JohnC

If you expanded your horizons and were more willing to try some back alley restaurants in the tough and gritty part of town you would be more well rounded.

That explains why you like to see blood in your meat.

What do you have against self-flagellation? It can be cathartic. https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=muslim+religious+ritual+of+self+flagellation&id=B1D6AFDD9DDD700D5E59243AE66E94674C7037D7&FORM=IQFRBA

On a team full of faltering players I'm not going to get too exercised over a player who is actually fulfilling his role. Is he getting overpaid? Probably so. Will his salary squeeze the cap making it difficult to add talent in the next few years? I would say no, especially realizing that next year there will be a lot of financial flexibility to make moves. When assembling a roster there are plenty of players who are both out-performing their contracts and under-performing their contracts. It's impossible to perfectly calibrate the player's cost to production. With Star he is playing a role that although is difficult to quantify certainly is an important role. Watching the games on TV it is difficult to see and judge how he is doing. From all accounts he is fulfilling his role. On a team full of laggards he's one player that I'm not going to complain about.

I agree with you that solid drafts should form the core of a team. With respect to pursuing a free agent route to bolster the team my sense is that this regime isn't inclined to take the costly splash free agent pickup approach but would rather spread out the wealth and get quality mid-level type players. An example of that is how McDermont added Poyer and Hyde to the backside. Or another way of looking at it is getting good bang for the buck. I have said since the hiring of McDermott that this is in my mind a four year rebuild project. Hopefully the leap forward will come next year with an infusion of talent from the free agent market (mostly mid-level) and the draft. The timetable was set back when Pegula made the peculiar hire of Rex. Not only was his two year stint a set back but another couple of years will be invested in cleaning out his cupboard of players. That's what happens when you lurch back and forth from one system to another. Exponential foolishness! This is going to be a tough year. When this regime decided to absorb the accumulated cap in one year that indicated that the franchise was going to take a big gut wrenching hit this year hoping that it would more quickly clean the slate for more additions in the near future. Obviously, there is a strategy. The issue is whether that strategy can be properly executed to get them out of the hole that they dug for themselves.

You and I are riding the same choo choo train.

I can see the Bills taking the OT from Bama in the first round but I can't see them using their first two picks on offensive linemen. It's not that we can't use an infusion of talent on the OL but because the organization has so much cap money to use I see another lineman being added through the free agent market. As you are well aware this team desperately needs receivers. A lot of people are getting discouraged because of the inept play of this stripped down team. If you consider that probably Kyle Williams will retire, Clay will be let go and Benjamin won't return you can add those salaries to the copious cap amount available to work with next year. And you add that money situation to the fact that we will have a full complement of draft picks then next year the team should be significantly reshaped and upgraded.

What's his name and year? I'll be rooting for him. Hopefully, I won't jinx him! Is he considered a pro prospect? Regardless, I'll still pull for him. I want to see UB and the program do well.

Can he play left guard? How big is your cousin?

After the Army game his ranking and line mates may have slid a little.

When you have one nut and deal it away what do you have left? A eunuch.

It's not unusual for teams to have units that are sub par. But that isn't the case with the Bills' receiver corps. This unit is non-functioning. This causes a ripple effect especially for a rookie qb who isn't proficient (understandably) isn't in making quick reads. When he looks downfield what he sees are his receivers blanketed. With a more experienced qb and a functional receiving corps this far from elite OL's passing protection performance would at least rise to the level of being adequate. In addition, our running game is being swallowed up by the defense not only outnumbering our OL but also at the minimum stalemating them. There are few lanes to run through. People are starting to freak out and search for someone to lay the blame on our offense's ineptitude. Daboll isn't the problem. It's not only a significant lack of talent on offense but it is exacerbated with a rookie taking the snaps. My worry isn't that Allen is playing poorly but that he will be brutalized. In this type of overwhelming circumstances I'm not sure that the learning process is advanced. As I stated in prior posts most outside football analysts predicted that the Bills would be at or near the bottom of the rankings. When you make a decision to do a hardcore rebuild what you have witnessed shouldn't be surprising. When you let experienced talent go and replace it with younger talent you don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to figure out what is going to happen. It's tough to take but that is where we are at. When you ride the bronco and you get knocked off you get back on and try it again. Eventually you will tame the beast. That is not to say that you won't get bruised and battered in the process.

