BADOLBILZ

I will say I think the 13 seconds game was a closer fight. Coin luck gave KC two extra possessions in that game. That mattered more than the missed 4 points off of kicks(which happened early enough to perhaps change the Bills offensive strategy in the 3rd quarter, which is where they really lost that game). But your point stands though, IMO. The Bills haven't been the better team in any of the 3 playoff losses to KC. And as closely as the teams are matched, you'd think that once in 3 times the lesser team would win. That's how the NFL works and when you see such a game the clock was quite often a big ally of the team that springs the upset. The Bills had it in their hand but they only proved less competent in defeat because of it, IMO. I'm still aghast at 2nd and 9. That's the same as 13 seconds to me.

I'd say they were about 10 executable plays away from winning that game. It was do-able and it was the route to victory. But 2-3 is seriously downplaying it. But OK, if 1 was the TD to Shakir.......the other 2 were what? A sack that they have never had in 3 playoff games against Mahomes? An interception when they hadn't turned the ball over offensively and his receivers were largely running wide open all day?

Yeah I miss those 50 years between franchise QB's in KC. Those were the days.

IDK he's done well for himself. He married Stiffler's mom for money and was last seen vacationing in Sicily at the White Lotus. Can't see him moving to Buffalo to work for assistants pay for a lame duck regime.

That reaction would sum up why I stopped doing full-on draft analysis. After about 10 years of my 1st round board being consistently better than John Butler and Tom Donahoe's......and watching players I had first round grades on for the Bills still passed over in subsequent rounds.........Donahoe broke me with his foolishness. But I think I have agreed with more of Beane's 1st round picks than I did any of the prior 30 years of #1 picks combined.

@thebandit27 was also the first guy on TSW on the "we need Patrick Mahomes he is going to be great" bandwagon back in spring of 2016. And another truth is that Josh Allen was already being whispered up as the potential #1 pick in the 2018 draft in the middle of his 2016 season..........at a time when Mahomes was not really even getting any 1st round buzz for the coming 2017 draft.

In fairness, the Bills were outplayed on their home field, got the biggest bounce of the game to even keep them in it (benefiting from a nonsensical rule that probably won't exist next year) and probably needed to execute about 10 more plays somewhat successfully to kill the clock, score a TD, burn KC's timeouts and stop them on their subsequent drive in order to win that game in regulation. Looking forward to next year(as always) but that season was just ugly for a team that showed such promise in September. The ending was very appropriate.

Yeah Babich isn't even young for a first time DC. I was more referring to all the young coaches moving up in general. I don't know if McD will let him call the defense but if he doesn't do well it won't be because he's too young or inexperienced.

They are getting pushed up the ladder quickly.........but too quick? I would say *probably* not? These young coaches are a lot more familiar with advanced X's and O's at much younger ages than those of the same age in decades past. It's sort of like the young QB's and WR's entering the league...........they are far more advanced entering the league than they have ever been. Except with coaches, you aren't contending with "planet theory". The idea that there are only a very limited amount of humans with the right combination of athletic traits to even qualify. With coaches the only real qualification to this point is that you still need to be an adult male.

That was actually my first thought. I think Johnson is a little hotter of a candidate but if the Lions regress next year those flames can cool.

Yeah now is certainly the time to throw some picks at the position. Going to be one of the best WR drafts ever and they should come out of it with 3, IMO. 2 early picks. Get these guys in........get 4 productive seasons out of them........replenish in 2027 when the next super-draft of WR's hits. Might be 3 guys better than Marvin Harrison Jr in that one and tons of depth.

They had a nice run this year but I wouldn't characterize the Lions as set up for great future success by any means. Green Bay looks poised to blow by them in their division, IMO. The Lions had 4 picks in the top 45 and took a lot of low hanging fruit........4 non premium positions. They had that luxury because they had some premium positions already addressed........but I hate drafts where you know you won't be able to justify extending 1st and 2nd round picks if they hit their ceiling. Reminds me some of the Bills Wood/Levitre/Byrd and Lynch/Poz/Edwards drafts.........players who were poised to start right away........but at positions that always look good until you have to pay them. Wood ended up being the only 1 of those 6 to get an extension. I love LaPorta though. He is their extension candidate from that group, IMO. I was really hoping he'd have declared in 2021 and the Bills could have stolen him in a middle round.......but he took the risk and stayed for his senior year. Bills likely wouldn't have extended Knox once they saw him in minicamp.

Technically 2024 will be his 4th season calling plays in the NFL. Got fired late in his second season as OC in Carolina and OC'd 9 games for Buffalo last year. He also had experience as the passing game coordinator of the greatest college passing offense ever at LSU in 2019. I agree that he has a lot to prove yet but he will at least be more experienced designing and calling plays than Dorsey was in 2021-2022.

Yeah and in the 9 games under Brady Josh Allen rushed 9.2 times on average. He never ran the ball as many as 9 times in any of Dorsey's 2023 games and the rush count was 4.8 per game. Those extra risks kept chains moving and put points on the board that the offense under Dorsey's restrictions wouldn't have been able to. I was in favor of the switch and the timing because Dorsey was replaceable and they needed a morale boost AND because I was certain that the desperation mode they were entering would make Brady look good to a fanbase that largely misunderstood what ailed the Bills offense in the first 10 games. Of course none of us knew Diggs would play like sh!t from that point out so real statistical improvement never materialized but the defensive improvements and winning made it seem better. But if they don't get Brady some WR help he is going to turn into a pumpkin next October just like Dorsey. The offense was never fixed. Allen carried a disjointed passing game a long way.

