billsfan89

What a year for Josh! I know it ended in disappointment in a close AFCCG loss but dam in a year where the Bills gutted a lot of veteran talent and took the 4th largest dead cap hit they not only win 13 games (could have been 14 if they needed it) and the division but they won 2 playoff games getting past the divisional round for the first time since 2020. And now Josh Allen wins his first career MVP. It's a great accolade for Josh to end the year with! Well deserved!

Not disagreeing, I would however like to upgrade Cooper and add a few fringe development pieces. A new TE3, a developmental guard, and a back end depth WR could be filled via late round picks. But I think this team has to replace Cooper with a consistent boundary WR. I don't hate Cooper but he's older and I would want a younger piece for Josh there.

I have DT, DE, CB, and WR as the big starting needs the team needs. With Safety as a top depth need. So I suspect the draft and free agency to be a lot heavier on the defensive side.

Beane's drafting from 2021-2023 was really good and the early returns on 2024 are solid. That being said I am for adding a big piece via trade and or free agency.

I would offer pick 30 and a later pick in 2025 plus a 2026 2nd for Crosby. He will be 28 this upcoming season and is a definite war daddy type pass rusher. It would be well worth the cost of draft and cap capital.

Not too up on the individual prospects just yet but I see the Bills needs heading into the offseason as the following. This assumes that Ty Johnson, Anderson, and Mack are all back, if the Bills want all 3 back they should be able to bring them back esp Anderson whose a restricted free agent. I wouldn't mind seeing CB/DT/DE/WR hit early although I would also like to see Hamlin resigned and move safety down to more of a "development needed" area lessening the need to find depth at the position and I would like to see the Bills in free agency find a starter at DT/CB/WR/DE take one of those major needs off the board at least. Bills should be with the volume of picks they have and will have once comp picks are determined should be able to address impactfully 2-3 starting needs and 3-4 depth needs at a minimum while adding developmental players as needed. Starters WR - Bills need to replace Cooper as a quality boundary WR. DT- Bills need a big One Tech DT to replace D.Jones who might be washed or at the very least need to recede into being a rotational player. DE- Bills need more pass rush punch off the edge. CB- Replacing Douglas on the outside opposite Benford Key Depth S- If the Bills don't resign Hamlin this could be a need for at least quality depth given that Rapp seems to get banged up. CB- Bills need to find more depth even if they sign a vet to replace Douglas they need some development at the position. DT- Austin Johnson needs to be replaced as a 4/5 DT. Even if the Bills draft a DT high up or acquire a vet some depth there is needed. LB- Bills always seem to need bodies at LB and with Milano getting older it is key they find a way to add a depth piece here. Development needed Guard - Offensive line seems mostly good but brining in a late round guard seems prudent. I see the offensive line depth as Van Dermark swing tackle, Anderson jumbo offensive line backup interior O-line, SVPG backup center, and Grable as a solid third string tackle. A guard to develop here makes sense. TE3- Knox and Kincaid are a very strong pairing but Knox is on the older side and Morris while a quality third stringer is what he is (a good marginal player) brining in a later round TE to compete here makes sense. QB- Doesn't hurt to have a QB developing behind Mitch not a major need but if you have a glut of late round picks grabbing a QB late is not a bad way to develop the edges of the roster. WR- Adding a WR6 to the roster that can develop behind Mack and Samuel to take a depth slot in a year or so is a need here.

Gonna be the first game of the season so they have a bye week before and likely gonna be on a Friday so they have a couple extra days the week after. I’m not a fan of games in vastly different time zones even with added prep time.

I think he’s still got some juice left in him this past season in 11 games he had 700 yards and 6 TD’s. While he may not be the elite WR he once was at age 32 (which is right towards the tail end of a WR’s better years) he’s still a capable NFL WR. But I just don’t see the fit here. Bills need a durable outside WR. I think Kupp is going to be more of a slot guy at this age and the Bills have one of the better slot WR’s in Shakir and another capable slot guy in Samuel.

My view is that had the 50/50 or 60/40 calls gone the Bills way they still could have lost. However, when you have a tight margins playoff game, those calls can be a difference when margins are that way. It is disheartening as a fan and very frustrating.

You don't make it into the NFL unless you think you can win every game.

Replacing Cooper and some depth moves like resigning Ty and Mack are what's needed on offense. Defensively they have to get a couple of big pieces on the defensive line while adding a corner to replace Douglas and some other depth in the secondary.

This is BS, the drought was the most unfun time to be a fan of this team. The team was utterly hopeless in the drought years, getting to the playoffs seemed a lot farther off than this current team winning a Super Bowl.

