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From everything I've read/seen on Daboll he appears to be the type of OC I believe all teams should have, which is a guy who can analyze and identify the natural skill sets of his players and build a scheme/playbook around that. I've never really understood why so many coaches wanna force players to learn/execute a scheme that isn't a good fit for them. Why make them play in a system that doesn't highlight what they do well? Just like Rex for example... why take guys like Dareus and Kyle Williams and throw a check to them at the line that changes their assignment from pass rush to dropping into coverage? Clearly, neither player is suited to be covering any WR/TE/RB yet we saw plenty of it with ol' Rex. Sometimes these coaches/coordinators get a little too fancypants for their own good. A good coach/coordinator finds out what his guys do well and bases things around that. An underrated/less discussed aspect of schemes and playbooks is the importance of coaches/coordinators discovering what type of learners their players are and how best to engage them. Now some can say, "Bah, these players are paid bajillions, they should figure it out." Well, if you want success and a solid locker room, you're gonna wanna find out if your players are tactical (hands on/on the field) or visual/audio (watching film, listening to coaches) that way you can best apply your plans to them and put them in a position to succeed. It clearly doesn't work when you waltz in with a playbook the size of an encyclopedia and tell your defense, "OK, so on any given play we could have four checks, depending on what the offense does. If the QB farts, the mike needs to take two steps left. If the RB sneezes, I need the left end to put his right foot in and shake it all about..." Again, that's a knock on Rex. Overall, it seems like Daboll has a good reputation based on what players that worked with him have said and his mindset of coaching to his players skill sets and devising ways to be a multi-faceted offense so they're prepared to beat any defense they face is all encouraging stuff.

I'm sure they've had plenty of discussions about Cousins and what it'd take to bring him here. I wouldn't doubt that they're interested, I'm sure every team in need of a QB is interested but they're gonna put a value on him and likely won't be willing to go past that. Beane has made it pretty clear that he wants to clear up as much cap space as possible, plus he's expressed his philosophy on team building is through the draft. I've said it before in other threads, in order for them to trade up I think they'd have to hit on a remarkable deal that would be too good to pass up. They could go after one of the free agent QBs, and if they go after someone like Cousins, that allows them to focus their efforts in the draft elsewhere and likely allows them to keep all their picks. But, they're gonna be careful not to back themselves into a corner in terms of money and cap space by breaking the bank for a QB. It'd be great to be a fly on the wall over there. They do that GM For a Day thing where a kid gets to hang out with the GM and team executives all day. One of these years I'mma enter. "Yes sir, I swear I'm 12, I just passed 7th grade, lots of kids my age have full beards these days..."

Things will really start to ramp up the week of the Combine. That's when coaches, scouts, team executives from all 32 teams convene alongside 250+ potential pro players and their agents.

Whatever they think is the solution to their QB problem, I'll support it. If that means backing up the Brinks truck for Cousins, fine. If it means trading a bunch of picks to get inside the top five of the first round, that's fine too. If they stay put and wait to see which QBs are on the board at 21 and 22 and go that route, so be it. It's a "wait and see" approach I have with this regime but so far I'm encouraged by what I hear and seeing how well the trades they made last year worked out is also a positive sign. The one thing I will say that I don't think is very likely is the trading of Cordy Glenn. Not in the way that some people think. He's damaged goods at the moment so his value probably isn't very high. Foot injuries on any player are bad news but they're especially rough on a 6'6" 340 lb. left tackle. I do think they'll end up moving on from him due to Beane wanting to open up as much cap space as possible but I don't think they'll score anything more than a 4th or 5th round pick at best just because whichever team is interested is gonna have to make sure their doctors clear him. They also value their draft picks. I think something pretty special is gonna have to come across their table in order for them to give up a number of picks to move up. Could go a lot of different ways, it'll be interesting (and hopefully exciting) to see how it all shakes out.

Last summer on the JM Show, Donald Jones, who was with the Patriots for a minute, discussed how he advised Stevie Johnson against signing there when Johnson was a free agent. We all know Stevie does what he does and Jones said he wouldn't have liked it or been able to be himself there. Just all business all the time. It works but it's also nice to see a team like the Iggles who seem to be a tight group that has a lot of fun and wins.

Barron could be in play because of his versatility and we know how much McD values that. Barron can play that hybrid safety/linebacker role that has come into fashion in recent years.

