WideNine

Not nearly enough, it's a bread and butter play for NE...they love to use those pick plays on their shallow crossing routes and bubble screens. Never seen them get a flag for it though....Kraft must have missed a payment.

Never realized how much he resembled Forest Gump after he grew a beard jogging across the US. Uncanny....just needs a different cap.

Simply worth taking a shot. The guy clearly loves the game and could not give it up even when he fell off the tracks and a way of getting back to playing in the States looked pretty slim. That kind of desperation can lead to a lot of soul-searching and we could do worse than getting a guy who loves the game, and does not shy away from contact - can guarantee part of the "we will give you a chance" includes some Special Teams gunner tryouts. Nothing lost on making a move like this - I wish him well, in his personal life as well as this shot with the Bills

My perception and concern is not how often they blitz, but rather when. It seems that when we have the lead our defense tends towards the conservative and I cannot count how many times our "D" seems to lay off the gas and piss away a lead towards the end of a game. That and our gap control and run fits frankly suck... not sure if I am sold on the concept of d-linemen occupying blockers to free up linebackers as it seems like the running backs hit those gaps with a full head of steam and either our linebackers whiff on an arm tackle or get carried 5 yards deep. I prefer defenses that attack the gaps and play on the other side of the LOS - especially when trying to stop the run. Granted, I may be oversimplifying things and would welcome some all-22 review of our defensive alignments of the many times our defense got ran over last year.

Can't wait for them to sink into some kind of pit of obscurity. I can mentally kind of wrap my brain around folks saying things like the appreciate having seen Brady play, but all the scandals, cheezy borderline cheatriot moves, and officiating slant has soured me on the times they just perform well as a football team. Getting kicked in the teeth twice a year for almost 2 decades has done a number on my feelings for the team too, even when we had teams capable and in position to finally win against them, you just knew they would do something to "ef" it up. As far as admiring them... I'm not there yet.

I lost track of what happened to him, but thanks for the info. Looked it up, he was up to 400 lbs, but lost 70 lbs and was able to start at guard for them for 8 games. Had a blood clot near his heart and was released after that one season, was a bit tragic and also very Billsy thing that WOULD happen to the guy we picked. That was definitely an issue they should have picked up on when researching him as a prospect. I don't expect a miss like that to happen again, but I don't see a clearly dominant o-lineman that should go that early. That being said, an early run on not dominant, but good, low-risk o-lineman could change some boards, it will be interesting to see what happens. There are not a lot of QB prospects this year and there are teams that have QB needs: Miami, Jags, Giants (maybe can wait), Broncos, Red Skins. Arizona I am sure would prefer to trade down and hoard picks - they have a lot of holes to fill. After that there are a few teams in front of us who may reach for o-line help... could happen. I see the Bills staying at 9 and grabbing a defensive player McDermott is drooling for, though I would rather they trade down grab some extra picks and take Hockenson before Belichick does and then focus on solid o-linemen, DT, and receivers.

McKinnie went too early to the Vikings that year too. He struggled to play up to the level of where he was drafted...was a regular media whipping boy; although they got far more miles out if him than we got out of Williams. I did hear that Wlliams tried to get back into the NFL, tried out for the Skins. I think he was tipping the scales at 400+ pounds. I do worry about taking an offensive lineman who is not simply dominant that high. Feels a bit like we are reaching to address needs.

My bad... I should not have said anything and just moved on to discussions that interest me more. I like to focus on the Bills future, rather than the Chiefs, it's a broad football forum so post what you want. Honestly, it is all good.

Who is this Darnolds you speak of? This.

Bigfoot riding a unicorn.

There are a lot of folks and the media that would prefer that the Bills stay in the cellar, same with the Browns. I think both organizations have found their guy to build around and it is about time. What surprised me watching the clips (outside of the obvious mugging of our receivers) was how little separation that group was getting, and how the allegedly inaccurate Allen was putting the ball time and time again where only the Bills receiver had the chance to make a play on the ball. Usually with the pocket collapsing around him and Allen scrambling to avoid defenders. Also can't get over how he can throw so many accurate passes from so many bad platforms. He rarely has time to set and step into throws, can't imagine too many of his passes being off if our line gives him more time next year to step into his throws. Of course it would help if they could also pick up a player or two who can get open AND catch the ball.

I like this move - was surprised to learn that the Colts released their O-Line coach Dave DeGuglielmo after the turn around for that unit. Seems like a good move to grab his assistant. BTW the Bills rushing yards from 2010-2011 was 3,641. If nothing else this guy has been around some successful coaches who have turned around poor units and deserves a shot at the spot.

I think Culley probably gives them some luxury there as he has been a WR positional coach many times in his career. Will be interesting to see who they bring in if they fill the vacancy and if that guy has a Culley connection.

Special Teams is not a position coach, but I get your point. I find it odd how so many folks get their undies in a twist from simply asking why this guy? You can look at the rankings of the Special Teams established coaches who have coached over the years... From there you can see if their ST's suck more often than they are competitive. There is nothing to review for this hire as this would be his first gig as a ST coach (was an assistant his one year with the Panthers). Everyone has got to start somewhere.

