Logic

Respectfully, I was actually referring to the recent thread absolutely filled with speculation and insinuation that Tre's recovery wasn't going well, that he was behind schedule, that there had been setbacks. To me, the general manager of the team saying, essentially "I've never seen ACL rehabs better than Tre White's" DOES in fact put that speculation to rest. At least in my mind it does. I wasn't aware that there was a large continent of people predicting that Tre would be ready to start the season. I've always assumed that a return some time between mid October and mid November was most likely. I didn't think this was really disputed. But the "something must be wrong!" and "I'm worried, he's behind schedule!" stuff got out of hand, and Beane's comments seem to indicate that there's nothing to that line of thinking.

Well played.

Moss joke aside, I don't love #20 as a number for Hines. I thought #22 was the correct choice.

Hearing that Beane checked in on Hines in 2020 reinforces one more time that Beane doesn't give up on players he likes.

"I have seen a lot of players rehab from ACL injuries. I don’t want to say Tre’ White’s rehab was the best, but I haven’t seen better. I’m real proud of him." Welp. I guess that puts THAT one to rest. Beane seems to disagree with all of the medical experts on this forum.

Night games at the Ralph can be a little rough, inebriation-wise. At the Titans Monday nighter this year, the person I went with may or may not have drank too much homemade moonshine at the tailgate and wound up palming a stranger's head like a basketball after the first Bills touchdown. I mean, it was a Titans fan, so it was okay, but still...😆 I had to politely explain to drunky drunk-pants that we don't palm stranger's heads without their consent at football games.

In today's "NFL Rewind" article on The Athletic, there's an interesting bit about the Bills. The pics and clips attached won't paste here, but if you have access to The Athletic, it's worth checking out. https://theathletic.com/3753317/2022/11/02/nfl-week-8-rewind-christian-mccaffrey/ Bills’ run game Picking nits with what the Buffalo Bills are doing on offense is like complaining that Giannis Antetokounmpo doesn’t shoot enough 3-pointers or the “Lord of the Rings” movies are too long. Every complaint can be addressed by pointing at the screen and saying, “You’re kind of right, but are you watching this?” The Bills are at or near the top in every metric for overall offensive numbers (and that has been true after every game they have played). But there is still room to create even more consistency in an already potent and effective attack. Josh Allen is one of the most dangerous weapons the NFL has seen in recent years. And I’m sure the Bills’ staff enjoys having someone who can stun with a designed QB run or make one of his jaw-dropping plays. But, over the first four weeks of the season, the Bills’ run game outside of Allen was — to put it mildly — putrid. (NFL rank in parentheses) Bills Weeks 1-4 vs. Weeks 5-8: Designed Rush Rate Weeks 1-4: 26.9% (32) Weeks 5-8: 32.8% (26) Rush Success Rate Weeks 1-4: 35.5% (26) Weeks 5-8: 53.2% (T-1) EPA per Designed Rush Weeks 1-4: -.32 (32) Weeks 5-8: .08 (7) There’s no magic bullet for the Bills’ improvement. My first hypothesis was that the Bills simply had been going under center more often and that would correlate to a better rushing attack, but they’ve actually done that less over their past three games (29.2 percent of first- and second-down snaps down to 28 percent). So, the shotgun runs are still a part of this offense. The Bills also used 11 personnel at about the same clip from Weeks 1-4 as they did from Weeks 5-8. However, Buffalo has become more effective out of those plays by diversifying its run looks... My other working theory was that, perhaps, the Bills had made a tweak in personnel usage to give their run game a boost. There have been some indicators of that. The Bills have used fullback Reggie Gilliam to great effect this season. They were in 21 personnel for 94 snaps total last season, but they’ve already gone to that setup 72 times with Gilliam this season, while also increasing their success rate (44.2 percent to 47.4 percent). Having a fullback in the backfield can diversify the concepts an offense can get to in its run game, because the fullback can be used as a true adjustor who can move where needed and change the angle of attack. The use of 21 personnel has been opening things for the Bills passing game, too, like on the 62-yard Gabe Davis touchdown against the Steelers: In Week 6 against the Chiefs, the Bills used more 12 personnel on first and second downs (seven snaps) than they had over the previous five weeks combined (five snaps). They averaged .26 EPA per play out of that personnel grouping... Against the Packers on Sunday night, the Bills increased their 12 personnel even more, not just in usage but also in the size of that grouping. They brought in a sixth offensive lineman for six plays against the Packers, using OT Bobby Hart as the second tight end and going after the Packers’ leaky run defense for gains of 9, 5 and 17 yards, respectively, in the first half... Perhaps you’ve noticed that all of the efficient run plays above came on different run concepts, which will give opposing defensive coaches additional things to game plan for. It’s another tool in the Bills’ toolbox as defenses try to hunker down on tendencies as the season goes along. Allen will provide most of the answers to any problem, but it’s nice to know that he won’t always have to be the solution.

