JohnRobertEichel

Just checking in to see how the Sabres are doing. And....................................I'm out.

Well, not you...you only predicted 4 INT's today :P . Peterman saw your prediction and raised you one before halftime. So now that Bills fans everywhere can agree that Taylor kind of sucks but that Peterman REALLY sucks, the next question is where do we go from here? Should the Bills target a free agent QB like a Kirk Cousins or an Alex Smith and use all those draft picks instead to repair the lines? Should they package those picks in a major trade-up for a franchise QB in the top few selections? Should they remain in their draft slots and let the leftover QB prospects fall to them? My biggest concern, however, now lies with McDermott's ability to judge QB's and offense in general. He's the guy who passed on Watson in the draft. He also passed on Mahomes in the draft, which in time could be another mistake. In his determination, Peterman was ready to play meaningful minutes in an NFL game today. He also chose Dennison, and Dennison has proceeded to turn a reasonably productive offense, with a dominant and innovative run game, into something epically painful to watch. Anyway, moving on, I'd like to discuss the teams that will be in the market for a franchise QB this off-season. It's good to know who will be Buffalo's competition. Here's what I have so far: Teams probably looking for a franchise QB of the future (14): Bills, Jets, Pats, Steelers, Browns, Jags, Broncos, Chargers, Giants, Redskins, Vikings, Saints, 49ers, Cards Probably won't be looking (18): Dolphins, Ravens, Bengals, Colts, Titans, Texans, Chiefs, Raiders, Eagles, Cowboys, Packers, Lions, Bears, Falcons, Panthers, Bucs, Seahawks, Rams Also, potential free agent starting QB's (8): Cousins, Bradford, McCown, Keenum, Bridgewater, Garoppolo, Alex Smith, Tyrod Taylor (!) Please feel free to critique these lists.

Trading Eichel may be an option we have to entertain down the road, but I'm not really interested in trading any important Sabre between now and February. So many of our core pieces other than Kane (Lehner, Ristolainen, O'Reilly, Reinhart, Okposo, Eichel) are playing worse than anything we've ever seen from them in their careers up to this point. With so many underperformers at the same time, one has to try looking at other sources of blame beside the individual. Coaching is one, but I'm strongly leaning towards the intangible quality of "veteran leadership" that was supposed to come from players like Gorges and Moulson but is clearly missing from the current team. I still would like to see Housley settle on a captain (O'Reilly?) and then strip the "A" from Eichel and Bogosian.

1986 is a good nomination, but back then you didn't have the stench of persistent hopelessness that has surrounded the 21st century Buffalo sports landscape since that time.

Peterman just set the record for most interceptions in a half! Holy sh!t did this decision ever blow up in McDermott's face.

1 2 3 4....we want 5!!!!!

Does it bother anyone else that the Sabres might not re-sign Kane due to his ~$6 million/year cost yet be paying Moulson, Bogosian, Beaulieu, and Okposo collectively $17.25 million next year? Jesus Tap Dancing Christ...talk about misallocation of resources! By the way, if there's a silver lining to this miserable ###### season, it's that Reinhart will now be much cheaper than we originally anticipated. At the beginning of the season, I had our top 6 of the future as: Mittelstadt - Eichel - Nylander Kane - O'Reilly - Reinhart Once upon a time, that looked like a championship-caliber lineup to me...

I assume K = contract.

I'd be really interested in finding out what Okposo's trade value is right now. At this point, I'd take anything for him just to get rid of that contract. Even if he returns to form, he was never a superstar and it's not like we really sacrificed anything for him since he was a free agent pick-up.

I like the forwards. The defenders....yuck. Moulson is a clear frontrunner for the 2017-18 Ville Leino Achievement Award. $5 million salary. 12 games. 0 goals. 0 assists. 0 points. -8 plus/minus. 8 shots on goal. 2 penalty minutes. Impressive! EDIT: I forgot about Bogo's $6 million for 0 games played. He could be a contender!

I think this author's definition of a receiver being "open" or an offensive line giving a QB "enough time" differs from most pro football analysts. It is also important to note that Taylor is probably not being benched solely due to the New Orleans game. There were definite trends in Tyrod's game all season (and career, really) that just happened to be maximally exploited by a very good Saints defense. I'm a bit surprised by how many Bills fans and also how many national media personalities hate the QB switch and aren't giving Peterman a chance. The Bills are going up against arguably the best pass rushing defense in the NFL and a head coach who is very familiar with Tyrod Taylor. I can see why Coach McDermott wants to go to a different QB known for being smart, confident, aggressive, and possessing a very quick release. The Chargers are supposedly practicing this week as if they can face either QB, so this is a slight competitive advantage if it makes them waste extra preparation time on Taylor. On the subject of the AFC playoff race, I was glancing at the remaining schedules for our wild card competitiors. Here's what I've determined: the Jags, Titans, and Ravens have ridiculously easy schedules and so should probably be considered the favorites to fill out the remaining 3 playoff seeds after the Pats, Steelers, and Chiefs. I'm not even so sure 9-7 will be enough to secure a wild card spot.

