hondo in seattle

I very rarely wish ill on people, but I confess that I rooted for Manziel to fail in the NFL. The stories of Johnny's partying, laziness, greed, and so forth made me dislike the guy. There are so many good kids doing things right who deserve success. I wanted them to succeed instead of him. Now I only wish him well. I hope he gets the help he needs and has the strength to follow a healthier, happier path.

According to Wikipedia, the first mention of the "12th man" occurred in 1900 at the University of Minnesota. Many fan bases have been called the "12th man" since. Are we honoring them too by putting "12th man" on the wall? I like changing what's on the wall to "Bills Mafia" because there's only one Bills Mafia. Additionally, the "12th man" is sexist and leaves out the Mafia Babes and our other female fans.

There are Bills fans who want McD fired. But I believe the biggest 'mistake' made by anyone in the organization is Beane's failure to build a good OL. Both teams in last year's SB had good OLs. Ours was poor. We weren't in last year's SB for a number of reasons and one of them was our roster wasn't among the best, particularly at OL. MLB might be the one position group that's worst this year than last. But OL is the position group that makes me think a Lombardi is - once again - unlikely.

The video was compelling. I didn't remember us getting screwed so badly.

When we signed Sherfield, I thought he'd be in the slot conversation. Apparently not.

Agreed! If we had the best OL in the league, we'd terrorize defenses. I'm humbly hoping we simply achieve mediocrity this year, which would be an improvement over the last few years. But I'm worried we won't even attain that.

I'm not sure why this thread exists.

Gonzo, I wish a great time in Buffalo. I hope the team puts on a show and you find the city agreeable. Don't forget to ARRIVE EARLY at the game. You don't want to miss out on the tailgating!

I agree with much that's already been said. Public transportation probably isn't as convenient as what you're used to. Rent a car if you can. I highly doubt if the food scene in Buffalo is as interesting as BA but I would recommend trying the local foods: Buffalo Wings and, less famously, Beef on Weck. Also, as has been mentioned, the pizza in Buffalo is very good if you go to the right place. I disagree with Machine Gun Kelly and would not recommend Mighty Taco. It's a local Mexican-American chain that used to be good decades ago, but IMHO has mostly deteriorated into Taco Bell. Niagara Falls is great. Ride the "Maid of the Mist' when you're there to really experience the grandeur and beauty of the falls. If visiting on the American side, take a walk out to Goal Island and visit: Terrapin Point, the Three Sisters, Cave of the Wind, and Luna Island. Other sights worth seeing depend on your interests. Many people consider Buffalo a 2nd or 3rd rate city. But that wasn't always the case. A hundred plus years ago, Buffalo was one of the largest, wealthiest, most exciting cities in the States. Architectural remnants, often decaying, of Buffalo's former glory are still standing. Frank Lloyd Wright (America's greatest architect) designed a house in Buffalo you can visit and there's another Wright house about a half-hour outside the city. There are other old buildings in Buffalo that were designed and built by prominent architects. Btw, there's a good Bills gift shop next to the stadium.

Tyler Dunne wrote a really nice article about Sherfield a few months ago: https://www.golongtd.com/p/the-trent-sherfield-prophecy

Whenever he's asked, he stays he's not going to rush things. To me, that means he's not playing at the beginning of the season. I'll guess Week 6.

Agreed. Although the starting lineup isn't much different; I think the depth of our receiving corps is much better than last year.

I barely knew who Sherfield was when we signed him. So I read some articles and watched some highlights and came away impressed. Last year a healthy Sherfield might have been better than a gimpy Gabe. But this season? Unless Sherfield wins the slot position, I don't see how he starts. And even if McD and Dorsey award him the slot position, he'd still be sharing reps there with Shakir, Harty and Kincaid. It's hard to see Sherfield playing a major role this year if we stay healthy. But if someone ahead of him gets hurt, we'll be really glad we have him. Otherwise, he's going to have trouble competing for targets with folks we're more invested in. As SWR mentions, if Sherfield continues to do well, he could be a cheaper-than-Gabe WR#2 option in 2024. Though Beene and McD both seem to love Davis.

Motor had some talent, for sure. But neither his vision, elusiveness, nor power were elite. I personally think his 4.7 YPC was primarily a result of the Bills system. Defenses knew the Bills are a passing offense. OCs schemed for Josh. Opposing DE's set their sights on Josh. LBs took a backward step first, expecting pass. The D was probably aligned in a pass defense of some kind, nickel or dime. And they were only worried about one thing: stopping Allen. Not only was Josh's arm a threat, but so were his legs. In fact, Josh was the only running threat opponents took seriously when Motor was here. Motor was an afterthought. We were never going to win a game on the strength of his running, so defenses didn't prioritize him. I liked Motor for his eponymous motor. But I guess you can count me as one of the people who didn't give him enough credit. I hope Motor does well, post-Buffalo, but we'll see. Here in Buffalo, I think the backfield is better this year than last - though I'm bummed Nyheim got hurt.

I have the same concern. But I remind myself that we drafted a man-coverage CB for a zone defense. There's bound to be a learning curve.

My favorite Bills coach of all time. So far.

