BADOLBILZ

Collectively I think the rotation has probably helped them be more consistent and healthy late in the year. Individually, it almost has to have set back a guy like Epenesa. AJE was a very rare 5 star recruit for Iowa but was very slow to develop initially..........but when the light came on he became a different player instantly. Some players/people don't learn in a linear way........they don't really understand until they get a broader view.......and Epenesa seems like he might be that guy.

The upside for the Bills is having two stretch zone offenses in division helps simplify preparation. Hopefully the Bills rush offense gets away from stretch zone and is more like the late season version. The Tee Martin interview had to get one thinking about implementing more of the Ravens run design.......something McDermott never should have abandoned in the first place(for a stretch zone O with Dennison).

It's been a problem..........they haven't gotten the impact they probably hoped for from anyone they have signed or drafted. Yet. For all we know, Oliver takes his game up another level next season and turns into an All Pro consideration..........maybe Phillips is re-signed and continues his ascent........Groot, Basham and Epenesa could all have much bigger impacts all at the same time. Maybe one downside to all the rotation is that it might lengthen the learning curve a little bit versus accepting diminishing returns per snap in exchange for more learning reps.

You mean like you did with your "let's trade Devin Singletary or picks for Saquon Barkley" thread when Barkley has rarely been healthy in 2 years, has looked bad when he has been, and is guaranteed a massive $7.2M cap hit next year?

In fairness..........a lot of people hated the Josh Allen pick and thought he was going to suck. Daboll was basically the least successful OC in the NFL at each of his 3 previous stops/firings...........and I got the distinct impression from how Saban screamed and sneered at him on the sidelines that he was not impressed with him at Alabama and probably drove him to the airport himself to get rid of him. And a Josh Allen later he is now an NFL HC.

It felt like the first time he's become self-aware of his legacy and felt real pressure. Yips is definitely the way to describe it. Maybe that stupid play at the end of the half triggered something mentally. It's been a little disconcerting watching Mahomes come into the league and play like he carries no weight on his shoulders when it matters. That Mahomes half looked like one of those old fashioned choke jobs that would inevitably plague Steve Young, Jim Kelly, Dan Marino, Brett Favre or Peyton Manning at some point........it really was a career-first for him. Will be interesting to see if Burrow has his moment in the SB............I can certainly imagine Stafford throwing away a SB...........he threw away that NFCCG but Tart dropped it.

The quality of football yesterday at Arrowhead was a big dropoff from the prior week.......the two teams mostly played down to each others level. That performance by Cinci would have gotten them beaten handily by either Buffalo or KC the week before. Burrow gets a lot of credit but he threw a lot of passes into harms way compared to the level of QB play we saw the week before.

Yeah it took a WHOLE LOT to go right for Cinci and wrong for KC for that result to happen. But the big difference is that Cinci isn't married to one thing on defense..........the Bills ultimately are. No excuse to have players together for as long as they have had that back 7 and not be able to do what Cinci did in the second half. I'm sure you'll say it's the CB's but I think the lack of scheme diversity largely begins with Edmunds..........which is crazy because he should be an ultimate wildcard type of player with his size and athleticism..........but he plays the brain of the defense and might be the least instinctive player on the field.

If the Bills win in KC I suspect the Bills defeat Burrow and Cinci in Buffalo..........Allen was just too on fire..........Mahomes and Burrow didn't play up to his level yesterday...........it worked out for Cinci but also could have blown up on them if the Bills took care of business. But the Bills didn't really have a choice in the matter regarding playing to win in the finale...........they were playing for the division and a home game.............Bills didn't earn the right to choose who they played. Next year it's #1 seed or bust.

Payton has lost a lot of playoff games he should have won............I don't put too much stock into his takes in that regard. The problem with the Bills defense is that they just do what they do............they can't make broad adjustments for specific opponents. When you average out the back 7 of this defense.........they have collectively been in this defense for over 4 seasons.........an eternity in the NFL...........there is no excuse for them to not be EXTREMELY multiple at this point. Cinci's D isn't as efficient at execution from week to week............but they are known for being very opponent specific..........they basically rushed 3 and dropped 8 with a spy in the second half. It wasn't anything new either, it's what Belichick has done to Mahomes in the past. But the Bills just kept doing what wasn't working. They have a perfect spy candidate in the otherwise useless-vs-Mahomes Tremaine Edmunds. But apparently these players can only execute what they normally do and get very confused by change.........like the D they played in the final 13 seconds. Common sense should tell Levi that he's defending air and leaving a huge void for Kelce..........but instead they couldn't think their way thru an unusual situation because they aren't used to changing what they do.

Oh you got a regular poster in @Jay_Fixit insisting that your post is 100% wrong........that can be kept and thrown back in his face in just a few months. Usually the people with the blanket "that will never happen" takes are rando's who just appear out of nowhere only to disappear after they say something stupid. I remember saying that I thought the Bills were going to make a serious push to sign Mario Williams and some guy simply named @Kevin flipped out on me saying it would never happen without really explaining why............then he immediately disappeared from sight days later. That's usually how the summarily dismissed takes work........it's usually a rando who disappears or changes his name. It's definitely not a star-studded top 10 and with limited QB prospects it's a particularly low-value top of the draft.

