Sierra Foothills

There were several wide receiver needy teams in the market and neither of these guys was moved. Also the rumor was that Miami wanted a 1st and 2nd for Waddle. I'm pretty sure your proposal would not have enticed a trade. Actually Josh Palmer has been mentioned many times in this topic so I wouldn't call him an afterthought. Also it's been reported that he's back at practice (limited) this week so he's getting close to a return and considering that he had 2 catches for 60 yards on 2 targets against Atlanta before getting injured, I think there's a lot of excitement.

Just for fun let's say that Hairston isn't actually picking up a tell from Worthy but is just saying that to get into his head...

Just looking at him, 317 seems to not be accurate... he looks a lot bigger than that to me.

Put it this way... last year Cook averaged 15 touches per game. This year he's averaging 21. While to some that might not seem like a lot, it's a 40% increase in workload and for a running back, that's a lot. Obviously we can't rest all of them and obviously we can't play all of them. Just like the discussion of who we cut when Ogunjobi and Hoecht return from suspension, this is a situation that's gonna take care of itself. Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet, Bucky Irving and Rachaad White, Rico Dowdle and Chubba Hubbard... There's always gonna be a drop-off when you have someone of the caliber of James Cook but one way or another we still need much better play from our 2nd running back. Is that according to the Thigh Doctor?

Particularly at that position group. This reminds me that Elijah Pitts, the former Packer running back and father of former Orchard Park HS star and Bills player Ronnie Pitts, went to a small school called Philander Smith College. Apparently it took Lombardi a few months before he was certain that it was Elijah Pitts from Philander Smith College, and not Philander Smith from Elijah Pitts College.

Yeah, Reid wanted Mahomes to be physically abused in unprecedented fashion (15 QB hits) and for the Chiefs to drop to 5-4 and 3rd place in the division because he wants to keep things under wraps until the playoffs. There's no way that Reid was holding anything back for "later." 1) Cook is on the Practice Participation report as Did Not Practice due to an ankle injury. 2) The Bills are 9.5 point favorites. 3) Last year Cook averaged 14.94 touches per game. This year he's averaging 20.75 touches per game. 4) Aside from Josh, Cook's the most important player on the team. I don't think there's any question the Bills need to get another running back going for the good of the team and for the good of Cook.

Yes, that's been mentioned.

Stefon Diggs. Hopefully a Zach Wilson/Mac Jones repeat. Tua also was a fairly recent top. pick in our division. It's great having Josh. And then Pittsburgh happened. Three INTs and 2 fumbles... oof! Nyheim Hines, Rasul Douglas, and Amari Cooper were all trade deadline acquisitions.... 3 years in a row. I haven't seen Indy play this year so I can't say how close I think they are. I guess we'll see soon enough. Again it's weird timing that Irsay checked out this year of all years. I saw where his famous rock memorabilia collection is going up for auction.

Speaking of Hairston... how about Xavier Worthy's stat line... 7 targets, 3 receptions, 23 yards...

That was a good laugh! Agreed. Nothing worse than persistent, chronic whining on a message board... or anywhere else. True... unless you consider Mike Pennel to be a major addition which I'm sure you don't. The Patriots did stockpile draft picks though so they benefited from the trade deadline in a reverse sort of way... they now have 10 draft picks in 2026. Clearly the Jets and Dolphins were not going to deal with us unless we dramatically overpaid. Yes. Also I feel like the kid who didn't have a very good Christmas. It's too early to say but it looks like the 2025 draft could go down as another 2022 draft which is to say, pretty darn good. Ineptitude? Is that what you call a .647 winning percentage and 7 playoff appearances in 8 years... on the heels of a 17 year drought? As you point out, it's hard to judge Beane today because we don't know what was on the table... we don't know what he turned down. We can only judge Beane on the trades that other teams made. For instance he didn't give up a 3rd rounder for Shaheed. Some GMs might have. It'll be interesting to see how Shaheed does in Seattle though that wouldn't apply to the Bills anyways. We could possibly have outbid Dallas for Logan Wilson, provided Cinci would trade him to an "enemy." He cost Dallas a 7th rounder. For the sake of a better discussion, who are the traded players we should have outbid teams for? George Allen's Over-the-Hill gang never won a Super Bowl so not the greatest example. The Rams and Eagles are arguably examples of teams which have made bold moves that have paid off... but the exception is not the rule. Most big swings are misses... how are the Packers doing with Parsons? This is mostly fair although Beane did make big, bold moves for Stefon Diggs and Von Miller. Since then he's said more than once, "you're never just one player away." I'm a bit disappointed that the Bills ended up standing pat but I also admire the discipline and the conviction that they have in their valuations. This is not a team that's going to throw money around simply to appease their fans... and I respect that.

