With the Buffalo Bills' pre-season schedule mercifully completed and the team's season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs just nine days away, our focus for the next two days will be on looming roster cuts as the Bills trim their team to 53 players.
After last night's loss to the Detroit Lions, Bills head coach Chan Gailey was asked by reporters about the methodology the team employs to make these difficult roster decisions. Rather than go by positional numbers or some other criteria, Gailey provided a general answer to the question.
"What we do is we keep the players that we think can help us go win at Kansas City," Gailey said. "Once we get that group down, then we go to the next group of players that are going to be backups, that are going to play special teams, that are going to be involved down the line potentially - we see some things in them that make them players down the line. So you've got probably your 48 that you know are going to go out there and play and be involved in the game this coming week against Kansas City; you know that. It's those next six, seven guys that you've got to make decisions on."
As you make your 53-man roster predictions over the next couple of days, let this logic inform some of your decisions. It could very well lend insight into decisions made this weekend, as well.