You are an enabler!

I hope you are feeling better. Good analysis but let me me simplify it. We have a weak OL and a rookie qb is starting. At this point he doesn't have the ability to make the quick reads and accordingly react. There aren't many gaps for the backs to run through. I agree with you that a straight line runner who forcefully hits whatever hole that exists is more useful than a dancing back. You don't have to be a football aficionado to recognize that collectively our receivers are the worst unit in the league. They can't get open. When Allen gets the time and looks downfield the receivers are usually blanketed. Zay Jones is an invisible receiver. The only time he makes catches is at the end of the half when the DBs back off or at the end of the game at garbage time. Benjamin is like a tree. He simply can't move. In general, our defense is playing earnestly. In this game my complaint is that they had two to three drops that could have helped out. But because our offense is so neutered they are on the filed more than they should be. This is going to be a tough year. It's not surprising that most prognosticators predicted that the Bills would be one of the worst teams in the league. This is a stripped down team absorbing more than $50 M cap hit this year. Next year we should have a good cap amount to work with and we will have our full complement of draft picks. This is an organization that strategically made a decision to rebuild, and that is what is going on. The issue comes down to how wisely this regime uses its assets next year. Because of the way it decided to rebuild this pummeling we are currently taking was unavoidable. Taking a step back is not easy to do. But it was a purposeful decision that hopefully will pay dividends in the near future.

We are going in circles in this issue. You consider the signing and the price more consequential than I do. The regime took a look at a former first round receiver who possessed an attribute that they felt they lacked i.e. speed. It didn't work out. The $3.5 M that was lost in cap space this year had little bearing on how this roster was going to be constituted. If it was a cap hit for next year I would be more sympathetic to your position. The Bills are absorbing more than $50 M in cap space this year to be in a better situation next year and future years. Any team that has a large turnover and makes a large number of transactions is not going to have them all work out. That's the nature of business. If you want to wallow in grievance over this transaction that clearly was a failure then continue on. I'm not so bothered by this transaction. I'm more bothered by the cutting of salary of Incognito resulting in him leaving. For me it was an issue of a loss of talent on an offensive line that has a dearth of talent. But even in that case we don't know if there is a back story because he is such a mercurial person.

Because Bogo is so injury prone I understand why the organization was inclined to keep Guhle with the big club rather than sending him down. As like you I would rather see him play a lot of minutes in Rochester than intermittently play in Buffalo. With respect to Bailey and Baptiste I like each of these young players. But the both of them have the same glaring deficiency that would preclude them from being top two line players i.e. they are not proficient at finishing. At best they are third line players. I'm not sneering at that role because it is important. But there are plenty of third line player to play that role. Again, as like you I hope we can keep both players in the system,

That play made absolutely no sense. What made it even more egregiously stupid was that it was called after a time out. On the positive side as much antagonism there is between the two programs what is great about it as these two titan programs have established a heated rivalry that recently has produced epic games. No matter which side of the aisle you sit on there was a palpable drama that was riveting. This was a terrific high energy environment which factored into making this a great football game. You are not going to see that type of rivalry and setting in the pro game. And I love the pro game.

The cost for taking a gamble on a former first round receiver was certainly for more than nothing, as you have repeatedly pointed out. What was the consequence for that expenditure? Little to nothing. The Bills were in a cap position to take a chance on this player who so far has turned out to be a bust for a few teams. His cap hit for this year was easily and comfortably absorbed. So what is the big deal? Although in hindsight it can be said that this transaction was a mistake. To the Bills credit they objectively evaluated his value and at the cost of a minor cap ding they kept the talent that they had. You act as if this transaction that didn't work out crippled this team. It didn't. In actuality the consequence of it was inconsequential.

