SoTier

I think if Ford can't beat out Nsekhe in TC, then it seems like he should be moved to guard to see if he works there. If they get a better RT than Ford, then it's not "the same result". A lot of evaluators thought Ford would be a better pro guard than tackle, so a kid with physical skills better suited to playing pro OT might very well be worth grabbing. That's simply untrue when discussing OTs taken in the first or second rounds. Prospects taken that high generally need to get stronger and to hone their skills but most are perfectly capable of playing respectably as rookies. Cordy Glenn was a competent LT as a rookie. So was Dion Dawkins. Dawkins struggled in his sophomore season but rebounded last season when the Bills had NFL caliber OLers beside him rather just bodies wearing OL numbers as in 2018. If the Bills acquired a "stud left tackle" in the draft -- highly unlikely in the bottom third of the second round since the best ones go in the first round -- I think Dawkins moving to LG might be better. It's hard for OLers to switch sides because everything is reversed, and not every OT can play well that way. Also, LTs tend to be quicker and lighter than RTs while RTs tend to be more powerful.

That sounds a lot like the Jamestown area. We have no COVID-19 cases in the area but we had little or no TP, no bread, no bottle water etc at most stores until yesterday -- and those in limited amounts.

Since the Bills aren't up against the cap, why do the Bills need to cut Murphy, a DE, and Smith, a TE, in order to sign Gurly, a RB? They will still need a DE and a TE. Moreover, Gurley is not going to get the kind of contract from his new team that he got from LA since the top of the RB has dropped significantly. I would love the Bills to sign Gurley. It's entirely doable from a cap perspective but it might not be the right fit from either the Bills' or Gurley's perspective. ? Apparently some fans have enjoyed the past twenty years of the Bills sacrificing wins for profits a whole more than you or me.

I think that Clowney's injury history is what is keeping teams from considering him at present. They aren't going to make a deal with him unless they can have their own doctors give him a physical -- and that's not going to change for some time to come.

Exactly. I get really tired of this "penny wise, dollar foolish" attitude that so many Bills fans espouse, which is undoubtedly a product of 2i0+ years of being brain washed by Ralph Wilson and his minions that the Bills can't "afford" to build a winning team. Other teams figure out how to put together winning teams -- sometimes for only a couple of seasons but others almost continuously -- while paying really expensive players like QBs and DEs that the Bills simply don't have on their roster at present (I think last season, Morris might have been the most expensive Bills player). This is the year for the Bills to go for broke to take over the AFCE while NE is transitioning away from Brady, Miami is still collecting puzzle pieces, and the Jets are simply the Jets. Murphy seemed to get his act together last season, McDermott knows what he can do, the Bills aren't in need of cap space, and the Bills aren't likely to sign Clowney, so what's the point of cutting him??? They don't have a young stud waiting to take over for him already on the roster, they aren't going to actually save $8 million since they will have to add a replacement. Even an UDFA rookie is going to cost something just in $$$ and maybe in wins, too.

Foles is an entirely different kettle of fish. He's a QB, a much more important -- and thus valuable -- position than RB. More importantly, the Bears need a QB behind Trubisky who 1) can step in and save their season if Trubisky fails and 2) won't disrupt the team if Trubisky improves. Nick Foles is that guy.

Good OLers can be found beyond rounds 1 and 2, especially if the team doesn't expect them to step right in and gives them time to get stronger and improve their techniques. I will never say no to a stud OLer in the first or second, but I really think that the Bills should go BPA in rounds 2-5. Lots of outstanding OLers come from late in the draft/UDFA.

This has been my perception of Hopkins as well.

That would lead me to reconsider. When I went to PT several years ago, it was a big room but there never was more than 2 patients and 3 or so staff.

IMO, this isn't a good strategy. Guys in the 2nd and 3rd are simply much more likely to bust than guys taken in the first round. A trade up might be justified to get a pick in the first ten picks of round 2 but since the Bills will be drafting in the bottom third of both rounds, the chances of moving up to the top of second round seems likely to cost too much. I don't think trading up in the third round is a good idea at all. The Bills are in a position at this point to improve their backups and ST with guys from the third, fourth, and fifth round, some of whom may eventually develop into really good players if given the opportunity. The Bills 2019 had too many UDFAs, PS refugees, and 6th and 7th rounders once you got beyond the starters. They need to improve the bottom of their roster as well as the top, and the place to find those guys is rounds 3-5.

There isn't a "magic" age delimiter. I think your health condition is much more important, especially your heart, respiratory, and immune systems health. I'm 70 and in better health, especially with those systems, than many people a decade or more younger than me, so I would go. I'm assuming that your appointment is private and not a group situation.

