Logic

You have the Panthers or Lions winning the Super Bowl?

As someone who's hugely in favor of adding McCaffrey, I'll say this: I fully realize that he won't solve the o-line blocking issues, and I still want to add him. For one thing, he's as much an addition to the passing game as he is the running game. Diggs and Davis out wide with McCaffrey and Knox underneath? Fuhgeddaboutit! For another, you can only fix one thing at a time. McCaffrey doesn't improve the offensive line. He also doesn't improve the cornerback depth chart or add safety depth. What he DOES do is improve the running back room and the passing game drastically. Simple question: Would adding Christian McCaffrey improve the Buffalo Bills roster? I don't see how the answer could be anything but "yes".

Based on what I read from Greg Tompsett of Cover 1, which I linked above -- it would cost the Bills only $600,000 in 2022 money to bring McCaffrey in, and only $1m of his remaining salary is guaranteed -- I would be fully, completely, 100% on board with bringing him in. You either have him for 1 year for a Super Bowl push, or you re-structure and keep the Bills offense unstoppable for years. Remember, Devin Singletary is a free agent after this year. Moss is just a guy. McCaffrey is a game changer.

For those saying his contract is cost prohibitive, it is very much not:

I understand that point of view. I'd point to a consistent body of work, beginning in the preseason, and continuing every time he's gotten an opportunity in the regular season. I think that, in actuality, he'll continue to trail McKenzie in snaps, perhaps slowly approaching a 50-50 split. Still, I trust my eyes on this one. Shakir is a star in the making. They won't be able to keep him off the field forever, because he'll continue to force their hand.

They both CAN play. But if it's a gotta-have-it down or a key drive and you're coming out in 11 personnel and you're saying "who are my top three receivers?", I think that more often than not, the answer should be Diggs, Davis, and Shakir. As others have pointed out, it will probably continue to depend on matchups, as it always has. McKenzie can beat man coverage with great effectiveness. But again -- when push comes to shove and we need a big play, I want Shakir on the field.

I know, I know -- it's early, and you'll say I'm jumping the gun. I don't care. I've seen enough: Khalil Shakir should be the starting slot receiver going forward, even when McKenzie and Crowder return to full health. At the very least, he should be splitting reps with McKenzie and seeing more playing time than Jamison Crowder. He runs great routes. He constantly seems to get open. He has relatively sure hands (one bad concentration drop yesterday not withstanding). He offers run-after-catch ability that this offense often lacks. He has the frame and build to withstand the tough over-the-middle work. Aside from all of that, he just passes the eyeball test in a way that the Bills' other two slot options do not. Frankly, he looks like a star in the making. I love McKenzie as a player and am glad he's on the roster, but has he looked like a dynamic full time slot option to anyone over the first four games? He hasn't looked that way to me. I like Crowder, too. He's a solid, dependable veteran depth option. Again, though: he doesn't seem to pop off the screen the way Shakir was. I have figured all along that Shakir would be brought along slowly, that he'd be more of a contender for starting duties in 2023 or 2024. Given McDermott's M.O., that still may happen. I don't think it should, though. I've seen enough. He's the best option to start in the slot. The coaches always preach getting the best players on the field, regardless of tenure or pedigree. If they're true to their word, Shakir should start seeing more opportunities. I hope he does.

I don't think they win 11 in a row, but I think they go on an 8 or 9 game winning streak and ultimately wind up 13-4. Whether or not 13-4 is good enough for the one seed may depend upon whether or not the Bills beat the Chiefs next Sunday.

As soon as I saw the schedule, my feeling was that the opening 7 game stretch was the toughest, followed by what -- for this roster -- should be a very winnable 10 game stretch. I figured if they could come out of the first seven games 4-3 or better, and be relatively healthy after the bye, they'd be right on schedule to go 13-4 or so and compete for the one seed. They seem to be right on schedule. Even IF they lose the next two games, which I don't expect (I think we'll beat either the Chiefs or the Packers or both), they'd be 4-3, which would be almost a miracle considering the insane amount of injuries they've endured. Don't be surprised if the Bills go on an 8 or 9 game winning streak. After the Chiefs game, the hard part of the schedule is over. Regarding the rest of the schedule? As a wise sage once said: "Cake walk, *****".

