Welcome to this week's Bills Mailbag. We'll tackle questions on the team's injury situation, Brandon Beane's contract, the lineup changes and plenty more. Let's get right to it ...
ATV3 asks: Is this season an aberration for Bills injuries, or are the injuries more noteworthy this season because of the key players impacted?
Jay: I’d say this season simply falls more in line with what is normal. The Bills enjoyed a remarkable run last season when it came to avoiding injuries. It’s possible the condensed offseason and lack of preseason games could play a part, too, but that’s not a guarantee, either. The issue is the Bills have had certain positions hit with multiple injuries at the same time. That’s very difficult for any team to overcome.
Luigi Mike Speranza asks: Have read several comments recently recommending that Brandon Beane gets a contract extension, which assumes that he wants one. I hope so, too, but the larger question is do you think he wants one?
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Jay: I have no reason to believe he wouldn’t want one. It’s cliché, but there are only 32 GM jobs in the NFL, and Beane has one of them. Why would he want to give that up? It would be one thing if Beane had a falling out with coach Sean McDermott, but their working relationship is solid. Beane has constructed a quality roster that has a good chance to win the AFC East for the first time since 1995. He seems to genuinely enjoy living and working in Buffalo. Terry and Kim Pegula have provided the Bills with everything Beane and McDermott have needed. I’d be stunned if Beane wanted out.
Pike asks: Now that the coach benched Trent Murphy, how about shaking up the running backs by starting and featuring T.J. Yeldon until Devin Singletary or Zack Moss proves themselves better?
Jay: Don’t hold your breath. Going back to last season, the Bills didn’t put in Yeldon even when veteran Frank Gore was struggling mightily over the second half of the year. Last week, the team went back to Moss after he missed three games with a toe injury and made Yeldon inactive. I’d be in favor of giving Yeldon more work, but offensive coordinator Brian Daboll does not seem like he shares the same opinion.
John Bodensteiner asks: Any way to find out what the Bills’ record is for Sunday Night Football, MNF and TNF over the past 20 or 30 years? I bet they’ve only won about 20% of those games. They just don’t do well in the spotlight.
Jay: Going all the way back to 1970, the Bills’ record in prime time is 33-46. That includes the losses this year to Tennessee and Kansas City, although it’s debatable if the 5 p.m. start against the Chiefs should count.
John Rine asks: Since the middle has been so porous, my thoughts are about running a 5-6 alignment. This alignment would force the offensive line to keep at least the tight end in to block or force it to match up one on one. With six defensive backs to handle the pass coverage and also add to the run support, I feel it would help close up that BIG hole in the 10-20 area. Your thoughts?
Jay: That would be unconventional. I don’t see it happening. If the Bills get Matt Milano back from injury this week – he's listed as questionable – it’s a good bet he will be in the lineup for every snap along with Tremaine Edmunds. In that case, the Bills would either run their traditional 4-3 defense with A.J. Klein at the other linebacker or, as is more often the case, run a nickel defense with three cornerbacks and two safeties. Given how banged up the team is at cornerback, another possibility is to use a three-safety look with Dean Marlowe joining Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde.
Wimbly asks: Just wondering what happens to the Bills if Biden/Harris ban fracking? If Terry Pegula can’t earn money fracking, are the Bills moved to a more lucrative location in two years?
Jay: The Pegulas don’t have to worry about that, because Joe Biden has said he does not plan to ban all fracking – and when has a politician ever gone back on his promises? That concludes the political portion of this week’s mailbag. (The Bills aren’t moving in two years.)
Jake in Buffalo asks: Is Jake Fromm going to see any live snaps so we can get a sense as to whether we need to sign Josh Allen or have our quarterback of the future on a rookie deal?
Jay: This isn’t, um, Jake Fromm, is it? Of course Fromm’s not going to play right now. The Bills are 4-2 and lead the AFC East. Allen was playing like an MVP candidate for the first month of the season. Yes, he’s taken a slight step back the last couple of weeks, but not nearly enough that a quarterback change is even remotely on the radar. Fromm has been away from the team during practice as a Covid-19 precaution. The only way I see him taking the field this year is if there are major injury issues to Allen and backup Matt Barkley.
