Richard Noggin

I'll allow it. Fair enough metaphor. But that video! First three picks feel like absolute HOME RUNS when you absorb the positive reactions from the players and the org. Got some tingles watching the video. Darn near best case draft haul for first two days.

Understandable

Not to mention Dorian Strong, who just feels like a Benford-ish fit if he brings it. That's a serious infusion of high-end DB talent/traits/pedigree/production. Along with Forrest entering the S competition; hope he gets a fair shake at it. They identified DL and DB deficits and filled them in a draft nicely designed to do so. I wonder if a pure S pick was at any point tempting. CHECK THIS ANALOGY DAMN: drafting a true S in first half of 2025 draft could have been blocked by the presence of Bishop (2nd rounder year before) and Rapp (decent starter signed for 2 more years), the same way Coleman (2nd rounder year before) and Samuel (signed for 2 more years) could have blocked a more significant draft investment at WR, even though WR is a much more premium position than S, and Coleman and Samuel have not done a ton for the Bills to date. The Bills lean pretty heavily on player development. Pessimists will say that kind of hope isn't a strategy. Optimists will say that guys drafted on the first two days are just that certain set of circumstances away from outgrowing their ceilings.

Deone Walker's strength at this point in his development is not really run defense. To date, he's been much better rushing the passer. 2023 college tape, Senior Bowl tape, injury recovery with NFL strength and conditioning, plus the promise of intensive NFL coaching, projects a high ceiling overall for Walker. But he's not a plug-and-play run stuffer at all right now.

This is an awesome breakdown. Thank you! But this is also where the science leaves off and the art of football analysis picks up: how much of this was the ghost of Amari Cooper's previous threat influencing or revealing defensive coverages? And/or how much of this was Amari Cooper's actual performance and production? I think if the Bills don't have an obvious matchup nightmare "#1" WR going into 2025, which they don't, that's fine...but on one hand it obviously limits an offense's ability to dictate/predict coverages, and on the other hand it allows Brady and Allen and the Gang to continue to evolve their Everyone Eats/Total Futbol offensive approach of spreading it out. Kind of like the NBA's triangle offense, which has since proliferated. Do the Bills have a Scotty Pippen and a Steve Kerr and a Horace Grant to run the Triangle with Josh Allen? Still looking for Pippen to step up, I think.

5'2" 350 can't find it

I WISH I'd had the huevos to walk away from being a founding member of Steely effing Dan, only to go on to even more popular success/acclaim. I'd personally prefer being an elite 70s studio musician who worked with everyone, to being a leading 80s/90s comic actor. But come on. What lore.

From your lips to dad's ears. Which are also my ears. You get it. Feels at times like the coaches need the wakeup call just as much as the players. But either way, it's a thing we all see. And moreover, some years, by that 2nd consecutive loss, things have looked surprisingly bleak. Even the improbable optimists among us, myself included, have questioned our faith. (this concludes all religious double entendres)

I've always seen it as the 2-game Midseason McDermott Reckoning, where the team's sins all get exposed, especially the defense, and even more specifically the RUN defense. McDermott can then have a come-to-Jesus moment with his team, and they rise again, enlightened...and go on a wicked run to the 2-seed and a KC or Cinci defeat. Came a little early last season. And the 2nd consecutive loss this time was more fluky and frustrating than anything.

And I'm not...

In a standing section, aisle seats are great. Move about more freely, more space, etc. But in a section where everyone sits, aisle seats mean getting up to let people by, OFTEN. (We moved our seasons after one year in 2nd row of 300s on an aisle right at the mouth of a tunnel to concessions and the ramp. SUPER awesome ingress/egress experience for games, but man did we have to let people in and out of our row all the time. Not enough room to simply tuck the legs. Gotta get up each time. Plus all that sitting. So now we're row 28 at the goal line, Bills side. In the new stadium we'll be row 23 at the 20 yard line, Bills side. Both middle of row. Won't be covered and don't really care about that. There will be places to escape rain and still watch the game, if necessary. Or you can just dress for it and stay put.)

