Kirby Jackson

That’s why I suggested it taking place between FA and the draft. We are talking about 3 games for each team that would be drawn. We already know who the home team will be so you can clear that in advance. I don’t think it’ll mess anything up. The games this year that would be “drawn” would be NFCE opponent at home, AFCW opponent at home and AFCS opponent on the road.

The schedule release is the most overhyped & boring NFL “event” of the year. It’s weird too because the draft, 2 weeks earlier, might be the most interesting and exciting. 🤷🏻‍♂️ We know the opponents and no matter how hard they want you to care about the order, I really don’t. I look and book flights for the road game(s) that I want to go to. Refundable flights and refundable hotels booked in case things change. Otherwise I’m just like whatever. I think it would be super interesting if we didn’t know the crossover opponents in advance. You could do a draw for all non-division crossover games. That would be amazing. Instead of playing the team that finished in the same spot as you in their division, you’d pull those names out to match them up. That would be another NFL event that could generate a ton of revenue. If, at some point between FA and the draft, you had a draw for those opponents it would get huge ratings. My $.02

Perfectly said. If this team is going to win a Super Bowl it’s going to be because of Josh Allen not because they upgraded the DL rotation. That will help but the wins come from Josh Allen, not McDermott or his defense. While I agree that the defense needed to be upgraded, I don’t think it’s as important as loading up for Josh. If given the choice of a rotational 1T or a WR that can take the top off the defense and/or separate, I’m choosing the WR. Now, I’m fine with Hairston and even Sanders to start. They will both compete for, or win, starting spots. Those were the 2 spots available. Addressing the 2 deep on the DL before arming Josh is why Beane took heat (and didn’t like it). I like Jackson as a player and think he helps. Walker has a high ceiling and low floor. If he hits his ceiling he will be worth it. Strong and Hancock are competing with Dane/Ingram and Cam Lewis. Competition for those guys should have come WAY after a guy to get down the field. Hawes is Lee Smith. I see the vision for him and get it. It’s still a less important role. Beating a dead horse here but arming Josh is priority 1,2,3,4, and 5. He’s why you win. He’s why you’ve won for years. Everyone else is a product of being on his team. Don’t make him cover weaknesses with his greatness. Allow other playmakers to make him even greater. That’s the recipe IMO. We have 5 straight division titles and haven’t gotten to the ceiling and have tried everything but loading up for him. Yes, they traded for Diggs but ignored the rest of the room to where they were signing Beasley and Brown off the street. That’s the philosophy of Beane and, as @GunnerBill has pointed out, Hurney and Gettleman.

I do agree on last year and that’s why I’ve been more forgiving this offseason. They would have needed things to go perfectly last year to win it. I thought it was his best coaching job.

I’d be betting on improvement. I’d just assume lose in the WC as the Divisional round or AFC Championship. If that’s the floor, which I think it is, there is no risk. McDermott has had 5 or 6 straight teams that were Super Bowl caliber. If (insert NFL coaches name here) was the HC over the last 5 years what would have happened? IMO, it wouldn’t have been much worse and potentially better. With Josh Allen, in this division, you’re pretty much guaranteed a home playoff game. That means you have a chance. To be clear, I understand why they’ve keep him every year. He’s the best that they’ve had in a long time (maybe ever). I’m just saying that I wouldn’t have because I think they need to capitalize on Allen’s prime. It’s more of, “if it hasn’t worked try something else.” I wanted Sean Payton a few years ago. It’s not so much about the “who” though and more about trying something else with Josh still in his 20’s.

I guess that this is also where some of the divide is. I think the floor for this team is a division title and WC loss. If you or I was coaching they’d be 10-7 or 11-6 and win the AFCE. So, IMO, pretty much every single guy coaching anywhere in the NFL could accomplish that with Josh Allen and this roster. So for me, I don’t think “the bottom falling out” is possible. I’d probably hand the reigns to Joe Brady but could be talked into lots of different people.

The irony is Reid was there a long time and never won (with good teams and a top 10 QB). He left and they won twice. In his second stop, he won 3 times. Maybe that’s McDermott? Belichick didn’t win at his first stop either. Let’s just say, last season’s result, repeats itself over and over and over. How many more KC playoff losses 32-29 would you accept? For me, I would have already been done. If this happens 8 more times, good? 5? 1? 0? I guess this is where the divide is for some. The results are good. They aren’t good enough. I wouldn’t continue letting years of Josh Allen’s prime tick off without a title (or change). I think that the Ravens should be in the same boat. The difference is Harbaugh has won one and they haven’t ended each year the same way. What about the years that they had the number 1 defense? When should he be accountable? That’s what I am asking. If you don’t think it should be on the table, that’s fine. I’d ask, why? I think that you should win at least a Super Bowl with Josh Allen. The results vs. KC don’t give me much confidence that he can do it.

