Alphadawg7

I don't really understand your question here. What do you mean "how did he learn anything from that?"...He literally said he has learned from his struggles, from listening, taking notes, preparing the right way. That is the best way to learn, by doing all the right things. Year 1 it was no secret that he needed to work on zone coverage to fit in here. Year 2, its not like he got beat out by a scrub, Benford had an excellent camp and preseason and just won the job being more ready to play our style of defense. Elam then also battled some injuries as well. But along the way over those 2 years, Elam got some spots to start thanks to injuries and made some very promising plays including big interceptions in big moments. There is so much more to it than just taking notes and listening. Not sure if you ever played competitive sports, but so much of what a CB does relies on muscle memory and instincts. You are asking this kid to change all of that...all the muscle memory and instincts in his style of play to fit better into how they want to play him in this defense. That is no small task, and those things a probably most important for a CB than any other position in the NFL because they are always playing a major disadvantage on every snap as they don't know where the WR or play is going and need to have instant reflex and reactions to make sure they can be in the right place to defend the play at the right moment...and do so without violating all the rules that are heavily skewed to protect the offense, the QB, and the WR. Its not a silly excuse and it definitely has truth to it...McD, like any coaching staff, prefers to not force a rookie in there if its not necessary and there are guys ahead of him more ready to play. He isn't afraid to start a rookie, but if he doesn't have to he won't rush them in there. Which is why I am not sold Bishop starts week 1 at Safety because he has vets capable of starting in Edwards and Rapp, not to mention Hyde might play again this year here still. So he doesn't need to put Bishop out there unless Bishop just flat out and convincingly wins one of the jobs. There is one thing I know and that is that this staff can find and coach defensive backs and get them playing at their best. Elam was different though as his style was different than what we run here, but they felt he had the talent and commitment to get to where they needed him to be which is why they took him and still have him here. And like you said and I also mentioned above, he has flashed potential when he got opportunities on the field. And I have no doubt he will very much be in a camp battle again with Benford to start opposite Rasul. But what I love about Beane and McD is they don't care at all about draft pick status when it comes to who is on the field to play. Some GM's are more worried about how it looks and demand the high pick play...here, its all about legit competition and aren't afraid to play a guy who was a lower pick over even a first round pick if they feel it makes the team better. I get why you have checked out, but I personally have not written him off and I am actually quite excited to see how he battles with Benford this year. But nothing will be handed to hims, so if he can't find himself a role this year, then I think he probably gets traded this offseason...we are probably too thin to trade him before then I suspect.

Shakir is capable of a lot more than Cole was though who was really one note kind of WR. He was a short area specialist...Shakir is faster, bigger, stronger, and much better YAC and can attack the defense in all 3 phases of the game. And he can do that out of the slot or being moved around. So I think you limit the value of Shakir if you try and replicate Cole.

bahahaha that made me LOL...more like Dawg/Dog discussion, but still was funny AF

I mean I have literally stated in every post now that the offense is more than just the receivers. But you are just manipulating information now, and you are know that. We threw for more yards in 2020 than 2023 because we didn't run the ball in 2020 nearly as much as 2023. So you are saying the top 5 guys averaged more because it was a Daboll pass first offense with a top heavy pass attack (especially to Diggs) in 2020 compared to a more balanced and spread the ball around attack and the utilization of a TE as the 2nd top targeted player in 2023. But you are just trying to isolate and cherry pick random stats that are about offensive philosophy between different OCs than overall offensive talent without any context to the data being applied. Daboll's style of offense was very different than the style of 2023. Maybe you like his style better, but that doesn't mean the talent level of the players was better overall as an offense. There are 5 guys that make up an OL...not 2 and PFF rating system is worthless. Besides, I don't care which year had the best individual...I am talking the best unit as a whole, which includes run blocking and pass blocking. And we all know PFF grades mean very little. Huh? What are you even talking about here? We are comparing one season to one season...not future projected seasons. So how does any of this matter in a one to one discussion? I have presented to you that I think the offense in 2023 was a better group as a whole than 2021...in which you then switched to 2020 when you saw the receivers were less impressive in 2021 than 2020...but now you keep responding with this one guy was better than this one guy when there are 11 guys on the field. Or this one stat without any context means this or that. So we will just have to agree to disagree on this one. Which is fine, it’s not like there is a huge discrepancy in talent one way or the other between 2020 and 2023 anyway, it’s more opinion than anything.