If this is a pleasure trip, you might want to reconsider because virtually all entertainment venues in New York are currently closed down, not just in NYC but throughout the state by the governor's order. Restaurants are only open for take out or delivery. Movie theaters are also closed. All "non essential" businesses have been ordered to be closed to the public between 8 PM and 6 AM. Museums and zoos are all closed. Catholic dioceses have canceled all church activities, including Masses. Public schools have been closed statewide, and most colleges have extended spring break or closed so that they can transition to on-line classes. Parks are open, though, if you want to go for a walk.

The Diggs trade is in no way similar to the Watson trade except that both landed the Bills a WR.

Agreed. It's not that he traded Hopkins as it is that he traded him away for next to nothing: a high priced, washed-up RB and a second rounder. Hopkins should have garnered at least a first rounder plus another pick/player even from the Cards.

I think Teddy Bridgewater might be a possibility as well.

Absolutely. Any day of the week. Drafting WRs is about as chancy as drafting QBs. So many great college WRs take 2 or 3 seasons to fully learn the NFL game and some never do.

Totally agree. The Bills need to improve their over all depth, and so my only criteria for Day Two picks are prospects who are likely to develop into good starters, and possibly more. Position is irrelevant.

I think that many of the critics were fantasizing about Beane trading up to get CeeDee Lamb or some other supposed "can't miss" prospect. Now they'll have a boring Day 1. Even Bill O'Brien isn't so stupid to trade Hopkins to another AFC team, especially one that not only made the playoffs but gave the Texans all they could handle despite clearly needing a WR1. James Hardy comes to mind. I thought that acquiring Tunsil was a good move and that maybe sending Clowney to the Seahags was a necessary one. There's absolutely no way to spin the Hopkins trade, however, to make it anything but one of the biggest faux pas in Houston's history -- and maybe in league history. It may become legendary. I think some fans are not being realistic about the kind of WR the Bills could get at #22, about how much more they would have to give up to move up in the first round to get one of the top three WRs, and most of all, how important it is to give Allen better weapons this season rather than waiting for next year or the year after for a rookie to develop. With Brady very possibly leaving NE, the opportunity for the Bills to take over the AFCE is now -- 2020 -- and obviously Beane recognizes that and has acted accordingly.

Draft a Day 2 WR with size. Hope that one of the TEs steps up.

The Bills gave up the opportunity to pick a WR who might or might not be a starter in 2020 plus a bunch of "Mr Irrelevants" who were unlikely to make the team -- even with an expanded practice squad. Diggs has a "big" name because he's proven that he's a top NFL WR and a playmaker, something the Bills really, really needed and didn't have much chance of acquiring in the draft. Better to give up a first and some Day Three picks than giving up more to move up in the first round. I'm not scared at all. I'd rather find out that Allen's not who the Bills drafted him to be in 2020 than to be still asking "Is Allen the man?" come 2022, which is where we very well might be if the Bills don't give him better skills players. They've added the veteran playmaking WR. Now they need to add another WR and RB.

I was thinking that the Texans got royally fleeced on the Hopkins trade, and this trade seems to confirm it. I don't know what the thinking was behind the Houston-Arizona deal but it smells of desperation. The analysts on NFLN all seemed to be perplexed by the reasoning behind it as well. It's like the Texans made a complete 180 degree turn: last year they gave a fortune in picks in order to acquire talent and seemed in "win now" mode, and then at some point last season, they decided that they were going to do a rebuild instead, so they started trading away some of their best players. The Hopkins trade seems a continuation of that.

Mea culpa. Thanks.

I think those who want to eliminate SS are extreme right wing ideologues, only a few in politics but more found in academia and among political commentators. I think that a lot of younger people (I'm 70, so lots of people are 'younger') seem to believe that SS is irrelevant to their futures because they're convinced that it won't be there for them when they retire. I've even gotten this kind of passive, defeatist view from people in their early fifties. Because they believe this, they don't make it clear to politicians that raiding the SS trust fund is NOT acceptable to them. The people who do hold current politicians accountable for keeping SS fiscally sound are older voters. Older voters vote regularly, and politicians, knowing that, are wary of upsetting us. Younger voters can't bother to vote regularly, and politicians act accordingly.

It's not that prices would rise -- it's that most people -- especially those that are most likely to have the most need of SS in the future -- would simply fritter away that money away on immediate wants rather than saving it. Moreover most people lack the financial discipline that's necessary to save for their retirement starting in their twenties with their first full time jobs, and too many people who do start saving early lack the financial knowledge and fortitude to invest wisely over the long term -- too many seem either unwilling to invest stocks or too willing to buy into "get rich quick" schemes. A great many younger people prefer to buy a nicer house or a new car or take a pricey vacation rather than contribute to their 401ks, sometimes even when their employers offer matches.

The article you quoted said that they reached an agreement with Smith. It didn't say that he signed a contract. There is a significant difference between agreeing to contract terms and actually signing the contract.