H2o

This is probably an OTW thread and there is one discussing this topic already.

Gore is setting up for a Jake Paul payday. Get two more fights under his belt and if he wins them both, it will happen.

PFF = Paid For Faking #'s

Imo, we have a pretty tough stretch right out of the gate. @Rams, Titans, @Fish, @Ravens, Steelers, and @ KC. The schedule softens up after the Bye week a bit. There is no reason to think we can't win them all, but if we come out of the first 6 weeks at 4-2 or 5-1 then I will be very optimistic about our chances at the #1 seed in the AFC. I think the AFCN is going to beat themselves up with a bunch of quality, but not great teams. Cleveland could make some noise, but what happens with Watson will determine how they go. The AFCW is going to be a gauntlet with all of the teams out there. I wouldn't be surprised for all of them to have 3 losses from their division games alone. This year I think 13-4 can get you the top spot, maybe even 12-5. The Colts, Titans, and Bengals is where I think the main comp comes from for the #1 seed. The Colts and Titans are head and shoulders above the rest of their division. They both should seemingly get 4 victories alone facing Jax and Houston. The Colts have to be the favorites right now adding a better QB in Matt Ryan, but the AFCS also has to play the entire AFCW this year. The Bengals, if they are the same team we saw last year heading into the Playoffs and throughout, could very well end up at 13-4 or 12-5. Either way, can't wait for late July-early August for this thing to start ramping up. Go Bills!!!

I will not defend Peterman. We all saw first hand how bad he was. Kaep was not blackballed because of racism. That's just an excuse everyone runs to. Denver was going to take him, even after kneeling, but wanted him to take a pay cut on a prove it type of scenario. He declined, the trade never happened, and he asked for his release from the 49ers. Seattle had offered him a backup job at one point and he declined because of money again. Don't pretend he didn't have options to continue playing or get back in the NFL. Let's also not forget that Kaep originally sat down on the bench for the anthem. He didn't start kneeling to draw attention to himself until after he had lost his starting gig to Blaine Gabbert. Kudos to him, his agent, and his girlfriend for throwing a spin on it real quick and capitalizing on the media attention. He's made more $$$ away from football than he would have playing the game with his lawsuits, endorsements, and other endeavors. In everything he did after that, portraying himself as a martyr and playing politics, of course they aren't going to be ringing his phone off the hook. Add to that the fact he was a 58% career completion guy, who was a system QB, and relied on his legs more than his arm. No one is going to be worried about him, especially since he was on the wrong side of 30 and the fact he would bring a circus with him.

Exhibit A by the NFL: Josh Johnson, Tyler Huntley, Geno Smith, Jacoby Brissett, Josh Dobbs, Tyrod Taylor, Jordan Love, Kellen Mond, Feleipe Franks, PJ Walker. These are all QB's currently in the NFL that people on the Kaep hype train would argue he is better than, though he probably is not at this point. It has nothing to do with racism and everything to do with the fact he is 35, hasn't played in 6 years, only boasted a 58% career completion percentage prior to, and isn't worth the circus it would likely create.

And Bill drafting some random FB from a Div. III school at #16.

Basham and Epenesa are different. Basham was playing at around 290lbs at Wake and looked to be in the 280's last year. Hopefully getting his weight under control is keeping him around 270lbs. Epenesa dropped from 280lbs down to about 255lbs. He needs to get his weight back up to around 265-270lbs.

