Drunken Pygmy Goat

Go look at how many different starting QBs the Browns have had since 1999. They made the playoffs once since then (the year they were granted a new franchise), and the QB that took them there wore a Bills uniform since then. The QB situation in Buffalo hasn't been pretty for some time, but it has NOT been as bad as it has in Cleveland. And while Taylor may not be a top 10 QB [acknowledges QBR], he's probably at least as good, if not better, than any QB the Browns have trotted out. Players have good days in camp,and bad days, all the time. It's encouraging to hear/see when a player has a good day in camp, but I'm not going to start a thread, proclaiming that all is fine for the season, based off of a Twitter post that states a player looked good. The same should be the case when they have a bad day ("good" "bad", terms used loosely). It shouldn't lead to doom and gloom threads, unless they're stringing together multiple "bad" days. IMO, the offense that Dennison brings should be better for Taylor than Roman's was, IMO. More rollouts/moving pockets, and a much more diverse passing attack.

Two words: training camp

First, it's training camp... Second, you are not going to get a "very good RT" in a trade for Wood, who is aging and will be a FA after this year (which you even mentioned). Let it play out, my man.

Yes, all WRs are supposed to be bulldozers... Apparently a foot injury shouldn't hamper football players, especially wide receivers...

This post brought me to tears...tears of joy

The 49ers are my "2nd team", and I've watched them a lot over the years. You are right on the money here. Roman had a very old school philosophy of run to set up pass. The 49ers were constantly near the top of the league in rushing under Roman (although Frank Gore is probably the most underrated back in history, and their top defense allowed their offense to shorten games by bleeding clock on the ground). But their passing attack was not very diverse, consisting mainly of flood concepts meant to attack at multiple levels, but cutting the field in half. It was more about efficiency, moving the chains, and not so much about YAC. They're my "2nd team" because one of my good friends is a 9ers fan. I told him as soon as I heard Smith was traded that it would be the beginning of the end for the coaching staff. When he got injured, his completion % was over 70. He was the perfect QB for that offense. The year prior, special teams cost them a trip to the SB against NE, and Kaep not being yet figured out got them to the SB the next year. My friend thought I was crazy, and was flying high on the Kaep hype train. Since then, the coaches have been canned, and their QBs consisted of Blaine Gabbert and a terrible Kaepernick, and now Brian Hoyer and Matt Barkley... *Edit, I see I'm posting the same things...I should have read through the thread first

I was going to respond with something similar. I don't think it's fair to criticize Watkins (or somehow Taylor) for him being utilized as more of a deep threat. He's a great deep threat, but IMO, Sammy was not being utilized to his full potential under Rex/Roman/Lynn. And I'm not referring to the lack of bubble screens (fans have this fantasy idea that Watkins will always replicate his success with bubble screens at the pro level, as he did at Clemson). The real crime has been the lack of quick slants and drags with Sammy. I get that the Bills didn't really have a true deep that aside from Sammy, to take the top off of a defense (other than some flashes from Goodwin last year), so I "see" why he was sent deep as often as he was. Go back to 2014. Sammy burned the Jets on slants over the middle for large gains multiple times that year, to the point where Rex was gushing about him in his post game presser. When they hired Rex a few months later, I thought for sure that Sammy would be running more of those slants, based on the way Rex spoke of Sammy (because of those slants), but it never happened. Instead, it was either a go, deep curl, or deep out. I doubt they had Sammy run a slants or drag more than once per game...if that. He's the type of player that you want to get the ball to in stride, with space, yet he was rarely used that way. Taylor may have a great deep ball, and Sammy may be a great deep threat, but having him utilize more of the route tree would help keep defense guessing, and open up the rest of the passing attack to become less predictable. With Dennison, I think we'll see this utilized more.

