TigerJ

While I like generally what the Pegulas have done as owners, they should have recognized the situation they were creating in the hiring of Wrecks Ryan. He has tunnel vision for his 3-4 defense. When he was hired, it was a given that's what he would run. There should have been a conference with his GM, Doug Whaley, where they talked about the Bills defensive personnel and what it would take to run Ryan's defense effectively before he was ever hired. I was originally in favor of retaining Jim Schartz. The exact capacity in which he were retained would have taken some work. Ideally, I think the Bills would have been better off hiring a creative offensive guy as a head coach and retaining Schwartz as a DC. If Schwartz wanted the head coach job as a condition for staying, I would have pushed for a strong OC.

This is what I heard. It can be if a checklist of conditions are met, including time limits and the condition of the limb. If they had to remove the arm to get him out of the wreck, his arm might not have been in great condition anyway.

I agree on Joseph. He's more of a natural athlete than Milano. He has to play smarter though. If the Bills can't coach up his tendency bite on fakes, and teach him to play with a little more discipline, he won't ever be a defensive fixture for Buffalo like Milano is.

Matt Milano is one of several cases on the Bills where the present regime has a real good feel for matching players to systems. Matt Milano on a team with a 3-4 defense would be at best a special teamer. I think even some 4-3 defenses would find him something of a poor fit, but Matt Milano in McDermott's 4-3? Awesome! Ed Oliver may be another one. He probably has enough talent to be scheme flexible, but he has the potential to be a perennial pro bowler for McDermott. Tre White was regarded fairly highly coming out of college, but lots of observers thought he had limitations. McDermott's zone defense on the back end facilitates greatness for him, even as he's had the chance to work on some of his limitations in man coverage.

I would guess not. Rather, it appears to have something to do with the nature of your soft connective tissues, either quantity or (more likely) toughness.

Maybe Mike Florio should ask some Buffalo players what they think about playing in Buffalo.

Roof - allows the stadium to be used for so much more than 10 professional and a few high school football games per year. As far as the football experience, I'm OK with open air, but it seems the height of inefficiency not to build something that lends itself to other kinds of events.

Brady had the guy aim his speed gun at his car when he drive 61 mph.

I agree that improving run defense is at least as high a priority as being more disruptive in pass defense (generating sacks and turnovers). How do the Bills achieve that? I presume the answer has a lot of factors: including the defensive linemen winning the battle at the LOS and not getting pushed out of position allowing the creation of running lanes, linebackers making better reads and getting better run support from DBs. Where were the most obvious breakdowns last year?

Hmm. I hadn't thought about Harrison Phillips that much. He's still on a learning curve, and could be ready for a more significant role.

I don't disagree that Jordan Phillips has a 3 tech skill set, but given the number of snaps Ed Oliver is likely to command, would it make some sense to have both on the field at the same time? With his wrestling background, he should also have a great grasp of using leverage in his play.

Yes, it is the slowest period of the year for football discussion, but here'a topic I find interesting. How are things going to shake out on the defensive line. Specifically, with the addition of Ed Oliver, who, by virtue of being a 9th overall pick becomes the presumptive starter at 3 tech, is there a way for Jordan Phillips to get enough reps to be a good value to the Bills. The Bills have kind of an odd setup on the interior of their D-line. Typically, with a four man front, defenses will have one big, strong dude playing the one or zero tech and a smaller, more disruptive player manning the 3 tech spot. The Bills have that - sort of - with Star Lotulelei starting at nose, and Ed Oliver (possibly) starting at 3 tech. Lotulelei isn't the biggest nose tackle in the league, but he's big enough, and very strong. Interesting, the other two interior linemen, the ones who will make the roster at least, are atypical. Jordan Phillips if Buffalo's biggest defensive lineman, but he plays mostly 3 tech. Harrison Phillips, is kind of smallish, (not as small as Oliver) but his skill set makes him a better nose at this point. Jordan Phillips is currently listed as starter at 3 tech. That's where he got most of his reps last season. His ambition and expectation is he's going to remain a starter. The problem with that is virtually everybody else is hoping Ed Oliver will eventually beat him out because his rare explosion at the snap gives him the potential to be unusually disruptive as an interior pass rusher. Since Oliver is on the small side, I can see Jordan Phillips getting a pretty fair number of reps in an effort to keep Oliver fresh. The question is, will it be enough? My question is, can Jordan Phillips be effective as a nose tackle. He easily has the size. Especially in passing situations, might Jordan Phillips' quickness for a big man be more of an advantage than Lotulelei's strength? While we're at it, I wonder if Harrison Phillips can develop more explosion off the snap and use that to become more effective at 3 tech. Ed Oliver played a lot of nose in college, but I doubt that Buffalo sees him in that role. Likewise, I think Lotulelei is pretty much stuck at nose. But if Buffalo can get some position versatility from the the PHillips "brothers" that could be a nice bonus for this defense. Thoughts?

