BarleyNY

No wishing here. Just trying to be realistic about the situation. Obviously losing Mario would leave a very big hole to fill. I don't think doubling down on him at this point in his career is the answer though. He may very well be on the team next season, but I think a new contract would be a mistake.

That seemed a legitimate point so I rewatched the KC highlights. There wasn't dedicated double coverage on Watkins on a single one of his big plays. The safety was in zone on all of them and was late on help on all but the catch with 3:30 left in the half when he was shielded by the KC CB. Watkins' speed is sure a factor in that coverage being late and he made some very, very nice plays. But once the safety was rolled to his side - and thus in position on time - Watkins was taken out of the game. http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/0ap3000000590657/Bills-vs-Chiefs-highlights

You get your QB whenever, however you can. The only exception is when you have a reasonably young, proven franchise QB entrenched on your roster. In that case if one falls in your lap, you either still take him or you ransom him off.

I suspect that Mario will be a cap casualty. Maybe this offseason, maybe next. Restructuring his contact in the usual way makes very little sense. Restructuring is generally something a team does to free up cap space in the near-term at the expense of future year cap hits. Converting salary into a signing bonus and extending the contract, for example. That usually makes it more difficult to cut such a player for a few years however. It makes very little sense to do that on the contract of a player whose play is falling off and who isn't living up to his current cap hit. Restructuring can also mean a pay cut, but I don't see Mario accepting that. I'm sure he'd rather be cut and possibly overpaid somewhere else. Gilmore is a prime candidate for a new contract. Next season is his option year so the Bills can lower his hit for next season by giving him a new, long-term deal. That also prevents any free agency or tag issues next season.

I think what's most concerning about the situation is that they went out and spent so much on new acquisitions (as well as retaining players), yet will have no additional wins to show for it. I am not a fan of building a team by spending big in free agency, but I worry that the recent spending will mean that Bills will actually lose some talent in the offseason. The offensive line is a giant, flashing, red light. Glenn and Incognito are free agents and they're the best two offensive linemen the Bills have. Imagine trying to fix this line if they both walk.

Exactly. Every team is beat up. Many fans, whose teams are not doing as well as they'd hoped, focus on factors like injuries. Fans of teams at the top of the heap focus on things like what players stepped up when others went down.

The Pornstache has made an admirable living off of one close Super Bowl loss early in his head coaching career. He's basically a poor man's Andy Reid.

Wow. With all of the rule changes you absolutely cannot compare quarterback ratings of the last few years with those from any other time. Taylor has done well overall and he deserves a chance to continue to improve and show that he can become a franchise quarterback. But that doesn't mean the Bills should be done looking. It's up to the front office to find the absolute best competition for him possible because he hasn't proven to be a franchise guy yet. He has not proven that the team can lean on him when they need him to carry the load and he hasn't shown that he can stay healthy. He's earned the starting spot moving forward, but he's not where he needs to be yet.

Houston and the Jets are must wins. I suspect a loss to either would just about shut the door on the Bills playoff hopes. Mathematically a loss to Houston would probably drop the Bills odds to low single digits. Any two losses and they're out. Their margin for error has eroded to almost nothing.

Yup. I just noticed that the 5-6 Bills no longer control their own destiny. There are four 6-5 teams above us in the wildcard race and we play only two of them.

There really, really isn't. Every new team would equate to one more team with a crappy QB.

Tyrod was the best they could find last year. If they can find better next season they'll try to get it. If not, they'll be looking for competition or a back up.

With Glenn and Incognito unsigned past this season I really fear for what our OL will look like next season.

Totally agree. That would make a ton of sense.

True. Plus there are different rules in college: http://espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=davie&page=davie10104week5 "The reason screens are so successful in college football is that offenses take advantage of a very important NCAA rule. In college football, offensive players are allowed to block downfield while the ball is in the air if the ball is caught behind the line of scrimmage. This is a major advantage to the offense because offensive players can actually pick defenders while the ball is in the air. Whether the defense is in zone or man-to-man coverage, this puts them at a tremendous disadvantage. (In the NFL, you are not allowed to block downfield while the ball is in the air regardless of where it is caught.)"

A lot of people had unrealisticly high expectations for this season. You certainly were one of them. Use it as a learning experience. When the Bills (or any other team you root for) make a move think about how you'd feel if the Jets or Chiefs or Cardinals had been in the Bills' situation and had done that same thing. Ditto when you predict how a Bills team will perform in any given season. Imagine that they are any team you have neutral thoughts about and what you'd think of them. Just don't use a team that you have an emotional or legitimate bias for or against like the Pats or Browns. It really puts some moves into perspective. Signing Harvin mot not look so good if you're just looking at the best case scenario because he's a Bill and you need another good wide receiver. If he had become a Jet would you have been laughing at the impending implosion? If so, probably not a great move. You won't always be right, but you'll be right a lot more often. Personally, I'm a little disappointed in the Bills this season. I expected them to sneak into the playoffs but not go anywhere. I was looking for a step in the right direction. I honestly don't think I got it though. The Bills made a lot of offseason moves, spent a lot of cap space and they got a presumably better coach (as well as owner), but they don't look much better overall. Still, it was Ryan's first year. Maybe improvements will come as the team gets used to their new schemes. The learning curve often gets overlooked when a new staff comes in. But moving forward I do worry about finding a franchise QB, the OL (the two best are Glenn and Incognito who are FAs), adding a quality WR across from Sammy and the cap situation. I really hope that next year's roster looks better than this year's, but I'm not sure that it will. But I'll reserve judgment until I see what transpires.

You must have missed the thread talking about how the Chiefs defended Watkins in the 2nd half of Sunday's game. They aggressively bumped him off the line and kept a safety deep over him. You don't throw WR screens with a CB playing on the line. In college he had a lot of very soft coverage, which is perfect for that play. In the first half he clearly didn't need that play to be effective .

Absolutely true. But why do people keep bringing up the Browns around here? There are more threads about them and their players than other AFC East teams. Is ragging on them just what we do around here to make ourselves feel better about our own mediocrity?

Agreed. Also if Watkins wants to be an elite WR then he's going to have to beat double coverages sometimes.

I was wondering what exactly happened. Figured Watkins was getting more attention in coverage. The Bills desperately need another quality WR - another real threat - lining up across from Watkins. It's got to be a draft/offseason priority.

Truth

Well done

Then he's an idiot. Honestly, if Rex relies on his players over an assistant in a booth to decide what plays to review then he's fallen massively in my estimation. I understand going with a player who said he got his hands under a ball, etc., but players on the field rarely have close to as good of a view as someone watching in a booth who's looking at the same freaking video replay the refs will look at. The Bills were two proper replay challenges away from winning this one.

It really is brilliant the way the NFL has the season and playoffs set up. They give hope to the fans of so many mediocre and sub-mediocre teams because so many teams are in the playoff hunt for so long. (Is any team mathematically eliminated yet?) Sure a couple of them will get in to the playoffs and get stomped by an above average or elite team, but they don't have a real chance at the big game. And occasionally an elite team will have injury or other problems, wind up as a low seed and win it all after getting healthy but that's not the same as a mediocre team having a chance. The NFL inevitably winds up with a couple elite teams showcased in the Super Bowl. Then free agency and the draft gives hope to fans of crappy and mediocre teams. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Teams do develop and there is SOME change within the elite ranks, but not as much or as often as a league with parity should see - and there are legitimate reasons for that. But when you take a step back you see there's really just a handful of elite teams that rarely change surrounded by a lot of noise.

F that.