GASabresIUFan

This is definitely a transition year for the Bills. They are getting younger and cheaper and they have the 60+ million dead cap to prove it. However, just because they are getting younger and cheaper doesn't mean an end of their contending window and it also doesn't mean the roster is less talented, just less experienced. Despite the transition, the vast majority of the starters on offense and defense that lead the Bills to their 7-2 record down the stretch return. That team had 6 new starters with 2 years or less of NFL experience (Cook, Kincaid, Shakir, Torrence, Benford and Bernard). All 6 were good to great last season. This year we again have 6 new starters, except only 2 (D. Williams and Keon Coleman) have 2 years or less of NFL experience. The new starters on offense are WR Curtis Samuel, G David Edwards and WR Keon Coleman (R). Samuel has played in 91 NFL games with 58 starts over 7 NFL seasons. Edwards has 70 games of NFL experience with 45 starts over 5 seasons. In fact, while with the Rams, Edwards started 45 of his 53. The new starters on defense are DE AJ Epenesa, LB Dorian Williams, and as of yet un-determined FS. Epenesa has 58 games of experience all with Buffalo with 4 starts and will likely rotate with a finally healthy Von Miller and his 173 games (161 starts) of experience. The FS battle is coming down to Hamlin and probably veteran Mike Edwards depending on who is healthy. Edwards has 75 games of experience (28 starts) over 5 seasons and Hamlin has 34 games of experience including 13 games as a starter before his injury all with the Bills. Hamlin had 91 tackles including 63 solos in 2022 when he started 13 games. The real youth on this team is the depth behind the starters. 10 2024 draftees or UDFAs made the roster. However most of the those kids will be earning their stripes playing special teams. The Bills have solid vets at RB (Johnson), WR (Hollins, MVS), TE (Knox), DE (Miller, Smoot, Toohill), DT (Johnson), S (Edwards, Hamlin, Lewis), and LB (Morrow). The depth areas populated with kids are OL and CB. Ultimately, I see no reason this team can't duplicate last years 11-6 record and again win the AFC East. This is not some over the hill gang or a rebuild with kids starting everywhere. This is a team with a MVP caliber QB and good to excellent and experienced players at nearly every position. For those lamenting all the lost vets, I ask you which vet that left town remained a player in their prime? White, Hyde, and Poyer were all shadows of their former selves. Diggs play slipped significantly mid-season. Davis was often injured, and like Diggs, his effectiveness suffered. Floyd has a great first half and then was mostly ineffective in the 2nd half. That leaves Morse. He was solid as always last season, but at 32 is it really surprising that Beane moved on.

Don't forget the lack of portal acquisitions.

How do we define weapons? I assume we are talking offense weapons. Just wide receivers? Just TE/WR/RB? or QB/TE/WR/RB? Isn't Josh the most dangerous weapon in the NFL?

A solid opening victory over 14 Clemson. The 5th string Freshman RB came in and dominated and Beck was his normal solid self and Georgia cruised to a easy victory. Defense was again suffocating, but still can use a better pass rush. Malaki Starks is flat out a great DB and had the play of the day.

A lack of accountability for bad behavior.

I like this, but what if Hamlin becomes and remains the starter at S?

