MasterStrategist

Great post! Agree about slot WR being a need, opening up the passing game. Hope I'm wrong about Skakir, but I see a backup. Counting on him to take over, is a big risk. Harty is the ideal #4, per Beane himself...and don't think he's durable enough for a full time role. Zay Flowers is an ideal fit in our offense. Explosive, RAC ability but likely won't be there at 27 (hope I'm wrong). Jayden Reed is another 2nd-3rd round option at slot WR. Not as explosive as Flowers, but brings an edge and likely better blocking ability.

Zay Flowers has been my guy for a while. He can be moved all around, but immediately contribute in the slot. Doubt he makes it to 27 now, he's been moving up draft boards...reminds me of Dotson (Penn St WR LY), and likely goes in the high teens/early 20s.

You can disagree all you want about Hodgins, but that's exactly the position that he played with us and Gmen. Mostly in the slot. He's too slow/lacks downfield explosion, to be a consistent outside guy. Harty is our perfect #4, per Beane himself. I'd expect he plays slot and outside, but doubt he's our starter. Same with Sherfield, ability to play inside/outside. I'm not saying Gabe is a great #2, but our slot WR is a critical piece of our offense. This entire discussion started with me saying we shouldn't draft Hyatt, he has a higher ceiling than Gabe Davis but likely not an upgrade this season. Flowers, Downs, even Reed, would be upgrades over Shakir and squad at the slot immediately.

That's exactly what everyone said LY too....Mckenzie/Crowder/Shakir/Hodgins....which eventually led to us bringing Beas out of retirement. John Brown played meaningless snaps outside, his signing was diff than Beas. The hope is Harty is an upgrade, and Shakir develops. But Davis is more of a sure thing than either of those guys.

Congrats to Uconn, and their fans. Hurley did a remarkable job this season. He's a polarizing coach to non-Husky fans, but his team had a dominant tournament and no question were the best team.

Why on either? Please share your thoughts on why these guys are good fits. 1. Anderson: NO. Too expensive/not a team player/we already signed 2 Fa Wrs/draft is still around the corner...want any more reasons? 2. Jack: go ask Steeler fans their thoughts. Living in Pittsburgh, he didn't look good at all LY for them. He's lost his athletic burst and is just a name at this point. Again, the draft is a better option.

Not sure why people want Hyatt. We have our version with Gabe... we need someone for the slot who Josh can rely on

Deep draft at def end this yr.... Shaq will be signed back if we don't land a mid to late guy. Phillips brings a nice rush in the middle. He should be used in pass rush situations only, at this point of his career. Hoping we land another big 1 technique in the draft, that can be primarily used on early downs.

Who is Drew Andrews?

Drew Sanders Jayden Reed

This is a deep draft at DE. I think we should see what we land in the draft, then re-sign Shaq as last resort. *Not advocating an early DE draft pick, but mid rounds. Glad to have Jordan back. Also be good to see if a DT can be drafted in the mid rounds, preferably a 1-T

Agree, I'm a HUGE fan of Flowers. I think he's got Diggs potential, and would be our day 1 starter in the slot. Zay isn't a slot only player. But he will be a beast there and open up more options for us. People forget Beas was basically our #2 from the slot, and allows less double teams of Stefon. Darnell Wright would also be a great pick. I'm probably overly optimistic about Spencer, but also realistic. Preferably there'd be a 2nd or 3rd round OT to draft, then let the best man win the spot.

It's a great discussion because it's an unknown how McDermott plans to adjust the defensive scheme this offseason. We are highly likely moving away from Fraziers Tampa 2 scheme, that required a MLB with Edmunds traits. So it makes for interesting discussion/creative options to fill that MLB void

This is being lazy, call out McDermott for something he hasn't been then put on others to prove you wrong. So here goes: 1. McDermott has always been more multiple with his defense. Primarily cover 3, 4, 6 looks (with some cover 2). He has also used Double A gap pressure looks to disguise pass rush and coverage. He's also used alot more 4-3 base looks, along with over/under fronts. Something we saw in 2017, when he 1st started with us. 2. Frazier is Mr Tampa 2. Which is what alot of posters said for long time. Here is just 1 article: https://billswire.usatoday.com/2017/02/06/growing-pains-breaking-down-the-bills-transition-to-sean-mcdermotts-4-3-defense/ You can go find others, or spend the time looking up defensive formation/coverage stats.

