Rochesterfan

I am pretty sure we can all agree this thread is something that rhymes with “barbage”. Some might have a stronger rhyme, but that is ok. That is about the extent of it.

I think that opens it up for Urban in Houston. Lots of talk that was who he was looking to bring into Jacksonville. I wonder if they go as a package deal there once everything is finalized.

I think no matter what the regular season is a success. They set goals and accomplished those and more. That does not mean they are satisfied or it won’t be a let down with really any outcome other than Super Bowl win. The team is still growing and getting better and it is imperative that they find ways to win in the post season to continue the growth, but with everything accomplished I would be remiss not to call the season a success. At the start of the season, we all have our own ideas about what we think the team can accomplish and I am pretty sure most fans would have been over the moon with everything listed above. Once you get to the playoffs though - the goals shift - you now have a shot at the ultimate championship and even if you are the 6-10 WFT - you have thoughts of a 4 game run to win it all and any loss now is a disappointment and takes away the feeling of success for everything else accomplished. So my answer is yes it is a success, but Super Bowl or Bust is still legitimate.

I actually think that the Hail Mary in Arizona harkened back to that loss for some of these players. Dion says they realized not every game was their Super Bowl, but I also think some players had over a week to sit with that bad taste and it reminded them of the Houston Taste and they have been a different team since. I think every so often you need that kind of loss to remind and push you forward. It ends up as a blessing in disguise.

I don’t think so myself. Josh still has year 4 and the 5th year option - so I don’t expect that is where the Bills start. I think Josh knows what is coming and will be patient. I think they figure out Williams, Mongo, and Milano first and then work to fill the roster with talent. Once that is done - similar to Mahomes and White - Josh will get done late summer/training camp or just as the season starts as the Bills look to the 2022/2023 salary cap for extra relief.

Not over Diggs/AJ. I would rather have a modern NFL passing offense than any Replaceable RB.

This is just as bad as if you asked - bring Gailey back. No reason to bring back failed former people - promote from within or go get young innovative OCs that fit your scheme.

They needed people on the PS just in case of any last minute issues with the WR team ( like Brown being a close contact last week). It takes a week to get these guys through protocol - so both guys were brought in when Kumerow was signed and were there just in case they needed call ups for the last game. Once we got through last weeks game and Stills was ready to sign - these guys were always going to be gone. They were just guys for an emergency. It happens to fringe players all of the time.

Except he was getting paid. Stills had a 100% guaranteed contract with Houston - so his pay did not change once he was cut. Additionally - unless he signed for a bigger contract - his pay would not change because of offsets. The only thing that would change was which team was paying him - so there was almost no incentive for Stills to sign. Now take it one step further - the only additional money Stills gets is from the playoffs (winning versus losing bonus) as players are not paid in the playoffs. Therefore - Stills had the most incentive to talk with teams, but hold out signing until he could sign with a team that had a chance to go far and may need his specific services. He had no incentives to sign weeks ago because he would not get paid any more money and if something happened to him or a key player on what ever team he signed with - he could lose out. The Bills and Stills talked weeks ago - per McD comments about Beane looking at Stills for weeks - they knew the situation and knew the plan for a while. This is not a surprise. He is insurance for Brown and Beasley in case of additional injuries. They are not signing him to be some kind of starter. He provides Veteran depth and playoff experience that McD loves along with some position flexibility. Everything about this signing and the timing makes sense - you just need to understand things rather than just complaining.

The numbers between SF and Indy (esp DVOA wise) are similar, but I don’t feel like the 2 defenses are really very comparable. SF defense to me was a much more physical defense lead by some stellar DLine play across the board especially at DE and a very good Middle LB. Indy is almost the opposite- they have Buckner in the middle as their strength and OLBs to help on the outside. I think Indy has much less you need to control to beat them. If you handle Buckner - their defense has a lot of gaps. Indy has some talent at CB at CB1 and 2, but I don’t think they have the depth SF has and I believe their safeties can be attacked. Really the only significant passing offense they faced was the Packers and Rodgers put over 300 yards and 4 first half TDs before they did one of their disappearing acts. I think the Bills have the ability to really attack this defense and force them into some very uncomfortable decisions. I want to see a lead to force Indy out of their comfort zone and away from Taylor running the ball. I do like the WRs Indy has, but I don’t love Rivers trying to throw to them - He just makes to many mistakes. I think this game will play close for parts, but I think the Bills are by far the better team and should be able to pull away as soon as Indy goes into one of their funks.

Everyone Happy now? The timing lined up exactly when we said and he is signed to the PS - exactly as predicted. Made total sense since he couldn’t clear before the last game - they signed a few just in case guys and replaced them out with more veteran players for the playoffs. Nice job - Beane. 👍

I don’t think the top 3 picks are QBs and I am not convinced we even know which team will be making the picks. Lawerence goes #1, but I am not sure what the Jets do at 2. I think they would like move down for a nice haul of picks, but I don’t see a team sitting 3-6 with the need and capital to make a worthwhile trade. Therefore; I expect the Jets to be almost forced to take a QB at 2. It might not be ideal, but seems the likely course of action. Miami at 3 is not moving on from Tua yet - just no way a team rebuilding showing all kinds of patience - shoots themselves in the foot by moving on that quickly. I expect the also would like to move down and get more picks and maybe a player or 2. I expect OLine here, maybe a WR, but would not be shocked if this is a trade to someone like Cincinnati- where Cincinnati gets o-line and the Dolphins get a pick and a player.

