Mister Defense

I thought I read that last year, though, he did not drop one ball. This true? If so, I think it is an excellent late pick--big, good hands, and a big play receiver. Rated best wide receiver prospect in country out of high school.

Yes!! May end up being the best guard drafted this year. I have no idea why he fell so far when so many had rated him rated as the best guard in the draft. Haven't read this entire thread yet, so maybe the answer is in here. But the Bills have now eliminated two of their most important weaknesses in the off season, with two new starting guards--and maybe the best receiver in the draft too in Kincaid. The best set of first two picks that I can ever recall.

Great take, but need to add in his almost complete lack of focus/use/creativity in calling the running game too. If he has not done a HUGE amount of work, including working with top offensive minds, in the off season, it will be glaringly obvious. If so, McDermott will need to do something he has never done (?) and fire an important coach during the year. Or the Bills are doomed. I think the too conservative McDermott will do this. But hopefully Dorsey is already well on his way of re-inventing himself as a coach in the off season and ready to make dramatic changes. I don't think this fan base will settle for the status quo, even from day one this year.

Hate the pick, but love it if the rest plays out like this-- because then the Bills will not hesitate to grab their starting right tackle for the next decade plus, Darnell Wright.

I agree it was a rough year, but if we continue to blame that, and not look at the regression in the team, the clear weaknesses throughout the year, I think the Bills take another step back this coming year. The Bills must improve their offensive line, must establish a running game that becomes an integral part of the offense, create a dramatically better short passing game, and now, replace an integral part of their defense and find a good linebacker. If not, then it will soon be clear to those paying attention last year that the real problems were not the rough year, but the way they played.

Kind of funny how that seems to be the opposite of Rodgers personality! He obsesses over the media's coverage of him unlike any NFL quarterback in my lifetime. His focus and consternation with the media has significantly impacted him as a player and leader, in my view. He takes all criticism personally. He throws his teammates and coaches under the bus to re-direct any criticism of him or the team's performance. And he seems to be obsessed with the media's coverage of him, consistently. He brings it up all of the time, often un-prompted. Playing quarterback in the NFL is an extremely demanding job with the light always shining on you. At 40, with his skills on the decline, he needed to have his eyes on the prize--not the media's coverage of him. Instead, he constantly defended himself and attacked others in response. I would say in fact that Rodgers', probably more than any other quarterback in the NFL, seems to obsess over the media's coverage of him. And he let's it get to him, personally, professionally. That will be greatly exasperated by the media in his new playing town.

You cannot argue against what he says, in my view. Little Dirty was a complete bust, the opposite of Beasley as far as route running, separation, and sure hands. I think not having a slot receiver last year was a huge blow to the Bills' chances. Instead of the almost 100% confidence Allen had in Beasley, he likely had almost none that McKenzie would get open or make the catch. Shakir may have been able to be that guy last year if we had an OC capable of seeing the forest through the trees. But now we don't even know that, as he was never given the opportunity. Beasley should absolutely be in camp this year and during the pre-season. The Bills need to see if he can still be that guy who improves Allen and the team.

Very good news for the Bills, I think. The Jets were clearly an up and coming team, beating the Bills this year and young, improving, maybe getting ready to challenge a weaker Bills team for the division. Now they will have a non-leader head-case 'leading' them for hopefully 2-3 years, undermining the coach, the younger players (at 40, this could be all of them), and making it all about himself--always. And also making it much more difficult to spend where needed to really take that next step--waiting to see the financial details, hoping the Jets are paying most of that king's ransom this year and next. Looking forward to seeing Rodgers react to the New York media's criticism of his waning skills and narcissism. Should be a fun ride for Bills fans!

Sounds like the same faulty Bills' philosophy when it comes to their O-Line--these guys have potential, so let's stick with them no matter how they actually play: see Bates and Brown..., 'and we have this nice depth too with these cast offs. We can coach them all up, make do; we have such a great QB and he will continue to mask this weakness with his big arm and running ability'. But this has not played out well for the Bills, and clearly, dramatically, undervalues how vital a good/great offensive line is to a championship team. Yes, part of the problem is the lack of short game in the offense, but I don't believe that is Allen's fault--he did just fine with that when he had Beasley, a high level slot receiver, and a coordinator knowing how important it was to use most of the field. But more often than not, it seemed Josh was not just under undue pressure while waiting for the big play down field to develop, but often immediately running for his life. Yes, he made a lot of those plays, but if he is almost always in that position his teams will never be championship caliber. Never. A lesser QB with this line? Could be one of the weakest NFL teams. Time to give Josh Allen and the Bills' offense the foundation in O-line talent that has been the most glaring weakness of the Beane era, which has been excellent overall. Most rankings of offensive line performance for the 2022 season has the Bills very low, such as 25th by pro football network and 28th by lineups.com. The Bills cannot compete at the high level they have been working at the last 3-4 years unless this weakness is addressed in a real way, finally. I believe (or hope?) that will happen in this year's draft and continues into the off season.

I notice the offensive line is not part of your offense. Could be a problem...

Pass. The Bills must focus their resources now on both protecting their star player, Allen, and giving him an offense and coordinator capable of utilizing all of the field. A few months ago I wanted Hopkins, but now I think it would be almost pointless to do so and to once again divert resources from dramatically improving the weakest link on this team, the offensive line.