Peter D. Lussier asks: What was our yards-per-rush average when Jon Feliciano was playing versus the games he hasn't played?
Jay: The Bills averaged 4.4 yards per carry last season as a team. This year, they are at a woeful 3.8 yards. That drop-off can’t be solely attributed to Feliciano’s absence, but it’s definitely a factor. That’s why it will be big for the line when Feliciano is able to return from surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle.
Ed Helinski asks: It’s obviously apparent that guard and defensive tackle play is seriously underperforming and the Bills have been exposed by several teams. What things or moves need to be done to correct these messes?
Jay: As mentioned above, the return of Feliciano could be a big part of the corrections. After that, the team will have to hope Cody Ford can return quickly from his knee injury. He is out for Sunday's game against the Jets. If those two things happen, the interior of the line could be solidified. At defensive tackle, the team made its in-house move this week, promoting Justin Zimmer from the practice squad to the 53-man roster. Zimmer played well last week against the Chiefs and likely earned himself some more playing time moving forward.
bk asks: Quinton Spain mysteriously cut, two healthy inactive players to send a message, two 15-yard penalties against the Chiefs – two losses make things seem worse, but is there a culture/discipline problem with the Bills?
Jay: I wouldn’t say so. It can be argued that the decision to cut Spain and bench Trent Murphy and Harrison Phillips sends two clear messages to the locker room. No. 1, everyone needs to be rowing in the same direction. It’s fair to wonder if Spain was doing that after being benched. The “foot soreness” he reported before the Tennessee game seemed to come up out of nowhere. No. 2, performance, not paycheck, matters. Murphy has the fifth-highest cap hit on the team this year, but wasn’t getting it done as a pass rusher, so benching him sends the right message. As for the penalties, you’re absolutely right that those were inexcusable. I’m willing to accept that they were a result of frustration, which is understandable given how the defense has performed. If it becomes a pattern, then it might be more of an issue.
Karen Sniadecki asks: Why do we never hear directly from Tre’Davious White? He seems to be a talkative guy ... yet we get no direct give/take? I realize he’s not alone in this regard, but what gives?!?
Jay: We do hear from him pretty frequently. His last video conference call was Wednesday. Because of Covid-19 restrictions, reporters aren’t allowed in the locker room at the moment, so that means some players aren’t interviewed as frequently as they might be in a normal year. The Bills have done a nice job making a good deal of players available after practice and especially after games, but there are examples where fans haven’t heard from specific players as often as they might have simply because of a lack of access.
Rick McGuire asks: Why is it that we never see the Bills’ special teams try and block a punt? Seems they always rush about 5 yards and stop. A blocked punt can swing momentum in a game fast. Look how the game vs the Patriots last year changed after New England blocked that punt and returned it for a touchdown.
Jay: It does feel that way, doesn’t it? The Bills’ last blocked punt was nearly four years ago – Nov. 7, 2016 by Jerry Hughes against Seattle. Special teams coordinator Heath Farwell faces a choice when lining up for a punt return. Does he want to be aggressive and try for a block or set up a return for Andre Roberts? Given that Roberts is second in the league, averaging 14.7 yards per return, it’s easy to see why Farwell might be inclined to set up the return more often than going for the block. It’s also been a while since the Bills have had a punt return touchdown, too. Marcus Thigpen took one back 75 yards against the Green Bay Packers on Dec. 14, 2014.
Louis Stromberg asks: We’ve made it to Week 7! In honor of such, please rank these sevens: Seven Nation Army, Seven Pounds (the movie or the unit of weight), sevenfold, seventh heaven (the show or the heaven), the seven deadly sins. BONUS: Seven Costanza.
Jay: 6. The seven deadly sins. I’m just glad I didn’t have to power rank these. 5. Seven Pounds. As you can probably guess, I haven’t seen the movie. 4. Sevenfold. Not the band, right? Just the multiplication? 3. Seven Costanza. Any Seinfeld reference is going to do well in my power rankings. 2. Seven Nation Army. Hard to imagine anything bumping this from the top spot, but … 1. Seventh heaven. The highest level of heaven should be No. 1 on any power ranking. Thanks for all the questions this week!
