thurst44

But it opens up a space and Hughes has been one of the better players at his position for the last few years, even if he does not get so many sacks. Also, you truly underestimate the importance of chemistry on this team and what unnecessary moves can do to morale, not to mention that there's a good chance the player you bring in will not be better than him, especially for 4.7 mil. The D-line gets a lot of crap here, but it was actually the 2nd best at winning its pass rush. Also, as McDermott pointed out, there were a lot of new players and the no-preseason, no-real practice put them at a real disadvantage, so McDermott and Beane might not be as eager to move on from them as you are. I'm fine with cutting Butler and Jefferson (I'd also be OK with Jefferson's restructure as he showed flashes before this year). If they cut Addison, I trust the process and while I like his enthusiasm, there's a good chance he's in decline. However, cutting Hughes would not be a great move and cutting Star is just insane given that it actually hurts them with the salary cap.

Large DTs clog up the space that allows QBs to step into their throws, while also taking up an extra defender oft times. It was actually talked about frequently when they signed Star and sorry, but it just irks me that he did what he was supposed to do yet he was savaged here b/c he doesn't get stats, which is true of most players at his position. Shaq was more responsible for guarding the edge, and occasionally rushing the passer--I actually agree that he didn't get his full due when in Buffalo as he was never supposed to be a 10-sack kind of DE. His loss is relevant in their struggles against the run as he was good at contain. Jordan Phillips, maybe you have a point, but he was a different kind of DT. In any case, do you really believe Star was so bad that we should lose 5m in cap space by cutting him?

First off, cutting Star actually would cost almost 5 million and yeah that would be smart to do after a year in which we gave up the most yards to tight ends without him after leading the league in fewest yards to tight ends the two years he was there. Hughes is a beloved member of the team who had the second best pass rush block win total and he's been up there every year. I get the three new guys, although I'd still try to get Addison to restructure b/c he made some plays and was clearly a clubhouse leader, and a lot of the success of this team has been the culture. A lot of fans are really quick to want to blow up a 13-3 team that was one game away from the Super Bowl.

Actually you missed a 16 in there as I'm sure someone has pointed out. Your overall point is not off, b/c the year's before that have 1 sack between them. I could see him having a Buffalo revival though.

They were 15-4 and most way-too-early analysts rate us from the 2nd to 4th best team in football. Reading this thread you would think our favorite team was below .500. Maybe we should just listen to our GM who has been clear that you don't use the draft to fill holes. Beane was the Executive of the Year, you know. We're in the position where we can afford to easily take the BPA.

McDermott had a pretty solid point at his first post-season press conference that they did not get to play together in pre-season or regular passes (Allen and Diggs vibing was the exception to the rule). However, their contracts are also the easiest to walk away from. Rewatching games, Mario Addison appeared to me to still have an impact and was a key part of the mental make-up of the team, so I hope they restructure him. Quinton Jefferson, I just did not notice, practically at all. Vernon Butler can go. I'm also hoping Justin Zimmer can get more snaps next year as there's a slight chance he might be something special. Star's absence would seem to have been noticed since we were the top team against tight ends his two years and just lousy before and after, so I look forward to him coming back. Epenesa seemed to be coming on at the end, so I'm excited to see what he can do. Ed Oliver, as many have said here, would likely benefit from having a huge player in the center, and hopefully that's Star and he gets back on track towards earning his Top Ten pick status. So, we may not need a whole rebuild. However, one or two new players through draft or FA would be good. And that might necessitate a lot of contract ultimatums with the current players.

I don't entirely agree, but a very fair assessment. (and I'll admit to putting a bit of a sunshine spin on players sometime, but i truly don't get the pitchforks that are out for this guy... or really anyone on the roster right now).

You must know that is a ridiculous parallel. Tyrod was a 4th or 5th alternate. Tremaine was a 1st alternate last year and made the team straight up this year.

Oh, I know what you think. You're the Mikey of this board, to use a reference that ages me. Let's see Bills fan who hates everything vs. experts who have analyzed his tape + my own eyes from repeated watches. You're entitled to your opinion, but I'm gonna go with the latter. Seriously though, do you ever enjoy anything with the Bills. I'm sorry to personally attack, but it's just so bloody predictable with you. Also, as I have said before with Star. He was brought here after a disastrous 2017 defense of tight ends mostly to help with that. In 2018 and 2019, this defense gave up the fewest yards to tight end. He does not play... the MOST yards to tight ends. Honestly, it's kind of laughable that you would say that this board worships Star when all you would see was people bemoaning his play and contract until strangely the defense suffered when he was not there. This sums up my feelings much more clearly and succinctly than what I wrote. Kudos, Shaw66!

