FilthyBeast

I know a lot of Steelers fans and most of them have realistic expectations of this game in that they expect the Bills to win but expect the Steelers to put up a good find and be close throughout. A few maybe on the more overly optimistic (beating the Bills) or pessimistic (getting blown out by Bills). This is still going to be a very tricky matchup and one I hate right out of the gate given the Steelers physical nature so it was probably a good idea to get the starters some playing time last week to hope avoid any serious injuries.

On one hand, I understand why they kept Sweeney assuming it was close between himself and Hollister for the #2 TE job. But the fact remains is that Sweeney has not been able to stay on the field and Hollister is a proven commodity in this league. Just think this is one of those moves that could backfire down the road.

This is what a lot of teams are going to do to the Bills and Frazier's defense this year until they prove they can stop it.....run the ball up the middle and hit us with the dink and dunk passing game to run clock and keep Allen off the field. This is why I worry about the Steelers game in particular because it's opening day and that's going to be their MO this year as well assuming they can run the ball effectively again like years past. Also why I still think DT is still a sneaky need and there's way too much misplaced faith in Star L. having any real impact on the run defense.

I think we are a better overall team than the Steelers but week one games are always tricky and this game concerns me for a number for reasons: - Allen coming out with 'sugar rush' so to speak and not sharp early/turnovers - Dawkins still not 100% going against the Steelers defense - Big Ben and the steelers rushing offense dinking and dunking long sustained drives against our defense keeping Allen and the offense off the field. - Steelers more motivated to quiet all the critics that are already writing them off and assuming they are the 3rd best team in the division. With all that said, I could see a very tight game that we have to come back and win late in the 4th quarter. If things truly go wrong the Steelers win.

Belichik is desperate to win now and prove he can do so without Brady. Considering the money they through around in FA I could see them landing Watson and mortgaging the future since he won't be there in a few years to deal with the cap consequences. Also there's the connection to the Texans GM Nick Caserio to consider here as well.....I really hope I'm wrong.

Hollister getting cut = Zack Ertz trade imminent? Sorry had to go there.

Very interesting, this tells me Belichik is up to something...Deshawn Watson trade imminent? Jimmy G reunion? No way he's putting all his eggs in Mac Jones basket.

This front office and coaching staff obviously values Addison more than the fans, or they are too stubborn to admit it was a mistake to sign him, restructure, etc. Either way there's not many teams out there that would give up even a 7th round pick for 34 old declining player with his type of salary which is why I hoped at the very least we could have swapped him for a DB or OL veteran at a similar age/price. Regarding Johnson, yes it would have been great to keep him but aside from ST how many snaps was he going to see on this team at DE this year? So getting a 6th rounder (which could be closer to a 5th rounder in reality depending on where the Panthers finish) is not a bad deal vs cutting him outright for nothing.

Most of the high profile players on defense that Beane has drafted or signed as FA have not panned out including Edmunds, Addision, Oliver, etc. And yes not going to lie, I hate the 'bend but don't break' style of defense because when it breaks so to speak it's not pretty (see both games against KC)

Offensive line is rock solid albeit no star type players, Gesicki is a stud TE (top 5 -8 for sure), and their RB's are at worse equal to the Bills in Gaskin/Brown vs. Motor/Moss. If anything their defense is what would concern me given the absurd talent their at just about every position but as long as JA17 keeps doing thing against them I suppose we are good. Like I mentioned before, even with a marginally improved Tua their floor should be 10 wins. They get a guy like Watson they will be a SB team (at least in the eyes of the media).

Yes plenty are. As good as Beane has been rebuilding this offense he's been terrible on defense for the most part with FA's and draft picks, which is also why I'm still tempering my expectations with Epineza and Rousseau despite their strong camp/preseason showings. But getting back to Addison (and Butler), it was one thing to restructure their deals but they should have been done so to cut/trade them without the cap hits associated with them. If Obada ends up being semi decent and at worse getting the 5 sacks he did in Carolina it somewhat offsets the Addison deal though.

You can only keep so many ST focused players when you have SB aspirations and need guys that can actually contribute in live game action, that's why I also think guys like Taiwan Jones are going to be gone soon as well. As for Addison, I wouldn't be surprised if he essentially this year's Trent Murphy by midseason (assume he is in fact safe). Because no way we are wasting reps on him the glut of young talent that is ready to contribute out of the gate.

At least we got a return on investment here but was hoping for a little more (i.e. a player in return) but we've probably raided the Panthers roster enough as it is.

I still think we are going to make moves for DB and OL help as soon as today. With all the depth we've accumulated at most other positions there's no way we are going to rely on the current depth chart for key positions like this were the Bills have been hit hard by injury in recent years. I've said all along we are a White injury away from having one of the worst DB groups in the league and that can't happen if we want to hang with teams like the Chiefs, let along actually beat them.

I don't either, but the reality is he's really a ST standout that has had a grand total of 2 sacks his first two years here. Sure he could end up doing more in an expanded role in Carolina but this team is loaded and outside of ST he was probably going to get even less reps at DE than he did the previous two years had he made the team.

Interesting, I hope we get a decent pick and/or quality player in return (DB). Sucks to see him go but it was obviously going to be him or Addison as the odd man out here given the depth and between the two he has upside and can presumably get us the most in return for a trade. I still wouldn't rule out cutting/trading Addison though either....

They got 10 wins last year with a rookie QB playing poorly and Fitz typically good week/bad week type of play. And when you look at their roster from top to bottom it's hard to argue they are at worse equal to the Bills minus QB. I will agree that Flores seems to be playing with fire with not only how he handled the QB position last year, but how he's all but publicly admit Tua isn't the answer with all this Watson speculation especially if they are willing to give anything close to what Houston is apparently asking for in a trade.

I'm surprised that a team like Houston wanted to get rid of Lawson before he even played a regular season game for them. Wondering if there are personality/locker room issues going on with him since he left Buffalo.

I hope this is just noise because IMO Miami is already a contender and if they land a top 10 QB like Watson they would instantly become part of the championship conversation with the Bills, Chiefs, Browns, Bucs, etc.

I predict Davis assumes the clear cut #2 role by the end of the season especially since Sanders is pretty much on a one and done type of contract anyway. But if he truly develops into a #1 type WR he's not going to be here past his rookie contract.

The game is very different indeed, which is also why traditional pocket QB's like Bledsoe are near extinct in this league with all the big armed, mobile guys like Mahomes, Allen, etc now being the 'prototypical' NFL QB so to speak.

Yah this is strange too, they'll definitely be at least one team that wins 13 or 14 games this year. My guess would be the Bucs.

Good stuff, always like Bledsoe and wish we could have had more success during his time here. Still think this team could have be a real contender in 2004 had they got into the playoffs and not blown the season finale against the Steelers backups.

I know Joe B is pretty dialed in so this team must really like Hodgins for some reason despite his injuries issues. I still think we could easily cut him and put him on the PS though without not clearing waivers.

This is my thoughts as well, yes Brady is gone but it's foolish for any Bills fan to disregard a team and coach that has ate our lunch the greater part of the last two decades even when we had decent teams. The key is the Pats defense......they should be ridiculously good similar to their first 3 SB run circa 2001 - 2004 when Brady wasn't even putting up ridiculous numbers or carrying the team.