1. Bills record? Do they win the AFC East? 11-6 and win the East 2. If they make the playoffs, how far do they go? Conference Championship game 3. What players win awards or are All-Pro or Pro Bowl selections? Allen - MVP; All-pro: Allen, T Johnson, Pro Bowl - Dawkins, Shakir, Kincaid, Bernard, Allen Offense: 4. Josh's stats - completions, passing yards, passing TDs, INTs, Rushing yards and Rushing TDs - 400-4400. 38 TDs, 12 Ints, 500, 9TDs 5. Team Leader rushing and how many yards? Cook - 1050 yards 6. Team leading receiver and how many yards? Kincaid leads in catches with 100, but Shakir leads in yards with 1200. 7. Team leader in TDs (not named Allen) and how many? Coleman, Kincaid and Davis tie with 8 each 8. Offense MVP not named Allen - Shakir 9. Biggest surprise on offense - Davis - the surprise is how much they use him by the end zone 10. Biggest disappointment on offense - Hollins and MVS - they both do little to nothing all season 11. Offense ROY - Coleman 12. Most improved player on offense - Shakir 13. Total points scored for the season - 475 Defense: 14. Team leading tackler and with how many - Bernard - 90 solo 160 total 15. Team sack leader with how many - Groot - 12 16. Team takeaway leader (fumbles and Ints) - Rapp 6 17. Defense MVP - Groot 18. Defense ROY - Solomon 19. Defense biggest surprise - Von Miller 20. Defense Most Improved - Rapp 21. Defense biggest disappointment - Epenesa 22. Will Milano return this season and if so will he be effective? - Return yes, effective no 23. Points allowed by the defense - 320 Special teams: 24. Will Bass last the season? - No Practice Squad 25. Which initial PS player will have the biggest impact on the team this year? - Cine PS: I wanted to do “20 Questions” but ended up with a few more.

Rodgers and Tua don't last the season and the Bills cruise to another 11-6 campaign and win the East again.

Between the IR, PS and 53 man roster, there are 77 players in the organization.

1. Bills record? Do they win the AFC East? 2. If they make the playoffs, how far do they go? 3. What players win awards or are All-Pro or Pro Bowl selections? Offense: 4. Josh's stats - completions, passing yards, passing TDs, INTs, Rushing yards and Rushing TDs 5. Team Leader rushing and how many yards? 6. Team leading receiver and how many yards? 7. Team leader in TDs (not named Allen) and how many? 8. Offense MVP not named Allen 9. Biggest surprise on offense 10. Biggest disappointment on offense 11. Offense ROY 12. Most improved player on offense 13. Total points scored for the season Defense: 14. Team leading tackler and with how many (solo and total - for example Benard had 84 solo and 143 total last season) 15. Team sack leader with how many 16. Team takeaway leader (fumbles and Ints) 17. Defense MVP 18. Defense ROY 19. Defense biggest surprise 20. Defense Most Improved 21. Defense biggest disappointment 22. Will Milano return this season and if so will he be effective? 23. Points allowed by the defense Special teams: 24. Will Bass last the season? Practice Squad 25. Which initial PS player will have the biggest impact on the team this year? Other 26. Any other prediction you care to mention? Answer as many or as few as you'd like. Anything I missed?

I’m not sure why anyone would be upset that we signed Cine. This is a zero risk, high reward signing with the added benefit that the kid is still really young. If it works, we might have a future Hyde or Poyer for the next decade. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t.

I was able to grab Allen, Shakir and Bernard in my first fantasy draft (we play IDP).

There was some talk on the a few podcasts and other articles how close he was to making the roster this year. Between Kromer on the O Line and McD with DBs we certainly know how to develop players at those positions.

Thus he is a net +99. How does that rank?

Thought this was interesting. https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/ranking-top-10-nfl-practice-squad-classes-lions-eagles-bills-lead-the-way/ Cbs needs a better editor. Cine has played 10 NFL games not just 10 snaps. That said, I agree with their overall comments. The International designation for Jonathan is really smart on Beane’s part. Nice way to add a 17th PS player. Many of these guys have NFL experience. I can see Gouraige making the team as a backup in a year. I can also see Cine making the Bills by mid-season. I saw him often in college and he is a terrific athlete. If McD and Addae can get him back to the player we saw in Georgia, we have gained a future starter for nothing.

