Who is your favorite free agent signing so far?

[GreggTX]

32 minutes ago, Dadonkadonk said:

I need a little help on this Trent Murphy love.  He has already been suspended 4 games for PED.  Another suspension is a season long suspension.  He is coming off major ACL injury.  His prior performance may have been PED aided.

So how is he not a punk?  A bum? A cheat?  Add any other name that Marshawn Lynch was called on this board? 

If we're using the same adjectives to describe Murphy that people have used to describe Lynch, that would be great!Beast, powerful, explosive, take your pick.

[Dadonkadonk]

To answer the OP question, I like the Davis signing. Should be a solid vet DB.  Would like to have Gaines back and maybe the league won't overpay and he comes back on a reasonable salary.  Doubt it but one can hope.

Star should be an upgrade over current roster talent but still not nearly as good as Dareus.  

If Ivory averages 4.1 YPC and gets 20-30 cathces it will be a solid signing as well.

[Bing Bong]

Star

[H2o]

I am really pleased with the offseason as a whole so far. We have addressed needs with talent. 

[Stank_Nasty]

I think Murphy is gonna be a people’s champ and give us some juice in the pass rush. 

 

The fact that he was training at west side speaks volumes about the guy to begin with. That’s a conglomerate of some of the baddest mammals on the planet. 

[SouthNYfan]

My heart says Murphy.

I think the guy wants to be here, wants to play hard, and seems like he will be a good team leader.

 

My head says it was flipping Tyrod for a good pick them signing mccarron.

I think aj will at worst be a solid starter with trade value on a cheap contract.

[ddaryl]

there all solid signings but none of them make me go wow...  Just like last year, and last year exceeded expectations. So I'm more excited about McBeaneavision not so much the players we brought in, but more on how they fit the puzzle and how Mcdermott and Company will utilize them

Edited March 16, 2018 by ddaryl

[Canadian Bills Fan]

AJ McCarron's wife

[DCOrange]

In order from favorite to least favorite:

 

McCarron

Murphy

Vontae

-------------- Cut off of moves I like and moves I don't

Star

Ivory

[CaptnCoke11]

4 hours ago, GreggTX said:

Murphy. He's an immediate upgrade over Shaq. He's a hair above avg.

 

McCarron should be a solid backup.

 

Lotulelei should help a bit in the run game, but DOES NOTHING FOR OUR PASS DEFENSE in a passing league. Some seem to think he's great. He's not even close. He can't shed blockers to save his life. I get that he's just a space eater, but he's a liability in every other phase of the game. Spare me the "Oh but he doesn't have to do this or be that." We've been doing "don't have to" long enough. All that said, if we finish in the top 6 in run defense, I'll be pleased enough. You can't have probowlers at every position. 

 

I like Ivory. He'll be able to take some of the load off Shady's back and he's a gargantuan upgrade over Tolbert, even at his age.

Tough for a 340 pound man to play in the secondary.  

[TPS]

The Tongan Tank, Star.

They desperately needed a space-eater in the middle. 

 

[thebandit27]

Trent Murphy.

 

Yes, I like all the attitude and "process" stuff surrounding him, but mostly I like what it says about how this group is building their team.  They understand that they need to be able to get to the QB, and they saw a guy that was undervalued due to injury and suspension and pounced.

[PaattMaann]

Davis. The cheap signing right out of the gate on a player that should be an impact starter across from White (if healthy all year) at a position that usually pays a premium, allowed us to budget a little more for Star/Murphy. 

Edited March 16, 2018 by PaattMaann

[Drunken Pygmy Goat]

I agree with the OP. Murphy is my favorite so far. Not just because of his attitude, but more specifically, his signing (hopefully) will lead to a much better pass rush than the Bills had last year. We don't really know what the Bills plan to do with Lawson, but they currently have a nice rotation on the edges. Yarborough was a pleasant surprise last year, but didn't seem very consistent. For a defense that seems very bend, don't break, and tends to spend more time on the field than most teams as a result, a good rotation is necessary.  And I think Kyle's attitude and approach bleeds into the rest of the players on defense, and Murphy will see that quickly. He already seems to fit into that mold, and will probably adjust to his new team quickly.