Eh, if it happens, it happens. It's McDermott's defense so whoever he'd hire to replace Frazier (if he leaves) would be running McD's system.

I truthfully don't think Butler is as good as he or other people think he is... he's a decent player but he's not all-world. If he's bummed out about getting low-balled or not even getting an offer then that's just business as usual for the Pats. They've traded or let walk much more talented players than him and they won't miss a beat without him. That said, his replacement, Eric Rowe, isn't an upgrade. So who knows what Belichick was thinking. Maybe Butler was still recovering from his illness or perhaps Belichick/Patricia felt that Butler was a mismatch against any of Philly's receivers.

I think their number two back is already on the roster, just on IR. Travaris Cadet. They went after him in free agency last year but he re-signed with the Saints and then signed here after the Saints released him like 8 or 10 weeks into the season. And, although it was very limited action, I can't say I didn't like what Marcus Murphy did, he may have an outside shot to be the third guy. But also, this draft class is stacked for running backs. Barkley is the top guy but the distance between him and the next tier of back isn't very big. There will be some solid backs available in rounds 2-4 if they wanna go that route.

They don't have the money to even think about making an offer for Cousins. Even if they did I don't know that this regime would pony up the huge deal he's going to get, likely from Denver. If they were to trade up I think the following things would have to fall in place: -They're very active in free agency and add/replace to the positions of need on this team (pick any one, they could use reinforcements everywhere). -A "too good to say no" type of trade offer comes across their table. We know they value draft picks and we know they'd prefer to build this team through the draft. So, I think it'd have to be a real specific situation for them to make a big move up the board in the first round. I could be wrong though, I mean, I don't think any of us expected them to trade away Watkins and Darby last year, so, as always, anything can happen but IMO I believe that they're gonna need some kind of "stars aligned" situation in order to make a move up the board.

If you ever want to learn more about Rex behind the scenes, read "Collision Low Crossers." It was written during the 2011 season after he had just come off back to back AFC Championship games. The book is super well written and very interesting. It portrays Rex as a worker but mainly for the defense. He had Brian Schottenheimer as his OC and he really just let him do his thing without Rex interfering. I can understand what NRC is saying about the lack of halftime adjustments. In the book there are several instances where it was explained that they had certain plays in the game plan and it always seemed like Rex was waiting for the perfect time to call them but a lot of times just never did. Don't know if he coached scared or wasn't confident in the game plan or plays but he was always working with Mike Pettine and the defensive staff. Evidently, he would come barrelling into Pettine's office with what he felt was a perfect defensive play. He'd draw it up on the board and then Pettine was his counterbalance. Pettine would point out the flaws and Rex would keep changing it until they felt they had something they could actually implement. The book also said at times, when Rex and his coordinators would be pulling all-nighters during the week, Rex would often play as if he was leaving the facility. Around 10 or 11 PM he'd leave, drive his truck around the block a few times and then come back. He did this so other assistants would see it say, "OK, the head coach left, time for us to leave too." But then he ends up in Buffalo and we've heard from plenty Buffalo media members that Rex seemed to be mailing it in. He was out the door early everyday, and now we know he was lacking a connection to his players. With all that, it seems to me like Rex has to have a certain set of circumstances and be surrounded by his type of people in order to succeed. Once Pettine and him had a falling out, things went south for the Jets. But yeah, if anything these comments show how much Rex outsmarted himself. Three or four checks off of one offensive motion? That's whacky. Extremely difficult to have cohesion across the board when you're trying to make a ton of changes at the line. There's a reason a guy like Wade Phillips keeps getting coordinator jobs and excelling at them. He keeps it simple, he finds out what his players do best and builds his scheme around that. I think McDermott has the same philosophy. Coaches always say, "Once Player A has the playbook down, he'll be fine because he'll be able to play fast and not think so much." Well, it's clear now that when you have your players thinking way too much that limits their ability to play fast because they become unsure of what their role is on any given play. The old KISS method, keep it simple, stupid. Rex couldn't do that.

For the most part, I like what I've seen from Rudolph. However, he plays in the same system that made Brandon Weeden a first rounder. It's a simplified scheme that often gives QBs wide open targets. So I don't think he's had to make a lot of tight window throws. But if he tests well on the white board and shows how well he takes to coaching, I wouldn't count him out for the Bills.

