TigerJ

I think the sports media is still thinking of Charles Clay as the promising all around tight end he was thought to be when he was signed away from Miami. His chronic injury issues have rendered him more of a journeyman type player at best. The level of play the Bills bot from him the last couple of years can't be terribly difficult to replace.

Milano is close to the perfect weak side linebacker for the McDermott defense. He has the requisite high football IQ and is very instinctive. He's not an elite athlete, but he's not bad athletically either. His main drawback is that he's undersized, being in the low 220s. Vosean is a little bigger and is more athletic, but the knock on him in college was that his instincts weren't great. He was over aggressive at times and tended to bite on fakes. Before he becomes a threat to get a significant number of plays, he needs to prove that he can develop his football IQ and instinctiveness. As I understand it, there is not that much difference between the roles and physical requirements of strong side and weak side linebacker in the McDermott scheme. That makes me wonder if Vosean might be groomed to become Lorenzo Alexander's successor. Whether or not that works will depend on how well Vosean grows mentally into the pro game.

Lamar Jackson has a specialized skill set, to be sure. He is nothing like what you expected of a QB in the NFL ten years ago. Greg Roman's offensive scheme isn't exactly mainstream though. The mainstay of his offense is a vast array of running plays designed to force defenses to cheat toward run defense by stacking the box. Once defenses do that, they become vulnerable to deep throws. It is a much better scheme for a QB like Lamar Jackson than say a West coast scheme. Lamar Jackson can be a natural part of that complex run offense, with his ability to break contain and take off running. The passing component of Roman's offense is not nearly as sophisticated, which is good, because that's not where Jackson's strength lies. Personally, I would rather have a QB whose skill set included a strong passing component. That's not Josh Allen - yet, but I think Josh has far more upside in that area, and a coaching staff with a plan to help that potential become a reality. I think Jackson can have some success with Baltimore given their traditionally strong defense, but he's never going to be an elite QB. Josh Allen just might be in a couple years.

The fact that EO has that unique combination of size and athleticism is the primary reason for optimism about his pro career with Buffalo. Because offensive linemen don't face guys like him every week, they won't have a handle on how to deal with him.

Hi IceBowl. It's good to hear from you again. As far as the NBA is concerned, I am not a fan myself. Once in a while something will interest me a bit, but it's not team specific, and I can't can't say I've ever had any interest in Toronto. I feel more affinity for the Packers than the Raptors.

Beane and McDermott are not infallible. They have demonstrated that through a number of mistakes (like Kelvin Benjamin). What is different is their focus on a process, that includes constant evaluation and a willingness to cut bait when a decision has proved to be wrong. Beane has made a number of smart decision, but has put in place a process for moving on from mistakes. That should keep the team on track for steady improvement. This may be the years we start to reap the benefits. I'm hopeful.

The nicest thing I can say about the suggestion of the OP is that when Buffalo plays Miami this season, it could be termed "The Wrecking Crew vs the Wreaking Crew."

To put his amazing NFL longevity into perspective, He was the upper classman at Miami when Willis McGahee arrived on campus

Given that the Bills' over/under in Vegas is 6.5, he's obviously not alone. While I am hopeful, Josh Allen as franchise QB is not a done deal until he demonstrates statistical improvement and the team is winning games more consistently. This upcoming season should tell us a lot.

I don't need to see the video. Just send it to Commissioner Goodell.

You're probably right, and I think his combine weight is probably his ceiling. That said, this is a very individualized issue. Some players can carry more weight without it affecting quickness. Some can't. You never really know without doing some experimenting.

Anything is possible, Joe. I know Arizona's situation was unique in that they just signed a new coach who is committed to an offensive system that to this point has not existed in the NFL in it's pure form. Andy Reid incorporated some elements because Pat Mahomes is is QB, but Kingsbury wanted the best QB he could get for his system, and Rosen was not it. I don't know who is the Jets' OC but I think Gase is philosophically in the West Coast family. At this point there is no reason to think Darnold won't be able to handle a Gase offense, but if for some reason Darnold is just awful or Gase is arrogant enough to lust after his own QB despite Darnold proving to be a solid starter in 2019, he could decide to cut bait and trade him. I don't think it is the most likely future for the Jets, but I can't rule it out.