 

Star is also a great addition, for many of the same reasons, only he's more important in run defense. He pushes Washington down the depth chart, allowing for better rotation as well, and is obviously familiar with McDermott and his scheme and philosophy. It won't take him long at all to get up to speed. He, too, seems to fit the "character" mold. He may not match the level of play of a fully motivated Dareus, especially rushing the QB, but for the money and what you get in return (as opposed to a non-fully motivated Dareus), you couldn't ask for a better replacement IMO. 

 

 

Edited March 16, 2018 by Drunken Pygmy Goat

[TaskerTough]

9 hours ago, Logic said:

He is less athletically gifted than most NFL players,

 

No. He's a scratch golfer, has incredible burst speed, and swims like an otter. Ask anyone.  

[thebandit27]

3 minutes ago, TaskerTough said:

 

No. He's a scratch golfer, has incredible burst speed, and swims like an otter. Ask anyone.  

 

Truth.

 

Kyle is an excellent athlete.

[Hebert19]

5 hours ago, Buffalo Barbarian said:

I'm a huge Murphy fan  but I think Star is more important.

 

 

Westside Barbell is  a HARDCORE powerlifting gym, that is awesome Murphy is training there.

 

 

It's also known for juice heads...fingers crossed. 

[Drunken Pygmy Goat]

13 minutes ago, TaskerTough said:

 

No. He's a scratch golfer, has incredible burst speed, and swims like an otter. Ask anyone.  

 

This is true, but (maybe I'm alone here) I just didn't see that burst off the snap last year that helped make his game so much better. Father time seems to have caught up to him. Still a good player, but I think his value to the team leans more on the side of character than it does level of play, and that's very important. The players in the locker room look up to him, and their level of play is elevated simply by having that type of character and attitude around, not to mention his knowledge. That man gives the team everything he has. The rest of the team sees that, and doesn't want to let him down. The way they all congratulated him after his TD says it all. They were like giddy little kids. That type of heart is important. Effort trumps talent every time.

Edited March 16, 2018 by Drunken Pygmy Goat

[Magox]

Great topic and good question.

 

So I have to categorize this in a few different buckets.

 

Who do I believe will have the biggest impact?   Star Lotulelei - His stats won't be eye popping but I believe he will make the rest of the defense better because of his ability to clog the middle.  Being able to help stop the run will force more teams to throwing the ball more and giving opposing offenses more third and longs which plays right into our DB's strengths.

 

Who do I believe will grade out as the highest pickup?  Vontae Davis -   Despite his recent downturn I believe he will bounce back.  I think under McD he will get back to basics and at this stage of his career going more into zone coverage will play into his strengths and not expose him as much due to him losing a step speedwise.  Why do I think it's playing into his strength, because he has always been good at playing the ball and he is a ferocious tackler which is what is needed in McD's defensive scheme.  I think he's going to excel this year.

 

Who do I believe is going to be the bargain pickup?  McCarron -  Don't get me wrong, I don't believe he will be the franchise QB, but I do believe he will be serviceable and I do believe that he will be about on par with TT.  Not the same type of player as TT but about the same overall impact which was OK.   And getting an OK QB while we are grooming our franchise QB at the price we got him for would be amazing.

 

Who do I believe will be the biggest fan favorite? Murphy -  I don't believe he is just going to be a fan favorite, but I also believe he is going to be highly productive.  We desperately need to be able to get after the QB better than we did last year.  He will help us do that.  I think he's going to be stout against the run, I believe he will get after the QB and I do believe he will embrace the city and instantly become one of our favorites.

 

 

[elroy16]

Murphy is my favorite. They desperately needed upgrade the pass rush and it looks like they've done that with a blue collar, tough SOB. He's got great length and looks like he has a few OK pass rushing moves. The article below shows some of the moves he uses. He's not a refined pass rusher yet, but is still in his prime and it's unreasonable to think he could get better.

 

All-22 analysis: Buffalo Bills free agent defensive end/linebacker Trent Murphy

 

 

Star has the potential to have the biggest impact, just because I think his position has the best chance to make people around him better. Even if he's holding double teams or pushing the pocket, he can make the rest of the line better against the run and pass and keep LB's clean to make plays. 

 

 

I pretty much love what they're doing this offseason. They're finding guys that fit major needs at reasonable prices. I'm 100% on board with spending money on the D-line. Imagine if these guys pan out as well as Hyde and Poyer.