msw2112

I would love to see more development and things to do around the Bills stadium, but I'm not sure it would work. My comments will also compare them to some of the other stadiums with nearby development: I have not been to the Foxboro, but that entire area of New England is very populous. I looked and Gillette Stadium is also between two major highways, with what appears to be a least one exit right to the stadium area. The Bills stadium is a few miles from a highway, and at that the 219 is not exactly a major thoroughfare. I-90 isn't that far away, but you can't exit it and be right there. I have been to the Lambeau field twice. Most of the development there is on-site at the stadium. A museum, maybe a restaurant, etc. The rest of the surrounding area is basically a neighborhood. The Bills could easily do this and I assume they will. Another point about Green Bay is that the stadium is 3 miles from the center of downtown Green Bay, whereas the Bills stadium is 11 miles from the center of downtown Buffalo. That said, there's a lot more going on in downtown Buffalo than in downtown Green Bay. There's a comparison to the Atlanta Braves' suburban development. That development is right where I-75 and I-285 intersect with tons of other nearby development (a mall, a Costco, numerous other shopping and restaurants) in a highly populous area. The Bills stadium is in a small semi-suburban/semi-rural area. There just isn't the same amount of traffic in the area. I agree with those who say that if there was money to be made by developing near the stadium, it would have been done/will be done. As much as I love Buffalo and the game-day experience, I just don't see it being a viable option, other than maybe a Green Bay-style museum and restaurant. In some cities, the in-stadium restaurant is open for private parties and/or everyday dining, and I could see the Bills doing that too. One more thing to add is to be careful what you wish for. If there were movie theaters, bars, restaurants, shops, piano bars, comedy clubs, etc. around the Bills stadium, the tailgate experience as we know it would no longer exist. Those businesses would need land and parking for their patrons and surely would not permit kegs and grills (and fire engines with taps, makeshift bars serving polish liqueur out of a bowling ball, etc.) on premises. Things would be a lot more sterile than they are today.

Big difference - Claypool was a high draft pick and has been productive in the NFL. None of these other guys are both of those things, although Isabella was a fairly high draft pick (2nd round) and Roosevelt made a few regular season catches for the Bills over a 2 year span. But I do agree with you that there is always an unknown player that makes a lot of noise in camp every year, gets a lot of notoriety on this board, and never amounts to anything in the league, and it's almost always a WR. There are a few at other positions, like Mike Jasper and Landon Cohen.

I was thinking the same thing. Does Buffalo have the hotel capacity to support that many visitors? I'm not sure that it does.

The more I read about Coleman, the more I like. It looks like he doesn't take himself too seriously, but he does take the game of football (his job) very seriously. If a slow 40 time at the Combine is his only flaw, he's going to turn out to be a good one. He's a physical specimen, he's been very productive in college and appears to be a hard worker and team player who is genuinely excited to be a Buffalo Bill.

You're not wrong, however consider that ALL coaches make occasional mistakes, even those that are considered the best in the business such as Belichick, Reid, Harbaugh, etc. It happens in other sports too.

Play for the Chiefs

I believe that Claypool has the best shot of the bunch to make the team and contribute. Here's why: Measurables: he's got the best combination of size and speed from the group. He's big and also very fast. Age: at 25, he's still a young guy who may not have hit his prime. He's old enough that his body is fully developed and he's been in the league a few years, so he has experience with the physical demands of the NFL. A 20-21 year old coming out of college might still be growing/developing and a skill position guy over the age of 28 might start to be on the decline. Draft Pedigree: He was drafted fairly high and was not a reach. He has talent that was recognized around the league. Career Path/Incentive: He's now on his 4th team in the last couple of years. He's running out of chances to realize his potential. Playing with Josh Allen, he could have a big year and secure a long-term lucrative deal with the Bills or another team. As stated above by another poster, Claypool's biggest problem is his attitude. If that can be improved, he has the talent to be very good. As stated by yet another poster, he needs to get his head out of his ass. Many of these other guys have physical limitations that they may not be able to overcome - too slow, too small, fragile, bad hands, etc. - whereas Claypool has to overcome the mental aspect of the game, which may be a more realistic obstacle to overcome. Playing with Josh Allen, a great leader who can get the ball into receivers' hands all over the field, can go a long way to helping improve the attitude of a receiver. Claypool was pretty good when he played with Hall of Fame QB Ben Roethlisberger, but Ben was on the downside of his career at that point, so Claypool may have been even better playing with Ben at the top of his game, a level at which Josh Allen plays (and arguably, Allen plays at an even at a higher level). Playing with Allen is a benefit to all of the guys on the list, but Claypool has the most talent to take advantage of it.

After a rocky start with the Bills, Jones has put together a decent career and has made some money for himself. Absent his history with the team, he would have been a decent FA signing, along the same lines as Cephyus, Claypool, and Valdez-Scantling. They're all veteran WRs who have had some success in the league but haven't been at the top of their game for a couple of seasons (for various reasons). Of the four, Claypool has the highest ceiling. Jones won't win any MVP awards with the Cardinals, but he'll be part of the WR rotation and make some catches to help the team.

