st pete gogolak

We're not going to go after Scherff, not at $18 million, not at $10 million. I think we'll add depth to the OL with mid-round draft picks. Everyone complaining about "too many high draft picks being devoted to defense" is falling into sunk cost fallacy. Where can we get most help immediately from FA and the draft? I think it's going to be some variation on veteran outside pass rusher on relatively bargain basis (Melvin Ingram?) and help at cornerback and possibly linebacker. Would it be nice to add a #1 round WR or RB? Sure but I just don't see it.

A. A lot. B. Whatever it takes. C. A ####load. Honestly, has a team ever had an easier offseason than the Bengals? $50 million under the cap. Spend it on two quality OL and draft a couple more. On the other hand, I'm not as afraid of the Bengals' cap space as some others on the board. Do you really expect Mike Brown to spend to the cap?

This is an example of the stupidity of having the free agency period before the draft. I don't know how good Davis is but if we resign Phillips to a mulit-year deal at starter money and if we get minimal savings by cutting Star, are we really going to draft a DT in Round #1? I doubt it. Does anyone know the reason why the draft follows free agency? Is it NFLPA (free agents make out better) or the owners? I just don't get it.

How's our 2018 draft grading out? s/

It's not whether the allegations are true or not. It's the appearance of impropriety. Believe me, this lawsuit will continue to get a lot of press and the NFL will try to bury it. I'm not saying I'm in favor of a lottery and I'm not saying tanking works. For God's sake, look at the Sabres. They tanked for a 20% chance to pick Connor McDavid and they're still trying to work their way out of that ####show. In order to successfully tank, you need a lot of things to go right. You need to know your target(s), how likely you will be able to obtain your target, how your target will fit in to overall effort to rebuild team, etc. Some tanks are incredibly successful (Penguins tanking for Mario Lemuiex probably the most famous). Most are not.

It's going to happen. The Flores lawsuit guarantees it.

If McKenzie decides grass is greener elsewhere and we want to move on from Beasley, how about Braxton Berrios from the Jets? Fills slot role, jet sweep role, kick returner role, plus weakens division opponent. No idea what he would cost on the open market. Would it make sense to approach a guy like this and say, "play one year on a below market deal with Josh and you'll hit the open market next year and make a fortune."

What's the rush to dump Williams? His cap hit isn't horrible, at a minimum he's a decent starting guard and if Dawkins or Brown get hurt, he can slide to RT. As bad as the OL was during that mid-season stretch, I wouldn't be disappointed if they rolled with Dawkins - Bates - Morse - Williams - Brown to start 2022. If they can upgrade, terrific, but it's not the crying need it was at mid-season.

This is no comment on Brady other than at LSU, he had Joe Burrow throwing to, among others, Jefferson and Chase and handing off to Edwards-Helaire. That's mind-boggling! So when he has incredible talent, he's a great coach (LSU) and when he has no talent (Carolina), he's a bad coach. Does that mean the jury is still out?

In a nod to New Orleans foodies, I guess you now have to call their stadium "Commander's Palace".

I agree with almost all the comments above but I guess I'm not making myself clear. Even if we bring back the same personnel (we won't), can we mix it up more on D so we're not giving opposing offenses the same look every game. As far as I can tell, we played 4-2-5, rush four, blitz occasionally, play zone with two high safeties. I didn't see much 4-3-4, even against run heavy teams. Can't recall seeing any 3-2-6 ala what Bengals played in second half against KC. Did we play any man-to-man? My point is that we just can't trot same defense out every game, especially against elite QB's. Hopefully, we'll get some new personnel so that we can effectively throw some different looks at teams next year. Somewhat off topic, if you're a DC and you're playing Josh next year, are you thinking of playing the 3-2-6 with a spy similar to what Bengals played? Of course, the way to attack that D is to hammer with the run, preferably with a power back. We definitely need to run the ball better next year, especially out of the gate.

