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I worried we will continue to see McDermott use his 3rd down approach of sitting back and hoping to get pressure with 4 while decent QBs pick us apart. The Bills were atrocious on 3rd down last year. We would get teams in 3rd and 7+ and then just drop into coverage leaving big gaps for running QBs or easy completions over the middle. Jackson will smoke the Bills if they give him time and room on 3rd down. Henry is also a problem, although at least Beane FINALLY started to add to the line, it still isn't good enough. Should be an interesting first game but the 3rd down issues are the thing to watch for me this season.

There's our threshold then, 40.5o/u I think I put Benson at 45pts this season but forget where I put that projection.

Especially w/ the 2ndary depleted to start the year and the 2 DLmen out the 1st 6 weeks for stupidity, REALLY want McDermott and Babich to use an attacking D to both limit the time the DBs have to cover and to get the ball back in Allen's hands as often as is possible, whether that be by a 3 and out (which gives Josh a chance to build a lead) or by a miscue (which lets Josh keep pace and forces them to beat our D another time only to have Allen likely keep pace again if they're successful and gives Allen another chance to build a lead if they aren't). Doubt he does. But do know Harbaugh won't be expecting it should they actually go that direction.

Yea, I said Rapp is decent, not good. He is not fast, he hits hard. Reckless? I am not sure he is reckless but he is a big drop from Poyer. The Bills are counting on more from Bishop than he has shown, he is a big key to the season.

It depends where they deploy him. I've said this before... if he plays top line and PP, I expect somewhere in the 45-55 pt range. If he plays 3rd line and very little PP time then probably somewhere around 35-40pts. I look at a guy like Andrew Cristall, who put up similar numbers as Benson his draft year in the WHL. Unlike Benson, he stayed in junior and put up 132 points in his d+2 season, an NHLe of 48 points. That's a good target for Benson imo. If he plays the full season and puts up <40 points, then I'll considered him damaged goods.

I am good for any evening except Tuesday 9/2 between 7-9. If that is where we end up at, I will just do simultaneous drafts. 😂

No team is perfect and injuries happen. Be interesting to see who shakes loose in the next couple days and if the Bills grab someone for the defensive backfield

I think its a matter of how long Tre's injury (which we know very little about), and to a lesser extent Max's injury, will create the need. Can't see BB making a deal to fill what is, to him, a one or two week gap. Having written that, I wish we weren't playing the Ravens in Wk 1 with a crippled secondary. In January we'll be looking back at the game as being a huge one (one way or the other) for playoff seeding purposes. Does/should that force Beane to make a move he otherwise doesn't want to make?

I do not agree about Rapp. His foot speed and recklessness are issues. He gets caught out of position and takes out teammates with friendly fire and will incur penalties for egregious hits. I like that type of player but this team can’t afford to have a player that keeps opponent’s drives alive with penalties and blown coverages. As far as Bishop is concerned, they drafted him in the 2nd round. He has to be a starter unless he’s a complete bust. I don’t think he’s proven anything either way yet, with injury and illness derailing most of his first two seasons to date. The 2nd CB spot is worrisome. With Tre and Max’s injuries, Dane Jackson or whoever isn’t going to cut it. Dorian Strong looks like a possible future solution but he’s not ready to start. They should trade for a starting CB immediately.

Zach Benson is in 24th on this list alongside names like Tim Stutzle (29pts), David Pastrnak (27pts), Cole Sillinger (31pts), and I would like to toss out Aleksander Barkov (24pts). We also have Alex Galchenyuk (27pts and Jesper Kotkoniemi (34pts) as maybe some less than great guys around there too. The list of players who played in the NHL at 19 for 40+ games is 100 players long.

I am very concerned about the Bills secondary. Taylor Rapp is decent at on safety. Damar Hamlin is not, he is slow and he is a bad tackler. The young kid, Cole Bishop, did not look very good either. They were counting on Bishop in year 2 and so far this gamble could turn into a problem. This group is a long way from the Hyde and Poyer duo. One CB spot is solid with Christian Benford, but the other spot is not. The rookie Maxwell Hairston is injured and he did not have much of a camp, Tre White is also out injured, so we have J'Marcus Ingram and Dane Jackson. They will get targeted a lot, but so will Hairston and White for that matter. The nickel spot is very solid with Taron Johnson backed up by Cam Lewis. Overall they lack experience and a top tier NFL starting caliber players.

