mjt328

Easy. I believe Diggs is totally incapable of seeing his own faults, and he truly believes he holds no responsibility for any team failures during his time here. It's like a person who jumps from failed relationship to failed relationship, always blaming the person they used to be with, and never stopping to self-reflect on what they could do better to make it work next time. In my opinion, Diggs eventually came to believe the team was totally incapable of reaching the next level of the postseason and mentally checked-out. Whether that was directed more towards Sean McDermott, Josh Allen, etc., I don't know. But it was clear that something broke in him during the Bengals playoff loss. By the time we reached the final stretch of 2023, the rest of the team seemed determined to step up and save the season. He seemed to be packing it in. There are claims that Diggs was "phased-out" of the offense when Joe Brady took over. But if you look at the stats, he was still getting solid targets (averaging over 8 per game after the OC change) at the end of the 2023 season. He just wasn't doing anything with the ball when it came his way.

Human nature is always looking for someone to blame when things go wrong. I notice a lot of people trying to lay all these injuries on our training and conditioning staff, but I'm not sure that's really fair. Up until the end of 2021, the Bills were actually one of the healthiest teams in the entire league. And if you recall, our training staff and facilities were getting a lot of credit (which honestly was probably just luck and was really undeserved). Then on Thanksgiving of that year, everything started unraveling. And it's been a mess ever since. 2021 - Tre White - ACL 2022 - Micah Hyde - Neck 2022 - Von Miller - ACL 2023 - Tre White - Achilles 2023 - Matt Milano - Leg 2023 - Daquan Jones - Pec 2024 - Matt Milano - Bicep 2024 - Terrel Bernard - Pec As you can see, most of these injuries are freak occurrences. Miller did have a previous ACL tear to the same knee, but it was 9 years prior. Milano gets a bad rap for being injury-prone. But anyone would have gotten hurt getting caught in a pile like that. His bicep injury happened hitting a bag. Bernard is undersized, so I can sorta understand the point being made there. But Jones is not, and he completely tore it. The crazy thing is, everything is on the Defensive side of the ball. Our Offense has remained relatively healthy. Josh Allen has the longest streak of starts for a QB in the NFL. Our O-Line was the only unit to start the same five guys every game last year.

As many have consistently pointed out, the Chiefs won the Super Bowl the last two years and are favored to repeat again in 2024. That is AFTER they traded away Tyreek Hill, and knocked their receiver group down to one of the worst in the NFL. There are 9 different major position groups in the NFL. It's impossible to prioritize all of them with 1st Round Picks and high dollar contracts. I don't really know what people expect? If we use all our resources on WR, then it's going to take a toll on our O-Line, Pass Rush, Secondary, etc. etc. How can anyone say Brandon Beane doesn't value receiving weapons? In reality, he has used 3 of his last 5 top draft picks on that exact thing. He traded a 1st Round Pick for Stefon Diggs in 2020. He targeted a WR in the 1st Round of the 2023 draft, and ended up going with Dalton Kincaid when the other viable options were gone. They targeted a WR in the 1st Round again in 2024, and clearly explained that trading down (a whopping 5 spots over two trades) was due to several players being ranked about the same. Does drafting Coleman hold less value because he was picked at #33 instead of #28? I know everything isn't sunshine and flowers around this team right now. But let's at least make sure our criticism makes some sense.

The story about Diggs was exactly the same here... until the Bengals playoff game. That was the point things finally started unraveling (at least publicly). Even after that sideline tantrum, most Bills fans were willing to shrug it off. Opinion on Diggs didn't really shift until the training camp absence last summer, and his production totally falling off in the second half.

