msw2112

This name isn't that bad. Goog - eh - mos. It's hardly a Hoomanawanui, Fuamatu-Ma'afala, or even Umenyiora.

Need bodies for training camp and preseason games. Maybe a team gets a bit lucky once in a while and finds a late-bloomer or hidden gem who makes the Practice Squad or REALLY lucky and one of these guys makes the 53. But most likely training camp fodder to take reps.

Time will tell. The Bills have been among the league's best teams for the last few seasons. They choked away a golden opportunity with 13 seconds. I'm willing to give them a pass last year due to injuries and a lot of crazy circumstances. And, frankly, Cincinnati was either a) simply better, or b) just a bad matchup for the Bills. It's hard to have watched the Bills game in Cincy up to the point at which Hamlin went down and say that the Bills were going to win that game. The playoff game was more of the same. The Bills have made some changes since then - moving on from Frazier, adding interior OL talent, arguably upgrading the RB and WR rooms, adding a proven pass rusher, etc. Maybe these changes get the Bills over the hump, maybe they don't. I'm not of the mindset that McD should be canned if the Bills don't win the Super Bowl, but I do need to see better play in the playoffs and overall improvement, or I may move into that camp. For example, let's say the Bills win the AFC and get to the Super Bowl and lose to the Eagles. Did they make stupid decisions that cost them a game they should have won? Were they unprepared for the game? Or did they lose because the Eagles were simply better? If you look back at the Bills Super Bowl teams, they were better than the Giants, but were outcoached (both in preparation and execution on the field), and lost the game. The other 3 games, they were not the better team. Marv Levy admits as much. If you look at basketball, there were great Utah Jazz teams with Stockton and Malone that were prepared and well-coached, but they were not as good as the Michael Jordan Bulls, so they never won a ring. The Jordan Bulls also took out a great Phoenix Suns team lead by Charles Barkley. Those teams reached the finals but never got a ring because the other team was just better. It wasn't because their coach was bad or deserved to be fired. So McD's future, to me, is not necessarily based on the end result, but based on how the end result is achieved. If the Bills are the best team (subjective, I realize) this season and still find a way to not win it all, then a coaching change will be necessary. The Bills were the best team in the first half of last season, but they were not the best team in the 2nd half, for a variety of reasons that I don't think were McD's fault (Allen's injury, lack of OL talent, Miller injury, Hyde injury, Hamlin situation, etc.)

This used to be my favorite show - back with Len and Nick. I continued to enjoy it to some extent after that. It's gotten worse and worse over the years. Brandon Marshall is terrible and I can't stand watching him. Ray Lewis is better, but not that much. I stopped watching in the last few years for a number of reasons: The decrease in quality of the show, as mentioned above The fact that it keeps moving from network to network, so it's hard to find NFL highlights are available in numerous different places these days, so the value of the highlights isn't what it once was

The Bills offense last season put up good stats, scored a lot of points and was largely effective (outside of the Bengals playoff game and loss at the Jests). That said, even when the team was winning games, the offense just seemed be out of synch. There was no rythm to it like it had in the previous couple of seasons. Points were scored and games were won (14 of them, including playoffs), but things were disjointed. Was it Dorsey's inexperience as an OC? A new OL coach? Poor talent on the OL? Allen's injuries? Maybe a combination of all of these things? I don't know the answer, but I hope that whatever it was, they can move past it this season. The additions on the OL, and at TE, WR, and RB should help, as well as Dorsey's having a full season under his belt and an opportunity to reflect back on what worked and what didn't last season. I'd like to see more "moving the chains" football - slants, screens, handoffs to RBs, etc. - with the occasional deep shot. An effective short game should pull safeties in and loosen things up down the field. Play action stops being effective if the ball is never handed off, but if there's a legitiate RB running game, it can be highly effective in freezing the linebackers and helping receivers get open down the field. I believe that the additions that were made to the offense will allow the Bills to effectively opreate this way, so it's up to Dorsey to work it into the game plans and stay committed to it.

Did you have to pay for the first month? I looked into this VERY BRIEFLY and I thought that the pause took place at the end of the month in which you requested it. If I sign up today or tomorrow and want to pause immediately, would I still have to pay for June?