I think you will see more of what we saw last year once Brady took over, with an uptick in target volume in which I expect his 45 targets will rise somewhere between 85-110 targets. I think Shakir will be either 2nd or 3rd in targets on the team this year just depending on how many targets end up with Keon and Kincaid. Personally, I think Kincaid is going to probably lead the team in targets. They are going to move Shakir around inside and out and put him positions to utilize his excellent YAC ability similar to how SF does with Deebo (minus all the rush carries). I think Allen and the staff have a lot trust in him, and he is the only WR with any experience with Allen giving him a leg up on trust and timing with Allen. However...as I say that, there is an interesting scenario developing here with the guys behind those 3 above, and that is all 3 of Samuel, Hollins and Claypool are making early big impressions on all the coaches and Allen. That 4th option in the passing game (that isn't a RB) typically doesn't put up a lot of production unless injuries have helped elevate someone's production like Davis in his first 2 seasons. 2023 - Harty - 15 rec, 150 yds 2022 - Shakir - 10 rec, 161 yds 2021 - Davis - 35 rec, 549 yds (but Davis was not your typical WR4, he was backing up Sanders who got hurt which is where Davis production really came in once he got starters targets with Sanders out and then more shared WR2 role with Sanders when he got back as the offense was playing better with Davis than Sanders). If you look at the person who was more the WR4 role it was McKenzie who put up 20 rec, 178 yds. 2020 - Davis - 35 rec, 599 yds (but again, Davis only got this much production because John Brown missed a lot of games, he wasn't getting this production as a WR4 which again was more McKenzie who put up 30 rec, 282 yds). Now we know Samuel is going to get a decent amount of targets too, especially after paying him and signing him 3 years, not to mention nothing but positive buzz and confidence in him has been coming out. But what happens if Hollins or especially Claypool continue to impress and make a case to be more involved in the offense? Where are all the targets going to come from? Bills had 545 total targets last year with Diggs taking up 160 of them. We know that Keon (who will start at the X) will get a decent amount of targets this year. It won't be Diggs like, but he should be somewhere between 75 and 100 targets himself. Kincaid saw 91 targets last year, safe to say he probably sees an increase, so I would guess 100-110 targets. Those 2 alone are probably close to or just over 200 targets, so lets just call it 200 targets. Shakir probably sees 85-100+ targets, so lets call that 90 targets. Last year, Cook got 54 of the 86 targets that went to RB's last year...I think with the addition of Davis and bringing Ty back, we might see that total target share jump to 100 for the RB room. So that would be 190 targets between Shakir and the RB's. This leaves us 155 targets to spread out to Samuel, and guys like Knox, Hollins, Claypool, and MVS of which at least 2 of those WR's are making this roster, possibly all 3. If you figure Samuel gets 75 of them, that leaves 80 targets for guys like Knox, Hollins, Claypool, and MVS. Which would make sense...unless someone like Claypool or Hollins impresses enough to be a bigger part of the offense. I mean Claypool has the talent to start here if he can get his head right. I love Shakir, and think he will be an excellent part of our offense this year. But, I do think Hollins and Claypool are wildcards where if one of them continues to impress could carve out a bigger role than what we have typically seen deeper on our WR depth chart in a true rotational spread the ball around system. And if one of them does, it will be interesting to see how the targets shift around amongst Keon, Kincaid, Shakir and the RB's to account for it. Funny, working on this post just made me amped to see this squad out there. We may not be "top heavy" with a proven elite WR at the moment, but we are very deep with playmakers and quality. I think Allen might have the most fun of his career this year throwing to this group.

