Trust The Process

Darnell Washington’s true value goes beyond personal stats, but more so to put a defense in a bind. It’s about dictating how the defense plays us. Consider this… Ken Dorsey wanted to implement 12 Personnel to this offense last season. 12 Personnel involves one running back and two tight ends, who in theory, can be a mix between a fullback or slot receiver at the line of scrimmage. The offense can look one way, and then another when it needs to be. The problem is Dorsey didn’t have the horses to do it along the OL and depth at TE. Last season we used Quinten Morris, Reggie Gilliam, and Bobby Hart in 12 personnel, none of which is a threat to block and catch, which leads me to the impact Darnell Washington can have on this team as a dual threat TE and de facto 6th OL, which are hard to find. By upgrading the offensive line, and having Knox and Washington on the field together in 12 Personnel will create mismatches in both the running game and passing game. It forces Defensive Coordinators to go big or small by choosing between having a 3rd LB on the field or a Slot CB. The 12 Personnel can attack defenses both through the air and on the ground. It can be a personnel grouping that features a lot of power running, or it can be one that attacks on different levels in the passing game. It also can be used with both the shotgun and under center formations for the quarterback. 12 personnel can put a lot of stress on the defense with the threat of running the ball versus attacking vertically. With two tight ends, the offense now has eight total gaps they could run to. In turn, that motivates defenses to bring more defenders in to defend those gaps and leaves space vertically and outside. The strength of 12 personnel is in its ability to help make the defense predictable. You’ll often see Cover 3 with an extra safety down at the line of scrimmage to help against the run. You’ll also be able to create a predictable picture in the run game against even fronts. If you know how the defense is going to align makes the job of the offense that much easier. The problem we’ve had is opposing defenses doesn’t respect our running game since it doesn’t pose a threat, its primary focus is containing Josh Allen and our passing game. Implementing 12 Personnel with Washington and Knox on the field together with the threat of running or passing gets defenses out of that shell and opens the offense for everyone. Now, I understand 12 Personnel is not something we’ll use most of the time, and won’t cure all of our problems, but will make us harder to defend, and will make life easier on Allen as well.

Assuming we lose Tremaine Edmunds, the defensive player I would draft is Jack Campbell LB Iowa

RG: move Bates back to LG and Draft a Guard RT: Marcus Cannon RB: D’onta Foreman SWR: Paris Campbell, and Draft a outside WR LB: Germain Pratt or Azeez Al-Shaair S: Julian Love or Andrew Wingard P: Re-sign Sam Martin

No thanks. I’m all aboard the D’onta Foreman train who won’t break the bank.