FWIW, the most recent Bills 4th and 5th rounders... Deone Walker Jordan Hancock Jackson Hawes

It's actually incredible that some would need an emoji to understand that this was not a serious statement...

I can't vouch for the process but NFL officials are graded per game and per season. I know that 3 officials were relegated back to NCAA football after the 2024 season.

I don't know what their prospects are for returning to good health but their offense has been decimated by injuries.

Officials are graded for each game and the poorly graded ones are often terminated at. the end of the season so there is accountability. I've said all season that the defense would need time to gel and would eventually be fine. Regarding the defensive time outs, McDermott has mentioned in the recent past that the home field crowd noise makes it difficult to get the defensive play calls communicated to everyone on the field and you saw that yesterday,

Waddle has played 71 of 76 games in his career. The problem with replacing Hoecht is not necessarily his talent level... it's that he's been with the team since March and clearly understands the system well. It's gonna be challenging finding a player who can come close to his understanding of this defense. Good name and one not going around the rumor carousel. And Parsons is a better pass rusher.

Okay then...

Also, considering he's missed 6 of the last 26 games to injury, it's maybe a good idea to load manage him. Considering Ingram's only played 28 games in his career, I'd say he's a "kid" too. I'm glad the team showed confidence in him in a big game... you could see from Hard Knocks that he has a confidence problem. But the kid has some excellent tools too.

So we're all in agreement then?

Rapp has been making the entire back end look bad... as some people have been saying all season long. My theory is that Bishop was embarrassed by his lame-oid tackle attempt on Bijan Robinson and did a lot of soul searching after that public failure. For some reason, many people on this forum want to forget that Prater missed a field goal. I'm surprised I haven't seen it mentioned yet but when was the last time anyone remembers a Bills player with 4 passes defensed in a single game? I would not call a 2024 2nd round draft pick, "found money." Not everyone here gave up on him. Awesome stuff. Thanks for adding to the topic.

So not only is Hairston undersized and injury-prone, he's also stupid?

... for 200 Alex... I'm not feeling the Harrison Phillips vibe. I don't think the Bills list of needs include a run-stuffing DT... especially because they can elevate Phidarian Mathis (dude is HUGE) two more times or sign Zion Logue if necessary. They're not gonna trade a pick on a position that can be filled sufficiently on the very cheap, IMO. With the recent flashes by Bishop, Hairston, and Hancock I also don't think they view secondary as a need. I would guess wide receiver and pass rusher... either interior or edge. Some guys laugh when they tell a joke... I really appreciate your dry delivery. And yet the Bills have never had a player named William Williams. I'd mock your spelling except I'm afraid you'd ask me questions about theoretical physics.

T minus 15 hours and 35 minutes...

Return on investment is not only about what you get back in return. It's also about not trading a player to a team that you play against twice a year. And because Za'Darius Smith retired. I'm not a big Rousseau fan but yesterday's game was one of the best I remember him as a Bill. Yeah that was a weird play. I didn't quite get Bosa's reaction... him retreating and circling back. I admire that you've drawn a line in the sand and simply aren't gonna put up with Beane's crap anymore. Your determination is formidable and I can definitely see him buckling under the weight of your pressure. I'm assuming an all night vigil until the deadline? I was watching the game yesterday and admiring Dorian Williams... even though we all know his persistent weaknesses as a player... I'm glad to see the Bills scheming him for success. Seeing him kamikaze into the opposition play after play reminded me of watching guys like Carwell Gardner and Butch Rolle on the Super Bowl era Bills. These games are very violent and Dorian is a warrior. You want guys like that getting meaningful snaps and playing to their strengths. Yes, it's been quite a persistent crysade.

Go Bills!!! I see you're not working today!!!