BigBuff423

I just signed up for YouTube TV, but not for the NFL Ticket because I live in Bills' country where most of the 1:00 and 4:00 games are broadcast locally. I've tried dumping Spectrum altogether for quite some time, but again there is no high speed internet option in my area other than Spectrum. With that in mind, I ditched their box and used their streaming service for full "cable" tv with local channels this time last year. My promotional price is up in a few weeks, took a look at YouTube TV cost and offerings, along with being able to have a native app on my t.v., vs. needing a Roku for Spectrum, and that more 4K content is available through YouTube TV - but still not that much - and made the switch. I've only been using it for about a week and already love it. It's simple, unlimited DVR, better streaming service because Spectrum would go out often and can easily jump to the app without needing to choose a different HDMI in-put to get to Roku. I do have very fast internet, spend a little extra, and just invested in a new modem, but in the end I'll save money, with better quality streaming, and better service. So, in most cases you get nearly everything you'd get with a cable service, i.e. Spectrum, which for us include the local channels, at a slightly lower cost with better quality. I don't know what your experience would be or if it makes sense for your individual situation, but for someone who has loved ditching the box yet still getting "cable" service, I would suggest for anyone who loves sports and t.v., to at least do the homework to determine if it's right for them. JMO, and as always, Go Bills!

I said I would own it back then, so here is as good a place as any: I said that to save Draft capital, for the Bills to take Mason Rudolph in the 3rd Round because I thought with the players around him, he would good enough for the Bills to win playoff games. That said, I also believed he needed a year or two in the NFL and he was getting a little better until a concussion just ruined him. However, since he never (as of yet...what? there's still hope) lived up to my expectations and obviously Josh has, well ya know - been amazing since year 2 and outworked every other QB from that Draft - this is my bottomless pit take of a disaster. (humble bow and exit)

I'm glad he's back and football can be the focus again...whatever it was, it seems to be not big enough to stall the training. Although, as I noted in yesterday's post, this puzzles me as to why McD would use the terms "very concerned" because he doesn't do that often....it's a head scratcher.

"hysterical panicking..." is what you gleaned from my posts? I don't think it's hysterical when I simply stated, "if this goes on..." and indicated that should it continue and based on McD's statements, it's more than just, "Eh, he's driving his Ferrari around and doesn't want to stop" or "He overslept", etc....my point was simply that I didn't buy into any of this until today, when McD made his statement. Should he show up and practice tomorrow, this will not be an issue and I'll certainly question why McD would say he's "very concerned" when historically he's not made statements of that nature, but right now - it's a wait and see. That was all I said in my original post until someone decided to act childish and dismissive because I indicated there might be more to this than I (maybe others as well) originally thought.

"Be more dramatic."....when taken in context of McD's comments, I don't think so....he said he's "very concerned", which by extension should mean we could be very concerned. In the past, McD has made light of players' absences from practices or workouts, but this didn't feel like that when you listen to his comment(s). It is JMO, but that was conveyed in a message to the media / public. However, I also think being dismissive or condescending isn't really productive to the conversation either. So....

I'm normally someone in the camp of "this is a non-story", but not this time. The OTAs are voluntary, the perceived rift with Josh or the staff seemed to be disappointment with the outcome not necessarily with the team, but this begins to raise some red flags. If it carries on, I think it's something Beane and McD need to actively address, not just with Diggs, but with the team and fans as a whole. I don't mean bringing personal business out in the open, but it has to be more than just "I'm not going to talk about that" type of approach. Also, this feels like an unfortunate collision course with DHop timeline and other options for Diggs in the market. If it continues....if not, and it's just some personal stuff Diggs has going on, so be it and I'm good....otherwise, this can't distract the team from a rare opportunity to truly make the legitimate run at the title.

Given Saleh's rise in coaching acumen, I do believe the Jets will be a very good team, but I don't understand why the Bills are slated to be just above .500....I can see a dog fight among Miami, Jets and Bills resulting in a total lower win count, but I just don't think it results in mediocrity. Some of these things feel like talking heads who merely want to look like they're ahead of the curve with their projections and hedging for accolades later in the season.

I will say I subscribe to Peacock but the picture on Sunday night football is fantastic!

So, the issue with this in my mind is that good talent can be found all over the board. Cody Ford was a trade up and that didn't pan out so well, but Milano was a 5th, T. Johnson was a 4th, Shakir was a 5th (jury is still out, but looks promising), and there are a number of others across the league. So, while I can appreciate the intent to mitigate risk, honestly, I think it's more about being willing to accept the reality of certain circumstances. For example, we all know Teller shouldn't have been traded but that was because Beane believed he invested money into Spain and Feliciano. Not that either of them were terrible, but even Beane acknowledged in interviews that he wasn't "patient enough" to let Teller develop. To me, that's the issue. Once you unearth talent, you MUST develop them. No player is showing up to the NFL at their ceiling, no matter how good they might be and it takes coaching, patience, and a willingness by the player to learn. On the other hand you have McD who wants to slow-walk every player into a position. Milano took 10 weeks to get in to game play and Shakir took a similar path, somewhat ironically they were both 5th Rounders. Beane just needs to keep Drafting, McD and his staff need to keep coaching and taking some calculated risks putting the Rookies on the field.

