msw2112

I have not done an overseas game and would love to. My friends who went to the last London game had a blast. That said, I think it's a disadvantage for a team to take an overseas trip during the season. It can take a couple of weeks for a person's body clock to adjust to the drastically different time zone, not to mention the hassles of dealing with passports, packing for a long trip, unfamilar food, etc. The Bills are a contender, and the league is such that the margin of error is slim. One bad loss/one bad play (Jax game/Allen slip on 4th down at Tennessee) can throw off playoff seeding and cost a team its season. If the guys are off-kilter for a week or two due to traveling overseas, it might cost them a close game that they would otherwise win. Thus, I'd rather see an overseas game in a season when the Bills are not serious contenders, as the potential negative impact would not be as significant.

That's absolutely true.

I hadn't thought of this comparison, but it's a good one. Think about the ridiculous statement issued by Eichel's former agent that bombed and got him nowhere in his efforts to resolve the situation with the Sabres. He then fired the agent and got a new one who properly handled the situation and worked with the Sabres to achieve a solution. Ultimately, a deal was worked out that was benefical to everyone involved. And this is the off-the-ice/off-the-field stuff. It is also correct that Murray pouts and shows terrible body language during games when things don't go his way. Eichel did the same when he was playing for the Sabres. It's a terrible demonstration of leadership.

I saw this and foolishly read it. I was thinking the EXACT SAME THING as the OP. I am so thankful that the Bills have a guy like Josh Allen as their QB and not this clown. The talk is that Murray is frustrated and embarassed by the Cardinals' playoff loss to the Rams, but feels that he's being treated as the scapegoat. Contrast that with Allen, who takes responsibility for every loss, whether or not he's the reason the team lost. He's a true class act and a leader, not a pouty punk like Murray. On the pure skill side, Allen is the far superior player, and he continues to improve and evolve every year. Murray, on the other hand, has regressed during his time in the NFL and I believe that he's not going to get any better. Defenses have figured him out and have developed ways to shut him down. He's an excellent athlete and will continue to make plays and have some success, but he'll never get over the top. I'm not sure he ever wins a playoff game.

There are three kinds of Tight Ends: 1. Blocking TEs - great in the run game, will catch the rare pass here or there. Think Lee Smith. These guys are not hard to find. Mid-to-late round draft picks, veteran FAs, UDFAs. 2. "Reliable" Receiving TE's - can block and also have good hands. Make catches over the middle, usually for first downs in 3rd and medium. Think Jessie James on the Bears/formerly of the Steelers. Tommy Sweeney might be one of these guys, but hasn't quite developed to being consistently that. There are lots of these guys out there and they are not hard to come by. Mid-to-late round draft picks, veteran FAs, UDFAs. 3. Athletic TEs - these are the next level guys that can be a primary receiving target, even down the field. They make game-changing plays. Guys like Kelce, Kittle, etc. Knox is not to the level of Kelce and Kittle - two of the best ever - but he has that kind of talent and is developing into one of those guys. These guys are higher round draft picks and are hard to come by. The Bills have one. Lock him up to a longer term contract now, before he prices himself out of the market.

I agree that the Bills need to make some tweaks to give more looks to opponents and make the defense less predictable. There are talented players on the defense, but not enough guys that can take over a game under all circumstances. With a little more creativity and deception, they can improve. They need the defensive equivalent of the improved run and short passing games that helped our offense improve. A full healthy season from Phillips, paired with Oliver, should solidify the interior line and some new looks might help Rousseau, Basham and Epenesa get to the QB more. A healthy Tre will be a huge boon too.

Seems like a good deal on many fronts: 1. Keep a top special teams performer on the team 2. Keep a great athlete and contributor on defense (who may contribute more in the coming years, as the Bills are thin at DB) 3. Keep one of "your own" - which sends a positive message to other free agents 4. Pay what appears to be a reasonable salary, in NFL terms

I'm going to talk out of both sides of my mouth here and be a total hypocrite, but here goes: 1. Generally speaking, I don't think there should be public funding for professional sports stadia. They are used by private entites to generate private revenue. If the state/county/city own the facility and rent it back to the team, and it can be shown that the rent and/or stadium taxes results in the state/county/city breaking even or making a profit, then I'm OK with it. That said, and I am not an economist, but from what I have read, these situations are always money-losers for the public entities. 2. Specifically as a BILLS FAN, I support public funding. If we are talking a true capitalist/free-market concept, the Pegulas could move the Bills to bunch of other markets (Austin, San Antonio, Portland (OR), Toronto, maybe even St. Louis) and make more money than they would in Buffalo. In order for a small market to compete with larger markets and get or retain a team, the community may need to step up and help out. Given the positive psychological impact of having major league sports in a market such as Buffalo, I believe it's worth it to have the taxpayers contribute. I realize that the Pegulas will make money either way, as the NFL TV contract is the primary source of revenue, but there's no question they could make more money (A LOT MORE) in a larger market. In larger markets, teams can have more skyboxes and fancy bars & restaurants in the stadium, charge more for tickets, charge more for concessions and parking, get more corporate sponsorships at higher rates, etc. I have been to NFL games in Dallas and LA, where it costs $100 or more more to park your car. Would that fly in Buffalo?

