WideNine

As an advocate of the Bills investing more into the TE position for years, I get what you are saying. Just taking the glass half-full position of being able to get more starting reps for that Boston kid who I don't think is all that bad of a player. That, and Daboll likes to feature a lot of 2-TE sets so this can build into having two young TE's becoming long term starters for us down the road. Will hit the pause on the panic button till we learn more about why Knox came up gimpy and how long they feel he has to rest it - may only be a week or so kind of deal so we will see what OBD comes out with in their next presser.

Not if it is just a mild strain - then it is some ice and mild rehab to recover. That, and Knox has been getting all the work with Kroft out, so if you work in the kid from Boston you start to build your depth in the off season. TE's get dinged - a lot. They have the size and speed that puts a lot of strain on the joints, they get tangled up blocking, and when receiving defensive players (smart ones) always take them low. The Bills need to work building the depth.

Time for that hard-nosed kid out of Boston to step up - not a bad thing this time of year and when a hammy starts to go, you have to give it time to heal or it will be a lingering issue. Just ask Shady.

I know there is a lot of excitement around Cody Ford, but based on some of his highlight reel work I hope they never ask him to pull. Looked like a Star Wars AT-ST trying to run behind center and line up someone to block. Not his thing - has a great range and long arms pass blocking, and is a nasty bull when plowing straight forward in run blocking. You get an idea of the drop in coaching talent between college and pros when you see coaches completely misuse players like Ford and Oliver.

As crazy as this thread seems as we endure our NFL drought, with more states legalizing gambling and looking to curb underground illegal gambling, there has already been some federal hearings regarding oversight of the industry. If there ever is state or federal oversight, I imagine they will use techniques like Nevada's gaming commission claims to use to spot irregular betting. Of course the existing institutions in Nevada, and the few Indian organizations that have grown fat and happy with their virtual gambling monopoly sans transparent oversight are strongly opposed to that idea. Our government of course sees money flowing that they have not tapped into?

Where I am at. I can go along with a close call gone wrong, but that was blatent no call with nothing in the way of viewing it. And our boy Nickell seemed completely fine doing something that normally would draw a hail of laundry and put the Saints on the doorstep of the goal line with a fresh set of downs. He did not even pretend he was looking back for the ball.... It is entertainment, and there is betting, viewership, and new stadiums to build. It is not that far fetched that some games are fixed. I still enjoy watching my Bills play.

On paper? we are better, but I agree OBD took steps to infuse talent and Allen needed a better supporting cast. Really hoping it all comes together this year. Been a while since we had an offense we could get excited about.

I get where you are going, and for me as a fan of those Bills' teams I feel they were elite players that had the misfortune of hitting a perfect storm of NFC Superbowl teams. I often wonder how many good players become great players because they land with the right team with the right coaching around them, vs players that make average or poor teams better because they bring elite skills... The truth, like most things in life, is probably somewhere in the middle and some positions carry more impact than others.

True. I think most of us hope that Allen becomes that QB who can elevate the play of guys around him. Takes time, but I think today's game plays into Brees' strengths.

Dunno, I would definitely add playoffs and championships won as part of any pro-athletes resume and impact analysis. I mean that is why they are paid millions of dollars, to help their teams win games not to pad stats. As great as our SB Bills teams were, those players will always be rated lower than players with similar stats on teams that won the big game - it is just the way winning and losing either adds to or diminishes the perception of a player's impact on the game. In today's spread offenses I think the concept of a number 1 receiver is giving way to role players ala NE and New Orleans. Just scheming guys open, whether they are slot, perimeter, seam, or RBs releasing. I wonder how much it would change their offense for a team like New Orleans, that likes to dink and dunk down the field, to have a stud player like Julio Jones? Would he be featured less and have less yards than he has had with Atlanta? I think good teams with solid QBs make good receivers look great without tying up significant cap signing so-called "elite" receivers. On poor teams elite receivers often disappear and the prima donnas tend to implode. It will be interesting to see how AB fares this year and how the Steelers perform without him.

Had some meat on a stick once in Nawlins that the vendor said was Gator - not surprisingly, it tastes like swamp.

That is what many here reference. You game plan for your opponent. If they struggle against the run you may run more and the passing stats will be anemic, if their safeties or corners suck you may want to take deeper shots. You game plan to win, not to flex stats in the off season. That is why unselfish teams with solid role players will almost always win the big games against teams that cater to stat-padding divas.

PFF boast about their stats all the time, but I think they just can't help putting a thumb on the scale when it comes to the Bills. At least they give us something to B word about:) The Bills ranked 30th on Offense: That is with them starting 4 different QBs, fielded almost an entire offense of practice squad guys and cast offs. I have no qualms with ranking that motley collection in line with that 30th in Offensive performance. The front office has overhauled that roster and Allen is in his second year in Daboll's system - we will see how they perform this season. The Bills were 2nd in overall Defense - this area to me has arguably improved - on paper. I know we lost Kyle, but I think the additions they have made, the guys that are back healthy, and the experience gained by all the 1st year players last year can only take this group to another level. The Bills also play NE twice a year which is the team that thumps the rest of the league on a fairly regular basis - so I would toss in a handicap. Either way, if we averaged the offensive roster as 30th, and the defensive roster as 2nd the Bills roster would land at about the middle of the pack, and that is where I think the Bills deserve to be till the Offense and Special Teams catches up a bit to the level of play of the defense.

