GreenMtnBillsFan

I love Ty Johnson and think he excelled in the RB3 role, but I'm 100% on board with drafting an RB in this year's class. There's some really solid ones with a lot of different skill sets. I could definitely see them finding a back that has similar qualities to Cook (explosive, shifty) and trying to develop them this season in the case that Cook walks next year. If Johnson resigns, then they just hang on the PS as RB4.

Yosef! That leaves Jalen Virgil and Darry as the last Alum on the team (now that Sam Martin is gone)

Exactly, he's likely a camp body and RB3 competition regardless of whether Johnson resigns or not. He'll either compete with Gore jr. and Johnson, or a Draft pick and Gore.

Definitely, I'm no GM but the more mock drafts I do, there seems to be a lot of interesting options for all 3 of those positions at various points throughout the draft, which hopefully means we have more chances of hitting on a player that'll be productive and serve as good depth.

Beane must really like the DT and DE's in this draft, because it feels like they're really aiming to target there right now. Obviously things could change and I'm sure he'll sign some vets for cheap deals to help round out depth, but I think he's aiming to get "younger and cheaper" at the DT and DE position overall. That doesn't necessarily help the fact that we could use a game wrecker at those positions, but it seems like they're trying to reset the defense as a whole by letting go old contracts the past two years (Hyde, Poyer, Tre, Von) and locking up Bernard, Rousseau, and hopefully Benford.

Yeah I think that people really need to start readjusting their perspectives and expectations on these moves. It's going to continue to cost more and more to maintain good players, but at the same time the cap will likely continue to rise, so it all balances out. What really matters is the % of cap and positional value. Certain positions are just going to take up a larger % of the team's overall cap, but as long as Beane isn't out there to making mega deals way over positional value, then there's not all that much to worry about.

To be honest, I don't think Beane seems to place a lot of value into the Backup QB's. I wouldn't mind a Minshew or backup of higher quality, but it always seems like they'd rather use that money or draft capital elsewhere rather than a higher rated backup or developmental QB in the draft. I wouldn't be surprised if they keep Mike White and cut Trubisky after 6/1.

I'd love Garrett as much as the next guy, but I would be pretty pumped if Beane was able to pull off a deal here. Hendrickson, Rousseau, another FA (Epenesa is also fine as a DE3/4) and a draft pick would be a solid group.

I really liked Sam Martin and thought he was pretty solid for us, but definitely seemed like a potential cut option for some cap savings. I think they really like Jake Camarda and want to give him a shot to win the starter's job. They'll still bring in competition (draft pick or a vet), but I think they envisioned Camarda when they offered him a Futures deal.

He'd have more opportunities to catch the ball if he was better at pass protection. Ty Johnson takes those snaps because he's a good receiver and also can help protect Josh on 3rd down when the defense might send more pressures.

That's a great point and I think it hits the middle ground that some people miss. There's certainly a way to improve the offense and the defense in the same offseason and at the end of the day, the Bills need to just keep swinging at getting great players, whether they're veterans or rookies in the draft. Teams can provide a framework (like the Eagles), but at the end of the day, you can't replicate exactly what they did. Teams have been trying to replicate the Patriots for years and it never seems to work. As frustrating as it is coming up short, Beane and McDermott have a philosophy they believe can win them a super bowl, they just haven't gotten the right pieces and breaks yet to make it happen.

Good to know! I've seen his name pop up a ton to on the mock drafts as well. Not super familiar with his skillset but I'll go watch some highlights.

I'm a Vols fan for college football and have been taking Dylan Sampson in mock drafts for the fun of it. Lot of comps to James Cook in terms of explosiveness and speed. https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/Player/Dylan-Sampson-RB-Tennessee It'll be interesting to see if they do take an RB this year and let Cook just play out of his final year.

Agreed. I think it's way more likely Von would rather just stay with a contending team and play a smaller role. His contract is always going to be viewed poorly because of the injury and drop-off in effectiveness, but at this point in his career, he's not a bad rotational edge by any means. Just not the guy we initially signed up for. I'd love for his snaps to go to younger players from the draft, but I think it's logical to expect he could very likely be back.

He definitely improved on the drops this season, but his pass blocking leaves a lot to be desired. Not that he's bad by any means, but it's just never been a strength in his skillset. I certainly believe in him as a player and think he could get better, but I also fully understand there's a reason why he only plays 50% of the snaps and doesn't take the field on 3rd downs or in two-minute drills. In the Chiefs game, he got blown up on that play before the Dalton Kincaid drop, and that blocking issue resulted in Josh rushing the throw that he missed to Curtis Samuel.

