FireChans

So should the $43M annual check for Mr. Top 2. He certainly didn’t play like top 2 for those 4 games. So maybe the expectations for McD to have the success of a coach with a top 2 QB should only count when the QB plays like a top 2 QB? Did Reid become a ***** coach for 4 hours when Patrick Mahomes had two turnovers for TD’s on Christmas last year? Unacceptable and he needs to be held accountable, right? Cost them at least the 2 seed.

FWIW, Josh Allen had 5 TD’s and 5 TO’s over those 4 games lol. Gotta be a pretty elite coach to compensate for that top 2 QBing. .500 ain’t so bad

I think the Bengals difference in talent is why they have been better and gotten farther, predominantly. I don't see them wasting $10's of millions of dollars on third string DT's. They brought in DJ Reader, we brought in Star Loutototo. A clear better player and guess what, their DL has performed better for it. They brought in Trey Hendrickson and we brought in Von Miller's old ass. Ditto result. If coaching is the reason the DL sucks despite a ton of investment, why did Daquan Jones have the best year of his career after he was brought in? Is he just ignoring what McD tells him? I think you give Beane far too much of a pass. I don't hold McDermott to a faultless position, but if you asked guys around the league, I don't think they'd say Oliver is worse DT than his contemporaries because of the HC. I really don't. None of this is a defense to not fire McD either. I just think if we were doing blame pie of why we have capped out at blow out loss in the AFCCG, Beane deserves a far bigger piece than you give him.

Aren't you like a big Bengals guy? You think they are better than us, right? Are they better than us because: Or are they better than us because Zac Taylor and his staff are just that much better than McD and his staff? Honestly.

No Beane deserves some credit for those guys too. However, guys like Dane, Bernard, Milano, Levi were not NFL-ready day 1. Milano in particular couldn't beat out Ramon Humber for the LB job in 2017 and was relegated to spot duty and STs until he was developed. You seem to think stiffs like AJE with a different coach would be a better player. The market says otherwise, he came back to the Bills for a bargain because no one wanted him lol. And FWIW, Josh Allen in 2018 wasn't Josh Allen in 2020. That's partially development too (although that was more Daboll than McD for obvious reasons).

Maybe they just aren't that good lol. Somehow McD developed Levi Wallace into being an NFL player. Ditto for Dane Jackson, Milano, Benford. Turned Poyer and Hyde into Pro Bowlers. Terell Bernard turned into quite a solid young player after a shaky rookie season. Maybe Oliver just ain't that good. Maybe Rousseau is a toolsy physical player that can't put it all together. Oliver was a top ten pick. His DT contemporaries in that first round are: Quinnen Williams (better player than Eddy) Christian Wilkins (better player than Eddy) Dexter Lawrence (better player than Eddy) Jeffrey Simmons (better player than Eddy ) Jerry Tillery (Oliver is the better player) You look at that as a failure of the coach. I personally blame the GM who took the fifth best DT in the first round at #9. It was the wrong pick. When the Bengals sucked after taking Burrow, they got the best WR in the draft and a true difference-maker in the NFL. When the Bills sucked after taking Josh, they drafted Oliver, who as above, isn't even the 4th best DT in the first round THAT YEAR, and the major bust in Cody Ford. That's a failure of the GM.

The three best defensive players on the Bills in the last 4 postseasons has been an off-ball linebacker (for 3 years) and 30+ year old safeties (1 or 2 for 4 years). That ain't gonna get it done. The problem for the Bills defense has been their completely embarrassing lack of pass rush. Last year they couldn't breathe on Mahomes. Every other team you have listed has had better pass rushers than the Bills. We have a bunch of edge setters and guys who are getting the 32nd salary for DE's on the FA market. .

Yes, yes, YES. Another "blame Beane for drafting playoff no-show defenders in the first and second round for half a decade" guy!

Cutting Bass saves us $100k on the season. Factoring in signing a new kicker, I doubt he's going anywhere this season unless he's horrific in TC.

there is legitimately no heat dude.

And the first half of his rookie year where he was horrific Is this a fact? I know we say it a lot. But I’m sure there’s a stat that kicking average decreases in Buffalo by X if it’s true.

That’s good then. Lots of folks like to justify this garbo bottom barrel group talking about how top 5 paid WR’s never win SB’s. I thought it was interesting pair that with bottom 5 paid WR rooms who almost never win a single playoff game. I have no problems with, “this group looks weak until proven otherwise.” In fact, I agree with that wholeheartedly. And I agree that 2023 and 2022’s groups were also a weakness. What I also believe is that 2024 is somehow a step DOWN from those weak years. And that will be evident mid season when Beanenis scrambling to bring back Quintus Cepheus.