If one thing is true in the history of sports, it's that the BEST players know how to turn things up in the postseason/championships. And the Bills are severely lacking in the number of game-changing superstars on the roster. Josh Allen's first 6 years are among the best in NFL history for a Quarterback. But statistically, he's even better in the playoffs. Unfortunately, there isn't a single player on the offensive roster (outside of a single game from Gabe Davis) who you can say that about. Our "superstar" receiver consistently disappeared in the playoffs every single year... outside of the emotional outbursts on the sideline and after our losses. Very similar story on the defensive side. Brandon Beane has proven excellent at providing players who fit/mesh with Sean McDermott's scheme perfectly. Regardless of injuries, we are always able to field a Top 5-10 unit during the regular season. But when the elite QBs come around, we need more than a clever scheme. We need our top players to step up and take over the game. Especially rushing the passer. And we can't do it. In my opinion, Beane does realize the problem and has attempted to correct it. After the 2020 championship loss, he went nuts and drafted Groot/Boogie back to back. The next year, he broke the bank to get Von Miller. He knows this team NEEDS an elite pass rusher for the postseason. It just hasn't worked out yet. With all that said, there is still a lot of luck involved. Both in the regular season and postseason. The Bills were 13 seconds away from winning in 2021. The 2022 regular season game came down to a last minute Knox touchdown and Taron Johnson INT to win. The 2023 regular season had the Kadarius Toney Offside. Postseason we were a missed field goal away from tying.

The schedule is absolutely brutal. At least if you consider how teams finished last season. The real question is whether the Bills can win the division. Strength of schedule is a real hurdle this year, especially versus the Jets. First of all, we play ALL of last year's Final Four to the Super Bowl. Ravens (Road), Chiefs (Home), 49ers (Home), Lions (Road). We also play two other tough playoff teams from last year's postseason, both unfortunately on the road. Texans and Rams. It would be optimistic to think we walk out of these games with a 3-3 record, even if we are just as good as in previous years. The last few years, our record against the AFC East has been 4-2. That seems about right again this season. Split with the Dolphins and Jets, who are both good. Sweep the Patriots, who suck and have a rookie Quarterback. Jaguars (Home) were 9-8 and beat us last year. Seahawks (Road) and Colts (Road) were also 9-8 a season ago, just missing the playoffs. That leaves the only two bottom-level teams on our schedule, Cardinals (Home) and Titans (Home). We should be favored to win in all of these. But we also usually drop at least one game we should win each season. So let's say 4-1 in these. That gives us an overall record of 11-6 (same as last year), which would definitely make the playoffs. It was barely enough to win the East though. Now consider the games we play different from our other AFC East competition: - The Jets play the Broncos (instead of Chiefs), Vikings (instead of Lions) and Steelers (instead of Ravens). - The Dolphins play the Raiders (instead of Chiefs), Packers (instead of Lions) and Browns (instead of Ravens).

I get what you are saying. Hardy seemed more productive in the preseason games I watched. But you also need to keep in mind that we traded for the CB/Returner from the Jets. Keeping Hardy too would have given us 8 cornerbacks, versus 4 defensive ends. This is definitely something I believe that Brandon Beane needs to consider in future drafts. Every spring he seems to prioritize draft capital (10 picks last year, 8 next year). Then he struggles to keep his picks on the roster when cut day comes along. We seem to lose a member of our draft class every year to other teams. Compared to other top NFL teams, the Bills have a very deep roster... but they also seem to lack impact/superstars. Look at us against the Chiefs, 49ers, etc. It's very possible this is a byproduct of Beane prioritizing quantity over quality. If Beane can consistently find solid players on Day 2-3 of the draft (only to later be forced to cut them)... then why not use some of those resources to move-up in the 1st Round and get a better prospect?

The guy showed promise (against mostly 3rd/4th stringers), but let's take a breather for a second. As a cornerback, Hardy would have been #5 on the depth chart behind Douglas, Benford, Elam and Ingram. In the slot, he would be #3 on the depth chart behind Johnson and Lewis. Does this team have space for another developmental DB, who isn't likely to crack the starting lineup for another 2-3 seasons at best? Especially when you consider this regime can pretty much draft and develop good CBs at will. I was surprised they cut him too. But there is sound reasoning behind it. It's great to have a deep pipeline. But guys who aren't going to see the field NEED to be contributors on special teams. They saw more value in replacing him with a returner, who will actually touch the ball multiple times every week.

My guess is that Hardy was drafted 90% for his return abilities, and they just weren't impressed with that aspect of his game. Yes, he looked good as a Cornerback in the preseason. But the Bills already have Rasul Douglas, Christian Benford and Taron Johnson as starters, Kaiir Elam itching to get on the field and another promising youngster in Jamarcus Ingram. They probably value a guy who will actually play this season (as a returner), over a guy who would be the #5 outside guy the entire year. Hopefully they can bring him back to the practice squad.

