2020 Our Year For Sure Posted March 7, 2016 Posted March 7, 2016 Almost looks like Coach Aaron Kromer lobbying for Incognito... Come on Richie -- I will be in Phoenix/Scottsdale this week and buy you a beer if you re-sign... Na I'm not incognito. I'm totally cognito. That'd be a fun beer to buy.
3rdand12 Posted March 7, 2016 Posted March 7, 2016 Let Jahri play RG and Cog the LG. That leaves us with having to find a starting caliber RT and this rushing attack is rollin. we can dream right ?
JohnC Posted March 7, 2016 Posted March 7, 2016 Releasing McKelvin, Mario, Urbik, and even Dixon means those guys need to be replaced. Who on the roster is there right now? And if you're talking about the draft, are rookies going to fit the bill? Doubtful. I'm sure you'll say the cap necessitated these moves, and they did. Which means they've badly mismanaged the cap in a go-for-broke 2015 which hurt them in future seasons. A NFL team doesn't win 6-9 games the last 5 seasons by accident. Then again, you've proven incapable of constructively criticizing this franchise. Mario is a talent who didn't play well last year. So you can't make the claim that the Bills are replacing a highly productive player. At this point it is pointless to debate the issue as to why. It comes down to what the current situation is. I was for some peculiar reason a McKelvin fan. His athleticism was off the charts yet his ability to react to the ball was problematic. Urbik was a useful guard but replacing him shouldn't be too difficult. My point being that collectively the departures are not so severe that they can't be replaced by players who are comparable and cheaper. The process that is going on with respect to player and cap cuts is part of the fabric of the NFL of today. So the shuffling of players is an inescapable fact of life that all teams are subjected to. Our cap flexibility isn't great but it can't be described as dire. The players that we want/need to keep will be kept. Assuming we keep Incognito (I believe a deal will be worked out) and the RT position is addressed (possibly an average veteran free agent) the offense should be better with a more established TT. As you know I'm a harsh critic of Rex. But our defense should be better than it was last year based on having a better understanding of what the defensive concepts are. Are we a playoff team? In my opinion not under this coach. Last year our schedule worked out much better than anticipated. The opportunity was there to be seized but due to the coaching change this team was still not a settled team. This year the strength of schedule should be higher. So the team can get better and still find itself in the 8-8 range. That's how I see the situation.
YoloinOhio Posted March 7, 2016 Author Posted March 7, 2016 Not looking good. @tydunne New at the BN Blog: Ex-Saints G Jahri Evans visiting the Bills today; no progress with Incognito... http://bills.buffalonews.com/2016/03/07/g-jahri-evans-visiting-the-bills-on-monday/ Gotta hope those twitterers have a good source, but he could get more $ elsewhere and can't really blame him.
eball Posted March 7, 2016 Posted March 7, 2016 (edited) Releasing McKelvin, Mario, Urbik, and even Dixon means those guys need to be replaced. Who on the roster is there right now? And if you're talking about the draft, are rookies going to fit the bill? Doubtful. I'm sure you'll say the cap necessitated these moves, and they did. Which means they've badly mismanaged the cap in a go-for-broke 2015 which hurt them in future seasons. A NFL team doesn't win 6-9 games the last 5 seasons by accident. Then again, you've proven incapable of constructively criticizing this franchise. Who, exactly, did they overpay last season in this "win at all costs" scenario you're preaching? Percy Harvin is, arguably, the only acquisition they made that didn't pan out -- and that was because of injury. I'll also give you Felton, but he isn't really expensive. What about last season was go-for-broke? They guys they're releasing aren't key pieces, and nobody expected Mario to quit. Edited March 7, 2016 by eball
Acantha Posted March 7, 2016 Posted March 7, 2016 Who, exactly, did they overpay last season in this "win at all costs" scenario you're preaching? Percy Harvin is, arguably, the only acquisition they made that didn't pan out -- and that was because of injury. I'll also give you Felton, but he isn't really expensive. What about last season was go-for-broke? They guys they're releasing aren't key pieces, and nobody expected Mario to quit. I think most people are referencing Clay, but since he's restructured I think it's kind of a non-issue now. McCoy. Good player but overpaid. Yeah, him too...and I agree.
eball Posted March 7, 2016 Posted March 7, 2016 I think most people are referencing Clay, but since he's restructured I think it's kind of a non-issue now. The plan with Clay was always to restructure...and they want him on this team for years. It's a horrible example. I also disagree regarding McCoy; his cap figure is <8M this season -- for an elite back.
Acantha Posted March 7, 2016 Posted March 7, 2016 The plan with Clay was always to restructure...and they want him on this team for years. It's a horrible example. I also disagree regarding McCoy; his cap figure is <8M this season -- for an elite back. I agree about Clay, I just think he's one of the main referencing points for that argument. I don't like the McCoy signing/contract. Just not how I like to see the money used, but just my opinion.
JohnC Posted March 7, 2016 Posted March 7, 2016 Even if the organization overpaid for Clay (which I don't believe they did because of the ability to restructure) I'm not going to complain about it. When was the last time this team got production from the TE position? Usually I don't like overspending for a running back. But the thing about McCoy is that he is a big play back. He is not a grinder type back who is easily available. Our offense was designed to be more of a running team compared to most teams. So tilting your cap space to accommodate your offensive philosophy is sensible.