Yeah same for me. Weirdly, Houston’s schedule looks pretty easy this year too. So I think they will still have a good record this year, but it will be how they look against teams like Buf, KC, Balt, etc that will tell us where they really are at. Miami had a good record too, but just didn’t look the same against better competition. So I need to see Houston and all this money they spent show up and be impressive against the better competition before I start worrying about them. It can be if they start getting frustrated they aren’t getting the ball enough.

Well I do agree that Allen rushing that much is not ideal. But I also felt they tried to neuter Allen prior to that which I think is even worse. They need to let Allen be Allen, and the mere threat of his running makes defense have to play him different. So you want the threat to still be real while also keeping him from avg 9 carries a game. Remember, Brady was working out of Dorsey’s offense, so let’s see what he does this year with Allen and the array of weapons on this offense. I don’t think Allen will be running as much, but I also think they restrict Allen from instinctively taking off the way it felt under Dorsey.

Are we just going to ignore we went from a long way from the playoffs at 5-5 with losses to losers like the Jets, Broncos, etc...to winning the division and the #2 seed? The only stat I care about is the Win column. Wait...you think he meant we are trying to copy their failures? Was that your real response to him? Lol.

Good reply, here are my thoughts: I dont think its that I expect more from Keon than you do to be honest, I think its more that I don't think a 1300-1400+ yard WR1 is as critical as you do. I think a diverse WR core who are smart, have reliable hands, are tough, and can run good routes is also a dangerous WR room. Based on things you have said now and in the past, I feel like you define a WR1 more by season totals instead of their actual role on the field. For example, when I say Keon is our WR1 and will play that role this year, I am not saying I expect him to put up 1300+ yards this year as a rookie. He can be a WR1 and still put up 900 to 1100 yards this year and be very effective in his role. This team is being built not to lean on one guy like it did Diggs and when Diggs was taken out the offense struggled. Its being built so that any guy out there can make the play on any given play and you can't just key on one guy to shut this offense down like in years past. Do I think Keon has 1300+ yard potential...yes I do. But I am not expecting him to this season as a rookie, nor do I think we need him to. I won't knock McConkey, I think he is a very good prospect and has a bright future and would have been excited if we drafted him too. But I think Keon's unique size, catch radius, and rare athleticism for his size was just a better fit for our group. We needed someone who can be open even when not open, who is a dawg, and give Allen a big reliable target, especially in the cold weather games and playoff games. Gotcha...well the money is actually going somewhere, and it is WR as we have a $31M cap hit for Diggs this year. So for me, I think Beane is going to see how this group does this year, how Keon plays, and then reassess next season. If this season shows we need to address WR with a big move, then next year Beane will have the cap flexibility and ammo to do so if he feels that is what is best for the team.

