We are firmly in the throes of the long, dark winter that is the NFL offseason (which ironically takes place during the lovely summer months in Western New York), which puts a thing like a good, old-fashioned Buffalo Bills mailbag post squarely on our weekly to-do list. Here's the latest in the Buffalo Rumblings mailbag series, with questions submitted via Twitter.
@BuffRumblings @BrianGalliford poll idea / question... What do you think was the single most impressive play on either side last year?
— T Ellis (@VAEllis) May 27, 2016
Obviously, the EJ Manuel hard count comes to mind.
Less obviously, for some reason, my mind lands on the one-handed, behind-his-head catch that Sammy Watkins made on a shallow crossing route on the road against New England last season. There were much bigger plays made last year, to be certain, but I can't think of any that were more individually impressive than that Watkins catch.
Anyone want to offer up a different suggestion for this excellent discussion-starter question?
@BuffRumblings if you could sign one free agent currently on the market who would it be.
— Matthew (@BmoreBillsfan) May 26, 2016
I would be somewhat surprised if the Bills made any significant free agent moves at this point, but since we're talking purely in hypotheticals here, why not Ryan Fitzpatrick? It would never happen outside of the realm of, say, a Madden video game, but if you could improve your own quarterback depth chart while weakening a division rival's, you make that move as fast as you can.
@BuffRumblings if we don't make the playoffs, is firing Rex and Doug really the right answer? All the greats needed more than 2yrs. #Bills
— mH (@broadsword84) May 26, 2016
The Bills spew a lot of PR lines for fans, but if I'm picking one that rings truest, it would be the one where creating coaching turnover every 2-3 years in the name of fan-placating change does more harm than good. I have no idea what the job status of anyone in the front office actually is, but I'd expect the Pegulas to trend more toward patience than impatience, depending on how the 2016 season plays out.
@BuffRumblings with depth issues are we going to carry a kickoff specialist? #bills
— Brandon Zeches (@BZeches) May 26, 2016
There are always depth issues on NFL rosters at one spot or another, so I have my doubts that the team would heavily factor that into their decision to keep a second kicker again. That is, in my opinion, more a function in the team's confidence in Dan Carpenter, and how they perceive the strategic advantage of having a specialist in place, particularly within the structure of the new kickoff rules.
@BuffRumblings If you could eliminate people asking you one Bills question for the rest of time, what would it be?
— Nationals 101 (@Nationals101) May 26, 2016
"How many games will the Bills win this year?" Until someone can build a software platform that can correctly predict the hundreds of injuries that happen each year in the NFL, seemingly most of which occur in Buffalo, then we might be on to something here.