[If you were building a roster, what positions would you prioritize?]

Just now, BringBackOrton said:

This has to be a joke.

I don't understand this comment. If the Bills had, for example, Justin Tucker on Sunday, they would be 7-2.

[If you were building a roster, what positions would you prioritize?]

20 minutes ago, Just Joshin' said:

I was wondering why it took so long for someone to call this out.

 

Makes the whole analysis suspect.

Obviously, I disagree. Another poster made the point that the Patriots have historically made it a point to have a great kicker. I think it's "criminally" underlooked. Kickers often have a greater impact on the outcome of games than any other single position, save quarterback, in my opinion.

 

The difference between a great kicker and a "whatever's left" kicker is probably 2 games per year, I would think.

[If you were building a roster, what positions would you prioritize?]

6 minutes ago, NewEra said:

K/P #2.  Stopped there

Kickers win games though.

[If you were building a roster, what positions would you prioritize?]

2 minutes ago, Kirby Jackson said:

It’s QB and everything else. You are right in that. Nothing else is close.

I don't know. If you put Mahomes behind the worst line in football, with no skill position talent to speak of, would he really be successful?

[Kaepernick's Agents Announce Tryout (edited title)]

16 minutes ago, wppete said:

Good points. However the truth is if Kaep signs with a team, that will get destroyed on Social Media and media  and that will translate in loss of $$$  for that team and the NFL as it is a revenue sharing business to a certain extent. It make no Business sense to sign Kaep at this point to sit and be a backup. But I really don’t care, we have our QBs in Buffalo and are very happy with them. 

Is that really true at this point? Hasn't the issue blown over to a large extent? I don't think it would cause major issues at this point.

[Tasker Still Has Us 11-5]

It's amazing how ferociously Murph and Tasker defend Daboll when the offense is putting up these point totals.

[If you were building a roster, what positions would you prioritize?]

I've been giving this some thought. If you were starting from scratch with a football team, where would you begin as GM? Would you go for a quarterback first? Build the lines and go from there? Load up on skill position players and hope for the best?

 

My initial thought is that I'd prioritize positions in this order:

 

OL
K/P
QB
DL
CB
WR
TE
RB
LB
S

 

I think a team with a dominant offensive line and kicking game can get a lot done in terms of ball control and dictating the pace of games, so that's why I would make sure I have those in place before I insert a young quarterback.

 

I could be widely panned as wrong in my thinking, but I'm curious as to what philosophies we have on the board in terms of positional importance. Ultimately, it's about Ws.

[Bills/Pats game time set]

15 hours ago, Bills fan since 87 said:

Was kind of hoping for the night game slot but this is good, wanted something a little different than the normal 1pm Sunday time and this is that.  Will be nice to sleep off a Bills game day hangover for once two rather than my normal Monday workday struggle.

It'll still pretty much be a night game because they'll be under the lights within an hour of kickoff

[Football Really Is About Minimizing Errors and Josh Allen]

Football is about minimizing Josh Allen? ?

[Rational Thoughts after the Browns]

20 minutes ago, st pete gogolak said:

Well, the Bills' season is on the line next week in Miami.  We'll see how that goes.

They won't look at it that way, unfortunately. They don't dread that four-game stretch the way we do.

[This team is still a year away]

3 hours ago, HOUSE said:

But we lost to the Browns, the freaking Browns

Oh my gosh. People are still saying this? The Browns are not a joke.

[Hauschka is at 61.5% for the season]

1 hour ago, MAJBobby said:

So glad we extended him.  After all he has the DNA, is a Family Man. And yada yada yada Process Yada Yada Yada Process culture 

I'm so glad that others are calling out McBeane on their non-football priorities. It's a huge problem.

[Hauschka is at 61.5% for the season]

30 minutes ago, billsbackto81 said:

Didn't they mention he hit 44 in a row from within 50 before he missed the first one today? It's over 50 that's given him problems and if you're depending on that to win games, well you're not gonna win many.

You're not looking deeply enough.

 

The Bills are consistently going for it (and failing) because Hauschka doesn't have the range to make routine NFL kicks. How the administration gave him an extension in spite of this is very concerning; it seems to be an extension given in an effort to spark his confidence or in recognition of his leadership, which are both pathetic reasons to extend.

 

The Bills would have been 12 points better today with a good kicker. They would have won the game with a good kicker.

 

And then there's the eyeball test. He's not making kicks as well as he used to. His leg is weak (you see it on kickoffs, too), and he's kicking nervous. Balls don't have the power and direction they used to. It feels like every FG is an adventure.

