Ethan in Cleveland

Everything you said is true and a rational argument. Except you left the part out about the coaches making mistakes. What if McDermott really isn't that great at talent evaluation? I posted numerous examples of guys he played that were awful and others that were good and didn't play. What if he has some inherent bias that we don't know about? Beane straight up said Elam has an issue with practice. Well maybe the kid is better during games. Maybe Benford is a great #2 CB and it won't matter. Maybe Elam is just dumb and can't learn the defense. All we can do is sit back and watch. CB#2 is about the 5th most important issue this team is facing. They have solid depth and they should be fine whoever they put out there.

Well I will own that. Then again I wanted Bobbie Wagner. And I wanted nothing to do with Dodson or Bernard. I was pretty consistent in my thoughts. I did come around after the draft and free agency were over to perhaps some platoon. Or maybe Milano at MLB and Williams outside in passing downs. I stated then and still think I would have drafted a true MLB or addressed it in free agency. Drafting Bernard made no sense at the time and is now setting back the MLB position for two years.

A bit too soon to say that. But I am worried that could happen.

Virtually no one said we would be better off without Edmunds. What we said was he is vastly overrated and not worth a second contract. Now we get to see if that is correct. There are many Beane can do no wrong posters on here and he let Edmunds walk. So not sure how that squares with their thinking.

I don’t know what to say. I have so little faith in this coaching staff to play the right players or evaluate talent. Goes back to Trent Murphy who started for three years and then was so bad he was out of the league. Teller of course is another terrible example. Bates not playing until what week 10 two years ago and that was only due to injury. Playing Bernard and of course the ultimate worst decision in NFL history - starting Peterman more than once. Elam may not be perfect but he has more athleticism than Jackson or Belford. Maybe there is something we don’t know. Maybe the coaches are right. Maybe he is on drugs or is an alcoholic. All I know is he was one of the few good players on defense at the end of the year. He stood out and outplayed White in the playoffs. No way I trade him. They may need 4 CBs at some point due to injury. His contract is prohibitive to trade him. Benford may yet need to move to safety.

From what I read he can sign with anyone after whatever period of time is outlined in the injury settlement. He can re-sign with Buffalo but only 3 weeks after the period of time in the injury settlement. Therefore he becomes a free agent and Bills can't sign him for the first three weeks of his free agency. If no one signs him then Bills can bring him back after the additional three weeks.

How does Lynch still have a job ? One of the worst wastes of draft picks ever seen in the NFL.

I'm with you. The secondary should be much better next year. I think the myth of Edmunds protecting the middle was way overblown. He wasn't that good in coverage, pretty bad in man to man actually, and had very few pass break ups. He did have some so I'm not saying he was a liability in coverage, I'm just saying I don't think he was the difference maker some on here thought he was. Obviously we will found out soon enough.

Sounds about right If given the chance he probably produces as much as Epenesa and Basham at a fraction of the cost. Still seems unlikely at this point. If Miller was healthy they might be more willing to move on from Epenesa nad Basham but with Miller likely going to PUP they are likely to keep the two guys that they drafted and know the system.

Correct but what us the upside? Nothing. So it is all risk even low with no reward. Equals bad decision.

Not worried about leadership on this team. I am worried how they handle pressure. Last year was intense but this year will be even greater. Will be interesting to see how they handle adversity. Last year despite not looking like a great team they still won 13 games. This year they may play better and look better but win only 10 or 11 games. Will the added losses cause unrest or just make them more ready for playoff football???

Hope so. Still just preseason but its encouraging he has earned the job day 1

Win a playoff game on the road??? He beat Green Bay on the road in the playoffs.

Why do you say that? Bates is a quality guard. Honestly so is Edwards. None of them are probowl level thus the drop off is not that bad. No one is saying it is a good thing but it is not a season altering injury. This of course assumes Torrence is ready to start and play well as a rookie. If he is shaky that will really hurt. This injury could give Boettger or even Alec Anderson a shot to make the final 53. They may choose to carry an extra OL for the first couple of weeks. Which in turn means they may go with one less CB

As with all things it depends. If you are just talking play on the field then no it doesn’t matter much. If either are capable solid #2 CBs(assuming White is back to form) then the defense will be fine. However if you are talking about cap management, a #1 draft pick that is sitting on the sidelines is a massive waste of cap dollars that could have been allocated elsewhere.

No. The cap hit is anywhere between 940,000 to $3.5M depending on when the 2023 roster bonus was due to be paid. They don’t have that kind of money to waste on another backup QB. Add a $350 dead cap hit to release Kyle Allen. All that adds up to no cap room left for the season. Hard no.

No we weren’t. The bad inspired play only made our arguement better. The starters got nothing out of that game. Another poor decision by McDermott. This is an old team with many coming off injury. They need less reps not more. I wouldn’t dress the entire starting 22 guys.

Purdy won't last 5 games as a starter this year. He got lucky last year. Now the NFL has tape on him. They will be calling for Lance before November.

Why wouldn't the Bills get the close calls? Bills have as many if not more star players if you buy the star player gets the calls argument. Why would they favor the Jets? Because Rich Eisen is a Jets fan? Seriously please expound on why you think the refs will favor the Jets.

That's different than saying the refs will favor the Jets because it is a nationally televised game in NYC with Aaron Rodgers. One is basic football and the other is conspiracy nonsense.

Agree. Smith is better than Simpson in terms of Bills all time players. Simpson was an amazing combination of strength and speed just as Smith was. But Smith's longevity and the dominance for his position is unmatched. That said, Simpson 2003 yards in 14 games is still the best single season by a Bill.

Agree with above but some of the most mobile QBs are also some of the most frequently sacked ..Vick and Wilson come to mind.

Well as you probably know I would not have paid Oliver either but that is a different issue. And yes what you describe is exactly what you do with running backs. That's why they hate the current system. They are easy to replace and there is little upside to signing them to a big second contract. Perhaps the exception is McCaffrey but the jury is still out if he can stay healthy.

You lose all credibility when you bring officiating conspiracy into your arguments. Stick with rationale arguments. As for pressure, you don't think Saleh is under pressure too? The media and GM have set him up for a no win scenario. If they win its because the GM got Rodgers, if they don't its because the HC couldn't get it done. As for the trenches, you gloss over our pretty good DL even without Von going up against their suspect OL and an aging less mobile Rodgers. That's a good matchup for the Bills. Also the strength of the Jets DL is up the middle which is where the best of the Bills OL SHOULD be. I will grant you there are lots of questions still to be answered about the Bills OL, but on paper the middle of the OL should be stout. I would not be surprised one bit if Bills lost and in my other post, I said I'm nervous about this game. I have little faith in McDermott to match the emotional level you aptly describe above. But in the end we must place our trust in Allen to overcome McDermott more often than not.

To be fair to those of us that are open to change, how many coaches and GMs don't get fired at some point for not winning? Tomlin, Noll, Belichick, Madden, Landry, and Walsh all wrote their own ticket because they won a Championship. Vermeil, Belichick, Reid and Dungy were fired for not getting it done in their first stops, and the latter two had successors go on to win a Championship. We find joy but we want a Championship. Don't know how old you are but I was born after the AFL Championships and have lived through the failures of Ferguson's ankle in 1980, getting oucoached in SuperBowl XXV, and then losing three more SuperBowls where we were physically outmatched. We now have the best QB in franchise history and the clock is ticking on this GM and HC. The media has already put a target on our organization and if they fail again its just a fact their jobs may be on the line. This is not just a Bills fan issue either. Any HC and GM with a star QB that can't get it done is under constant pressure.