Well my original response was to you saying since 2021...so feels like you swapped to 2020 when you realized Cole and the rest of the WR's not named Diggs didn't do a whole lot. But overalll, I still say the 2023 offense is better than any year of Allens career in terms of overall talent because there is MORE than receivers on offense. 2020 Diggs vs 2023 Diggs 2020 Diggs may be the best player Allen has played with, but the 2023 team still had Diggs as I said, and his demise is greatly exaggerated when the reality is the change in the OC from Daboll to Dorsey/Brady is substantially more impactful on the different level of production for Diggs as the whole offensive philosophy was different. So Diggs vs Diggs has a slim difference at best. 2nd option: 2020 Cole Beasley vs 2023 Dalton Kincaid Kincaid put up 81 catches as a rookie to Coles 82...so not a huge difference, but Cole had more yards, so he gets the edge over Kincaid, but its not like its a massive difference. 3rd option: 2020 Gabe Davis vs 2023 Gabe Davis Now you have Davis vs Davis...I think everyone understands a WR in year 4 is a better player than when he was a rookie...and Davis had more yards and catches in 2023 than he did as WR3 in 2020, so edge to 2023 Davis. 4th option: 2020 John Brown vs 2023 Khalil Shakir Shakir had the superior season, not to mention Shakir had more catches and yards on almost 20 less targets than even Gabe Davis did in 2020, who was the 3rd option in that offense. And considering Cook had more targets than Shakir, he was technically the 5th option from a targets count perspective, and still put up more rec and yards than Davis did in 2020. John Brown only played 9 games and didn't produce like he did in previous years when he did play. And the reality is that Shakir actually led the team in receiving and was the only guy to put up 100 yard game (twice) once Brady became the OC. Had Brady been the OC the whole season and used Shakir the same, his season would have eclipsed Cole Beasley's too. But then there is the OL which 2023 was clearly the best OL Allen has ever had to go with also his best RB and run game he has had in his entire career with a 1200 yard rusher in Cook who also was an effective weapon out of the backfield too. So sorry, the offense is made up of more than just the receivers. And while 2020 Bills had the best individual WR season which was Diggs best of his career, the 2023 roster overall was better.

Oh I agree, he wasn't talented enough. But he also played scared and avoided throws he was capable of making and elected to take safer check down throws. Then there is the infamous 4th down where he didn't even try and just ran out of bounds to end a game.

Personally, I think Houston is being prematurely overhyped. Im not saying they don't have a shot to be a top AFC team this year, because they obviously do. But I think their season last year was a bit overrated after having an easy schedule full of bad teams/defenses. So to assume they make this big leap to AFC powerhouse feels premature, especially without knowing how the new pieces fit in there or how Stroud plays in his sophomore year with a season full of tape on him now. Against the Ravens in the playoffs they looked like they didn't belong. This year, they have an easy start to the season and I expect them to be 3-1 or 4-0 heading into week 5 against us where I think we will win that game. Then their schedule is easy again until they finally get 4 challenging games in their final 7 games. So odds are, they probably finish with a good record again and probably win their division. But overall, they do not scare me in week 5 nor do they scare me if we are to face them in the playoffs...at least right now.

Yeah Kelvin was there for me too...he bothered me less though as it was clear he would be gone soon as we were about to start a rebuild. There is no amount of hypnosis that could have made Trent a good NFL QB.

First, you said 2021...but now you are using 2020. So this is the wrong year Second, I disagree 2021 Diggs and 2023 Diggs were that much different in terms of his individual ability. The real difference was Daboll vs Dorsey/Brady combo. A passing system designed by Dorsey and Daboll is like comparing Olive Garden to a restaurant in Italy. Under Brady, Diggs usage was completely different, but people want to translate that to Diggs losing a step, which is a false leap in logic. Brady went away from chunk feeding Diggs and the deep ball, and instead spread the ball around more and then elected to run more than throw. Furthermore, the 2021 offense had its own lull under Daboll until he finally made some changes. They finally realized Sanders was declining and the offense was better with Davis on the field down the stretch. He discovered that Knox was actually a good redzone weapon and finally started using him as such. And he realized having no run game was a bad thing at half time of the Bucs loss where were getting blown out but nearly came back and won in the 2nd half after getting Devin involved. He would then use Devin a lot more and the down the stretch and the offense improved. Third, Kincaid is more of a receiver than he is a TE. Talent for talent, last years offense was the best group Allen has had to work with. Better OL, better running backs, better run game, better group of weapons between Diggs, Kincaid, Davis, and Shakir as the top 4 guys. People need to stop leaving Kincaid out of the receiving weapons group just because it doesn't say "WR" as his position when his primary role here is to catch passes. The offense is so much more than just "receivers"...and I know you know that.