I guess, for me, just because he has been terrible at hiring coaches/gms, doesn’t mean he should settle. I think with Josh Allen, the floor is the AFC East Title. Rich Kotite would win the division every year with this group. For me, the ceiling is a Super Bowl Title and the floor is a home loss in the WC round. It’s been that way for 5 years. They haven’t hit the floor but are also still steps from the ceiling.

For sure, there were multiple factors. It’s such a great example though for where the Bills are now. It’s kind of weird that @Mister Defense disliked the post instead of responding. What in there is controversial? Allen has been historically good in the playoffs and McDermott historically bad vs. KC. That’s not really debatable. If he’s against the notion that McDermott belongs on the hot seat, defend that position. I’m of the belief that dozens of coaches could have accomplished what he has over the last 5 seasons with those exact rosters. @GunnerBill are you still all in on McDermott? We are often in agreement but we couldn’t feel more differently about him. If, the Bills go 13-4 or 14-3, lose to KC in the AFC Championship, 35-32, will you be okay running it back? I’ve asked this before, “at what point is enough, enough for you?” For me, I don’t believe he’s accomplished much more than others would with prime Josh Allen. Where is your line?

Why are we lumping in McDermott and Josh? They are pretty much at opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of their performances in the biggest moments. Allen has been historically good in the playoffs and McDermott’s defenses have been historically bad. Allen will be here no matter what for the forseeable future. I’ve been screaming to make a change at HC since 13 seconds. I thought last year was McDermott’s best coaching job but the fact remains he hasn’t been any good vs. KC in the playoffs. McDermott is a great guy to take a team in disarray and stabilize them. I have never believed, and have been proven correct so far, that he can take a very good team to the top. At some point, someone else has to be calling the shots. Dwayne Casey was the coach of the year and got fired. The Raptors went on to win the title. Lots of people could win a playoff game or 2 with Josh Allen at QB. To this point McDermott is more Schottenheimer or Marvin Lewis than Belichick or Reid. They cannot continue wasting Josh Allen’s prime if they don’t get it done again. I don’t care that they win 11 or 13 games. They should. Go win a Super Bowl.

They won’t be interested in Rodgers. Carr wasn’t going to play this year anyways. The Saints are going to roll with the rookie. If he sucks, they’ll add the native son.

Open on Thursday Night as the defending Super Bowl Champs

He was despised in New Orleans. That’s one of those places that if you don’t embrace, they will hate you. It has a real Buffalo feel to it in that sense. With that being said, he wasn’t going to play anyways. This year is the reset and Shough will be the guy. If he can’t play, and they bottom out, they’ll take a shot on the hometown kid in the draft. The Saints are going to bottom out this year.

There are lots of rumors out there about Ireland. If that happens, it’s against the Steelers wishes. They asked the league to protect the Bills and Packers in Pittsburgh. I’ll be shocked if the league goes against their wishes.

So a rookie DB wants to intercept the league MVP? Am I supposed to have feelings about this?

Appreciate your work on this. Just one question, why are we looking at it through the lens of 53 instead of 51? I am a little confused. Is it in case guys come in and out of the top 51? Just wondering and appreciate your work!!

Not defending this because he’s an idiot. Also, Tua doesn’t belong in the top 5. Apparently though he started by saying, “excluding Tua here are my top 5” or something like that. The story has gone viral but evidently it’s not really accurate.

This feels very fair. That’s been part of the disconnect too. If we are just looking at WRs, they are bad. If we are looking at all of the weapons, they’re a little below league average. The backs and TEs are top 10ish groups. If you add the OL, it moves up. They are a top 5 unit. Josh Allen is the best player in the world at the most important position. They move up again. Is the offense good and are the receivers good are two different conversations.

