mjd1001

There is one thing about Peterman in the preseason games that reminds me SO MUCH of Trent Edwards. Where are the throws downfield? I don't mean 40 yard fly patterns, but how about crossing patterns or slants where the ball travels 15-20 yards past the line of Scrimmage? It is like watching Trent Edwards all over.

They call a passing play and only give him 1 wr to focus on...then the coaches evaluate that receiver based on how he runs the route and takes in the ball.

I have to think they are simply going to spread the D out with 3 WRs and try to give McCoy more room to run. They will pretty much run as much as last year, if not more...allowing Taylor to audible to a pass on first down if he sees a mismatch (safety on a WR or a big hole in a zone). The thing that I think is overlooked a alot is the TYPE of WRs they have now. Andre Holmes hasn't played well in preseason, but I read a few articles on him (Raiders message boards and an article on Bleacher report) that say he is very good at blocking for a WR. Jorden Mathews the same thing. They signed Bolden and he is known as one of the best blocking WR's in the game. So basically, they are going to try to spread the D-out a bit...and win outside 'run blocking' matchups with Very good blocking WR's. With Taylor, I think identifying mismatches to audible out of a run into a pass will pretty much be the majority of his pre-snap reads. I'm pretty sure you will see this team have more than 500 rushing attempts this year.

Slightly off Topic, but I have tried to watch some of the 'e sports' tournaments or matches on TV. Whether it was madden or a tournament with something like starcraft. When I used to play video games a lot in the past, I LIKED watching othe people (family or friends who were over) play, so I thought it might be interesting to watch the 'pros' do it. BUT, there is something about the presentation of it on TV that is awful. Its hard to watch.

At some point Brady is going to slow down (unless of course the Pats are still finding a way to cheat and have the offense know what the D is going to do). I'm not sure if it is this year, or next year, but that offense isn't going to be dominant with him at the helm for 5 more years.

Luck is already going into his 7th year in the league, it just doesn't seem like that long. Clock is ticking on his 'greatness' so to speak. He is a very good QB, pro-bowl level, but now with injuries racking up, and the team around him doesn't look like it has a chance to be good for a least a few years...I think the days of wondering when he will take over as the next great QB Superstar (Brady, Rodgers, Manning) are coming to an end. For the Colts sake you just want him to be healthy and be almost as good as a Matt Ryan or a Drew Brees.

I think culture is something that can have a SLIGHTLY bigger impact on a team than 'momentum' can have during the course of a game. I think 'momentum' is 90% bogus. The 10% of the time it means something is when the players on the field believe in it AND let it impact their play. Culture has a slightly larger impact on the big picture. I'm not a huge believer in it, but I'd rather have a good culture than a bad one. Talent, injuries, luck and coaching all are WAY ahead of culture when it comes to final results.

Sorry if this was posted already, but I didn't see it https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/madden-nfl-18-review-simulation-dak-wins-mvp-without-zeke-patriots-dont-win-afc-east/ CBS sports sims the entire year using madden, Bills finished ahead of the Pats and won the division. Some highlights: In much less surprising news than during last year's sim, the Atlanta Falcons went 13-3 to secure the best record in the league. The second best record belonged to ....... (wait for it) .... the Buffalo Bills! The Bills, Titans, Ravens, Patriots, Chargers and Raiders made the AFC playoffs -- in that order. On the NFC side of things, the Falcons secured the No. 1 seed, while the Seahawks were No. 2. The Eagles, Saints, Packers and Cowboys followed in order. Confused about, you know, the Bills beating the Patriots, I did some statistical investigation. LeSean McCoy was No. 7 in the MVP voting (although Blake Bortleswas No. 8, so red flags are flying everywhere). The Bills-Patriots thing is just impossible to understand. If I told you the Bills won 11 games and the Patriots didn't win the division, you would assume both Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo were kidnapped by a crazed Rex Ryan and held hostage for months somewhere in Bristol. Nope. Brady threw for 5,355 passing yards and 34 touchdowns while completing 75 percent of his passes. Even wilder? Tyrod Taylorhad 2,069 yards, 16 touchdowns and five interceptions. Nate Peterman had 2,051 yards, 15 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

There is no guarantee Matthews plays 16 games, but odds seem better he will than Watkins. So does this make the Bills better this year? Matthews for 16 games...or a healthy Watkins for 4, an injured Watkins for 4, and no Watkins for 4. No guarantee that happens...but odds seem to favor that outcome rather than a healthy Watkins for 16. In this case, are the Bills a better team with Matthews?

My big questions, how much did they shop Sammy around? Is this the best they could do?

I agree. I would have thought most teams would have done this already.