To be clear, my coward comment was not so much about him being afraid to get hit...but afraid to make mistakes. And he was playing that way before getting the concussion against the Cardinals. Its why is nicknames here were things like "Trentative"..."Captian Checkdown"..."Glove Wearing Merry"...etc. He just wasn't tough enough mentally, physically, and didn't have the heart it takes to be a field general out there on Sundays.

Nobody said things cant change...but there is a difference of "expecting" the less likely and just "wanting" or "wishing" for it. Not sure how you can say that...I mean it's already been confirmed he will play the X WR1 role for this team, and this year. And not just by Beane either. Trading down has nothing to do what role he was drafted to be. They already said there were multiple guys they felt good about when they made the trade down...the trade down was literally Beane's plan coming into the draft to pick up a 3rd which he both coveted and got. That move is in no way the indication of what role they perceive the player drafted to be, and I am not sure how one can even draw that conclusion. Not only is Samuel not playing the X WR1 role, he may not even out snap Shakir who Beane, McD, Allen, Palmer, Moulds, and others have all been gushing about. So it's really about they didn't draft the WR1 you wanted so you are assuming the WR1 they did draft in Keon is somehow not going to play WR1 for us. There were no large FA WR's out there that made sense for the Bills after Diggs was traded. We took on a $31M dead cap hit moving Diggs this year. It was always going to be done through the draft to keep the cap hit down because $31M was also already tied up in the "WR1" position this season. Beane didn't set out to "replace" Diggs and Davis. That is where a lot of you are just backwards on the WR situation. They didn't go out and try and find a Davis and Diggs clone. He went out and looked to build a diverse room with size, hands, route running, toughness, etc. When they selected Keon, it was to come in and compete to be our WR1. And thus far, he has done nothing but impress on and off the field to everyone around him. Beane, McD, Allen, Brady, etc have all publicly stated he is playing the X, the WR1 role on this team. Now...if he goes out and stinks up camp or preseason and leaves doubt he can handle the role, then sure, Beane may change course and rethink the situation. But today, he is here to be the WR1, they have made that pretty clear. Yeah, the plan was to draft his replacement...which he did. No doubt, Beane left some ammo in the chamber if needed. Every good GM would, you never know what may come up. What does that have to do with anything? That capital has less value right now than it will after the season. This just points further to the likeliness of doing so this year (when we have $31M dead cap on Diggs alone) makes less sense and why a move in the future makes more sense. Again, something Beane has also stated. JAGs at RB? You mean Cook who just put up over 1200 yards and had a bunch more yards and receptions on top of that? And that was with Brady only being here the final 7 games. Davis isn't a JAG either...he is a rookie, many had as one of the better RBs in the draft (I had him 3rd on my board). So not sure how we have JAGS at RB...and sorry, Keon is not a JAG either...he is a rookie. For you to declare a guy who was not only taken in the first 33 picks, but had the Pats trying to move up into the first to get him as a JAG before taking his first NFL snap is just ridiculous. He may prove to be a JAG...but he also may prove to be a top 10 WR over his career. He is a rookie...nobody knows what he is. Kincaid put up 81 receptions as a rookie...so he is a JAG too? You know he is a receiving weapon for Allen too right? Shakir led the NFL in YPT, Catch rate, and was a YAC machine to the point his nickname by many is Deebo Lite. And that was again, with Brady only being here 7 games last year and the playoffs...same stretch where Shakir led the team in receiving. That is a lot of young talent to just blatantly label "JAGS"...You and I have very different definitions of JAGS. And no disrespect, but what qualifications do you have to make that determination for this roster over Beane? That was your opinion based on some highlight films you watched, not on a season long study, interviews, etc of these players or from the perspective of what Beane wanted to add to our locker room. FWIW, I was a big McConkey guy too...I had him as WR5 on my board and Keon as WR6. But fit wise, I thought Keon was a better fit for what the Bills needed in their WR room over McConkey. Not if Keon proves to lock down the WR1 role...and there in lies the issue. You have conclusively condemned Keon's career to be no better than a WR2...so much so, that you can't even accept that he will even play the WR1 role this season despite all his coaches and GM saying he will. And look, we don't know the future, Keon could be best as a WR2 or even a total bust in general...or he could be the next DeAndre Hopkins as well. Thats the thing, its always foolish to decide a rookies fate (good or bad) before he ever steps on a field. And I am not worried about the contracts of other WR's because I think its more likely Beane would attack the WR position again via the draft, especially with the extra capital we have next year, if the WR room proves to be a problem this year. End of the day...we had a top 3-5 guy in Diggs for 4 seasons and got past the 2nd round once. I for one am looking forward to seeing this group together on the field.