He was also the 22-year-old captain of a top three defense (and the middle linebacker of a top three defense in his rookie season) in 2019 (and 2018). This was a weird pandemic year with no pre-season to get ready (which might just impact a team with mostly new players on the D-line and of course the loss of the mountain in the middle), he played a good portion of the season with a shoulder injury that clearly impaired him (and yet people here are calling him soft). He was playing much better after it healed, even if he made some bad plays. Yes, the Pro Bowl can be laughable, but a lot of that has to do with (1) players making it on reputation and (2) starters not wanting to play so 4th alternates wind up in Hawaii. First off, I may be wrong about this, but I'm pretty sure most of Edmunds' votes came from players and coaches, not fans, so what "rep" is he coasting on? Maybe the players and coaches see things some fans don't. Also, he was voted 1st team this year. I'm not saying I think he's perfect, or that I don't see some plays that make me shake my head sometimes, but this attitude many here seem to have that he's been a total disappointment feels insane to me. I'm not in favor of extending him right away, but I am excited to see what happens behind a better DL with hopefully Star (or a similar 1T) back, with a normal season, in which (hopefully) he is not hurt. Also, we were 13-3 and a game away from the Super Bowl. Edmunds was a key player on a defense that was dominant two out of his three years (every year where there wasn't a pandemic--limited pre-season and practice does mean something). Why are a good portion of the threads on this site so damn negative. I mean, the week after was one thing, but we're acting like this was a 3-13 team. I've always felt a bit weird about the phrase Bills Mafia, but I love that it was formed to try to promote fan positivity towards the players. When they attacked Stevie Johnson, the fans had his back. I'm not saying we shouldn't critique players, but some people seem to make it their mission and engage in hyperbole to tear players down. Does anybody here REALLY think Tremaine is terrible?! In any case, ultimately it's up to McD and so far they have given us pretty good reason to trust the damn process.

Star always gets this tude from a large part of the fanbase and I'm downright sick of it. When he was brought in as a FA in 2018, one of the big reasons given was b/c QBs were stepping up into the lack of pressure up the middle for short passes and tight ends were feasting. That was one of the biggest rationales I heard for his contract: he would stop tight ends. In 2017, we gave up the 6th most yards to tight ends. In 2020, the most. In Star's two years, we gave up the fewest yards to tight ends. Yet so few people seem to be putting two-and-two together that maybe, just maybe, Star's not the garbage player we've judged him as. I could be wrong and I know correlation is not causation, but I do know enough to say I don't know. Just like people here who tore him down don't know, but I will say that I do have some numbers that suggest my claim could be correct. I'd like to see Cover 1 or someone similar do a deep dive to prove my point or convince me I'm wrong. Star's coming back regardless, but I'm willing to bet that his return will mean that two other first-rounders will have monster years (as others have said in this thread), as Oliver's free to make plays and Edmunds is not a sitting duck in coverage. If Milano is here, Star'll likely improve him too, but it sounds like he may be out the door. So much vexation and so many calls for purging on a team that had the second best record in the NFL, finished the regular season at a 9-1 clip, demolishing most teams, then won two playoff games before losing on the road to the defending SB Champions and likely again SB Champs who were also methodically moving through the league. It was a weird season. I'm thankful for what transpired last year, but also excited to see what this defense can do with regular pre-season, practice, and a mountain in the middle, paired with an explosive offense that's also likely to be even better next year.

Part of me wants this, but (1) hate the idea that Tampa would get a home game Super Bowl and (2) as much as it would be fun to ultimately beat Brady on the biggest stage, I'd just as soon close the door on him and cut our losses. Plus, Green Bay is just easier to root for

Fair enough (and don't mistake the length of this comment for my thinking your comment was unreasonable), and while I loved the trade-up at the time, it was fairly accepted at the time that it was too much to give up. However, a few posters here are kind of altering how Watkins was perceived at the time. No one had a problem with him being picked at 4 at the time. I found six mock drafts from the time before stopping and every team had Watkins in the top 5, many at number two. If Watkins had played anywhere near his perceived potential, it would have looked like at least a solid move, but Whaley rolled the dice and was wrong, and the risk-reward even at the time, was probably not worth it. That said, he was thought to be the clearly best of a great wide receiver class and the Bills did not have the luxury of a great QB which makes taking a chance on one in a crowd of potentially great WRs easier (and remember while the post-9 WR picks included OBJ, Adams, Jarvis Landry, and Allen Robinson, it also included Kelvin Benjamin, Jordin Matthews, Cody Latimer, Paul Richardson, and Marqise Lee. At the time of the draft, all we have is perception and what is seen on tape. Yes, if Watkins had been a later pick, he would have fewer detractors. The same was true for Shaq Lawson, a player who I saw people here posit was only drafted at 19 b/c of Ryan's Clemson connection and even saw one person suggest he would not have been drafted, even though practically every draft had Lawson going before 19 and Bears fans outside the draft location were chanting to take him at 11. Watkins was considered a generational WR at the time and clearly the best with a burst and playmaking ability that could make a mediocre QB/game manager look better than he was. Hindsight is 20/20. With hindsight, Mike Evans was clearly the better choice, and at the time there were a couple experts (but not most) suggesting he might turn out to be the best. However, for this argument this is kind of moot, because we would have had to trade up to get him anyway. Beckham had tons of concerns for both his headspace and his injury, and he has been a headcase and injuries have hampered his career, but definitely would have been a better pick. However, I do remember people questioning his draft that high at the time, and the best reviews I found for the pick still called him "basically Victor Cruz" and "low ceiling...best he'll be is a complementary player to Victor Cruz." Devante Adams -- well, duh, but at the time, EVERY OTHER TEAM, including the Packers passed on him. Sure, we know now, but I'm also sure the Browns wish they had chosen a certain QB from Michigan instead Courney Brown at Number 1. Was anyone here really lobbying for Devante Adams at 9? Probably someone, but that's not really the point. We can judge Whaley for having poor football sense with the pick, even if many others would have selected the player that high, and definitely for giving up too much to move up for a WR, but let's not understate the benefit of hindsight or expectations at the time.