He did pay Mario Williams and I'm sure that Jim Kelly made close to top QB dollar for his era. And Takeo Spikes was paid. And Bryce Paup. There were also rumors at one point in the drought that he was willing to pay Mike Shanahan top coaching dollar to come to Buffalo (which Shanahan rejected). So there are several examples of Ralph and the Bills paying out the big bucks, but I agree that there were lots of times during the lengthy Ralph era were Ralph appeared to be unwilling to spend at the levels that the competition was spending.

Cook is a good player who could help the Bills and he's probably more talented than any RB currently on the roster. That said, the Bills RB room is set for the upcoming season and there is not enough cap room to accommodate the contract that Cook would command. Cook also has a history of injuries, of which I'm sure the Bills are aware and wary of.

McKenzie is a very athletic player who is capable of making big plays and having big games, but he doesn't appear to have the mental makeup and focus to be a consistent or reliable player. He also seems to be a good teammate and member of the community. Unfortunately, based on the present roster construction, there was not a place for him with the Bills this season. I wish him well and hope he succeeds with the Colts.

This guy was a decent player at one time and would have helped our OL in the last couple of seasons, but I agree with most here that the Bills have adequately addressed the position this offseason to the point that there's no need to take a look at Norwell.

Given that his stuff wasn't behind a paywall (at least most of it), I have read his column a number of times in recent years. I thought his stuff was solid, particularly his Sabres articles. Nothing earth-shattering one way or another, but good, solid, old school sportswriting. I thought his writing was fairly high caliber, considering the size of the market he was operating out of. I wish him well in retirement. I hope that this was a planned retirement and not a forced one.

It's interesting that most of the picks here are WRs. I'll go with Shakir.

I went with Week 9 against Cincy. That gives him half of the season to recover and get into game shape, but also has him available for a challenging game in which the Bills surely want to make a statement. It may also be an important game for playoff seeding. I think he'll be used sparingly and in key games/situations with the hopes of having him as healthy as he can be for the playoffs.

No doubt. New York State has very good universities, but lacks a "flagship" school and lacks a school with a big time sports program. Syracuse is the closest thing, but it's a private school and doesn't contain the state's name in its own name. UB has an occasional jaunt into the top-25 in football or basketball, but then its coach moves on to a more major program and things regress. And as far as branding, when they tried to market UB sports as "New York" it went over like a lead balloon and they went back to "Buffalo."

I'm a die-hard Bills and Sabres fan. I've lived away from Buffalo for 30+ years, but my loyalty has never waivered. I've tried (not very hard) to like the teams in the cities in which I've lived, but just can't do it. As a kid in Buffalo, after the Braves were gone, I enjoyed the NBA era of Magic-Bird/Lakers-Celtics. I became a Celtics fan and liked them for many years. As things changed over the years, I started liking the Celtics less and less. Maybe as I grew up and learned about "Mass-holes" I decided that I couldn't support one of their teams. I'm now enjoying seeing them getting thrashed by the Miami Heat in the playoffs. I'm a Syracuse and Michigan fan, college wise. Years ago, the Miami drafted Rony Seiklay from Syracuse and Glen Rice from Michigan, so I became a Heat fan. After LeBron James went there, I started to dislike the Heat. Now they have an undrafted guy from Michigan, Duncan Robinson, and lots of other unheralded undrafted guys, so I like the Heat again. When in doubt, I usually support "underdog" teams from smaller markets. Was happy when the Milwaukee Bucks did well. Was hoping the Sacramento Kings would win in the playoffs. My exception is baseball, where I grew up a Yankees fan, as my dad and brothers are all big fans and I grew up in Buffalo watching them on cable on "11 Alive" (anyone remember the days of broadcaster Phil "Scooter" Rizzuto?). Outside of that, I like seeing smaller market teams succeed. So what I am getting to, is that in leagues where you have hometown teams, people tend to be lifelong, die hard fans. In leagues where your hometown doesn't have a team, you find connections to a franchise (could be certain players, could be a city you've visited or lived in, could be you like the uniforms, etc.) and can be a fan, but it's not necessarily lifelong or die hard fandom. For those of us from Buffalo, I would guess that most love the Bills and Sabres as die-hards, and for the NBA and MLB, your allegiances may exist, but are not as strong. If you went to college and your school had a big-time sports program, you're probably a die-hard of that team, but otherwise your allegiances are probably more like your NBA and MLB ones.

