BillsVet

Expectations have been amped up with the 4-1 start and defense playing the way it has. To Dave Mc's point-you expect them now to be 11-5 and win a playoff game given their start and (to date) overall AFC weakness. A playoff appearance in 2017 bought them some time in their roster deconstruction process. Now it's time to hasten the rebuild with a deal for a WR to improve this currently pedestrian offense.

There needs to be a lot less "Feeling" and a lot more thinking/believing.

I would imagine he was motivated by proving his old team wrong for letting him go. Agreed on him looking out of shape. I'd expect at some point they'll look to add a guard with better mobility because at times he whiffs or is slow to arrive on blocks.

Take my offensive coordinator...please.

The Patriots survive bad picks because in-demand UFAs will play for less money given their penchant for winning Super Bowls. Buffalo ain't in that category yet.

Yeah, Allen being the guy provides some draft credibility and at the minimum buys time to build around him. I contend offensive skill position decisions overall, pro and amateur, are otherwise unimpressive not including the 2019 draft class we haven't had time to properly evaluate. I'm really interested to see if they make a deal for an productive vet WR before the deadline. It'll mean giving up draft picks, which every team typically wants to retain, but at this point Allen needs another receiver if this team is going to score better than the 18 points per they've recorded.

That's the one contract that should make fans think twice about McBeane's personnel acumen. Re-working Star's deal doesn't even seem likely given that he's playing 40% of the snaps and continues to regress. Their offensive pro and amateur scouting decisions leave a lot to be desired. Not including the moves to get Allen, they've traded up 4 times to pick offensive players in 3 drafts. Those players don't scream above average NFL types: Z. Jones isn't going to be the guy McD thought, Dion Dawkins is probably an average LT who could use a move to RT, and Cody Ford is not looking like a NFL OT. The other choice was Dawson Knox, who has made some plays and an ability to block, but it's real early in his career. They're going to need to draft better when offensive UFAs on 1-2 year deals aren't retained. Morse is here, barring injury, for that contract, but Spain, Feliciano, Nsekhe, Brown, Beasley, and Kroft, and Gore aren't on anything the team couldn't get out of after 1-2 seasons.

Star continues to see a reduced snap count and there isn't a questions why. In 2016, with McD as DC, he was in on 66% of their snaps while playing all 16 games. This year he's at 42% through 4 games with 58 snaps. Something's amiss here and it's certainly not the DC or scheme. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/L/LotuSt00.htm Buffalo's invested quite a bit at DT considering the positional value these last 3 off-seasons. They need to be strong down the middle, but giving J. Phillips a long term contract at Snacks level (9M per) is a lot to put into one position considering they've already used a top 10 and 3rd round pick there besides Star.

I hope McD learns that leaning trusting someone who was a college WR coach the year previous is not a solid way of selecting players. Taking Z. Jones tells me that he had no trust in Whaley or his staff and banked on a coach he hired to help him make decisions. Bad idea. I hope moving forward McD learns his lesson and has the people to advise in personnel to get it right, because this team still needs significant (Edit: WR) help. Still, nice to see a better passing game today.

1. My conclusion is based on the coaching staff moving Ford inside during camp and that he hasn't won the position outright. His snap count at OT has hovered at less than 50%, including the Cincinnati game when he played when Feliciano was injured. It's logical to conclude, based on this evidence, that's he struggling to handle the position. 2. Brandon Beane was effectively here, but there are those who seek to exempt him from decisions in '17 because he wasn't physically in the building until May. I've pointed out (as have others) that Buffalo jumped in front of Carolina to take Dion Dawkins late in the second that year. And guess who Carolina selected immediately after? An offensive tackle. Call it whatever you want, but by that point in the off-season the HC (who always has a plan) had an idea who he wanted to be GM. McD had already made the decision that Whaley would never be his guy and it's logical to conclude Beane was his man. It stands to reason he'd consult on personnel issues before an official announcement.

During the 2006 season plenty of fans were pronouncing that year's draft as a foundational one and a few years later none of the players, save Kyle Williams were close to above average starters. It's why I'm adamant people allow more than a few games to evaluate rookies. The other issue to your argument is that DT, G, RB (along with LB) don't offer the positional value high in the draft unless it's an elite All-Pro type. Oliver may be that guy, but it's early. I like Knox, who plays a position Buffalo has eschewed for years. Re: Ford. It should be concerning that the decision makers thought he could, were willing to trade up for him, and assigned him a 1st round grade. This is a team that traded up for Zay, Dawkins, and declined to take a QB in 2017. Their decision making in the draft and via UFA on offense is at best so-so for '17 and '18 right now.

Still baffles me that Buffalo traded up to 38 for Ford to play OT and found out early in camp he couldn't handle the speed of the position. If they've gotta put a TE next to him, that's one less guy defenses have to respect in the passing game. Because Buffalo doesn't have the horses at RB right now to maintain drives with a run first attack. Teams that trade up for guards aren't using their draft capital efficiently, unless it's the final piece of building their OL. (Edit) And Buffalo's revamp is not the HR some were making it out to be. Nsekhe isn't going to play Sunday if he didn't practice today. It's going to mean someone entirely new will be getting PT. It's decisions like taking Ford that make me question the offensive personnel evaluation OBD has conducted these past couple years.

