WideNine

Daboll said in his presser last week that they do not game plan for preseason, rather they pick areas to work on against live competition... Missed the game (was on the road), but it sounds like there is more work to do on the things they were working on.

No one hates Zay - they hate the way the ball bounces off his hands; the inconsistencies where he comes up big in some games and is a drive-killer in others. There is a difference.

Kind of where I am at - For a QB to take on all the bad karma of a Cleveland franchise you probably have to find a guy like Mayfield who has moxy and is oblivious to outside opinions. I think he is the right guy for that team, not like I have to hang out with him or anything - but taking in a ball game with a chick....not sure if there is anything less normal.

the ghost of Marty past? Schottenheimer always had a very competitive Chief's team during the regular season, but just could not get over the hump and win the big games. I don't think this prediction is too far off, but I agree with Happy Gilmore regarding the Saints and Chicago. The Bills and Jets could easily split, but I think we had them last year in both games barring a complete meltdown on Special Teams. I do like Darnold and felt he was more NFL ready than Allen last year, but I still feel that Allen has the higher ceiling - only time will tell. I would love to say this is the year we topple NE off its AFC East throne, but I wont say it till we do it. I do think all three AFC East teams loaded up on guys who can penetrate and push the pocket Brady likes to step into.... will be interesting to see how it goes. I do not wish him injury, but if he gets knocked silly and decides it is time to hang up the cleats I will not be too broken up over it.

Better than my answer. ESPN head quarters 3rd floor, down the hall and to the left of the ladies room.

Well if analytics was involved it has to be true right?

Well if "Rumblings" is correctly quoting the Bills Communication office then: "Wade CAN make the initial 53-man roster outright according to the Buffalo Bills’ communications department. If he is released by the Bills during their roster cutdown, he can be claimed by another team and placed on their 53-man active roster. If he passes through waivers, Buffalo gets that extra spot on their practice squad where he will stay all season. They can use that 11th spot for free but he can’t be called up to the active roster. They can also choose to place him on the regular practice squad, costing them one of their ten spots. If he’s on the 10-man roster, he can be signed by other teams or the Bills to the active roster. What’s more unclear is if he makes an NFL team’s 53-man roster, what would happen if he is released during the season. He’d likely find a home on a practice squad somewhere but no one seems to know if he would still be eligible for the Bills to add to their practice squad at the later point with the exemption." But yeah, there are a lot of versions of this truth.

Every time I read a post like this my inner fan who is very superstitious screams "no!" I know it is irrational, but it is not like the fickle gods of football fate have ever been kind to the Bills. They have carried us older fans to the mountain top a few times only to chuck us off the other side. Yet here we go, waiving flags of hope in open defiance that are certain to get their attention....again. Everyone just needs to shush this optimistic nonsense and channel their inner-Sully.

I think they are rushing him back a bit too fast. If he is this far off from fully planting on that leg, but hey it is the 49ers problem. Its not like their fans were sweating it out as we Bills fans got to watch EJ launch passes into the bench, media tents, well all over the place. Pulled up an old sports article on Manuel and just busted out laughing at how bad it was.... "Manuel also got hit hard, but he was eventually just yanked because he was not good at football. Manuel would finish the day 9-of-20 for 86 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions."

Garoppolo was throwing pick 6's like a machine during the 49ers training camp. He has definitely not recovered his form from his ACL surgery. If half of that happened with Allen during training camp this board would be broken for most of a week.

Just....damn, I hated reading that.

There was a thread on this Gunner and it looks like if he is cut he would have to clear waivers to be placed on the PS. https://www.buffalorumblings.com/2019/8/18/20810950/clarifying-the-buffalo-bills-roster-status-with-running-back-christian-wade

Working for Jerry? Hmmm......

There seems to be a lot of "when Morse gets back all will be well" comments Gunner. I am usually more the rose-colored-glasses guy, but I have my doubts Morse will be able to stay healthy for the full season once he does get back. I know he is going to give it another go, and I really, really want him to be able to play and avoid another concussion because I think he loves the game and is a very tough competitor, but playing on the line is like being in a car crash over and over. Talk about your helmet to helmet hits, they happen on every play if you play in the trenches. I just don't see a long term situation where Morse does not have a recurrence of another concussion this season. Feliciano may end up being our starter for most of the season - just setting expectations. No one wants to see a player damaged for life.

I think Brown and Beasley are pretty sure bets so I guess you could use the word "lock", after that I think coaches balance what they have seen in camp and scrimmages with an eye to role depth. Brown - speed to stretch the defense you have Foster or Roberts who could fill in a pinch. Beasley - quick slot receiver and for that role you have Mckenzie or Ray Ray In scenarios above you have the real possibility of losing Foster over Roberts with his dual-role - Foster seems to find himself in the dog house often as well last year and this year and I am not sure what that is about, and we may never know but it is a factor. Ray Ray made a push in camp, but I think McKenzie has shown more in real game scenarios. It is that last role: The taller receiver with some strength who can beat the jam, catch and protect contested passes, and high-point the ball that is the area where it gets interesting with Zay, and Duke primarily having the right build. Out of the two I would not say that Zay has it locked down as Williams has shown plenty of compete and he has played in a league (albeit not the NFL), so it is safe to say he is not some wide-eyed rookie with just a bit a good camp film. They could keep both and Zay has some trade value if the inconsistencies keep cropping up. I also like what I have seen from Nick Easley and Cam has flashed some in camp. Some hard decisions coming up around this crop of WRs and it is a good problem for the Bills to have. As to the TE's I think Sweeney and Knox are locks, and probably Croom sticks as he is familiar with the offense then I am not sure. They still could put Kroft on the reserve PUP list as some insurance down the road and give that gimpy foot more time to heal correctly and he wont count against the roster. Then one more for the active roster. Anyone else would have to clear waivers if they want to stash him on the PS if eligible or they would have to cut him if he is an NFL vet.

