WhitewalkerInPhilly

It's day 1 and the pads have not come on, but man... So far it looks like a lot of the Best Case Scenario predictions regarding Brady's scheme, Kincaid taking a step up and Coleman being ready at his moment. This could be an amazing Red Zone offense. A Oline that seems mostly in sync, big bodies in Coleman, Kincaid and Knox, and needing to defend both Allen and Cook/Davis against the run really seems like it could stress defenses when the field is compressed.

I've seen a lot of this theorized but it's nice to see it getting expanded. One comment I heard from Brady last year was something like "we use motion but we use it for a purpose". At times it seemed that Dorsey was using motion as window dressing. Brady seems to be using it to diagnose coverages and make mismatches

It's early but yes that's what I read into it. Shakir, Coleman and Samuel being locks is no surprise. That MVS is? It's definitely an observation We need to spam Chiefs Twitter with this right? That's how it works?

Of particular note I've been curious about these confluences: -A rise in condensed formations which allow for easier pre-snap diagnosis, gives an off line WR a free release and are easier to switch to run plays on than the spread. -The Lions running something like 90% of plays out of 3 WR sets but still running effectively using Kupp & Nakua as blockers. -Kincaid as a mismatch depending on coverage -Similar (not equivalent but similar) play style and profile of CMC and Deebo Samuel in Cook and Curtis Samuel We have pieces of some of the most successful offenses from last year. Will it gel? We are going to find out. But that makes training camp more interesting to me not less.

Exactly. Look I not calling Brady the next offensive mastermind. But he came in mid season and welded some of the philosophies of the teams I mentioned on mid season. I am curious to see what he can do with a full off-season

We are going to find out aren't we

It's kind of sad how excited I am for the return of training camp. But sweet lord it's been a slow few weeks and a very humid NJ summer

This is a slow response but it's something I've been noodling on a while. I'm in a place where I can believe -The Bills probably won't have a 1000+ yard receiver AND -The Bills can pick up more or less where they were at the end of last season if Brady schemes it right and have an offense to contend for a Super Bowl Both at the same time. How can I believe that? Well, the Chiefs didn't have anyone go over 1K and they won a Superbowl. Maybe that's the exception but I've been listening to a lot of smart people this off-season talk about some of the trends from last season where we saw a rise in heavier and condensed sets. That's what got the Niners, Rams and Lions going and I don't think anyone is even calling Stafford a top 5 QB in the league. I think there is a legitimate chance that there is less overall receiving talent, but having it used more effectively depending on the opponent. The game that I keep coming back to is that Dallas game. Yes, you don't need to be a genius to know running the football in a December rainstorm has perks but he identified that Dallas' entire scheme was going light and speedy, prioritizing the pass rush and relying on Dak to win a boat race. So not only did he cook up 6 OL, 2 back, 1 TE sets he wasn't afraid to keep spamming it because Dallas wouldn't or couldn't adjust. I can see that kind of matchup planning having dividends with the diverse WR Beane put together even if we don't suspect any of these guys will be top 10 receivers.

God I can't wait for training camp to start so we can stop bickering over conjecture and start bickering over observations

That's where I am. Two months ago I was absolutely pounding the table for an Aiyuk trade and if it happens I won't be upset: the Bills get a WR1 to let Coleman develop plus seeing what they get from Samuel and Shakir. But it will be expensive in more ways than one: to even fit Aiyuk in the cap this year Beane would probably have to give up extra for the Niners to hold salary. Then there is paying Aiyuk in a WR market primed to explode. Alternately Beane can follow the plan that has been laid out: go with bigger bodies guys, push Kincaid as the focal and pray the two of his low risk bets pays out. I suspect Beane will want to see how it rides and maybe try pulling the trigger mid season

I can't watch because I'm at work any highlights?

I think the hands and size and the Bills commitment to the option route was a big selling point. Because I am latching onto all content like a starving remora I listened to a Cover One/Mina Kimes crossover about the Bills offense and both are predicting a follow on from last year: the pendulum swinging back to heavier sets instead of spread. Spread works great if you have even a Tua level ball distributor but after getting roasted by it NFL defenses have adjusted. The spread and speedy bodies come at a loss to run games, trading the ability to control pace for greater speed in scoring. That hasn't changed but most defenses have been moving to...well what the Bills do: prioritize taking away the big shot down field. Force teams to achieve Machines and Brady like consistency. And to do that nickel has become the new base defense. Except last year, you saw the Niners, Lions and Rams all thrive with QBs who've never been known for automaton like precision (Stafford, Goff, Purdy). And they did with condensed formations, which let you get a free release to a WR while still keeping the run option a possibility. Brady was running these at the end of last season. The Lions and Rams especially did it with big bodied WRs and TEs , and the Niners did it with CMC and Deebo Samuel. And I see a lot of those features with Cook, Curtis Samuel, Coleman, Kincaid (not to mention Shakir) not to mention the benefit of one of those diamonds in the rough (Claypool, MVS, Hamler) pays off. That's the critique I take the most stock in. Keenan Allen and Nakua didn't exactly leave flames on the turf with their 40 time and I think all of us would take a player of that caliber. But route running? The way he was used didn't really develop that, at least to the extent that some of the top prospects did and even then route running is something you need to develop vs NFL caliber opposition. Now, do I think he CAN develop that. Sure. He seems eager enough to put the work in. Will it be in time to impact this season? We will find out.