Kudos to the Bengals DC for the second half game plan against KC. Playing a lot of 3 man fronts with a spy and man to man in the back was pretty brilliant. Would our 2021 D even been capable of pulling that off? All I saw all year long was 4 man front, some blitzes (we were middle of the pack on blitzing I believe) and two high safety zone, fairly soft zone at that. Even in the first NE game, when NE is bringing in an extra OL and obviously emphasizing the run, we're playing our usual 4-2-5. Should we try to add some flexibility in 2022? If we retain Frazier, could we? One thought is that if we are retaining Edmunds, draft a run-stopping MLB in the middle rounds and play a 4-3 against run heavy teams with Edmunds outside. Experiment with some 3 man fronts in the pre-season. Something, anything, that would give our opponents something to think about.

Peyton Mannintg.

So nothing between Marchibroda in 1991 and Pettine in 2014 (other than Wade which doesn't count) and then nothing until the other day? That's kind of sad.

I agree with all of that but I still think it was a quirky outcome where being seeded #4 was preferable to being seeded #3.

I thought it was odd when Bengals announced Burrow would sit out last game of season against Browns. Third seed was on the line and chance for additional home game(s) down the road. I guess they knew what the were doing. Raiders, Titans and Chiefs after epic battle with Bills so much better than Pats and Chiefs. Well played.

Instead of specific reason, how about a general reason? What's the record for teams following an OT win in the playoffs? I forget exactly but it is horrendous, something like 1 - 11. Generally, it's hard to win an OT game in the playoffs and come back next week to win. Bengals v. Bills in AFCCG would have been anything but a cakewalk. It would have been a dogfight. On top of that, who's going to cover Chase?

Not that it's saying much, but if Knox sticks around for another two or three years, he'll be the best TE in Bills history.

I started the thread in response to many, many posters whining about our window closing because of Josh's contract. I was curious what people thought about big second contracts to QB's in general, not specific to Josh. I agree. If you have a top 5 (top 10?) QB, you pay him and it is up to the GM to draft well and look for bargain FA's.

Honestly, this has nothing to do with Allen, certainly not a cheap shot. My personal opinion, when you have an upper echelon QB (Mahones, Allen, Herbert, Burrow, Rogers) you pay them and it's up to your GM to work the cap to make the team Super Bowl competitive. It's when you have a tweener (Prescott, L. Jackson) that it becomes difficult. You don't give big money to a Kirk Cousins or Mayfield. I can see the Browns letting Mayfield play out fifth year option on prove it basis.

Last year they were destroyed by a team in the AFCCG that was then destroyed in the Super Bowl. We were arguably the 3rd or 4th best team in the league. If the Chiefs destroy the Bengals and then win the Super Bowl, we're arguably the second best team in the league. Bingo! We didn't take a step backwards, we took a step forwards!

This is a semi-serious thread BUT so many posters in numerous threads have lamented the fact that the Bills' Super Bowl window will close rapidly once Allen's new contact kicks in, it had me wondering if there is any analytics behind that assumption. I know NE was successful for a long time because Brady was willing to be grossly underpaid. Seattle hasn't done all that much after paying Wilson. On the other hand, GB has posted great regular season records (but have choked in the playoffs) with Rogers being paid a ton. When a QB plays like Mahones or Allen, you really don't have an option other than to pay them, do you? Can you imagine KC or BUFF putting Mahones or Allen on the trade block? Inconceivable. In the AFC, in a couple of years, KC, BUFF, LA, CIN and maybe BALT will ALL be operating with QB's making big bucks. Does that mean some team without those QB's will be in the Super Bowl? Just curious what people think about the topic.

LOL. Saying they went from 13 - 3 to 11 - 6 is "fact based". Saying they "took a step backwards" is your opinion. Last year they got destroyed by the Chiefs in the AFCCG. This year they battled the Chiefs toe to toe and had a 95% chance of winning the game with 13 seconds left. I guess that based on that they took a "step forward".

NewEra, c'mon. I get what you're saying but even in a gut-wrenching loss (and this was the gut-wrenchingnest), I enjoy coming to Two Bills Drive. 99% of the time you can tell by the title of the topic if you want to read it. Read what interests you and ignore the rest.

If Dorsey leaves to be OC for Daniel Jones instead of Josh Allen, then I am glad he didn't get the OC job here because I would question his sanity, let alone his football wisdom.