So, while I don't agree that the Defensive performance is on McD's shoulders because as others have said Frazier takes the credit AND the ownership for when responsibility needs to be assigned. However, what IS on McD is the decision to keep / fire / let walk the coaches and coordinators that need to be improved. If this was the one year when the Bills D stunk the bed with all of the injuries and adversity, I could certainly make the case for giving Frazier and the Defense a pass, but we all know that's just not true. So, a new Defensive Coordinator, IMHO, is necessary to take the next step. Plus, if this becomes a rinse-cycle-repeat issue for the Defense, THEN McD's head is on the block because he's permitted it and didn't make the changes a HC needs to make for improvement. I'm also in the camp that wasn't sure Dorsey could do it, and I still don't think he can - so I'm ready for a new Offensive mind before we waste Josh's prime years. BUT, while I don't "like" keeping Dorsey, there is a stronger case for giving him a year to grow into the role after having some success.

With Cook as the primary, and Hymes as the lead back-up and with a similar skill-set, I don't believe investing ANY FA money into the RB position makes sense. I think Drafting a viable RB somewhere between the 5th and 7th Round who is a complementary type RB to both of those players is wisest thing to do. Also, the NFL, including last year, is littered with good and productive RBs who were drafted in those rounds and given the other needs of the team to be addressed via FA, I don't think it's prudent to expend resources in a RB outside of the Draft, unless it were a trade for a similar Draft pick value.

To each his own, but I have nearly every streaming service available (Apple TV+ and Acorn are the only two I can think of I don't have) plus Spectrum via the TV app on Roku which is even better than owning the box because it come through in 4K content, where the box is compressed to 720p at best. I pay premium for all streaming services and that's why you pay the premium, to avoid ads. I don't see one, at all. Now, you can argue I'm nuts to spend all that money on all those services, but IMO, it's worth it. I have the 500mbps service through Spectrum, and a wifi-6 mesh router with a satellite. My main OLED tv is connected via ethernet and my other OLED tvs go via wifi and everything is in stunning picture and quality and I wouldn't change a thing. I experimented with YouTube t.v. and personally, I liked it. The wife didn't because the ONE channel they're missing, is the ONE channel she said she must have - A&E. Hulu has A&E, but not live and not with DVR service, so that's my hang up, but with the Spectrum TV app on a Roku, which is also hardwired to main tv, is the best experience I've had with Spectrum, and those greedy S.O.B.s roast my chestnuts. So, while I understand the reluctance, and it can take some getting used to for moving or flipping between stations or streaming mediums, the quality for the price can't be beat. Peacock is $100 for the year and that's their premium service and the same for Paramount+, which carries the local Bills games. During the playoffs when the Bills played on CBS, the games were just visually impressive and because of the high bandwidth, there was no pixelation or stutter, it was beautiful. Until they lost....but alas, this is just a really long, way too long, way of saying cost isn't super expensive with premium tiers and you avoid the ads and get better quality, just something to consider.

Dick Jauron would like a word on this copyright infringement...

Your initial scenario was Any Reid's entire career until Mahomes...so, I'd say that if a good HC keeps getting good QBs and planning, strategy, coaching, culture, etc. they will eventually win the Super Bowl. To your question, it's easy to say Super Bowl today because we've watched three consecutive great seasons and missed the one win that gets that monkey off the back. But, when you watch 20 years of mediocre to putrid football, and every Sunday / Monday you're hoping for a good team to be enjoyable to watch and get dog excrement, you also see the virtue of watching a good to great team play excellent football, find ways to win, make big plays and have fun for most of those weekends, even if it means a win or two in the playoffs only to exit early. So, I'll take option one in this game, but in reality I truly believe if option one is reality, it eventually leads to option #2.

If it's the same money and there's a good OT available, I'm spending my money there....drafting LB to replace Edmunds and seeing what productivity is there in Bernard.

I made this statement in the Sean Payton thread, but go get Jim Harbaugh. Pay whatever and get it done. He could build a team to win in Buffalo with Josh at the helm and I can guarantee you, that team would not be soft. Edit: total whiff on my part as I confused the Jim and John of the Harbaugh family...I've fixed it.