I don't think so? The defense had one horrendous game (The Rams) and a few bad ones (KC playoffs, Lions, and second Fins game) but for the most part the defense was very sound this season. I think the defense just needs a couple of pieces in the secondary and D-line and it will be fine.

Agreed, there has to be at least one or two major "win now" moves this off-season. I don't think it has to be trading away major amounts of high draft picks or signing a big 100 million dollar free agent, but the team has to go into the season plugging all their major holes and upping the depth of the team overall.

I look at the Bills major needs as being. Replace Amari Cooper as boundary WR - Bills need a legit consistent boundary WR to keep defenses honest. I think Keon will develop but the Bills need a "go to" guy. Corner - With Rasul Douglas being a free agent there's a big need for corner opposite Benford. DT- Gotta add some punch and youth to that position. Austin Johnson is a free agent and D.Jones is older and declining. Safety (Depth/Development)- Hamlin is a free agent, I do think that Cole will be ready to plug in as a starter. But if the Bills let Hamlin walk (which they may not) then I think there's a need for depth there. DE- Not a bad core with what they have but maybe adding some more punch there is needed. There are some other minor needs that I think the team would address but those are the big ones. Minor needs should be easy to address. Resigning Ty/RB3 - Bills need a pass catching back. Resigning Mack/WR4/5 ST Ace- Bills WR lower down the depth chart needs to be a special teams ace and add a little bit of pop to the receiving core. Mack fits that bill. Corner depth - In addition to replacing Douglas as a starter the Bills need to likely add some depth at corner. LB depth - Bills seem to always get banged up at LB likely would make sense to add a later draft pick here.

What makes the Bills so dangerous on offense, is that they have so many guys who can make a play here or there. Every game you see so many multiple of guys make one or two plays to help Josh out.

Going to a Bills Bar in NYC to watch the game with my wife. Last time I went to a bar to watch a game was when they had the Jacksonville Monday Night Massacre so hoping for a similar result.

Brady thrived with a defensive head coach and a rotating cast of offensive coordinators. I wonder how long it took Bilichick to be as heavily involved on the offensive side of the ball as I know by the 2010's he was supposedly much more hands on with the offense than he was early in the Pats/Brady dynasty. I think McD's gonna have to be that way soon as he's gonna lose OC after OC with Josh.

What is a "Blue Chip" player? is it an All-Pro or a Pro-Bowler? I would say that a Blue Chip player is a top 10 player at their position (and for Guard, DT, and DE where there's two on the field at the same time fairly interchangeably I would say top 15). I would argue that the following players qualify as that. Firmly top 10 Josh Allen Cook Dawkins Spencer Brown Taron Spencer Brown Shakir (If you consider a slot WR a separate position) Groot (top 15 DE) McGovern Benford Borderline top 10 Ed Oliver (top 15ish DT) Torrence (top 15ish Guard) Bernard Milano Kincaid So the Bills have about 9-10 (once again if you factor in slot WR as a position or not) and then about another 5 or so players who are right below that threshold or right on the bubble of that. I would also argue that the Bills don't have any glaring liabilities which is a massive strength. Every position is lined with at least a capable starter and there's a lot of solid role players. Guys like Edwards, Rapp, Hamlin, Douglas, AJE, Von, Daquon, and Cooper may not be top 10 players at their positions but they are at least capable starting caliber players. While Ty Johnson, Knox, Keon, Hollins, Samuel, Davis, Austin Johnson, Smoot, Dorian Williams, and Cam Lewis are all very strong role players who fill in well. TLDR: Bills have a good amount of top 10 players at their positions and several others that aren't far off while also having a well constructed roster with no glaring weaknesses, solid depth, and good role players.

I wouldn't mind Chase Young if the organization feels like on a one year "prove it" year he can really get it in gear to try and land a big contract, Chase Young is a lot younger than Mack and the Bills already have an older pass rusher in Von who likely will be back for one more year as Von seems willing to rework his contract to be palatable cap wise. Something about having Mack at age 34 and Von at age 36 doesn't seem like something the Bills would do too much age at a very critical position.

Any word on Milano?

The defense looked much more aggressive but offensively outside of that 4th down attempt it was a somewhat conservative game. McD talks a lot about "complementary football" and I think the aggressive defense complemented the conservative offense.

Are concerns legit? Yes. Is the game likely to be determined by blown calls? No but it is possible. In games where margins are likely to be tight a couple of drives extended by a bogus call could be the difference. But as a fan while I am concerned I just don't think it is worth worrying about too much. The Bills have Josh Allen that's a pretty good place to start.