The most revealing team stat to justify the QB switch: 70 receptions to all Bills WR's after 9 games....the #1 WR for many NFL teams already has close to 60 receptions at this point! For an alleged West Coast offense, this is beyond pathetic. After 38 career starts and 6.5 years in the league, Tyrod Taylor still processes the field too slowly and is risk-averse with the football to the point of absurdity. Taylor is currently the Bills' leading career rushing yards leader for a QB and also has the highest career passer rating for any Bill with more than 10 passing attempts. But his win-loss record as a starter is only 20-18. Without the benefit of a strong and opportunistic defense (something we apparently no longer have), his conservative game-managing style of play is worthless. Many are doubting Peterman. Some are citing his status as a rookie, while others are referring to his lack of arm strength. I personally don't think Peterman is the long-term answer, but in his defense, the consensus among armchair internet scouts seemed to be that he was the most mentally NFL-ready QB of the 2017 class and that his arm was pro-caliber even if not elite. Regarding his mental readiness, I think the best people to evaluate that are the coaches who have been with Peterman since July. Regarding the arm strength issue, I think us Bills fans need to get over this idea that a cannon for an arm is a critical trait for a successful NFL QB who plays outdoors in the Northeast. I think this is a carryover mindset from the days when Jim Kelly passes routinely sliced through the heavy winds at Rich Stadium. 17 years of Tom Brady's reign of terror in the AFC East is proof enough for me that the mental aspect of the modern NFL QB position is much more important than arm strength. More proof: Rob Johnson, Drew Bledsoe, JP Losman, EJ Manuel, and Cardale Jones....all known for elite arm strength but not much between the ears. Beyond all this QB talk, it's worth noting that the Bills currently sit in sole possession of the 2nd Wild Card spot with at least a 1-game lead over the bottom 10 AFC teams. If the Bills beat the teams they are "supposed" to beat (Chargers, Colts, Dolphins twice) and lose to the good teams (Chiefs, Pats twice), they will finish 9-7 with an 80% chance of making the playoffs: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/upshot/buffalo-bills-nfl-playoff-picture.html#lac-buf-11=loss&kc-buf-12=win&buf-ne-13=loss&buf-ind-14=win&buf-mia-15=win&ne-buf-16=win&mia-buf-17=loss Ah, but by now we all know how this story ends up... at least we have 4 picks within the first 64 of the 2018 draft to finally land a franchise QB!

http://www.newyorkupstate.com/buffalo-bills/index.ssf/2017/11/cameron_jordan_on_strategy_against_qb_tyrod_taylor_we_made_him_a_quarterback.html

Actually, no, sorry but I don't agree that the talent on this roster is so poor as to warrant a 30th out of 31 points-per-game league ranking. My very subjective opinion is that there is something else seriously wrong with this team that goes beyond talent, injuries, luck, or the learning curve for Housley's new "system." You can agree or disagree with me, but I choose to blame player leadership. I'm just going off of numerous player interviews where the team itself has admitted that there are problems with work ethic, lack of attention to detail, players not buying in, poor communication, etc... going back a full year well before Housley. Eichel, one of 4 players wearing the "A" and the unofficial leader of the team since 2015 by virtue of being the marquee name, will naturally have a bullseye on him. You seem overly fixated on my possible reaction to his on-ice mannerisms, but I'm formulating an opinion based on the totality of behavior, which includes performances and efforts during games, player interviews, sports journalists' team coverage, and yes - admittedly - even internet rumors on the idea that sometimes where there's smoke, there's also fire. Just to be clear, I don't think Eichel's possible leadership issues are remotely close to #1 on what's wrong with this franchise, nor do I think these issues can't be fixed in the course of time. But what's curious to me is the emotional reaction that criticism of certain perceived sacred cows around here will elicit. For anyone demanding that I provide conclusive "proof" of Eichel's poor leadership: get the over yourself.

A bit more extreme perhaps, but how about stripping the A from Eichel and telling him to wait another year or two before consideration of any type of leadership position? It take more than a $10 million a year contract and "generational talent" media hype to become a team captain. Stop acting like a petulant child when things go wrong on the ice. Stop running head coaches out of town. Start acting like a leader who inspires and rallies teammates. And start scoring goals at a 20+ per season pace.

