BigAl2526

I don't think Ty Johnson will be a lot better than he was a year ago. Assuming he had the playbook learned last year, I think running back performance is incredibly dependent on talent. Yes, you can teach blocking and ball security to an extent, along with route running in the passing game. When it comes to running the ball, you either can or can't. That's different from an offensive lineman. Yes, a tackle or guard needs talent, but there is a far longer learning curve for technique than for a running back.

Three if Trubisky is not put on IR but is expected back within a couple weeks. If the Bills are unsure of the timing of Trubisky's return, then they may IR him and look for veteran help. In that case there would only be two QBs on the roster and one on the PS.

Agreed. The Bills will evaluate film to see how the receivers run their routes. Who gains separation, who doesn't. A lot of the evaluation will have to be in practice sessions at Highmark. I miss the days when we called it "The Ralph."

I always like doing Survival football. A few years ago I lasted until there were just a few left, like maybe three. The last couple years though, I've been terrible, washing out within a couple weeks of the start of the season. We'll see if I can do better this season.

I think that to some extent, it is just the nature of sports fans. Buffalo, in particular spent 2 decades mired in the mediocrity of its football team, and now has enjoyed only a handful of years with the current relative success. Even in the success of the last few years, Buffalo has suffered the agony of last second failures several times when they were on the cusp of greater success. Still, I tend to be a relative optimist. I temper it with a bit of realism, but I can usually see a way forward to finding success in the current circumstances. This season is no different. I think if a few things go right for the Bills in the inevitable critical situations that will arise this season, there is no particular reason the Bills can't find themselves in the Super Bowl.

If as appears to be the case, Mitch Trubisky is not a viable backup anymore (he appeared to be one in his last stint in Buffalo), the Bills have probably figured that out. Ryan Tannehill is the only veteran QB out there that might not be stinking garbage at this point. I don't know what his asking price is, but I'm guessing the Bills don't want to pay it. Both Dinucci and Brown have some traits that the Bills like. In no way do I think they are viable NFL backups at this point, but maybe that something the Bills like can develop in one of them. There will be cuts from other teams and QBs who make other teams' practice squads, but they are probably more of the same, unproven QBs with traits. We'd better hope Josh stays healthy this season at least.

We don't know everything that happened behind the scenes. The Bills were being beat up by pretty much everybody at the height of the Araiza controversy. I think they didn't have much choice about releasing Araiza. Fast forward to him being exonerated: We don't know if Beane reached out to Araiza's agent or not. I have not been a fan of Sam Martin. I think he's over priced and his punting last season was below average. In his favor though, he's been solid in training camp and in the preseason so far. The Bills are stuck with his contract. There is no financial incentive to cut him. I think that if his punting goes downhill during the season, the Bills will probably bring in another punter. I don't expect Sam Martin will be here in 2025.

I think everybody understands this team is dead meat if Josh Allen goes down with a long term injury.

Clearly, if Josh Allen goes down in an injury that lasts more than a week or two, the Bills are sunk. I love Matt Milano and hate that he got hurt, but he is clearly much less of a factor in the success of the defense than Allen is for the offense. The Bills can field a top notch defense without Milano. Without Allen, the offense is dead meat.

Young punters need to be patient. During the season, several punters are bound to go down with injury. If you don't make a 53 man squad, keep in shape and hope your agent can get you into a tryout situation. There will be a number of them.

If Buffalo lines up with 2 receivers, I'm guessing the two will be Samuel and Shakir. They'll rotate in Coleman and even Hollis though. If they go with three receivers, I don't know whether Hollis or Coleman will be the first guy in. The only way Coleman is going to get better is by playing. Choosing between them may be affected by the situation more than anything.

Just sign whatever QB the 49ers cut. Whoever it is, he'll play better than any of Buffalo's backups.

I was hoping Claypool could resurrect his career and contribute to the Bills, but the Bills brought in a bunch of players at WR. They weren't and aren't depending on one particular receiver to make their season. Buffalo has had a high SOS factor for several seasons now. They're used to it.

Given that the league has held the draft in Detroit and Cleveland, I don't think they could legitimately use weather as an excuse not to have it in Buffalo. Hotel capacity is another issue. What numbers does the league have in mind when it comes to available rooms?

But football was his kryptonite.

The Steve Tasker compromise: The league can go to an 18 game season but every player gets on game off and he has to be healthy that week.

As long as they don't put down rubber mats on the sideline.

Had not Beuchele been injured I don't think the Bills would have bothered replacing him with DiNucci. That doesn't mean the Bills wouldn't consider keeping DiNucci on the PS even when Buechele recovers from his injury.

Yeah, it was pathetic, and yeah, it's just preseason. I was especially dismayed by the line play, both offensive and defensive. They were beat up and abused by their Chicago counterparts. I can live with the vanilla play calling of preseason, but the sloppy and weak line play was depressing.

Coleman, MVS (if he makes the team), Mack Hollis and even Shavers are 6'3" or 6'4" with elite catch radii. Curtis Samuel and KJ Hamler both run the 40 in the low 4.3 range. MVS is almost as fast as those two. More to the point, they all have had time to learn the system and develop a rapport with Josh Allen. Juju Smith-Shuster is pretty much an average receiver. If it's the off season and a team is looking for receivers to come in, learn the offense and compete, he'd be a solid signing, but the Bills are past that stage. They have plenty of players competing for maybe 6 roster spots. If camp reports are to be believed, there is a fair amount chemistry that has developed with Josh Allen. If we weren't seeing that, I'd say, "Sign him," but with his lack of elite traits and his inconsistent career (one great season and a couple good seasons with Pittsburgh and one good season in KC with Pat Mahomes, he just doesn't offer enough to sacrifice the chemistry that has already developed with the receivers who are competing for a roster spot.

Pass. Buffalo's receivers may not have a lot of accolades, but they all have traits that scream potential. Juju has been a good receiver when he's been in a good situation, but he doesn't really have any elite traits. I'm guessing there was a reason that the Patriots released him. I just don't see any compelling reason to bring in a guy at this point with no familiarity with Josh or Buffalo's offensive system without more compelling traits or track record than Juju possesses.

I agree, you want your second round pick to contribute and hopefully start.. On the other hand, Hamlin's improvement appears to be legitimate and entirely unexpected. That lessens the disappointment of Bishop's injury and the resulting delay in development.

Dorsey is a bright guy. He did some things that didn't work well with Buffalo's offense, but working with an offensive minded head coach, he has the capacity to learn.

The only path for any of these guys is an injury to someone ahead of them in the pecking order.

Ball security is admittedly a concern for Cook at this point, but I suspect given his history, he's still going to make plays in the passing game. I think he'll play some in the preseason and get some chances to redeem himself.