While I like watching college football, I tend to think its not the best system. Too much money in it now to change, but in my ideal world, I'd like to a minor league or D-league where the players get paid and can get drafted out of that system.

I'll agree also. Of course I want the Bills to stay in Buffalo...but not at such a high cost for what they bring. For me, it just 60 direct hours of entertainment per year...and if the Bills weren't in Buffalo I'd replace that with something else. Once again, I want the Bills here, but it has to be one of the BETTER deals for taxpayers of everything that has come down in the past 20 years for me to be behind it.

My guess is that Beane will put together the roster, but McDermott will look it over before any roster changes are finalized. Or as others have said, if the Bills need a LB, McDermott tells Beane what he would like in a LB...then Beane goes out and finds 2 or 3, with his recomendation for which one to choose. Most of the time McDermott may go with Beanes choice, but McDermott does have the ability to make the final decision if he doesn't agree. The 'leg work' of gathering the names is up to Beane though.

There is no reason why the Bills HAVE to draft a QB in the first round this year. If they think that anyone available for them to pick in the first round will only be slightly better than Tyrod Taylor (or even equal to him) then it doesn't make any sense to draft him. If the Bills think that someone is there for them AND they truly think that person is going to be a lot better than Tyrod (a top 10 at least, maybe a top 5 or 6 qb in the league very soon), then I think the would have no problem drafting one. But if that isn't the case, the shouldn't draft one.

I pretty much dislike any team that is A.) Considered the favorite. I almost always root for the underdog. B.) as obnoxious fans. MOST teams have annoying fans....but when I am subjected to them personally, It kinda turns me to root against that team. C.) Any team that has a lot of national-bandwagon fans. D.) A team that has been successful for a long period of time without any (or many) losing seasons mixed in. If there is ever a team that has all 3 of those...that will get me to the level of hate. Right now, the Pats are on the top of the list....so is Alabama Football...Red Sox are up there too.

I go back and forth on this one. Greatest of all time for his team? I have to say yes. Greatest in all aspects of the game? No. Basically, if you were to Plug Tom Brady into each and every NFL team to 'try him out' in different situations, and then do the same with Peyton Manning...I think Manning would be more successful overall across the board. Brady has won more though.

A few years ago on a 46 hdtv, I never noticed this, but now when watching the games on a bigger TV, Fox's 720p broadcast looks a lot worse than CBS at 1080 resolution. Hoping fox and ABC/Espn will upgrade to 1080 (or uhd) cameras soon.

I think the blame for most of this goes right on Pegula(s). Whether Rex is a good coach or not..whether he wants to pass the ball or run...has a winning season or not....it might not have mattered much. You NEED your coach and GM to be on the same page (or at least in the same chapter. By not allowing Whaley to make the coaching hire, Pegula is the one that made the decision to get to this point. If they really REALLY wanted Rex and wanted him as the 'figurehead' of the team, they they should have asked him to look over a list of GM candidates that he thinks he can work with and share his philosophy. If they REALLY wanted Whaley as the GM, they should have let HIM pick his own coach. I'm not a huge fan of Sullivan and his style of confrontational writing, but I am agreeing with him more and more with the Pegulas...they just seem like they sometimes operate as amateurs. Yes, they are new at the game, but they haven't brought in experienced people with either team to guide them, and then look the situations that just look bad for the teams (Lafontaine, "Lidny's not going anywhere", promoting Rolston, Ted Nolan, bypassing whaley in hiring of Rex, how Marrone left......some of this may not be their fault, but a lot of it could have been avoided.)

If he is gone, I'd put the odds at: 5% another head coaching job this year. 10% he takes an assistant coach job of some kind. 25% he takes a year off. 60% he ends up broadcasting.

agreed 100% If you are going to go for a big-name guy from NFL past (Cowher, Gruden, etc.) I'd just as soon have you keep Ryan.

If you are being serious, I mostly agree with you. I have reached the point where Taylor probably has to go, I'm good with that, But I'm fine with the other 3 staying.

I agree with you. Unless a coach leads this team to an AWFUL record (like 5 or 6 more losses than expected), I want to see ANY coach get 3 years.

Raiders 34 Bills 19

For the the bar is I am entertained. As I said before, I want the team to win badly, but I'd much, MUCH rather they do so in an entertaining fashion than to do so in a 'bog-through-the-mud' fashion. Many people already made posts about them being glad they won the game in other threads...now that it settled in, they are going to CONTINUE the conversation with observations about what needs to be improved....both to make the team better and to make the product more entertaining. I want entertainment. I'll take the win, but I don't see ANYTHING wrong with constructive criticism of the team when they put on a performance where they barely get by. That is the whole point of message forums for many people...not to just be glorified cheerleaders behind a keyboard.