No one is trashing the hire, just questioning how thorough the positional hiring process is at OBD - if anything, I usually trend towards giving the new Bills regime the benefit of the doubt. Outside of leaning on connections in the Panthers org, it would be a curious thing that they hired a guy whose coaching resume is tissue-thin with one whole year as an assistant ST coach with the Panthers. It is fair to want to look under the hood and better understand how they landed on that guy - you kind of have to assume someone in the Panthers org told McBeane that this guy was worth giving a shot. That does not mean he will fail, but if he does - the question is going to be asked again later by the media and everyone else.

You think? I hope this is the case, but what I have seen in life is that is more often who you know that what you know when it comes to getting hired. I had some other guys in mind so I am a bit bummed. The Panthers were middle of the pack playing in a nice balmy Charlotte location half the time, our conditions in B-lo are a bit more challenging, but I am open to being convinced he is a diamond in the rough.

Fair point - did not note the hiring date when they went to work for the Panthers and forgot they flushed Koeter so that explains why he was available. It is also fair to acknowledge that there has to be some FO connections still with Carolina, or a degree of organizational cronyism or this guy who (as you pointed out, the McBeane has not worked with, who has a minimal NFL coaching resume) would not have floated to the top. Not saying he is going to suck, just wondering what they based this hire on, or more likely who's opinion.

I hope I am wrong, but the Bills also seem to scheme a lot of their defense around pass rush and defensive linemen occupying blockers to create gaps to free up stunts and blitzes. Where we absolutely were hurting is getting any push from our DTs to stop runners before they got a good head of steam hitting those open gaps and rolling over/dragging guys in our secondary +5 yards a carry. Star may be doing exactly what they are asking of him, but we need some defensive interior linemen that can be disruptive and play on the other side of the LOS, or to better scheme our run defense (probably a bit of both and perhaps they expect our linebackers to be more successful with their run-blitzes). Just thinking out loud folks... nothing to see here.

You hope it isn't cronyism... I would have preferred they interviewed Boyer, but I cannot say for sure that they did not have Boyer in their sights as their preferred target. Boyer just recently signed (the 13th) an extension to stay on with the Jets under the new regime, and we do not know who he turned down or when before he made that decision. Only a few days after Boyer made that announcement we see this move. Maybe the timing is not coincidence, but rather a plan "B". The only thing I am sure of is if he was their #1 choice there was no need to wait this long to make the move unless Heath had reservations about taking the role. A lot of folks here beg for fresh faces in the coaching ranks - they are getting their wish.

Ugh - so this is another disguised thread dedicated to Ma-homees that cannot go a day without pining for the guy? The Bills and 30 other teams missed taking him... time to move on folks, you are drifting into the stalker zone.

Just means the Pats are gearing up to ***** up some TE's in this deep draft.

Iowa is producing some really good ones... as their OC was NE assistant OC and TE's coach. San Fran's George Kittle is a product: Drafted in 2017: in 2018 he had 1377 yards which broke the single season receiving record for TE's and got a pro-bowl invite. It is rumored that the Iowa coaching staff sat Noah Fant as talented as he was because he didn't like to block and they saw a more complete talent in T. J. Hockenson. The kid is good - catches everything and does not mind blocking. T. J. Hockenson declared for the NFL draft today. From a 2017 article: Hockenson watches a lot of film of the New England Patriots’ Rob Gronkowski, today's preeminent tight end in the NFL. Most think of Gronkowski as a pass-catching phenom; but Hockenson notes the reason “Gronk” is so proficient is because of his blocking skills. Hockenson is not yet an NFL-level tight end. But no doubt, Hockenson is off to a great start. And he has all the tools — the dedication, size, strength and hands — to get there ... while perhaps becoming a sneaky-dominant force for the 2018 Hawkeyes. “If the kid stays healthy, he’s going to get to play at the next level. And we’ll get to watch him on Sundays,” Smyser says. “I think he’s that good. And how he fits into that Iowa program, they make tight ends great. There are a few mocks that have NE taking him in the 1st as Gronk v2.0. I would rather see him in a Bills uniform.

Dawkins originally was projected as a guard or right tackle, if they picked up another LT in the draft who could also play guard you have flexibility on that left side in case of injuries.... I don't want them to "chase" any position, but more depth on the left side would not hurt. The Glenn trade also allowed them to move up and take Allen.

Tom Brady usually has a pocket to slide around in...like a nice safe kiddy pool surrounded by the best o-line. Josh's pocket is more like getting a single coat of saran wrap then being dropped into a shark tank.

I hear you, but would like to see what a position change and different coaching does for him. O-linemen are a strange breed. The right coach and they will run through a wall...does not mean that a coach has to be buddies with them, more often than not that kind of relationship with players is too familiar and does not translate to better development or play on the field. Even considering the steps Dawkins took backwards, he was still the best o-linemen we had out there last year. I also think it helps to have players pushing for your spot - so who was pushing Dawkins with Glenn gone? There is a reason he got complacent and comfortable with his friendly coach and less than competitive UFA o-line peers. They gave Foster another chance to turn it around...sometimes 2nd chances works if the conditions change.