WhitewalkerInPhilly

FWIW Draftek (the site which our own Astro used to contribute on and in general is a decent indicator) currently has Franklin at #28 on their Big Board. I would be ecstatic if that's how it went down.

The one I think is definitely necessary is ST. In spite of spending a lot on cap space for ST guys we didn't get much juice for the squeeze. Someone on that coaching staff watched Martin practice and went "yep, that's better than Haack". Combined with almost nothing on returns, an erratic Bass and the big mistakes vs the Jets (punt TD to lose it), Denver (12 men) and KC (terrible punts, missed tying FG from the 25) means that if I have to pick one coach to throw into The Pit, that's the one. I suspect that the Bills will try to retain Brady and will only move on if he gets poached by another team for HC. I suspect that someone will be made official DC (outside hire or elevation) but McDermott keeps calling the plays

As I keep saying: the last offensive drive had things clicking. Earlier in the season teams were blitzing Josh and it worked. This time we saw blitz beaters to Kincaid (that I had been pounding the table for) and they worked like a charm. For the most part Josh was incredibly patient. It makes his sudden impatience to try to thread it to Shakir right after the two minute warning stand out even more to me, especially with Diggs open

Factoid: the highest round the Bills have drafted a WR in during the McDermott tenure (both Whaley and Beane) was Gabe Davis in the 4th round. I think they can get someone competent in round 1 or 2

Obviously some wrinkles, but there is absolutely a difference between what you can do on the fly in 8 weeks and what you spend an offseason scheming and May-August installing and field testing.

There's a difference between picking better play choices and installing your own offense

Thank you. I don't think his numbers are perfect but the upshot remains. It is relatively easy to get under the cap. We can probably retain some departing FA. But we will not be heavy bidders without consequence

So you're admitting that Josh passed up the easy receiver for ten yards to gun it to the end zone taking the risk that protection would break down when he had. Dude did you tune in at the 2 minute earn? The Bills had gone 55 yards purposely bleeding the clock. The ball was moving. Brady had fired up blitz beaters that were averaging 6-8 yards a play. They were 25 yards away. If Allen completes it to Diggs it's at the 15 while strangling the Chiefs. And if they don't get a TD? Congrats, you've gotten Bass a kick he can hopefully make but with less chance of a KC last minute score. If Diggs drops it congrats you are where the Bills wound up anyway. I'm not calling for Josh to be pilloried. But he made a mistake in an otherwise excellent game. It wasn't even a fatal one, but it was the first in a fatal string.

I respectfully disagree with both of you. I think we all can agree that Diggs had a down year. That he looks slower, his hands aren't as good, he's not as gamebreaking as he was before. He was still 13th in the league in yards, 7th in receptions. And that was with Gabe Davis showing up once a month at the other boundary. He is still absolutely a #1 receiver in this league. Now, with 2024 looking like a "take your medicine" year, can I justify keeping his contract as is with an expectation that we could feasibly flip him for assets or cut him if he really drops off? Yes. But Larry Fitzgerald still had a heck of a career once he stopped being a boundary WR. Restructuring him through 2025 isn't necessarily crazy, but should be a judement call from the brass based on their plans. Because #1 WRs aren't easy to pick up.

hey, dumb question, what is easier to make, a 30 yard pass thrown later in your protections or a 6-8 yard pass thrown earlier? Your inability to understand situational football is noted. Maybe hang out with Ken Dorsey a bit.

Pretty much. With the defense so damaged, and having no much difficulty stopping the Chiefs from getting chunk plays, Brady's plan (which worked up into the 3rd quarter) was to bully the Chiefs D-line and do as much TOP as possible to keep Mahomes off the field and give as much rest as possible. And when the Chiefs moved to run blitzes, Kincaid was able to work blitz beaters. Thus my consternation at suddenly deciding to go for high speed kill shot within 2 minutes.

