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Glad to hear the observations on Brown. Reading the thread last night, I thought he was a disaster, but it sounds like he held up okay.

Around 80-85 years is just fine w/ me. Especially if we never win a SB.

Nice alliteration.

The rumblings out of camp were that Bernard was looking pretty solid & like he was ready to assume the starting role. All we can do is hope that's the case, and that he fills in capably. I don't expect that to be our strongest position on the defense, but we do need it to be solid.

I'm trying not to add to the negativity today, so this is just a question. I really don't know the answer. Preseason is a time for overreaction, but there were concerning things yesterday: the penalties and undisciplined play can't just be chalked up to it being preseason. The team looked unprepared, and sloppy. Those things are generally attributable to coaching. My biggest concern this season is that McD just has too much on his plate now. He is passionate about defense, and I think he'll be a good DC - but that passion could lead to a more singular focus on just that, since it's now his responsibility. The rest of the HC stuff might take a backseat. Thoughts?

I was expecting much more from the O-line this season - and in a small sample size, they looked worse. They showed the KC & Bills highlights back to back on ESPN yesterday. It was painfully easy to see how much more protection Mahomes has, and how much more time in the pocket. 2nd observation is that Kincaid is the real deal - looks to be a great draft pick. 3rd, even though it was not asked for, is that Elam may not be a starter. Which isn't great.

I was thinking all of these things, then you wrote them down. 100% agreed. I really hate preseason overreactions. But there was a lot to digest tonight, and it all can't be filed under "it's just preseason." I think the biggest concern I have is that McD has too much on his plate now. Penalties and general undisciplined play are not a good look at any time. I really hope we don't end up thinking that the combined HC/DC thing was an experiment that just didnt work. Gotta give it time, though. See if they can work out the kinks.

Zappe just made a great 40+ throw for a TD in the Pats game, after a meh showing by Jones. Take some solace in the fact that New England is about to continue their Losman/Edwards debate phase of mediocrity.

All of the comparisons to the Cincy game. I mean - that was actually a GAME.

For sure. That's actually my biggest concern. Even in preseason - that shouldn't be happening.

The issue w/ preseason is that as fans, we have been starved for football. It's a long wait. When we finally get to see the starters, we want fireworks. We want to look like we're gonna look. But that just ain't the way in the preseason. Not that there aren't concerning things going on. But it's easy to overreact.

It's either: 1) Glad we had this in the preseason - get all of the mistakes out now, look terrible, show up in week 1 w/ lessons learned & ready to go 2) Everyone outside Buffalo is right, the Bills window has closed, and NIck Wright is smiling I'll take door # 1 all day, every day.

That's conventional wisdom. BUT, if Allen just missed a few weeks or something, you need a guy who can hold it steady. It's not all or nothing.

We're gonna find out that this ref crew spent a night in Buffalo, ordered ranch w/ their wings and got mercilessly ridiculed.

There have been some rumors of trading for a better backup. Might be a thing.

Kincaid is going to be really fun to watch. If Davis really has "returned," the O is going to be kind of ridiculous.

I remember my first preseason...

There are a lot of overreactions on this thread - preseason is literally nothing. But I can't discount all of them. They play vanilla & all that, so we're not seeing what we will be seeing. But some of the penalties and sloppy play are concerning. I'm definitely worried that McD bit off more than he can chew taking on 2 roles.

Has McD taken on too much being DC & HC?

We're on to 2024.

Martin, baby. It's like the old days - we've got a punting game!

One of my biggest pet peeves is preseason overreaction. But, I have one. I really don't know if we have a good DC or OC right now. We might - but McD trying to be HC and DC has been a concern, and still is. And the jury is still way out on Dorsey.

Dude....

Well, Davis looks great at least....

That's on them. People forget what preseason is about. No DC or OC shows their hand in preseason.