BillsFan4

“In Ruff's world, if you don't play hard, you pay the price Sprints and pushups were the order of the day during Thursday's practice” https://www.audacy.com/wgr550/sports/sabres/in-ruffs-world-if-you-dont-play-hard-you-pay-the-price 😁👍

So glad to have Lindy back!

seems like a bit of an overpay. I was thinking like $1M AAV max. But they have a ton of cap space so it’s not a big deal, and I prefer this to trading him for a mid/late round pick (which is honestly kind of what I was expecting). I’m hoping he can still develop into a useful player for the Sabres.

A win’s a win. I’ll take it! Especially for week one. I thought they got better as the game went along.

I am trying to keep in mind that this is very likely a transition year for the Bills. They have $63 million ($63 MILLION!) in dead cap space + a ton of roster turnover. I am still obviously hoping they can make a Super Bowl run but I’m trying to be realistic. I think early season growing pains are probably likely, especially on defense with a 1st time play caller (ever, at any level afaik), 2 new starting safties and no Matt Milano.

Still no contract numbers reported?

That’s mostly accurate. Except his agent did call Schoen back with the highest offer Barkley got. The whole sequence was shown on hard knocks. The giants weren’t willing to match fully. https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/40577860/hard-knocks-recap-final-talks-saquon-barkley-giants hard knocks made it clear that Schoen really didn’t want to re-sign Barkley (as you said). and as you said, Barkley didn’t really want to be there anymore either. He said he felt disrespected by the way the giants handled his contract negotiations - how they were only willing to offer him more money if he could find some other team on the open market that was willing to pay him. https://www.nfl.com/news/saquon-barkley-was-fed-up-with-giants-negotiations-it-was-a-little-disrespectful

I bet John Mara is pissed right now. 😂 3rd TD for Barkley tonight. Not saying it was the wrong move for Joe Schoen to let Barkley walk. But there’s no doubt Mara loved him and didn’t want him going to Philly (as hard knocks showed).

No word on how much money yet? I am hoping that bodes well for the Bills…

Oh no! What a tragic story. I can’t even imagine what their family is going through right now, and a day before their poor sister’s wedding too. Ugh. I feel so bad for them.

This is what Joe Buscaglia said about it on the athletic: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5727393/2024/08/27/buffalo-bills-2024-initial-53-man-roster-plus-analysis/

It’s no more of an issue than it was the previous season with Kyle Allen (who may be even worse than Trubisky), or a couple seasons ago with Trubisky (again). Im also not sure if Keenum was much better than trubisky last year…

Well, crap. That sucks. I feel bad for Milano too. About the only positive I got is that at least it happened before roster cuts. Hopefully the Bills can find a better replacement than what they currently have on the roster. Fingers crossed a starting caliber player shakes loose or Beane’s able to make a trade.

Yeah that makes sense. It still seems dumb (to me anyway) on the Jets part to make this trade if they didn’t want to pay him.

Same. I tried to find the source and couldn’t find much, besides articles saying “the jets thought he would play on his current deal”. I find it hard to believe. The entire reason reddick demanded a trade from Philly was because he wanted a new contract or he wasn’t going to play. It was public knowledge at the time of the trade. It’s why he requested a trade and why Philly traded him. So why would he suddenly agree to play under his current contract for a new team he has no ties to? And agree to go from a Super Bowl contender to the team with the longest active playoff drought to play on his current contract? It doesn’t make sense. Maybe the Jets assumed he would play out his deal? But even that doesn’t add up since reportedly they are willing to start negotiations on a new contract after he reports to the team. The fact that he hasn’t reported makes me think Reddick thought a new contract with N.Y. was part of the trade. I don’t get why the NYJ make this trade if they weren’t willing to pay him. Are they addicted to drama or what?

Yeah, I thought Shakir looked good and Samuel had a one nice play I remember. The only other one I can even think to mention is Frank Gore Jr. I thought he looked like the best RB today (which isn’t saying much), though it was against 3rd and 4th string guys. Overall, there really wasn’t any positives to take from this game. Except hopefully no injuries to starters (if Oliver is ok).

Oh look, the defense gave up a 1st down on 3rd and long…

One of the best trades in Sabres history for sure! We are so lucky we got to watch “the dominator” in his prime. It’s criminal they never won a Cup with him, though.

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who keeps these training camp threads updated every day. I appreciate it. It’s a quick, reliable way for me to get my Bills training camp news.

Wow! No new years added!

I really hope this means she is making progress in her recovery! No matter what though, it’s great to see her attend a practice again!

That contract will be a steal if he keeps playing like he did the second half of last season. And he’s signed until he’s 30. So if he continues to play like last year we have a #1 goalie locked up through his prime for peanuts. Both UPL and Malenstyn signed now so at least the Sabres don’t have to worry about arbitration hearings anymore. I am glad neither had to go to arbitration. Seems like when a player/team go through arbitration, there are usually some hard feelings afterwards. If you look at the history, I believe most players don’t end up staying long term after arbitration. Who’s left to sign? Is Krebs the last one left? edit - just looked. Krebs is their last RFA.

I don’t know. Stuff like this doesn’t bother me. Buffalo definitely isn’t for everyone, and that’s fine. As someone who’s lived in a few different states and spent a good amount of time in a handful more, I willingly chose to move back to WNY. I like it here. Would it be my first choice if I had the freedom (money) to live anywhere? Probably not. lol Buffalo is never going to be a glamorous off-field destination. But that’s not necessarily the worst thing either. Anyone who chooses to come here is doing it because they prioritize playing football and winning (now that Buffalo’s a perennial playoff contender). We don’t have to worry about players signing here who are doing it just as much for the nightlife and social/party scene.

I wouldn’t say he’s a bust by any means. I think he still has a chance to be a really good top 6 F in the NHL, and I think he landed in a great spot to do it. Edmonton needs future top 6 wingers and their prospect pool is pretty bare so he will get every chance to succeed. Plus I believe he’s from Edmonton so he’s a home town kid. I’m sure he’s excited. He’s just an under-sized forward who’s had some injury issues already in juniors (which could obviously get worse in the NHL). And he’s probably not a center in the NHL. I think he’s most likely a winger. I think those things probably limit his market (especially his size). And he’s done very well since being drafted. He’s been a consistent point producer. But his stats have been pretty similar to his draft year (90-95pts), which is still really good. I just don’t know if he’s really taken that next step. I don’t watch him even close to enough to say though. This was a steep price to pay IMO. But Buffalo’s prospect pool is loaded. Teams know we need to trade prospects and every team also knows Adams job is on the line if Buffalo doesn’t take a step this year. Some fans seem surprised the choice was to trade Savoie but I think his long term fit in Buffalo was a question mark, especially after Benson forced his way onto the team last year, and the steps some of our other prospects have taken. Plus, some of the draft picks Buffalo has made since Savoie 3 drafts ago. One things Adams regime has done well is draft. The Sabres prospect pool is loaded. Honestly, it’s still probably too crowded even after this trade. They are still going to have to make some long term choices on prospects. Hopefully some of their prospects will take a step and make the choice easy…