Beck Water

Go Smell Some Grass

I do think it's an oft underlooked point that if you want to get the most out of the QB - if you even want to be able to adequately evaluate whether you have a QB - the team really needs to invest in OL. Pittsburgh drafting Pickett behind a rookie LT and next year a rookie RT had a bunch of people saying "they need a better OL to even figure out what they've got. Pickett got gun-shy Beane got away with that with Allen only because Allen is so mobile and such a tiger, and even then it took him a season to overcome his happy feet. Well, That, and we did have a LT. I was thinking of "cheaping it" more as a totality of investment, not strictly cap dollars. To your point, Cincy has not yet paid a Chase/Higgins duo - but they did invest high first round and high 2nd round picks in them. Miami has not paid a Hill/Waddle duo, but they did invest a high first in Waddle and of course a high $ contract in Hill. As far as duos winning Superbowls, KC paid Hill in 2019. So they were paying Hill and Kelce when they won the 2019 Superbowl, went to the SB next year, and won the conference in '21. And then of course, they were able to recoup that investment by trading him for a 1st, 2nd, 4th and next years 4th and 6th. Yes they weren't paying Mahomes yet. Now it gets more interesting as far as 2022 and 2023. In 2022, KC was paying 3 WR in their top 10 cap %: Kelce, MVS, and Mecole Hardman, and a 4th just outside of it (Juju S-S at 11). Now, we look at that, and say "poor ROI!" but the point is, they made the investment. And Kelce, S-S, and MVS were their top 3 receivers. Then the next season, they invested a 2nd round pick in Rice while they still had MVS on the roster, and he pretty much filled the S-S role by the end of the season. Let's not roll with the narrative that KC hasn't invested in WR. They have - not the investment (again, speaking of both draft and FA $$) that Mia or Bengals have made, but significant. And of course, the Bengals made it to a Superbowl. Just to close things off - in 2021 when the Rams won the Superbowl with Stafford, they had 2 receivers in their top 10 cap % - Tyler Higbee and Cooper Kupp. And, they'd invested a 2nd round pick in Van Jefferson. The closest the Bills have come to that kind of investment is 2021, when they were paying Diggs and Manny Sands. (He wasn't taking up as much $ of their cap, but only because they added void years to his contract) Now, to your point - the investment KC and the Rams have made at receiver, were not in paying multiple top dollar super-elite receivers. Both KC and the Rams are paying a TE, and while they're great players - it has to be noted that elite TE get paid less than elite WR on the open market. That might be one reason why Beane is looking to Knox and Kincaid as a key part of the build he's trying? Back to my point, I think it can be justified that Beane has under-invested in the WR position ("cheaped it") especially when looked at as investment of either $$ or draft capital. Yes, I think it could be as simple as missing 1 or 2 day 1 or 2 draft picks at WR. Now some of that can be the way the draft falls. But I can't help looking at Carolina's build while Beane was there, and thinking that's the model he's trying to follow, where he expects his big, mobile QB to elevate his receivers and make magic happen, and doesn't see the need to invest a bit more there.

The media is in love with Lamar's running prowess. I get it; he's a legit talent. But they somehow seem to ignore or understate Josh's escapability and running prowess. It's like because he is big and physical and can run guys over or hurdle them, they don't see that he has field vision to avoid guys and can juke and cut to make guys miss. I continually hear the commentators saying stuff like "No other QB in the league could make that play" and thinking "Exsqueeze me?" while Josh simply shrugs and says "here, Hold my Beer"

Surely there could be a worthy teaching message in having the pupils watch the game

I would say that arguably, 2020 was the year we had the best WR talent so far -Diggs at his peak with 1535 receiving yards and 127 receptions -Beasley at his peak with 967 receiving yards and 82 receptions -Gabe Davis with 35 receptions on 699 yards as a highly promising rookie who the league hadn't written "the book" on yet -John Brown, slowing down and injured part of the season but still able to turn on the afterburners -Isaiah McKenzie, able to beat man coverage and run gadget routes, but used sparingly and not being depended upon For what it's worth, Josh threw 10 interceptions that year (one of which was not an interception and yes I'm still salty), a 1.7% interception rate vs. this year 1.2% I think we need to stay balanced, but I don't believe adding receiver talent and passing yards would necessarily add interceptions. It would be nice to be able to have at least 2 receivers get open on almost every play once again, instead of "all fall down" (or get flattened) and Josh has to make the magic happen

That's a really good question. I would like to know the answer to that, myself.

