BarleyNY

I can’t tell you how excited I’d be about the right side of the line if the Bills had taken Dawand Jones in the third round. Imagine those two monsters next to each other.

You’re not the first person to mention Allen getting too deep in the pocket as one of the issues. IMO that’s more concerning than any individual lineman’s performance because it means that either Dorsey is making some pretty rudimentary mistakes or that Allen is. Either one is worrisome. I haven’t watched for that myself, but I will.

I mean, it’s the NY Jets at home for their opening game on Monday night on 9/11. The fans will be into it and I dare say, the refs might be slightly biased. That all notwithstanding, I would look hard at the under as both teams have a much better DL than OL. And what’s the over/under on broken QBs? I might want some of that action too.

It’s very rare and I don’t think either team did it Saturday. I have seen a coach with a poor team try to give his players confidence by doing things like that though. A little game planning, running a few plays normally reserved for the regular season, leaving starters in against 2nd stringers, etc.

I think there is good reason to be worried at this point. If Dawkins misses time, then we are screwed. Brown isn’t very good but he’s better than Quessenberry. I do not want to see him on the field.

This is worth having an honest discussion about. Last season PFF rated Dawkins at 73.5 overall. 80.0 pass pro and 62.3 run blocking. His overall grade places him at 24th among offensive tackles. His average salary places him 24th among offensive tackles. Dawkins PFF PFF OT rankings spotrac OT AAV To date it seems as though his play matches his performance. There are 64 starting OTs in the league and he’s 24th. That’s a little above average and he’s a better pass blocker than run blocker, which is preferable to the other way around. I don’t have any complaints about last year or the years prior, but it’s worth looking ahead. He is under contract this year and next. It was front loaded so he’s only due cash of $9.855M this season and $10.3M next. That’s a very good deal if you can get average or better play out of him. The concerns about how out of shape Dawkins has come into TC can’t be ignored though. He’s 29 now so he’s signed through his 30 year old season. Getting back into shape will become more and more difficult if he continues to do that. IMO the smart move is to have him play out his deal but try to find his replacement in the draft next offseason. He can coexist with a rookie for a year.

Damned if you do. Damned if you don’t.

Peters played on a 1 year, $2M contract last season. Some of that was in active roster bonuses and he wound up making $1.8M. I know he’s ancient at 41, but I’d sign him for that today.

That is incorrect. I'm not sure where you are getting that information. Jones started all three preseason games at RT. He started opposite Hudson against the Eagles, but he also started opposite the regular LT, Wills, against the Commanders. With Conklin out he even started against the Eagles with the first team OL in the practices. Also he's listed as the backup to Conklin at RT on the Browns depth chart.

What I heard was the the Browns really took it to the Iggles on day 1 of joint practices. In particular the Browns defense dominated the Iggles offense. This was a huge swing from last season when the Iggles dominated the Browns in all phases all week. So the Iggles players did not expect, like or appreciate what happened day 1. Consequently they showed up on Day 2 with a very large chip on their collective shoulder. Their intensity was much higher and they got dirty against more players than just Watson.

A played I’d look to move a late round pick (or flip late picks) for is Mohamoud Diabate of the Browns. If they cut him (which I do not think they will do), then he won’t make it to the Bills on the waiver wire. He has had a very good preseason in all phases. He seems to process the game well and has not only played the run and pass well, he has been an effective blitzer. He’d certainly have a place on this roster.

I think the Hudson trade idea started with this Bleacher Report article on trade ideas. I don’t see the Browns moving him unless they got an outstanding offer. He’s been their swing tackle and comes in as a TE in heavy formations. While Jones has taken over the backup RT spot, Hudson is the only player on the team - other than the starter Wills - that has experience at LT. The Browns won’t want to open that hole up on the roster.

I haven’t watched Queen play in the NFL enough to really form my own opinion, but I have heard him discussed. What was said about him was that he was pretty poor until Smith was acquired lined up next to him. Then his play dramatically improved. That makes me say no. If it was something negligible in trade, then it might be worth kicking the tires. But I doubt that would be the case.

Yup. It’s easy to just say we should extend him, but the reality of doing so includes the opportunity cost. For those saying we should extend him, let’s see the max contract you’d offer.