Tasker in no question

If it's an issue of nomenclature I have seen it before used to designate a pass rushing specialist, especially when you're trying to parse the difference between a 3-4 and 4-3 scheme DE. There is bleed and sensational players but the spectrum usually looks something like this: - 3/4 DE: a big body, usually a space eater. Mostly a dying out position. - 4/3 DE: expected to be able to both set the edge in run support and pass rush, though it can vary how much of each. Mario Williams, Groot, Shaq. -EDGE: a designated pass rusher. Lines up wide over the OT (or TE) and pins their ears back. Hughes, Von Miller -Strongside linebacker: plays off but close to the line in run support, often included in blitz packages. The Bills have mostly phased it out to play 4-2 nickel but this was what Lorenzo Alexander was designated as in McDermott's first year. So calling him EDGE hints at his they plan to start him: coming in as a rotational pass rusher, especially on third and long situations, which matches his draft profile and a body type similar to Hughes.

I would say Denver, but their cap hit on Wilson is going to be a millstone next year too. Someone will overpay for decent starter level play.

For what it's worth, this sounds like the kind of story where an agent leaks a detail to a friendly reporter to try to move the needle in negotiations

I've been known to raise the black flag once or twice. But the websites that I know of are skeevy and unreliable. If tossing in a few bucks to do it safe and legally I'd do it. Hell, I threw money at YouTube last year. It just ground my gears to pay that money and get hit with restrictions. Last year our TV broke literally the week before the season started and I didn't want to throw money before Black Friday (was worth the wait, got an OLED worth every penny) cuz, ya know, I'd thrown close to $500 on Sunday Ticket so imagine my horror at "Whoop, you can't stream it because it's in market" and "whoop that's a Primetime game" and "whoop we sold that game to Amazon/Peacock".

Ok. This makes sense to me. It's slightly more expensive now, but yeah if developer tools can do it then that's the best pick. The issue is me *not having* TV because I live out of market and having a realistic chance each tank bowl chosen because of network exec having a hot nut for his fantasy team. VPN is basically a service where you are routed through a server to affect you geocache for area blocked streaming

I cut the cord on YouTube NFL Sunday ticket because I was really only able to use it on maybe 3-4 games last year. This year, it actually might be more useful but it's still paying $450 when I know walking in that a third of them are blacked out due to Primetime and the almost-sure-to-be-national Chiefs game. Now, there are certain solutions available *Grabs bottle of rum, and eye patch* But I do want to look for legitimate ways to support. Sirius claims to broadcast all games and often I enjoy the radio calls better than, say, Collingsworth. I can more seriously see using SiriusXM, as I got a free trial when I got my car a few years ago and I definitely used it. Alternately, for about the same cost I could subscribe to Paramount and get a VPN. While I am loath to pay for YET ANOTHER streaming service Paramount and showtime actually have stuff I would watch and a VPN has value all its own. Each for a year gives more benefit and costs less in a year than I'd get from doing Sunday ticket for 4 months. If people have insight as to how they work together I'd appreciate hearing.

I think it's entirely possible that the Bills have no one player eclipse 1000 yards receiving but have 2-3 at 800+ and a couple more topping 400 Can that win? Let's ask the Chiefs. Kelce and Rice each were just short of 1K and then there was a LARGE drop off (close to 500 yards) to their #3 I don't think it's unreasonable to forecast slightly higher numbers for Shakir and Kincaid to hit the 800 mark up from around 650 and that Cook at least hitting close to 1k combined (which would be a slight down year from last) Similarly to my post just above I think a "both things can be true" is possible

You definitely need to go looking. Funnily enough, I actually have begun to enjoy Horror more as a genre because it can be done well cheaply and even better than big budget projects because creative directors know that the fears we ourselves project are more intimate than what they show. There's an indie movie called Brooklyn 45 where the tension isn't the ghost story as much as a group of recently returned soldiers returning to civilian life and all their trauma, secrets and paranoia that they needed to hold onto spilling out as they return home. But as for the last mainline, actually sitting in a theater watching a movie that surprised me, I think it was "Knives Out". It was a particular delight for me because: A) It immediately is a love letter of all the tropes of the whodunnit: the perfect murder, the unreliable narrator, the dud weapon that looks like the real thing and immediately pokes fun at them B) Becomes a reconstruction in the last turn with an entirely different set of clues that you don't see because you're too busy looking at the ones the film has been poking fun at.

I do not need one about being in a Turkish prison thank you very much

Can we agree on one thing: This year, moreso than the last four years, will be reliant upon our OC (Brady in this case) to scheme mismatches. Even if we are bullish on our WR group there isn't one right now that opposing DCs sit down each week and go "We've got to throttle that guy" Maybe that guy is Shakir thriving when thrust into the spotlight or Coleman refines his game enough to be a physical matchup nightmare, or Curtis Samuel is able to fill the role Deebo has on the Niners, or one of our long shot acquisitions pans out. But right now, it's going to be on Brady to get these guys open I'm not saying it's impossible, but right now I am envisioning a lot of 2TE sets and a big focus on the run game to open the pass.

I'll stay consistent with what I've said across the board, but especially at WR: the Bills have less proven talent than last year. That isn't to be Mr. Doom and Gloom. I am very high on Shakir's development and I think Curtis Samuel is a really interesting wrinkle. But with Diggs and even Gabe you knew what you were getting. You might have wanted more out of them, but Diggs was at least a confirmed WR1 and Gabe was a streaky #2 who helped make the team better with his blocking. I don't think a single person on here thinks Coleman is a finished project. There is a reason Mack Hollins, MVS and Chase Claypool were available on the cheap and why Shorter was not activated even when the cupboard was bare. But no one NO ONE in the salary cap era maintains full WR rooms for long without being massively too heavy. How many late 1st and 2nd to 3rd round WRs wash out? How many people thought Nakua or even Shakir would contribute like they did. We are going to see. Even even one of those fringe bets hit the Bills are in great position long term

I mean I'm in New Jersey so it's pushing 100 F and is muggy AF so I could use some Buffalo weather right now. Fantastic corn and tomatoes though.