Dr. Who

Motherhood, and raising children, especially in this era, but always really, is an extremely demanding vocation. Socrates understood, as did the Athenians who condemned him, that those who teach children and instill particular values and ways of acting and modes of perception are the rudder that ultimately determines where the ship of state goes. The domestic space shapes the political, unless the political can somehow displace it. And much of the culture war is because of that tension. So, behind the obvious polemical intent of Butker's speech, there's a serious contest of values involved beyond what many here righteously proclaim a ridiculously atavistic prejudice. Benedictine College is a traditional Catholic school. Folks want to call that medieval, go right ahead. Medievals gave us the universities. What we're doing with that legacy is something else.

My pal @NewEra thinks folks are forgetting or discounting the crippling injuries on D. I'm not. We came close to beating KC with a decimated defense, but it wouldn't really have been close without a very fortuitous goal line fumble, which was preceded by a desperate and bonehead gamble on a fake punt. Once you hit the division round, with the exception of games against the Ravens, our D folds. Maybe McD evolves. I like him, actually, but there's no denying he is super tight, even in the off-season. Admirable character, dogged, a wrestler, not a genius strategic coach. Maybe he's good, but so far, out-classed in the post-season. I don't see how that is arguable. What we have never really tried is seeing what would happen if you gave your extraordinary franchise qb truly excellent weapons. Folks want to argue about that, that's their prerogative. It appears Brady has a plan to spread the targets around so that no one can focus on WR1, because there isn't one. I think that is mind games to rationalize a step back from what was a mediocre WR room to begin with. Makes it harder for the offense to overperform. Have to hope Kincaid makes a leap from a good rookie year, that the run game becomes a consistent weapon, and that Coleman has a strong initial impact despite being a raw talent. And then better pray there aren't any significant injuries at the top of the bottom third in the league WR room (it's worse than that, probably). I think that's playing for an inside straight. Folks talk about a reset and the salary cap. Trading Diggs and not replacing him, taking on a massive cap hit, letting Davis walk (good), a lot of that was chosen by Beane, and what wasn't is a product of the way he handled the WR room in previous years. He's a hero if it works, but I don't buy extenuating circumstances if it doesn't.

Maybe Beane ends up looking like a genius, but I just hate the way they've handled the WR position.

I know. I was hoping they would entice him to come back with a promise of taking over in a year or two, but that's not the way they roll.

This meme is just always so useful. Maybe, but probably not, hiring one of their own changes the zebra attitude. Perhaps Mr. Parry lets us in on the secret handshake, where to drop the payoff, etc., and we end up having to challenge less, because not so often in the NFL lower right quadrant.

I wanted Peca to be the coach ready to take over.

I understand. Maybe that is so, or perhaps Beane is a sly dog, and has another plan he isn't saying. It might be boring literalism. I'm still hoping he's playing poker, because I don't like the WR room, even though I am high on Kincaid, and was one of the few on this board who championed him well before the draft. There were like 3 of us, we lit metaphorical cigars afterwards to celebrate our success. I tried the same thing this year hoping to get McConkey drafted, but I guess it was a one-time magic. I saw your latest response to Badol. Fantastic if you are correct. Seems overly optimistic to me.

The plan is intriguing, but it only works if all the parts are reasonably dangerous. I'd feel better if they added an established WR of the caliber of DK Metcalf. @BADOLBILZ suggested as much, and it seems an excellent idea to me. I think, but I may be misremembering, that you are one of those who cautions that there isn't money for that. I think after 6/1, they could find a way to manage it.

I can't seem to get rid of a prejudice for WR1. I still think it's better to have one, but I acknowledge the hydra approach does have its selling points. If you genuinely have weapons all across the field, I'm not sure how you gameplan to stop that.

It might work. The theory sounds good, if Brady is good at OC. I'd still like to add a plus talent receiver post 6/1. I'm sorry that WR room just doesn't look sound to me, though I'm open to being pleasantly surprised. Try calculating low bar for those with multiple seasons. I bet it doesn't look so rosy.

Pretty sure the NFL comp pic formula follows the same "you're the home team against the Jags waiting for you in London" formula and the folks who determine penalties.

Does he have an apple in his mouth?

I don't see how this group gets the benefit of the doubt on managing the WR room. Coleman, a bunch of scrubs, and hope that decent role players can elevate above their pay grade is not compelling. Lots of folks buying it, though. Whole lot riding on Brady being a really good OC. I hope it works, because I want my team to win, but Josh Allen is more magnanimous than I if he is truly happy about it.

I don't think "many are not seeing Shakir as a player who will get more volume." Rather the opposite. Whether they made a decision before trading Diggs or more reactively afterwards, he will be the Z and get a lot of targets. What no one can know ahead of time is how effective he will be when asked to perform as a more significant element in the offense. I don't see an obvious fall back option if it doesn't work out. I definitely don't think Samuel is that player. It seems a risky projection to me without a better plan B.

