finn

If Spencer Brown goes down, we're in trouble. If Spencer Brown doesn't go down, we're in trouble.

Did you see Denmark get torched on one of the sacks in Saturday's game? The guy ran right around him like he was fence post or Spencer Brown.

Given the competition, both Cook and Kincaid have to be star-quality players this year AND the team has to avoid major injuries AND Spencer Brown has to raise is play to at least mediocre. If all else remains the same (not counting trauma), I don't see why they can't go all the way, even with weak play at MLB.

They should have traded him instead of signing him to a huge contract. Could have gotten at least two first-round picks. He's lazy, arrogant, undersized and doesn't seem particularly interested in winning.

Yet the overwhelming consensus is that Mahomes, playing behind the best OL in the league, is better than Allen, a guy who is running for his life on every other snap. And don't talk to me about Mahomes' two Super Bowls wins. With the KC line, Allen would have at least three. And with Saffold and Brown playing in front of him, Mahomes would have none, like Allen.

I'm happy that Beane replaced Saffold, one of the worst free agents signings in franchise history, and drafted a right guard. But he's counting on Spencer Brown at tackle, and that worries me. Since his rookie season, Brown has been either injured or ineffective, even a downright liability. He has shown promise as a run blocker, and, yes, his injuries means he hasn't had much playing experience, so maybe he'll develop. But that's quite a gamble, given that the backups aren't rock solid. Beane has done a terrific job with the team elsewhere, but, with Brown, he's throwing the dice.

Once again, the biggest weakness is the offensive line, particularly the pass protection on the right side. None of the reports out of training camp that I've seen reassure me on this point. No viable replacements in free agency left, Beane in "Hoping for the best" mode. Again.

I see Settle being cut. He was a bit of a disappointment last year, and Ford can rotate with Oliver.

That was represented as a positive last year, complete with pictures of "ripped Gabe." I'll take his lightness and ankle status with a grain of salt until I see him catch more balls than he drops.

Agreed. It would be better if he were worse because at least he wouldn't be playing. (Yes, it's still too early to say for sure.)

It could be that Benson is just better, not that Elam is bad or even a disappointment.

McKenzie drops the ball on 1st and 10 Davis drops the 47-yard pass into his hands Spencer Brown and Saffold both blow their blocks, leading to the 31-yard incompletion. So there's hope this year!

Wonder if this story will eclipse the scandalous Stephon Diggs story.

Objective numbers? Bah. What's important is the Prevailing Narrative, which declares the Bills to be the third or fourth best team and Allen the third or fourth best QB. As much as I enjoyed the Bills being the media darlings last year, I knew the talking heads would turn on them in a flash if they didn't go all the way as they predicted. And turn on them they have, with a vengeance.

J.P. Losman just needed to develop. Leif Larsen would dominate at DT. Corbin Lacina would be the answer at guard. Josh Allen was JaMarcus Russell.

To make his point that losing is not acceptable, Diggs will miss mini-camp, training camp, and the regular season. Only then will the team learn how to win.

Just for an intellectual exercise, nothing more, would it be plausible to trade Diggs and sign Hopkins, if Diggs went into full Diva mode?

Agree. Unless he's doing quiet things away from the ball that keeps the QB from throwing his direction. Every time he appears onscreen, he's blowing the coverage. Just good enough to make it close, but I don't recall any wins from him. And yet, they keep bringing him back.

Basham and Settle are the weakest players of this group. Too early to cut Basham.

B+ contract for a B+ player.

Yeah, but Saffold was a five-alarm fire. You could argue he cost the Bills the season, with his play against the Bengals. By then, it was too late to do anything, but his incompetence was clear from the start. Restructure contracts, trade a player, even snag a warm body off another team's practice squad, if the backups were even worse than Saffold. (Another indictment of Beane, by the way.) Well, it's all water under a dead horse at this point...

It was plain to everyone, especially the coaching staff, I'm sure, that Saffold was beyond awful, yet McBeane sat on their hands all season. Why not give up trade for a competent guard? They didn't need excellent, only adequate. They brought in Brown and Beasley off the street; why not a guard? To my knowledge, no reporter ever asked Beane why he let Saffold start all season long. His actions after the season show he realized he messed up. How may guards did he draft and sign? 15?

You may be right, but how do you interpret Diggs behavior as anything but a self-indulgent pout? Is it a form of leadership? If so, how does that work? Allen and McDermott say he's just showing that losing isn't ok, but I don't see how posting snark does anyone any good. (To be fair, I don't recall what exactly he said, but it wasn't positive.) To put it another way, what exactly does Diggs want the Bills to do? Apologize?

Reasons to be optimistic about the season: --Many key players are in their prime, including Allen, Diggs, Davis, Dawkins, Harris, Knox, Oliver, Milano, and White. --Oliver is in his contract year, so he may finally live up to his draft status. --Allen, Davis, Poyer, Hyde, and Brown are all healthy, and White is another year past his ACL injury. --Knox has had a year to recover from losing his brother, and the team has had the offseason to recover from Hamlin, Tops, etc. --Beane has done a good job upgrading the depth, adding Poona, Edwards, Sherfield, Harty, Murray, and Shell, as well as bringing back key veterans like Lawson and Martin. --McDermott takes over DC duties. Conceivably, this could be a negative, but he won the head coach job because he was a very effective DC, so odds are he'll do great. --Dorsey, Kromer, Smiley, Babich, and Brady all have a year's worth of experience with their respective charges, which can only help. --Last year's rookies all look ready to contribute more than last year, especially Elam, Cook, Benford, and Shakir. --This year's rookies should make valuable contributions, and Kincaid, Torrence, and Williams may end up starting. --They are no longer the media darlings anymore, which might take some of the pressure off. Reasons for pessimism: --Diggs' prima donna act may get worse and become a distraction. --They now need to get past not just the Chiefs, but also the Bengals, Dolphins, Jets, and maybe Ravens. --They have no real backup for Dawkins. --Their pass rush will likely continue to be mediocre until Miller returns. --The offensive line may have two new starters and will take time to jell. --Kincaid, Harty, Shorter, and Sheffield might not add enough juice, even taken together. As you see, reasons for optimism outnumber reasons for pessimism. But it's only May!

Sorry, didn't mean to imply you were claiming Bernard was an upgrade. I was just saying it's ironic that smaller, faster, more athletic LBs are the new trend, and Bernard is just smaller.