Perry Turtle

For two straight years they did have the #1 rushing offense, and for two straight years they had a bad defense. I would love to see the rushing game from last season paired with McDermott's defense. That combination could get the Bills a home playoff game.

I'd been happy if they kept Sammy or replaced him with a legitimate downfield threat. It was a mistake to leave a gap like that on the roster.

I thought that this team was a playoff team the last two seasons. Seriously, Rex and Rob's mishandling of the defense was total malpractice.

And Whaley built a top five defense and the #1 running game in the NFL, and in the end it wasn't good enough. The front office's inattention to the offense will kill a season that had potential because of the play of the defense. Um, trying to win football games. What else do you think they're trying to do?

Watkins is on a team with multiple downfield threats. That contributes to the season that Gurley is having, as he's facing fewer 8 and 9 man fronts than he did last year. While the Rams receiving group is dividing the targets, their running game is taking advantage and making plays and scoring points. The Bills don't have the down field threat to take the heat off the running game. Watkins, or a receiver like him, would help the offense immensely, because he would move defenders out of the box. Not having Watkins, or a speedy downfield threat to replace him, is a hole for the offense. And since the defense looks as though it's ready to win now, not addressing the lack of speed on offense is frustrating to fans who value wins over draft picks.

That WR group today was terrible. Can't remember the last time that the Bills started a game with a worse set of WRs. The offense lacks explosiveness and the play calling looks like its trying to build 15 play drives. The decision to pass on Watson and trade Watkins looks bad today.

I can't remember the last time the Bills started a game with a worse group of WRs than they did today. The RBs are old and slow. Tolbert a 3rd down back? Really? Shady is great, but he's more quick than fast. The TEs are Clay, a blocking TE, and a converted QB. The offense is slow in the wrong parts, old in the wrong parts, and inexperienced in the wrong parts. And for everyone who is trusting the process, think of this. The Bills offense could be Watson at QB, Watkins at WR, and Shady at RB. With the defense delivering, that offense looks a hell of a lot better than what was out on the field today.

I thought that the Bills had a chance at winning the division the last two seasons, until Ryan's defensive scheme turned out to be hot garbage.

Taylor is completing 81% of his passes out of play action, averaging 12.2 yards per attempt, and has thrown 3 TDs and no interceptions. Considering that the Bills running game isn't lighting the league on fire, those numbers are impressive. http://www.espn.com/espn/now?nowId=1-20887120

I love this line. Bet it early, before it moves.

Maybe everyone was lined up outside the Chick-fil-a, waiting for it to open.

Dennison has made some nice adjustments over the last couple of games.

At the quarter pole of the season, it is time to shift the narrative.

Same old story. Defense caves with the game on the line.

Wanna change the culture? Make defensive stops in the 4th quarter.

Can we trade Zay Jones for a cornerback and 2nd round pick?

So Jones actually caught footballs in college, right?

Gotta be impressed with that challenge.

I think any NFL team is better off if the players needed to get them to the next level are already on the roster. With that in mind, if McBeane decides that Taylor isn't the guy, hopefully Peterman will get enough time to show if he has NFL starting-quality skills. Beyond that, the next question is how many assets will the Bills need to give up next year to draft their baby Jesus QB. If they need to make an RG3 type deal to get their guy, they'll continue to have a roster with major holes, and make the new QBs development even more difficult. If they are in position to have their choice at QB naturally fall to them, then they'll have 5 more picks in the first three rounds and their #1 pick in 2019 to build the roster around their rookie QB. Right now their WR, RT, and RG positions could use an upgrade, and if Glenn is breaking down, LT is also in the mix. In addition to that, Shady, Hughes, K. Williams, Alexander, Humber, Incognto, and Wood are all over 30 next season. So add RB, DE, DT, OLB, LG, and C to positions that will an need upgrade over the next two years. The number of positions that will require an upgrade over the next couple of seasons is alarming. Add to that the need to develop a franchise QB, and the challenge grows.

Yeah I'm saying that they couldn't spend that money elsewhere because they didn't. If McBeane said 'we could have signed Tom Brady, but we didn't, because of Dareus' contract,' then sure, Dareus' contract is a problem. But that didn't happen. In fact, the team gave their 29 year running back a raise and extended their 31 year old center, so money and cap space doesn't seem to be an issue, despite Dareus' contract.

Watkins is a proven 1000 yard receiver who had 9 TDs two seasons ago with Taylor as his QB playing in a run first offense. He's a legit #1 receiver and has to be accounted for whenever he's on the field. He's had injuries, but several other elite receivers have suffered injuries, and their teams didn't dump them. The only reason Watkins was in the final year of his contract was due to the Bills not picking up his option year. And this isn't a "win now" complaint. When the Bills choose their baby Jesus QB next draft, he'll need a #1 receiver, and it's a gamble to believe that the team will have the picks to draft a true #1 WR. I want the new QB to look like Goff does this year, not like Goff from last year. Paying money for weapons like Watkins would have been a good investment to achieve that.

So not going to argue that Dareus needs to play better, but what has his contract prevented the Bills from doing this year? What free agents couldn't they sign because of his contract? What veterans couldn't they extend because of his contract? Again, Dareus needs to play better, but his contract is nothing more than a chew toy for Jerry Sullivan and Bills message boards.

No, I'm a fan of let's dump our young talent so that we create more holes than our draft picks can fill over the next 3 years because they don't fit into a rookie GM's and coach's "process" or "system."

With the current make up of the Bills roster, why are people freaking out over how much Watkins will be paid? Next season, Taylor will be gone and the Bills will have a rookie QB, so they save money there. After that, they have a bunch of well paid 30 year olds who will be falling of the roster over the next few years. The Bills would have easily had the cap space for Watkins. What other up and coming players do the have who will demand big contracts? Watkins contract would not have been a problem unless McBeane is planning to invest heavily in free agency the next few years.

Not to defend Ryan, but a lot of people in the football community will be criticizing the Bills for dumping Watkins and Woods this weekend.