2021 was another good statistical year for Bills players. It helps when you have "The Creature", Josh Allen, at QB. In 2021 Josh had another MVP caliber season and there is no reason to think that will not continue. In 2022 we see the infusion of a bunch of new players on this offense. I'll go over some numbers from 2021 and predict what I think things will look like in each area for 2022. In 2021, Josh Allen had 409 completions at a 63.3% clip for 4,407 yds, 36 TD's, and 15 INT's. With the addition of Saffold, the retaining of Bates, Brown going into his 2nd year, and Dawkins/Morse still as mainstays there is no reason to think Josh will not be able to repeat this effort or expand upon it considering the evolution we saw in the Playoffs last year. Not to mention how hard the guy works in the offseason perfecting different parts of his game. In 2022: I think Josh puts up big numbers and is in the MVP discussion once again, if not finally getting the nod. I'm guessing between 4,700-5,200 yards passing, completion percentage up to between 65-68%, somewhere around 44-50 TD's, 8-12 INT's, 400-600 yards rushing, and another 6-8 TD's on the ground. In 2021, Singletary led the Bills in rushing attempts and yards with 188 carries for 870 yards. Josh was 2nd with 122 carries for 763 yards. Josh was also the leader in rushing TD's with 9, Singletary coming in 2nd with 7. Moss was relatively ineffective with 96 carries for for 345 yards, a measly 3.6 ypc clip. This year we added Duke Johnson in FA and James Cook through the draft. I fully expect Cook to be 2nd man up behind Singletary. With the expectation of more 12 personnel (having signed OJ Howard in the offseason), and having Aaron Kromer back as OL coach, I expect a more effective run game this year. I also expect Josh's designed carries to be down from the previous years with Daboll having moved on. Singletary, though not fast, is one of the most shifty RB's in the NFL. The biggest question surrounding the RB's is who fills that 3rd spot. Will it be Moss or Duke Johnson? How much was Moss actually hampered by the lingering effects of the ankle injury? My gut still tells me that the Bills will keep the guy they drafted in Moss over Duke Johnson. I think the main variable in who will be the rushing leader is how they use James Cook. Is he going to be more of a spot carry kind of guy who is used more as a receiving option out of the backfield or are they going to let him have 10-15 carries a game? In 2022: I'm going to say Singletary will lead the team in carries, but Cook will lead the team in rushing yards due to the fact he is a dual threat as a receiver and a RB. Defenses will have a harder time trying to figure out what is going on with him on the field and it will lead to lanes being open in the running game more often. I don't expect either back to eclipse 1,000 yards on the ground though. I still think Josh could end up being the leader in rushing TD's because of how he operates once we are in the Red Zone, but I expect Cook to have the most rushing TD's of the RB's because of the speed he brings to the field. I also think Moss will be the short yardage vulture who gets most of the carries around the goal line. Cook will lead the team with around 700-900 yds on the ground getting 6-8 TD's in the run game. Singletary will have somewhere between 500-700 yds on the ground with 4-6 TD's. Josh will be somewhere in the 400-600 yd with 6-8 TD's. Moss will only get about 300-400 yds again, but will be used at the goal line vulturing 3-5 TD's on the ground. In 2021, Diggs was Allen's favorite target once again and led the Bills in every statistical category. He had 103 receptions on 163 targets, for 1,225 yards, and 10 TD's. Cole Beasley had the 2nd most targets with 112 and Sanders 3rd with 72. Both Cole and Emmanuel are gone. That leaves 184 targets up for grabs if we throw the ball at the same clip in 2022. The addition of Crowder is a low key, big time signing imo. I think he will flourish in this offense and have the best year of his career, similar to Beasley when he came over from Dallas. Also, I see Crowder as having bigger YAC potential than Beasley playing out of the Slot position. Gabe is going to get his shot at being the full time #2 in this offense as well this year. McKenzie is still McKenzie, and he has produced when given the opportunity. He will see more time on the field as well in the passing game, and not just as a gadget player. Knox is still going to be a favorite target of Allen as well and hopefully he continues to build off of the massive improvement he showed last year. I see OJ Howard and James Cook as the two wild cards here in the passing game for this offense. OJ was definitely a gifted athlete coming out of Alabama, but has battled injuries and kind of ended up in the dog house for whatever reason in Tampa. Arians also doesn't make much use of TE's in the passing game. Brady did though and he brought his favorite target, Gronk, with him. I expect this will be Howard's chance to really show what he can do. IF he can stay healthy and if the athletic ability finally translates to production with a fresh start. James Cook was by many accounts the best receiving RB in the draft. He can catch the ball out of the backfield, he can line up in the slot, and is generally a matchup problem for opposing defenses. Then you have to take into account the multi-talented Khalil Shakir. I generally don't expect much out of Rookie WR's, but this young man has speed, excellent hands, excellent body control, and does work in the open field after getting the ball in his hands. In 2022: Diggs is still going to be Allen's go-to guy. He will lead the team in targets, catches, yards, and TD's once again. Don't be surprised to see an uptick from last year and back closer to his 2020 numbers. I actually expect the additions of Crowder, OJ Howard as TE#2, Cook as a receiving option out of the backfield, and Davis taking over full time as the #2 WR to create more opportunities for Diggs. Teams won't be able to throw so much focus on him without leaving the field open for the other threats in this offense. That is why we paid him top tier money extending his contract. Diggs is a true #1 and he's going to eat out there on the field. I see Gabe coming in 2nd with around 100 targets, somewhere around 70-80 catches, for around 1,000-1,100 yds, and 8-10 TD's. I see Crowder coming in 3rd with around 60-70 catches, for around 900-1,000 yds, and 6-8 TD's. McKenzie will see an uptick with 35-45 catches, for 350-450 yds, and 4-6 TD's. I think Shakir also gets his feet wet with somewhere between 20-30 catches, for about 200-250 yds, and 2-4 TD's. I see Knox having a very similar year to 2021 for the simple fact that Josh has so many options on offense now and I believe that Howard will somewhat cut into his ability to see more targets. I think OJ Howard surprises some people with 40-50 catches for around 500 yds and 6-8 TD's. This is also where I think Cook is really going to make a difference, in the receiving game. Even though I think he will lead the team in rushing yards, I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility to see him catch 50-60 passes out of the backfield, for 500-600 yds, and get another 5 TD's. Cook's presence is going to open up things even more for guys strictly running pass routes. In summary, I know Daboll is gone and Dorsey is taking over as OC. I know that Joe Brady has taken over as QB Coach. I know we have Aaron Kromer back as OL Coach. I know the system will be a bit different. I know there has been a little OL shuffling. But all in all, I am expecting this to be the most prolific offense in Buffalo Bills history. It's going to be "pick your poison" for opposing defenses. Who can you double without leaving the next guy (or multiple guys) open? If you try to shut down the underneath stuff with Crowder/McKenzie/Shakir/Cook/whatever TE then Josh is going to beat you over the top with Davis or Diggs. If you take away the down field shots then Josh is going to pick you apart in the short to intermediate area with Cook/TE's/Crowder/McKenzie/Shakir/Diggs/Davis. If you try to lock down the guys on the outside then Howard/Knox/Crowder/McKenzie/Shakir/Cook are going to eat you alive up the seams. If you're dropping 7 strictly into coverage then Cook/Singletary/Either Moss or Johnson are going to get chunks of yards on the ground. I mean seriously, this offense is going to be hard to handle for any and every opposing defense in the NFL. This is going to be the year it all comes together and we can have balance when balance is needed.