Band Camp

My Free Agency wish list based on Pay Cuts, Released Players, and Contract Restructures, which frees up enough cap space to sign free agents, and re-sign some of our own. Currently, we’re 20.5M over the cap, and we need around 10M needs to be saved for our 2023 Draft Class. RELEASED Taron Johnson: Cap Hit of 9.2 million in 2023 with a Dead Cap Hit of 5M and a Cap Savings of 4.2M if released. You simply don’t pay that kind of money to a Slot CB. Siran Neal: Cap Hit of 3.3M with a Dead Cap Hit of 1.1M and a Cap Savings of 2.2M. Neal is a quality special teamer, but just another guy in the secondary. Having said that, he’s not worth the money, and not worth a roster spot Tim Settle: Cap Hit of 5M with a Dead Cap Hit of 2.7M and a Cap Savings of 2.3M. Going into 2022, we had high expectations of Tim Settle, but never materialized. Settle ended up with only 1 sack this season which is unacceptable and not a good return on our investment. Isaiah McKenzie: Cap Hit of 2.9M with a Dead Cap Hit of 300K and a Cap Savings of 2.6M if released. It’s time to move on from McKenzie. I can replace him with someone who gets paid similar type of money who’s younger with more upside. Mitch Morse: Cap Hit of 11.2M with a Dead Cap Hit of 5M and a Cap Savings of 6.2M if released. There’s several big problems with Morse. The man suffered 6 concussions in his career that we know of, and he’s not a good run blocker. It’s time to move on, clear his big contract off the books, and find an upgrade. *RELEASED CAP SAVINGS: 17.5M PAY CUT Nyheim Hines: Cap Hit of 4.8M with a Dead Cap of 0 and a Cap Savings of 4.8M if released. I would love to retain Hines as a valuable asset for Special Teams and depth at RB but not at 4.8M. No team will pay Hines 4.8M, especially since this years Free Agent and Draft class at RB is strong. I’d offer Hines 3M. *PAY CUT CAP SAVINGS: 1.8M RESTRUCTURED CONTRACTS Josh Allen: This restructure was essentially bound to happen after Allen signed his well-deserved, monster extension in the summer of 2021. The simple restructuring will create 21.5M in Cap Space. Dion Dawkins: Current Cap Hit of 8.9M with a Potential Cap Savings of 6.3M Tre White: Current Cap Hit of 8.6M with a Potential Cap Savings of 6.1M *RESTRUCTURED CAP SAVINGS: 33M SALARY CAP SUMMARY: Freed up 52.3M in Cap Space between Releases, Pay Cuts, and Contract Restructures, minus 20.5M Over The Cap, minus 10M for 2023 Draft Class equals approximately 21.8M in Cap Space. FREE AGENCY S Andrew Wingard: 3M (Jordan Poyer’s replacement) Andrew Wingard was a full time safety in Jacksonville in 2021 and emerged as a solid all-around player. In 2022, he was relegated to a reserve/backup role, seeing only 223 snaps. A truly versatile playmaker. Wingard is big and aggressive enough to make plays near the line but was a ballhawk in college as a free safety, when he was teammates with Allen at Wyoming. He feels like the type of lower-priced free agent with upside the Bills would love to develop in a starter role. DE Justin Houston: 5.3M (Spotrac) (Shaq Lawson’s replacement) Justin Houston was forced to sign a modest one-year deal with Baltimore and completely outplayed his contract from day one even as a rotational pass-rush specialist with just 400 snaps on the season. Houston’s 18.4% pass-rush win rate and 14.6% pressure percentage were both top-25 marks among edge defenders, and he managed to add 9.5 sacks to his total, which brings him to 111.5 for his career, a top-40 mark all time. For a team looking for a menace on passing downs, Houston is still that guy entering his age-34 season. RB D’Onta Foreman: 3.4M (Spotrac) (Devin Singletary’s replacement) D’Onta Foreman is the featured power RB we so desperately need who will not only upgrade the running game but will make life a lot easier on Allen’s health in short yardage situations to convert first downs, and TD’s in the red zone. Foreman is 6ft and 235 lbs, and runs the 40 yard dash in 4.45 seconds, and is also a perfect compliment to James Cook. WR Odell Beckham: 5M BASE SALARY PLUS INCENTIVES (Gabe Davis and Odell Beckham split playing time) Odell Beckham signed a one-year $4.25 million contract with the Rams in 2021. I’d give Odell Beckham an incentive to make more money and re-build his market value playing in Buffalo with Josh Allen. RG Will Hernandez: 4M (Spotrac) Hernandez earned a career-high 79.1 pass-blocking grade in 2022, which ranked tied for eighth among guards. His 3.0% pressure rate allowed ranked 13th at the position, and he held up on true pass sets, as well, ranking top 15 in both metrics. He’s a bit more limited as a run blocker, failing to reach a season-long grade of at least 65.0 over his five-year career, but his above-average pass protection should make him an intriguing target for a handful of clubs. RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Dane Jackson: 2.6M Original Round Tender RE-SIGNED Jordan Phillips: 3M Ike Boettger: 1.2M David Quissenberry: 1.5M Taiwan Jones: 1.1M Sam Martin: 2M DID NOT RE-SIGN Tremaine Edmunds Shaq Lawson Jordan Poyer Joquan Johnson Devin Singletary Roger Saffold Bobby Hart Greg Van Roten DRAFT We currently have 21 UFA’s and 3 RFA’s which is a subtotal of 24 players, which means we have a lot of holes to fill with limited cap space. I’d like to trade down at least once, preferably our 1st Round pick for near the top of the 2nd round and an additional pick. 2A: LG O’Cyrus Torrence to replace Rodger Saffold 2B. WR Tank Dell to replace Isaiah McKenzie 3. LB to replace Tremaine Edmunds 4. CENTER to backup Ryan Bates 5. SLOT CB to replace Taron Johnson 6. SAFETY for depth * Extra Pick in Trade Down: DL for depth PLAN FOR THE OFFENSE LT: Dion Dawkins is the starting LT LG: O’Cyrus Torrence is the starting LG, and Ike Boettger is his backup. CENTER: Release Mitch Morse, and replace him with Ryan Bates. Draft a Center who can backup Bates. RG: Will Hernandez is the starting RG RT: Spencer, Johnson, and David Quissenberry compete for starting RT. RB: D’Onta Foreman is the starting running back, and his primary back up is James Cook, with Nyheim Hines as the third back. WR1: Stefon Diggs and his backup is Odell Beckham WR2: Gabriel Davis and Odell Beckham SLOT RECEIVER: Khalil Shakir and Tank Dell PLAN FOR THE DEFENSE DE: Justin, Houston replaces Shaq Lawson ILB: Drafted Rookie replaces Tremaine Edmunds SLOT CB: Christian Benford and Drafted Rookie to replace Taron Johnson FREE SAFETY: Andrew Wingard and Christian Benford

