Ethan in Cleveland

I agree with top 10 teams but I would probably have Seattle closer to 5th but still top 10. I would put Buffalo at 11 just ahead of the Jets. Diggs is still elite and Davis is very very good. I would put Jets at 12. I would bump Cleveland up to 16. Cooper is not elite but Peoples-Jones is very good. Pittsburgh would be next. Jags and Baltimore seem high to me but looks like others on the board like the Jags

Well we agree on one thing. Message board threads on imaginary non events are most assuredly lacking in substance.

Im going to assume you watched the Chiefs playoff game. You don't think a healthy Von Miller makes a difference as Mahommes ran around all first half extending drives? Of course it is complex, but its also a message board thread about things that didn't happen. You are supposed to imagine the outcomes and have fun discussing it. My bet is if you poll this board most would say we probably (not may) would have won the KC game and the SuperBowl with Miller. Contrary I dont think a healthy White would have mattered that much in that game but I suspect most would disagree with me on that point. Remember its just a message board meant for fun. Oh and Beane probably agrees since he broke the bank to get Miller only a few months later.

This is fair. I have been mostly pleased with Beane's off-season moves over the years. At the time I and most of this board was even happy with the Benjamin trade. There have been a few I did not like. Frank Gore? Really? I was admittedly a Shady fan. He has not done a great job with the OL but it is not for a lack of trying. He's also had some bad luck with the O-line. Spain was great for a year and then fell apart. Williams was a cheap great signing at RT and then when he got paid crapped the bed. Morse has been up and down (more up than down). Heck even Saffold looked solid the first month of the last season. What is hurting the team right now is the whiffs in the second round - Ford, Epenesa, and Basham all look to be busts at this point. Bills are still dealing with the Ford miss and DE is still an issue. Now he has made up for it with excellent day 3 picks like Davis, Benford, Bass, and Jackson.

Many of us wanted Miller via trade. Not making that deal probably cost us the SuperBowl. McD and Frazier's incompetence was the final error of the 2021 season.

Faulk and Tomlinson were just as good and a step faster. Thurman had better vision and set up his blocks perhaps better than any RB in history. My favorite Bill until Allen wins the SB.

Thurman Thomas. He's a former Bill and one of the greatest dual threat RBs in NFL history. He could pass block extremely well too. End the thread.

You do. Simms missed SB XXV. Kelly hurt his knee in week 15 (game 14)against the Giants but played all the playoff games. Reich played the next game and beat the Dolphins to clinch the AFC East. Reich played in the XXVII playoffs as you described. Bills would then play Dallas and Kelly was injured late in that game too.

Use him for one more year and let him walk. Hated the pick when it was made and he's done nothing to justify a top 10 pick. Let someone else overpay for this guy

Unlike some I dont mind Allen running and think the designed QB run is fine. I'm in the camp that QB injuries are more likely in the pocket anyways. I want the hero ball to stop. Allen was far too careless with the ball last season and it made winning games harder. When its 3rd and 6 dump the ball off and let your RB take the hit making the first down. When it is 3 and 14 get 8 yards and kick the FG. There's only two opponents that you need to go all out to beat and that is KC and Cinci. Save the heroics for them.

This is accurate. Beane and McD have addressed MLB to fit their strategy. Now we just have to see how it plays out. I agreed with picking up the 5th year option of Edmunds. I agreed with letting him walk. Hated the Bernard pick and still do. Mixed emotions on Williams. I'm just in a place where I don't think it matters. Offense should be more diverse and better, secondary can be elite, and pass rush might be ok. Edmunds never made a difference and you will never convince me he did. I don't care about special teams except the PK. Beane addressed the OL and the pass cathcers. Now McD and Dorsey are in the hot seat.

I guess we will have to see how it plays out. Hope I'm wrong but I just think they are wrong. Bernard did nothing to suggest he could play in the NFL last year. Williams at least in tape looked more explosive. Hope he wins the MLB job becuase if Beane wasted a 3rd round pick on a 17 game backup OLB instead of adding a WR or pass rusher that is just nuts.

Ok let's assume you are correct. Why could rookie Edmunds do it but rookie Williams can't?

That is true. I'm only speaking about where they line up and what their responsibility is on that given play. A DE that drops in zone coverage is still a DE but he is still asked to defend a passing zone. An OLB(Milano) that lines up in the middle of the field is asked to key off the centers and guards in the run game, defend his zone, or defend a back in man coverage the same as if it was Edmunds or Klein in that spot pre-snap. Thus on that play he is playing the MLB role. As far as who call the plays, I could care less who gets the play call in the helmet. I don't think it matters one bit. If it mattered they would not have had Edmunds do it as a rookie. They have multiple options. Milano, Hyde, or Poyer never leave the field and any of them an call the defense. Presnap adjustments are made as a unit and done with hand signals and communication between the players. Not just one person is responsible for that unlike the QB for offense. Nope. Miller is a 3-4 OLB or a 4-3 DE. He's not an OLB in McD's defense. Not disagreeing with what you are saying Beane said. It just doesn't make any sense. Why not avoid overloading hi by just teaching him MLB? What's the point of starting him at OLB and then move to MLB. I think this is all GM speak to save face on the atrocity that was the Bernard pick and buys him a little time before he is labelled a bust. As of now Bernard is my choice for surprise training camp cut.

