Nephilim17

When was the last time, not including Josh, that the BIlls knocked ANY first round pick out of the park? We've had some decent first rounders but not a lot and few great ones. I have to think Eric Moulds.. but maybe someone will remind of another great first rounder.

I hear you. But we've pushed a LOT of money into the future already. Is Donald enough of a difference maker still at this point in his career to continue to do that? I"d like to think when Diggs and Von are done (and maybe a few other guys) in a couple years that we can reload with some younger guys who will want big contracts. I guess it's the "all in now" vs. competitive every year philosophy. If getting Donald wins us the SB, ore makes us far more likely to win, I'm good with it. Does he make that much of a difference still?

We don't really know how hard he trained and studied but I suspect he wasn't very focused and/or smart, didn't have great hands, and lacked the fearlessness great slot guys have. He had a hell of shot to do it and simply didn't.

And did he ever wrestle before playing for Carolina?

I could be wrong but I highly doubt Donald plays on a new team without a new deal. So I don't buy that you can have him for only $13.5 and $10 million over the next two years.

BUT... that was Kyler Murray throwing to him, not Josh Allen. Wait..

The Cards did not cut Hopkins thinking their team would be better this year. They are likely tanking.

Yes, I don't know if he got sloppy at times in the past out of overconfidence ("arm arrogance," if you will) but he doesn't always play 60 minutes without a couple bad decisions. You're right: stack good decision and smart throw after another and another. Then he can challenge anyone. Not-so-consistent Josh won't beat KC or Cinci otherwise.

Leslie is a very good man and he can retire with immense pride, having been a key part of the historic 85 Bears D (some say the best ever) and some respectable coaching achievements. He's correct in noting teams are going to younger coaches — and many prefer offensive coaches to lead a team in an offense-driven league. I sincerely wish him the best but don't think a head coaching position is in the cards.

The only unit I can see being worse are the LBs. Better secondary (rookies now in 2nd year, Tre getting healthier, Hyde coming back), better D-line by virtue of Von returning. Better WR corp, I believe. Definitely better running backs room. And far better O-line (I hope; it would be very deflating to see the same protection issues). You don't win in today's league because of a top MLB. So even if there's a significant dip there, I think we're a better team now. Tougher schedule and better teams around us are the murder hornets in the ointment.

Though I'm more optimistic about the Bills this year than last — Kincaid, upgraded O-line, McD calling what should be a more aggressive D — this has been my fear about the Bills for a while. I hope I'm either wrong or the team and Josh have evolved into a tougher team. The harder schedule this year will reveal a lot about the character and mental toughness of the team and Josh.

I think if we sign Hopkins this will help Kincaid — who is already going to do very well, I predict — thrive. Imagine the 3rd best cornerback on an opposing D covering Kincaid. If not, a linebacker will have to try to do that. Most linebackers just can't do that. Yes, Diggs will benefit but I think the impact of a Hopkins addition goes much deeper than that.

You may be right in that DHop thinks this way. But I would chase Lombardi trophies once I reached that financial level. As a Bills fan I hope you're wrong about DHop's motivations... Not putting down your perspective at all, btw, just a difference of opinion.

Despire the fact that I love your name, I don't agree with this. Once a person has made 20 or 30 million they and their family for a long time to come should be set. If anyone hear won $20 million in the lottery we wouldn't even dream that we — and our family — needed more money. That's the biggest lie in pro sports, that you need more money than that to be very, very, very comfortable. In the old days when Guy LaFleur and Gilbert Perrault made $100,000 a year, yeah, I can see that, but not when someone's made $40 million over a few years. A smart financial advisor should turn that into a passive income generator for generations.

I'm not holding out hope for Bernard (hope I'm wrong) but I have some optimism about Dorian. Maybe it's homerism but I think this could be the best top-3 picks of the Beane tenure (outside of drafting Josh, of course; I'm talking the three picks as a group).

I don't think it's right to criticize specific player picks as every GM, even the best ones make mistakes. If you do that, you have to look strongly at the AJ and Boogie picks. But if you wanna look at philosophical blunders, it's valuing running backs and other positions (save, maybe, from D-line; right thought, wrong picks) over O-line. O-line picks should've happened at least once every year in the top 3 rounds since we got Josh, and more overall.