My original picks, and still my top 2 picks are Trent Edwards and Hackett. But I have what may be a controversial runner up to Trent as a player...Ryan Fitzpatrick...or as I used to call him when he was our starter...FitzCraptrick, FitzPick, or FitzPickSix. I think the guy I wanted to be gone the most, maybe even more than Trent (I just respected Trent a LOT less which is why I went with Trent in my top spot), was Fitz. Let me be clear, I love Fitz now and as a person, and even did back then. But I LOATHED him on the field...because he was the definition of Purgatory. He was not good enough to make us a winner...and he wasn't bad enough for us to lose enough games to get a high pick to draft a real QB prospect. When we gave him that contract I almost threw up, I was so disgusted by that as I knew it just locked us into 6 to 8 wins a season for the foreseeable future. His contract removed hope out of not only that season but the subsequent seasons after. Worse yet, were the Fitz defenders around here who wanted to argue until blue in the face he was a good QB. Fitz was a good backup QB, but a poor starting QB...he was the guy who could get hot and win you a couple games (like say Foles did to help Eagles win a SB)...but you were screwed if you needed to lean on him as a long term starter. And if memory serves me, I think only the Bills were foolish enough to roll with him as their dedicated starter more than 1 season. Few other honorable mentions - Players: Kelvin Benjamin - Leads the NFL in not caring by a mile...just a fat waste of space. Zay Jones - My "Calling it now" Zay Jones thread was one for the ages...this guy sucked and I absolutely hated watching him run sloppy route after sloppy route just to drop so many passes when he actually did run a proper route. He managed to get some marginal year end stats as the team was saddle with trash to throw to, but he sucked and I hated watching him play. Kyle Orton - This was one of the hardest times to watch Bills football, it was just an awful product on the field. Coaches: Rex, Juaron, Marrone - I echo all the same sentiments as everyone else on these trash cans. Frazier - I just couldn't stomach is soft as Charmin defense anymore. I wanted him gone after 2021 and every offseason there after with how anemic his defense was in big games. Best part of last offseason was hearing Frazier wasn't coming back.

Huh? Last year was probably the best overall talent around Allen since being a Bill. And its honestly not close when you factor in the run game. Diggs and Davis both still here (as they were in 2021), Kincaid had 81 receptions as a rookie (and on a team that had a 160 targets go to one player in Diggs), Shakir led the NFL in YPT, Catch rate, and was a YAC machine, Cook rushed for over 1200 yards and we still had Knox, the starting TE in 2021. Allen had better weapons overall and a better running game around him. Not to mention, last year was also probably his best OL as well.

