maybe just a great defensive play. I think most serious football fans understand that and realize that they're not always going to know who's fault everything was. That can be true of almost any aspect of the game. But sometimes things can be worked out and when a particular player seems to be involved in breakdowns a lot of the time you can bet he has issues.

Agreed. You could see how Shady was emotional in his interview and how that led to him saying some things he really shouldn't have said. Hopefully he learns from it and moves forward better prepared.

I am very concerned about the lack of a deep threat across from Watkins. This offense relies on running the ball then hitting the deep ball to not only score, but also to keep defenses honest and open up short and intermediate routes. It's going to be a problem when playing good teams.

I agree with everything Herm - and the others on the video - said. It is a different game/world today, but Herm is still correct. The absolute best way to handle things is how they get handled in NE by Belichick and Brady. Get in front of the mic and cameras, talk about how much you respect the other team and coach and how tough they are to play and then go kick their collective asses. Even when playing crappy teams they find something on which to compliment their opponent. The focus is always on the team first and there is zero room for personal agendas. That's what's known as a winners mentality.

The problem with not signing players before their contract is up is (obviously) that you wind up dealing with the market. We saw that with Hughes last season (although he appeared to give a slight hometown discount). Glenn will fetch a premium on the open market because competent LTs don't come available that often. I don't think the Bills can compete for his services if he hits the market. They just don't have the cap room unless they make some moves beyond the obvious. And the lack of decent LTs in the typical FA market as well as the premiums they typically demand means the odds of signing one are slim. The "just sign somebody else" argument doesn't really work out. Incognito should be easier to get done, but who knows what would happen if he hit the FA market? He's an excellent OG who's one screw up from never playing again. He's a guy with a long history of screwing up, but who has kept his nose clean this year. An important consideration with him is that he seems to have pissed away the money he made before getting here so he is probably looking for the biggest payday on what is almost certainly his last chance at a reasonably big one. Personally I find his case the most interesting of any impending free-agent on any team. Such a wide range of possibilities.

I've been pointing to this as a big issue too. Incognito and Glenn are 2 of the 3 best OLmen on the team, maybe the best 2. There's still time to re-sign them (obviously), but its concerning that nothing serious seems to be in the works yet. I know that there was talk with Glenn's agent at one point, but the sides seemed pretty far apart. I've heard nothing on talks with Cogs.

The rule is that an NFL owner can't own another sports franchise in a different NFL city. IOW, it's okay for the Pegulas to own the Bills and the Sabres, but they couldn't own the Bills and the Avalanche. It's a competition thing, they don't want owners competing with other owners in NFL markets.

The XP rule changes really help keep people watching. Last year the time between a score and 1st play from scrimmage was brutal. Replay of TD (immediately off to bathroom, beer fridge or kitchen), commercials while TD is reviewed, then automatic XP, commercials, kick off through the end zone, commercials, (back from bathroom/kitchen/beer fridge) and play from scrimmage.

This lady does a great job with all of the U.K. accents: Sorry, I can't imbed the video.

Absolutely hate the Yinzer accent from Pittsburgh/Western PA. "Yinz gahn dahntahn ta Danzi's?" Aaaaaaarrrrrgggggghhhhh!!! It's just brutal. The Jersey accent sucks, too.