BuffaloBillyG

Honestly, I wouldn't freak out about Browns back even if he misses some time. It's not that he's not good. Guy is legitimately dominant. But we have something we haven't had in ages. OL depth. I believe if Grable or RVD had to step in for a time that there wouldn't be an insurmountable drop off.

Agreed. Their Super Bowl year they caught lightning in a bottle. It looks like that is their method. Keep Burrow/Chase/Higgins. And hope that they get a few breaks along the way. But the lack of serious investment in the OL and defense has cost them. Looking at where they were in their Super Bowl season there is no logical reason why they shouldn't have had at least two more appearances by now IMO.

So, they aren't paying their top defensive player (yet). They won't improve the protection for Burrow. They have nothing on defense. But TE2 is covered.

With the right players I could see a package of wishbone plays being effective inside the 5 or in short yardage. A team like Baltimore would be perfect to run it. A power back in Henry, a huge FB that can catch well and plunge into the line in Ricard, a speedy guy in Mitchell and even a QB that can fake and run with the ball. That's a lot to defend in a small space and a defense would have to read a lot of options from the snap. Of course, the drawback is that most player on the NFL level have defended a wishbone type offense since middle school and are experienced against it. And NFL defenses are stacked with speed and can cover a lot of things at once.

Last year we had Benford/Douglas/Elam as our top 3 boundary CBs. So it's not a high bar to clear. The trio of Benford/White/Max should be much improved. It sound like Bishop is going to get the chance to wrestle the S job away from Damar. That would be absolutely huge for us. Add in a (hopefully) improved pass rush and they won't have to cover long before the ball has to come out. An improvement to the pass rush plus more talent in the DB room would be a real game changer to the make up of this team.

This is a good thing, I believe. While I'm not a fan of Rapp on the field I do give him credit for being a good leader. Smart in knowing the defense. Spending time with him sitting under Rapp's learning tree can only be a positive. I think it speaks to Bishop's character as well. He knows his play disappointed. But rather than take the off season and go back home, visit friends and family or head in vacation...he stuck in town to get better at his craft. Guys like that, with that internal self drivin motivation to improve tend to go far. I think we will see marked improvement in him in year two. I'll be rooting for the kid!

Absolutely. If White and Max can be more reliable than Elam and Douglas were last year AND Benford snaps his streak of missing important playoff games we will be in much better shape

I think from now on we view all announced 1-2 week injuries as circumcision related.

In fairness, Christian Wilkins does that to several fans and teammates every game.

He broke his neck in 3 spots last year and was still on the NFI list when released. He's closer to being forced into retirement than he is signing with anyone. If it wasn't such a risky injury, he was healthy and a FA, then yes he would find a new home at the VERY least on some teams practice squad...but there are rosters he could easily crack.

The biggest issue I see with this is it's reminiscent of Bishop last year. Missing TC and the preseason reps would likely mean he's not gonna be starting out of the gate. Let's hope Tre is up to the task. From TC reports so far it looks pretty promising.

Agree. To actually watch it's gotta have that unpredictable nature. Lynch is definitely that. You never know what he's gonna say.

Moss reportedly broke his neck in 3 diff places last season. He's been in the Bengals NFI list so far. This is due to injury.

The way Ian always words it it sound like it was Mike and Ian reading the test results and making the diagnosis. But this is certainly better news then the local podcasters foreshadowed.

Honestly, there are some days I forget there a Bills preseason game being played that day until it's started.

I saw that was the fake Schefter account that posted that....

Rest of league: Daboll is first coach fired this season. He doesn't make it past week 6. Baker Mayfield is firmly in the MVP conversation. Denver will push KC for the AFCW. They will fall just short, however will beat the Chiefs in the Wild Card round. Patriots beat out Steelers in final week for last AFC Wild Card spot. Tomlin and Steelers "mutually agree" to part ways. Bills Specific: Joey Bosa stays healthy. Ends season with 12.5 sacks. James Cook sees TD numbers cut in half AND misses 1,000 yards rushing. Still leads team in rushing yards. Dalton Kincaid proves last year was down due to PCL tear. Ends up over 75 catches, over 700 yards. Josh Allen posts better numbers than last season but loses out on a second straight MVP award to Mahomes. Josh does however, win Super Bowl MVP

This thread is likely to get real ugly. Real quick.

It's really not bad either. None of the injuries seem to be season long or would impact the regular season. They look like they will all be back fairly quickly. I will take that over an ACL, Achilles or a plethora of other things that could be happening. I just think they are taking a conservative approach and letting guys heal before practicing and making it worse.

Oh without a doubt. And of course as the saying goes hindsight is always 20/20. I should add that it wasn't a swipe at anyone or anything like that. It takes a lot of work to keep the main page streamlined and topics of a variety of nature up front. More times then not you mods get it right!

In retrospect...maybe there should have been a separate Wilkins thread lol

Yup. And keeps the NFL dream alive a bit longer. It's not a bad job if you can get it at all.

Someone has to catch passes in camp. Maybe he finds his way to the PS, but he may be wiser to rent over buy.

Antonio Brown as the special referee.

Right now the injury list is long, but the encouraging thing is these all seem like short term issues. All ACLs, Achilles tendons and such seem to be intact. I'm fairly certain a lot of these guys could play if the season started tomorrow. But it doesn't...so rest em and let em heal.