hondo in seattle

When I first saw $68m for Ed, I thought, "What the heck is Beane doing?!?!" But I've settled down. If you include his 5th year option, Oliver will average about $10.75 over the next five years. That ranks 16th among DLinemen. If each team fields four down linemen, then there are 32 starting DTs in the NFL. But since some teams use 3-man fronts, there are actually fewer than 32 starting DTs in the NFL which makes Ed's pay less than average. And if you think ahead a couple of years, by then Ed's contract will be significantly below average for a starting DT.

I can't remember if McD or Beane said it, but one of them once stated it was very intentional. He said that being a DLineman is fatiguing since you're battling with full effort every play. To keep guys fresh, you need to platoon.

Build bridges, not walls. Find ways to connect with people, not reasons to disconnect.

Wes Walker and Steve Smith were both 5'9" - not appreciably bigger than Lil Dirty.

Agreed. Beane said that the Bills drafted Kincaid because they needed someone to work the middle of the field. He added that Crowder was supposed to do that job last year but got hurt. Reading between the lines, it seemed to me he was saying McKenzie couldn't effectively work the middle as the slot guy. Supports what folz said.

The vids are too painful to watch but, yeah, we all know last season Saffold was a subway turn style masquerading as an offensive lineman.

The cap is proving problematic but it's still good news that guys like OBJ, DHop, and Delvin Cook were all reportedly interested in joining the Bills. We've become a place where good players want to play. Unfortunately, we've also become a place where good players can't get paid.

Tenticle erotica??? I watch my one game a week and go back to reading books, writing, meditating, running mountain trails, playing with my husky, and hanging out with family. I don't watch very much TV outside of Bills games. I am borderline addicted to TBD, though, and most of my DHop knowledge come from you guys and the links you post. While I'd love to see DHop in a Bills uni, I don't like stealing from the future to pay for the present. And that's what we'd have to do to get him here - we'd have to restructure some contracts. I'm not sure what he adds is worth the cost.

Maybe one of the "rosterable" guys is injured, out-of-shape, or otherwise a disappointment?

Optimism * If Poyer, Hyde, and Tre are all healthy this year and play at peak levels, our secondary will be extremely good. * If Von gets healthy, our DLine will be very good. * Milano is already good. So if one of the other LBs steps up and reasonably replaces Edmunds, our LB play will be good. * If Josh's UCL stays healthy, he's an elite QB and a freaking force of nature. * If the new OL guys are as talented as hoped, our OL will be much better than last season. * Dorsey has a lot of diverse weapons to play with. If he grows as a coordinator, this offense will be fun. Pessimism * Too many if's

Breer's SI article didn't leave me feeling enthused. If this has been posted before, apologies... Here's what Breer's heard from NFL execs: I asked one veteran team executive what’s still there, and he answered, via text, “Not much. He can’t run anymore.” Another answer was pretty different—“He’s still a good player. Good route runner, big, physical target that can play a ball in the air. He’s still a threat.” And a third played both sides of it. “Still great hands, he is not going to separate, not much of a deep threat, but very strong, and makes contested catches as well as anyone in the NFL,” the AFC exec said. “Does not love to practice—I can’t imagine that’ll get any better. And when things don’t go well, you’re always gonna be leery, All right, what kind of drama are we gonna get from this guy? When things are great, he’s great. When things go south, his true colors show a little bit. “But he always shows up on game day. He’s gonna have to go to a team that knows what they’re getting. You cannot expect a perfect-attendance type of worker.” www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/inside-deandre-hopkins-s-release-why-he-had-no-value-to-teams/ar-AA1bT9cK?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=3a7b4480e80e426a827b9155715181a8&ei=32

I want DHop but I’m not sure how much. Restructuring contracts to make cap space is like using a credit card. You get your new shiny thing but you have to pay for it later.

Typical Beane OL signing... He's better in passpro than run blocking.

I never took the DHop flirtation seriously. Between the need to give up a pick, and the cost of his contract (versus our cap resources), it just seemed like a fantasy. But then DHop listed Josh first among QBs he wants to play for. And then he got released and became a FA able to choose his next team. Cost remains problematic but I'm starting to think this might, maybe, possibly happen. I do like our current receiving corps more than last year's group. But DHop certainly would add to the stress we could impose on enemy defenses.