I had last summer off work and would flip on the JM Show on MSG for background noise while doing stuff around the house. Thought DJ got better with experience and it was interesting to hear things from a recent players perspective. He shared some fun stories about some of the guys he played with here. But yeah, commuting back and forth from Jersey every weekend sounds like a grind. Especially during winter. Sal C would be a great co-host if he doesn't already have enough on his plate. Have him and Murph with former players stepping in as a third host every now and then.

This is probably the likeliest scenario. That's how Zay Jones's labrum injury was found. Bummer for Wood, man. Team leader and an all around good dude. My cousin did PR with the Bills during Wood's rookie year and said Wood would always take people out to dinner after an appearance or event. Said he is just a really easygoing guy with no ego at all.

Guys, he has high level business meetings to attend to. We should be so lucky he grace us with his insider presence and knowledge of his western scouts abuzz!

He's a huge reason why the team set season ticket sales records and still managed to sell out most games during the drought. He's a wiz of a businessman but shoulda never been allowed near football ops.

I've seen Mike White's name linked with the Bills as far back as October. I believe a Rotoworld piece said White would be a darkhorse QB that would climb up boards. I haven't looked at the dude whatsoever but in reading up on him he certainly seems to fit the off-field and character stuff McBeane like. I know it'd take a lot to get into the top 5 picks and this team has plenty of spots to fill... all depends on what they do in free agency, if they free up enough space and fill, maybe half their needs in FA, maybe that'll allow them to deal some picks to get their franchise guy. Whatever happens, I expect a pretty busy off-season for this team. I think more trades are coming, they're gonna try to stockpile some more picks and have enough ammo to try to trade up... or they can meddle around another season and try to get an Alex Smith or something. But... if they got a guy that they truly believe in, it's way past high time for them to work some magic and come out of the draft with one of these top QBs. I remember that '04 draft. It was like the second or third draft where I really started digging into prospects and whatnot. Bills were high on Rivers and Ben for that draft. They reportedly were trying to make a play to get just inside the top 10 where they thought Rivers might be, but then he picked up all sorts of steam and went 4th overall. After that, you're correct, they did try to work their way up the board from 13 to at least 7, 8 or 9. Donahoe probably tried to lowball any team they talked to because it's no secret that they've had a reputation for doing that. Pittsburgh stood pat and ended up with a Hall of Famer. Bills jumped back in the first for Losman and promptly ruined his career. Them schmucks should've kept Bledsoe for one more season after 2004 to let Losman get up to speed but instead they said, "Well, Bledsoe just lead this team to one of the best six game win streaks in their history (they were crushing teams in the second half of the season) but let's ditch him for the kid and see what happens." Bums! If anything, I'm excited that the current brass at OBD seems to have a much better handle on things and a much clearer vision of what they wanna do. Sure mistakes will be made along the way but that's how we learn. It's gonna shake out one way or the other.

Uh... yeah. Backups prepare like they're starting week in and week out. If this kid is as "cerebral" and "pro ready" as people make him out to be, he should've seen on film study that the Jags secondary is fast as hell, Ramsey especially. We can take a little of the blame off Peterman and throw Dennison under the bus for calling a crap game and not being able to adjust and find ways to beat their defense. But again, they know Ramsey goes all over the field, he's a ball hawk and a playmaker. And Peterman oughta know his own arm because if you're gonna throw that out-route on Ramsey you better let it fly the moment you hit your final step in your dropback and an accurate ball hits the receiver right in the numbers as soon as he breaks his route and turns around. Instead Peterman waited at the top of his dropback, threw a weak ball, Ramsey covered a bunch of field in a split second and picked him off. And he was in the game because Taylor got his bell rung and this current regime felt comfortable with a 5th round rookie as their primary backup.

Your bottom line here is absurd. The kid is slow to read and react. Almost as slow as EJ. He has a quick/compact delivery but doesn't have the arm strength to put it on a rope and hit his man on the more difficult throws a QB is asked to make. He threw a game-sealing interception and you're calling it impressive because the team that intercepted it beat Pittsburgh and came close vs New England. That's absurd. The defense deserves all the credit for giving them a chance to win in Jacksonville. When his number was called, the dude faltered. If he's as good and as smart as you believe, he doesn't even throw that out route if he has any idea the closing speed Ramsey has. And Ramsey read it the whole way. I don't think the dude is ever going to be a long term starter. Decent number two with a chance at a Case Keenum 2017 type season is his ceiling. And every team has Darnold rated highly, despite his turnovers this year. Teams obviously see he has everything you want in a franchise guy and just needs coaching and experience at the pro level. I wish there was an emoji for doing a raspberry but since there isn't I'mma just type tthhhppppbbbtttthththt.

