Sierra Foothills

Somewhere Leslie Frazier's wife is asking him why he's being so irritable...

AND... he's consistently been excellently quiet. BTW, good thing there are Drs in this thread. It seems with a 4 year extension he might need some medical intervention. How does one kick with a rigid schpengy anyways?

I wish... my brain suffers from overload. It's amazing how much I forget. But I do have the heart of a servant... that was a researched answer. I appreciate the positive feedback though. 👍

It's like Marv used to say, "The second you start thinking about retirement... you'll be sitting with them... right here, right now." Or something like that. Man I'm getting old...

Going to be? 🙃

Personally I think Acrobat was Adobe's best product though Adobe Illustrator is pretty good too. Sounds like the perfect replacement for Ed Oliver?

Solid take. Frazier was beloved and respected by his players but I believe that he was not feared. Those who have studied human performance understand why fear is considered the most powerful motivator. They know that the most base human instinct is the survival instinct and that when elite athletes are confronted with fear, they fight to the death. The careers of the defensive players is now directly in the hands of their head coach, not their kindly defensive coordinator.

Yes, (forgive me for quoting myself btw)... life experience has shown many of us that the difference between failure and success, between winning and losing is sometimes almost a coin flip. I was just reminded of that very fact today in fact. In today's world people want to see irrefutable proofs, undeniable statements. Last year's example was Von Miller. Where did that emphatic improvement get us when the football gods were essentially conspiring against the Bills all season long? The same people often can't discern incrementalism and the idea that minor improvements in a few areas (including in LUCK) can make all the difference in the world. We live in a world where the ideas of patience and incrementalism have no appeal. But there's no telling what next season will be like with a bit of improvement and a bit more luck. It might make all the difference in the world and it might make a much bigger difference than another big splash.

Beyond the personnel, last year was a clear case of failing to overcome a heaping pile of adversity. IMO this in no way impugns their season. The fact they only lost 3 games and by a mere cumulative total of 8 points speaks to the talent and character of this team. Making the reasonable assumption of less adversity, I think the Bills have as good a shot as any to make it to Allegiant Stadium next February.

Good post. I agree with all of your positional assessments except I think we'll be much better at CB, not Same/Slightly better. As you implied, Tre White will be back to his usual self instead of a shell of his former self. Before his injury he was on his way to his 3rd straight All-Pro season. Having just turned 28 years old I expect him to return to his prime. Talented sophomores Elam and Benford should be considerably better and vets Taron Johnson and Dane Jackson are solid and in their primes. Also I believe a vector for McDermott's unhappiness with Frazier was the soft approach used at CB. This year I expect the group to play much tighter press coverage and I expect them to be well above average.

You don't agree with Einstein above... would you agree with Zag below? Would you say that McDermott is on thinner ice than he was one year ago?

Not that it changes my opinion that this is a non-story but this is the media we're talking about... network television... newspapers... Diggs wasn't at the start of OTAs last year either. According to McDermott the Bills have 90% attendance meaning there are several other players also not there. That probably includes some players considered to be team leaders.

FWIW we selected Edmunds at #16 after trading #22 and #65 to Baltimore to move up. We also received pick #154 in return from the Ravens and selected Siran Neal. The #22 pick ended up being LB Rashaan Evans (currently a free agent) and the #65 pick became OT Brandon Parker who in spite of starting 32 of 54 career games, is currently listed as the backup at RT for the Raiders. That said, there were plenty of other good players selected after the Edmunds pick: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_NFL_Draft

I know we discussed this previously in the context of Leslie Frazier not returning. Most of that discussion was negative and there almost seemed a consensus that managing the game as a Head Coach and calling plays as a Coordinator were at cross-purposes with failure being the most likely outcome. The other takeaway from that topic was the feeling that the departure of Frazier had to do with the fanbase losing patience and the need for McDermott to address that with greater involvement and accountability. This article came out today: https://www.buffalobills.com/news/sean-mcdermott-excited-about-calling-plays-middle-linebacker-competition-and-the Is it possible that McDermott taking on play calling duties will be the catalyst that reinvigorates McDermott and the defense? "I was excited yesterday to get in the room a little bit, that group, the defense, and kind of rolling up my sleeves and getting back to wearing that hat again. So I'm excited about it." "It's part of how I got here," he said of calling plays. "So I just think you'll be in the defensive staff room, having those critical conversations that come up solving problems, trying to evolve where we need to evolve, and where the game is going. And then working hand in hand with our players. Again, that's been mostly the assistants to this point. Then together with the staff figuring some things out and it just feels good." Personally I'm optimistic.