You're still expressing your "concern" about a football player being engaged to an actress? Unreal. Like, literally sounds robotic and unreal.

And/or press-man across the board and send or simulate pressure relentlessly, especially on passing down-and-distances. Lack of downfield danger/speed lessens the cost of losing a 1:1 battle in the secondary. Could mean a contested catch and tackle rather than a TD.

This sounds mostly right to me, although there is both a guy like Hardy (no S flex but def returner candidate) and a guy like Hancock (most talented/best traits by far of this trio) in this mix. Hardy's STs value is likely to determine his roster candidacy, and who he replaces in that scenario depends on how well he plays DB too. (Could be Codrington, of course, but could also be a WR6, or I guess a DB ahead of him, like Lewis, if he looks ready to provide reliable DB depth.) His position flex is valuable, and probably valued even more by this org than some others.

This is embarrassing for you. "Take some time and do the research" wtf. "The videos" LOL

If Jordan Poyer didn't cheap shot Coleman and derail his building momentum, a lot of this angst would be mitigated. Can't say with certainty that he'd have continued his upward trajectory, but he was flashing.

Stop this. She is a professional actress. "Her behavior" is not real life. This is a joke. Just stop.

Sir or madam, the pot you're trying to stir is empty. What a bunch of nonsense.

For New England, right?

I want to read this entire piece, but I'm super hesitant to pay Tyler Dunne to do it.

Bishop definitely isn't a proven starter at this point. But he's also almost 100% making the 53, given the recent draft investment. So he'll be given every opportunity to win a job over Forrest and Hamlin. I think reliability rates higher than max-ability for McD's DBs. Bishop needs to greatly improve his coverage fluency to start. His blown deep assignments were an unusual sight in the Bills defensive backfield last season. A lot of fans are discounting the role of STs in final DB roster decisions, especially as it pertains to Codrington. He's competing with Hardy, Shenault, Shakir, Samuel, Hamler, etc., for the punt returner role, but he's the current favorite. Can Strong, Hairston, or Hancock return punts? What about Moore (or how about Coleman reprising his college role)? I genuinely don't know.

Palmer has a legitimate chance to be that improvement over Hollins or Cooper, obviously.

The 53-man roster allotment will ultimately be at least 10, won't it? Has that been emphasized already? It's been 10 recently even without such a targeted effort to add to the groups. Gotta imagine it's at least 9 to start the season, with the knowledge that 2 more will be joining week 7. Maybe the first 6 weeks the Bills carry an extra WR or DB or OL instead of a 10th DL. Either way, they get to keep a couple dudes who might not otherwise survive cutdown day and would have been candidates for poaching. By week 7, injuries and other developments could provide longer term standing for the DL and other guy on the roster who the suspended guys would otherwise replace. Sneaky advantage to suspensions LOL: baked in 7 week roster buffer waivers for 2 guys on the bubble.

That analogy is super effective, ya jerk

@TheWeatherMan your nausea (hope you feel better) is a reaction to the Bills top-3 roster options at safety, yes? Rather than my deft analysis of how that top-3 depth chart should shake out, of course. I actually think Rapp is at least an average starting S in the NFL, who brings some physicality and flash. Problem there is he just absolutely obliterates himself and his teammates too often by dropping his helmet and becoming ordinance. Someone on the team will miss games because of Taylor Rapp. Forrest is kind of intriguing on a McDermott defense. Was on an early trajectory in DC, but injuries plus a coaching change caused regression there in years 3 & 4. Tested like a beast coming out, though: 9.69 RAS. And flashed early on in the league. Availability will be the thing with him. And Bishop...well, I don't know. He could progress the same way we hope Kincaid will. Sucks that both Utah guys are facing steep curves. Would be great if Bishop somehow leaps past Rapp, because I think Rapp is an okay starter (while it lasts and until he lights up a teammate). Bishop was WAY behind Rapp last year. He was way behind Hamlin if we're being honest. Forrest could be a dude, though. Hancock I think is more likely a subpackage guy or flexible replacement like Lewis, rather than a threat to start. Happy to be wrong there.