DJ is one of my favorite draft guys. He knows his stuff, he's worked for pro teams in the past. Depends on what happens in free agency, but with how strong this class is in front seven players, I can see them going DL and LB with their early picks. McDermott is probably dying for one of those sideline to sideline LBs like Edmunds or Smith or Evans or the Boise State kid. Based on Jeremiah's assessment, I'd say Rashaan Evans is a guy they probably have valued pretty highly given his versatility. And there are plenty of solid DTs like Vea, Payne, Hurst, etc. Just based on what they did in Carolina, (consistently added front seven players in the early rounds) I wouldn't be surprised if that's the route McBeane takes.

That's the Douggie Doughboy way. "I've got a lead, now let me play it scared and timid and hope like heck I can sneak out of here with a win." I still can't forgive him for his ridiculous game management of his first ever game as Bills HC. Bills up 21-20 over the Pats with around 4 minutes left in the 4th, EJ's first game, instead of trying to put together a time consuming drive, they continued to use the uptempo stuff, snapping the ball with 10+ seconds on the playclock. They used up less than a minute of clock, punted, Pats drove it down the field and kicked the game winner with 30 some seconds left.

Looking at all the contracts and money, as of right now, the easiest solution for the Bills is to hang on to Taylor for another year. He stands to make $10 mil next season. Alex Smith is looking at $14.5 mil for 2018. In order to get him you'd have to trade assets (either picks or players) and figure out whether or not he would restructure his deal or would want it kept the same if he knows he's entering a situation where he's likely going to hold down the fort for a season until their drafted QB is ready. Bradford got $21 mil for two years from Minnesota. If I had to guess I would imagine his injury history will cause teams to offer him something lower than that. But if he insists on a similar deal, would Buffalo wanna spend that type of money for a guy that has a hard time staying on the field and a guy that knows he has a new QB behind him waiting to take his spot. Keenum is up in the air. He could follow Shurmur to the Giants if they decide to move on from Eli. Minnesota may try to lock him down with a big contract, but they also haven't given up on Bridgewater from what I've read. So who knows how that will shake out. Plus, I don't believe Keenum is the type of QB that's going to find the type of success he had this season on another team. He's asked to manage the game and limit mistakes and not much else because their defense is outstanding. Put 14, 17, 20 points on the board and let the D do their thing while Keenum spends the rest of the game handing off and throwing shorter, high success routes. Now there are other UFA QBs available, but none of them are really much of an upgrade over Taylor. Josh McCown *might* be somewhat of an upgrade in terms of his FBI and willingness to push the ball down the field. But he's gonna be 39 heading into 2018 and I believe injury kept him from playing a full 16 games this past season. Bills did speak with McCown a couple years ago but that was with an entirely different staff. I'm not advocating they keep Tyrod. I'm just kind of connecting the dots and piecing together things said by Beane and based on what I've gathered, the guy wants to clear up as much cap space as possible because he knows they have plenty of spots to fill. Is he willing to give up picks or players to acquire Alex Smith who would carry a larger base salary and cap hit for 2018? And doing this knowing that Smith is only going to be the guy for one season, two at the most. I dunno, doesn't seem to fit their philosophy right meow. The rest of the UFA QB group leaves a lot to be desired and IMO none of them are an upgrade over Taylor. I do believe we have seen Taylor's ceiling. He's a guy that's capable of 3000 yards, 20 TDs, 550 rushing yards and a few rushing TDs. If they revamp the defense and get that unit playing at a top 10 or top 5 level, then Taylor could feasibly find himself in a Keenum-type situation where all he has to do is protect the ball and protect a lead and let the defense do their thing. That's a lot of if's, but... it's possible. In reality... we don't have a clue which direction this regime wants to go. They don't seem sold on Taylor but he doesn't break the bank on them, allowing them to sign FAs and have $$ for their draft picks. Does Daboll come in and say, "I see what Taylor does and I can work with that, in fact, I can get more out of him." Or, will he be more inclined to go with a rookie QB, QBs that he's likely more familiar with having just finished a season in the NCAA. Too many questions! Speculation! What's gonna happen?! Hurry up March!