This is a fair criticism of Donahoe but keep in mind that with each year since, the premium on the QB position has increased to the point where it seems we're now seeing QBs that are not worthy of their draft positions being taken at the top of the draft. It's a very different landscape than the one that saw the Bills drafting TE Tony Hunter at #12 and then drafting QB Jim Kelly 2 picks later.

As an ardent Bills fan of many years I easily recall the days before Joel Buschbaum and Mel Kiper... the early "draftnicks." I remember the complete desert that used to exist around the draft and I want to assure all, that when you have professionals who devote their careers to providing free draft content to those who have an appetite for it... it's a much better world. Please take it from me that it's much better than reading Milt Northrop or Larry Felser writing about players they've never even seen play. I remember asking Felser about Tim Couch once. Talk about disappointment... Put differently it's much better to ignore the abundance (aka "riches") than it is to live with scarcity... or to complain about having too much of a good thing.

Oh brother... On the other hand, no one's forcing anyone to read anything. Better too many mock drafts than not enough... ditto with scouting reports and also draft rankings. More viewpoints are better when it comes to this sort of stuff.

In what way is that fact, fun? Just asking... Beane deserves some credit because he worked aggresively to get into a position to draft Josh Allen. But then he was arguably outmaneuvered in the end by the Jets... who then relinquished their advantage by drafting Darnold. To add, Donahoe hired Cowher when Cowher was just 35 years old. Gregg Williams was 43 years old when Donahoe hired him. To the overall discussion (as stated elsewhere), the margin between "success" and "failure" is often very thin... meaning varying shades of grey... not black and white.

Yes, McBeane have to be given credit for the drafting of Allen exactly because he was not a consensus "can't miss" prospect. In fact at least as many people thought Allen would be a bust (we are a bit lucky that the Jets took Darnold). As far as the other thoughts above, this is exactly why you shouldn't "evaluate" a prospect based on highlights. Regarding Donahoe, he did try to move up for Roethlisberger but failed. And even 20 years ago he understood the importance of the quarterback enough to then pursue Drew Bledsoe who was considered an excellent QB at that time. The margin between success and failure is usually much less than people think.

In addition to his reputation exceeding his play, there's this: "White is heading into the fifth-year option season of his rookie contract, which means he has a guaranteed salary of $11.706 million this season and then becomes an unrestricted free agent in 11 months. Any trade of White would likely involve his new team also agreeing to sign him to a new contract." https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2023/04/11/report-buccaneers-have-zero-intention-of-trading-devin-white/

Look at his avatar. Slot receiver is not a need? Last year none of Jamison Crowder, Khalil Shakir or Isaiah McKenzie was adequate to the point they felt the need to bring back Beasley. This year only the still unproven Shakir returns from that group. While I like Harty he is not a proven commodity and McBeane spoke of him as slotting in as the number 4 receiver. I also like the Sherfield signing but even the aggregate of those two can't be viewed as a sure thing to adequately fill the position. IMO slot receiver is most definitely a need. For one there needs to be more competition at that position and the need to surround Josh with more weapons, especially those who can separate early enhances that need.

I don't know how the season would have gone had Von not gotten injured but it was undoubtedly a huge blow to our chances. I certainly felt our chances of winning the whole thing nearly evaporated with his injury.

Yes, purely from an athletic standpoint Kingsley Jonathan has pretty rare skills.

Yes, the return of AJ Klein, Shaq Lawson, and Jordan Phillips were not in the least surprising and in fact expected by many on this board. Moreover if these three can stay healthy and play to their expected levels they will be good signings. Staying healthy will be the key. Yes, for the money that Klein has played under as a Buffalo Bill he's always been an excellent value and an asset to the team. I tend to doubt the acumen of those who feel otherwise. Klein epitomizes the expression "a good pro" and all winning organizations need players like him who can be counted on to bring acumen, toughness, and competence to their position group. None of the "known names" in the bargain bin inspire any belief that they would be an upgrade over Klein and the only type of signing that might possibly end up being an upgrade would be a speculative pick on a player analogous to Kevin Jarvis, the offensive lineman the Bills signed two days ago.