10000% agree with you. It's beyond frustrating that this coaching staff can't seem to figure out how to counter these punches over and over, meanwhile KC is out here debuting plays that aren't even on tape and scheming guys wide open all night long. I do appreciate (whether it worked or not) McDermott's aggressiveness as a whole this season and as much as he frustrates me, I do think he made strides, however, it's the same story again and again with KC in the playoffs and I just don't know what else he can do to get us over this hump.

Certainly yes, but O'Cyrus Torrence said to the media that Spagnolo had shown that same pressure look all night long and then on this one play in a key moment, sent the complete opposite side to blitz. Not really much you can do there except try to mitigate the play as it happens. Josh made an amazing throw on a play where the KC defense/coaching outmaneuvered us big time.

I'm jealous of their pressure schemes too. They were just relentless last night and it felt like Josh could never settle in for more than a few plays in a row. That's probably the hardest part of processing this season's exit from the playoffs. Yes, we are certainly lacking in areas like DL, WR, CB and there were plenty of tough moments where we didn't execute when we needed to (stems from coaching), but at the end of the day, what can you do when the Chiefs outcoach and execute on basically every level? Mahomes didn't even need to play amazing, players were schemed open all day, Spags always had an answer in the key moments on defense, and different guys made plays all over the field. It's not even realistic to expect a team to play perfect in all phases, there's plenty of super bowl teams who haven't played perfectly, it's just horrible luck that the Bills rise has been right alongside the Chiefs, who have a HOF coaching staff and talent all over the field. It's also on the coaching staff and players to start executing in the biggest moments (fully acknowledge and agree with that) Just crazy that people have the audacity to act like our best player is a choke artist because he didn't play a perfect game. We wouldn't even be in the position we are without Josh and him not checking into the right protection scheme because the opposing DC was playing 4D chess doesn't make me feel any differently about him in clutch moments.

Appreciate the insight! I go visit family quite a bit so I will certainly stop in.

If you're on instagram, go follow Asheville Bills Backers. They have a pretty solid following and are pretty active. I haven't been to an outing yet, but it seems like they meet up at The Social in Asheville quite a bit. My partner's family is all from the Western NC area, so I've made sure to take stock of where other Bills fans in High Country. Go Bills!

1000% agree. It seemed like the Ravens fully sold out to stop the run in the 3rd quarter and we just didn't execute on our passing plays as much to extend drives. That in turn allowed Baltimore to work back into the game instead of getting gamescripted out. There was nothing really there saying that the Bills were "taking their foot off the gas". The other team gets paid to play too, and they're going to make choices to try and get back in the game. That's football. If the boys can come out again and execute, extend drives, and keep that balance, they are in a great spot to beat KC and get to the Super Bowl. Their ability to stay balanced and win/score in different ways this season has been so awesome to watch. It's one of (if not) the biggest reason why they are in the AFC Championship game this season.

I could definitely see Samuel getting hot at the right time and breaking off another big play. It feels like he's finally healthy and getting in a groove with Josh.

Offensive Side of the Ball: Amari Cooper and/or Keon Coleman. Last week was about matchups in the middle of the field, this time the matchups are there for Cooper and Coleman to make big plays happen and keep Buffalo scoring. Defensive Side of the Ball: Ed Oliver or Terrell Bernard. We aren't gonna slow down Lamar and Henry a ton, but the DL is really the key to keeping pressure on and throwing Lamar off rhythm. If Ed can lead the charge for the DL and avoid getting blown off the ball, I think the Bills have a much better chance of keeping Henry at bay and keeping Lamar in their sights. I also think Bernard continues to grow as a defensive leader and helps sure up the middle of the field defense by fitting the run, occasionally blitzing, and covering the TE's.

Agreed! I feel like that's been the Bills blueprint and evolution this season that we're seeing come into full form. Eat clock on offense by having a ton of options to keep drives moving, this in turn helps Josh stay efficient and still able to make Josh magic happen when the times come. Then if we can control the game and get ahead, our defense can start teeing off for negative yards and turnovers, especially once they make 2nd half adjustments. What makes things dicey is if the game script gets away from us (like it did in Week 4) and we're the ones playing catch up. Josh can keep us in any game, but the other elements become much harder to execute if we're down multiple scores. I think the boys know that though are more prepared to take it to Baltimore and not let them take over the game. it will be a tough one, but Go Bills, let's keep this train running!