Found more details. Looks like a young lady with him died too. Police think he was going too fast and could not stop in time when a mini van pulled out in front of him - sad as they probably just did not see him coming. No hit and run scenario, they stuck around and waited for police and such. Sad.

It is preseason and we have not seen barely any blitz/zone blitz. Greggo and other D-coordinators are going to definitely test Allen, his protections, and hot read tendencies. IMO there are a couple of things Daboll should do based on what we have seen through practices and scrimmage games to date. Allen's early "jitters" - I have seen this term used and I believe it is entirely misplaced. Those rushed throws and early timing issues are not jitters. Jitters happen to guys that are scared. Allen is a competitor through and through so what you are seeing is the pent up adrenaline of a competitor. Design some early roll outs perhaps with Beasley on a z-drag/dig route. It wont net much, but getting Allen's feet moving right out of the gate should level out his early performance and throws as well as remind defenses that he has wheels. At the same time it moves the pocket where d-coordinators will be focusing the rush early to set the tone as an unsafe place to be. Cadence - change it up more: Have Josh use all the clock sometimes with some hard counts to help diagnose protections and coverage, go quick count a few times or direct snap to McCoy, whatever it takes to mix it up. Not sure why, but last year the cadence they had Allen use did not vary much so d-linemen were jumping the count and creating havoc. Was this because our o-line had so many false starts they were trying to simplify the count? ... if so, if would be a sad testament to how bush league that o-line performance really was. Similar to cadence, but maybe use the 2 minute drill early to keep substitutions and elaborate blitz packages to a minimum and do not be afraid to run the ball to slow that pass rush down. Speaking of adrenaline, man I cannot wait for this season to begin.

I have never felt that officiating was very objective when it came to certain teams and I have my theories in regards to that - after all the NFL is first and foremost an entertainment business. That being said, there is some truth to the fact that teams with poor personnel commit more noticeable penalties. Last year our offensive line was atrocious. You had Dawkins with his every-game brain-fart false starts, you had other linemen clearly over-matched and out of position holding defenders. It was quite often a train wreck on that side of the ball. The influx of veteran talent on the o-line will go a long way to negating a bulk of our penalties. Savvy vets know how to play the game in a way that minimizes those noticeable penalties. Also, I think the coaching of the o-line has improved and Josh's command of the huddle - we should see this pay off this year.

Years of conditioning and the "how will this team ***** defeat from the jaws of victory" have been pretty much ingrained. Too many Billsy moments to count...I will never forget friggin Lonnie running free at Green Bay and failing to account for the 11th man on the GB squad - a safety. Pointing at himself on the jumbo tron and jogging to what he thought was a sure score only to see a blur of green and yellow on the jumbo tron he was staring at and getting destroyed and fumbling the ball. Moments like those over and over again and the constant churn of coaches and staff made the Bills less of a contender and more of a joke in the league. Even fans of other teams and TV personalities would openly assume this organization would find a way to lose. Steady ownership, team leadership, and strategic personnel moves and I believe that the culture and tone out of OBD has changed. Gradually, those outside the organization are starting to take note of the change and are not sure what to make of it. We have talking heads on sports programs saying things like, " I will go out on a limb" and saying positive things about this team - it is different. If the glass-half-full crowd are honest they all want to hope, but cannot bear having that hope crushed - they are probably the hardest core fans of all of us. But this squad looks really good with the pieces that McBeane has assembled. Objectively, Allen is growing in this 2nd year in this offense and does not look as lost as to where the ball should go, and is getting it there more often than not. The offensive line is holding up better and will be even better still if Morse can come back healthy. And our defense (which was already good) may even be better this year. Baby steps - nothing wrong with saying this team has to earn back some of that hope and trust to ease some of the most die-hard fans back from the edge.

OK the linky did the trick - don't like the waiver gamble. Seems the grey areas is what happens if they promote him to active squad then later demote him to PS.

OK - not being a legal expert, it sounds like Wade could be retained if on the active roster. Or he can be retained on the PS, but in a way that prevents him from being activated during this season. What about next season? Also, I would assume he would be protected while on the PS from being acquired by another team (one would think that kind of move would be blocked or it would turn into a meaningless paper shuffle as teams could not promote him to active roster).

Some would be surprised at how meaningful the little things are when someone in a leadership role does not have to but tries to make work more "fun", even when guys are pulling down NFL salaries. Can make the slight difference between a place where a player just puts in their time, to a place a player enjoys putting in their time. For a team it is meaningful, and it is not going to be easy for this staff to cut down this roster. They intentionally brought in guys who they felt would create competition and many of the players on the bubble have worked their tails off to do just that. On a more positive side, most who have shown enough will be PS bound, some will be nabbed by other teams thin at the position, and for the others that have shown some juice during camps and preseason, Beane has demonstrated that he keeps those guys on some kind of speed dial if a position opens up and they are free.

I hope I raised him better than that.

Sorry. Could not help myself