10 years and $375M to talk football and call games is one heck of a gig.

And this happened A LOT if you paid attention.

It was time for us to move on, but even still:

Dominique Foxworth, Nick Wright, PFF, Mina Kimes, Kellerman, Stephen A., LebaTard, Skip Bayless, and the list could go on.

This is karma for the Brock Osweiler trade they made with the Texans a few years back. Houston was looking to unload salary, and Osweiler. The Browns fleeced them out of a 2nd Round and 6th Round pick for Osweiler, while only giving up a 4th. They will have to do the same to get rid of Mayfield if they really want to unload him. Or they can just hold onto him this year. Up to them, but it seems they are trying everything they can to keep him from ending up somewhere he actually wants to be.

I'm going with anyone along the defensive front. The acquisition of Von Miller will have a ripple effect on the rest of our front four. He will command a lot of attention. That should open up things for Oliver, Jones, Settle, and Phillips on the interior. Also, having Miller to teach the younger guys should result in an uptick on the field. Rousseau, Epenesa, and Basham could really be poised to take a big step forward. We had 27 sacks last year. If we, as a team, can bring that number up to around 50? It's lights out for the rest of the NFL. The pressure will be creating more turnovers and giving us better field position overall.

If he'll come here in hopes of getting a ring for like $3M? Sure. If not, it won't happen. We have to save some cap in case we need to make some mid-season moves because of injuries.