The only person who really stood out on the broadcast was Frank Gore Jr. Not sure what that means, because Running Backs always seem to stand-out in the second half of preseason games (when all the guys who aren't going to make the NFL are trying to shed blocks and tackle). I do notice that Daequon Hardy seems to be sticky in coverage and is good at playing the ball. If he can learn to catch, he could become an interception machine for us. In the same way, Javon Solomon definitely has pass rushing ability and creates pressure, but needs to get better at finishing to land the sack.

Are the Bills going to make the tough (but smart) decision to move-on from Tyler Bass before Week 1? Or are we going to wait until he actually costs us a game? The problem last year clearly wasn't injury related. And whatever is wrong with his technique or confidence hasn't been fixed in the 7 months he's had since blowing it huge in the playoffs. I just can't see him magically turning it around once the regular season hits. He's done. And it's just a disaster waiting to happen. If I'm Sean McDermott right now, I doubt I would send him out for anything over 40-45 yards. Yes. I understand the cap implications. But that clearly didn't bother Beane when it came to Stefon Diggs (or several other vet players). I would rather take my chances with a street free agent.

Christian Benford has been injury-prone his entire career. Rasul Douglas has a void option in his contract and will likely be a free agent next year. I have a feeling that Elam will play a lot this year, play very well, and eventually become the full-time starter.

Every season there is only one NFL team (and fanbase) that will go home happy. Either it ends without qualifying for the playoffs, or by getting eliminated short of the ultimate goal. I would even argue the closer a team gets, the more painful it actually is. Anyone who lived through the 90s can tell you this. The problem is... the Bills have NEVER been that one team.

Consider the history of the Buffalo Bills franchise (founded in 1960), and you will understand why this fanbase is generally negative and pessimistic. Every time this team has been on the pinnacle of something great, their hopes are dashed to the ground and destroyed. Our last championship came way back in 1965. Almost 60 years ago. Long before the majority of current fans were even alive. Ironically, this was also exactly one season before the Super Bowl was created. Players always say you "can't take away" their championship victory. Well today, the NFL doesn't really count anything that came before Green Bay in 1966. Only 12 months separate the Bills from getting an opportunity to win the very first Super Bowl... and instead having their AFL titles relegated to an old and forgotten era of football history. Over the next 22 years, the Bills managed to win the division only twice and make the playoffs a total of FOUR times. This included a span where they had possibly the best player in the sport (OJ Simpson). Of course, this once loved and celebrated star - once considered the greatest athlete to wear the Buffalo uniform - later turned out to be a cold-blooded murderer. The team's greatest era finally began in 1988 and ran for almost a decade. Despite boasting a team with a half-dozen Hall of Famers, they somehow managed to choke away four straight Super Bowl appearances (losing to both Jeff Hostetler and Mark Rypien in the big game). Ask most Bills fans about the 90s and you will get a mix of fond nostalgia and PTSD. Fitting those years were bookended by "Wide Right" at the beginning, and concluded with the "Music City Miracle." Despite the absolute statistical improbability (especially with the league pushing for parity), the Bills somehow missed the playoffs for the next 17 years. Nearly long enough for a newborn to reach adulthood before experiencing a postseason game. Endless GMs, coaches, quarterbacks and rosters bringing hope. All ending exactly the same. Our recent resurrection under Beane/McDermott/Allen started with great promise. Even for the most skeptical of us older Bills fans. Surely this group would bring us a Super Bowl eventually. But after "13 Seconds", "Wide Right 2", four-straight early exits from the postseason, an endless string of injuries... it just seems like we've been on this roller coaster before.

