MJS

The thing with White, though, is that he provides no special teams help. So, if they roster him and he isn't the starter, he'll be inactive. It is just like the Elam situation. I think Cam Lewis and Hancock are in a direct competition for that backup nickel and safety role. Lewis may be gone. I don't see Hamlin as a near lock. Yes, he has a dead cap hit, but they can spread it out over two seasons if he is cut after June 1st, I believe. Forrest is better than him. And if they want to keep Lewis AND Hancock, than means Hamlin is the odd man out. They usually keep 5 corners, right? So, Benford, Hairston, Johnson, and then two of White, Jackson, and Strong. Hancock will count among the safeties and make the team, I think.

By copying them, you mean adding more talent and athleticism to the defense, particularly the defensive line? That isn't an Eagles tactic. That is an NFL necessity.

I agree to a certain extent, but I think the players fail to execute in those big moments as well. Especially the dline. Rousseau is a good player, but how many impact plays has he managed against KC in the playoffs? Ed Oliver? It isn't just coaching. The players don't meet the moment either. But I do agree on the coaching. That plays a big part. So, the players and their talent need to bridge that gap, because we are never going to have better coaches than them. They are the best. The PLAYERS need to find a way, just like the Eagles did with their superior talent. The Eagles defense didn't do anything crazy schematically. They rushed four and let their super talented defensive line get pressure.

I think it is a mixture of injuries, a failure of the players to meet the intensity of high stakes playoff football, and an inability to match and counter the scheming of KC. KC has this uncanny ability to find a way to win even when they are being outplayed for large portions of a game, but the way to beat the Bills is to play flawlessly on offense, because Josh Allen and the Bills offense will be dominant. And somehow the Chiefs keep managing it, even when they have had issues like oline talent and lack of receivers. It is frustrating.

The really frustrating thing is that the Bills defense has played MUCH better against the Chiefs in the regular season. For one thing, they are usually more healthy, but also I think the players seem to come out fired up and ready to do whatever it takes to beat them, whereas the Chiefs come out like that in the playoffs. This past year, it was legitimately a talent issue on defense. We lost a lot of guys and then Benford went down, which caused serious problems in the secondary. But in previous seasons the defense has had the horses to get it done, but hasn't been able to to, although there were big injury issues in some of the other games as well (AJ Klein pulled off his couch to start at MLB, for instance). Let's hope we can get better injury luck, but also I think the players need to come out with more fire and more focus, similar to how they do in the regular season, and match that of the Chiefs in the playoffs. And the coaches need to be better at adjusting if things aren't working or if an unexpected injury throws a big wrench into the game plan (like Benford going down). Like always, though, the defensive line needs to get pressure. They disappear in every elimination game.

Well, the last three guys you mentioned are replaceable, and Brown is on his 3rd team and hasn't put up good numbers since 2021.

This is just not true. New players, including rookies, become instant starters and contributors all the time for the Bills. Heck, even in-season trades have gotten on the field as starters almost immediately (Douglas and Cooper). White, Benford, Brown, McGovern, Dawkins, Coleman, Rousseau, etc, etc. There are countless examples of free agent signings and draft picks who came in and started and contributed immediately. When they don't, it is the exception. Bishop is going to start over Hamlin. So it's all good. Rapp played well last year. Not sure what people have against him. He is a good tackler and saved a lot of TD's, including some key stops in certain games. He needs to stay healthy, though.

Broncos vs Texans will be fun. I hope the Texans get pummeled. I do not like them and their QB becomes more unlikable every time he opens his mouth. The Broncos are an ascending team, so they are interesting to me, especially if they can harass the Chiefs in that division. They put Vikes vs Seahawks because Darnold is facing his old team, but I don't think anyone really cares about that besides those two fanbases. Seriously. Commanders are interesting with their rise last year and the noise they made in the playoffs, but any game the Bears are in just makes it an automatic dud. Green Bay vs Steelers is also a dumb choice to include, even if Rodgers signs with the Steelers.

The Bills are the worst matchup for the rest of the AFC.

No thanks.

Everyone is going to watch that game. Bills got beat by them in the regular season and then beat them in the playoffs, plus the top two MVP candidates from last year. Way more interesting than the Bengals game, although that one is interesting as well.

Is there more than one?

There will be a more cuts post June 1.

Defenses are FAR more advanced and complex today, and they have way more speed to keep up with stuff like that. That is why the league is trending back to bigger personnel and the run game, because they can take advantage of the smaller, faster defenses that have evolved over the last couple of decades.

The rates of concussions in girls soccer is alarming. They have by far the highest rates outside of football. My sister played in high school and got three really bad concussions that she still has negative affects from today, 10 years later. I played soccer but never had any concussions that I know of.

Why do you want to know?

Why did they bother to guarantee 97% of the money and not just 100%?

That is interesting. I bet a lot of players that make it to the NFL, especially in the higher rounds, were captains because they were just the best players on their teams. But it is definitely something that the Bills value. They pay attention to culture and lockerroom impact.

Two straight 1,000 yard seasons for him. He is clearly elite, plus a fan favorite. I think he is pretty solidified there. But yeah, I would have done a 2 year deal instead of 4 years. That's a little risky.

DT seems pretty straightforward. Oliver, Jones, Sanders, Walker, and Carter are all pretty safe. I think Ogunjobi is not going to be retained after his suspension. But maybe he bumps Carter or Jones? I think that is a stretch. DE is a little more interesting. Rousseau, Bosa, Jackson, Solomon, and Hoecht (with his valuable versatility) are locks. I could see Epenesa traded with a post June 1st designation, and that would actually free up some cap this year. And I could see some teams being interested, although we'd only get a 4th or 5th rounder. Yeah, there isn't a downside to keeping him through his suspension in case of injury or if someone like Carter or Jones are just really playing poorly. If not, let him walk.

He's a great player, but already 31. We'll see if he can keep it up into his 30's. I sure hope Kincaid can turn into one of those elite TE's.

It's not about that. It's just that they needed to prioritize the defense this year. I'm sure they would love to have added a couple of really good receivers. But resources are limited. The Bills have virtually no cap space. They are completely tapped out and will need to restructure or cut/trade someone to get some cap space just for in-season roster management. You can't address everything. Next year, they will focus on the offense.

I'd feel terrible about that, because those were clearly the biggest needs. Far bigger than receiver, in my opinion.

Kincaid needs to have a breakout year. Him and Josh were not on the same page. That needs to improve. He has yet to live up to his 1st round draft status. Part of that is on Josh, though. Many of Kincaid's targets were not quality targets. And for the money we are paying Samuel, he needs to be a lot better as well.

There are also a few teams who have one really good receiver and then not much besides that. I struggle to put teams like that over the Bills. It is great to have a guy, but you certainly want more depth. So, teams like the Cardinals, Cowboys, and maybe the Jaguars fit that. If the Bills added one receiver who was a legitimate #1 guy, they would be up there with the best in the entire league, because they do have a few quality guys like Palmer, Shakir, and potentially Coleman. Palmer as the #2 and Shakir in the slot would be awesome. Let's hope they draft a WR high next year and he is just a great receiver.