BADOLBILZ

As I said before you tried to straw-man me..........the first game they lost AFTER the injury was KC. When White got hurt in Tampa they were already being blow torched by the Bucs offense.........mainly because they were playing uninspired football as they had been doing consistently for 2 months. They actually began playing better WITHOUT him.........which isn't to say that he's not a tremendous player but rather it underscores that the Bills secondary isn't about dynamic matchup athletes..........it's about executing the assignments and minimizing big plays. Reality is that they tied both of those games and lost in OT...........it isn't OBVIOUS that secondary play cost them those games..........not at all really.

I am envisioning some old Flutopians re-plating their old jerseys and then realizing after the fact what they've done.

Yeah the question with Gilmore is does he have another big payday in him or is he like Richard Sherman..........All Pro one year.........injured for much of the next.........then he was struggling to get a good paying gig. Gilmore is actually coming off two injury plagued/marred seasons........they were both last "All Pro" in 2019. It took some off-field sh*t to reduce Sherman to a league minimum status player but it's not out of the question that Gilmore isn't seeing offers anywhere close to what he was expecting.

So we are in agreement that expecting 1st and 2nd round rookies to be difference makers in the defense.........thereby addressing the perceived immediate need for pass rush........did not fix the problem. Personally, I think the lack of finish in the pass rush was the biggest problem for the Bills defense in their loss to KC............not the cornerback play. All Pro quality Tre White on his best day can't cover Tyreek Hill for 4 seconds........as evidenced by the scorching Hill gave him in the AFCCG in January 2021. Having a stud CB out there made zero difference against Mahomes without effective pass rush. Now with Von Miller and Settle/Phillips and the developing young DE's that has been HEAVILY addressed the past 2 offseasons. The Bills defensive secondary is what it is though.......heavy zone based......and it's probably not an accident that players who know their limitations and their role in the defense have thrived in it. Maybe Tre White doesn't come back to the All Pro form he was playing at last season.........but could he come back and play his role as well as Levi Wallace until he gets there? I think so. And that was good enough to be a #1 ranked defense.........the first game the Bills lost after the White injury game was the last one. I'm not saying don't draft or sign any CB's but there are positions on the team where elite early round traits actually do make a big difference............and CB hasn't been one of those in the McDefense..........and once you get past those early rounds then it goes back to what Beane said..........can draft picks beat out the experienced young players they have on the roster?

Did drafting two DE's in round 1 and 2 last season "ensure" that the pass rush would be strong? No it did not..........throwing numbers at a perceived problem in the draft doesn't guarantee anything. Beane is a confidence man at the mic.........so we know he's not afraid to bald-face lie to the fans or media in his job............but I do believe him when he says that he didn't select a CB early in the draft last year because he didn't think any of them could beat out Dane Jackson. McBeane have had undrafted Levi Wallace and late rounder Dane Jackson starting a lot of games with great success the past couple seasons...........they like some of their low pedigree reserves including toolsy Nick McCloud who ran a 4.37 at the ND pro day last year and has 32" arms. Adding 3 new CB's to the existing mix of White/Jackson/Johnson/Neal/Lewis/McCloud/Griffin isn't out of the question but it also could end up causing a roster crunch and/or leaving the Bills with a disgruntled vet on the bench and a high draft pick struggling to get playing time ahead of more experienced young players who have been in the system. If they eschew BPA to throw numbers at CB that would be a mistake.

Guard is the Bills weakest position..........lesser quality starters and zero depth. Recovering Tre White > last leg Rodger Saffold Dane Jackson = Ryan Bates Taron Johnson.......very good slot CB........Siran Neal.......promising slot CB Lewis and McCloud are more promising in the Bills D system than are lousy Cody Ford and Greg Mancz as backups in the Bills zone blocking system(Boettger with torn achilles on 300# frame probably starts year on IR)

Just like Allen makes up for some poor blocking with his escapability...........it's reasonable to hope that the massive investments in the pass rush this offseason will do a better job of protecting the secondary. As for Allen looking better with worse blocking........his yards per pass attempt dropped a full yard this past season due to that pressure and the Bills offense scored less points than in 2020...........so that is a case of looks being very deceiving if that's the way some people feel. I get that people fear the CB situation but those are mainly the same people who threw up their hands when White got injured and declared that the team wouldn't even make the playoffs and that the SB dreams were totally over. As it turns out they could have easily won the SB without White. And there were some pretty shaky CB's playing in the championship games and SB..........it's not like those games were showcases of top CB play.