The Bulls coach has done a terrific job. The second tier prospects are starting to realize that if they go to a top tier program where it overflows with talent they won't get the opportunity to play as they would with a program such as UB. And what you are starting to see more and more are highly recruited players who don't get an opportunity to play are not going to stand pat and have a career where they get stuck on the bench. So you see more player movement to what is considered second tier programs that still play a very good brand of football. UB has recently been a program where if players demonstrate a pro ability they can get drafted from their program. The Bulls coach is not only a good recruiter but he is a good developer of talent.That has to be appealing to the recruiting prospects.

They badly lost to a team that almost beat Oklahoma on the road. There is no shame to that. The season isn't lost. Especially if they can win the conference and earn a credible bowl invitation. No one can deny that UB has steadily upgraded their program. This game demonstrated to the program that there is still a long way to go. They played a good team and lost. I would rather see them schedule challenging games than cupcake games such as Delaware State. Smart and mature teams learn more from their losses than their victories. It's time to regroup and move on. There are still plenty of opportunities in this schedule to move forward.

What difference does it make if one is at the game or watched it on TV. A football game is a four quarter game. If things don't go your way in the first half there is still plenty of time to catch up. I DVRed the game and was able to watch the second half. The Bulls were overwhelmed in this game. They couldn't stop Army even when they knew what they were going to do. So stop this foolishness with your lame excuses. They got there arses kicked by the superior team. There is no other way to describe it. It's time for the Bulls to move on to the next game. Making excuses in a 42-13 game is absurd. Trust your eyes. The far superior team won.

The score was 42-13. They dominated the Bulls. Buffalo's offensive strategy had no bearing on this game. The reality is that there was no turning point in this game because the indomitable Army team steamrolled the Bulls. What was disappointing was not the loss so much as the domination in front of a large crowd. All is not lost. They need to win their conference games and finish the season strong. What I don't want to hear is excuses why the inferior team got there arses whipped.

Play calling had nothing to do with the outcome. Army was not only better but they were tougher. The Bulls knew what they were going to do on offense but still couldn't stop them. There is no shame in losing to a team that almost beat Oklahoma on the road. I'm glad there was good crowd. This wasn't a devastating loss so much as a measuring stick game against a better team. Now they know where they stand. The Bulls need to regather themselves and get back on the winning path.against their league opponents. By the end of the season if they earn an invitation to a credible bowl they will have had a successful season. Make no mistake this program's trajectory under their current coach is upward.

There were teams that were interested in him prior to the season. Both Baltimore and Cleveland were seriously interested in him with (if memory is correct) Baltimore giving him an offer that he declined. I have no doubt that the interested teams know exactly what they would be getting from a playing and personality standpoint. He's far from being an under the radar player with unknown traits. Is Dez a narcissistic and ego driven player? Yes. But that doesn't distinguish him from many athletes in pro sports. On the other hand when described with a word such as sociopathic then that is a pejorative term that I'm not willing to associate with him. That would be grossly unfair. My sense of the Dez situation is that by waiting for what he considered to be the best situation for himself he put himself in a position where he may end up being left out this season. Did he miscalculate or did his hesitation to make a decision be a reflection of his actual interest in playing any more? Only he can answer that question.

Dez may not have a desire to play for Buffalo but the bigger issue is whether McDermott would have any interest in a very faded player with a volatile personality? I doubt it. One of the major liabilities in the receiving corps is that their wideouts can't get open. Dez, especially at this end stage of his career, isn't elusive enough as a receiver. Why add a receiver with an attribute that accentuates that same weakness that the unit has? Dez is a very volatile and emotional player who acts out when he is not involved in the action. What the wrestling coach doesn't want on his roster is a player too often on the verge of exploding when things are not going well for him or the offense. I'm not suggesting that Dez is a bad person but it would no make sense for this organization to have any interest in him, even accepting the fact that he probably has little interest in Buffalo.