If we're talking pipe dreams for HC, the one that makes the most sense for a variety of reasons, including his likelihood to scheme fit for the Buffalo weather, overturn the roster, and put some hard-hitting back into the trenches: Jim Harbaugh. If you really want to shake things up, and get a fast, furious Defense, a solid running game built for the current Buffalo conditions and build off of Allen's strengths, it's Harbaugh all day. I've been a McD fan since he arrived, but if we're going all in on a drastic change, this is the one.

Listen, all I needed to see on the Saffold front was during the Cincy game he missed his block, looked over his shoulder to see his guy on the way to Josh Allen and stood there...I'm sure this has been a long, grueling and emotionally draining season. But with the season on the line, and your QB in the bullseye for a hit, you do *something*, you try *something*, you respond *somehow*....and do what you can as a teammate to protect your QB and support your team. So, there's the exit door Mr. Saffold, wish you the best of luck to you in your next venture.

I'm good with keeping McDermott, if he can acknowledge the deficiencies in Defensive scheme and Offensive scheme. I'd prefer to let Frazier and Dorsey go and get more innovative on both sides of the ball and he does need to do better with managing in-game situations. That said, he's done a lot for the team over the last six years and I can see that value. Plus, how he's handled the adversity of the snow game, Hamlin, etc. showed solid leadership. It's just the football side of things I have my concerns regarding those aforementioned decisions.

crossing my fingers and wishing upon a star....

At this point, I don't care what the fix is...just fix it. I will say I think Beane has Drafted good players, but McDermott is reluctant to put them in...Shakir is a good WR and he's had flashes, but he needed time on the field to really show it. I think it's right not to re-sign Poyer, I didn't agree with the Hyde extension, and the Offensive Line needs the majority of attention, but Elam not playing while Dane was getting cooked is on McDermott. McKenzie the fumble-drops machine playing over Shakir is on McDermott. The really crappy Offensive play-calling in critical situations is on Dorsey and his continued lack of performance without accountability is on McDermott. I've been a McDermott fan since his arrival and he was the perfect coach for what happened with Hamlin, but really I question his decisions over the last two years in regards to how he adapts. I think we've seen the influence Daboll had on the Offense and Josh and rightfully, I think McDermott gave Daboll total control over the Offense. But, it was his job to find the right Coordinator for the job and while I appreciate Josh's in-put, it's not Josh's job that's on the line - it's McDermott's if the Offense failed. And it did. Too often in critical moments. So, fire whomever - I would keep Beane for the aforementioned reasons - but it's time for change. Edit: I also think it's time for the Bills to stop granting permission for interviews to Coordinators until they're done. It's a distraction and it keeps happening which I think, at least to some small degree, influences the preparation and focus of the Coordinators for the playoff game.

Edmunds has been very good all year, and agree he had his best game this year yesterday. Let's also remember, the young man is only 24 years old! He's just rounding into his full development in so many ways and has 5 years of NFL experience in his pocket. This is exciting for him and for the Bills. If we can find a way to retain him in the off-season, we absolutely should do that...we either believe we pay our Draft picks once they've shown they can be worth the money, or we don't actually believe what we talk about on this board. He was young, needing NFL coaching and development, and time to mature. He's done that. Pay him before you hand out another contract to someone else outside the organization. JMO.

Beane is very skilled in Cap management, I'm over here just sipping my brew knowing he's got it handled...I'm sure that's one reason why Poyer wasn't extended before or during the season. He has a plan. He always does. So, I'm good...I know this team, somehow will only be better next year and that's even if the Bills win the whole damn thing...

Out of those two options, I'd take Indy.

Coach Tuesday, I completely disagree with your original thoughts / opinions regarding Sean McDermott as a Head Coach, but that's why these are opinions. I will say I thought McDermott has been a strong C.O.Y. candidate a couple times since his arrival in 2017, but this year is certainly one that is his most deserving. Greatness is born out of the crucible of hardship and opportunity. McDermott came out of that showing his ability to lead in a moment of crisis, maintaining focus on the issues that truly matter and seizing a moment to demonstrate incredible conviction of character. His integrity was put on a national stage and he didn't blink. He stood by what he thoroughly believed was right for his player, his team, and his identity of self and the men followed. In their moments of anguish and fear, they followed him. That speaks volumes even as he's helped support his team to overcome the other monumental barriers to his team's success this year as others have mentioned in addition to coaching a strong team and helping them get through hard games. If weren't for a heat-stroke induced team in Miami, and slip of the fingers on a goal line, it's very possible the Bills would have already secured the #1 AFC seed two weeks ago. Remarkable job amidst the significant challenges the team has faced. In the end, for similar reasons but not quite the leap for the OP, I agree with Coach Tuesday as I'm sure many of us do...hand the man the award, he's earned it.