Why would they be? Giving the football to the best RB in the league gives you less production per play than keeping it in the hands of a top QB and letting him throw it. It's math. Josh Allen had a down year throwing the ball last season and he averaged about 7 yards every time he threw the ball, he should get back to about 8 this year. Taylor is the best RB in the NFL and averaged only 5.5 every time he ran it. And as tremendous as he was as a receiver his 9 ypc would be extremely low for a receiver........like 3 broken ribs, missing tooth, fighting with the league office Cole Beasley low. So if every RB touch is 2.5-3.5 yards less per play than every QB pass attempt...........then if you have a star RB and give him 10 more touches per game because he is a star than you would the 4.7 ypc Devin Singletary.......your net gain on the ground is about 8 yards more and your net loss in the air is 25-35 yards. Overall.......a net loss of 17-27 yards of offense. And that's assuming that running the ball doesn't kill some of those drives outright...........or that it's still that easy to run the ball in the wratched up intensity of the playoffs(Henry and Taylor and Alvin Kamara have had much lower production per play in the playoffs).

That hasn't actually happened in decades of NFL football.

@Ridgewaycynic2013 foreshadowed this earlier this week

IMO Linderbaum was always one of those easy/lazy first round mocks.........kinda' like Shaq Lawson or AJ Epenesa. It only takes one team to pull the trigger....see Shaq........but if a much better all around center prospect like Creed Humphrey can fall to round 2 then I don't see why a scheme specific guy like Linderbaum should have been considered a lock in round 1.

Beane doesn't just kick tires he got to know the bounce to ounce ratio.

It's a coin flip whether a 6th-7th rounder will be an equally impactful pro as this guy.........heads is yes tails is nope.

I do tend to think they will try to run the ball more often.........Dorsey was a game manager QB at The U who lived off the protection of a strong running game and play action throws to TE's with occasional deep shots to then wide open receivers. It got him a ring and is likely still part of his DNA, at least. I'm not entirely against that with Allen.......I think he could be great in a 2 TE offense......... but it is different than what he's mostly done under Daboll. A heavy 12 personnel look might alleviate some of the issues they had with the lack of RAC while being a spread offense. The offense the Bills ran under Daboll eventually required someone to make a play on a short pass in the backfield or within a few yards of the LOS and they didn't have that last season..........so they pulled the emergency lever and started running Allen. But even in 12 personnel.....assuming Knox and Howard both perform admirably.........they still need players who can make explosive plays in the passing game to make it work at a 30 ppg level. That's Diggs and Davis right now.........but Davis hasn't done it week in and out yet and the next name on the X/Z receiver list is Kumerow and that ain't good enough.

I think the question of whether Tre White will return to form is no less of a mystery than whether Gabe Davis will elevate his consistency to become a 1,000 yard type receiver to fill the numbers void with the departures of Beasley/Sanders. Davis doing THAT is probably more NEEDED than White returning to All Pro form in a defense that protects it's corners schematically.

I don't know exactly how many but I don't think it's very unusual nor does it say anything about the viability of doing that. Jason Peters and Dion Dawkins are both examples and if the Bills didn't have a gaping hole at LT at the time then Cordy Glenn might have started at guard as well. It's more circumstance than anything else, IMO. Jonas Jennings blocked Peters initially, Glenn blocked Dion initially. Dion Dawkins game declining some this season or next wouldn't be a huge shock.......he's not a generational talent at LT he's been kinda' defying the odds as a shorter, portlier LT because his feet have covered for his less than ideal frame. When the feet go it will likely be a fast fall or a move to guard.

He's very good. I think there is a perception that if it were down to Dotson or CB Andrew Booth Jr...........that Booth is obviously the better/more valuable asset. I'm not sure that's the case. I don't really know why this has happened exactly........the easy answer is to say that offense is more important than defense............. but WR has eclipsed CB in terms of premium salary expectations. I thought the very top CB and WR contracts would be mirror images at this point in NFL history but that's not what is happening. I know JC Jackson seemed to take a bad deal from the LAC but in general CB's aren't getting $20M+ aav deals...........top WR's are. If a WR is even he's leavin' even applies to cash value of the position now.

If you rock the neck beard you really should have a brim on your hat, IMO.

A WR in round 1.........nowadays...........I would expect to rely upon them immediately. They have been coming in hot for a while now and bearing in mind that Gabriel Davis was WR4 in 2020 and put up 600 yards and 7 TD's I would expect plenty of opportunity for a first round rookie WR to make an impact.

I would say the two biggest foundational needs at this point are a future LT who can play well at guard or RT right now...........and a WR1 with great speed and/or RAC ability. Deficient blocking and a lack of RAC ability from the WR corps cost them regular season games and subsequently home field advantage last year.........but beyond that those are 2 of the 4 most important positions on the roster(QB1/PassRusher1/LT1/WR1) and they can't allow those expensive and difficult to re-stock positions to decline. Those players are what round 1 and to a good extent round 2 are for, IMO. Everything else is a clear notch or more below in priority for this team. They really don't NEED another stud cover corner to play in their zone scheme.........if it happens organically.........say you draft and develop a guy with both man and zone skills in the mid rounds.........great.........but unless the defense is going to make a fundamental change to more man coverage you don't really NEED two pro bowl cover guys in this system. Not saying Andrew Booth wouldn't be worth the pick at #25.........but I'd hope to address the positions where the individual skill level would be more impactful for the team going forward.

