Team Offense Strength of Schedule
| W1 | W2 | W3 | W4 | W5 | W6 | W7 | W8 | W9 | W10 | W11 | W12 | W13 | W14 | W15 | W16 | W17 | W18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 @SF | 12 @TEN | 30 NE | 2 DEN | 14 @MIN | 15 BUF | 7 @PIT | 30 @NE | 18 HOU | 8 @ARI | 21 IND | BYE | 20 SEA | 17 @MIA | 32 @JAX | 22 LAR | 15 @BUF | 17 MIA |
Team Defence Strength of Schedule
| W1 | W2 | W3 | W4 | W5 | W6 | W7 | W8 | W9 | W10 | W11 | W12 | W13 | W14 | W15 | W16 | W17 | W18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.0 @SF | 29.0 @TEN | 32.0 NE | 14.0 DEN | 21.0 @MIN | 2.0 BUF | 16.0 @PIT | 32.0 @NE | 19.0 HOU | 12.0 @ARI | 13.0 IND | BYE | 25.0 SEA | 24.0 @MIA | 15.0 @JAX | 4.0 LAR | 2.0 @BUF | 24.0 MIA |
The Bills may not announce their starting quarterback f...
The Bills may not announce their starting quarterback for the season opener against the Colts until the last minute, but they’re willing to be a bit more forthcoming about their preseason plans.
Bills coach Rex Ryan said after Saturday night’s scrimmage that the plan is for Matt Cassel to take the first offensive snaps of the preseason.
“We’ll probably start Cassel in the first game against Carolina and let’s go from there,” Ryan said, via the Associated Press.
Cassel, Tyrod Taylor and EJ Manuel each led the starting offense at points during the scrimmage and the 13 points that the offense put up in 17 possessions speaks to the need for the team to show improvement on that side of the ball. Ryan complimented Manuel, who threw the only touchdown pass of the night, and said he was a “little disappointed” in Taylor. Cassel, meanwhile, is looking forward to facing the Panthers.
“Great. I hope I play the whole game, to be honest with you,” Cassel said. “I honestly would embrace the chance to start and go out there and play a little bit and get into a rhythm.”
With no one separating themselves from the pack in Buffalo to this point, the competition should rage on well beyond the first preseason outing, the story pointed out. The winner of this battle still likely won't be a highly-desired add to fantasy teams.
Packers WR Davante Adams caught 38 passes for 446 yards and three touchdowns with one 100-yard game as the No. 3 receiver last year. He added a second 100-yard game in the playoffs.
"It's just giving him opportunities," Aaron Rodgers said. "You watch the film last year and he was open a lot on the backside of stuff and it just depended on matchups whether the ball went his way a couple times in a game or 10 times. And when he had the 10 times, the targets, you saw the production he had. It's about matchups in this offense. We had two guys [Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb] who caught more than 90 balls and as teams start to tilt even more to them, Davante's going to get more opportunities."
Adams had his moments during his rookie season, specifically against the Patriots (6-121 on 11 targets) in Week 13 and in the postseason against the Cowboys (7-117-1 on 11 targets). However, he only saw 66 passes come his way since he played alongside target hogs Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb. Aaron Rodgers has been highly complimentary of Adams this offseason and says he has “humongous upside.” In 20 games from 2012-13, the team’s WR3, James Jones, managed WR3-type numbers (3.7-50.3-.60 on 5.6 targets) with both Cobb and Nelson in the lineup, but that was mainly due to his unusually high TD rate. In 13 games that Cobb and/or Nelson missed, Jones averaged solid WR2 numbers (4.6-58-.46 on 7.3 targets), but his TD rate regressed. We’re bullish on Adams since he has more potential than Jones. The Packers are also without a tight end of Jermichael Finley’s caliber, so there may be more targets available for the team’s third receiver. Owners should expect fantasy WR2 numbers if Cobb or Nelson go down, making the second-year wideout a great handcuff for either player.
