hondo in seattle

I'm both nervous and excited about the passing game in 2023. I'm nervous because I do worry about the lack of a true #2 and I'm not sure Gabe will be any better this year than last. But I do think that we have a solid group overall and Dorsey has some weapons for his offense. I don't think Kincaid will be an immediate force, but I do think he adds something to our offense that we hadn't had before. He's a big, sure-handed, and a fluid route runner who's both skilled and comfortable working the middle of the field. I think Harty and Sherfield are better than the inconsistent McKenzie and injured Crowder who they replace. Shakir should be better with a full season under his belt. Both Cook and Hines can catch out of the backfield and I'm hoping Dorsey integrates the backs into the passing game better this year, particularly as outlet receivers. An improved OL will give a chance for plays to develop and time for Josh to go through his progressions. If Dorsey does his job, and players (Josh, especially) stay healthy, this should be a dynamic passing attack.

I think you were just joshing but... Cheap? The most expensive stadiums in the world are: 1. SoFi ($5.5bn) 2. Allegiant ($1.9bn) 3. MetLife ($1.7bn) 4. Wembley ($1.5bn) (tied with some others) Coming in at $1.55bn, the Bills stadium will move ahead of Wembley as the 4th most expensive stadium ever on Planet Earth. Even adjusted for inflation, it still comes in at the 10th most expensive. Buffalo is not getting a Yugo! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_expensive_stadiums

While we don't have a Lombardi to show for our efforts, we have been one of the best teams in the NFL for a few years now - both on offense and defense. You can nitpick Beane and McD but overall, they've been very successful in a competitive field. Let's not get too carried away with our criticisms. But the goal is the SB, so we do need to get better. And offensively Beane added depth to the receiving corps as well as a new kind of weapon in Kincaid, bolstered the OL, and added power and talent to the backfield. The cap forces GMs to prioritize and I think Beane has been guilty of under-prioritizing the OL. But he addressed that this offseason.

Finally got around to watching the video. While I didn't learn anything new, I was impressed how knowledgeable the guy was and how professionally he presented his material.

I'm not convinced by the supposed evidence that we weren't severely impacted by injury. We have three great DBs: Poyer, Hyde and White: all were injured. Our only good pass rusher was knocked out for the season. The ability of the rest of the DL to generate pressure crashed when Miller went out. The defense was gutted by injury. The offense was healthier but the one player who means the most had a UCL problem. It didn't keep him out of games but certainly affected his strength and accuracy - as well as Dorsey's play-calling. The analytic geeks can't measure the impact, but all knowledgeable observers saw it clearly.

Beane is good but I don't know if he's elite. Other than Josh, Beane's drafting has been just okay. Beane's been better in free agency. But McD helps there. McD turned this team into a winner and Buffalo into a place where players want to play. Even so, I've seen football publications rate our roster anywhere from 3rd to 8th best. In other words, it's not championship caliber. Not this season. Not any season. Yet people want to fire McD for not bringing home a Lombardi. I find it odd.

Hines is already a proven NFL commodity. Cook is not. It'll be interesting to see how Dorsey uses his backs this year. They all bring something to the table. But, given this is a passing team, somebody's bound to be underutilized. I won't be shocked if it's Hines but I do expect him to get some targets out of the backfield.

I remember once, many years ago, reading an article about an upcoming season that included projections for every team. Of course, at first, all I cared about was the Bills and the author had an optimistic take on the upcoming season which I was glad to learn. But then I noticed, the expert was pretty optimistic about a lot of teams. So, I did the math. He had the NFL collectively going .622 or something like that. Somehow, NFL teams were going to win more games that season than they lost. That was the moment I first realized that NFL media gurus don't actually know what they're talking about.

I'm just saying leaders need to rise to the occasion and have their teams ready. McD certainly had a unique set of circumstances working against him. I'm empathetic. But it's undeniable that he did not rise to the occasion against the Bengals. His team wasn't ready. But I also look at the bigger picture: usually McD does have the Bills ready to play. I think, since he's been here, he's achieved more wins than should have been expected given the roster (and injuries). Cinci just wasn't his shining moment.

Saying "without Allen" is awfully vague. If the Bill were without Allen but had Jim Kelly instead, they would not finish 7-10. They'd still be a playoff team. If the Bills had this squad with EJ Manuel under center, then yeah, they'd finish something like 7-10. And if Josh played on the 1984 to 1985 Bills under Coach Stephenson, the Bills would have sucked regardless. Good QBs need good HCs. Good HCs need good QBs. And both need good overall rosters.

What's interesting to me is that some really good coaches had to wait a long time for their first Lombardi. And some not-so-good coaches didn't wait long at all.

I personally don't care what other people say. After 17 years of the Bills failing to make the playoffs, I'm deeply enjoying the ride with McD. It's fun to be good.