I don't see Knox and the Bills in a position to agree to a contract in the range you are talking about............the Bills would probably take that gladly but Knox is going to be seeking in excess of $10M per year, IMO. He and his agent would argue that his arrow is going up and that he is one of the fastest TE's in the league. I like the idea of signing Gronk and using Knox more as the Y receiver and seeing how he handles that...........if returns aren't great early they could switch them around and work on getting Gronk more free releases from the slot. Also agree on drafting a TE either way.........this is a good draft for them and they might find that Knox doesn't take the next step to becoming a top 10 TE and being worth a $10M-$15M aav.

I agree in principle with this take..........but I am quite certain they aren't taking a $7.6M cap hit to keep Cole Beasley around next season. I could be wrong.........remember that Beane ate $8M that he could have saved by cutting Trent Murphy at the end of TC in 2020, so he's made very dubious cap decisions like that before. But they are just so up against the cap this time I think Beasley would be a huge luxury keep because of his on-field decline alone, even if his choices/antics weren't factored in . But what they really miss about John Brown is that he was the only player they had who could catch a screen pass flat footed at the LOS and burst past the defense for a long play/TD. He did it several times with the Bills. Williams, hopefully in a short time, could give them that back......plus signficantly more RAC ability in general........all in a full sized NFL receiver.

I agree with that. I do think he will retire. But the question is whether he is ready to walk away from the attention...........the last time he did it he rather quickly drifted out of the limelight despite the networks trying to push him initially.........and was on a trajectory toward co-hosting another Battle-bots re-boot. Bills are going to be playing a lot of high profile games..........but also Gronk back to Buffalo is a reality show in wait. Bills are over-due for a Hard Knocks appearance either way.........you know the NFL is going to push it on them soon............and he would be a perfect addition because he would draw a lot of the attention away from the inner-workings that McBeane would like to keep behind closed doors.

So.......just call him stupid instead of crazy? Beane tried to sign him last offseason. If time heals all wounds.........how was this one -12 months ago versus now?

Very nice gesture. But they need to understand when Daboll turns into Mike Mularkey 2.0 they can't get their money back. First first-time HC in the NFL after already being fired 3x as an assistant coach.

Derrick Henry has actually been bad.......shut down......... in EACH of his last 3 playoff games.........all losses, or course. They ran the ball just fine with a bunch of relative nobodies with him out..........and Foreman greatly outplayed him in their playoff game.........the Titans could save $9M on the cap if they cut Henry this offseason. Wouldn't rule it out.

Let's not forget that until the win in NE this season was generally viewed as a big disappointment and that the team at that point had been the most inconsistent team the NFL has seen since 1983 as measured by NFL DVOA. It wasn't all good. The insistence on that ineffective stretch zone run game was particularly frustrating. It all came together GREAT in the wildcard game and much of the divisional game..........but it was a frustrating season for the offense.

Well maybe but, for instance, the WR coach doesn't work for Josh.......he takes his orders from McDermott so if he leaves for a lateral position that would seem to be more about the HC. I'm not necessarily talking about just Dorsey............Josh has said he wanted Dorsey to stay and has been extremely complimentary.........and McDermott brought Dorsey in after he ended up at a relatively low level college job after the Panthers sh*t canned him(along with OC Mike Shula) after Cam Newton struggled for a couple years under his tutelage.

Fwiw John Clayton said that Pittsburgh and NYG ownership both told prospective HC candidates that they would not have DeShaun Watson on their teams under any circumstance. I think Russ would like to be in NY but not sure they are in a good place cap-wise to be able to trade for Russ.........pay Russ........and give him all of the players he would want to make the move.

Dude ran up about $100K in protocol fines(that the Bills had to self-report).......had a lousy year with anemic yardage per pass and RAC numbers.......screamed at McDermott on the sideline of the regular season finale. But you think he's only gone if he gets traded? You are on a roll today.

I think he retires too. But if he comes to Buffalo I'd expect something like the Emmanuel Sanders deal........a one year deal but with the cap hit split over two years with a voidable year in 2023.

If they want a mid-level TE Gronk is way out of their range...........he was 3rd in receiving yards per game for a TE(behind Mark Andrews and Kelce)....... 5th in yardage with over 800.......6th in yards per catch and 8th in TD's..........and of course he's always been an elite blocker.........he's closer to a top 5 TE in the league still.

Beane is the one who made a run at him in UFA last year............so better tell Beane about this video.........maybe he was unaware!

67 yards per game........nearly 15 yards per catch.........more RAC per reception than Kelce..........still super productive. He had a good game and "almost" made a leaping grab against Buffalo that was pretty unbelievable for a guy his size. If he doesn't come to Buffalo I hope he retires..........don't need him joining anyone else the Bills gotta' play.