This guy looks like a good option who probably won't be there at 25. Ultimately, you have to see how the board falls. The Bills are in a decent position to take the BPA, but also have some needs on the interior OL, backup TE, CB, and potentially WR, so they'll have to see who is available from those positions when their pick comes up.

This post made me laugh. I have never seen this Brandon quote before now, but it reminded me of a running joke I had with a co-worker. We had a sales rep from one of our vendors who used the word "verticals" in every other sentence. We had a running wager on how many times she would use that word whenever we had a meeting or call with her. She never disappointed. But "incubator" and "accelerant" are pretty good. Let's throw in some "throughput," "collaboration," and "deliverables" while we think "outside of the box."

Does anyone know what position he is taking on the Bills' staff? Looks like he has coached DBs in the past.

1. mid 1970s - was too young to remember before then 2. a) first general memory: watching the Bills with my grandfather when was a little kid - can't peg the year, but it was in the 1970s b) first specific memory: playing touch football in the streets with my brothers and friends while listening to the Van Miller broadcasts on Sunday afternoons. I distincly remember November 22, 1981 when the Bills beat New England on a hail mary to Roland Hooks. https://www.buffalobills.com/video/this-date-in-history-hooks-hail-mary-beats-pats-16341209 . We stopped playing to listen to the call and were jumping up and down screaming with joy when the play happened. 3. The Roland Hooks catch was #3. Being at the Greatest Comeback playoff game was #2. #1, the most exciting, was being at the game against the Broncos on September 30, 1990 when the Bills scored 3 TDs in 77 seconds to come back and beat the Broncos. That was the loudest and craziest I have ever seen the stadium at a Bills game. https://www.buffalorumblings.com/2010/9/30/1703600/september-30-1990-bills-score-20-points-in-77-seconds 4. While it's hard not to go with John McCargo, and it's difficult to pick one guy, I'll go with Darryl Talley (and can I say Fred Jackson too?). For a current player, I don't know if I could pick anyone other than Josh Allen. 5. My forum name says a lot about my initials and one of my favorite albums of all time.

I think the Pats' newer uniforms are ugly - the old ones were much better. Same for the Broncos. That said, I really don't care that much about other cities' teams. As to the Bills, I did not like the switch to red helmets at the time, but they grew on me and I got used to them. While I still prefer the look of the current helmet, the Bills had their greatest success in the NFL with the red helmets. Below is an image of what sits on the shelf behind my desk in my office.

Burrow: Burrow is an excellent QB - smart, accurate, competitve, tough, and a winner. He's also got some mobility. All that said, he just is not as physically gifted as the other three, as a runner/athlete or as far as pure arm talent. Ultimately, his defense and FG kicker, with a clunker of a half by the Chiefs offense, got him to the Super Bowl. Herbert: I honestly have not seen enough of Herbert to make a full analysis, but he seems to be the closest thing to Allen physically. Herbert appears to have the talent, but is more of a quiet leader and hasn't gotten his team to the playoffs yet (I don't believe), so he just hasn't done enough. I'm not sure that he has, or will ever have, the charisma that Allen has. Mahomes: Mahomes has been to 2 Super Bowls, winning 1, and 4 straight AFC Championship games. So if someone wants to annoint him as the top QB, I can live with that. Mahomoes has the arm talent and the scrambling ability, and has made some incredible plays in some games (he deserves a lot of credit for 13 seconds, the Bills failures notwithstanding), but I don't think he's as physical or durable as Allen and Herbert. They are just bigger, stronger guys. He's also wilted in some big games when defenses have adjusted to his style (Super Bowl vs. TB and 2nd half of AFCCG vs. Cincy). So, Bills bias aside, I believe Allen is the best QB in the NFL, has the highest upside, and is the guy that most GMs would take if they had to start a NFL team with one QB.