When I visit, if not staying with friends, I usually stay in a hotel somewhere near the UB North Campus. There are several options, most are very affordable, the area is clean and safe, plenty of free parking and easy access to all of the highways to get to the airport, downtown, the Bills stadium, etc. There's a big Wegmans where you can get everything you need for a tailgate, the original Duff's is nearby for wings, and if you want to go downtown to the bars, you can Uber for $25 or less. It's not a walkable area, so if you wanted everything within walking distance, I would recommend something in downtown Buffalo. I came in for the Green Bay-Bills game last season and stayed in this area and everything went smoothly. We took an Uber downtown for a Sabres game and to hit the bars before/after and drove out to the stadium on Sunday for the game. It's also fairly close to Niagara Falls, if you have interest in going there during your visit. We didn't have time for that during our brief stay.

I agree with this. While there a lot of questions with the Bills, none of these things turning out well for them is a huge stretch. Except for maybe the MLB situation. Even there, you've got to figure that, with 5 or 6 guys with varying degrees of experience, size, etc. that one of them should emerge enough to be a competent player. I'm not expecting an All-Pro out of this group, but if one guy can make the routine plays, and an occasional big play (counter-balanced by getting burned from time to time), that should be good enough. I also think that Dorian Williams will eventually be that guy and that he could end up being a good one. I think the Bills like him too, but Beane's comments about Williams being a backup to Milano were carefully made, because he doesn't want to put too much pressure on the kid coming out of the gate.

I love this post. I always thought that Ruben Brown was a good player and seemed/seems like a good guy. That said, he was a solid veteran starting guard, not a perennial All-Pro. I've seen posts in this board in past years saying that Brown is a fringe Hall of Fame candidate....To me, that's crazy talk. But he was a reliable guard with a known name. I'd say something similar about former Bills tackle John Fina. He was a solid starter. Good NFL player. I don't know him personally, but I have a couple of connections in Arizona and elsewhere that know his family and have met him personally and say he's a GREAT dude. I'd love to meet him some time and shoot the sh*t about his Bills career. That said, I think he was a bit over-rated as a player. I think that he was a good starter on a great team, so he had name recognition. (If I do ever meet him, I hope he doesn't know what I said about him here....He and I are about the same age and I can hold my own, but he's a bit bigger than me and a former professional football player, so I think he might be able to take me).

Houston seems like good fit for the Bills on a short-term deal, if they can come to terms. Obviously, the Bills don't have a lot of cash to spend, but they do present one of the better opportunties to win a championship. I suspect Von Miller won't be ready (or at least not 100%) until later in the season, so this would be a huge help until Miller gets back and having both of them on the field later in the season could cause some major challenges for opposing offenses. This isn't just a "sign him because he's available and we've heard of him" type of deal. This guy is available and could really be a difference maker without breaking the bank. Unfortunately, the bank might already be closed. I don't think that the other two DEs we recently signed would preclude us from signing Houston. Those guys are camp bodies/kicking-the-tires types. Neither is going to be paid much and both are long shots to make the team.

My kids are off of school that week for "fall break." When I was a kid, we had "spring break," but "fall break" did not exist. The good news is that my wife likes to take an international family trip during fall break and was planning a trip to Ireland that week. Hearing about the Bills schedule, she decided to route our trip through London. Airline tickets have been purchased and I will be at the game! I registered this morning for notice of the public ticket sale. If anyone has any more information about tickets, I'd appreciate it. I look forward to seeing some of you there!

I get where the OP is coming from. In my mind, I'm fine with Allen doing all this off-the-field stuff as long as he can handle it and it doesn't distract him from his primary job. I haven't seen anything to date indicating that he can't handle it. It's true that some guys handle fame, fortune, and publicity better than others. I recall Andrew Luck, early in his career, intentionally stayed out of the limelight to limit distractions to his football career. That was the right choice for him at the time. I think he did some commercials later on - perhaps even after his career was cut short by injuries. Josh didn't do much early in his career either, but I suspect that's because he wasn't the huge star then that he is now. Luck was a much bigger name coming in. For now, Josh is fine. He's so competitive and invested in winning, for himself, the Bills, and the City of Buffalo. I suspect that if he felt that the off-the-field stuff was getting out of hand and negatively impacting his football career, that he'd scale it back.