Sadly, it's a very long list... Josh Allen needs to stay healthy for 17 games, plus the entire postseason. Even one lost game could be very costly in a tight playoff race. Wide receiver group cannot be a liability (significant trouble getting open, dropped passes), and must pose enough of a threat to the secondary that defenses can't just send 6-7 pass rushers every play. After all the offseason changes, O-Line must gel into a solid unit very quickly. This includes McGovern handling the Center job, Edwards doing good at Left Guard and O'Cyrus Torrence not having a sophomore slump. Joe Brady must continue to develop as a play-caller, stay creative and not get figured out by defensive coordinators. At least one pass rusher needs to step up big, and become a force off the Edge. Either Von Miller regains his old form, or we see a major breakout from Groot/Epenesa. A capable replacement must be found for Matt Milano. Not one, but two safeties are needed to step into the all-important roles previously held by Poyer/Hyde. New defensive coordinator Bobby Babich must be capable of handling the promotion. Tyler Bass needs to go back to be a dependable kicker from long-distance. New leaders must step up all over the locker room, with numerous veterans leaving (Diggs, Morse, White, Poyer, Hyde). This is just to get the Bills back to where they were LAST year. If they want to go FARTHER and actually have a chance at winning the Super Bowl, then we must also see: Sean McDermott figure out how to stop elite Quarterbacks in the playoffs. The core roster must go into the postseason relatively healthy.

Try hard enough, and you can convince yourself we will be in good shape, despite all the warning signs. Objectively, it's really difficult to see this team going anywhere this season. Twelve months ago, if you would have asked what superstars the Bills have outside of Josh Allen, most people would have answered (in no particular order) Stefon Diggs, Tre White, Jordan Poyer, Micah Hyde, Matt Milano and Von Miller. The only remaining player on that list is Miller, who looked completely done last year. The replacements we are heavily counting on are (rookie) Keon Coleman, Rasul Douglas, Taylor Rapp, Damar Hamlin and Dorian Williams. Even if we can get close to the same on-field production, we will still greatly miss the leadership aspect. The team is also counting heavily on breakout seasons from Dalton Kincaid, Khalil Shakir, Greg Rousseau, Terrell Bernard, etc. Not just to be good, but to become the next group of superstars on the Buffalo Bills. Looking at the schedule, the Bills are starting off with a 2-3 game disadvantage against the Jets/Dolphins due to opponent difficulty. They barely scraped by the Dolphins last year, and seem to have trouble with the Jets in head-to-head even without Aaron Rodgers back. Not a lot of room for error if you want to win the division. We will be breaking in lots of new starters, adjusting to a shuffled O-Line, hoping new talent steps into leadership roles, etc. If things start slow, we could be fighting out of a hole by Halloween. So yeah, I get where you are coming from with the "little" things. But the Bills have too many other "big" problems to overcome first.

This is the Buffalo Bills. In my 30+ years of watching this team, it seems like if something CAN go wrong... then it eventually WILL go wrong. It's frustrating to see the coaching staff willingly trust players that have blown it over and over, and are showing no signs of improvement. I get all the reasons that James Cook is awesome. explosive, productive, etc., etc., etc. But the guy dropped a TD in the playoff game. And he keeps dropping passes in training camp and the preseason. Just like Tyler Bass blowing the final kick in the playoff game. And here we are rolling through the preseason with no kicking competition, and reports of him missing over and over in practice. And just like we continually field an undersized defense, and then act surprised when the group is devastated by injuries by mid-season.

I understand the reasons Brandon Beane released Morse. There are also legitimate reasons they maybe should have kept him, such as leadership and continuity. You can't just look at a player 30+ with an expiring contract and say that automatically makes the GM smart for cutting him. Only time will tell.

The Good: The majority of media talk surrounding the Bills has been about the loss of Stefon Diggs. Between the training camp reports and the little bit we saw today, my worries about that position have very quickly disappeared. I'm becoming very confident that between Dalton Kincaid, Khalil Shakir, Curtis Samuel and Keon Coleman, we will have enough weapons to make this work. The Bad: Our slight reshuffling of the O-Line didn't get so much attention. I'm hoping we don't end up regretting cutting Mitch Morse. Last year was the first time in many years I felt our blocking was better than "average" and was actually a plus. So of course we couldn't resist making changes. Today's performance was absolutely terrible. No push in the run game, and constant pressure on the QB. Incomplete: I'm not thinking much can be pulled from today on the Defensive side of the ball. Our pass rush was non-existent. But we didn't have 3 starters (Von Miller, Daquan Jones, Ed Oliver), and the looks were very vanilla. Tackling was also pretty weak, but again.. no Matt Milano. The rest of the starters were pulled after one drive, and the Bears still only had six points at the half. All the scoring happened against the guys who aren't making the team anyway.

