Does anyone feel like the roster can be better this year?

[Pete]

Ask me again after the draft

[John from Riverside]

It's pretty amazing that the Bills are up against the cap given an overall average roster and with no money tied up in the QB. That's hard to do.

I really dont think it is a average roster

 

I think we are in better shape then most.....and most of them are already under contract

[quinnearlysghost88]

darby, karlos, kiko, sammy, woods are some good recent draft examples. if you can have another draft where you get some immediate roleplayers, we can improve.

[Fadingpain]

I think it's safe to say that we can't make a splash in FA; maybe some low-mid tier guys. We can assume that our rookies and QB will show improvement in their second year as starters. But, unless we slam dunk the draft with 3 impact starters (RT, LB, LB), I feel like we can only take a step back in overall roster strength.

 

We had to pay our own guys and I agree with the moves so far. But we have all the weaknesses of last year and more holes to fill. Even with the money we have available next year, we will have to pay Glenn again, Tyrod could be 20+, Gilmore is going to get paid.

 

I'm not saying this to be pessimistic and I don't even know what I would suggest that we could have done better. I'm just not seeing the optimism that some are about next year.

 

And I didn't even mention Rex! Where's my cookie?

The optimistic theory would be that Rex will have more opportunity to custom tailor defensive talent to his scheme and coaching preferences. In theory, overall D will be better than last year.

 

On offense, we can improve over last year via 2 simple factors, both of which can potentially come free of charge and don't involve talent acquisition.

 

1) Stay much more healthy this year; that would be a big boost over last season

 

2) Tyrod improves another big step with a full training camp of 1st team reps being "the guy" at QB; additional experience; additional time to work with coaching staff and absorb the playbook, etc.

 

Tyrod should get better (a little) all the time, even if he has temporary setbacks along the way from time to time.

His overall charted trajectory should be UP.

 

IF (and it's a huge "IF") we can stay healthy, Rex can get the D playing top 5 ball, and Tyrod takes another step forward, we should be a better team and perhaps substantially better team.

[3rdand12]

The Bills were supposedly hurt by mixed schemes and learning to play with new systems. Experience and coaching matter. TT staying healthy is also important.

good post. all of it actually.

[dave mcbride]

I really dont think it is a average roster

 

I think we are in better shape then most.....and most of them are already under contract

I think it's average. They have good corners, a not great safety situation, terrible LBs overall, a pretty solid defensive line lacking a critical piece right now, an offensive line that is good one side and terrible on the other, good RBs, a TE who gets hurt (with no depth behind him), 1 good WR, and a promising QB who may or not turn out to be the answer. At least half the teams in the league are in as good shape as the Bills. Who after all went 8-8 last year and would have gone 8-8 the year before if the season finale had meant anything to the Pats.

[Fadingpain]

I think it's average. They have good corners, a not great safety situation, terrible LBs overall, a pretty solid defensive line lacking a critical piece right now, an offensive line that is good one side and terrible on the other, good RBs, a TE who gets hurt (with no depth behind him), 1 good WR, and a promising QB who may or not turn out to be the answer. At least half the teams in the league are in as good shape as the Bills. Who after all went 8-8 last year and would have gone 8-8 the year before if the season finale had meant anything to the Pats.

There is some truth in this. It is the old Bill Parcels quote: "You are what your record says you are."

 

8-8 is the definition of average. As a general rule, teams which have better than average talent do not end up with average records.

[gumby]

All this angst over the Bills losing a bunch of has-beens and never-wases.

 

Mario "part-time" Williams won't be missed. You could of gotten more production out of a tackling dummy last year then the Bills got from him.

 

The way this board has trashed Leodis over the years I'd have thought more than half you guys would of packed his bags to get him out of town faster.

 

Nigel Bradham?.......who?

 

Remind me again who were the big spenders last year....How did that work out?.....'nuff said

[machine gun kelly]

Lots of good points. i'm very skeptical, but my hopeful side says, yes, we have a system in year 2, rex will handpick with Whaley probably 5 of the draft spots on defense. If they are perfect hits for his defense, and we can maintain health on the offense, we have almost all of the talent back. If Henderson is 100% with this amount of time to get his Crohn's under control for the rigors of the NFL, and Miller healthy in the 2nd year should be better.

 

Can Rex doubling down with his scheme 100%, adding Rob and Ed Reed, Aaron Williams coming back healthy, and some serious hits in the draft, maybe. I would predict another 10-15th offense, so it's all on the defense. Rex better produce a top 5 defense. That would convert to a wildcard spot.

 

I won't bring up my cynical side which is where I'm leaning as all of us have done enough of that the last two months. I really want to believe guys. I'm just having a hard time swallowing again. A good sign is how they have handled this free agency. Good decisions not to foolishly spend, resigning critical guys, and will probably look at a role player or two in a week on the cheap. Probably a Rex guy who can fit a need at low money.

[3rdand12]

I think it's average. They have good corners, a not great safety situation, terrible LBs overall, a pretty solid defensive line lacking a critical piece right now, an offensive line that is good one side and terrible on the other, good RBs, a TE who gets hurt (with no depth behind him), 1 good WR, and a promising QB who may or not turn out to be the answer. At least half the teams in the league are in as good shape as the Bills. Who after all went 8-8 last year and would have gone 8-8 the year before if the season finale had meant anything to the Pats.