It's nice to hear an actual explanation for all the garbage we hear every year. On the other hand it is an admission that it actually is garbage. That can be kind of discouraging.

McKenzie - he's faster. Both are long shots.

the fact that Brandon Beane added talent in several areas of the team has lit a fire under the guys who were here before. I think that the Bills are going to cut a few receivers who have a good shot at hooking up with another team. I don't know if McKenzie makes the team or not, but I'm guessing if he's cut, he does not stay unemployed. I'm pretty sure that John Brown, Cole Beasley, Zay Jones, and Robert Foster make the team (unlike sports hack, Cien Fahey). Andre Roberts has the inside track for return specialist/WR, though I don't think he's an absolute lock. The battle for that 6th spot is going to be brutal. Do the Bills want the physicality of Duke Williams, the college touchdown proclivity of David Sills V, the veteran presence of Isaiah McKenzie, or Victor Bolden (who's been impressive this spring), another slot specialist in Nick Easley, a gadget WR like Ray Ray McCloud, a route running, hands of glue slowpoke like Cam Phillips, or Da'Mari Scott. an all around average player - average speed. average size, average everything else. I think Duke Williams is pretty compelling given he's so different from anyone else Buffalo has, but I don't know that Sean McDermott thinks so.

People are throwing so much s*** at the wall in hopes of saying something that actually happens, the room is starting to really stink.

My assumption is that Buffalo added Yeldon, Singletary and Gore because they wanted to create some real competition in training camp, and felt any of them has at least a slim chance to make the 53 man roster. So, I withhold judgments and we see how it shakes out.

Lets just give New England another Lombardi Trophy and award Buffalo, New York Jets and Dolphins top five picks in the 2020 draft. No point in playing out the 2019 season.

I get that Karlos completely screwed up what could have been a very nice professional career, but that is a couple years out of a lifetime. I also get that some of what he said reeked of cliches. However, I have great admiration that he took control of his life and started to make some smart decisions. Whether or not he has a chance at resurrecting his football career, I expect that he is going to have a life that gives him a lot of satisfaction. Good for him! I also think that someone with a checkered past can give a powerful motivational speech on making right choices, after having made a bunch of bad choices in the past. He can tell students first hand how choices matter, and how you can screw your life up when you make bad ones. Personally, I'd love to hear more of his story.

Fluff piece? Sure. There are a ton of them. I don't mind it though. A second year QB looking more confident than he did is as a rookie should not be a revelation. It is expected. There would be something seriously wrong if he didn't look a lot more confident. That said, a little confirmation that he seems to be on the right path is always comforting. Now, if he looks more confident when he facing an exotic Gregg Williams defense on opening day. . .

So Hyde's performance in 2018 makes him the best free safety since 2017? Epic! Just kidding. It's good to see him get recognized. It's also nice to see that Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott seem to have a good grip on how to build a team.

Make him eat crow, Les Frazier.

After Shaq Lawson's experience with a torn labrum, I think the Bills were extra wary of that particular injury.

As you observe, the study's author uses metrics that are clearly based on market size and area economic conditions. You can argue the legitimacy of the study, but given his choice of metrics, a ranking of 19th is pretty darn good.

There are also some environmental things that parents can't control. Our son had attention deficit problems (probably genetic). He was also small for his age as a kid. Put those two together and he was pretty awkward socially. Because of that, he was picked on in school. Years after the fact he told us that when he walked home from school ( in a small town) older kids threatened to kill him. That left a mark on him, and there was nothing we could do about it. Ironically, he's now 6 foot tall, over 250 lbs and can lift several hundred lbs. I also believe there is a choice factor in how kids develop. Some kids choose not to let the fact they've been victimized turn them into long term victims. They choose to overcome. People are complex beings. We need to give them credit for that.