Mcdermott didn't run a soft ass Tampa 2, historically. You are either generalizing OR haven't seen what he did in past roles.

Your analogy is well taken, but not directly comparable. It'd be more like your team is pressing the keys still, but you are going into the meeting and describing what they did. In this case, nobody knows how much this detracts from his day-to-day VS just on gameday itself. McDermott likely wants the control, for various reasons, on gameday. But he could be having his staff handling more of the preparation/key pressing as you say. Without knowing the exact ins and outs of how this will work, its WAY too early to say either way. All we know is Coach had been one heck of a DC before. As many mentioned, different HCs have balanced coordinating roles too and been successful (doesn't matter if it's OC or DC).

Great discussion/post. There's a handful of these "undersized" LBs coming out this year, who are athletic but are they fits at MLB in our scheme? To me, we just drafted a similar player (maybe not as talented) in Bernard LY. Big unknown what McDermott is looking to do at this position. Personally, I'd be surprised if we draft this style of player.

Great analysis! Agree on all of this. Re: dime defense...yes, I would keep Milano on the field and roll with an extra safety/CB (perhaps Benford or draft pick). It's a deep and talented class at corner, could be worth consideration. But my $ isn't on them switching to Dime, outside of team specific matchups (ie: occasionally against KC). I do like Bernard on passing downs, basically a big safety/big dime defense. He's versatile to blitz/instinctive, but lacks the size and strentght to be a 3 down player (IMO)

Which Sportsbook has the Bills as the "non favorite" to win the Afc east? DraftKings has Buffalo +135, Jets next at +240, then Miami +300.

Appreciate the write up! It does make you appreciate what we have now, that 2017 group had some pieces but mostly over-achieved. MLB is the biggest mystery, will Beane/Coach: 1. Draft a early replacement? There are maybe 3 starters, expected to go late 1st to 2nd round. 2. Roll with a Dodson/Bernard combo? 3. Sign a remaining Vet FA: not a lot of options left, perhaps Cunningham after the draft 4. Adjust the defensive scheme- ie:similar to 2017, do we play a bit more 4-3 OR unlike past defenses, do we switch to dime defense on passing downs (my preference). With such a complete roster, my best guess is Beane goes with Option 1....not ideal, but will be interesting to see how it develops.

I don't agree that we build a team worried about Josh or Diggs being malcontents, if we don't win a SB in next 2 years. Or team psychological impacts/dissension. I've said enough on my opinion. Looking forward to seeing what plays out and the draft.

Gabe or Ed? That's probably another topic altogether. I see your point, and you seem to understand mine. All good, Go Bills!

You talked in certainties, specifically about team dissension (in worse case). You are making up speculation to fit your agenda.

Agree on alot of this, and mainly he needs to get us that SB! But we are very close and key defensive injuries have happened last 2 years. Not an excuse, just fact. Tre in 2021, Hyde/Von in 2022. We need a bit of luck to stay healthy, which is what every SB winner basically needs. Beane has done too much, in short order, and future looks too bright (mainly Josh, but others), to give any time frame on Beane as of now That's just pure speculation. And suits your own agenda to go for it now.

Sorry my point was not clear. It's all about the future cap implications to me. People can have different opinions, or even strategies, with hoe the future cap space should be managed. I'd consider myself 'moderate', not conservative, but realizing we already kicked the can on many high-$ contracts. Voided years on Hyde, Dion, Von, and restructures on top of that. I realize other teams are more aggressive, ie: Miami, possibly Jets with a Rodgers contract. But to me, we've already leveraged enough future cap