Dr. Who

That fella sends the same report every year while sitting on a beach in Jamaica and sipping on a drink with a tiny umbrella in it.

Ah, I'll take Aiyuk from the SF WR room, please. I won't be so furious if Beane pulls that off.

I for one will never be "pissed off" if a Bills' player performs well. I'd be happier taking a chance on Claypool if the top of the WR room had another quality starter one could comfortably pencil in as a reliable asset, rather than acquiring numerous last chance tickets with a risky potential benefit. I know the investment is quite different, but if Beane is comfortable bringing in the likes of Claypool and Cephus, I sure wish he would have gone and grabbed Mitchell in the mid-second round (with a small trade-up from 60 obviously). I understand that means you don't get Bishop, who I like a lot. Maybe if you are a marginal player, they roll the dice, I dunno.

Well, I hadn't considered the reverse psychology angle on the WR room.

Well, I can't green checkmark and beer mug all your posts, but we are on the same page. Seems to me that folks want to argue that Diggs and Davis were such non-entities, especially the backend of the season and the playoffs, that they are basically a nullity, so adding anyone is then treated as an "improvement." A variation on that theme is that our offense was too dependent on Diggs, and finesse. Now we are going to be unpredictable and fierce! Okay, but one man's unpredictable is another's not sufficiently talented to scare the opponent enough to demand the defense attend to a special player. Certainly, it is an advantage to have weapons that a team can't afford to ignore. That is how you get winning match-ups for your role players. Possible Kincaid becomes that player. A key point that you are making that I think deserves attention is that the WR room last year was lacking. It was not good. You could argue it was middling, and that was when Diggs was not injured or acting out. Let's hypothetically grant what I don't think should be granted: pretend the accumulated talent and redistributed targets ends up the equivalent of last year's WR room at its best. If everyone hits their ceiling, that means you have an average at best overall WR room. That is unlikely to win you championships, but yes, you can make the playoffs with that. Now what is the likelihood that everyone is going to ascend, and that injuries won't derail plans? The redundancy in the WR room is all at the bottom end. The much more plausible result is you are going to take a step back from average, quite possibly a step back from the less than average you ended 2023 with, which should never happen with Josh Allen as your QB.

I guess he's worth a lottery ticket/reclamation project. The older I get, the more I think character is destiny. Reformation does occur, but it's relatively rare. Having strong role models can make a difference. I'm not sure whose going to show him the way, but someone needs to. I would be less upset about Beane bringing in this caliber of player if I did not believe there is a gaping hole in the WR room where the primadonna Diggs used to reside. Cap constraints/change in offensive philosophy, however you contextualize it, one has to guess Beane did not plan on trading Diggs and taking on a huge cap hit. What he's done since is reactive, and doesn't seem like a fully thought out plan. Maybe Beane brings someone in who is a more established, higher level player post 6/1, but I'm not confident that happens. I don't like banking on volume from any of the folks in our WR room right now, and I'm personally not comfortable with the "just spread the targets around" strategy. I still think a dominant WR makes room on the field for others, and who is going to do that with what we have now? We don't have elite route runners, and I don't see a boundary WR who can take the top off, though we have a few fast fellas. Of course, you may luck into someone playing above their past, and maybe Shakir is ascending and will take over that role, but that seems overly optimistic to me.

I was pushing for McConkey and an X frequently before the draft. The pushback from folks was we already have McConkey on the roster with Shakir and Samuel; we don't need another slot. It did no good to tell them McConkey lined up on the outside 80% of the time at UGA. He is a master route runner, runs smooth and then breaks violently. We don't have that. They have not replaced Diggs. It is a problem, even if many refuse to acknowledge it.

Yeah, what you say is plausible, but somehow before he brought them in, I was more confident in the plan to bring in a top WR happening. I just can't fathom the narrative that many here are satisfied with about changing the offense and building a bully, etc. Great, I've no real objections to that, but do it with a WR room that isn't bottom five in the league.

He won't be the only one.