Our defense is going to depend heavily on the play of MD. He's one of the best at his position, and our defense will be very heavily reliable on the play from the front 4. We don't need great players in the secondary, so long as we get good pressure from an aggressive, attacking D-line, but Dareus will be by far the most important piece, IMO. With him on the field, it makes everyone's job around him much easier. Here's to a healthy, motivated season from him. I think that expecting the Bills to have the #1 rushing attack is wishful thinking. They'll be good, maybe #1 from an efficiency standpoint, but not yards. Part of that is based on the assumption that the passing attack improves, and the offense doesn't have to rely as much on the run. It's hard to get to the top, but it's even harder to stay there. Teams will probably sell out against the run moreso, and hopefully that opens up the passing attack. And I certainly do not expect a top 7 defense so soon. I think they'll be much better than the last 2 years, MAYBE flirting with top 10, but there's some potent offenses on the slate this year, and lots of new faces on defense.

That's a good point. Maybe I missed those posts, or read and forgot them. Surely it's something that those in charge of the process will examine and make determination upon, and they may have already come to the same conclusion as you. With that being said, securing public funds will likely be a key determining factor, and you can bet that there will be plenty of push back from politicians, as far as just how much public money they're willing to contribute. A new stadium downtown will require much more money for infrastructure costs, in comparison to a retrofit of NEF. I guess it all depends on what would need to be done to NEF for it to be considered "up to date" with league standards. In my previous post, I mentioned three other stadiums that are now considered to be up to date. Lambeau Field is 15 years older than NEF, and has had a few major renovations completed, the first in 2003 (costing $295 mil) and another in 2015 ($140 mil), as well as video and sound improvements in 2010 (IIRC; not sure of the cost). Soldier Field is almost 50 years older than NEF, and they had major renovations completed in 2003 ($632 mil). Arrowhead Stadium is a year older than NEF, renovated in 2010 ($375 mil). Not trying to be argumentive at all, but if in fact a retrofit is a feasible solution, I believe that would be preferred, in order to minimize costs. Also worth mentioning is that the G4 program (currently) is set up to provide more money for renovations (up to $250 mil) than it does for new stadium projects (up to $200 mil). Part of the league "pressure" for the Bills to act soon may be based on the idea that the G4 program may or may not be available in the near future, as it must be negotiated into the CBA, which expires in a couple of years.

I have no clue, but that's not something that I'm paid for to determine. It's not my money either. Green Bay, Chicago, and Kansas City all had major renovations in recent years. I assume it can be done to NEF as well. The Stadium Committee included NEF in their studies, so to say that a downtown stadium is "inevitable" doesn't seem accurate. The Pegulas will be burdened with a large chunk of the costs, so a set up similar to what the **Pats have done may be a reasonable, logical expectation, but "inevitable" may not be the best assumption. That's all I'm saying. Plus, a similar model may not be feasible in a downtown setting, depending on the location.

I don't think a downtown stadium is "inevitable", and I don't think there's any way for Vic to know that specifically. If the bones of New Era Field are in as good of shape as they're said to be, a supreme retrofit shouldn't be off the table, and I think that most fans would prefer that over a new stadium, especially downtown. Besides, the current stadium already had recent renovations done, costing well over $100 million. Throw another $400-600 million on top of it, and it should be up to "league standards", IMO.

Agreed. Our season will depend heavily on the play of the front 4. The starting unit should be a force, but if any of them miss time due to injury, especially the DEs, it could be a major blow due to the drop off in depth. IF they stay relatively healthy, it should help to mask some deficiencies at the next level, especially the secondary. I expect to see quite a bit of cover 3, and if our run defense can hold up, more two deep safeties in man coverage. Getting good pressure up the middle and forcing quicker throws is the key. On offense, I think we'll be fine as long as McCoy, Watkins, and Clay stay relatively healthy. There was a noticeable drop in efficiency when any of the 3 were out. Losing Gillislee hurts, but a big part of his success was due to the blocking he and our backs received. The Bills led the league in yards before contact, and even though Roman/Lynn are gone, I don't think we'll see too much change in the run game. They should finish top 10, IMO, if not top 5. I still see this team hovering around .500, with 5-6 plays being the difference between 7 wins or 9. Even if they stay relatively healthy at the most important positions, there will still be some growing pains, due to having new coaches and some changes in philosophy, as well as several new faces on the field, many of which are young and lack experience at the NFL level. Out of the 90 players that were here to start camp last year, I believe only 30 are here this year.

