BarleyNY

Not really. DE is one of the few places we aren't hurting. Obviously he is on a very cheap contract and is unlikely to cost much in trade so I wouldn't hate it or anything. It is just not really a need though.

Totally agree. There is so much talk of the Bills changing to a high level of 21 personnel usage - and it all so wrong. The Bills did just what you state - made Kincaid our slot WR. It is no different than us running 11 except Kincaid is a TE in name. And it is in name only since he is a terrible blocker. I'm not sure where the issue lies, but I hope it gets worked out soon. We need production from his spot. I know people will point to the Bills offensive rankings and say that there isn't a problem. But those stats lack important context. We have a top QB in this league so we should have a top offense. If you think that an offense with Derek Carr or Jimmy G should ever be on par with one led by Josh Allen, then you need some remedial football lessons. Where we rank among the top offenses in the league and how our offense performs against top competition should be the yardstick. To do otherwise is nothing more than complacency with what we've been the last few seasons.

I just posted that I didn’t think it was worth shaking things up, but I am immediately reconsidering that stance. Jeudy is not in a contract year, but Davis is. Jeudy’s 5th year option was picked up so he’s under contract thru 2024. But whomever trades for him would be on the hook for it at $13M. Other than having worked with Josh Allen for three and a half years, Jeudy is superior to Gabe Davis in pretty much every way. The other concern is his attitude, but that might be situation dependent (and who could blame him). Also it’s not like we didn’t acquire Diggs that way. Jeudy is faster than Davis. He runs crisper routes and is much more agile. Note on that last one - Jeudy has average agility, but Davis is absolutely awful in that respect. His 20 cone time is literally in the bottom 1% of WRs ever tested - and it shows on the field when he tries to uncover quickly. He’s been atrocious at that. Jeudy can also play from the slot or on the outside. Davis is only suited to the outside. As I mentioned, bringing in Jeudy means Davis has to go immediately. Denver would be dumping a disgruntled player that’ll owe 13 million to next year so I doubt the trade compensation would be much. Say it’s Davis and our 3rd (or comp 3rd) for their 4th (or Phins 4th). We’d be adding talent by bringing in a player that could be here long term at the expense of a limited player that won’t be here next season. This offense needs more skill added so I take the chance as long as my assumptions about compensation are close.

And then they chose the even more arrogant but far, far less competent Wrex? FML

I had the same thought about Gabe Davis. Bringing in a player like Jeudy would be awkward to the point that Davis would have to be shipped off as part of the trade or in a separate one. Jeudy is on the last year of his rookie contract and his $13M, 5th year option in 2024 has been picked up. Any trade would mean that Denver is just shipping off a disgruntled player before having to pay him that. So they wouldn’t be looking for much in trade. Even so I don’t see the point unless we have an injury at the position. I’d pass unless the coaches think that shaking things up by swapping out Davis for Jeudy is worth the risk. Edit: Upon reflection I think shaking things up is necessary and that the talent difference between Jeudy and Davis makes it worth the risk.

No. Allen was not the reason the Bills lost to the Jags. He played well and there was not much more. He could’ve done. The loss was not on the defense either. Allen needs more help on the field and in the OC’s booth. Diggs showed up. Davis and Harty did their jobs too. Beyond that, Dorsey and the offense sucked out loud.

Next time I’d appreciate a heads up on that sort of thing prior to my fantasy drafts. 😁

I agree with all of that. My point was precisely the same as yours. It’s worth noting that no one seemed to have a good read on the Iggles RB situation coming into the season. Swift has emerged, but he was not considered ahead of the other 3 RBs during the preseason. Interesting thought on the draft.

McCaffery, yes. He is special. But neither Swift nor Montgomery is a particularly special talent. Both are having very good seasons and work well within their respective offenses, but are not special talents.

Fans often get overly excited watching pedestrian players have great games where they have favorable matchups against poor competition. This has been the case with Epenesa. He will have to do something against some good OTs for me to believe that he’s anything more than a depth DE in the NFL.

That’s a very low bar.

Sure seemed like everyone had the same opinion of Epenesa up until very, very recently.

You crack me up. No one is trading anything of value for Epenesa. He has had two really good games this season. Out of five. He also had three previous seasons with zero good games.

College CBs who are grabby are always concerning when making the jump to the NFL, but Elam did a lot of his grabbing at the top of the receivers’ routes. That is often a sign of something much worse. CBs who can’t stay with WRs as they juke and make their initial breaks (at the top of their routes) will often grab them so they can stay with them. That was one of my fears with Elam pre-draft - and it remains so.

https://www.bigblueview.com/platform/amp/2023/10/10/23910138/giants-rumors-news-10-10-daniel-jones-brian-daboll-ben-bredeson-more-headlines

Eberflus is awful. December 11th.

I watched RZ for the first time ever on Sunday. It was a bit much for me. Nice if I am not going to pay much attention to the tv, but not if I want to get a feel for any particular game. And I watched it on a small tv at a rental so that didn’t help. Spot on about four games running simultaneously.

I disagree. Von Miller is truly an elite pass rusher when healthy. If we get him back near 100% at some point, then he will make a huge difference. But otherwise we only have a solid pass rush. Not terrible by any stretch, but far from elite. I saw some encouraging play by the defense today though. Despite the slew of injuries on that side of the ball, they kept us in the game. Oliver had a couple boneheaded penalties early that turned 3 Jaguar points into 8, but beyond that I was very proud of how the defense played today.

Yes. Most zone defenses - including the Bills - incorporate pattern matching. Zone schemes that are strictly players covering grass are not very effective against today’s NFL.

You can’t tell anything from Wingfest except if you like a sauce. When I went all of the wings were cooked at a central location and sauced at the stalls. Not a good time if you like crispy wings. I’ll never go again.

Spotrac - Tre White Injury settlements have to be agreed to by a team and player/agent. They are almost always used in cases in which a young player wants to get back in the field ASAP. Obviously that doesn’t apply here. Tre’s contract has a $1.5M roster bonus due at the start of the next league year. That is very important in cases in which a player has sustained a football injury because that means they can’t simply be cut. But that’s why roster bonuses exist. Teams are under no obligation to pay them (except when they are guaranteed). That is likely what happens here. Tre is a Bill until March of next year when the Bills decline to pay the roster bonus.

I am enjoying this W much more than most. My focus this week is not saying anything that would jinx the team.

Thank you for putting a very reasonable trade idea out here. I’d be down for this. It’s fair and would give two highly drafted players a change of scenery and scheme. From the Bill’s perspective, Bateman would be moving to an overall situation that is better structured and executed in a more typical NFL fashion. Props for a very good idea.

You didn't take offense to hem calling the Bills a "great team"? Them's fightin' words......

There’s also the matter of keeping him beyond this season. Also Adams’ salary is only $6M because of his signing bonus. That SB would create a huge cap hit for LV if they traded him now. So LV couldn’t trade him even if they’d want to - and I’m sure they don’t want to.