I’m still getting used to Bills games effectively being over half way into the third quarter. What a time to be alive.

Garbage thread.

Games become tough to call in an interesting way that keeps fans engaged when they’re as one-sided as today’s contest was. There are only so many talking points in the “things to talk about during a blowout” bag of tricks. That said, I do agree that today was not Romo’s best day. Also, for all the crap we give Collinsworth, it was Romo who won the “how many times can I mention Mahomes during a non-Chiefs game” contest.

Mark Cuban was right. The NFL is Icarus.

If only there was a very recent critical catch at an important time in an important game that helped the Bills go on to score and secure victory that we could point to.

I watch just about every NFL game I possibly can. I set my alarm to be up at 6am for the London games (I live on the west coast). I usually watch even the least enticing Monday and Thursday games. But THIS? This monstrosity of a game? I decided ahead of time not to subject myself to it. I haven’t watched a single snap. I’m a nice person, and I figured I didn’t deserve that kind of torturous boredom. Based on the reactions on social media and in this thread, it looks like I made the right call. And next week is Commanders-Bears?! Yeesh.

I respectfully disagree with the former statement. He’s not currently at the top of his game, but he’s pushing 80 years old. Listen to the Dead circa 1968-1974 and I don’t know how you could say with a straight face that Billy wasn’t a good drummer. As to the latter statement, I’d love to see a source for that supposed quote. I’ve exhaustively read every biography of — and scores of interviews with — the band and its members, and I’ve not heard that.

Agreed, ESPECIALLY given the tough slate of opponents over the first six weeks. 4-2 at the bye would have me thinking 13-4 on the year and a first round bye.

Starting RCB, like always. Dane, Kaiir, and Benford have a bunkhouse brawl/steel cage/Judy Bagwell on a pole death match to determine the starter at LCB. Simple.

One saving grace for the Bills, if they choose to be cautious and sit some injured players, is that the Steelers very well may be without a few key players of their own. If I'm not mistaken, Minkah Fitzpatrick has yet to practice this week.

This is a lead pipe lock. He and Josh are best buds and he'll be entering the "I know I can't be a starter, I'm just happy to be employed as a backup" phase of his career next season. He has a good work ethic and enough athleticism, arm strength, and improv ability that the Bills wouldn't have to alter the playbook too significantly if he has to play a few games. I believe Beane and co scouted him and liked him fairly well in the 2018 draft and, in a world where Allen was not available and Darnold was still on the board, I believe the Bills may have taken him. I expect Trubisky to try to compete to start again somewhere next year.

I imagine the injured players are in one of three camps: Those who have a decent chance of actually playing this week, those who the Bills will rest to try to get back for the Chiefs game, and those who likely won't return until after the bye. Hopefully, Edmunds, Knox, big Ed, and Phillips are in the second category. I'd say Gabe, too, but with the other injuries to the receiving corps, he may be forced to play this week. I assume Tre White and Christian Benford will not be seen until after the bye. I expect McKenzie to clear concussion protocol in time for the game.

I feel like age and health must have a lot to do with it. I also can't help but wonder if, after 7 years of this, John Mayer is ready to get back to just touring as a solo artist.

Fanduel and DraftKings are the big ones. I just started using Draftkings for the exact thing you're talking about. I wanted to lay down small, silly bets -- between $1 and $5 -- on prop bets. Draft Kings has a "same game parlay" option. So you can pick however many things you want within a given game and place a wager. If you pick the right things or stack enough of them, you can theoretically turn $1 into decent winnings. Obviously, the odds of doing so are not great, but it's $1, so who really cares? I've found it to be a fun way to add some viewing interest to single viewing window games, like the London games or otherwise uninteresting Thursday night games.