I think this is a great question. Media people giving COY to Flores talked about his handling of Tua/Fitz, but I think it really showed that it wasn’t feel, but the fact that Fitz was significantly better than Tua - therefore the switch and continued pulling of the starter actually hurt the team. I also think that preseason - most pundits had the Dolphins around 6-7 wins and they got 10 (+3 to expectations). They also had the Bills with around 10 wins and they got 13 (+3 to expectations). I think Flores did a good job with the talent, but the fact that they missed the playoff by getting smoked in the last game should knock some luster off Flores and should highlight the job done by McD. I also think the winning streak to close out the season and the SOS and SOV should push McD to the top, but I also think some voters already have their minds made up - it is how Mahomes will get a lot of his MVP vote - when he just isn’t the MVP.

I just don’t know - seems like you would want a definite answer at the position before this happens. I could see it - if somehow they can get Ryan or Stafford in place first, but even though Jimmy G is not a great QB - they win with him. I am not sure they are a better team with Ryan at QB. I definitely think this makes for a very interesting off-season for some of these teams - QB trades and cuts, lots of potential movement. This could get fun if the salary cap allows it.

I hope not - I would love to see him coaching the Jets as his dream job. Maybe helping out in NE to rebuild the O-Line. 😂

This is it exactly- right now you can see he is just a Torso/arm thrower - much like Josh his rookie year. His mechanics are totally buggered up and that might be injury related, but he has little shot unless he fixes that. Right now he was just like Big Ben against us - there was little threat downfield and even the throw along the sidelines were covered and forced great plays by Parker and led him out of bounds. He needs to improve a lot, but it is also obvious what he needs to work on - the question becomes will he do it - or will he follow Bakers footsteps and miss out on the first offseason and chance at growth.

I totally agree and you could see times in the 3rd and 4th quarter where it looked like Tua was just waiting for Fitz (or someone) to come bail him out. He did not have the confidence to throw to the middle of the field and really the only throw >10 yards he made all day was 2 deep sideline throws to the left (his strong side) that he got bailed out by great catches by the WR. Neither were great throws and the DBs were there, but the WR made some great adjustments. I will be interested to see what the off-season has in store for Tua - as I will not knock him yet, but he really needs to work hard on his footwork and mechanics - he is right now similar to Josh early in his career - a torso/arm thrower. He gets little drive - which may be from the injury or could be his natural throw, but he cannot drive the ball into tight spaces - his throws are more touch based at the present time. He sees open guys and makes some throws with anticipation, but lacks the elite arm to make every play and unless he really works to make certain changes - that could be his downfall.

I will be very interested to see once he is signed is it to the active roster or as a veteran on the PS. Based upon his limited knowledge of the system - I would assume the initial signing will be to the PS as I do not think we have any openings on the active roster with injuries. We will see - I am glad to have Beane thinking these things through.

No kidding - Davis is a fine player, but that does not change the fact that as a rookie there has been several instances where because he is a rookie he has allowed DBs to undercut routes that a more veteran player like Diggs and Brown have prevented. The pass from Allen did him no favors, but that does not mean that it is not noted by the coaching staff where these type of plays occur. It is not a knock on Davis’s talent or a thought he is not playing well - I mean the 2 catches he had were phenomenal, but it is notable that the All-Pro play by a DB was against him and Davis stopped on the sideline (standing there) and he did not come back to help out and it opened a lane underneath him that allowed the DB to make the phenomenal play. Very similar to earlier in the season where he had an out breaking route that he flattened out and stayed level that allowed the Arizona DB to cut under. It has happened several times to him - mostly because he is a rookie without elite speed and therefore must be very precise and it is critical to fight through those DBs. The question becomes from a coaching perspective does McD prefer a faster, veteran player that has playoff experience to be available in the event a call up is needed. I think he would be more confident calling up a guy like Stills if something happens than either guy on the practice squad and he gives a bit more position flexibility as he can fill both slot and outside receiver routes. I don’t think the Stills signing (if and when it happens) changes or replaces Davis in the starting line-up. I believe it is solely a depth signing in the event Beasley or Brown misses additional time and it provides a Veteran with speed to fill the line-up with less drop off.

After watching the 2nd half against Pittsburgh and the Jacksonville game - you see huge blocks were the team just stops playing - The offense gets out of rhythm and the defense couldn’t stop Glennon or the ghost of Big Ben. They don’t really scare me, but they are a very talented team that plays about 30 minutes of great football a week.

I remember- you guys are part of the reason I migrated over here - along with @Figster. Now it is home and feels great.

With unlimited PS call-ups - I would happily keep Yeldon off the roster and let Williams get some play.

@transplantbillsfan and I had a bunch of back and forth on the old Buffalo Bills message board about Tyrod being or not being a franchise QB, but we both were all on board Allen from day 1. I thought years ago the Transplant was a bit to much of a homer, but I am happy that we got the guy we needed to trigger a true NFL offense at this level. I applaud him for keeping this up - my favorite thread of the year.

Not true - If Cleveland beats Pittsburgh thy go to KC as highest seed.

His current contract was nearly identical to JBs - I imagine he will be looking for similar money. I don’t see him signing a cheap multi year deal, but maybe he does. I think they are looking for experience for the playoffs.