Einstein's Dog

I brought this up in another thread, so yeah, I'm on board. He got the 2yr $26M deal which seems reasonable in todays market. And the $13M this year would be prorated to exclude about a third of it. Since this is old news to me, I'll one up it and go for DHop and King Henry for Elam and a third. Henry is on a one year $10M contract that would cost us a third less. With Harris out we may need another RB, and Henry is better than Lenny.

They should! I'm hoping they are looking into it. This may have been the plan after failing on OBJ and DHop. That they would give Gabe a 5 week trial run and if there wasn't significant improvement go out and get a veteran for an in-season trade.

Why the snide comment? Who said that's all we can ask? The OP said "it stands to reason this is what they wanted". I don't believe that is true. I believe the FO investigated WR upgrades but they didn't work out budget wise. They then went with the hope that Gabe would improve, that maybe he was hampered by injury last year.

It looks to me that you are interpreting this to mean this is what they wanted. I believe they investigated getting OBJ and DHop as possible upgrades. And you can have all the stats in the world but playing the WR2 in the Bills offense is a golden opportunity. Kind of like the opportunity Singletary had as RB, average-ish players can put up good stats because of the usage. Excellent players would excel with this opportunity.

What about resurrecting the DHop talk? The Titans stink. Dhop is a veteran that does nothing for their future. DHop has what seems a reasonable contract, 2 yrs $26M+, and he is a third of the way through the year. If Beane floats out our extra Edmunds third maybe Tenn will eat some of the contract.

Unfortunately Tampa's excellent start has taken M Evans out of the in-season trade market. And like how the odds for DHop took a dive when a trade was not able to be made, the odds to the Bills took a hit with the lack of in-season trade. But if the market is as bad for M Evans next year as it was for DHop there is a chance. If M Evans is only a $3-4M excess over G Davis it's possible.

I think the biggest factor is personnel. The upgrade to Cook and Kincaid over Singletary (and over rookie Cook) and McK, along w the improvements to the line. These people are better at receiving and get Josh's and Dorseys trust. Dorsey/Beane tried to get the people last year, tried for the Wash traitor, then drafted Cook, got Crowder and had McK. It boiled down to McK and Singletary were poor at the receiving short passes and it made more sense to go 25-30 yards downfield for the 65% catch rate than the 70% chance of 4-5 yards.

The timing of reposting makes it seem like this is some sort of victory post. Yet by your own self proclaimed playoff centric views that won't be determined until much later. I liked the change because I didn't like how Frazier employed the bend but don't break style. While the win-lose numbers don't bear it out, I didn't like giving QBs that I considered inferior the ability to dink and dunk down the field. It gave the Mac Jones, Zach Wilsons, K Picketts of the world breathing room and a chance to keep things unnecessarily close. And it didn't seem like a good idea against Burrow either. I like what this defense is doing so far, the more aggressive and unpredictable style. But we also have better personnel - Floyd is a major upgrade. And it is starting to look like Edmunds was not only bad, but detrimental to running an aggressive style (when he was injured and we put in Klein I liked the D better).

Be forewarned, Molson has adopted the 11.5 ounce scam now, following the Labatts lead. Canadians......

I think you are seriously understating Cook. Singletary had 38 receptions last year and Cook is better at catching and more explosive once he has it. Cook should be getting around 5 targets a game which will help take off some of the full bore defensive rush at Josh. Also Dawson had 68 targets and 48 receptions last year, and I would expect similar production this year. Kincaid shouldn't eat into it, Kincaid will be getting McK.

I think we are seeing a possible solution develop in front of our eyes. Kincaid and Cook can be 2a/2b with Gabe and Knox being 4a/4b. As for Beane trying for an in-season trade that took a big hit IMO with Tampa winning. The Mike Evans hope just evaporated.

I don't see how you think D Adams would come cheaper than M Evans. M Evans might get 4 yrs $80M if he hits the open market, but he also might not. OBJ and DHop did not. With this consideration in mind, M Evans might accept something in their range $15M/yr- especially if he gets to play for the Bills, a team that is an ideal match for him. This is an advantage of trading for him. D Adams doesn't seem like the type to take less money. D Adams comes across as a bit of a diva. I think it would be a risk to the culture to even try and put together two WRs who both want to be #1. There have been some small little fires with Diggs, adding Adams doubles that. M Evans seems to be a great guy, who seems to have a better understanding of team chemistry and would be coming in for the #2 role.

Maybe we can give Kincaid a little time. Beasley had 15 receptions for 128 yards in his rookie season.

Totally with you on this. Mike Evans seems like a great guy, easy to root for, ready to accept a WR2ish role (already kind of doing it in Tampa). Got to hope for the Tampa collapse continuing, losing 4 out of the next 5. Culminating with a thorough butt whipping by the Bills on Thursday night right before the trade deadline.