Yeah, he's gritty and toughs things out it seems. I just hadn't heard about all of the injuries. The timing of them helped him in a couple of instances.

I didn't realize Shakir had a list of injuries this long. Maybe that's why he slid to day 3? https://www.buffalorumblings.com/2022/5/4/23053030/2022-nfl-draft-buffalo-bills-wr-khalil-shakir-injury-analysis

Beane is absolutely my favorite person I like to listen to talk. He's informative without giving too much away, and at the same time he is as honest as they come.

Either way, Haack is gone. Araiza will be fine if he is to handle that role as well.

Excellent write up @BillsFanForever19 Moss vs Johnson - Beane and McDermott hate cutting guys they drafted, but it may happen here. They say Moss was hampered by the lingering effects of his ankle injury in 2021. We'll see. This is going to be a true TC and Preseason battle for a roster spot. Last year, in Miami, Johnson also showed that he offered a bit more in the running game and not just receiving out of the backfield. My thought is Johnson should make the team over Moss, but my gut says that Beane and McDermott will stick with the guy they drafted. Crowder vs McKenzie - I fully expect Crowder to be the starter in the Slot, but I think McKenzie gets mixed in more with Beasley being gone. I wouldn't be surprised if they see an equal number of snaps between them and then we get Shakir mixed in for a few snaps a game. Shakir vs Stevenson - I think that Shakir proves early his worth in the return game. I hope Stevenson has been working his tail off this offseason because he faces an uphill climb to even make the 53. If we try to stash him on the PS, I wouldn't be surprised if Schoen and Daboll scooped him. He has speed, but he really needs to work on his craft and show value on ST. Sweeney vs Wydermyer vs Morris - Personally, I think they keep Wydermyer on the 53. Sweeney hasn't shown much and Morris nothing at all. I suspect Sweeney will be stashed on the PS and Morris will be an outright cut. It's another situation though where Schoen and Daboll might cherry pick though. Wydermyer reminds me of a Lee Smith type. A blocking TE who can slip out occasionally to catch a pass, hopefully minus all the Lee Smith types of penalties. He is limited athletically though, that 5.03 40 time being the evidence. Doyle vs Tenuda - I think Doyle's athletic profile and year in the system already give him a leg up. Tenuda is a prime candidate for the PS. Cody Ford - 💩 Waste of a roster spot. Epenesa vs Basham vs Lawson - I think Epenesa is the first man up behind Von Miller and Lawson will be the first man up behind Rousseau. Bahsam will get some snaps at DE, but I expect his role to continue more as an interior guy on pass rushing situations much like Obada was used last year. Lawson's last year in Buffalo was solid. He had 6.5 sacks and some nice stops in the run game. He fits our defense more than anywhere else he has been in his time since. I hope they told Epenesa to gain about 10-15lbs during the offseason. His first two years I think him being too light, compared to college, has been one of his main issues. Basham just needs some refinement and to keep himself at about 270lbs so his quickness can flash a bit more. Jones vs Settle - I actually think the battle may be more Settle vs Phillips for the backup spot behind Ed O. I think Jones is definitely our 1-Tech going into the season. Settle has the ability to play both spots on the interior just like Ed though, where I think Phillips is strictly a 3-Tech in our defense. The depth along this front in 2022 is fantastic though. Bernard vs Dodson - I think they see Bernard as an athletic upgrade to Klein. I also think Bernard is going to surprise some people his rookie year with that athletic ability, especially against the run. Once he sees his lane and get going downhill you can see the pop in his pads. He loves to hit people. I also think with his ability you will see us be able to run more 3 LB sets and I believe he will be first man up if Milano is forced to miss any time. Dodson will jus be depth again. Lee vs Spector vs Smith - Honestly, I think Spector ends up on the PS. I think both Lee and Smith will end up being cut outright. Like you said, there are only so many spots for LB's on this roster and named the 5 who will make it. Lewis vs Benford - I think Benford sticks because they see him being able to slide in as a S if CB doesn't work out. I'd expect Lewis to hit the PS. Haack vs Araiza - Haack may even request a release before TC so he can latch on somewhere else. He's not beating out Araiza. Keenum can handle holding duties if need be.