Obviously this was just preseason. But I can't really think of anything positive or any players that stood out in a good way. Maybe Khalil Shakir and Curtis Samuel? The O-Line was dreadful. The D-Line got zero pressure. Lots of penalties.

Patrick Mahomes is unanimously considered the best Quarterback in the NFL. And some say he's on the way to being the best ever. He is currently the 11th highest paid at the position, and he was extended a year before Josh Allen. The Bills shouldn't even worry about Allen's contract until after the Chiefs make a move.

If Josh Allen goes down for a handful of games, the goal of our backup QB should be to keep us competitive. Don't give away the game. Let the defense and rushing attack carry the show. Hopefully stay about .500 during that brief stretch. In the event Allen goes down for longer, the season is likely toast anyway. Mitch Trubisky has a career record of 31-26, mostly with a Bears team with less overall talent than here. I doubt there are many teams in the NFL with a better win pct. riding the bench.

I'm always skeptical about using the "one-team's success" example, and then building an entire team-building philosophy around it. Yes, Kansas City won the Super Bowl last year with a below average WR room. But there were multiple times during the season that the lack of talent at that position cost them big. Two examples were the opener against Detroit and the regular season game against us (which ultimately let us host the playoff game in Buffalo). Ultimately they were able to overcome. Much of that has to do with them featuring the NFL's best QB, TE and offensive coach. Outside of KC, the other recent Super Bowl teams (San Francisco, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Cincinnati, Tampa Bay) all had fantastic receiver rooms with multiple weapons. You need to go back to New England... who is always a statistical outlier... to find another championship team with a weak WR room.

It's completely fair to be skeptical about the Bills WR group. We lost our #1 and #2 outside guys in the offseason. The only guys who have produced in this offense (Knox, Kincaid, Shakir) are slot receivers and tight ends. The rest of the room is made up on a rookie (Coleman), a solid complimentary guy (Samuel), underachieving speedsters (Valdes-Scantling, Hamlin, Isabella), veteran depth (Hollins) and a reclamation project (Claypool). There seem to be a lot of supremely confident fans, absolutely certain that a few of these guys will step up big and we won't miss Diggs at all. Well, I hope they are correct. But let's be completely honest. If this same WR group was on a competitor like the Dolphins, Jets, Patriots or Chiefs... everyone would be calling it a weakness, and boasting how it didn't scare anyone. This position is unproven at best. So everyone is going to scrutinizing it during offseason workouts. As they should. As far as the Minicamp reports... I'm not sure why anyone is really surprised that coaches are shuffling things around. Shakir is hurt. Coleman is a rookie. And none of the guys I have listed above are worthy of being handed the job. None of this is reason to panic. Good or bad, I'm sure it was always the plan to let multiple combinations play with the starting lineup and see what rises to the top. I also don't understand why people are "worried" that Claypool is standing out. He's got the most past success of any WR on the roster, and personally I think it's good that someone is doing good.

The only question with Josh Allen is how long his body will hold-up at this level. Barring some kind of catastrophe, he will easily become the Buffalo Bills all-time touchdown leader in BOTH passing and rushing... surpassing three first-ballot Hall of Fame players in Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas and OJ Simpson. That's impressive by itself. The real question is... How close can he get to the all-time NFL record? He's currently got 220 touchdowns in 6 seasons (averaging out to roughly 36 per year). By far, it's the best pace any QB has been on in the history of the NFL. That includes Patrick Mahomes. - At this current pace, it would take him just over 11 more years to surpass Tom Brady with 624 TDs. He would be 39 years old. Assuming that Aaron Rodgers continues moving up the touchdown list himself, Allen would need 8 years at the current pace to reach the Top 5 and surpass Brett Favre's 508 TDs. He would be 36 years old. - If he can average 30 TDs per year for the remainder of his career, it would take him just over 13 more seasons to surpass Brady (41 years old) and just over 9 seasons to surpass Favre (37 years old).