True. But it would also be hard to ignore his speed and playmaking ability. Hines averaged 47 catches/year in his five prior NFL seasons. Then he joined the Bills, a pass-happy team with a desperate need for an outlet receiver, and he hauls in only 5 passes. It was a criminal waste of talent though, supposedly, his slowness to learn the offense contributed to his lack of use. Beane says we'll see him more involved in the offense this year and that, to me, is good news. I'm indifferent about whether we use Harty or Hines on returns.

The weirdest thing is ESPN has us in a 4-3-4. Do they really expect us to change from a 4-2-5 or is that just laziness? Did ESPN standardize all 4 down linemen teams as 4-3-4? Do they really expect Leonard Floyd to line up as a LB??? They have Kincaid as TE2 and it's reasonable to list him that way. But clearly, Kincaid's role isn't to be Knox's backup. I'm excited to see how Dorsey uses him. I'm not entirely convinced Shakir starts. I'm keeping my eyes on Harty and Sherfield. Plus, you've gotta imagine we'll do more 1-2 this year and that would put Shakir on the bench. I'm not convinced that Cook starts. I think Harris will be the guy we see most often on first-downs. The OL is hardly set in stone. There will be a battle for the guard spots. And Brown's spot at RT isn't guaranteed if he doesn't play better than last season. I'm not sure what I expect at MLB this season. The whole post-Edmunds LB situation gets even more interesting if McD does indeed decide to run 4-3 more often. It'll be fun watching the LBs this preseason. Rapp is an interesting addition. Will we play big nickel more often?

I agree with everything you've said. And yet... as an old soldier I have to point this out. Soldiers are expected to win battles even when they haven't seen home for months, the food sucks, they're sleeping outdoors in crap weather, enemy soldiers are trying to kill them, and their friends are dying. I think McD is a very good football coach and I'm glad we have him. But he failed to have the team ready for Cinci. Leaders have to find ways to lead their guys to victory even when everything sucks. The circumstances McD was up against pales when compared to the circumstances some military leaders have successfully faced.

I'm okay with McD being Dungy. In the playoffs every year. Won a Lombardi.

You guys know this roster better than ESPN. I’m not interested in their projected depth chart but I am interested to see how preseason plays out. There will be some good camp battles and some decisions to be made.

Honest question... How many 3-4 base teams switch to a 4-man defensive front when going nickel? It's not something I pay much attention to, but it would seem that a 3-4 team would more naturally run a 3-3-5 nickel rather than a 4-2-5 nickel. Nickels come in different flavors. 4-2-5 and 3-3-5 are common but I've seen teams do 2-4-5 as well. Anyway, I agree with Oliver. He's somewhat overpaid but it's not egregious. I think Beane was in an uncomfortable position with no DTs under contract for next year. He had to do something.

Started his career well and then fell off a cliff. Had some injury issues as well as an unspecified personal issue which caused him to miss time with the Vikes. Once upon a time, they were excited about him in Minnesota. But he fell from CB1 to CB6 and was eventually waived. The Commanders then recently gave him a look but cut him after just two months. It's not a good career trajectory. Hopefully, he can reverse things with us though I'm not sure I'm optimistic. vikingsterritory.com/2021/general-news/cameron-dantzlers-fall-from-grace-is-mind-boggling www.si.com/nfl/vikings/news/surprising-fall-cameron-dantzler-cornerback-future-vikings-49ers-scratch

I don't watch because I don't care about Cowherd's take. There are a thousand talking heads in the media. The vast majority, like Cowherd, know less about the Bills than most of us here. Now I would watch if Cowher was talking about the Bills. I'm not sure if Bill knows more about the Bills but he does know far more about championship football than I do.

I was temporarily (???) suffering from HIBS (Head In Butt Syndrome). I meant to say that including the $10m fifth-year option, Oliver isn't super highly paid. According to Getzenberg's ESPN article: The $45 million guaranteed is tied for eighth-most most among active interior defensive line contracts, per ESPN Stats & Information research. With his $10.753 million fifth-year option included, Oliver is set to average $15.75 million in salary over the next five years, currently 16th among interior defensive linemen. Roughly half the league uses a 3-man front while the other half uses a 4-man front. That means there are roughly 48 starting D tackles in the league. By the time Ed plays out half his contract, his salary will be about average for a starting tackle. Which seems about fair.

We've restructured some contracts which every team does. But it's like using a credit card - you get what you want today but you have to pay for it later. That's my worry. So far, I think Beane has been judicious. But if Beane restructures another contract to sign DHop, I'll feel like we've crossed a line and mortgaged the future to win this year.

I don't doubt it in this case but I think agents sometimes tell guys like Rappaport that their client took a discount even when they didn't. Agents want teams to think the true value of their client is greater than it really is.

I get the win-now school, but I think it's a real concern that we're mortgaging the future. If going all-in this year means we won't be competitive in the future, I'm worried. I'd rather buy 10 lottery tickets than just 1. And with Josh, we could legitimately contend for the next 10 years if we save ourselves some cap space to do so.

Beane deserves a lot of credit for putting this roster together but McD made it easier for him by making Buffalo a place where FAs want to play.