Based on what I'm seeing on this board, I'm starting to think that I'm faster than Coleman. And I have not played football in decades, and I was a not-so-fast (OK, slow) offensive and defensive lineman. Pretty safe to say he's got better hands.

I think that if Bernard can stay healthy, he'll be fine. I believe last season was his "sophomore" season already.

I agree with the bolded sentence. That's how I was interpreting the question. Based on that, I think the 3 guys most likely to fit the bill are Elam, Shorter, and Dorian Williams. There are all drafted guys who have not played a whole lot and could be perceived as trending towards bust status based on their lack of production, but given the opportunity to play a lot, could surprise us all and look very good. These guys are all more athletic than Bernard, but it remains to be seen if they have football IQ to apply their talent on the field. So far Elam has not consistently done that (although he has made an occasional big play), but still could, and the other 2 guys have had very limited opportunities to show what they can do. I'm not going out on a limb to say that all 3 of these guys will have big seasons like Bernard did last year, but if any players on the roster were to "break-out" in similar fashion to Bernard, these would be the ones. I'm excluding rookies, veterans who have already produced, and guys coming from other teams.

I don't watch a ton of SEC football, but whenever I saw Kentucky highlights, Davis was always making big plays. I think he'll turn out to be a very good pick for the Bills and successful NFL RB.

I'm a huge Michigan fan and read just about everything that's published about the team. This is the first I've heard of them using AI. All I've read about was people attending other teams' games and using their iPhones to film the other teams' sideline. I just did a few Google searches and could not find anything. If you have a link to the AI stuff, please share it. I recently read a book about AI and I could see where it might be used to help gain an advantage in sports. I'd say that the Sabremetrics used by Billy Beane with the Oakland A's (no relation to the Buffalo Sabres or the Bills' Brandon Beane) to build a cost-effective team would be a form of AI, and most major sports teams now have analytics staff. That said, as far as I know, the AI used by Beane was limited to assessing statistics and not applied to film.

I wasn't a big fan of Murphy as a play-by-play guy. He had huge shoes to fill left by Van Miller and he wasn't quite able to do it. Few could. It's similar to what is going on with the Sabres (Dan Dunleavy taking over for legend Rick Jeanneret). I agree with all that say that Murphy is a great guy, by all accounts, and a mainstay on the Buffalo sports scene for a long time. I wish him improved health and a happy retirement. I have not listened to the temp guys the Bills have used to fill in for Murph (I'm out of market), but based on what's been said here, it appears they need to look for someone currently outside of the organization to be the new full-time voice of the team.

Newton always struck me as a "me first" kind of guy and not a great team guy. I don't know if he dubbed himself "Superman" but he certainly enjoyed the nickname and liked to draw attention to himself. He often appeared more interested in his wild hats and fashion than football. He was a great guy when things were going well, but a jerk when things didn't. And his failure to dive for that football with the Super Bowl on the line created a lasting image. Josh Allen is very different. He's a team first guy who will do anything to win. He would have been the first one in the scrum with a loose football late in the Super Bowl. Both players are very talented, but Allen has been more consistent. Note that my comments about Newton are from what I, as a fan, have observed. I'm not in the locker room, training room, or huddle, so maybe he's a great teammate and hard worker (that's what Belichick said about him in New England) and I have it all wrong.

I think Beane is always looking to improve the roster and will be open-minded, but I don't see him making any major splashes at WR. I believe that his plan is as follows: Coleman to contribute as rookie Shakir to continue his upward trend from the latter part of last season Samuel to play well and contribute a lot Two or more players to emerge from among: Isabella, Hamler, Shavers, Shorter, Ceyphus, Claypool And also: Kincaid to continue playing well as a pass catcher Knox to contribute more as a pass catcher The RBs (primarily Cook and Davis) to contribute as pass catchers The Bills to have a dominant running game from the RB position (with some Allen sprinkled in) The last 4 bullet points are correlated to the offense that Brady intends to run, which will be different than what Daboll and Dorsey ran in the past.

I thought that Hamlin was a pretty good depth player in his first couple of years in the league, but he was playing a lot around the time of his injury and has played a little bit since and he hasn't been very good. There are worse 4th or 5th safeties in the NFL, but there are also better ones. The Bills like Cam Lewis better because he can play corner too - he's more versatile. Trading Hamlin to Pittsburgh for a conditional 7th rounder in the future would make sense for both clubs. If he met certain playing time or statistical targets, the Bills would get the pick and if he didn't, no compensation would come back. Most likely, he wouldn't hit the targets, and the pick would just be a gesture so that Hamlin could avoid the "stigma" of being cut. I guess it would depend on whether the Steelers needed backup safety help. Maybe they don't.