Yes, I did not intend right people as moral approbation, but indicative of the folks who speak that way. I don't necessarily think, however, that folks who live in a rural backwater are bound to be backwards. Further, I live in a rural backwater, though I suspect you may find my own proclivities insufficiently advanced. Have no fear, however, I will not "bless your heart," no matter what.

No, you are the one who is presumptuous for not accepting an optimistic projection as fact. I tell you what, let's find a fella who was thrown to 5 times on the year and caught them all. That would be 100% catch rate. All you have to do is throw it to that fella ninety times instead of five, and your problems are solved. What, maybe his skill set was such that a low number of targets was appropriate, and you can't simply assume expansion will carry similar results? Nonsense, man, you are just willfully pessimistic.

I do think he prefers shotgun for the reasons you indicate. However, I seem to recall some metric that showed the offense was quite successful when employing play action, though I could not possibly trace the source of that information (or what season or seasons that would pertain), nor state with certitude that it isn't something I imagined. Nonetheless, I generally have a pretty good memory, so I suppose it more likely there is something out there that gives that data.

The top 3 have relatively high floors, I think, but the price would have been exorbitant. My concern about the draft is partly driven by the fact that Coleman was not a fella I was high on. I'm concerned about the lack of separation. He does have some good traits, obviously, including, it turns out, an entirely engaging personality and apparent good character. So, I hope Beane made a solid decision. We are in good shape for 2025.

I think Josh Allen excels in play action, so that would be a good thing.

I'm not at all thrilled with the available free agent WRs. I've already said so many times, it is boring indeed to say again, but I wanted McConkey, who went right after Coleman. There probably was no way to trade up from 60 to get him, and for certain it would have cost a 2025 second rounder and probably more. You wouldn't have gotten Bishop, who I like a lot, and it would have had cascading effects down the rest of the draft. In short, Beane would have had to sacrifice some depth and filling holes to accomplish properly addressing the WR room. I like Carter quite a bit as well, btw. I always took him when available in the mock drafts. He's the right kind of bowling ball, festooned with knives, and articulate, too. I spend most of my leisure reading philosophy, theology, and literature. I write a Substack, have a published novel, and a four volume work that may be published this year. I'd like the Bills (and Sabres, yes) to play well. I'd love to see a championship for both at least once in my lifetime. But it's hardly the center of life, so any strong convictions folks exhibit here one way or the other do not touch the most important things. That may be heresy with some here, I dunno.

I'm not pretending Davis will be difficult to replace. I was one of his consistent critics. I also acknowledge Diggs was not good the second-half of the season, so nothing I am saying is obviated by those truths. I also liked the draft, apart from settling for Coleman as the sole WR taken, and have said as much several times on these boards. Nor am I unable to see that Beane could not have covered so many holes and acquired two WRs early. Further, I am not chagrined that Beane failed to select a day 3 WR. All that said, I can only restate that the dreadful nature of the WR room at the end of 2023 does not mean taking Coleman and the free agent additions to date are somehow a tangible improvement to the WR room. The inadequacy at the end of last season ought not to justify the kind of investment shown by Beane. I think more was needed. You are free to disagree, of course, and you are generally a bright and witty poster. Nonetheless, I have a hard time seeing the current WR room contributing to significant offensive prowess, though Brady may have an offensive strategy involving RBs, TEs, and burly WRs to mitigate those fears.

You're just not talking to the right people. I still hear it now and again. There's a kind of reactive impulse on these boards. Folks with radically different takes feel compelled to object, but no one persuades. It's a kind of Sisyphean exercise where individuals mutually accuse the other of obtuseness. I find it amusing in a darkly wry manner, even though often enough I indulge that wicked energy. Anyway, if the WR experiment fails, we can look forward to a recapitulation of the last draft, with folks urging the use of accumulated draft capital for a top tier WR, and you and your cohorts preaching DE, CB, and the like. Joy, isn't it?

Well, I generally like the takes of the fella you are arguing with, but this is correct on all points I think. What I will say is they could not have gone big or probably even less big without sacrificing filling all the holes. Clearly, that is and remains Beane's recipe. It gets you to the playoffs, but you don't have the elite playmakers that help you advance. Caveat: I was fine with Kincaid. He's an excellent selection. Still hoping Beane has a post 6/1 move to add a significant piece to the WR room.

This is a legitimately interesting argument, and I am not dismissing it. It could work. I think most folks who are apprehensive about the WR room are open to a conceptual change on offense. You can do that and still have a significantly better WR room than we currently have. As you and I just stated in one of these hydra-like threads, it would be excellent if acquiring Aiyuk post 6/1 is part of the plan. Then those of us who tend to be happy warriors could migrate back to our normal tribal temperaments.

That's great. Every time we think we're getting ahead of the fashion curve in Buffalo, we're always actually a season behind.