Yes, I was listening to the Brown and Tasker radio show and they said this: That by putting an "optional" 15-minute special teams meeting in the team calendar that's a no-no according to the CBA and that's the offense. Doing so implies it's mandatory and not optional. If this happened to the Bills, many would cry foul. But as Tasker said, "it couldn't happen to a better team." Not deflating balls and not video-recording practices but it is against the rules. Suggests to me that once the Golden Goose is off the team, the Pats no longer get league special preference. The fact that this relatively new status for the Pats coincides with Josh's tenure is a good thing. Perhaps Josh will be a Golden Goose for the league and start getting some of the calls that Brady got for years. Maybe not to the same extent, but every pro sports league wants its stars to shine and Josh is a star. Maybe not quite Alpha Centauri at this point but a top-5 star, I think. And the jersey sales are proof of this.

Kincaid becomes WR3 and Davis is WR4 and rides the pine and dreams of free agency.

Simms didn't quite agree with Florio that Manning wouldn't have been fine with Wayne or Harrison doing this — he said Manning would have dealt with it privately, not to the press. And that may be happening already. Though, I think there's is the potential for the theory (and that's all there is) that Diggs has the upper hand in the is relationship. But who knows. What may be more interesting is that Simms, as a former player and someone with player friends, says that he agrees with Florio's take to just make OTAs mandatory in the CBA. Simms thinks it's not good for player's injury-wise to just to weights and sprints and then get thrust into a game. He thinks (and this may sound counter intuitive) that practicing without the big hits in OTAs can actually reduce injuries as player's bodies need that as preparation for games. Interesting take, that last one about OTAs helping reduce injuries.

Nice to hear Josh say Sherfield is super hard working and he's happy to work with him. Could be fluff but I like to hear new guys are working hard and Sherfield, based on his history, has an internal point to prove.

How's this any different from not catching the ball and letting it go through the endzone? As it doesn't apply to punts I don't see the big deal.

Normally, I don't really get too wrapped up in articles about a player's struggle and determination, yada yada yada. Everyone's got struggles and has faced adversity. But this one resonated with me. Shane's relationship with his mom, falling to dark depths (the article doesn't say how dark but suggests, at least to me, it was really bad), and despite the stats saying it won't work he keeps trying... I'll be rooting for this guy. I don't expect him to be starter but I'd love to see him play a couple years in the NFL as a quality backup. And I love his prediction about winning the SB with Buffalo. A long read but a good one, I think. https://buffalonews.com/sports/bills/shane-ray-finds-a-new-chance-with-buffalo-bills-i-couldnt-quit-no-matter-what/article_8ab8c378-f839-11ed-af94-43edbd0bab33.html

Good article on Shorter, published May 21: https://buffalonews.com/sports/bills/why-bills-believe-former-no-1-high-school-recruit-justin-shorter-has-our-kind-of/article_49f13298-f64b-11ed-a958-3f346d7015e5.html Highlights: High school coach: "We would have early-morning workouts, 7 a.m. or whatever it was, and they would come an hour early, just to be on the JUGS machine. He was constantly working his craft. It just blossomed. He gained that confidence.” Played special teams since high school. McDermott drools; some of you roll your eyes. I think that's pretty cool for a beastly player who would go on to be ranked by ESPN and others as the number 1 WR high school recruit in the country. A lot of top WRs are divas but he doesn't seem to have that attitude. Shorter now on playing with the Bills: “I'm so big, if we go one-on-one, it's going to be hard for you to guard me when I'm all up in your space, being physical, being fast, being strong. It gets scary. I'm trusting that," he said. "Every day I go out there, I'm going to catch the ball, I'm going to finish in the end zone every time I touch the ball. I'm just going to give it 100% and just take strides and get better and better every day, because at the end, that's the ultimate goal – to help this team win.”

Amazing that being one of the very best football players ever he accomplished so much off the field including his vitally important activism. You don't see that combination of super athlete and great human being very often.

Interesting to hear Tiger Woods is Josh's all-time fave athlete... Thanks for the video!