Shakir and sign a cap friendly free agent deal with Paris Campbell

Keep McD, Beane, and Dorsey. Dorsey is a rookie OC that’s going through some growing pains but deserves another season to prove he can learn from his mistakes, adapt and make adjustments, and improve. Give Dorsey something to work with. Our offensive line is average, and we have no power back to speak of that will make life a lot less dependent on Allen who takes a beating converting short yardage for first downs or red zone TD’s. Dorsey also needs receivers who excel at run after the catch in which the Bills rated 3rd worst in the league. We also need to add a speed receiver as well to stretch the field. Upgrading the OL should be the top priority this off-season. Fire Frazier and his defensive staff and hire Vic Fangio. Frazier’s philosophy is conservative and not aggressive. It’s reactive as opposed to proactive, which works great vs the majority of offenses but not vs high powered offenses with great offensive minded head coaches. Frazier’s defense the last 3 playoff losses got outplayed and outcoached by a tune of 107 points allowed with an average of 36.6 ppg, and 468 yards per game, which is unacceptable. Frazier’s defensive philosophy is just as the Bengals described it, simple. Our front 4 is a one gap scheme with no movement, and our corners play off the ball. It’s as vanilla as can be and easy to defend, even for 3 backup Bengals offensive linemen and banged up Center who looked like all pros. Most often times we have to blitz our LB’s just to apply pressure or get sacks because the front 4 couldn’t. Burrow took what we gave him and made it look easy. Here’s something to think of… What are the odds that almost every single one of Brandon Beane’s defensive linemen additions he spent valuable draft and free agent capital on are busts or just another guy? The odds are astronomical, which leads me to believe the problem is Frazier, not the players. Having said that, Vic Fangio will bring an aggressive, multi dimensional, multi scheme, proactive defensive philosophy to this team who has a great track record versus great QB’s with great offenses.

1. Josh Allen with no turnovers 2. Outplay the Bengals at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball 3. Singletary, Cook, and Allen combine for 125+ yards rushing

“Working Man” by Rush

Carson Strong signed with the Eagles

My Bills 53-man roster QUARTERBACK (2) Josh Allen Case Keenum RUNNING BACK (4) Devin Singletary Duke Johnson James Cook Reggie Gilliam (FB) WIDE RECEIVER (6) Stefon Diggs Gabriel Davis Isaiah McKenzie Jamison Crowder Jake Kumerow Khalil Shakir TIGHT END (2) Dawson Knox OJ Howard OFFENSIVE LINE (10) Dion Dawkins Ryan Bates Mitch Morse Roger Saffold Spencer Brown Tommy Doyle Greg Mancz Ike Boettger David Quisenberry Cody Ford DEFENSIVE LINE (9) Von Miller Greg Rousseau Boogie Basham A.J. Epenesa Shaq Lawson Ed Oliver Tim Settle Da’Quan Jones Jordan Phillips LINEBACKER (5) Tremaine Edmunds Matt Milano Tyrel Dodson Tyler Matakevich Terrell Bernard CORNERBACK (6) Tre White Dane Jackson Taron Johnson Siran Neal Kaiir Elam Christian Benford SAFETY (4) Micah Hyde Jordan Porter Jaquan Johnson Damar Hamlin SPECIALISTS (4) K- Tyler Bass P- Matt Araiza LS- Reid Ferguson KR- Marquez Stevenson I’ve got 1 roster spot available to be filled later with a free agent

Friggin love this pick!!!! Atta boy Beane. As usual you’re killing it in the late rounds.

Will Fuller for 1 year 3 million with chance to earn more based on playing time incentives. We need to add a vertical deep threat to this offense which Fuller provides in spades. Allen to Fuller on deep throws will be lethal and opens up the field for everyone else. Fuller will want to come to Buffalo to improve his stock, he’ll be motivated. It’s a no brainer.

