BADOLBILZ

By the same token Levi is a better NFL CB than a number of players drafted in the early rounds since his selection. Elam has the physical measurables to be a very good CB but it's also not like he was a "great" prospect.........he just had some 1st or 2nd round traits. Not all of them by any means. I'm not comparing him apples-to-apples with Shaq Lawson in terms of 1st round measurables for his position coming out but there was a little "this guy fits a need and could be an off-the-bus starter" just like Shaq IMO..........and perhaps a willingness to overlook some weaknesses(like Shaq) that they might have scored harder against him if they didn't see it as such a high priority need(which I don't believe it necessarily was).

It's OK.........it allowed me to recap the recent takes on the subject. Beane said what he said...........any shade cast by the GM is notable at this point.

I never claimed he said Shakir had no versatility whatsoever...........Cole Beasley played outside periodically despite being primarily a slot receiver..........it happens but there is a difference between flexing out once-in-a-while and being able to assume the role if a starter is lost to injury. Nor did I say Beane considered their depth "terrible". I am responding to people like @Big Turk who claimed he knows the Bills don't think they need any help outside. And @Thurman#1 who claimed Beane never referenced Shakir as a slot guy or that the Bills were looking for help outside. And, of course, @MasterStrategist who asked for the quote I gave him. As @GunnerBill has said..........when asked about outside depth, Beane begins by referencing Jake Kumerow. If you think that's good depth..........then that's your opinion.

Try to keep up. Beane on Shakir: "he has some versatility but position 1 for him right now is the slot. We are definitely stronger inside than outside and we will continue to look for depth out there."

The top 5 aren't good..........so therefore they need to keep a 6th or 7th who also isn't good? Not saying they won't keep 6 or 7...........but Tavon Austin has been a flat-out lousy punt returner for the past 6 seasons and has never been a good KOR guy(18 yard per KOR is terrible). Boo-boo foot Stevenson doesn't warrant a week 1, salary guaranteed roster spot at this point. Remember that your week 1 team is just for week 1 and they have 11 days in between games after the opener. I wouldn't be surprised if they played the market with KR/PR guy during the season. Not ideal but teams tend to cut some good return guys. They aren't particularly valuable in the NFL any longer.

Not necessarily with Hodgins. Players at positions that are deep around the league.........like WR or RB.........often have big preseasons and it doesn't result in them being in high demand.

Van Jefferson had 800 yards and 6 TD last year..............he's the Rams third option behind record setting Cooper Kupp and 3x 1000 yard receiver Allen Robinson. How is a young 800 yard, high pedigree, versatile talent like Jefferson not a better player than Isaiah McKenzie?

With 3 slot receivers........no.........it's not necessary for a DB to be the primary return guy. Kumerow might get picked up if waived. Hodgins? Stevenson? Austin? These guys are competing for spots on the Bills but it's highly doubtful someone puts any of those done-nothing dudes on their roster and guarantees their salary by having them on the 53 man roster for week 1. There is a lot of WR depth around the NFL..... teams aren't pining to sort thru the Bills leavings at outside WR.

If they get thru preseason healthy and don't make any moves.........I would not be surprised if they even kept only 5. The 6th and 7th options in-house are practice squad level receiving talents. I'm sure teams will be able to protect someone on the PS every week and that could be a WR.

There is no "could be"...........he is listed as I said he would be. It's his job to lose and there isn't exactly much competition. No wonder Beane is still looking.

Davis wasn't simply relegated to WR3..........he was injured and it limited him for most of the first 3/4 of the regular season.

Doesn't have anything to do with Davis. When you have a player like Diggs or Cooper Kupp who can excel anywhere..........you can have a 3 high end boundary options..........because you know one of them is going to be FAR better than the guy you have in the slot. But I am sure there is someone on here who will argue that somehow Isaiah McKenzie in the slot would be better than Diggs.............because it is TSW.

This is the part where I tell the people who angrily insisted that Kumerow wouldn't be the top backup boundary WR on the first depth chart to eat a bag.

Why?

Which Bills slot receiver that also returns kicks and punts would Beane say doesn't have "some versatility".............he said he was a slot receiver and in the same breath that they were heavy in the slot and were still looking for help outside. @Big Turk claimed that the Bills felt otherwise than what Beane said. At least that's what the quote says. So I ask again........are you claiming the quote is fake?