Soup with lots of garlic. Try roasted garlic soup (about 3 entire heads of garlic per quart of soup, maybe 4, that's what we're talking about) but chicken noodle would do if it has lots of garlic Lemon juice, honey, and whiskey for a sore throat. Take hot showers. Heat rosemary and sliced lemon in a pot and breathe in the steam. Guafenisin to loosen up mucus. Delsym extended cough syrup to sleep, if you have a cough; sudafed (the original kind the stores keep locked up) to help keep your sinuses clear

Little note that the Eagles had to sign Cine to their 53 man roster, and they must pay him as though he's on their 53 man roster for at least 3 games (not sure how that changes with playoffs if they're 1 and done, but if they get additional games, they don't have to keep him on their roster but they do have to pay him, is my understanding) Yes, the Bills and Cine's agent would be called by the Eagles and told "hey, we want to sign Cine to our 53" at which point Cine gets to say "great!" or "oh, no, honey I'm good!". If he says "I want on a 53 man roster" the Bills get to say "OK, we'll sign you" or "good luck Eagles, he's a great kid! Good luck Cine we wish you the best!" The team will provide a hotel for a week. Then it's up to the player. Good teams have player engagement staff who try to help out. For PS and bottom of the roster guys, they either rent extended-stay hotels or furnished studios month by month; find a roommate; sometimes an established player will let them stay in a room, especially if they've played together in college or pros and have a connection. There have been practice squad players who literally slept in their cars. Some guys who have families, leave the family established in their hometown and look for roommates. Others bring the girlfriend and the dog with them. It's not too bad in Buffalo where there's a fair bit of housing stock and the prices are reasonable, but guys bouncing around in HCOL areas like the E or W coast have it rough.

For those of you who are wondering Tyreek Maddox Williams 2022 draft, undrafted 6'2" 235 4.77 40 time Played 3 games for AZ at the end of 2023, on ST Prior to that, been on the Chargers practice squad, in camp with the Eagles then Cardinals practice squad. This past season, he's been on Atlanta's practice squad until they released him December 3rd. Welp, I wanted us to bring in a linebacker, so.....

He did say right up front that he thinks Buffalo wins the game (before saying he can see an upset happening) He said Denver treats Surtain like the Jets used to treat Revis, they put him on one side of the field and you put an "X" on that side of the field, and that takes away everything the Bills want to do? Except the Bills are probably less dependent than most other teams on having a star receiver Surtain can take away? It didn't make sense to me but maybe I just don't understand him.

So for those who care about such things, here Ya go: Under Sean McDermott, Bills record against Denver: 3 wins, 1 loss (Loss under Sean Payton as HC, also known as "the loss that got Dorsey fired"). Sean Payton H2H meetings against Sean McDermott 2009-2010 as Eagles DC: 1 meeting, 1 loss 2011-2016 as Panthers DC: 7 wins, 5 losses 2017-2024 as Bills HC: vs NO 1 win (31 - 6 in 2021); 1 loss (41-10 in 2017 also known as "the loss that got Tyrod Taylor benched for Nate Peterman) vs DEN 1 loss 22-24 in 2023 (also known as "the loss that got Dorsey fired") I don't place a lot of stock in these things, but I know some do.

I'm a bit confused by this sentence. McDermott has found a way to beat Kansas City. We've played KC 9 times under McDermott, and he's won 5. Unfortunately, 3 of the 4 losses, were in the playoffs, two of them by 6 points and 2 points.

If the Bills were confident in Daequan Hardy for the punt return role, I don't think they would have traded for Codrington, even for just a swap of late round 2026 picks. Not to me

I'm quite confident that Dunne's article last fall was not lies in the sense that I'm sure everything he quoted someone as saying, was actually said and not made-up. To me, lies can be told in different ways. A lie can be saying something that is untrue or quoting something that was not said. Let's call those "lies of commission". But it's also possible to lie by omission, by telling the truth but only part of the truth, or by including only the information you have that supports the storyline you're telling. I think those are lies of omission. I think you're getting this phenomenon when you say "(a writer has) the freedom in blog format to ignore the need to present any kind of balanced assessment ....and as long as it is not defamatory you can publish". It sounds as though we agree that the story Dunne published last fall made no attempt at balance, and that made it a hit piece. To me, it also made it a form of lies. This may be semantics, I'm not sure. We both agree that Dunne is a talented writer and his article was well researched.

With you on both points!

I'll put it out there, I think they should just plan to move the game to Arizona now, while they can do so with advance planning and get everything right. It's not gonna be a home field advantage for the Rams if they can't breathe, and given the geography of LA I don't see how the air quality can help being terrible.

Yes! It was the Bills game in 2020

Thank God she made it safely!

The crap shoot nature of the draft, is actually the basis for the studies that say over time, a team does better to stockpile picks and take more shots at players, than they do to trade up for a player they perceive as a special talent (again, the exception being positions like QB where either you have a great one or you'll not sustain success) I understood why the Bills traded for Diggs. They had their hoped-for franchise QB going into his 3rd year, and they needed to make a decision THAT YEAR as to whether they were going to extend him or try again. And he was up-and-down - some fantastic play, some bonehead moves. Taking a shot at a talented rookie was the right cap strategy, but to be sure they had The Man at QB and avoid making a Daniel Jones type mistake, they had to give him a sure-fire top WR talent who would be good and able to run all the routes, THAT YEAR. But I agree with you, Beane is not going to necessarily go after a top FA WR. I just hope we don't get a hard lesson in the playoffs that Beane has cheaped it a bit much and we don't have enough.