I went with the over on Oliver's sack total, but it was all in good fun. I do think that teams may have to pick their poison and both he and Hughes could have big stat-padding days playing Miami if Rosen is behind center.

I think Beasley is exactly what Allen needs to start working more slot, short yardage, muscle-memory into his game. Beasley is hungry, wants the ball, and will be vocal about situations where he is uncovered or if Allen locks onto one guy and telegraphs any plays. He is clutch too if you get the ball near him. Josh can learn a lot from him about how to best leverage the short game. Great move by OBD, just hoping they develop some chemistry on the field.

So Allen is as aggressive as Tom Brady and Aaron Rogers. SWEET.

Me too. Plenty if those places are run by hacks. There is a lot of good reputable university programs for exercise and sports science these days. I am sure the Bills have a few qualified resources on their training staff.

A good test for the Bills' medical staff and state of the art strength and rehab facilities. Wish him well...there were some PEDs issues too I believe. The PEDs thing to me seemed more related to the Redskins mismanaging his role than anything else. Selected as an outside linebacker they moved him to end and he had to put on 30 lbs for the role and he performed well playing there. Injuries to their linebacker Galette had them asking him to switch back to linebacker and asked to cut weight and I think he was looking for an edge to help with that. Either way if he comes back and can anchor that right side and get some push, it is not a bad gamble.

Everyone but these guys, and there's the rub that has caused the most slings and arrows for our team. https://operations.nfl.com/the-officials/these-officials-are-really-good/ Not that I dislike Riveron who has been heading up the group since 2017. Seeing how he was instrumental in pulling the game balls in the deflate gate scandal mid-game during the AFC Championship game to have them tested. That was after the Colts equipment manager had alerted the league before the game and Riveron had already told Walt Anderson (the official that was going to head up the AFC Championship game) to follow all the procedures to ensure the balls were properly inflated for that game (which he clearly didn't - so that begs some questions). Riveron pulled the balls and had them tested, and found that they were under inflated. That led to NE and their bevy of lawyers countering that his testing methods lacked any scientific standards or credibility and Riveron getting a bit of a black eye for how he handled things. One would think after all that the Bills days of getting jobbed in NE would be over...yet we still get the weird KB touchdown over ruled by the folks in NYC, or when their RB Michel was gifted a TD when he clearly landed a yard short. One has to just wonder what massage-Kraft has on the league.

Have to go with the over on that. Loved the Oliver pick for this defense. With all the (healthy) talent the Bills have in the backfield and with his motor. Even if a team gets a block on him the coverage from our secondary will give him enough time to find a way to plant QBs. So a good mix of sacks just based off his quickness and leverage, and a good few coverage sacks because the kid plays till the whistle. This could be a very good first year for Ed.

These twitter hacks need some kind of "reputation" rating. That's the thing with social media... you can leave a trail of turds when it comes to poor predictions.

I think he will play well this season. Some talented players are competitive and driven by their nature and some you have to light a fire under, but the talent is still there. If he is the latter will he still play at a high level after a big contract? Only time will tell, but Bean should have a healthy cap to retain key players.

I think you are right, there was a fairly persistent "move-to-guard" crowd, but the approach many of us felt McDermott would take is that he would evaluate that he has a LT (and it is not the easiest position to fill) who had a solid rookie year with a veteran guard next to him, then a down year where it looked like he both lost some of his competitive drive and the consistency of working with a veteran guard. What would he do to correct that? Those of us who are not the biggest fans of forever tinkering with your o-lines felt they should bring in enough o-line competition to light a fire under him and send a message that the LT money might just slip out of his hands come time to renew contracts, and at the same time you address having some veteran players who can fill that guard spot next to him. Seems like that is exactly what they did.

I would agree that Milano is a bit undersized for run support (as his injury getting caught up in a wash of bodies trying to stop a red-zone run would indicate), but he excels at covering the shallow zones and picking up guys that release underneath and has a good nose for the ball. When he does sniff out a run and is not caught on his heels he is pretty good at getting into the backfield to trip up, tackle, or redirect a runner. He is a good value player.

Went to that game in Mpls with a Viking friend of mine. It was all, "Lets go Buffalo..." and laughing as Tarvarus Jackson was warming up to replace grandpa Favre, then it was all Tarvarus long to whomever McKelvin was covering. Also enough "Skoal Vikings...yada yada" sung to me to last a life time. All good natured...the Viking fans in our section were in great spirits talking about adding McKelvin to their Christmas lists for all the pass interference and receptions he was gift-wrapping.