Production for sure. The WR room has COMBINED for 2 seasons over 800 yards!! Please go through every single team in the league and tell me how many have less? The answer will almost certainly be 0. Shakir is the only guy that’s a top 50 WR in the NFL and he’s probably in the 30 range. If you were to draft every NFL WR start to finish he probably goes around 30 and they may not have another guy picked until 65 or later. There are 32 teams in the league. I’ll throw pedigree in as well. Moore was an early 2 but has disappointed to this point. Coleman was an early 2 but the 8th or 9th WR off the board in his own draft class. Did you he get pushed down because of the strength of the class or pushed up because of the run of them before the next tier dropped off? Palmer was a 3. Shakir was a 5. Samuel was a RB. The pedigree of the Bills WR room pales in comparison to pretty much every team. We went through early in the year using draft trade chart points and how many were allocated to WR. It’s incredibly low. Cooper doesn’t get a pass. He didn’t look like the player he was a year earlier. What, for some reason, is so difficult for you to understand, if the Bills passing game was WAY better in the games he played. You tried to spin that and then I posted the numbers. You then disappeared for 2 days because the truth exposed your narrative. The offense was way better with him. Period. Diggs’ numbers dipped. Diggs also had the best 4 year stretch a Bills receiver ever had. The passing game was better when he was here. There’s no doubt about that. He wasn’t the same player at the end, but if he walked through the door today, coming off the ACL, he’d be the number 1. I challenge you to find any metrics supporting the WRs not being bottom 5. 🤣🤣 There aren’t any other than hope. The OL is excellent. Brady is great. Josh Allen is the best player in football. The WRs are bad compared to other NFL WR groups. Why do you refuse to accept the truth? It doesn’t mean that the Bills can’t produce. Those other factors may be enough to overcome them. It was enough last year. Let’s hope it continues. As an aside, in the future, if you’re going to call someone a liar, please make sure that the numbers won’t tell a different story. You lost a lot of credibility on here trying to spin reality. Whether we agree or not, doesn’t matter. Don’t argue against facts!! The passing game with Cooper was way better than the passing game without. That’s how this whole conversation started. You said that didn’t happen. The numbers said it did.

That’s kind of what I think Alpha. They’ll get less turnovers but more stops. I wonder what that does to average drive start? I have no idea but the improved defense will definitely help.

I agree that they will be improved. I’m asking if the regression in terms of negative plays is greater than their improvement?

You asked a question and I answered. Having better players isn’t a bad thing. If the Bills had a 1 and threw him the ball 8 times a game and that meant 1 less target for Moore, Palmer and Coleman, I wouldn’t care. Over the course of the year they’d each see 15 less targets, or whatever, and an elite receiver adds those 45, the Bills will be better.

Lol, we have people convinced that having better players is a bad thing. 🤣🤣 Josh throwing the ball to better players will yield better results. The passing numbers last year dropped quite a bit. Brady schemed guys open.

You can compare stats to historical output. The 2024 Bills had the fewest negative plays EVER. Not just for the Bills, of any team ever. Is it reasonable to believe that, for a 2nd consecutive year, they won’t do something that no team in history has ever done? Common sense says it regresses even if it’s still good. The Bills could be a top 5 turnover differential team and that would be a massive step back from where they were. They were a statistical outlier. I believe that Coleman and Kincaid will improve some. I think Palmer and Moore are decent role players. They are as good as Mack was. But will that offset the regression in terms of “luck?” The pass catchers are near the bottom of the league. That’s not really debatable. The question is, “will it matter?” It didn’t last year but they had incredible luck and health on the OL. They were awesome. If any of that changes, the talent becomes more important. Is it enough? I believe the defensive additions will make a difference there. I expect the defense to be better. I don’t expect them to turn the ball over more. I do expect more pass rush though. I expect better run defense too. I expect the Bills to compete for the Super Bowl. That doesn’t mean that they are perfect. If they do fall short of their goal, what will be the reason? My guess is that it’s the lack of playmakers and questionable coaching. The defense will be better and Josh is incredible.

I think that this is a major part of the disconnect. Just because he doesn’t “need” a number 1 doesn’t mean that the offense wouldn’t be better with one. That’s obvious. The question becomes, can they keep winning with a bottom 5 WR room? We all hope so. Would they be better off if you plugged Metcalf at the top of the depth chart (for example)? Of course they would. You need to remember that the Bills were +24 in turnover differential last year. No other team was more than +16. Other than that no other team was more than +12!! That’s a massive gap. If the Bills even fall to 3rd best in turnover differential we are talking about almost an extra turnover a game that they either commit on offense or don’t get on defense. This is often lost in these conversations. The Bills had the fewest negative plays ever (turnovers and sacks). We shouldn’t expect that again or even close to it. When that regresses, even if it’s still good, will the playmakers around Josh be good enough to overcome it?