You make good points, sir. Keenum definitely benefits from Diggs and Thielen as both receivers are very craft route runners and have a knack for gaining separation. That Thielen dude is outstanding. Crazy to think he went undrafted. I wonder how players like that fall through the cracks. And yeah, Diggs is another guy who wasn't at the top of anyone's board as they got him in the fifth round in 2015. They also have Treadwell, their first rounder from 2016, however, he's amassed a total of 21 receptions and 215 yards through two seasons where he's played in 25 total games. Don't know if his FBI isn't great and he isn't understanding route concepts and how to read and react to certain defenses but you'd think the first rounder would be the teams top guy and not the undrafted free agent. As for the Giants, IMO, and I think this is probably a widely shared opinion, that team just flat out quit on McAdoo at some point during the season. I watched a few Giants games this season and it really looked like players were just going through the motions. With McAdoo out, and (presumably) Shurmur coming in, that could revitalize the team and possibly bring Eli back up to a higher level of play. If Keenum follows Shurmur, I think in that situation I would say he has a decent chance to NOT be the next Matt Cassel as he'd be throwing to OBJ, Shephard, Engram, etc. But even with that, I see Keenum as a QB who needs a strong supporting cast and an offense that knows how to maximize his abilities, and hide his limitations. Also doesn't hurt that Keenum has a great defense capable of shutting teams down. I'm sure the QB carousel will be spinning this off-season and who knows where these dudes wind up but it's definitely been an interesting season. The whole "you can't win without a franchise QB" argument seems to have taken a hit. I'm not saying you DON'T need a franchise guy, but three of the final four teams have the following at QB: a first-round super inconsistent QB who has to play in a system that makes things easy for him and relies on the run and strong defense. A third-round backup who had one outstanding season and then bounced around to a couple different teams, never able to hold down the starting gig and then wind up back where he was originally drafted as the #2 in a high-powered offense and a pretty speedy/efficient defense. And then there's the undrafted Keenum who got tossed back and forth between the Texans and Rams for the first five years of his career, was inconsistent as the Rams starter in 2016 and has now become a wonderboy in Minnesota. Brees, Ryan, Roethlisberger, etc. have all been eliminated from the playoffs by teams led by QBs who no one would ever willingly choose for their team if they had to pick between those guys and the franchise dudes who are currently planning their golf trips. Ramble ramble. Go Bills. Do something cool. Like... find THE guy at QB, hope Daboll isn't any worse than Dennison and get back to the playoffs and you know, like, win one... or two... or three... or four and SUPERR BOWWWWLLWLWLWLWLLWLWL... it's been a long day

I really feel like Keenum is the next Matt Cassel. Has one solid season, the Vikings (or another team) will hand him a big contract and he'll fall back into obscurity and mediocre play. Pat Shurmur is supposedly taking the Giants HC job, would he have Keenum follow? I dunno. Keenum strikes me as the type of QB that needs a really strong supporting cast around him. He's benefited from a tough defense all season and receivers that just simply get open. They don't have the greatest running game but they'll be better when they have Cook back. Giants don't have much of a running game or defense at the moment. And who knows if Shurmur is going to wanna work with Eli or what. The way Beane has discussed things in regards to building a team, I don't know if I see them shelling out a decent chunk of change for a bridge QB like Bradford or Smith. And what says those guys will wanna be here under the premise of, "Yeah, you're the guy until the rookie is ready." Surely Smith believes he can start and be effective for a few more years. Bradford, I actually read he had contemplated retirement after this last injury. Word was is he's just tired of these injuries happening and having to go through extensive rehab almost every other season. At this point, if they want a veteran to be in there just to help the rookie then they might just keep Taylor, who knows.

My thoughts are similar here. Marrone idolizes Coughlin. If TC said jump, DM wouldn't even say "how high" he'd just jump until Coughlin told him to stop. I wonder how much influence Coughlin has in terms of coaching. Seems like Marrone wouldn't hesitate to defer to him on anything. I feel like Marrone fell into a pretty favorable situation. Jags have had early round picks for the last five or six years, those players are finally playing as advertised. Plus, much like his time in Buffalo, he's enjoying a successful defense with a nasty DL. Can both teams lose the AFC Championship? That'd be super.