My concern would be that they aren't totally committed to keeping elite talent around Allen..........that now they think he is good enough that he should be able to elevate everyone around him on the offensive side and that they will always find an excuse to focus premium assets on defense. Basically the Green Bay treatment. I'd say that the odds favor them being able to get more help at receiver at #25 than at corner. But the question may be who do you think will be the better pro.........Andrew Booth or Chris Olave/Jahan Dotson/Treylon Burks/Christian Watson/George Pickens(basically whoever one thinks is the better WR prospect likely to be there)? If the answer is definitely Booth then that should be the pick.........but if not and Booth is just prioritized there because of the perception that the defense is just one piece away from being "totally set" then that's probably the wrong way to go about making that decision. If it's a toss up then I favor the Josh Allen side of the equation........that's the way it should be and it's also the side of the ball that's easier to maintain consistency on.

The Bills offense took a significant step back last regular season.........coming off the loss to NE......the 3rd loss in 5 games, all scoring in the teens.......it was becoming a crisis situation. That's when they turned to the unsustainable run-Josh offense. The Bills defense ranked #1 in 2021. Yet the vast majority of dollars spent in UFA have gone to the defensive side of the ball. 4 legitimate long term deals for DL.........the only actual multi-year deal on offensive side was Bates.......and that was forced by Beane misplaying his hand with the tender. (not saying it won't pay off long term but I don't think for a minute he planned on paying Bates what he had to)

People might forget the circumstances around all those late season runs by Allen.........they were still happening AFTER he injured his toe in Tampa. It was an act of desperation to stay in playoff position. They tried to not run him against Carolina........it was obvious........but the pressure the OL was allowing(including 4 sacks that day) without using Allen as a hammer on the ground was defeating that purpose. What was really telling were the 15 rushes against lowly Atlanta. It was a clear admission that their offense wasn't working right without designed QB runs. The finale against the Jets was a cake-walk and still he had 5 rushes somehow. They ran Allen 6 times in just 7 series in the dominating win over NE in the WC game but it was back to 11 in KC. It was pretty obvious at the time that running Allen more was a reaction to games where they scored just 9, 15 and 10 points in losses during the 5 game stretch that culminated with the home loss in NE (a game where one of the immediate take aways in hindsight was that they should have used Allen for 10-15 rushes). I do agree they need to run the ball more effectively.....not necessarily more........and I'd like to see more 12 personnel because Allen has been great out of play action...........but I'm not impressed with their OL talent or depth and, as I've said, if Gabe Davis spends half the season hobbled by a foot/ankle injury for a 3rd straight season then that probably means Jake Kumerow playing a lot of snaps outside if they don't get a WR in rounds 1-3. They need to add a potential WR1 and some RAC ability to this WR corps and it's a good draft to do it.

IMO Dane Jackson is as good of a CB as Ryan Bates is a guard. Both somewhat unproven but have shown really good things that leave one to think they can be adequate+ starters in their respective schemes. And Tre White is more likely to come back and play at a high level than Rodger Saffold is at this point........because White is a better, younger player. My confidence is Saffold is low.......if he comes off the field injured during every game at the Ralph like he did in TN last year he will draw the ire of Bills fans for eating up precious cap space. I do expect a veteran signing at CB as well.........which will be a better player/fit than Greg Mancz or Cody Ford as the Bills backup interior OL........those players STINK and I wouldn't be surprised if neither made the roster. And let me re-iterate that the Bills had a tremendous pass defense last season......even after White went down.........but the Bills OL allowed significantly more combined sacks/pressures than the much maligned Bengals OL in 2021. It's telling, IMO that people think the guard position is all set while CB is such an obvious need. So need is clearly a relative term. I think they NEED to get better at both positions but that they can address both of those positions AFTER rounds 1 and 2. Neither position requires elite talent in the Bills offensive and defensive schemes. I won't be broken up if they address CB in the first 2 rounds...........but the #1 job of ANY organization should be to protect and improve the performance conditions for their QB and they have not done that so far this offseason, IMO. Beane said as much after the season was over but he also paid a lot of lip service LAST offseason to addressing issues about team speed and then went out and added Emmanuel Sanders.

Over a 4 game stretch Allen ran the ball 42 times........after the home NE loss (6) and before the finale against the uncompetitive Jets(5).......that's clearly what I was talking about and you should remember that. In the middle of that stretch of 4 games they tried to have Allen just throw from the pocket against Carolina, the 3 rush game, but it turned into one of his worst passing games of the year and he was sacked 4 times........so it was back to QB runs. They clearly realized that the offense wasn't working well enough to beat a good team without using Allen like RB1...........this realization after scoring just 9 points in Jax and 15 points and 10 points against Indy and NE in losses at home over a 5 game stretch. Things WERE NOT going well on offense until Josh started pounding the rock. And yes right now the Bills are the betting favorites..........not the #1 team in the NFL........KC was the betting favorite this time last season and didn't reach the SB. Didn't you have a large wager on the Bills win total that went to hell because of that offensive slump at mid-season which was mainly due to the combination of poor OL play and a lack of RAC ability in the receiving corps?