Zemgus Girgensons was 21yrs old in his 2nd season and he played an entire AHL season at 18yrs old. In his 30pt season he averaged 19:05toi a game for 1163:51 total TOI for the year. His CF% was 37.8 but he was getting 58.5% dzone starts. His xGF% is 39.6% or -16.2 depending on how you want to look at the split. He had 0.8g/60 and 0.8a/60 but 0.5a/60 were secondary. Zemgus has never reached 30pts again and has never even reached 20 again. In fact Benson's first 2 season would ranked tied for 1st with zemgus and standalone in 2nd in terms of points. Zach Benson just completed his 2nd season at age 19 (he's about 1.5yrs younger than Zemgus was in his 2nd season). He has no AHL season previously. In his 28pt season he averaged 14:31toi a game for 1030:44 total TOI for the year. His CF% was 56.6% and he got 44.4% dzone starts. His xGF% was 52.65%or +3.7 depending on how you want to look at the splits. He had 36.8xGF compared to Zemgus' 30.8 in more ice time. Benson had 0.5g/60 and 1.0a/60 with 0.8a/60 as primary. To recap, a younger Zach Benson put up better assist numbers, better CF%, and better xGF% including a better xGF than Zemgus while being 1.5 years younger in only his 2nd, not 3rd pro season like Zemgus but this is the comparison you think makes your argument? What number of points would Zach Benson need to put up this year in order for you to "know" that playing the last 2 years in the NHL didn't stifle his offensive game? 50pts? 60pts? I am genuinely asking what would Benson have to produce this year?

When dealing with prospects and young players you are rarely certain how they will develop and what level of player they will be with the exception of the few ultra elite players. Whether Zemgus was rushed or not he would have turned out to be the same player that shown to be over a long career.

I need you to accept the invite to join the league. @Norcal @Andrew Amerk I need you guys to confirm ASAP if you’re playing this year.

Girgensons did show flashes of offensive upside in his first couple years. Benson has too. Unless he’s putting up 20 goals in the top six he can stay on the third line. Third liners aren’t bad players and he brings energy along with some offensive capabilities. When he’s 23-24 we’ll know better if he is a top six guy.

The list of players who played 40 games as an 18-year-old in the NHL this century is exactly 40 players deep. https://www.eliteprospects.com/league/nhl/stats/all-time-season?age=u19&from=2000-2001&sort=gp Show me this very, very long list of ruined players.

https://www.amerks.com/news/detail/amerks-sign-savage-to-two-year-ahl-contract

The list of players who entered the league too soon and never fully blossomed, is very very long. The list of players ruined because they played 1 or 2 more years in junior (or NCAA) post draft, is very short, if it even exists. If his career arc resembles that of Zemgus Girgensons, would that be satisfactory? Zemgus also had 30 points his sophomore year. I believe he would've grown his offensive game in junior more than he has is the NHL. That could've paid dividends down the road, but we'll never know.

they need some veteran rotational depth on the d-line for the first six games (at least).

They’ve done a ton of renovation to that building. When it first opened they still had the T lines elevated out front.

Jordan Phillips back again. 4th times the charm. Poyer and Hyde next 😛

I think TD Garden in Boston is actually older than the Arena in Buffalo, and it too, blows it away. It isn't the best place I have ever been, it it looks like a concrete box from the outside. However, they keep up with the condition of the seats much better, it just seems more loud/active in the arena bowl, the South entrance is really cool going into the arena, Its NICE that if you take a train to the arena it actually stops inside the arena (you don't have to go outside), and it just seems a lot more 'upscale' yet approachable. Again, I'm pretty sure its older tool.

Give me an eyeroll if you support Epstein.

Wasn't Quinn Golisano's main franchise representative when he bought the team? And because the owner believed he did a sterling good job in guiding the franchise out of its financial peril that he gave him a chunk of money when he sold the team to Pegula?

With respected to your comment about being able to learn when dominating at a lower level, that isn't the issue. The primary issue is whether he would have benefited more in the juniors or playing in the NHL. @LTS gave a strong argument why it made a lot of sense for him to play in the NHL given the rules that would have prohibited him from playing in the AHL. And there is another element to whether Benson would have benefited more in the juniors than the NHL i.e. physical development. It's more likely that the workout and training facilities and staff would be at a higher level in the NHL than it would have been in the juniors where a lot of his time would have been spent on buses.