If you had asked me at the beginning of last season to write up my scouting report of Doyle, it would have consisted of one word: "Sucks." But the Miami game changed everything for me. Not that he played well; he didn't. But that he played at all with a torn ACL was impressive - what a teammate. Now my one-word scouting report is: "Warrior." I'm rooting for him!

As a fan, it's hard to evaluate coordinators because we often don't know how much they're running their own show and how much they're just carrying out the directives of the HC. Based on what I've read from players and coaches, I think Hacket is a smart football guy. He knows schemes and x's and o's. He failed in Buffalo partly due to a lack of roster talent, partly due to his own inexperience at that time, and partly because Marrone was running the offense, not Hacket. The idea Hacket continues to get jobs because of nepotism is silly. From what I've read, he's learned and grown since his time in Buffalo. I just can't imagine that Saleh hired Hacket as his OC because he liked Hacket's dad (did he even know dad?). Saleh is an intelligent coach who'd committed to winning and clearly thinks Hacket brings something to the table. And Saleh would know Hacket's attributes more than any of us. But I have read that Hacket is not very authoritative. This works for Rodgers who wants a say in the offense. It didn't work in Denver where the team needed a stronger hand. I was fascinated by Payton's blunt assessment. You usually don't hear coaches speak so frankly about other coaches. But it bothered me too. I believe in human courtesy and kindness - both of which were lacking in Payton's commentary. But there could be a plus side to Buffalo. Obviously, credibility is important in a coordinator. Payton, with his ring, is a respected voice around the league and the Jets players are certainly aware of his remarks. If the offense sputters, there will be some muttering, "Payton was right." Doubt and discontent often lead to disunity and poor execution.

40 interceptions ties him for 78th all-time. I wish I was top 100 all-time at something. But it's probably not good enough to ever get Butch into the Hall. Then again, Roger Wehrli, also finished his career with 40 picks and he was able to earn a spot in Canton.

I agree with you nearly 100%. But I think we have to acknowledge a lot of uncertainty. Will Josh's UCL become a recurring problem? Will Dorsey actually get better? Will McD trying to wear two hats (HC & DC) at once prove to be a mistake? Will our banged-up, aging DBs return to peak form? How much of an impact will Kincaid have in his rookie year? Can Von stay healthy? If so, at what level of productivity? How good will Shakir, Harty, and Sherfield be? The OL seems improved but can it rise all the way to the level of averageness? Will MLB end up being the exploitable Achilles heel of this defense? Who's going to get hurt? (Note: I've been a Bills fan for 40+ years so I've been trained to worry).

Weird, because last season I did NOT think we were set with Diggs, Davis, and Crowder. When you're a passing team and 2 of the 3 starting wideouts are new, you have to have some worries and I did. I was also worried about our depth at wideout. I know some, like me, didn't expect much from Cook as a receiving threat because we expected Motor to be the in backfield most of the time. This year, I'm worried again but perhaps not as much. I don't know if the starting three are any better, but I think maybe so. I think Gabe's ankle was a true issue last year and he'll be somewhat better. And I think whoever plays in the slot will probably be an upgrade over McKenzie. Where I feel best about things is the depth at WR. I think the backups this year will be much better than last year. I like Sherfield and Harty and believe Shakir will be better in his sophomore campaign. And then there's Kincaid who's not a WR but will presumably play in the slot sometimes. Whatever you call him, he's another weapon for Dorsey's passing attack. But Diggs is the only star receiver and the only ball-catcher who's truly proven himself in this offense. So, yet again, I worry. 50 years of Bills fandom have taught me that worrying is always appropriate.

Bills stuff shows up in my news feed. But mostly I get updates here. I don't need to know the minute something happens. Usually, I find out in an hour or so and that's good enough. In fact, finding out the same day is good enough for me.

What was Bill Walsh's record without Young and Montana? What was Paul Brown's record without Otto Graham or Jim Brown? Joe Gibbs won three Super Bowls during his first stint with the Redskins. He finished with a losing record in his second stint. Vince Lombardi didn't light the world on fire when he left Green Bay. Coaches are important. But they aren't genetic scientists. They can't edit genomes. A coach can get a team to perform at their best - but that still might not be good enough.

Sadly, I don't know if this is a good sign or not. She has aphasia. They can easily load her up into the car and take her to camp, aphasia or not. Maybe she's doing well physically. I don't know. But just because she's at camp doesn't mean she's doing well cognitively. Though I'm praying for the best.

As others have pointed out, some of the very best offenses have two elite receiving threats. Back in the Bills Super Bowl era, we did as well. Not now. Today, we have a solid group of wideouts but only one is a star. Dorsey has enough horsepower to make this go but, ideally, there'd be a 1B in the mix and there isn't. Unless Gabe's ankle was truly a significant problem last year and he reaches new heights this season. And since that's our only affordable hope for a 1B, that's what we gotta run with this year. My fingers are crossed. But I'm going to commit heresy here: Maybe Von Miller was a mistake. I love the man, but we dropped a lot of loose change for an aging DE. You have to consider the opportunity cost. Maybe if we hadn't signed Von, we'd have been able to sign a 1B WR and build up our offensive line.