YPC isn't a good barometer of RB talent. If it was, we'd have to conclude that Motor was a better back than Joe Cribbs, Fred Jackson, Cookie Gilchrist, Shady McCoy, Thurman Thomas, and any other RB who suited up for the Bills over the past sixty-something years other than OJ. He wasn't. The Bills O had only one cannon in Motor's years and that was Josh Allen. And defenses lined up to stop that one cannon. How many yards did Motor get against Nickel and Dime defenses? How many times did linebackers start dropping into zone coverage on plays where Josh ended up handing off to Motor? When you line up as RB for the Josh Allen-led Buffalo Bills, you're an afterthought. Defenses don't care about you. Motor wasn't even our most fearsome runner. When Josh and Motor set up in the backfield together, defenses were more worried about Josh running than Motor. For the past three years, Harris played in a far more balanced offense. Defenses actually respected the Pats run game. They didn't much respect NE's passing attack. So Harris didn't run against the same defenses that Motor did. Not even close. Furthermore, Harris is a different kind of back than Motor. Harris is strong up the middle and that's something we've needed. And he's got some speed, too, and a bit of elusiveness. Harris was a great signing.

I hope you're right about both Edwards and Boogie having better-than-expected years. But let me play Scrooge... PFF typically ranks Edwards in the 60s - a solid backup. (Yeah, I know, it's only PFF).

I'm going with Trent Sherfield who's been kind of an under-the-radar signing. After seeing him play in Miami, reading Tyler Dunne's piece on his backstory, and listening to Josh talk him up, I think this kid is ready to contribute.

Huh? The guy with the best winning percentage in Bills' history is a below-average head coach? That's just dumb. McD's first two seasons were great in the sense that he outperformed the talent on the roster. In 2018, when we finished 6-10, we had the lowest cap spending on active players in the NFL and arguably the worst roster. Getting 6 wins from that squad was an impressive accomplishment. Over the past few years, I keep seeing pundits ranking our roster anywhere from 3rd to 8th best. That's a playoff roster but not a Super Bowl roster. And we've been getting to the playoffs. McD may not be over-achieving but, lately, he's getting out of this roster about what you'd expect given the talent. In fact, while the Cinci game was a huge disappointment, getting 13 regular season wins last season with all the challenges we faced was the accomplishment of a good coach. Anyone who thinks he's underperforming is rating the roster he's working with much higher than I do.

There are, according to the ranking, two AFC teams with better rosters than ours. Yet some fans will want McD's head on a platter if we don't get to the SB and win it.

In the interest of safety, next season the NFL will allow receivers to call for a fair catch.

Here's what Peterson said: "I was on Gabe Davis, and I could show you in my notes the routes that Gabe Davis runs: posts, digs, slants occasionally. ... Buffalo's concept in the red zone is laser, meaning they use the No. 2 receiver as a clear-out guy running to the opposite pylon and the No. 1 receiver is running a dig. They also love to run a double-post, that's quarters-beater, and that's what we were in. Going back to my film study, I knew he was an in-breaking receiver, he showed that all game. ..." When I read the entire Petersen interview after the game, fairly or unfairly, I thought two things: (1) Dorsey is too predictable, and (2) defending Davis is too easy because he can't - or isn't asked to - run the entire route tree. www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/vikings-patrick-peterson-called-his-game-winning-ot-interception-of-josh-allen-i-am-going-to-go-pick-this/

I wonder if Gabe's route-running limitations mean we might see Sherfield on the field in his place in some situations/packages?

McD trusting a rookie to protect his multimillion-dollar QB, I think, might be a bit of a stretch. I think Bates starts at RG at the beginning of the season. But Torrence will get some reps and eventually take over as the starter. Bates will then be the interior backup and not a tackle. That puts me in the minority because I chose Dawkins-McGovern-Morse-Bates-Brown as our opening-day OL. I worry about Mitch and his concussions. I thought Edwards might get some love, considering that he started for the Rams for three years, including their SB victory. Then again, he wasn't a particularly good starter. From 2019-2021 (I'm disregarding 2022 because of his own concussion problems), he averaged something like 66 on PFF's scoring system which rates him as a good backup.

This is where my anxiety lies: IF Hyde, Poyer, and Tre all return to peak form and IF Elam takes the next step...

I gotta admit, I was disappointed with Elam's play at the beginning of 2022. But he seemed to progress as the season unfolded. And now PFF has named Elam their Bills "breakout candidate" for 2023. Despite being a first-round pick in 2022, Elam failed to become a starting cornerback by the start of the season and had an inconsistent rookie year. However, as a former first-round pick, he should have plenty of opportunities to win that position battle. He also finished the season strong, flipping his 56.7 PFF grade in the regular season to 87.1 in two playoff games, a mark that would have ranked second among cornerbacks in the regular season. Thoughts? Do you agree? Disagree? Why? www.pff.com/news/nfl-breakout-candidates-all-16-afc-teams-chiefs-kadarius-toney-steelers-kenny-pickett#BUF