So there are only 5 impact QBs in the NFL? Only 5 impact RBs? Good thing we have a RB that finished 3rd in yards from scrimmage in the NFL. What about DT? Oliver finished 4th in sacks, or can there by 10 DTs since teams usually play 2. Do we have to wait for PFF or ESPN to tell us their top 5 or can we think for ourselves? I’m sorry for being a little sarcastic, but these definitions that are being proposed are way too limiting or too subjective or too media driven. They don’t account for emerging or young players that are beginning to make huge impacts for their teams or players that don’t get media accolades or positions that are stacked with talent. For example ESPN’s top 100 didn’t list T Johnson. Isn’t he acknowledged as the best slot corner in the NFL? What about Cook? Last year was a breakout campaign. Does he have to replicate that season again to be anointed as an impact player or can we all agree that he was one of the top 5 backs in the NFL last year and hope we get a repeat performance this season. Oliver and Dawkins are two of the most underrated players in the NFL. Who cares that the media rarely sings their praises. They are indispensable to the Bills. Would you trade Benard for Edmunds? Yeah, didn’t think so! He was 12th in tackles but isn’t an impact player because we stop counting at the top 10? So how about Diggs? Is he still an impact player? He is the only receiver to catch 1000+ the last 5 years but he was outplayed by Shakir in the 2nd half of the season on 1/3rd of the targets.

11 to 12. Cook repeats his 1500 yards. Kincaid and Shakir go over 1000 yards each and Josh has his best season spreading the ball around. Rousseau leads the team with 11 sacks while Oliver chips in 10 as well. All the naysayers on this board start posting about all our good young impact players like Cook, Kincaid, Shakir, Benford, Williams and Benard and wonder when Rousseau got so good.

Your definition is so subjective as to be useless. How do you quantify it? The player has to be an all-pro or pro-bowler? Well T Johnson is an all-pro and Dawkins and Cook were pro bowlers last year. Are you seriously saying an interior D lineman (Oliver) with 9.5 sacks last season wasn't an impact player? Are you saying that our O Line, lead by Dawkins, which allowed the fewest sacks in the NFL didn't make an impact? So when Shakir goes over 1000 yards this season will you call him an impact player, or will you wait until ESPN or some other media outlet labels him as one?

Who are they releasing from the practice squad to make room for Cine?

Couldn’t happen to a better team.

Go Dawgs! Go Bills!

How do I explain this team? Out with the old failed core of Morse, White, Hyde, Poyer, Diggs, and Davis and in with the new core of Cook, Kincaid, Shakir, Coleman, Benard, and Benford. Out with the feed Diggs to power the offense and in with Josh spreading the ball around to keep defenses off balance. Out with McD and Dorsey calling plays and in with Brady and Babich. Out with cap hell and in with some measure of fiscal responsibility achieved with turning over the oldest roster in the NFL. Out with poor early drafting of guys like Ford, Basham and even Epenesa and in with good early drafting like Cook, Kincaid, Torrence and Benard (and hopefully Coleman and Bishop). Sometimes change is a good thing.

Because Buffalo

Except Shorter didn't go to a lower school. He went to Penn St and Florida. He averaged 14.7 yards per catch in his 3 seasons in Florida with almost 1400 yards on 95 catches. He is also 6'5" 228 and was once a 5* recruit out of high school. This was not some nobody. I personally wouldn't have drafted him because I tend to avoid Gators, but Shorter was a legit risk with a late round pick.

Since when? Besides Allen, what about Cook, Kincaid, Shakir, Dawkins, Torrence, Benard, Rousseau, Oliver, Douglas, T Johnson and Benford to name 11. Cook was third in scrimmage yards by a RB and a pro-bowl player. Shakir had the highest number of chunk plays per target of any receiver with at least 600 yards last season, even better than T Hill. His 15.7 yards per catch lead all slot receivers and was 12th overall in the NFL. T Johnson is the best slot corner in the NFL and an All-Pro. Oliver was 4th in sacks by a DT last season with 9.5. Bernard was 12th in tackles in the NFL with 143 as a 1st year starter. I can keep going if you want? We have plenty of impact players.