Brad Allen is the referee for Patriots-Bills. According to Football Zebras, Allen "is in his 8th season after being hired directly to the referee position from the NCAA in 2014. This is Allen’s 4th postseason assignment, including 3 Wild Card Playoffs and a Divisional Playoff." Allen was the referee for one Patriots game during the regular season. It was New England's Week 6 home game versus the Dallas Cowboys, and his crew called 17 penalties (12 on the Cowboys, five on the Patriots). Allen also officiated one Bills game in the regular season. His crew called four penalties on both the Bills and New Orleans Saints during their Thanksgiving Day matchup. Allen's most recent playoff assignment was last season's AFC Wild Card game between the Bills and Indianapolis Colts. Four penalties were called (two on each team) in that game. It should be noted that Allen's crew for the upcoming Patriots-Bills matchup will be different from the three games mentioned above.

OFFENSE Left Guard: Ike Boettger is a UFA in 2022. Ike is not starter quality, he’s a depth guy. Don’t re-sign him. Find an upgrade. Right Guard Depth: Daryl Williams is a good RG, but RG depth is a revolving door. Cody Ford shouldn’t be on a NFL roster,and Jon Feliciano is injury prone. Center: Mitch Morse is a below average run blocker and isn’t as good a pass blocker as he once was. I expect him to be a cap causality at the end of the season, he’s simply not worth the money. RT Depth: Spencer Brown is a keeper at RT, but there’s zero quality backups. Daryl Williams is a liability at RT and should only be utilized as a RG. RB: For the remainder of the season Matt Breida needs to be the starting RB, he’s the most explosive RB we have on this roster and the best receiving back. Singetary needs to be the backup RB, and Zach Moss needs to be INACTIVE on game days. In the off-season Brandon Beane needs to find a massive upgrade. This team needs a RB teams respect. Less of a burden on Allen too. Brian Daboll: Make the running game part of the offense which if executed properly makes it difficult for teams to play call, opens up the playaction pass especially downfield , and reduces the odds of Josh Allen turning the ball over and from getting hit or injured. With the way things are going Allen cannot sustain the hits he’s taking, eventually it will take a toll on his body and mind. Give Allen a chance to succeed and remain upright as much as possible. WR: 3 WR sets with Dawson Knox at TE, and start Gabriel Davis over Emmanuel Sanders. If I’m a Defensive Coordinator I salivate when I see Diggs, Beasley, and Sanders on the field together because there’s nobody with size. Davis provides size and is good at stretching the field, and has the height and length to catch difficult passes along the sidelines and on 50/50 jump balls which are areas Sanders struggles with due to size limitations. 2 Deep Threats at WR: Add 1 WR with 6’2 plus height, weight, and 4.3ish speed to the WR core. Curently we have nobody that fits this description. Marquez Stevenson has great speed and will be a nice compliment to the WR core, but he hasn’t seen the field because on IR for the remainder of the season. QB: Allen needs to take what’s given to him and protects the football which is what makes Tom Brady great. Whenever Brady senses a weakness on a down by down basis he exploits it be it with the running game or passing game, and most often times does it by methodically working his way downfield which wears down defenses and keeps his defense fresh. In other words he does whatever it takes to win, he doesn’t force the issue. Allen needs to do the same. DT: We desperately need a Chris Jones/Cam Heyward type DT who causes havoc in both the running game and passing game. Sacks and turnovers will go up and the defense will go to another level. Star Lotulelei is good for the rush defense but offers nothing as a pass rusher which makes him one dimensional and expendable. On top of that Star is not vaccinated and his lack of availability for a full season and for the past 2 games makes him untrustworthy to McD. We really needed him vs a physical running team like the Colts. I don’t expect him to be on this team next season. Huge hole to fill next season. Release Vernon Butler after this season. He’s a scrub whose vastly overpaid. We need an upgrade. Harrison Phillips is a UFA in 2022. Don’t re-sign him. We need an upgrade. DE: Jerry Hughes is a UFA in 2022. Hughes is having a good season but at his age it’s time to move on and use the $6 million salary he’s getting this season to better use next season. CB: Replace Levi Wallace after this season. Levi is not a scrub but he’s the weak link in the secondary that teams exploit. We need an upgrade. ST: Replace Isaiah McKenzie. We need an upgrade.