David Koechner is apparently a huge KC Chiefs fan in real life (just stumbled upon that fact yesterday, and then saw this :)--it's been a good week so far!)

Also, can we give credit to the defense for, after being on the field for so much of the game and faced with terrible field position as they got punched in the nose all day, stopping the Colts on their final drive. The Colts had to convert a 4th & 1 (and we almost stopped them). The only huge play was one that should have by all accounts ended the game if not for a bad call and an awful replay. Even after that, they got up and played to the buzzer and did not allow them to get close to trying a field goal. They had to be exhausted and most defenses would fold, but this has been a hallmark of this defense for the last few years: when they have a bad day or give up a lot of yards, they still play with enormous fire at the game's end. It's not nothing. Look, I was screaming at the defense all day, but they came through when it counted, and all season they have regrouped and found renewed strength the next week.

I was responding to your quote (i.e. have we not come to play and figured out a way to win the next week pretty much every time?). The first part was not addressed to you, but the formatting puts them together so I apologize for that since I knew that would likely happen (but did not intend for it to happen). Yours was less "woe is us" than "whew. we dodged a bullet" and that's fair. I'm just amazed that after the first playoff win, and a gutsy one at that, I come here to revel in it for at least a little bit the morning after and it's almost all about what the Bills did wrong. You'd almost think we lost yesterday. There were many obstacles and the team found a way to win. The defense played worse than the score and better than the yards allowed would indicate. Ultimately, they found a way to win. I'm not worried about the defense, because they have found ways to win 14 of 17 in a hard schedule. It's not that there's no right to analyze or criticize even after a historic and cathartic win, it's just at some point we have to enjoy this time or why be fans (and again, this paragraph is not directed at you or saying you did this--in fact, your comment was perfectly reasonable to me and I tried to answer it with a reasonable answer).

Our defense played well enough to win. Period. They came up with huge stops when was necessary. And all the people who are saying things like "well, this doesn't bode well for the next few weeks"... Have you watched this team? Or football? Has it not happened MANY times where the Bills do poorly on one front on D in a WIN and then do well on the same front in next week's WIN. And I know you do watch the team and know about football, it's just that some people have a propensity to only notice the terrible. Yes, I sometimes err in the other direction, but people, we were 13-3 and just won our first playoff game since before Spin City (Michael J. Fox version) or The Daily Show (Craig Kilborn version) existed. It was an exciting game and we lived to fight another day. I get that the board is here for analysis, and saying the D played bad in spots (those two 4th quarter sprints down the field were maddening) is fair game, but the sense of absolute dread here is absurd. Perhaps watch the last 7 or so games of KC and see how close they came to losing in almost all of them. This is a great team. We may lose next week. We're more likely to win whoever we play b/c we are definitely the better team in a matchup against any team except (maybe) the Chiefs. Have they not in the past over the course of the last 17 games?

I can't stand the Dolphins either, but they did a lot with a little (and an overhyped off-season). They are probably the Bills in 2017. My semi-educated guess is they take a step backwards as Tua has growing pains and the defense falls back a bit (can't help but feel they are playing above themselves), but they have so many draft picks and Flores, whether you like it or not, would seem to be a good coach, that there's a good chance they will be a force with which to reckon in the '20s. Thankfully, the Bills have a coach who has more clearly established his acumen, much more talent, and the means to keep putting together teams that will likely be better than the Dolphins, so hopefully it's kind of like the 1990s when the Dolphins had some great seasons, but we sent them packing most years. That said, I'd put McDermott and Stefanski ahead of him, and possibly LeFleur and Andy Reid (just b/c he's been great year-after-year does not mean he should be overlooked).

He can be obnoxious and normally I don't like his brand of obnoxiousness, but I've always found him a fun listen. He called Kyle Williams his favorite interviewee ever, which is great on so many levels.

Yeah, agreed here, although it is a major pet peeve of mine when writers try to twist facts to fit an established narrative instead of letting said facts tell the story. Not that I haven't done it myself at times 😕

Ok, I'm gonna stop posting stats

Tie goes to the more frequent poster (you). I'll add the craziest one. Only one Bill has led the league in combined tackles: Preston Brown (of all people) in 2017.

We also drafted the wrong Josh! (that's one i probably said in April of 2018--i changed my tune within a day or two). I did love this trade from day one and had wanted Diggs for at least a year.

Thurman Thomas led the league in yards from scrimmage four years in a row (yes, combined stat) Henry Jones, Nate Odomes, Jairus Byrd, and Tre'Davious White have all tied for the season lead in INTs

Also, every time I open TBD during games, things go sideways...