I guess we'll find out. I don't think it's "1000 yd receiver" per se that the Bills need. What the Bills need is a guy (or two) who can win against the best CBs in the league, especially when the CBs are playing physical and jamming them on the line, and the refs are keeping their laundry in their pockets against DH and some DPI. Example: the Bills had a bona-fide 1000 yd receiver in Diggs. 6 years 1000+ yds, 1000+ with the Bills. But Diggs, at 6'0, 190, was ineffective in the playoffs because he was physically worn down at that point, and because he was struggling to release against very physical CB play and to uncover against uncalled DH/DPI. And then, in 2022/2023 I believe his play had just fallen off and he was getting his 1000+ yds by demanding to be force-fed.

You know, if you look at the top WR in the league, they came from all places. 2017: Cooper Kupp 3rd round Pick 69 Chris Godwin 3rd round Pick 84 (Bills drafted Zay Jones, 2nd round, pick 37) 2018: Calvin Ridley 1st round Pick 26 Courtland Sutton 2nd round Pick 40 Christian Kirk 2nd round Pick 47 2019 Deebo Samuel 2nd round Pick 36 AJ Brown 2nd round Pick 51 DK Metcalf 2nd round Pick 64 2020 Justin Jefferson 1st round Pick 22 (Bills original pick!) Brandon Aiyuk 1st round Pick 25 Tee Higgins 2nd round Pick 33 Michael Pittman Jr 2nd round Pick 34 2021 Amon Ra St Brown 4th round Pick 112 Yes, the best players with the highest probability to succeed are found at the top of the 1st, but that simply means the GM has to be prepared to take more "shots on goal" in the later rounds and not keep WR who are not developing on the roster forever because they're great guys and the QB likes them. I think the only time I've been truly disgusted with Beane was in his off-season presser in 2022, after the Bengals loss, when he was asked something about adding a top receiver talent like Ja'Mar Chase and he said something to the effect "we would run to the podium, but we don't want to suck badly enough to have the opportunity to draft him." I literally cussed at the video and threw something, because it was SO disingenuous - as though the only way to acquire a top WR is to draft at the top of the 1st. There is so much room between that, and only investing a 6th, 7th, 4th, and 5th at WR in 6 years of having Josh Allen under center - and then in the 7th, using a high 2nd on one of Beane's typical "high ceiling low floor, will take 3 years to develop IF they develop" guys.

Emmanuel Acho's answer to why Josh Allen should be MVP. It's a 15 yard completion on 2nd and 6 He then breaks down the tape, in which we see Knox slipping, Hollins being doubled and failing to uncover, Kincaid being slow to release, and Coleman not just being jammed but FLATTENED at the LOS. It's painful to watch. And oh, yeah, Allen just casually evades a few rushers and buys some time until someone gets up and gets open (it's Ty Johnson).

I agree with you, but it also has to be recalled that the announcers were sort of yukking it up about how vanilla and un-specific Spagnuolo's defense was against Denver. Payton can attack specific defenses, but McDermott also does have a good track record of attacking and confusing rookie QBs. EDIT: I do think it should be pointed out that Denver's QB coach is Davis Webb. He knows Josh Allen well.

First off Mad Props to you for your apology and I appreciate that. I think we have a lot of points of agreement, actually. I understand you feeling that Thomas was a special talent and worthy of giving up our 2nd round pick and getting back change. And the early returns are, he's a quality NFL player. It actually looks as though a player drafted after Coleman, Ladd McConkey, is also a quality NFL player and could have been had without a trade-up. What it really comes down to is, for whatever reason, Beane and his scouts were higher on Coleman's potential (he is not a fully developed WR at this point) than they were on either of those guys. You could be right that it's an opportunity lost. On the other hand, Beane has to assemble a roster of 53 players. There have been a number of studies done that conclude, because there is so much uncertainty in the NFL draft, in general it is better to stand put or trade down and have more picks than it is to trade up - the exception being "franchise positions" such as QB where you either have a great one or your team is stuck in neutral. One could make a case that by trading up two slots in two preceding drafts at the cost of a 4th round pick each time, Beane put himself in a spot where he needed to over value that 2nd round pick. For example, there are 2 CBs drafted in the 2nd round (Roger McCreary TEN and Cam Taylor Britt CIN) who seem to be good players (I don't know anything about McCreary), while Kaiir Elam whom we traded up for, can't even see the field. In Round 4, 2 spots after Pick 130 which is what we traded Bal to move up, GB drafted Romeo Dobbs who has been a solid WR for them; there were also some OLmen who have good wAV drafted in that area. So yeah, trading up can mean an opportunity lost too.

The big question is whether the Bills are "locked in" and focused. And the players need help getting to that state, will the coaches be able to inspire them? It's easier to pump up the team when they're the underdog. You get the "no one believes in us but WE KNOW! WE ALL WE GOT! WE ALL WE NEED!" "They're looking past us! WE'LL SHOW THEM!" and so forth. Buffalo vs Everyone! Well, now we're the favorites. And we saw in LA, that if the DL doesn't "bring the intensity", our D can be put on skates. We'll see.