YoloinOhio Posted March 7, 2016 Author Posted March 7, 2016 Time to look at a guy like Alex Boone? the Big Tree would rejoice.
thebandit27 Posted March 7, 2016 Posted March 7, 2016 Time to look at a guy like Alex Boone? the Big Tree would rejoice. I strongly suspect that he's their #1 replacement for Richie if they can't get him re-signed.
Acantha Posted March 7, 2016 Posted March 7, 2016 (edited) Even if the organization overpaid for Clay (which I don't believe they did because of the ability to restructure) I'm not going to complain about it. When was the last time this team got production from the TE position? Usually I don't like overspending for a running back. But the thing about McCoy is that he is a big play back. He is not a grinder type back who is easily available. Our offense was designed to be more of a running team compared to most teams. So tilting your cap space to accommodate your offensive philosophy is sensible. Shifting the money to the offensive line and making it a dominating unit will get you further in that philosophy than spending the money on one player who will likely be injured each year given the number of carries he gets. Again, I don't think it's a cut and dry argument, just my opinion. Pay the blockers and the runners are far more interchangeable. Edited March 7, 2016 by Acantha
thebandit27 Posted March 7, 2016 Posted March 7, 2016 Shifting the money to the offensive line and making it a dominating unit will get you further in that philosophy than spending the money on one player who will likely be injured each year given the number of carries he gets. Again, I don't think it's a cut and dry argument, just my opinion. Pay the blockers and the runners are far more interchangeable. I don't know that that's completely true. The Dallas OL got better personnel-wise this year with Collins stepping in at LG for Ron Leary, but Murray left and their run game went south. The run game is as much about cohesion between the line and the backs as it is about talent in one area or another.
BillsVet Posted March 7, 2016 Posted March 7, 2016 Who, exactly, did they overpay last season in this "win at all costs" scenario you're preaching? Percy Harvin is, arguably, the only acquisition they made that didn't pan out -- and that was because of injury. I'll also give you Felton, but he isn't really expensive. What about last season was go-for-broke? They guys they're releasing aren't key pieces, and nobody expected Mario to quit. They spent more than 90M guaranteed last year, which led the NFL. And then went out and laid an 8-8 egg. I'm sure TPegs is happy he wrote out those big checks and watched the team remain mediocre.
FireChan Posted March 7, 2016 Posted March 7, 2016 (edited) I don't know that that's completely true. The Dallas OL got better personnel-wise this year with Collins stepping in at LG for Ron Leary, but Murray left and their run game went south. The run game is as much about cohesion between the line and the backs as it is about talent in one area or another. Didn't they lose one back to injury, another to crime, and DMC still had the second best season of his career, starting only 10 games? It may not make them exactly interchangeable, but it's close. Edited March 7, 2016 by FireChan
Acantha Posted March 7, 2016 Posted March 7, 2016 I don't know that that's completely true. The Dallas OL got better personnel-wise this year with Collins stepping in at LG for Ron Leary, but Murray left and their run game went south. The run game is as much about cohesion between the line and the backs as it is about talent in one area or another. Maybe, but cohesion doesn't mean you need one of the best backs in the game. You just need consistency. And Romo going out had as much or more to do with the run game going south than Murray did. You can't expect to run when you're passing game is that bad.
Jauronimo Posted March 7, 2016 Posted March 7, 2016 I don't know that that's completely true. The Dallas OL got better personnel-wise this year with Collins stepping in at LG for Ron Leary, but Murray left and their run game went south. The run game is as much about cohesion between the line and the backs as it is about talent in one area or another. Losing Romo had way more to do with the decline in the run game than losing Murray. They were one dimensional.
Best Player Available Posted March 7, 2016 Posted March 7, 2016 They spent more than 90M guaranteed last year, which led the NFL. And then went out and laid an 8-8 egg. I'm sure TPegs is happy he wrote out those big checks and watched the team remain mediocre. Pegula more than likely will have some house cleaning to do after we miss again this season.
thebandit27 Posted March 7, 2016 Posted March 7, 2016 Didn't they lose one back to injury, another to crime, and DMC still had the second best season of his career, starting only 10 games? It may not make them exactly interchangeable, but it's close. As a team they went from rushing for 147 yards/game with 16 TDs, 19 rushes of 20+ yards, and 5 rushes of 40+ yards in 2014 to 118 yards/game with 8 TDs, 17 rushes of 20+ yards and 3 rushes of 40+ yards. Obviously that's not indicative of a running game going in the tank, but there's no question that it took a step back without Murray. My point is that cohesion is greater than the sum of the talent IMO.
BillsVet Posted March 7, 2016 Posted March 7, 2016 Pegula more than likely will have some house cleaning to do after we miss again this season. TPegs may not issued team leaders an ultimatum per se, but I'm sure the writing is on the wall. Whaley and to a lesser extent Rex have accomplished very little in terms of a W-L record given how much cash was spent.
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