So you are claiming he didn't say what he was quoted as saying? Or Beane may still believe that..........but since they don't have any depth outside someone has to take snaps there. He said what he said only a matter of days ago. If having solid practices were any kind of definitive proof..........then you would be able to simply defend Jake Kumerow as BWR3...........his training camp last year was an all-timer.

I guess I don't understand your point. Jacksonville was the worst team in the NFL last season. No strategy or tactics they incorporated should have made any difference. Sometimes when a defense faces an offense which is great at passing the ball they will ignore the run. It's not anything revolutionary. In 2020 when the Chiefs played in Buffalo the Bills D paid little attention to stopping the run and subsequently allowed around 250 yards rushing.......because they liked their chances of keeping the Chiefs out of the end zone and shortening the game by taking away any notable gains in passing game.

Blitzing and pressures are not the same thing. Jacksonville got pressure all day rushing 4...........Allen struggled(well, Josh Allen the QB struggled, not the pass rusher Josh Allen)...........and the Bills scored just 6 points. If teams need to send an extra rusher to get pressure that leaves someone open or at least in a very favorable matchup.........the Bills OL was terrible against conventional pass rush. On paper, they appear to have gotten worse in terms of pass blocking talent...........but improved significantly(if healthy) with run blocking specialists like Quessenberry and Saffold. Hopefully they get much better seasons from Dawkins and Brown and Kromer can coach up the rest but there is no denying they were a bad pass blocking line last season.

What Scott is referring to is taking the ball out of Josh Allen's hands late in series that killed a couple drives. The yards that really killed the Bills on the ground were made by Mahomes...........he averaged 10 yards per rush and accounted for approx 40% of their rushing yardage. Allen ran more but was significantly less productive. Mahomes was lethal to the Bills on the ground that night. In the regular season you might take the ball out of Allen's hands some on 3rd downs but they shouldn't have done so in such a high leverage situation in that 3rd quarter against an offense like KC's. They made an inaccurate assessment that their defense would be up to the task of playing field position football against a KC offense that had held the lead for a long time at that point.

The Bills OL was the worst pass blocking unit in the league for much of the season and ultimately finished 29th in pressures allowed..........the final month of the season where the Bills ran Allen like a RB is the only thing that saved them from being dead last. Poor blocking was the biggest culprit in their stunningly disappointing 7-6 start to the season. There is no sugar coating it. Sacks allowed are a stat that the QB himself plays a big part in.........the pressure allowed is not.

The Bills have fielded quite a few bad offenses when they had good defenses during the drought..............playing against a more talented defense than they face on Sundays has never moved the needle for those offenses though. When an OL can't block anyone consistently..........putting them against a Von Miller only compounds the issue. The gains are to be had in places where the difference in talent lined up across from each other is modest. A guy like Quessenberry for instance isn't going to be sharpened by playing against Miller.........Quessenberry lined up against good pass rushers in practice in TN and then allowed the most sacks in the league in games.

Yes........the Bills pass coverage wasn't the issue for most of the game..........but the rushing yardage allowed was........especially Mahomes averaging 10 yards per rush every time he couldn't find an open receiver and tucked and ran..........those drive extending plays just ground the back 7 to a nub by the end of the game. The Chiefs defense........which was a far lesser unit than the one the Bills marched onto the field.........was similarly exhausted and it's not a coincidence that Allen went off throwing the ball at the end of the game as well. For some reason it's lost on a lot of fans that the difference between these two teams hasn't been defense......the Bills defense is better. It's been less consistent offense, lesser coaching, lesser composure and a hostile venue that have been the difference. The latter impacts the 3 former, IMO. I'd rather have those 2 playoff games IN BUFFALO and without Tre White than in KC with Tre White.

Yeah I couldn't care less about Reggie Gilliam being on the team but the agent is going to fluff the sh*t out of those numbers. I suspect there are some incentives in that figure which would seem to be extremely unlikely to be met based on past results but it dangles a carrot for the player.

Deebo is a legit boundary WR option in the NFL...........and is 20 pounds heavier than Cook.........a physical RB in addition to having similar quickness and COD as Cook but with bigger hands and leaping ability to increase his catch radius. Cook is more of a scatback. He'll be good but Deebo's impact on a defense is punishing..........tackling him is a business decision. Cook won't bring that.

Brandenburg was a crazy athlete. Known for winning slam dunk contests in college. I believe he had 7 sacks in that preseason you are referencing.