My projected 53 man roster OFFENSE & SPECIAL TEAMS 1. Josh Allen 2. Mitch Trubisky 3. Devin Singletary 4. Zach Moss 5. Matt Breida 6. Stefon Diggs 7. Cole Beasley 8. Gabriel Davis 9. Isaiah McKenzie 10. Emmanuel Sanders 11. Dawson Knox 12. Jacob Hollister 13. Dion Dawkins 14. Ford or Lamp (1 gets traded be4 Rg Sn) 15. Mitch Morse 16. Jon Feliciano 17. Ike Boettger 18. Daryl Williams 19. Ryan Bates 20. Tommy Doyle 21. Spencer Brown 22. Matt Haack 23. Tyler Bass 24. Reid Ferguson 25. Taiwan Jones 26. Marquez Stevenson 27. Jake Fromm DEFENSE & SPECIAL TEAMS 28. Jerry Hughes 29. A.J. Epenesa 30. Efe Obada 31. Gregory Rousseau 32. Carlos Basham 33. Star Lotuleilei 34. Harrison Phillips 35. Ed Oliver 36. Vernon Butler 37. AJ Klein 38. Tremaine Edmunds 39. Matt Milano 40. Tyrel Dodson 41. Tre’Davious White 42. Richad Wildgoose 43. Levi Wallace 44. Dane Jackson 45. Taron Johnson 46. Siran Neal 47. Micah Hyde 48. Jaquan Johnson 49. Jordan Poyer 50. Damar Hamlin 51. Tyrell Adams 52. Tyler Matakevich 53. Reggie Gilliam PRACTICE SQUAD RB Antonio Williams RB Christian Wade WR Isaiah Hodgins TE Quintin Morris TE Tommy Sweeney OG Jack Anderson S Tariq Thompson CB Olaijah Griffin DE Darryl Johnson *We have great depth along the OL. Brandon Beane has a knack for trading before the start of the regular season. I predict Brandon Beane trades Cody Ford or Forrest Lamp.

My projected 53 man roster OFFENSE & SPECIAL TEAMS 1. Josh Allen 2. Mitch Trubisky 3. Devin Singletary 4. Zach Moss 5. Matt Breida 6. Stefon Diggs 7. Cole Beasley 8. Gabriel Davis 9. Isaiah McKenzie 10. Emmanuel Sanders 11. Dawson Knox 12. Tommy Sweeney 13. Jacob Hollister 14. Dion Dawkins 15. Cody Ford 16. Mitch Morse 17. Jon Feliciano 18. Daryl Williams 19. Ike Boettger 20. Ryan Bates 21. Tommy Doyle 22. Spencer Brown 23. Matt Haack 24. Tyler Bass 25. Reid Ferguson 26. Taiwan Jones 27. Marquez Stevenson DEFENSE & SPECIAL TEAMS 28. Jerry Hughes 29. A.J. Epenesa 30. Efe Obada 31. Gregory Rousseau 32. Carlos Basham 33. Star Lotuleilei 34. Harrison Phillips 35. Ed Oliver 36. Justin Zimmer 37. Vernon Butler 38. Tremaine Edmunds 39. Matt Milano 40. Tyrel Dodson 41. AJ Klein 42. Tre’Davious White 43. Levi Wallace 44. Dane Jackson 45. Taron Johnson 46. Siran Neal 47. Sign Free Agent Veteran Cornerback 48. Micah Hyde 49. Jaquan Johnson 50. Jordan Poyer 51. Damar Hamlin 52. Tyrell Adams 53. Tyler Matakevich PRACTICE SQUAD OG Jack Anderson TE Quintin Morris S Tariq Thompson CB Rachad Wildgoose CB Olaijah Griffin QB Jake Fromm *There’s a logjam along the OL and DL and we can’t keep everyone. Brandon Beane has a knack for trading before the start of the regular season. I predict Brandon Beane’s trade candidates to be Forrest Lamp, Ryan Bates, Cody Ford, Harrison Phillips, and Justin Zimmer.

Damien Williams would be a good addition to this team at a low cost. 5ft 11” Dual threat back with 4.45 forty yard dash wheels. Get’er done Beane!

The #Lions and pass-rusher Romeo Okwara are staying together, as Okwara has agreed to a 3-year deal worth $39M, source said. After a career year with 10 sacks, Okwara wants to make Detroit his home.

My earliest memory of the Bills took place when I was 8 years old at my uncles house listening to the 1980 version of Buffalo Bills 12 Days of Christmas

Since we have very little cap space I want us to trade out of the 1st round for added draft picks

Is any part of Devin Singletary’s game elite? Does he have above average speed? No Does he have above average size? No Does he run with power? No Does he have game breaking ability? No Is he good in the red zone? No The only thing he’s elite at is Pass Blocking, but other than that he’s average at everything else which won’t cut it. Zach Moss might be a good RB but he’ll never be above average. Moss is not the RB1 either but at least he’s a bigger, more physical, and speedier RB than Devin Singletary. At least Zach Moss has VALUE, but other than pass blocking Devin Singletary DOESN’T. Going forward Moss deserves to be the RB2 but he’s not the game breaking back we desperately need. Beane has a huge decision to make at RB this offseason. Does he draft a third RB three drafts in a row or does he sign a marquee free agent like Aaron Jones?