I have them losing every game except the Indy and Miami home games to finish 7-9. Another late-season collapse might actually be the best thing to happen to this franchise, and I'm not referring to better draft position. It's obvious to me now that Tyrod Taylor is not the answer, so the sooner the team realizes this the better. There will be better QB options throughout the draft and also in free agency to find a QB capable of running a West Coast offense. Even Peterman could be a better option, though I definitely wouldn't use his presence on the roster as an excuse for not actively seeking another QB option this off-season. McDermott and Beane will have so many draft picks and so much cap space for the next two years that I wouldn't be surprised at a quick turnaround - playoffs next year and a legitimate Super Bowl challenger in 2019. In the meantime, however, yeah....it's going to be a bit painful.

Correct. I believe this franchise is finally on the right track, but right now there is simply not enough talent to make the playoffs.

Speaking of "expansion level bad," can someone explain to me how the Golden Knights are currently the 7th best team in the league while we are currently the 30th?

I think many of you are overestimating the role that luck plays in turnovers. Watch game highlights of all the forced turnovers on defense this season. On each one, count how many Billls players are around the ball at the moment of the turnover. This is by design. This is what Coach McDermott's 4-3 zone defense does. When players pay attention to the details during film study, they will find themselves in good position to make plays on the field. And on the other side of the ball, Tyrod Taylor is known for being ultra-cautious (to a fault, perhaps) with where he directs the football. Moving forward, a consistently healthy turnover differential is something we should expect with a Sean McDermott team. I have a similar opinion regarding injuries and luck. Obviously there is an element of luck to injuries, but teams whose players consistently train hard and pay attention to conditioning routine and nutrition details will generally find themselves having less injuries. There is some truth to the idea of certain players being injury-prone. This new regime has already taken great effort to purge the roster of many of these players (Goodwin, Watkins, Dareus and his hamstrings, etc...). I'm looking forward to the Jets game this Thursday! I was very pleasantly surprised with the Raiders game. If the Bills can win on the road on national TV against a division opponent that is playing everyone tough, then I will finally jump on board that ever-elusive 21st century Buffalo Bills "playoff bandwagon." At the moment, however, I still think this team is just way too weak in the passing game (on offense and on defense) to be considered a playoff contender. I think next year is the year where the streak ends. And 2019 will be the season when the Bills are considered a legitimate Super Bowl contender, finally, after two more off-seasons with all of those draft picks and cap space. One final comment: that spontaneous sideline player celebration after Tate's first-down catch and run was epic. That was my favorite moment of the season so far.

Nice defensive win! Hmmm, so 8 points after 10 games.....if we can maintain a 12 point per 10 game pace for the rest of the season, we should make the playoffs.

I assume this was partly directed at my post (#492)? My sincerest apologies. Maybe it was just terrible wording on my part, as I don't have a problem with fans finding joy in a Sabres win nor do I think I have any unique insight into the team that others here are missing.

I am of course happy that the good guys won, but a dose of reality is needed here: the Sabres are 5 straight wins away from a typical playoff-caliber points-per-game pace of 1.15. Multiple times during the past two seasons, we've seen spirited comeback wins. None ever amounted to any sustained success. Having said this, there are a couple important silver linings moving forward: 1. The team does, in fact, have a pulse. 2. O'Reilly is getting his mojo back. This is clearly looking like another draft lottery year to me. I've stopped watching games since the Devils debacle, but I still closely follow the team. There are only 7 guys on the roster that I care to keep track of: Eichel, Kane, O'Reilly, Reinhart, Okposo, Ristolainen, and Lehner. Their performances between now and March will largely dictate the future direction of this franchise.

During the 17-year playoff drought, the Bills have been 4-2 or better after 6 games in 2008 (5-1), 2011 (4-2), and last year (4-2). I have no reason to believe this incarnation will be any different than previous chokers. Depth is terrible, injuries are beginning to pile up (Matthew, Clay, Humber, Gaines, Poyer), defense is regressing toward mediocrity, and Dennison took a competent offense with an elite running game and turned it into hot garbage. Call me when they beat Oakland at home and NY Jets Thursday night to get to 6-2. No Bills team this century has gone 6-2 or better after 8 games. That would impress me and start to show that maybe these guys are different.

This has got to be the most unlikable team in franchise history, right? I can't think of a worse one. There's enough talent to be a borderline playoff team, but negligible effort and absolutely zero heart. The frigging expansion team is doing laps around this squad in terms of effort. No way I'm wasting a Saturday night to watch this train wreck. Disgusting.

Maybe it was about moving on from that leadership group, but then Moulson and Gorges are still around... I don't think Gionta was any part of the problem last year. Seven games into this season without him, and these guys are still lazy and under performing. Gionta would be an instant upgrade over all but 6 forwards currently on the roster.