TigerJ

Josh McCown didn't look so hot in his last start either.

I think there are 7 WRs on the roster now. That's a pretty high number for a team that professes to seek balance in their offense. Not being critical, but I wonder what it means. Are the Bills going to shift their emphasis or is a holdover WR in danger of being cut. The Bills sure have gotten a lot faster at the position in a very short time.

To Be honest, the defense would look even better statistically if the offense hadn't payed so poorly through a good chunk of the season. You give up a bunch of three and outs and lose the time of possession battle the way Buffalo has for a lot of the season, and your opponent has a lot more opportunity to gain yardage and score.

Personally, I'd rather set my expectations at a more modest level. It gives me more opportunity to be pleasantly surprised, and less opportunity for disappointment.

I think one of the few encouraging things about this season has been the emergence of some young players. The Jets game has been the culmination of that (so far) with meaningful contributions from Milano, Zay Jones, Shaq Lawson, Logan Thomas, Robert Foster, Levi Wallace, Wyatt Teller and Jason Croom, along with some of the usual suspects (Harrison Phillips, Dion Dawkins, Tre White and Tremaine Edmunds. Interestingly, Buffalo started the season with one of, if not the oldest rosters in the league, but apart from a handful of veteran stalwarts (Kyle Williams, Lorenzo Alexander and Jerry Hughes) it is the youngsters who are really starting to shine. They are going to be a really solid core moving forward.

Did anybody notice the date on that article? April 11, 2017 I think it's a bit of a stretch to posit that the Patriots will have serious interest now because they worked him out before he was drafted.

You're right, of course. I would be very surprised if Allen isn't healthy though. He's been throwing the ball for over a week and he's got an extra week now to get back in the swing.

I don't think he is any kind of difference maker. Buffalo drafted Wyatt Teller in the fifth round in 2018. He's suddenly looking like a pretty good pick. A fifth for McCarron might product a pretty good contributer to the Bills next year and longer.

I don't think that is a more difficult schedule than average. Of course, we expect the Patriots games are going to be tough. Pettsgurgh is flying high right now, and it's safe to assume they will be a huge challenge, but the rest of the AFC North is in flux. John Harbaugh may will be gone. Cleveland is improving and Baker Mayfield looks like a winner, but the coaching change throws a wrench into predicting what they might do next year. Cincinnati often teases its fans into thinking they'll be successful, but ultimately fall short. The NFC East is a complete mystery from one season to the next. Philly won the Super Bowl last season and looked like they were in position to threaten again. They disappointed. The Giants are awful again. The Cowboys are disappointing. Who woulda think the Redskins would be the best in the division this season? It'll probably change next season.

I like lots of things about him, but he had ample opportunity to show he belonged with the team, and didn't. The NFL is a business, and teams are not going to keep a player as an act of charity. I get that, and I'm OK with it.

Everybody knows the old adage, "Two wrongs don't make a right." Well, there's a corollary to that saying. "Two failures (Ryan and Bowles) don't make a success." I m ade that up, of course, but it fits.

Yeah, that's a no brainer.

The Bills have 4 QBs on the roster. Obviously, that's not going to continue through the rest of the season. It's clear that the Bills will proceed in the near term as if Josh Allen is the franchise QB of the future. Whether or not the Bills are right in that assessment, IMO is a topic for other threads (of which there are many). It is also pretty clear that Matt Barkley has earned some time on the roster, based on the Bills' success against the Jets. So, who gets cut? Will the Bills keep three QB?. Will they decide two are enough? Obviously, Peterman is the odds on favorite. Some have argued that the Bills have kept Peterman when it was obvious he should have been cut long ago. Does anybody think McDermott's (irrational?) loyalty to Peterman will continue? How much does Anderson have left in the tank? It's been argued that Anderson will be a great mentor for Josh Allen, but Barkley has been in the league for several years now. Couldn't he serve as a mentor? How many think Peterman has enough upside to keep as a third QB? Let's solve the Bills' QB problem for them.

Hmmm, could Matt Barkley pull a Case Keenum? Keenum was a journeyman who did little during the early years of his career. Then he arrived in Minneapolis a year and a half ago. I think Buffalo is still counting on Allen, but it's interesting to consider.

You can argue that Beane was a fool for hatching the strategy that he did, and you can argue that the Bills should have known that Peterman was an incompetent QB from the beginning, but it is pretty much set in stone that Beane thought Josh Allen could be good when he drafted him, really good. Only Beane can confirm for sure whether or not he still feels that way, but I don't think there is any compelling reason to suggest he's changed his mind.

I suspect that if you asked Beane if he expected Allen to be one of the worst rated passers in the NFL, he would tell you he's not terribly shocked, but he still took him 6th overall. It was known he was raw when he was drafted, and the Bills had a plan which, had it worked out as expected would have kept him on the bench most or all of the season. McCarron or Peterman was going to start and be reasonably successful. The only circumstances under which Allen might start were to be if he surprised the Bills by being better than expected sooner than expected. They had no idea McCarron and Peterman were going to be so ineffective. Yet that has nothing to do with their high expectations for Allen, once he has a chance to correct the deficiencies in his background and transition fully to the pro game. You don't draft a player as highly as the Bills drafted Josh Allen unless your expectations are very, very high.

I don't believe the Bills are deliberately tanking, but I suspect that if the Bills were in the midst of a playoff race the Bills would start Allen. I think Allen has been declared out because there is no compelling reason to take a chance on further injury.

I'm certainly not saying Josh Allen is better than Cam Newton right now. I do not know if he will be better some day, though I think the odds of that are considerably better than one percent.. What I'm saying is it is not unreasonable that McBeane believe there is a chance he will be better eventually, which is more in line with the topic of the thread. After all, the Bills drafted Allen at 6 overall, and traded up to do it. Newton is a real good QB, and an athletic freak, but he has clear weaknesses, and if I'm not mistaken has won MVP honors only once in his career. When people talk about the great QBs in the game right now Cam Newton is not in the conversation. Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Tom Brady are the names you hear, and then Pat Mahomes and Jared Goff are the names of the potential next great QBs.

Kubiak is not the only observer among media types who thought Peterman did pretty well.

Chad Pennington, and he had himself a decent career.

I don't think I would go as far as the OP in my assessment of McDermott's handling of Peterman, but he was not done any favors by having to start as a relatively unprepared rookie behind an inadequate offensive line. I don't see hi sticking long term with the Bills, but I wouldn't rule out seeing him stick as a backup with another team in 2019. I think in the right situation he could develop and thrive.

I'm not sure that the arm strength of Jamarcus Russell was ever documented, but you could almost disqualify him since he was a total dud. Otherwise, I don't think there is anybody else who can match Allen for documented arm strength.

Interesting. Barkley will have had a little more time than Anderson had to gain a grasp of the offense, but not a lot. Considering that the offense is already hobbling, the prospects are not encouraging.

College tape is only part of the evaluation process. Interviews are a huge part. I think fans underestimate their importance. Then there is the Wonderlic that everybody loves to hate. I think the powers that be in the NFL have retained the use of the Wonderlic for a reason.

Compared with the rest of Africa, I think South Africa is fairly developed. I would think you could find some way to stream the game via internet.