And as an avid Michigan fan, I used to say about Tom Brady "this guy is going to be a great NFL quarterback." In college, he was AUTOMATIC on 3rd down, no matter the situation. He just had an "it" factor, playing his best in important moments, yet his coach Lloyd Carr platooned him with Drew Henson in Brady's senior year. Henson was a 5-star, all-world recruit and threated to leave if he didn't play, so Brady got screwed out of playing time he deserved. Henson went on to play briefly for the Cowboys, and played some baseball for the Yankess, but ultimately flamed out as a professional athlete, and last I heard, he was a scout for the Yankees. Did I think Brady woudl be in the GOAT conversation? Of course not, I just thought he'd be a very good NFL starter. Same with Milano. Did I think he'd be a very good NFL starting LB? Yes. Did I think he'd be a first-team All-Pro? No. So my hunches were generally correct about Brady and Milano, but I also thought Josh Rosen would be a good one. I knew Aaron Maybin would be a bust (as did most of us), but thought JP Losman was going to be a really good player (the next Brett Favre?). I've had my hits and misses. I have not sent my resume to any NFL teams. Sometimes it's just entertaining to see how certain guys that you have hunches on turn out. I'd find it interesting to hear stories on players that others on this board had hunches about and how they turned out. I always think about the guy who screamed to the high heavens on this board that the Bills should draft Patrick Mahomes and that Mahomes was going to be great. I tuned him out at the time, but looking back, I tip my hat to him.

I knew Milano would be good. Just an oddity, but he was coached by Don Brown at BC, who had the #1 defense in the country at the time and then went on to be the DC at Michigan, which is my alma mater and the one college football team I follow very closely. Brown's defense is keyed by a hybrid safety/linebacker that he calls the "Viper" and it's usually one of the best athletes on the defense. Given that Milano was the Viper at BC on the nation's #1 defense, I figured he'd be a good player and was thrilled when the Bills got him in the 5th round. After Brown got to Michigan, he made Jabril Peppers his Viper there and Peppers was a first round NFL draft pick by the Browns, then got traded to the Giants in the OBJ trade and is now with the Patriots. Milano has turned out to be the better NFL player, but probably because he's a little bit bigger and playing OLB rather than Safety (Peppers is a Safety). I have no idea if our new LB from Tulane will be any good and I'm no great forecaster of NFL talent - it's just a coincidence that I knew about Milano coming in. That said, it's fun to be right once in a while. I also wanted the Bills to draft Josh Rosen, so there's that (remember, he was the most "NFL ready" of the QBs that year).

For what it's worth, I think that Davis will work hard this offseason and come back and have a very strong season next year. While I don't envision 4 TDs every game like he did in the KC playoff game, I do think he'll look more like the #2 everyone hoped he would be last season. I think he has talent, he's a hard worker, he had a bit of a disappointing season last year, and he's in line to get paid soon. It's a great confluence of events that should result in a strong season in 2023-24.

I don't put a whole lot of stock in what some third-party thinks of the Bills' personnel and these types of lists are completely subjective. That said, just to play along, I think the Bills are ranked too low. I'd put them in the 12-15 range, and I think that after playing with Josh Allen, Harty and Sherfield will have much better stats, Shakir will improve by having another season under his belt, and with some better OL play, the Bills passing game would improve overall. If Kinkaid lines up in a slot WR position, do those snaps count as WR snaps or TE snaps? The same question would apply to all teams (and to RBs lining up as WRs, such as Cook or Hines). Whether or not TEs and/or RBs would be included, I think the Bills will rank higher on THIS chart a year from now. Also, I think the Bills will have one of the top 5 "passing games" if you include TEs and RBs. I realize that the Bills RBs have not been much of a part of the passing game in recent years, but I'm optimistic that this will change this year. Dorsey will have a full season under his belt, Allen won't have an injured elbow that causes pain on short passes, and Cook and Hines will have had more time and experience with the team so that they can be better integrated.