Has there been anything definitive on Torrence taking the starting RG job? I’m just wondering if him getting so many reps is just to get him some experience in case he’s needed this year. If he doesn’t start he would be needed if Bates or Morse got injured.

A insignificant impact on the cap. He was signed for near vet minimum. Only $152k in dead cap.

Like a professional or hobbyist?

No chance. At cutdowns that might happen, but not with two preseason games to go. Even if he wasn't going to be our 3rd OT - and I still think he was - an injury can change things in a hurry. He wasn't a great OT or anything, but he could've kept Ques off the field, or maybe even off the roster. 🤬

Doctors too. My friends who are doctors refer to people who ride motorcycles as "organ donors". That held true for my cousin who died in a motorcycle accident. Hit gravel at a turn on a country road and went through a fence. I worked with a guy whose previous job was delivering pizzas. One day he told me that he had just gone to court to testify from an incident when he had that job. He was behind a motorcycle at a light in the left turn lane. They got an arrow and they both started to make the turn. A car blew the red light and plowed into the motorcycle. (This was in Columbus where everyone seems to run red lights after they turn.) Among other injuries the rider's leg was badly broken and bent where it shouldn't have been. My coworker testified to what he saw, but for some reason the jury still held the rider liable for the accident. The moral of that story is that a rider can't even expect to be treated fairly by the legal system. There is no way that riding on the open road is worth the risk of death or serious injury, but that really puts a cherry on top.

The only point I’d disagree with is the positional importance of MLBs. It was a severely devalued position, but recently that has been changing. Off the ball LBs won’t surpass Edge/pass rushers or CBs anytime soon, but LBs are in the tier right after them. The resurgence is likely due to the changes we’ve seen in their responsibilities. No longer are they just downhill run defenders who are asked to cover grass on passing plays. Now they have full fledged coverage responsibilities and still have to be able to play the run and blitz effectively. Last season Edmunds finally developed into an excellent MLB and this defense is going to miss him. I was perfectly fine with the Bills walking away when his price tag got into the range it did, but I was not happy with them not bringing in a quality replacement. They should have made something work in FA. I think they thought that they could use the teams success to lure Lavonte David or another top FA MLB here, but failed to do so.

Yup. The real issue is what $10M - $12M AAV gets you in the WR market. Spotrac WR AAV Michael Gallup, Allen Lazard, Jacobi Meyers and the like. Next offseason it’ll be $12M+ for the likes of Gabe Davis, Donovan Peoples-Jones, etc. It might be better to go the trade route or draft one high and look at some cheaper options to hold the fort. Not a lot of great options readily available.

Currently there’s not a reasonable way to fit a 4/$40M to 4/$60M contract under the Bills cap. So it’s pretty much a moot point. But it is worth having a conversation about what Davis’ value is to the Bills specifically and what his MV is generally. I agree that the $10M-$15M AAV range on a 4 or 5 year deal is right for him. I don’t see how it’s the right fit for the Bills though. Not long term at least. Diggs turns 30 this season and is signed through 2027 on a contract paying him $24M AAV. IMO also paying $12M (or so) AAV for Davis would be tough given his limitations as a WR. I would rather the Bills use their draft resources to find a future #1 WR who can take over for Diggs when he retires. They can easily coexist while the draftee is on his rookie deal. A possible middle ground is if the Bills do sign Davis to a contract they can get out of in two seasons. They can probably squeeze that into the cap and use the time to draft their next #1. I hoped they’d do that and get their next guy this season (JSN), but no dice.

It would mean trading into the top 5 picks of the draft. Nearly impossible unless something catastrophic happens.

I think the Bills did attempt to replace Edmunds, but came up short on those they pursued. I agree that it will negatively impact the defense if they can’t find someone to adequately replace him. I am intrigued by what a dime package with Rapp replacing the MLB will look like, but I do not think that’ll be an adequate regular defense. It’ll be interesting to see what McDermott can do with what he has to work with. IMO too many times the answer to issues on the defense was using a premium draft pick or dropping. big money on a FA. That’s just not sustainable if you want to maintain a quality offense. Time for McDermott to show what he can do as a DC.

I’d be very disappointed in Beane if he wanted Kincaid more than any of the WRs that went before him, particularly JSN.