Mayfield never leaves Buffalo like he did Cleveland. I actually think we’d have around the same level of team success we have had with Josh.

That’s true, you can’t say AAV is necessarily indicative of less talent. And rookie deals do provide a significant difference, like Green Bay who has a very cheap room with 5 players on rookie deals. When Chase and Higgins were on their rookie deals though, they also had Boyd making decent money. Which is reflected in their AAV not being near the bottom. The bottom line if the Bills win in divisional round this season, it would be the best season in recent years with a low AAV WR group. Keon’s salary was added this afternoon. We were originally 5th lowest, now we are 6th lowest.

Brother, you made the point about expensive WR’s and not winning. So I made the point about cheap WR’s and not winning. Do you really not see the link between those two arguments?

I think the argument is that the WR room this year is sorta like the MLB room last year. Last year, there was lots of rotating in and out between Bernard, Williams, Dodson etc. It was a position group without an incumbent starter. We didn't rotate as many bodies at the WR position because we had Diggs and Davis and a bunch of other guys that couldn't really play anyway. The difference is that one of those positions is the running back of the defense and the other is the second highest paid position in football, but alas.

All would be very good counterpoints as long as your prevailing thesis of the offseason isn't, "no expensive WR rooms have ever won a championship."

The Chiefs WR room was 19th in AAV last year. The Bills WR room is 27th in AAV in 2024.

FYI, AAV is their contracts, not approximate value.

I do know it. It's not a "personal grade," at all. It's completely numerical. https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/position/_/year/2024/table/active/type/contract_average/sort/wr/dir/desc Oh GDI, the Bills are bottom 6. Back to the drawing board. Anyway, we are bottom 6 in AAV of WR's. I can re-do my analysis if you'd like, I doubt it changes much. I think Keon Coleman ***** it up by not signing his contract til the afternoon lol. AAV by year of contracts, per Spotrac.

That exercise took me sooooooo long. If @eball doesn’t respond, I’m gonna go back to just making snide comments.

Aw man, this USA Today writer is upset that the Bills bold stance of releasing a punter who was accused of heinous ***** now “rings hollow.” Anyway.

This off-season? No way lol that would be so insane

Fair enough! In the bottom 5 units of the last 4 years, the QBs (that played the most) are: Heinecke, Big Ben, Carr, Cam Newton, Drew Lock, Matt Ryan, Jameis Winston, Jared Goff, Kirk Cousins, Lamar Jackson, Matt Stafford, Matt Ryan again, Justin Fields, Mariota, Jordan Love, Gardner Minshew, Kyler Murray, Derek Carr again, Kirk Cousins again. again, 1 playoff win between the crew. The top 5 units of the last 4 years: Kyler Murray, Jared Goff, Joe Burrow, Drew Brees, Teddy Bridgewater, Dak Prescott, Aaron Rodgers, Justin Herbert, Tom Brady, Kyler Murray again, Tua, Derek Carr, Geno Smith, Jimmy G, Tua again, Geno again, Baker, and Sam Howell. Now, at first glance, I think group two looks a bit better as a QB grouping. But for sake of argument, take Allen and Rodgers out because both were playing at MVP levels and that’s gonna skew the numbers a bit. The list below is closer to “league average” QB. Baker - 1 playoff appearance and win with the Bucs in the top 5 group Miami - 2 playoff appearances in the top 5 group Brady - 1 playoff appearance in the top 5 group (2022) Geno - 1 playoff appearance in the top 5 group Goff - 1 playoff appearance in the top 5 group lets look at some of their contemporaries in the bottom 5 group: Heinecke - 1 playoff appearance in the bottom Big Ben - 1 playoff appearance in the bottom (2020) Carr - 1 playoff appearance in the bottom (21) Jackson - 1 playoff appearance in the bottom (2022) Love - 1 playoff appearance and win in the bottom. I would argue the groups are at least comparable now. I probably lean towards the bottom group being better at the time they played. But that’s the whole point. A great WR group had Baker and Geno and Goff achieving the same success as Lamar or Jordan Love, who imo, are much better. Now the corollary could be that if you have an athletic franchise QB, they can drag a bottom 5 group to the WC round. But I think we all agreed on that before lol.

Do we have another kicker in camp? His career could be ova here. Dan Carpenter had the same thing happen to him.