Just a heads up: I did the same thing last year, and used a Chromecast to watch on TV, but I think this may not work anymore. I was checking a couple of weeks ago, and my Game Pass apk no longer worked, even with VPN. I assume that the tech department of the NFL got wise to this "work around", and have taken measures to prevent fans in the US from doing this. The way it looks now is the league will be utilizing NFL Mobile for it's live streams in the US, with local games being the only ones you can watch live. It requires you to have your location settings turned on for use. I'll check more thoroughly after work, but I suggest that those of you that planned on doing this method to watch games check into it well before the season starts. *Edit, there's a new apk available, but the league is still working on it, so the only way to access Game Pass currently is via the site, but I couldn't get it to cast to the TV. Still works with VPN.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_-I7oZBn5q8

I would put zero stock in how previous Bills coaches did in their first year, or any coach for that matter. There are so many variables, and each instance was different. Chan Gailey inherited crap and won 2 less games than Jauron did the previous year, but a guy like Adam Gase comes in and improves the win/loss record in his first year, but inherited a solid group of talent on both sides of the ball. That's not me comparing Gailey to Gase as coaches, just comparing scenarios. I think there will be some growing pains this year, mainly due to the large amount of new faces on defense, and at WR. Having new coaches will contribute to the growing pains as well, although I like the guys that were brought in. Hard to say how McDermott will do as a first time HC (he seems like he has the right mentality and approach for a HC, but he has no history there), but I think most people will agree that the Bills have a really good staff behind him with lots of experience. Even with early season growing pains, I do think that the first 3 games this season are "winnable". Hopefully those pains will lessen after those games, and the team begins to gel, because it gets pretty tough after the Denver game.

Miami at 3 is a joke. 10-15 would be reasonable.

Gailey inherited a roster with very little "top" talent, filled with smaller players that were suited for Jauron's Tampa 2 defense. They switched to a 3-4, with very few players that fit. Guys like Spencer Johnson were playing OLB FCOL.On offense, Fred Jackson (Lynch was still here IIRC, but I believe he was traded around that time) and Lee Evans were their best players. *Remember Cornell Green??? That team started 0-8, and finished 4-4 with a weak schedule down the stretch. They were "supposed" to be a 3-5 win team goin in IMO. It wasn't a "tank", they just weren't very good.

Does this mean you will cease to post here as well???

Good depth signings.

I've seen reports stating that he left Buffalo, and others that say he left OBD, so I'm not sure which is the case. But there was a report this morning that says nothing is imminent, and that the Bills are "leaving the door open"...

Found this article last night. Interesting idea. https://www.buffalorumblings.com/2017/7/22/16007846/golden-state-warriors-new-arena-personal-seat-license-model-buffalo-bills-stadium "This week, the Golden State Warriors announced that they would be charging a unique kind of Personal Seat License to ticket holders at their new arena. PSLs have been around for a while, mostly in the NFL, as a way for owners to raise a lot of capital upfront so they had to finance less money and allowing them to pay less interest. Essentially, you pay a large fee just for the ability to purchase season tickets. The twist the Warriors have introduced would pay back the fee after a period of time. This acts as a 30-year, interest-free loan for the organization. For the fans, at least they will get their original $10,000 back. Most PSLs are a fee, not a loan, and you never see that money return."

It shouldn't be, unless you're adding a receiver. They replaced my mini genie with the 4k mini for free. (and forgot to take the old receiver with them). You do have to have the "Ultimate" package iirc.

The "college kid" thing only relates to Sunday Ticket.

Exactly. "Owning" it just tells me that he knows his position. Our players have to be tired of losing, and I think we have the right coaches to push them.

If anything, he's a leader by example, and teammates will notice it every day, and see what it takes to be one of the best. He made less than $3 mil last season, so he wouldn't kill too much of the remaining cap space. For relative money, it's a good/great signing.