hondo in seattle

You just did. But the point is valid. I know high-IQ folks who don't openly talk about their scores. Their attitude is often something like: the only thing a high IQ proves is that you're good at taking IQ tests. Something similar goes on with soldiers. Prince Harry brags in his book that he killed something like 25 enemy soldiers. As a combat veteran myself, I can tell you that many/most soldiers who notched kills don't brag about it.

Despite the SB buzz, I wasn't super confident going into 2022. New OC, new starting WR2, new starting slot receiver, crap OL... I'm probably a bit more confident now than I was last year at the same time. With meager resources, I think Beane's done a really nice job improving the roster.

Cowherd has a show because he's a good talker, not because he has good judgment. I don't value his opinions. Most of us on TBD know more about the Bills than he does.

I think you're right. I heard a MD explain that a UCL issue may indeed interfere with short passes more than long. Beane said that Crowder's injury hurt a lot because he was supposed to be the undeneath guy.

You're right. But the context matters. It's not that a guy is missing. It's that one of our star players might be mad at another star player or a coach. Fear makes this wonder where this is heading.

No, I absolutely did not foresee the injuries or the death on the field. But, yeah, I did post my concerns about the OL before the season. While I didn't buy the hype during the offseason, I was starting to buy into it during the season. We looked really dominant for a while. If I recall correctly, at one point about a quarter through the season, both our O and D were ranked #1 in the league. I was jazzed. And then, one by one, things started going wrong - though we still won a lot of games. It's weird. My memory of the 2nd half of the season is a lot drearier than the W-L record or point-differential says it was. But we looked off - thanks in part to the mounting injuries. But I also believe Dorsey could have been better.

Catalana can't report it but he is dropping hints.

Josh has proven he can effectively dink-and-dunk when that's available. But I get the feeling that both Josh and Dorsey would rather air it out. I'd like to see the Bills use more underneath stuff with outlet receivers this year. And I'd like to see both Cook and Hines in that role. In fact, I'd like to see a more diversified passing attack utilizing the strengths of all the guys we have, Kincaid too.

Andy Reid. Some Bills fans want to fire McD and I'm against that. Unless we could replace him with Andy Reid. I wouldn't, like Gregg, fire McD for Belichick only because I think BB is getting close to retirement.

I didn't buy into the Super Bowl hype last offseason. One of my biggest concerns was our OL. So, at the beginning of the year, I thought Dorsey was a genius when I saw our offense moving the ball at will despite a weak OL. But there were games after the bye when I wondered what the hell Dorsey was doing. He didn't seem to be rolling with what was working. He didn't seem to be attacking the opponent's weakness. He almost seemed to be calling plays randomly. Also, we heard a couple of times late last year from opposing players that our O was predictable. Defenses seemed to have figured Dorsey out. One other thing that bugged me was his hissy fit in the box - it made me wonder if he had the emotional maturity to be a leader. I don't hate Dorsey, but I do wonder if he's the right guy to lead this offensive roster to its full potential. Hopefully, like other young OCs before him, he gets better in Year #2.

I don't get Super-Bowl-or-Bust. I've seen supposed gurus rank our roster anywhere from 3rd the 8th best this year. It's not Super Bowl quality according to most. But the club with the best roster doesn't necessarily win the SB. I'd give the Bills maybe a 10% chance. I wouldn't fire the head coach for not turning a 10% probability into a reality. If you did fire McD, who would you hire? The coaches demonstrably better than him are either employed or retired. I'll take our chances with McD over our chances with an unproven coordinator.

And, of course, everyone has a friend who has a brother who knows something and says Steph is mad at Josh because he's the center of attention, or slept with Steph's ex, or stole his clown shoes.

Sometimes fires die out. Sometimes they get bigger and become destructive... Are we worried yet?

FWIW, in another thread, @HappyDays says this: This is correct. More specifically, the blow up was Diggs saying to Josh "what's your excuse now?" (I have actually heard the audio, it was picked up by whoever was wearing the mic'd up microphone for that game) because Josh missed a throw in the game that he had also missed in practice. Their relationship has frayed. www.twobillsdrive.com/community/topic/247932-diggs-not-at-mandatory-minicamp-mcdermott-very-concerned/page/29/

Maybe no damning, conclusive evidence. But some suggestive stuff: The blow-up at the end of last season... some of the odd commentary from Josh... the lack of any news of them hanging out during the offseason... Diggs' absence at the start of minicamp... These guys were best friends - joined at the hip - but, since Diggs' outburst, there's been no public evidence of that friendship. Players don't need to be great friends but there does need to be some rapport. As a long-suffering Bills fan who's endured 4 SB losses, the Home Run Throwback, 13 seconds, and a host of other disappointments, I tend to assume the worst even as I continue to hope for the best.

I was worried in April. I'm more worried now that Diggs didn't report. Hopefully, it'll all be good by the time we play the Jets.

A rift with Dorsey? Or Josh? Or both?

Well, Diggs isn't at mandatory minicamp. Maybe the relationship is in decline after all?

Ourlads also have Harty starting ahead of Shakir and Rousseau starting ahead of Floyd. Maybe all that comes to pass. Camp will be fun this year.

I think Josh has more viable targets this season. He'll also - cross my fingers - have more time to throw. I expect him to spread it around a little more.

The Rule of Four... 44 catches 444 yards 4 TDs

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.