I agree. Leave Milano where he is. That said Milano played MLB about 2-5 plays a game. It was not frequent but it was regular enough that they would switch him to MLB and let Edmunds fail to rush the passer from an OLB spot.

Yeah it is definitely a me issue. Fully admit it. I had the luxury of watching Bobbie Wagner play elite football for the last decade up close. He is 6-0 and 242 pounds and he has been the best LB in football and a first ballot HOF guy on one of the best defenses in the last decade of NFL football. So yes I like the MLB to be a little more stout. But as I also posted I think instincts outweigh size - full pun intended. Edmunds has none. Milano has elite instincts. Hopefully one of these other LBs on the roster will step up. For the record I also was early to point out that Edmunds was overrated while others said I was crazy. And look what happened, they let him walk. Also for the record, I really don't think it matters. Bills have an elite secondary when healthy and with Miller, Rousseau, and Oliver have the ability to rush the passer. A barely competent MLB to go with Milano and McD calling the defense should be good enough. It's mostly all about Allen and the offense.

The reality is that this caching staff and maybe Beane too believes smaller LBs that can move are the way to go. Some on this board are ok with a 230-235 pound MLB. I'm not. But probably more important than size are instincts. Edmunds never learned how to play the position despite having prototypical size. He made like 3-5 negative plays a year. Not good enough for a guy that never left the field. Some of the tape on Williams shows a guy that at the college level was decisive and shot the gap to disrupt the run and pass game. Can he do that at the Pro Level? Who knows. It's a massive hole that I wish Beane had addressed in free agency and used the 3rd round draft pick on a WR or DT. That said I Iike the Ford signing. If we knew they could get Kincaid and Torrence my bet is they would not have spent money on McGovern and instead allocated those dollars to a better LB. At this point there is not much else they can do barring a trade that gives up a future draft pick, Oliver, or Davis. Don't see that happening now.

Von Miller moved from OLB to DE. Close your eyes and you can imagine anything...

Actually most fans don't. Most of us think the decision to pick up the options made good sense. Bills were not in a position to move on from Edmunds in 2022 and they are not ready to move on from Oliver in 2023. Not committing huge dollars long term to Edmunds was correct. Letting Oliver walk after 2023 will also be the right decision.

What are you talking about? Both players had their options picked up. Edmunds wasn't extended. And we don't know what is going to happen with Oliver.

A bit unfair. He traded a first for the best WR in Bills history. I'm not the biggest Beane supporter but you can't cherry pick your critiques either. The team already has a very good LT and they had other needs to address. They have an All-Pro CB and had White not been injured no one would have wanted to draft another CB in the first round.

Jets will be the story of the NFL for the first month. Would not be surprised to see a Bills Jets opening week game to add to the hype.

If he broke the record (which he won't even get half way there) it would be because he never lines up as TE. People need to stop calling this guy a TE. The asterisk would be needed not be needed because of the number of games but it would be needed because he really isn't a TE. And in fact if he turns out to be successful when his next contract is due his agent will argue he should be getting 5th year extension based off of a WR not a TE.

Opportunity cost He's too good to trade because it leaves a gaping hole in the defense and you are not committed to him beyond this year. He's not good enough to extend because there is a salary cap and you can't pay everyone. If you extend Oliver you really eat up a lot of cap in the future.

Not trying to be too glib but the team's success will hinge on exactly what it has for the last three years. Allen's arm and McD's coaching. Allen's talent has been good enough for a deep playoff run and the coaching staff has not been good enough to get them a championship. Some of that has changed since last year. Dorsey has a year of experience and they may be maturing their offensive philosophy. McD is now taking full ownership of the defense. Will it be enough? I hope so. I am encouraged from what they are doing. It's easy to say SB or bust, but on the contrary in this AFC they could be a great team and still not get to the SB. I am a McDermott skeptic. He has built a great culture but he is outcoached in the playoffs. I'm not sure he is even the fifth best coach in the AFC. He is #1 in culture and team building but in terms of strategy I would put Reid, Payton, Peterson, and Taylor ahead of him and then it is probably a tie between McD, Belichick without Brady, and maybe even McDaniel. I am optimistic this team can go all the way with Allen. He's the best player they have had since Bruce Smith. We have the QB. Barring injury they will be a tough team to beat all year. They could be 11-5 and be a better team in the playoffs than they were a year ago.