People think I hate on Beane when I point out his (and McD's) costly early pro personnel mistakes and assorted draft errors............but I have always maintained that what Beane brought to the table as an executive was more important than what he lacked as a personnel evaluator. You can always find scouts. Finding a GM who could basically run the franchise for an ownership group that really is WAY out of their area(s) of expertise like the Pegula's.....and at the same time surround himself with good people and keep them happy while he learned how to make better personnel decisions was quite fortunate, IMO. People complain about how we can't beat the Chiefs but the fact that we are in the mix with a football-family run organization like the Hunt's....given where this organization started......is an accomplishment in itself. This could easily have turned into another Dan Snyder Washington Comanches situation with the Pegula's if they didn't find someone who could convince them to hand over the keys.

Thanks for the content and takes. Did you change your mind on Brian Thomas Jr. or did you just slot Troy Franklin behind him because you think those teams will not see it the way you felt last week(that Franklin was a better prospect than Thomas Jr.)? Also, I sorta' expect Beane to botch his second round pick.........not been a great round for him..........but I just can't get behind drafting for positional need at safety there. They can find value at that position in day 3. Follow the free agent board Beane.......the safety position is usually stacked come mid-March. And if they aren't worth extending at market value if they pan out........well they aren't worth using early round picks on. Both of their starting safeties the past 7 years were day 3 guys and I could easily see Bullock just curing on the pine all of 2024 behind some $1.7M vet.

You're wrong.......you have only a very rudimentary understanding of the salary cap and clearly haven't done any research on the subject. It would be a lot easier to explain if we knew what the salary cap figures were going to be years in advance.........because it's just simple arithmetic(add/subtract/multiply/divide). And that is the excuse that Brandon Beane is using about the salary cap hiccup 4 years ago impacting what he can do ever since and going forward. See if you can follow this.........maybe don't spend $100M on what would amount to about $10M worth of production in free agency in 2018..........and then when the salary cap decreases by $16M in 2021 you aren't crying poor. That's what we are talking about here.........Beane thought the salary cap would increase by about $15M in 2021 and instead it fell by $16M.........a net difference of only $31M. That's 1/3 of what he wasted on that 2018 FA class. And it bears note that the next offseason(2022) the cap jumped up slightly disproportionately to an additional $25M.......so that further lessens the overall impact that covid is having on NFL spending today..........and why those who didn't mismanage their salary cap in the years immediately preceding 2020 aren't still complaining about it. Beane is in the jam he's in now simply because of bad pro personnel decisions early in his Bills tenure. He just made a bunch of absurd, overpriced signings/acquisitions. If you weren't shocked by the waste that was going on then you clearly weren't aware of the impact it has. And this on the heels of calling the previous regime fiscally irresponsible for only leaving McDermott $32M under the cap when they took over in 2017.

Probably not. But his 16.5 sacks would have been the 3rd most in a season for a Buffalo Bill behind Bruce Smith with 19 in 1990 and Bryce Paup with 17.5 in 1995..........and its the 3rd 70+ tackle and 14+ sack season he's had in the last 5 years. He is a freak of nature and we haven't had anyone with his pass rush skill since the 1990's. As great as Mario was he wasn't a pure pass rusher. And as we saw with Von Miller in 2022......if you can force QB's to step up in the pocket Greg Rousseau has a special knack for finding them.

Shackles might be the wrong word. But the game plan before Dorsey's firing was heavily predicated around avoiding using Josh Allen as a runner. Brady ran him 9.2 times per game in his 9 games..........versus just 4.8 per game in the 10 games under Dorsey this season. The approach was going to have to change whether Dorsey got fired or not. That's been the way for the past few seasons. Brady just comes out looking better for it. We shall see what Brady can do with the same early season limitations on Allen running the football next season. They aren't going to rush Allen 160 times next season just to make Joe look good again. They better get him some WR help.

Not only is that a good short term solution..........it's what's best for Josh Allen long term. We need more of the 2020 Josh Allen. Dropping dimes from the pocket.

I think we knew the problem after 13 seconds. The Bills lack a true game changer on defense. The Chiefs have one in Chris Jones........and despite the Bills dominating the Chiefs D for most of that game last Sunday Jones came up big in a big moment. It's why I wouldn't be entirely shocked if the Bills took a swing at signing Danielle Hunter in UFA if he gets there. Despite their cap issues. They could bring him in with a $2M cap hit and push his big hits down the road sorta' like they did with Von. I'm not predicting it but if they are desperate to close the deal it wouldn't surprise me. I don't see this defense taking a big step without their version of TJ Watt, Aaron Donald or Chris Jones. Ed Oliver isn't going to be that guy, IMO.

I have my doubts that they extend him. This is a good offensive tackle draft class. I can see them drafting one and going back to the drawing board with a 2nd year 3rd-4th round pick battling Richard Gouraige for the RT job in 2025. I've probably always been more appreciative of Brown's progress than most and would love for him to eventually reach his athletic ceiling and become an Andrew Whitworth type and play a long career with Buffalo.......but I question his durability and more importantly the Bills have cap issues and you simply do not need an excellent RT to win a championship, IMO.

Yeah but I think the point is that expectations of Brown were unrealistic and his progress was not being measured against other similar RT's. It usually takes experienced college lineman several years to become a non-liability on the OL. Brown entered the league having played very little in college and having played 7 man football in HS. His progression, thru injury, has been fairly impressive.

There can only be one Mike Caldwell. He was a lefty and had a collection of hypnotic Jesus pieces to keep hitters off his middling fastball.

Great pass blocking at RT kinda' isn't a real thing in the NFL. He's become a better player than Jawaan Taylor...........who got paid $20M aav last offseason coming off a worse year than Brown had this year. I'm not predicting THAT kind of contract for Brown because his injury history and body type will raise enough concerns about durability..........but he's going to get PAID if he stays healthy next season...........because he's become a damn good RT relative to the rest of the RT's in the league.