McD and Beane have admitted their shortcomings in other areas, so it's not surprising from a culture perspective that the OC would as well. It's a good thing. However, at some point this honesty people clamor for now will be met with indignation. He's been in the NFL on the offensive side of the ball for more than 16 seasons now. One expects better by this point.

Nearly successful? I guess that's a definitely maybe. No one player "lost" the game. We're going to find out how Daboll adjusts to opposing defenses now that NE has figured a way to disrupt Allen. Keeping him in the pocket requires the OC to innovate a little more, albeit with perhaps less at the skill positions.

There was a rush to declare that Jones' behavior in that video was attributable to an illegal substance. Yet, police dropping charges just 2 days later made me think it was anything but drug related or, as it was claimed, there was insufficient evidence. https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/prosecutors-drop-charges-against-bills-receiver-zay-jones-following-bloody-arrest/ During this last off-season it was again highlighted how hard he was working out. Hard to understand if a guy is dedicated like that but doesn't want anything to do with games. Something's definitely amiss.

It's times like this when you wonder what is the purpose of human suffering and why people have to go through these tragic and heart-breaking experiences. There is no answer we're going to find out here in this existence. You pray for people like that because they're going through hell. And you do so hoping they can find peace in a sea of pain.

Not long ago people talked about the sports news of the day, the game, player transactions, et al. Yet, I've noticed over the past few years that journalism has trended away from reporting the news and now focuses heavily on analysis. In terms of sports journalism, The Athletic website is built on this. They're not so much writing to cover events, but to review what happened and provide analysis for it. Or, to predict what will happen with use of tools like analytics. People have a desire to know things before they happen so as not to be surprised. And there's a market for it because consumers (the fans) demand a steady stream of content. This is especially so when there's no news like a game, the draft, or free agency signing to cover. It's why various websites put forward stories that begin with a question such as "Why" or "How" something happened. IMO, this trend toward analysis is driving fans to be more ridiculously anxious and speculate wildly on all things sports. A few weeks back someone posted a serious question about what would happen if Matt Barkley was injured when Josh Allen was completely healthy. There are so many threads on TBD now that people initiate which follow this same practice of beginning with a question. Some of it is individual posters who want attention with likes, thanks, etc. But much of it is people who are worried about the team. I guess it's a sign of the times that sports is taking over people's lives.

That's not new. In other news, I need help with my homework.

Think the GM evaluates a player based on the team's overall performance? Doubtful. Yes, individuals contribute, but at what cost are they to the team? Trent Murphy playing the LDE position at his salary may be able to be replaced with someone on a rookie contract and provide similar production. I am using Murphy merely as an example. People want to sign everyone, but there's going to be trade-offs. For example, I doubt if Dawson Knox continues to improve that Kroft is back next season. That said, the Bills haven't once had to make a decision on someone drafted by this regime, but that begins to change this off-season when White, Dawkins, and Milano are eligible for extensions. Not to mention those on 1 year deals.

Former VP's rarely do well after 2 terms under a POTUS, right?

There's a significant amount of psychology to being a great coach. That, and gathering intelligence among other things.

The NE game may well be an isolated event and they hopefully improve moving forward. The concern is a blueprint now exists for defeating the Buffalo offense which opponents will attempt to replicate. Yes, the defense was stellar and a force to be reckoned with for any offense in this league. At the same time, this offense cannot get out of its own way, primarily because Allen and Barkley have holes in their play which opposing DCoord's are going to exploit. Bet on it. If you're not improving, it's regression. McD, Daboll, and especially Allen need to make some huge strides soon to get back on track and prove the offense can score consistently.

He was advertised as having the best hands of the 2017 WR class. Not sure in what activity, because it's definitely not in football.

Most concerned with McD's vision of how to win in the modern NFL because ownership accorded him so much power for a first time HC. They've invested a ton on defense in years 1-3 and waited until off-season 3 to begin doing something real on offense (save for drafting Allen). On draft day or in UFA during off-seasons 1 and 2 they've been real sketchy on picking offensive players. Not going to judge the 2019 guys just yet. The other thing is McD has made some very questionable coaching choices. He fired Dennison after one season, retained then fired Crossman, is on his 3rd WR coach, and of course finally had to fire Juan Castillo. The offensive side of the ball seems out of kilter. Daboll isn't inspiring much at the moment either and a HC only gets so many swings at coordinators before it points back on him. Game-day decisions always get the most attention because you can't miss those moments. The bigger issue is what is happening before the games are played. Bottom line is McD is 18-18 and 5 of those losses have come against NE. He's also only 6-8 in the division now.

With that I'm going to agree to disagree.