Miami is probably in the best position to tank. I don't think they will do so deliberately, but their GM cleared the roster of players they don't think have a future with the team, even though some of those players could have made positive contributions in 2019. I'm not positive they would pick Tua if they end up with the top spot. A lot depends on what Rosen can do. Unfortunately for Rosen, the circumstances in Miami might be even more stacked against success than they were in Arizona. Fromm and Herbert might be as good as any QB prospect in the 2019 draft, and if Miami wanted more picks, they might have the opportunity to trade down and still get a very promising QB prospect.

Probably. More guys do than don't. Clearly though, it's easier for some than others. The only reason I bring the issue up is that comments have been made by various individuals, including Ed Oliver's college coach questioning Oliver's ability to maintain a weight over 280. His game is more about quickness than leverage. He's so fast at the snap that offensive linemen find themselves struggling to regain position from the get go. He demonstrated good strength though at the combine. The quickness off the snap is the main reason I'm optimistic about his potential in the Bills' defense.

Not necessarily so. The main reason Jake Fisher attempted a position switch is that he had a difficult time maintaining the weight necessary to play tackle. Some players struggle to stay at a lower weight because they like to eat (like me). A few players struggle to keep their weight up to a desired level just because they are high energy guys with a high metabolism.

Oliver bulked up for the combine. It is thought that he played last season in the mid 270s. When he had his pro day, he had already lost several pounds from his combine weight. I'm not anti-Oliver, but it's doubtful he's going to play at 285 or better.

I think Vegas must have consulted with Tasker's Ghost in setting the over/under for the Bills this year.

Clay played most of the last two seasons hurt, and was rarely able to practice. I don't think TE is any worse, and with young guys ready to step in, and the signing of arguably the best blocking TE in the league, I think it won't be far into the season that they will be better. Kyle Williams was dependable, but it can be argued that he was becoming less disruptive as a three tech with age. They just drafted a hyper disruptive DT in April. The worst you can say about defensive line is that there could be some question about Oliver needing a little time to make a transition to the NFL.

On One Bills Drive, the possibility of Buffalo hosting the draft some day was raised. Suppose that happened. What venue might they use? Is there any place that could match the scale of the Nashville location, or would they have to scale back. I don't get to Buffalo that often, so I don't know.

Granted, it may seem like obvious advice, but the fact is there are players who get lazy, who don't dedicate themselves to film work and taking care of their bodies. Anyone want to see Buffalo re-sign Kelvin Benjamin?

The Buffalo News has a new story on Zay Jones. Link is on the opening (news) page of TBD. It explains how, due to injury, this is the first offseason where Zay has been able to focus on strength and conditioning work. He's added 10 lbs of muscle and got both stronger and faster. Yes, he has to continue working on the drops issue, but he did shot significant improvement in the latter part of last season with drops.

The problem is that cancer can exist at a microscopic level. I was treated for lung cancer two years ago. The followup testing consists of a CT scan. That is probably the same diagnostic tool that was used on Kelly. A CT scan can detect fairly small cancerous sites in the body, but not on a microscopic level. He will continue to have scans for at least a few years. Because those secondary microscopic cancer sites will tend to grow, if they exist, they will eventually show up. The later that Kelly's scans continue to be negative the less likely a relapse is. My wife is a breast cancer survivor. Her cancer was 10 years ago. She still has a blood test twice a year (I think it tests for cancer antibodies). We're pretty confident now that she is cured, but the fact that that her oncologist continues to see her suggests they can't yet rule out the possibility of a tiny lump of cancer cells lying dormant somewhere.

Great news. I wonder what diagnostic tools they use for this. Blood tests have been developed for some cancers (breast cancer). Others rely on CT scans (lung cancer). PET scans are better, but because they involve the injection of a radioactive substance (sugar) you can't have a lot of them because of the potential for cell damage over the long term.

Sacks are good, but they're kind of like gravy. If the meat is tough and grisly, and has no flavor, you can't appreciate the gravy as much.

If that is the case, (and I don't disagree) it does beg the question, what do the Bills do on those plays which call for a fullback sharing the backfield? They have a stable full of tight ends, (when Kroft gets healthy) but I don't know that most of them are great fits to line up in the backfield. Deane might be a better fit for that than most, if he can actually block. Plus, he has a background that includes catching a lot of passes, albeit at a lower level of competition.