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Peter King has some Bills related tidbits in his FMIA column today. Doesn't back down from his assessment that time is slipping away for the Bills because they are not progressing, goes after Beane for his failure to draft quality WRs when there were some available for us in recent drafts, and quotes the thoughts Bills Parcells had about the Bills after the loss to Cinci. Interesting.

I think we need to be realistic here. Cinci's d-line are as a group superior to our d-line with Reader, Hubbard and Hendrickson, their WRs have more top end talent and are deeper in quality than our group, and their reconstituted o-line provided better protection to Burrows than did our o-line for Josh during the regular season and playoffs. At each of these position groups, Cinci has more than what we have, and it showed last weekend, even with their injuries on the o-line. Combine this with creative play calling on offense with a QB who gets the ball out quickly and a defense lead by a coordinator with the ability to come up with effective game plans, and you have a recipe for success against the Bills. Granted, I recall that the Bills were very interested in and pursued Reader, but he chose the Bengals and we were missing Von, which I don't think would have changed the overall results. As has been noted, there is a lot of work to do to "catch-up" to the Bengals. I could not imagine at the start of the season that this is what I would be writing now, but this is where we are. Beane has much work ahead of him, and not much in the way of resources or ability to change the coaching staff to get it done. This will be interesting because the status quo will not be acceptable if the Bills want to make progress and not regress.

Great message and he looks well. I will be aggravated about the Bills exit from the playoffs and the way they lost for the foreseeable future, but I will be forever thankful for Damar's recovery.

I think everyone seems to understand that the o-line was not good this past season and needs significant upgrades, but it is kind of galling that our defense is such a mess with so many resources (i.e., free agents and high draft picks) devoted to it over the past number of years.

Would have thought that you would wait to fire assistants until after a new DC is in place so they would have input on defensive hirings and firings.

Wonder what role Mike Shula played this season on the coaching staff. I don't think I heard a word about him during the season.

The reality is that Beane's drafting, outside of Allen, has been, at best, uneven. He has hit on some later round picks such as Milano, Knox, Johnson, Davis and Jackson, but has fared as well with his first, second and third round picks. The problem with the early picks is that they are performing at a level that is generally below their draft position would have suggested. Another way to put it is that our early round picks generally are not total busts because they are contributors, but they also are not blue chip or even red chip type players. First round picks Oliver and Rousseau have shown flashes, but they are not consistent and seem to disappear at times. Rousseau should improve, but Oliver is a disappointment given where he was drafted and who else was available at that point of the draft. Late second rounders Basham and Epenesa are role players. Second rounder Ford was a bust. Third rounder Brown is playing like a third rounder and needs to improve. Bernard, another third rounder, seems to have bust potential. Too early to tell about Elam and Cook. Contrast our recent drafting with those of the Chiefs, who have been drafting after us over the last number of years. In 2021, the Chiefs drafted Bolton (LB), Humphrey (C) and Smith (G). All are at least red chip players and Humphrey is a blue chip player. Their 2022 draft class looks strong as well. Bottom line is that the Bills need to draft better in the early rounds.

If Frazier does leave, I think the new DC would be Eric Washington. He did not have success in Carolina as the DC, so I would be concerned if he was the choice.

I am usually an optimist about things, but I think our flexibility to improve the roster will be severely limited by the salary cap this offseason. I would create cap space by restructuring Allen, Miller, Diggs and Milano, but not White or Dawkins. These cap savings will need to go to signing our draft picks and back-up type players (our own and new free agents) to fill out our roster. I do not believe that Oliver will be tradable at his guaranteed salary this year. Does not seem to be enough money to re-sign both Edmunds and Poyer (or maybe either), so I would focus on Edmunds unless his contract ask is similar to what Roquan Smith received. Assuming Hines is back, sign a low priced RB replacement for Motor unless Motor is willing to take a contract for under $5 million per year. Try to get Hines to agree to a reduced salary. I don't think there will enough money to sign a starting caliber WR or offensive lineman, and it does not appear that there are a lot of quality free agents available at either position. In the draft, WR and O-line should be the focus in the first three rounds. After that, draft a safety. Not a great year for free agent o-linemen, and I understand that the draft is not particularly strong for WRs or OL. Beane has his work cut out for him to keep the team at the current level. let alone improve it.

Thanks for the OvertheCap calculator link. Looks like we can free up to about $40 million with Allen, Miller, Diggs and Milano. I wouldn't restructure White or Dawkins at this point. Even if we can do this, is this enough to do anymore than sign our draft picks, re-sign some of our free agents and sign some free agents to be back-ups so that we have a full roster?