If he makes the move for a good WR after 6/1, he gets credit for having a plan that is rational. If he doesn't, he doesn't. Right now, it's ambiguous, and won't be resolved until one sees what actually happens. Lots of folks appear to think the current situation is the necessary cost of resetting the cap. They further suppose the plethora of bottom of the WR room scraps that we have recently added is all that can reasonably be expected. Worse, some of them are happy about it, and think we're fine. Right now, Beane is not indicating there will be a move. Is he lying? I hope so. Maybe he's just keeping his powder dry, but I surmise he's either got a trade in principle, or it's unlikely to occur. Myself, I don't really understand adding more longshots if you've truly got a later move already worked out.

What the hell, are you spying on me?

That's my default position. I'm disappointed and somewhat angry about it. I don't think it's smart. We can still win, but it will be harder than it needs to be, and with hardly any margin for injury. I'm holding open a sliver of hope that Beane has a post 6/1 trade or signing in mind. Don't really give a damn if some folks think that is foolish. It's not metaphysically impossible, and I'd prefer to hope that Beane has a better feel for the quality of his WR room, though probably he doesn't.

Man, if they put you and Alphadawg7 in a room together, we are going to have one of those universe level destruction events where matter and anti-matter meet.

I wouldn't take a victory lap until we actually see how it plays out. I hope you're right, of course. I still think the WR room is lacking. I don't like the depth. You still need a reliable field stretcher, I don't care that Brady has a different concept of how the offense should look. I love Coleman's personality, work ethic, and intelligence. It doesn't make my concerns about him disappear, but it makes it very easy to root for him, apart from his importance to the Buffalo Bills.

I don't really like any of those names, though that's probably the sort of player you're looking at. Still praying there's a super-secret plan to get Aiyuk. Sure wish they could have doubled up and grabbed McConkey, because I think he's the missing piece that would have made the WR room complete with the addition of Coleman.

I think this sounds right, and I appreciate the well-crafted sentences.

Nah, if you don't love to eat, you can't be Buffalo. Food, the Bills, pray God, the Sabres, it's what we do. Addendum, and if you listen to the conversation in context, the fella is very focused and bright. This is not someone who is indulgent, but actually pretty wise about allowing a small amount of comfort food into a diet that is not foolish. Not taking care of himself and getting out-of-shape is not going to be one of his vices.

I think the point that some folks are making is that they are granting that head-to-head, McGovern will win against SVP, no matter how talented he may be, because professional experience goes a long way, and even though Van Pran was excellent at the collegiate level (I am an UGA fan, he was), it doesn't match the kind of experience McGovern has accrued. The way that SVP is not competing against McGovern is in the holistic synthesis of the best starting five. It may be that McGovern at LG with Van Pran at center is part of the most effective grouping. It is in that way that Van Pran does not have to prove to be superior to McGovern at Center, but as the Center that allows McGovern to play LG. If that contributes to the better Oline, it will happen. And long-term, I say Van Pran will develop into a starting Center for many years.

Yeah, he was not on my list of favorites, but you start listening to the fella, I sure hope he can play, because I don't think I could pass on him either.

Yes, I know something of the oratorical tradition. I was just making a joke, but the fella apparently didn't think it was funny.

I've said it before, but I always knew Einstein's dog wrote all his papers.

I have noticed that you have a habit of announcing that you have spoken when you "speak," which is redundant, though rhetorically memorable. I hope it does not become a contagion that results in an unspoken rule. It would be tiresome if everyone who posts informs folks that they have spoken. I have spoken.

If we got the long-armed Dumerville, huge win. If he adds juice on the edge, the D could really be improved.

If you don't know about the lizard people, I really can't help you.

Legette or Coleman was going to be the X. If you take one at 32, you should have traded up for McConkey, in my view. Doesn't matter now. I think you're spending a 2025 second and maybe a bit more to move up from 60 to 33. I do hope they bring in a veteran after 6/1. If there really was a secret plan to trade for Aiyuk, well, that would be grand, but it's probably soap bubbles.