Nope--maybe you want a tight end more than anything else in this draft, but the Bills do not. They just shelled out a huge amount for Knox and won't go there again in a few years, especially with Josh Allen always running for his life. And besides, the OC does not know how to use tight ends well, properly anyway. The Bills, I hope, will finally start fixing their most obvious problem, a weak, always in flux offensive line. Hoping they trade up to get the best right tackle they can get.

Go Joe! Thank you and Happy Birthday! The Good 'Ol Days, the first time in many or our lives that the Bills looked like they could win it all... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVzRDJrOAi8

Perry Tuttle! Wide receiver out of Clemson, drafted by the Bills in the first round, #19, in the 1982 draft, one of the earliest I payed attention to/cared about. He had over 17 yards per reception in his last two years at Clemson, and about 900 yards receiving a year during a time when that was very good. Total bust in the NFL! 24 receptions and 368 yards in two years with the Bills--and one catch in in his one year, 5 games, after that. NFL career: 375 yards Tuttle was going to be a vital piece in the Bills taking the next step. It was as if his college playing years had no relevance to his actual NFL potential which was close to nil. He did light it up in Canada after he left the NFL, but not an NFL caliber player.

Yeah, just like all of those great visuals we see from inside the stadiums in Dallas, New Orleans, Houston, Indianapolis, Detroit...simply breathtaking. So much better than the blue sky or snow falling...

Very obvious, of course. I like how you state things factually, definitively, like "there will still be several teams interested in Hooker". Shows your confidence in your opinion and what must be considerable research to come to that opinion. And you add a great extra point here, something I and many Bills fans have probably been worrying about for months now: How do we stop Herndon Hooker from leading another AFC East team? That last tidbit sealed the deal for me. So, Herndon at 27! Now sounds like a no-brainer kind of move. a win-win-win a sure thing. It will be tragic if the Bills don't jump on this great opportunity.

Yup, sounds like a great idea, to not make the team stronger this year, to not try to win a championship this year, but to get a quarterback for future trade value for "a few hours or up to a year" , or to stockpile some picks in next year's draft. Would give every Bills' player and fan great hope for this year... as Hendon Hooker arrives at last..

Um, what was his reasoning for changing his name to 'Chosen"? Chosen to get half of his previous year's production each new year?: 2020: 1096 yards 2021: 519 2022: 206 2023: 110? He had a lot of potential though. I hope that is all squashed by now, and the name change may indicate this is the case. And that he stays in this same pattern with the Dolphins.

Lol. The quality of a right tackle does not relate to a team's wins or losses!? Well, only true if you mean that any one player cannot win by himself. As a right tackle is a vital part of a team and of an offense.

Bring in those warm bodies for your o-line again, Beane! So many new guys for the line, we can assume some have to be very good, right? Now, with all of these additions on the o-line this off season, the Bills can get another top notch defensive lineman in round one of the draft, one with great physical traits, character, and full of unrealized potential... And if I was a betting man I would bet Jarvis can play 'several positions' on the line. We should get a petition going that Beane has to spend three snaps behind the o-line in a game this year. Maybe that experience will get his attention.

A superb if subtle post, as I think you are saying that the Bills' focus on the athletic qualities of players, and so their potential to develop, has been a fundamental flaw in the Bills' leadership. This seems especially true of the offensive lineman. All you need to add to your post is "and he can play anywhere on the line" and it would be even more complete in its criticism. Hopefully someone in the Bills' organization has the same astute analysis as you. Or we will one day lament the wasted years when we had the best quarterback to ever play the game but gave him offensive lines, full of great physical specimens capable of playing multiple positions, but incapable of protecting the quarterback and opening holes for the running backs. Awesome post!

Yes, I agree that could be the case. But if Allen still has a sieve like line in front of him, and an extremely one dimensional offense, he will still be running for his life against even decent defenses, and forced to play Hero Ball again. Let 's finally do the right thing--and start building a good offensive line, the base of any good offense. To me now, a good receiver is MUCH less important than this, building the foundation of a championship team.

They need to do these three things, in my view: 1. The Bills get a much better right tackle and hopefully one more starting caliber guard to at least challenge for the spot. 2. An offensive play caller who sees and understands the entire field, who uses his running backs dramatically more and more effectively, and who uses the short passing game in the same way. (If not, Allen will take another step back this year, playing Hero Ball to an even greater degree--not because he wants that, not because he doesn't know better, but because he has to.) 3. A starting caliber inside linebacker (likely not on the roster now) and a starting caliber wide receiver and to use the receivers better, in a more diverse, dynamic, creative way.

Well, if this is the case again this year, where the running game seems to be less than an afterthought, again, then Ken Dorsey will almost assuredly be fired at the end of the year. But if the same pattern emerges again, he may not even make it to Thanksgiving.

I didn't realize how well he played last year, as a 32 year old running back--in 12 games rushing for 703 yards!, with 6 touchdowns, 4.4 yards per carry, and 26 receptions too. Those are very good stats for any back, let alone one in his early 30s. And throw in the fact that he was behind center with one of the worst starting quarterbacks in the NFL, Russel Wilson, and it is more impressive. This is the kind of inexpensive veteran I want on this team.