Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘Sanders (who turns 35 in March) and McKenzie (27 in April) are unrestricted free agents, as is No. 6 receiver and core special teamer Jake Kumerow. The Bills ranked ninth in wide receiver cap spending last year with $21.1 million allocated to the position and those three accounted for $6.5 million, most of it Sanders’ $4.6 million.’

‘Sports contract website Spotrac.com estimates Wallace’s market value at $9.6 million per year, which would more than double in one season what he’s already made in four. Whether the Bills or other NFL teams have a similar price tag on the 26-year-old is up for debate, but undeniably, Wallace won’t be returning to the Bills the way he did in 2021.’

‘That LSU offense is considered by some to be the most prolific in college football history, and Brady was voted as the nation’s top assistant coach and presented with the Broyles Award, named in honor of the legendary former Arkansas Razorbacks head coach and athletic director, Frank Broyles.’

‘But outside of quarterback and maybe safety and linebacker, there isn’t a position group that doesn’t need to be augmented or perhaps even retooled.’

‘Brady was the receivers coach and passing game coordinator for LSU in 2019 when it won the national championship with Joe Burrow at quarterback, and fellow NFL stars Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase at wide receiver. That LSU offense is considered by some to be the most prolific in college football history, and Brady was voted as the nation’s top assistant coach and presented with the Broyles Award, named in honor of the legendary former Arkansas Razorbacks head coach and athletic director, Frank Broyles.’

‘And when it was revealed during Daboll’s introductory press conference in New York Monday that ownership preferred that he hired a coordinator who would call the plays, Dorsey going to Big Blue certainly seemed possible.’

‘But it cannot be ignored how many lousy offensive teams and inadequate quarterbacks the Bills faced in 2021 which clearly helped lead to those lofty rankings.’

‘There has to be a reckoning that no matter how much Buffalo fans despised him for all the torture he inflicted on the Bills, the simple fact is that Joe Montana, Peyton Manning, Johnny Unitas, Dan Marino, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Otto Graham, Bobby Layne, John Elway, and anyone else you can think of can all form a line behind Brady.’

‘Allen made the pass protection better than it actually was. He led all QBs with 51 scrambles, meaning runs that were not designed where he had to escape pressure. His percentage of pressures that turned into sacks was a league-best 10.6%, an indication that the line did not hold up well enough but Allen was able to avoid most sacks.’

‘If the Bills can convince Dorsey to stay as their new coordinator, wouldn’t calling plays for Allen and this dynamic offense be more inviting than trying to remake Daniel Jones and the moribund Giants offense?’

‘Get rid of the coin toss and the kickoff. The home team automatically gets the choice of whether to take the ball first starting at its own 25 (same as if there was a touchback), or start on defense. This decision would add even more importance and incentive to winning as many regular season games as you can to get homefield advantage in the playoffs.’

‘And so, once again, the Vince Lombardi Trophy will not be taking up residence at One Bills Drive in a year when it sure seemed like the fates were aligning and Buffalo was going to have its best chance at Super Bowl glory since Scott Norwood’s field goal sailed wide right 31 years earlier.’

‘Do people in Virginia say he’s nuts to spend all this mileage, all this time, all this energy on a football team? “Yes,” he said. “But I don’t think they understand what Buffalo is like and who the people are. Sitting around the same people and sharing the same feeling of love for that team. It’s something you can’t get down here.” The love of the team counts a lot to Kelly, and he considers anyone who shares that love to be part of his extended family.

‘“It’s painful, and for people to show up at the airport at three in the morning (following the heartbreaking 42-36 loss to the Chiefs), I don’t know what the temperature was, but I wanted to hug them all.”’

‘Reporters tried to pry answers from the Buffalo Bills head coach Tuesday morning during his annual season-ending news conference regarding the decision to kick off deep, and how his team defended in those awful final moments which cost the Bills a chance to host this weekend’s AFC Championship Game.’