With respect to in-season trade targets I would rather have Mike Evans, and Mike Evans is more realistic IMO. I think the Bills want someone who can accept being #2 on our team, have a contract that overlaps Diggs by a year at least (for Diggs insurance- he has shown some stability problems, much as D Adams is kind of doing). And there is a budget, probably a flexible budget but it doesn't seem to be unlimited.

I agree. And the question for most of us has now become when does the FO do the upgrade? Do they wait until next season or pull the trigger in-season. My hope has been the plan for some time (since missing out on OBJ and DHop) is to acquire a veteran in-season. They may have kept an outside hope that Gabe would rise to the occasion, but realized the long shot odds of that (and it has not happened). And just to be clear this does not mean you trade Gabe, he remains as WR3.

I didn't say you were suggesting a trade, I am. And the trade talk is not about moving Gabe, it's about the Bills bringing in another WR. The evaluation the FO is making is if Gabe is WR2 material. If they make that decision within the two month time frame they then try and get a real WR2 (and that would obviously signal no intention of signing Gabe next year). That is a big time move for a SB push. The FO had claimed that Gabe's disappointing 2022 was because of injuries. I don't see any improvement while he is uninjured. The FO was already leery of Gabe and had investigated OBJ and DHop. I'm hoping this is plan B. My mentioning a trade if for the Bills to get a better WR, not move Gabe. If the FO makes the decision that Gabe is not the WR2, then they can try and go get one now - in-season trade. A Mike Evans type with the mind set that Gabe leaves next year.

If the plan is to evaluate Gabe before the in-season trade deadline, they don't have that much longer. I think after our 8th game (Tampa) is the deadline. So, if that is a potential plan that decision will need to be made in the next month. And to me, it hasn't gone well so far.

Drafted young WRs are crap shoots. Veterans are a much safer bet. Go Diggs like, yes we could have had J Jeff but also look at all the others we may have had that haven't panned out.. Buy a veteran, don't take any chances with this. And since you're getting a veteran do it in-season, don't wait. For instance, M Evans- he has a $13M salary this year and by the time they do an in-season trade over 1/3 of the season is gone. Probably for the third we got for Edmunds. You give him a two year contract (to overlap Diggs' contract for insurance purposes) at not much more than it would cost for Davis, around the money that DHop got. M Evans already knows the role he will have, and would probably love being WR2 in this offense. He's working on a HOF career and this would be a great way to keep at it. If Beane can get more creative, a run for C Kupp could happen. Diggs style. Throw a first their way and maybe Elam, and have them eat some of the money so we can make the finances work.

I've seen enough. The inconsistency is still there. This is not an injury thing. We have one of the top 30 yard laser throwing QBs ever, all in a mobile 6'4" sturdy frame. You do not scrimp on getting two premier downfield WRs. I do not want to wait another season. This team with a M Evans or C Kupp is back to talking about the Superbowl.

I'm not looking for value in WR2, I'm looking for a very good player. I'm also not saying we get rid of Gabe, keep him he would be good insurance if the WR2 we acquire gets injured. If we had M Evans instead of Gabe for the Jets game that would have been a victory. Fact. With the past rumors of the FO investigating OBJ and Dhop it has felt like Gabe has been on a trial run. IMO, Gabe is failing. I would love to see the FO aggressively go after a WR2 with an in-season trade. IMO, that is the biggest, most effective, move they could make for this season.

Are you really that oblivious to coachspeak? And it seems McD is using the terms "revolutionary" and "creative" to suggest "gimmicky". Kind of suggests like he is pretty confident he has the answers.

Probably a couple of WRs should be available prior to the trade deadline. The big ones are M Evans as Tampa now starts to destruct. He's on the last year of his contract and it's no secret that they probably aren't bringing him back. The next big one could be C Kupp. The Rams have the surprise young WRs that are showing in Kupp's absence. When Kupp comes back one of those pleasant surprises will be benched. The Rams might want to start thinking about the future and move Kupp.

To me, Kincaid is a developing piece to take over the Beasley role. Getting another WR would put Gabe back into his rightful role as WR3, like when we had Smoke Brown. Diggs/Brown/Beas (backup Gabe) were good times. A Diggs/Evans/Kincaid (backup Gabe) trio would work well IMO.

I can understand where you're coming from. For me, when I saw that replay, I was sick. This is our guy who has our WR2 role and that was the route he ran? There are only so many plays he is out there and he has to know they are going to review each one. Josh doesn't need to be excused, his job is nowhere near in jeopardy. A borderline WR2, in what I hope is a trial run, cannot be doing these things. IMO we needed him to improve and he hasn't.