 

Everyone says the kicker isn't hugely important, but they usually swing 1-2 games per year. Name one position other than QB that is that crucial to wins and losses.

 

I wish I had been wrong in the offseason when I complained about this issue and pretty much begged for a change. I thought it would cost the Bills games, and sure enough it is.

[Hauschka owns this One]

2 minutes ago, Tesla03 said:

we struggle to put up 20 points EVERY week and fans want to blame the kicker LOL

 

 

We would have put up 28 today with a good kicker...

[Hauschka owns this One]

The fact that you're getting "laughing" reactions to this is mind-boggling. With a good kicker, we're 12 points better today. We abstained from field goals twice and turned it over on downs each time because Hauschka doesn't have the range anymore. Hauschka is a major, major weakness on this football team.

[Bills at Browns Post Game Post Mortem]

Just now, ScottLaw said:

Yea but he's a good guy and a good teammate.... that seems to trump a lot of things with this group.

Exactly. That appears to be why he was extended. Unacceptable. Completely unacceptable.

[Bills at Browns Post Game Post Mortem]

2 minutes ago, Success said:

Um, well, I guess you have a point w/ the Ravens.  

 

We can beat the Pats, Steelers and Cowboys. Not that we'll win all of those, but it's not like the latter 2 are juggernauts, and the Pats will be competitive.

 

Are you just penciling in a loss against every decent team?

 

 

It's reasonable to pencil in losses in games in which we will be underdogs, yes. By the same token, we should pencil in wins the next two games and against the Jets. That puts us at 9-7.

[Bills at Browns Post Game Post Mortem]

Here's how I see it...

 

We need to win the next two. We should win the next two.

 

We'll be 8-3, and then we will be underdogs in the next four. By the same token that we should win the next two, we should lose those four.

 

We might end up 8-7 and hoping to beat the Jets to go 9-7 and squeak into the playoffs. Disappointing.

 

Issues:

• Hauschka
• Run defense
• Allen playing too "in control"/soft and not hitting the deep ball. Where's the passion on the sidelines we used to see? It's like he's trying to stay "within himself" and be too careful.

[Bills at Browns Post Game Post Mortem]

Just now, Big C said:

Complain about the offense all you want, our kicker missed two field goals in a game we lost by 3. 

Let's not forget that we turned it over on downs twice in field goal range because we know our kicker isn't good anymore.

[Bills at Browns Post Game Post Mortem]

3 minutes ago, Coach Tuesday said:

Ours is washed.  He never recovered from his injury.  Coaches should’ve seen it in the offseason.

Yessir. I'm sick and tired of people defending him. The extension reeked of McDermott valuing things other than on-field performance. It was like he was given an extension to show faith in him when they knew he was struggling, as if the vote of confidence would help.

[Bills at Browns Post Game Post Mortem]

Will people finally start believing me that kicker is an issue now, or will I continue to get "Meh, ""Skeptical," and "Confused" reactions? This should be known as The Hauschka Game. I told everyone that he would haunt the Bills this season, and I was right. Now, maybe the spotlight will finally shine on this weakness.

[Game Thread 2nd Half Bills vs Browns]

McDermott has now walked away from two field goal attempts that should be in a good kicker's range. That extension for Hauschka continues to be a big question mark. A good kicker would have the Bills leading this game. I said before the season that the Bills were not paying enough attention to this issue and it would haunt them, and it is proving to be true.

[Bills at Browns Pre-Game thread]

11 minutes ago, Boatdrinks said:

NFL countdown Bruschi going on his usual anti Bills tirade “ I watch Josh Allen and I don’t know what he’s doing “ blah blah blah. Really sick of that dill hole. I switch to NFLN and it’s that Freuland with the smushed face ( analytics chick) always picks against the Bills. Ugh , terrible timing 

Simply foolish. Guarantee you Bruschi isn't actually watching.

[Bills at Browns Pre-Game thread]

54 minutes ago, Wayne Arnold said:

This game is massive.

It is indeed. It is indeed.

[Week 16 NFL Schedule - We Should Soon Know the Date and Time of Bills @ Pats]

2 hours ago, JohnnyGold said:

Some people in the club are so into it, they analyze design videos that young roller coaster engineers post on youtube, and grade the likelihood that those future roller coasters will be fun to ride, and talk about it pretentiously like "well, I currently have a low amusement park rating on the potential of that ride, a lot of the metrics look off like speed coming out of a turn." 

Gold ?