I don’t think most Bills fans have ever understood this fundamental truth about Edmunds: The size and speed and wingspan he possesses, and thus his ability to do things like carry the inside receiver 20-30 yards deep as if he was a corner — to stay stride for stride with receivers when dropping back in Tampa 2 or cover 3 or 4 — is what makes him so valuable. That whatever he may lack in traditional run stuffing prowess, he mostly makes up for in the way he alters throwing options and throwing lanes. Add to that his evolution as the QB and leader of this defense and you have a player whose value is very likely under appreciated by most Bills fans. I’ve always felt that he’s neither as good as his biggest fans think nor as bad as his biggest detractors claim. What he is is a good — not great, but good — modern NFL linebacker with a unique skill set that marries very well with what is asked of middle linebackers in the 2022 NFL. I’d STILL like to see him make more splash plays. More forced fumbles, more interceptions. That said, I’m quite happy with his performance this year. Anyone who thinks that the Bills being the top defense in the league doesn’t have anything to do with Edmunds is being foolish, in my mind. You do t have the top defense in the league with a slouch at MLB.

Not going to read through 29 pages, but… This is a solid move. Earth shattering? No. Does it improve the Buffalo Bills? I believe it does. Obviously, for whatever reason, they don’t fully trust Cook to be the primary pass catching back at this point. Maybe he has struggled to learn the playbook. Maybe they don’t trust his pass blocking. Whatever the reason, they clearly still wanted more help there. Hines provides it. You can tell a bit about a player by how fans of the team that is trading him away respond to the news. In this case, most Colts fans really did not want to see Hines go. He’s one of the heart and soul players of the Colts locker room. Can return punts, provide pass catching acumen, explosiveness, and a change of pace for the Bills offense. If nothing else, he provides good depth and is an upgrade over Moss. The Bills now have three running backs who can actually contribute on game days, rather than just two. Excited to see what he can do in the Bills offense.

I called for this in the “when is Benford moving to safety” thread. This trade made too much sense not to at least check in on. I’m just surprised the Falcons said yes. Marlowe knows and has produced in our defensive system. Should hit the ground running. Neither this nor Hines are earth shattering moves, but both make the Bills better and deeper.

Nailed it.

When someone plays as well at a premium position as Benford has at corner this season — especially considering he’s a rookie — why would you move him to a less premium position? Not only that, but asking a first year player from Villanova to learn a completely different NFL position 8 games into his rookie season seems to be asking an awful lot. I’d much rather see them trade for a Dean Marlowe type and leave Benford right where he is. You can never have enough good corners in the NFL.

The Packers successfully confused Josh at times, particularly in the second half. Still, he made boneheaded decisions that he immediately knew were boneheaded. Could’ve been the hype of facing Rodgers. Could’ve been the Packers quality pass defense. Whatever it was, it was a bad second half for Josh. Still, the Bills won by 10. When you can have a whole bad half and your QB can throw two picks and you can STILL beat an Aaron Rodgers team by 10, you’re pretty good. I hope they lock in to practice all week and come out like a house of fire against the Jets.

Packers have a quality pass defense. Packers coaches made good second half adjustments. Packers defensive coordinator confused Josh at times. Josh got greedy and made plays that he knew immediately thereafter were boneheaded and ill advised. While I would’ve rather seen Josh and the Bills dominate for four quarters, sometimes you need a game like this. Coach will be whooping ass this week. Everyone will be locked in, because no one likes the taste the second half left in their mouths. The team, and Josh, will hopefully be better for this game. The fact that they were still able to win by 10 is excellent.

He has less than five total catches across six games . If he’s a receiving back, fine, but they don’t use him as that either!

Bills Twitter has been talking Akers and Hunt rumors. It is 100% NOT from any reputable sources, but there has been chatter. Akers would at least make sense from an “Aaron Kromer connection” perspective

It’s so weird to me that the Bills would potentially be willing to trade draft capital for a running back when they JUST drafted one in the 2nd round who hardly sees the field. I was in favor of acquiring CMC because he’s a game changer, but I would not understand acquiring a Cam Akers level running back. Maybe instead just…..play the running back you drafted in the 2nd round?

"Other than just last year, when a trade deadline acquisition resulted in a team winning the Super Bowl, when was the the last time it happened!"

Actually, he injured his foot while you were typing that and is week-to-week.

I don't understand the trend of teams trading away good, young players once they're having a losing season. If it's a salary cap necessity, a character issue, or a young team getting rid of an old guy, then I understand. But if teams like the Panthers and Jaguars traded away guys like Brian Burns and Josh Allen? THAT I would not understand. I don't understand how trading away talented, young players on cost controlled deals at premium positions helps a rebuilding effort.

Fair enough. In his best season, being used as a dual receiving/rushing threat, Harvin posted 1,300 yards from scrimmage and 8 TDs. I agree that Toney, like Harvin before him, is not a classic NFL receiver and likely lacks the ability to be one. Like you say, though, this is Kansas City we're talking about. They collect players like this. He seems potentially more dangerouss in their scheme than, say, Mecole Hardman, who is more of a straight line speed guy. Being depended on to be the number 1 receiver, which is what the Giants wanted and needed him to be, was never going to work. Asking him to be a classic starting X or Z was never going to work. Having him around for manufactured touches, screens, jet sweep, and catch-and-run plays with as much room for YAC as Andy Reid is typically able to scheme up, though? That seems like a recipe for success for Toney.