Success

Nick Wright really is the culmination of where sports media has been heading for the past couple of decades. Obviously, a sad thing for anyone who values real sports journalism and intelligent analysis. But he is the model now.

Great breakdown of the options. My preference would be the 1st - with no #1 on this team, I'd really love to get one of the top 3 guys. Would you (or anyone) think there is a chance we might trade w/ the Giants & try to get Nabers?

Diggs arriving helped make Allen a better QB. Diggs leaving will likely make him an even better QB. I think the past couple of years, Allen has adjusted his own game to try to accommodate Diggs and keep him "happy." It wouldn't surprise me if his turnovers went down now - instead of trying to force things to Diggs, he might get back to just playing loose & having fun.

LOL - was literally just talking about that w/ some friends. Probably low.

Well, you laughed at the idea that the Bills could make the SB in '24. Wanna go on record? Are you saying there is no way they'll be in contention?

Hard disagree. People should check the Texans last-place schedule from last year. Very few impressive wins, imo. Stroud was a revelation - and could be great this year. Or, opposing DC's could catch up a bit, and he could have a sophomore slump. And if they are better, it's great strategy by the Bills. Does anyone think Diggs is gonna be happy w/ his targets on that team? Is he even their best receiver?

@Billl - still w/ the laughing emojis? Hate to tell ya - you're not going to come to an opposing team's board and hear every fan wallowing in misery & despair. We have more than a few of those here though, if you get hyped about that kind of thing. If anyone would understand that trading a top tier receiver shouldn't close a window, you would think it would be KC fans. But you can focus your attention on Cincy & Houston now if you feel like we're done.

We gave KC their best game in the playoffs, and beat them in the regular. That was w/ Diggs underperforming and dropping what likely could have won the game.. We're getting guys back from injury, including 2 top tier LB's, and 2 CB's (Douglas was clearly playing hurt at the end). Kincaid will be in year 2, we have a good running game, and Allen. Of the guys we lost, only Morse was really a big contributor this past season. I think we have just as realistic a shot at the SB as we have for the past 3 years.

Not for me. But we're all free Americans.

Man, just checking the internet - the sentiment among opposing fans seems to be that Diggs absolutely made JA what he is, and now he'll regress & basically go back to being an average QB without Diggs. That's really just dumb.

Are we worse at the positions where we had guys injured? 3 starting LB's, 3 starting CB's, 2 D-linemen, WR, & safety?

He was great for us - but like others, I'm kind of relieved. This team has come up short repeatedly in the playoffs. Diggs was a no-show the past 2 playoffs losses, and dropped one of the best passes I think I've seen in the postseason. We're heading into '24 w/ essentially a new team. It feels like a very needed clean slate.

Beane is pretty methodical. He's probably been thinking about how he wants to use the pick and what he plans to do in this year's draft from the minute he started considering this trade. I do think he trades up now.

A lot of people are picking the Texans in the AFC already. They didn't play much of a schedule last year. Now, they'll have a 1st place schedule. And Stroud looked great, but we've seen other rookies look good or great and take a step back once DC's figure out strategies to slow them down. Not saying that will happen, and Houston could for sure be a contender. But it wouldn't surprise me if they didn't take a big leap.

You think we'll be one of the 5 worst teams in the NFL? I mean - you know Josh Allen is still our QB, right?

Well, part of the reason for this thread was to give it a bump next year.

I'm cool w/ this. But I trust Beane on it - if they really like a guy & want to trade up, I won't complain.

Mind you - I am not saying we will or should be SB favorites, or even considered a top 3-4 contender. But losing Diggs changes very little, imo. A lot will depend on who we get in the 1st round this year, and if they can adjust quickly to the pro's. Diggs did nothing for us in the past 2 playoff losses, and his production was way down the entire 2nd half of last season (when we made our run). Just responding to thoughts in the Diggs thread that his trade clearly means a year off, and a rebuild. To me, it means a trade up for a better receiver, and we'll still be contending. I don't see this as some sort of window-closer.

If the pick they got is the one that allows them to trade up further and get one of the top 3 guys in this year's draft - this will turn out to be a fantastic move.

So, for awhile, I was going w/ "Diggs was hurt & we didn't know much about it" as to why his production dropped last year. Now, I've decided to switch to "he got old, and his best days are behind him."

In a previous playoff game against KC & Mahomes, the then mighty Patriots gave up a scoring drive in 16 seconds. It's football. It happens. It's not a desirable outcome, but even the best make mistakes & stuff happens.

Best of luck to Tre.

I kind of want to respond to this - but it actually leaves me speechless. Thank you.

I get the sentiments that we haven't taken a step forward either - and agree. But we didn't need to. We're as good as anyone. Differences are marginal. We need to figure out how to win playoff games. It has more to do w/ strategy & psychology than it does w/ talent.

We had a really good team last season. I thought it was the best heading INTO the season that we've had in the JA era. After the weird Jets debacle, we looked it, too. Injuries hit us hard in a short couple of weeks. We kind of got back on track, but never looked as dominant as we did prior to that. And then injuries hit us again at the end. Playoff success this year will be more about staying healthy than the quality of the team. The latter is there just as much as it was last year.