For the third consecutive day, the Buffalo Bills gave veteran quarterback Matt Cassel reps with the first-team group in their "two spot" drill during Sunday's practice.
Cassel has been joined by either EJ Manuel and Tyrod Taylor in taking reps with the top group in 11-on-11 action. Taylor rotated with Cassel on Friday and Sunday, while Manuel took reps with Cassel on Saturday.
"We put [Cassel] there. That's what we want to do," coach Rex Ryan said after Sunday's practice. "With his experience, we think it's more important that he's always rotating with that group. Tyrod is going to get his equal turns at the one spot and so is EJ.
"So it's like, we're putting him there, but then to him running some other ones, they go down to the threes. Because they're younger, they're going to be with some of these younger guys. And we think that's the best way to develop these quarterbacks."
It's also worth nothing the story added Cassel's performance in practice hasn't stood out above Manuel's or Taylor's and, at times, has been worse. But on Sunday, it was Manuel who lagged behind Cassel and Taylor. When the Bills broke into a single 11-on-11 drill at the end of practice (as opposed to their simultaneous "two spot" drill), Manuel held the ball too long on his first dropback for a sack and then overthrew Chris Hogan on his second dropback, the story said. In this run-first offense, whoever wins the job isn't expected to put up huge fantasy numbers.
Through the first two days of training camp, rookie rec...
Through the first two days of training camp, rookie receiver Ty Montgomery was becoming known as the young guy asking all the questions in the Packers meeting room.
On day three, he made a name for himself on the field as well.
As Montgomery made catch after catch at Nitschke Field on Saturday, it was easy to see why the Packers drafted him in the third round this past spring.
He made a diving grab on a short throw from Scott Tolzien, caught a quick hitch from Aaron Rodgers and made a touch catch in traffic on a quick slant from Brett Hundley.
Montgomery then capped his big day with a twisting, leaping sideline catch on a deep ball from Hundley, beating solid coverage from undrafted rookie cornerback LaDarius Gunter on the eye-popping play.
If Montgomery goes on to have the type of rookie season that Green Bay receivers such as Randall Cobb and Davante Adams have enjoyed before him, this will be a day remembered as one that announced his arrival.
The Buffalo Bills' shaky quarterback play in practices ...
The Buffalo Bills' shaky quarterback play in practices this spring and summer reached a new low Saturday when Matt Cassel and EJ Manuel went a combined 1-for-8 in a period of 11-on-11 work in practice.
Cassel and Manuel split reps with the first-team group in the Bills' "two-spot" drill Saturday after Cassel and Tyrod Taylor split time with that group Friday. If the pattern holds, Taylor and Manuel will be the first-team pairing Sunday.
There is no indication that the Bills are close to narrowing the group competing for the starting job to two quarterbacks, nor has there been any clear separation by any of the three quarterbacks over one another to this point, the story said.
For the third straight year, the Packers enter the seas...
For the third straight year, the Packers enter the season knowing who their top two running backs are. Training camp and the preseason will be used to figure out a new third option.
Eddie Lacy and James Starks combined for 1,472 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns in 2014. That’s a slight drop from their collective production the prior year (1,671 yards and 14 TDs) when they were relied on more during quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ injury absence.
With DuJuan Harris now gone, the No. 3 back will be a fresh face, and he’ll be young. The candidates are practice-squad holdover Rajion Neal and undrafted rookies John Crockett and Alonzo Harris.
The story pointed out Neal was making a bid for a roster spot last summer, only to be sidelined the rest of camp with a knee injury. He was placed on injured reserve at the first roster reduction and was eventually brought back to the practice squad right after last season’s bye week. Spending the rest of his rookie season in Green Bay appeared to pay dividends for Neal this past spring, as he got a lot of work during OTAs and showed trustworthy hands catching passes out of the backfield, the story added.
Panthers beat writer David Newton thinks QB Cam Newton is capable of an MVP season.
