ColoradoBills

If that is true, it makes no sense not to just have Butler or Babich do the calls. They know the D as well as anyone, including Frazier. Frazier leaving the way he did and McDermott taking over (yes, it's unusual) IS my evidence. We will have to wait and see.

If McDermott was planning on running the same type of D this year, he would have given the play calling to one of his minions. I'm really thinking he is installing a new D and will hand it over to someone else next year. If my speculation is correct, I can't see why anyone would not like this plan.

Beane had hinted at that too. He is stuck as depth only with Dane Jackson now. I'm sure he gets safety snaps in camp to see how he does.

I was just going to reply to @TOboysomething along this point. I know it's all speculation, and I'm not saying any of this stuff would be a full-time D, but someone on the D side of the ball has to create a system where guys like Kelce don't just run free constantly. It's a copycat league, but someone has to try innovations. It's long odds but fun to think about!

Does that make Bernard (whose play time would be limited) more of a chance as Milano's part-time partner? LOL, I'm still looking for his fit too, if there will be any. That would probably mean Milano gets the green dot. He did just sign an extension, so he would be the steady guy in all of this.

There is some mounting evidence, starting with McDermott taking over the D, that something new might be in store for the D. The nearly 100% Nickel D seems to be figured out by teams so maybe it's going to have a multiple rotation or something else.

I would agree. They already have 7-8 safeties coming to camp. One more UFA/UDFA after the draft and they are done. Hyde Poyer Rapp Hamlin Lewis (although I will point out Beane's presser comment that Cam is best at backup NCB) Neal Anderson Mayden I know I'm a broken record and the ultra-pro special team's guys will jump on this, but I have to ask it again. Is Siran Neal really worth $6.725M for the next 2 seasons? I think he will have real competition this summer for that position.

If it ends up that no new MLBs of any worth are acquired by camp, I will be concerned. Until then something will happen, and I don't believe it has to be done using a 1st or 2nd round pick. It's one hole left to fill and Beane will get something done. He has options.

I think once the tag is "declared" that sets the rest of the rules in motion. Lamar and Ravens could do a deal or Lamar can find a trade partner. Of course, that changes some on July 15th. Until Lamar signs the tag I don't think the Ravens can do any wheeling and dealing. I see you point about the teams wants but I guess the NFLPA is protecting the player too. I'm guessing. Maybe this situation will force a change.

As I have said, I'm not a college football fan much at all so all this has helped me realistically look at options for Beane. Thanks for all your effort. As of now, my hope is for a trade down and go with Campbell with the higher 2nd round pick. Use the next 3 Day 2 picks for the offense.

Right now Spotrac is going with its $10M per year increase. It will go up some. My point is if it goes up for the Bills it goes up for their rivals. KC has $74M in space next year according to OTC. That's what I mean about "relative". I've already said that if a deal is made for Hopkins, I will be excited. It better work because it will cause pain somewhere else next season. It's a big risk IMO and I don't know if I would pull the trigger if it was up to me.

Wow, Spotrac has this year's cap at $224.8M and already has next year's at $235M. That $256M is a huge increase estimate. Be that as it may, it only means that all the players will want more. It's not about the number for one team, it's league wide. Teams with more cap space will just start paying $30M for OTs and $60M+ for QBs. Vet minimum's, rookie contracts and even PS players get more every year too. It's all relative.

I tend to agree with you. The thing is, Beane could do this DHop deal and make the numbers work for this year. What fans have to realize is he will have to roll out of another player the following year when DHop's money comes due. There are no "magic bullets" in this cap stuff. KC keeps getting brought up in these talks, but the facts are they have 6 players above $10M per year contracts. They have been at that number (7 last season) for a number of years. That's how THEY play the game. Bills have 9 over $10M and fans want to add another. That is not going to last much longer. I would be excited if DHop is on the team, but I also see the extreme need to get Knox off the line and into the passing game. He is going to cost $14.4M next season. To get him off the line you need to invest in the line. Lots of ways to skin these cats!