Some Rex LBs and an uptick in Tyrod's field vision could pay dividends

[Fadingpain]

PS: Here is another great way to improve the team this year "for free".

 

Massively reduce the penalties this team takes on a consistent basis.

 

I have zero faith in Rex's ability to get that done.

 

If we could wave a magic wand and become one of the top 3 least penalized teams in the league, it might statistically be worth, overall, another win or 2 just on that alone.

[Best Player Available]

It's pretty amazing that the Bills are up against the cap given an overall average roster and with no money tied up in the QB. That's hard to do.

Wait until next year if TT breaks out. Whaley still is shell shocked by Nix's extension of Fritz. Difference Is TT

Could be different and probably not afraid to test the market. Which is insane. very poor cap management.

[Fadingpain]

Lots of good points. i'm very skeptical, but my hopeful side says, yes, we have a system in year 2, rex will handpick with Whaley probably 5 of the draft spots on defense. If they are perfect hits for his defense, and we can maintain health on the offense, we have almost all of the talent back. If Henderson is 100% with this amount of time to get his Crohn's under control for the rigors of the NFL, and Miller healthy in the 2nd year should be better.

 

Can Rex doubling down with his scheme 100%, adding Rob and Ed Reed, Aaron Williams coming back healthy, and some serious hits in the draft, maybe. I would predict another 10-15th offense, so it's all on the defense. Rex better produce a top 5 defense. That would convert to a wildcard spot.

 

I won't bring up my cynical side which is where I'm leaning as all of us have done enough of that the last two months. I really want to believe guys. I'm just having a hard time swallowing again. A good sign is how they have handled this free agency. Good decisions not to foolishly spend, resigning critical guys, and will probably look at a role player or two in a week on the cheap. Probably a Rex guy who can fit a need at low money.

Yes, good point.

[3rdand12]

PS: Here is another great way to improve the team this year "for free".

 

Massively reduce the penalties this team takes on a consistent basis.

 

I have zero faith in Rex's ability to get that done.

 

If we could wave a magic wand and become one of the top 3 least penalized teams in the league, it might statistically be worth, overall, another win or 2 just on that alone.

Have you done a compare to Rex Jets for penalties for fun and amusement? I agree the reduction of penalties could seriously influence the outcome of games , at least due to momentum

[Fadingpain]

Have you done a compare to Rex Jets for penalties for fun and amusement? I agree the reduction of penalties could seriously influence the outcome of games , at least due to momentum

Like I wrote, I don't think Rex can get it done, but it can be done, in theory, and it doesn't involve acquiring a single new player.

 

There were a lot of games where we had like 15 penalties and well over 100 yards of "negative offense" just from penalties!

 

That's huge!

 

Would be interesting to chart how many penalties specifically took points off the board or fairly directly led to points going off the board on offense, or gave the opponent points on defense. That's where the difference between being penalized heavily and not could equate to wins and losses.

[Wayne Cubed]

Wait until next year if TT breaks out. Whaley still is shell shocked by Nix's extension of Fritz. Difference Is TT

Could be different and probably not afraid to test the market. Which is insane. very poor cap management.

Next year the Bills currently have $60 million in cap space and that's before they cut ties with Kyle, another $7 million in savings.

 

Even if they give Glenn and Gilmore hefty extensions they'll still have $40+ million. Plenty to sign Taylor or franchise him if he has a break out year.

Edited March 10, 2016 by Wayne Cubed

[3rdand12]

Like I wrote, I don't think Rex can get it done, but it can be done, in theory, and it doesn't involve acquiring a single new player.

 

There were a lot of games where we had like 15 penalties and well over 100 yards of "negative offense" just from penalties!

 

That's huge!

 

Would be interesting to chart how many penalties specifically took points off the board or fairly directly led to points going off the board on offense, or gave the opponent points on defense. That's where the difference between being penalized heavily and not could equate to wins and losses.

I agree you are on to something !

Just wondered is it historical for Rex teams or an isolated season statistics ?

We all sure hope he can tidy that mess up this year. Pay off the official, do something!

[thebandit27]

Next year the Bills currently have $60 million in cap space and that's before they cut ties with Kyle, another $7 million in savings.

 

Even if they give Glenn and Gilmore hefty extensions they'll still have $40+ million. Plenty to sign Taylor or franchise him if he has a break out year.

 

Don't forget Corey Graham--who will save another ~$5M

[Nanker]

Here we sit, having obviously Lost FA - unlike other years when we crushed it.

We're $78 Million OVER the cap right now - unlike other years when we could put that money into the bank and give ourselves a tax-free loan next year.

The FO didn't re-sign any players of significance - just like other years they've simply let an endless stream of valuable talent parade out the door.

They hired a new coaching staff again, for the second year in a row. So new schemes, confusing playbooks with a long learning curve, and disappointment await for sure.

Our featured running back is awaiting murder charges in Philadelphia.

We're not drafting in a top 10 spot this year - unlike the past 40 seasons, so we'll be getting zero help in the Draft.

 

And you ask if anyone feels like the roster can be better this year. Better than what?

[Big74Mac]

Man the Bills should totally trade EJ right now. The Broncos are so ready to make a deal, they would totally give the Bills a pick 3rd or 4th for him right now.