David Newton: It's not so much whether Newton is capable. He didn't win the Heisman Trophy at Auburn or win the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year at Carolina for a lack of talent. The question is this: Does Newton have the talent around him to become an MVP? Aaron Rodgers didn't win the award last season without having a solid offensive line, top receivers and a running game that takes the pressure off him. Newton needs the same.
The good news, the story points out, is Cam Newton seems to have a talent pool around him now. Wide receivers Kelvin Benjamin, Devin Funchess, Corey Brown and Ted Ginn Jr., along with tight end Greg Olsen, give him plenty of capable targets. Jonathan Stewart showed again at the end of last season that, when healthy, he's a top five back. Now, the offensive line is going to be the key. Newton will also have to become a more consistent passer. While the odds may be against him for MVP, he's capable of a solid fantasy season. Newton cracks our top-10 QBs heading into camps, coming in eighth with an ADP of about the seventh round. He's another of the long list of fantasy QBs who will be around during that stage of your draft if you're set on waiting on the position.
The Bills brought in two new quarterbacks this offseason, trading for Matt Cassel and signing Tyrod Taylor. Most people figured Cassel was in line to start and Taylor was brought in to be a backup. But that may not be the case.
The Buffalo News reports that Bills coach Rex Ryan has shown greater enthusiasm for Taylor than for Cassel, that Ryan has wanted to coach Taylor for a long time and previously wanted the Jets to acquire him, and that Ryan says Taylor is the fastest quarterback in the NFL and can change games with his speed.
It's going to be a run-heavy offense, but if Taylor wins the job, he could become fantasy relevant thanks to his ability to run the ball. The Bills aren't lacking for receiving weapons, either.
RB Eddie Lacy was asked to do a lot more for the Packers in 2014 than he was as a rookie, and he delivered.
He stayed on the field on third downs as a pass protector and receiving outlet for quarterback Aaron Rodgers. He was solid in blitz pickup, and he boosted his pass-catching numbers considerably, from 257 yards and no touchdowns in 2013 to 427 yards and four scores last year.
All the while, he improved his per-carry rushing average a full half yard, from 4.1 to 4.6, without missing a single game and never touching the ball fewer than a dozen times per contest.
It’s a heavy workload that isn’t likely to diminish in the upcoming season, but the third-year running back is fine with his extensive every-down responsibilities.
“I don’t feel I have too much on my plate,” Lacy said last week as the offseason program wrapped up. “I really think it’s the perfect amount. You can see the chemistry between me and the offensive line, and me and the quarterback. We’re just all on the same page and we’re rolling.”
Lacy will certainly be a major factor again this season, and the coaching staff has emphasized it wants to get clicking from the get-go this year, the story said. That's something Lacy didn't do last season, thanks in part to a tough, early schedule. But we preached to stay patient with Lacy as his schedule eased. It paid off as he finished in the top-eight in both PPR and standard formats. This year Lacy is ranked third among our running backs heading into drafts, but with an ADP of 1.3, he's actually going before Adrian Peterson and Marshawn Lynch, who we have ahead of him here in late June.
Bills beat writer Vic Carucci answered a question about...
Bills beat writer Vic Carucci answered a question about keeping struggling QB Matt Cassel because he's a veteran.
Carucci: [$4.75 million] is a whole lot of cap space to devote to a backup. I believe the Bills acquired Cassel in a trade with the Minnesota Vikings last March with the intention of making him their starter. Furthermore, I would fully expect the Bills to extend Cassel’s contract to provide cap relief if they are convinced he will have the job.
The fact that hasn’t happened and that there is no indication of it happening any time soon after his struggles through the offseason raise some legitimate questions about whether he will be on the roster if he isn’t starting.
Carucci said he thinks Cassel is wired to accept a backup role as a mentor to EJ Manuel or Tyrod Taylor or any younger starter, but doubts the Bills would devote that much to their cap. With a run-first plan of attack likely still in place, whoever the Bills starter is won't have a ton of week-to-week fantasy value.
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