Next season will be interesting, even if Singletary is re-signed. Neither Cook nor Hines (assuming he will be back) seems to be an every down back and both have similarities in their skill sets. We have lacked a "move the pile" type running back, and if Singletary leaves via free agency, one can argue that we will need another starting quality RB to fill out the running back group. Not an ideal situation to be in after using draft resources on Moss, Singletary and Cook over the last number of years.

Agree with Florio on everything. Brutal, yes, but highly accurate.

I agree that Simms has this exactly right. Some good players on the Bills, but other teams have more better players. Bills lack "sizzle" around Josh and don't have any "sizzle" type players on D that can make game changing plays when needed.

Our drafting in the first couple of rounds in the Beane era since drafting Josh has resulted in at best role players. Maybe a bit better than JAGs, but definitely not quality starters either (other than Groot, I think).

Even with the ability to restructure some contracts to create cap space, don't we have significant issues finding the resources to just fill out the roster, let alone improve the roster with some free agent signings or possibly re-signing one of more significant free agents (i.e., Edmunds or Poyer)? You would expect most of the draft choices in 2023 to make the team, but don't we need at least $20 to $30 million to also fill out our roster after the departure of many of our free agents (and the re-signing of others)? We are over the cap now and we also will need additional cap space to sign our draft picks. Seems like we need to create a lot of cap space to do these basic things.

Just watched the post-game locker room interview with Edmunds. While I have to admit that I have no idea whether he is a quality player (opinions are all over the place), I was very impressed with how much he cares about the team, the organization and the city. Puts himself and individual goals second, which is a bit of rarity these days.

The start of this game was no different than the start of the regular season game against Cincinnati. You would have thought that we would have come up with something on defense for this game.

We are not in great cap space and we have a lot of money tied up in White and Miller (who may not play until late season in 2023).

This game certainly did not provide motivation to re-sign Poyer, Edmunds, Saffold and Motor. Problem is that we do not have replacements on the roster for Poyer and Edmunds, or the cap space to sign free agent upgrades. I assume most of our free agents will be gone, mostly because of salary cap constraints.

Very insightful and thoughtful analysis. I thought this quote really sums up why things are the way they are with Josh and the Bills: With an average blocking unit, Stefon Diggs, and a solid but inconsistent support cast beyond the elite receiver, this is what an offense is going to look like with Allen at quarterback. He's doing what is most sensible in his mind to elevate this Bills team -- sling rockets, often, all over the field, even if doing so is a little dangerous. I don't think most people outside of fans of the Bills realize how dependent the offense and team are on Josh. He is the most gifted QB I have ever seen play. In the quote above, I think we can quibble about the use of the word "solid" to describe the supporting cast beyond Diggs. Not sure if that is true.

That was stressful and exhausting, but the win is what matters. The game was a roller coaster, and it mirrors how Josh played today. Amazing number of great and awful plays. Tough to watch at times. Wish Josh would throw it more to the RB out of the backfield for some easy yards. Our defense played well overall, but I thought the rush could have been better when not blitzing, and it seems we really do miss what Miller can bring to the pash rush. Run defense was great today.

Weimaraners are awesome dogs. We had them when I was growing up and they are smart and loyal dogs. They do need a lot of exercise.

Live on the Upper East Side in Manhattan and I see a lot of people with Bills hats, hoodies and jerseys. Always give a Go Bills! if passing them by.

After the season and whatever success we do or don't have in the playoffs, we can assess the team's play this season and last season's offseason. It may be premature, but I do agree with a number of your points. McBeane spent a lot of money on the defense in the offseason, and while Jones has been a great addition, losing Miller hurts and calls into question the overall approach of not allocating enough free agent dollars to the offense (to give Allen more protection and better skill players). The free agent additions on offense have not exactly worked out (Saffold, Crowder and the o-line back-ups), and the draft did not produce instant help (although Cook seems to be doing a bit better each week). It definitely does not reflect well on management that we had to bring back Beasley and Brown. We are entirely dependent on Allen for our success on offense, and this does need to change going forward.

Wonder if the Bills will use a different defensive scheme for this game to deal with Chicago's run game (and lack of passing game). Will be tough tackling in this weather and I think we can expect a steady diet of running plays from a run oriented run offense, particularly after Miami's success with the rush against us and the expected windy conditions.