I've kind of seen that is the deal with Centers. So, if the Bills wanted one of the top 2 they would have to do it by the 2nd round? Neither will probably be there for the Bills 3rd round pick, correct? Good chance also that Oluwatimi would not be there with the Bills 4th round pick. Barring a 1st round trade down.

The way I see the draft needs, if a TE is taken early then the WR is off the board early for sure. I'm not against that, but it's reality the way I see it.

You guys that know college players have to help us that don't. Who (if any) in this draft would make a good long-term center for Josh? What rounds would they go in? Fixing the OL for me is not about this year only. I want things anchored this year, so the future is not a constant fire drill with the OL. Morse has been good. He may or may not be a cap casualty next season. I think moving Bates over to C at his age is not the greatest of options. I wouldn't mind drafting Morse's replacement this year, even if it means he doesn't play a lot this season.

Or it puts Beane in a position to trade back.

Hines has to get back to some worth at running the ball like he did his 1st 4 years in Indianapolis. That's close to another 200. I don't mind Josh running with open ground in front of him. Harris should be able to take some of the tougher rushing yards from Josh. My hope is not so much added yards by the RBs, they need to be catching a lot more balls too.

This debate just keeps going. IF these huge $ fully guaranteed QB contracts become the norm, there will come a time that a team(s) (and its fans) will truly regret it. These contracts have a risk of destroying a franchise. I will add to my observation using Deshaun Watson as an example. Watson has restructured this year pushing his cost for the next 3 seasons to $64M per year. What if Deshaun suffers a serious injury that is NOT career ending? What is this injury limits a QB and the team is perpetually a sub .500 team? They can't cut him and they surely couldn't trade him. The Browns already have $9M pushed out into a void year in 2027. Think of teams from a few years back that could have been saddled with these types of contracts. Wentz would still be on the Eagles and the Ravens may never have had the option of drafting Lamar if Joe Flacco's contract was fully guaranteed. This is right off the top of my head. Personally, I don't think it's good for the league.

I'll be happy with 700 yards and another 800 from Cook.

It's true that McDermott does tend to trust a veteran more than a rookie and there is merit to McDermott's starting rookies slowly due in a large part to the long NFL season compared to college. I think Beane has gone along with it always trying to fill all holes with some sort of a veteran before the draft. Now that the core team is together, and the cap is much tighter and definitely will be tight again next spring, I do feel that McDermott will, out of necessity, have to ease up on his mantra concerning rookies. I don't expect a huge change, but I do see a need for compromise.

Great post, especially the bolded. As to Davis, he does have to snag some of the easy drops and get his catch rate up 10-12%. The offense all starts with the QB, that is undebatable. The Bills have Josh Allen who is elite, but he has tendencies that have to be acknowledged. While Josh can learn to identify a receiver and get the ball out very quickly, it will never be his norm. He wants to hold on to the ball and look for the big play more than the average QB. He has the skill set to do that, so it makes sense to me to accept what's in his DNA and build accordingly. If you accept that Josh wants to play the QB position that way, it only makes sense to FIRST put an above average OL in front of him. That doesn't mean it has to be the top 5 in the league, but they should be shooting for at least a top 10. My eyes tell me that Josh gets pushed off his anchor spot in the pocket too much. That alone throws the timing of the plays off and it turns into a mad scramble. Luckily, Josh is good at that but it doesn't mean he should play 50% of the game that way. I will stick to my guns and continue to say the problem is not receivers (Gabe or others), it's the OL. Give Josh that extra tick of the clock and keep the plays timing on track and watch the offense take off. I will be disappointed if the Bills don't add another good lineman in the draft. Add a WR after the OL this April.

That's good news to me. I want Beane to be able to trade down from #27 and my hope is some player sticking out. With a supposed weak draft class, CB would be a great position for a team with need to trade up. Las Vegas at #38 has need for a CB but other priorities (OL/QB) may be taking pick #7. Their #100 3rd round comp pick and #174 5th comp would be a joy to see go to Buffalo. They got a total of 12 picks, so there in lies my hope!

The Buffalo Bills are a very good football team and have a very good front office and coaches. I enjoy watching the Buffalo Bills play football.

Sadly, when I feel that way, I fear I'm turning into this. I think I need a walk.