That's a real question that doesn't have a great answer. Now, Aaron Rodgers and his sports doctors will disagree with me but from my knowledge around the league Achillies is a long painful rehab to come back from. Rodgers at least has the excuse that he can be a statue in the pocket and sling it, Tre needs some measure of speed. Even if Tre is back and ready Week 1 (which sounds like a very generous timeline) I doubt he would ever have the same speed which means you are paying CB1 money for another Douglas or Benford (or worse play). Complicating matters is that as he took an in game injury he can't be cut outright. He would need to reach an injury settlement That means that out the $16.5 M cap hit, $10M is dead money already guaranteed. Injury settlements prorate the cost of expected missing weeks, so how much of $6.5 is worth a hole on the roster. My wild card idea (which might be crazy) would be sliding him over to safety. His skill were never elite speed, it was technique and recognition. He'd never be a thumping S, but as a center fielder? maybe. IDK. No option is great

Did we watch the same game? yes, they had two 3 and outs. But the offense was very much clicking going into the 2 minute warning. After that, it was Allen gunning it to Shakir for a killshot rather than taking the easy check down to Diggs. Allen rolling right and not seeing the open guys (they highlighted it in the broadcast) and then a missed FG. I can't blame Brady for that, especially after creaming the Chiefs on TOP.

Interesting. This is the best that I have seen the Bills O-line for a while and I would hate to break it up once it finally seems to click. His cap hit is tough though, he'd need to take a cut or restructure. While I do support the Bills doing their due diligence, for comparison around the league Brian Johnson, he who oversaw the collapse of the Eagles offense while given with an O-line with a long history of success, a franchise QB, a stable of running backs and a one two punch of AJ Brown and DeVante Adams at WR. He's getting HC interviews. So it's not out of the question that if the Bills defer, there's a reasonable chance he'll get snatched. This one infuriates me because we *needed* Bernard. If he's guarding Kelce instead of AJ Kline (even at 60%) I think we win that game. I'd argue too that even in a down year, he would still be a #1 receiver on a majority of teams in the league. But he *really* needs help on the other boundary

Hey they are no powerhouse like the PAC 12 *ducks*

I'll say this: I will not rule out trading back out of the 1st. I will actually be more surprised if we stay at 28 than not. While the process is early, it looks like there is a deep crop of receivers. I anticipate that there will "the guy" who the Bills would try to go up for or "a guy" who looks like decent value in the second round.

Sorry, I mean the OTHER massive throwing ACC team 😁

I am sorry that your mind is boggled. Tight window on long developing play for a TD: high risk high reward Simple pass to your #1 receiver that reaps multiple benefits in the game spot: Low Risk high reward. what part about this are you not getting? I am not saying that Josh played terrible. He had a good game. But that was a bad decision.

Coverage was not bad on the play you are talking about. This coverage was blown.

No. Just no. First off, Shakir was NFL open. He was not wide open. Wide open was Kelce's first TD. it was a tight window that likely works if Allen isn't hit as he's thrown. But it's the wrong decision for a few reasons. One, he has close to an instant 1st down if he tosses it to Diggs on the crosser. Diggs goes down in bounds it forces KC to use a timeout or the clock winds down to ~1:20. We get 4 more chances at a play like the Shakir throw or Bass gets a little more space to work. Two, even if the pass works exactly as intended...KC has the ball back with 1:55 and two timeouts. They need a TD, but with our defense giving up at least eight 20+ yard plays? It's a risk I would never take.

...because...your #1 WR is open for an easy catch that gives you a fresh set of downs and ticks off 40s or forces a KC timeout and 4 more chances to score (at minimum) Look, I am all for the "don't mistake a bad outcome for a bad decision" approach. If that's the decision Allen makes in quarters 1-3 I am applauding his guts and noting that it means that the defense is going to have to play back more. In that moment? Did you blame Singletary for going down at the goal line vs the Dolphins game 2 last year? Because that let the Bills put in the dagger. Same philosphy. You want to give Mahomes 1:55 and 2 timeouts to close out the game? With the way the D had been playing? Are you out of your mind?

Can we use cap space to bribe GMs to get a better draft pick? I know you're trolling, but WR is going to be a big focus in the draft

And if I told you that it was possible to free up $73 million in cap space by doing restructures, only cutting Harty and Hines and taking our medicine on Knox and Von? (from the Greg Tompsett breakdown) No Brainers - Cap Saved Restructure Josh - $23M Restructure Diggs - $13M Restructure Ed - $3M Release Hines - $5M Release Harty - $4M Extend Dawkins - $7M Extend Douglas - $6M Extend Johnson - $5M Release Siran Neal - $3M Release Sam Martin - $1M Restructure McGovern - $3M

yeah but...you do understand that teams do not radically change schemes midseason, right? Brady ran a lot of 3 WR at Clemson and arguably that's a better fit for Josh. But he couldn't do a full install on the fly. HC ain't changing. Don't know what to tell you. I don't hate McD's calls this game overall (unless he was part of the fake punt).