This is the Bills philosophy and it's probably a good one. Among other things, there is some level of luck involved. For example, if Butker misses the 49 yard FG at the end of regulation, the Bills would have moved on. I won't delve too deep into the subsequent kickoff and 13 seconds, but if one variable changes there, the Bills move on. That's probably not luck, but the margins of victory are razor thin. Had the SF defensive back not have dropped the sure interception right in his hands at the end of the NFC Championship game, the Rams would have been done. Had the refs not called some of the close PI/defensive holdings that they did on the Rams' final drive, they may have been done. The Rams were not the 85 Bears who dominated their way through the playoffs. They had a narrow escape against the 49ers and beat a not-so-great Bengals team by 3. It could have very easily gone the other way. Because of all of the variables being involved, I would argue that getting as many shots as you can is the better philosophy than loading up for one shot. It's probably better to be an 8 or 9 every year than a 10 one time, as there are too many variables that can cause the 10 to lose. The Rams loaded up for the one shot and they hit, but the chances of that happening again are very slim. I guess we'll have to see how they fare over the next decade.

I'm not a Georgia fan, but I would love to have this guy on the Bills. Getting him into the rotation with Phillips (who I would like to re-sign) and Oliver on the DL would be a pretty lethal combination. I can't imagine he'll still be on the board when the Bills pick. I also love the GA linebacker Dean, although I don't think the Bills have a high need for a LB and he also won't be available by the time the Bills pick.

While it struck me as odd at first, too, this is likey an entry-level position that involves a lot of administrative work, so it might not matter that much whether it's on offense or defense. I'm just speculating, but maybe "quality control" means making sure that practice and meeting schedules are posted, that a certain number of reps occurred in practice, etc. EDIT: While I was writing this, someone posted that quality control coaches watch a lot of film and help create playbooks.

I don't think it was Haskins alone. Michigan also has an excellent back in Blake Corum and had recruited 5-star Donovan Edwards. I think that Charbonnet saw a crowded backfield, combined with a desire to be closer to home (he's from CA) and the poor season Michigan had in 2020 and decided to move on. It worked out for everyone in that Charbonnet had an excellent season at UCLA and Michigan had a dominant running attack led by Haskins and Corum, with flashes by Edwards. At the team level, Michigan rebounded from 2-4 to 12-2 and a Big 10 title and playoff apperance and UCLA rebounded from 3-4 to 8-4.

I have a major Michigan bias, but I love Haskins. He's not a "speed" guy, but he runs hard and gets ton of yards after contact. There's not a lot of hesitation and dancing around when he gets the ball - he hits the hole hard and quickly. He's very effective on screens and slants, when used that way. He's probably a little bit faster than he's given credit for because of his physical style. He is a converted LB and seems to stay healthy despite all the contact. He also has a knack for showing up in big moments (3rd and 4th and short situations) and in big games (5 TD against Ohio State). He gains yards even when the defense knows the run is coming. With Haskins on the roster, Josh would not have to be the Bills' short yardage back anymore. I just saw that he was the 10th rated RB in this draft, so he can likely be had in the mid-to-late rounds. I think he'd be a great value if available at that point in the draft. I also agree that Breece Hall from Iowa State - a true "speed" back - would also be a great addition. I have not seen him play nearly as much as I have seen Haskins, but from what I have seen, he's the real deal. Fast, quick, runs hard, and seems to show up in big moments.

I'm pretty sure this is the highlight of his career. I frankly don't remember much else. Like a couple of others above, I remember listening to this on the radio as a kid. UPDATE: I just looked it up and Bell had a couple of very good seasons with the Rams after leaving Buffalo, including one where he had over 1,200 rushing yards and led the league with 16 TDs. This particular run was still the longest in his career and undoubtedly the highlight of his Bills career.

I'm a huge Michigan fan and love Hutchinson. I believe he will be a great pro. That said, he's unproven at the NFL level and you never know for certain how a college player will perform at the next level. Over time, Rousseau may end up being the better player. I would not make this trade. Further, as mentioned above, it might actually cost more than this to move up to #1. I'd only make this kind of major trade to move up the board for a franchise QB, and even then, there's no guarantee of the drafted player's NFL success.

My first reaction was that this was an OK, but uninspired hire. He has a lot of experience as a NFL head coach and got the Bears to the Super Bowl with Rex Grossman at QB. Rex Grossman! That said, I did not remember that he had an abysmal 2 years as head coach in Tampa. He also didn't do much at Illinois. So, my re-formed opinion is that this is not a good hire. Frankly, I think Leslie Frazier, Byron Leftwich, Eric Bienamy or Todd Bowles would be all be better hires, if they really felt strongly about a minority hire. Flores would have been a great hire, out of the gate, but I can't see a team hiring a guy is in active litigation against the league. I wonder if Flores would have been a candidate (or hired) if he had not filed the suit. I'd think so.

I think it's "douche" and I agree with you completely.

Cute kid and Diggs came across great. Certainly goes against the "diva" reputation he had when he came over from Minnesota.

It's funny you mention it. I also heard recently that this Allen kid is pretty good. Who knew?