Trading for a conditional 7th (that may never be realized) might be the best for everyone involved. It saves the Bills from having to cut a popular public figure and it saves the Steelers from giving up much in the way of compensation.

I'm not much of an autograph guy. It was different when I was a kid. As a grown man who is older than Brady, I admire his talent and accomplishments, but I don't idolize him (same with guys like Josh Allen). If I met Brady, I'd love to chat with him. We graduated from the same university and I'm a huge football fan. I also used to do yoga. He didn't "do" anything to the Bills that he didn't do the rest of the NFL. The guy was a master at his craft and seems to be a good guy. He did an interview on Howard Stern a year or two ago and he came across as very personable and entertaining. I own an AFC Champions hat signed by Jim Kelly and a hockey puck autographed by Gil Perreault. Both were gifts. I like them both. If I had a Brady jersey or a Josh Allen jersey, it would be cool to have them signed, but if I ran into a famous athlete at a bar, restaurant or charity event, I wouldn't ask them to sign a napkin, my shirt, etc. I have a signed copy of Marv Levy's book that my wife had him sign for me at a book signing, but when I saw Marv in the grocery store in Chicago, I had a brief conversation with him as we each picked out our produce. I didn't ask him to sign anything. And while I'm older than Tom Brady, I'm not older than Marv! God willing I live as long as he has.

Based on the lengthy, emotional farewell to Buffalo letter that his wife wrote a few months ago, it seems unlikely to me that Hyde is coming back. If something has changed, I'm OK with him coming back on a 1-year, team-friendly deal, and as long as the Bills are not looking at him penned in as a starter. If Hyde was a backup, and there was an injury, who would you rather have come into the game - Hyde or Hamlin? Hyde or Cam Lewis? I like Hyde as a backup, spot-starter, and mentor to the younger guys (Bishop in particular), but not as a full-time starter.

I think the hope is that 1 or 2 of these reclamation projects (Claypool, Hamler, Isabella, Cephus) or untested younger players (Shorter, Shavers) will emerge, and if so, they have some great additions to the WR room at bargain-basement prices, which is all they can afford. Odds are that at least 1 of them will emerge, much less so 2. I feel like Beane treated the OL similarly in the past and it didn't work out too well. He'd bring in a bunch of veteran guys who may have been past their prime, stuck behind someone else, or had potential that was unrealized due to injuries, hoping that 1 or 2 would pan out. He ended up having to spend some FA money (Morse, McGovern) and draft capital (Torrence) to get it right. Here's hoping it goes better at WR! Arguably, keeping the comparison alive, Coleman=Torrence and Samuel=McGovern as far as the "real investments" and the other guys are anybody's guess at low prices.

My initial reaction to the Claypool signing was not good. The guy is the opposite of a "process" guy and his career has flamed out. After reading some of the comments here, I have a new perspective. What do they have to lose? The guy is only 25, he has talent, speed, and size. He doesn't cost much, and his career is on the line. He'll be playing with the best QB and in the best offense of his NFL career. Maybe he turns it around. If so, he's a steal. If he doesn't, he is cut and the Bills move on. I've got to think that the Bills culture is strong enough that if they guy is a problem, they'll dump him like a hot potato. If they're willing part ways with Diggs after all of the production he's had with the team, they'll have no qualms about getting rid of a guy like this, if he's a negative influence. I guess you could say the same about Cephys, although he has a much lower ceiling than Claypool. Smoot and Jones look like decent depth signings, Smoot in particular.

I fully agree with the first part, which I bolded. As to the 2nd part - Breece Hall - I don't know. He had a bad injury, so that may slow him down. I think he's a better back than Harris and Richardson, but I agree that the impact on a team between a guy like Hall, who was drafted in the first round, or a guy like Ray Davis, drafted in the fourth round, may not be all that great. This played out in Pittsburgh with Harris and Warren, and to some extent in Dallas between Elliott and Pollard a few years ago. You also have KC where Clyde-Edwards Helaire, a 1st round RB, has been pushed down the depth chart by Isiah Pacheco, a 7th round pick.

I went to London last year and had a good time, except for the Bills performance during the game itself. While I think it's an unfair advantage for the Jags to get back-to-back games there, the Bills traveled there much too late in the week and didn't do themselves any favors. They could have handled it much better and been more ready to play on Sunday. The Bills also suffered some serious injuries during that game and were starting to play poor football at that point in the season. So, it wasn't all on the NFL. Despite the advantage to the Jags, I'm not going to get too worked up about all of this. The Bills were the better team, and over the course of a 17-game season, they proved it and the Bills ended up having a better season than the Jags. The Chiefs were the best team in the NFL, and despite having to go on the road during the playoffs, they, too proved their superiority in the end. (The Bills were close, but not quite there.) My point is that while these scheduling quirks give one team a slight advantage over another, in the long run, the best teams win out and it's not worth getting too upset about it.

Correct. I've heard he's slow.