Ive been saying this a while now and I think it is going to lead to what will be seen as Allens best season of his career and a legit shot at the MVP as a result. Coleman, Shakir, Samuel, and Kincaid are going to already be a formidable group who can attack the defense all over the field and have YAC ability too. Hollins and Chase already getting high praise (but its early) and MVS brings speed and championship experience as well. Then you still have Knox and our RB's as pass catchers as well. Outside the pass game, you still have Cook who just put up nearly a 1300 yard rushing season and a rookie Davis who I think is going to be a stellar addition to this team. And of course, we have maybe the most dangerous QB on the run in NFL history in Allen still under center...and when I say dangerous, that includes not only how great he is as a runner both short and long runs, but his overall escapability and his ability to extend plays with his feet. WILDCARD: Chase Claypool. I wouldn't normally be so intrigued by someone like Chase, but the talent he has is legit and he is still young and already proved he can succeed in the NFL from a talent perspectie as a starting WR given he had over 850 yards both his first 2 seasons despite playing with a broken down Big Ben and really was the 3rd option on those teams. If this kid can get his head on straight and say work his way up into replacing Davis opposite Coleman, this offense could be wild. Twin towers on the outside with guys like Kincaid, Shakir, and Samuel wreaking havoc over the middle and in the short to mid areas of the field all day would be hard to stop, especially with having to worry about our run game or Allen taking off.

I mean Beane has already flat out said he isn't trading for a WR, so not sure why you still "expect" it rather than more just "wish" for it. He even mocked the WR obsessed crowd in a recent interview saying "You know its legal for the TE's to catch passes too right". So I am not sure why anyone would be "expecting" it at this point...sure anything is possible, but to "expect" something that really seems unlikely at this stage is just an odd stance to me. We drafted our WR1 in Keon, everyone on the team from Allen, McD, Beane, to guys not officially with the team like Palmer, Moulds, etc have all raved about about Shakir, and we signed Samuel to a 3 year deal to go along with Kincaid who had 81 receptions as a rookie despite the fact there was a WR on this team who saw 160 targets. The real questions are the battles behind Keon, Shakir, and Samuel. Both Hollins and Chase getting high early praise, and MVS brings speed and championship experience...so will be fun watching this battle in camp, especially Chase who has the talent to start on the boundary opposite of Keon if he gets his career (and head) back on track. While Chase is saying and doing all the right things now, its still very early and we need to see how he handles having to grind and work his way both onto the roster and into a role as camp and preseason go on. Will he carry the same positive attitude and work ethic if he isn't moving up the depth chart fast enough is a real question for him. But if he does, man this offense could be wild with big guys like Keon and Chase on the outside, and Shakir, Samuel, and Kincaid just battering and attacking in between.

Last year once McD was named the DC again and calling plays, I said I thought the Bills had the potential to lead the NFL in sacks under McD and with that roster. Bills finished 3rd, only 3 sacks behind the first place team KC and that is with losing Milano and DaQuan in the same game early in the season and then losing Bernard for the last part of the season. Not to mention the ghost of Von taking so many snaps and the early loss of Tre which also helps the D get sacks by playing better pass defense and having the QB hold the ball longer. All in all, Bills likely do lead the NFL in sacks last year if even just one of those things Don't happen. This year though, I am not as confident in exactly what this D will look like for obvious reasons. Its a major overhaul from a personnel standpoint...out are Hyde (but might be back), Poyer, Tre, and Floyd...all guys who had big roles on this defense. Then we have guys like Benford, Bernard, and Milano all coming off injuries and the concern with Bernard and Milano is that they are undersized, so will injuries be something they can avoid this year or not is a question. Major questions remain: Who will call the plays? McD indicated we are not likely to see them make a decision on this until sometime in the preseason. Who starts at CB opposite Rasul? Will Benford be back from injury and hold that spot down, or will Elam finally be healthy and ready to win that battle and take over the starting role who has shown potential in spot starts in the past. Who starts at Safety? This is already a legit question before we know if Hyde comes back or not as it seems he will be back if he elects to play again rather than retire, which seems to be 100% medical decision by Hyde regarding risks with his neck. Can Bishop win one of the starting Safety spots, he has 2 starting level veterans ahead of him as it is before knowing if Hyde is here. Would Hyde start or be a reserve if he returns? If I had to guess, this is one spot where the Bills can bring the young player along slowly if they choose, so I think Bishop will have to flat out win the job clearly to start week 1. What are we to expect from our Edge rushers? I think AJE flirts with double digits this year in an expanded role after back to back 6.5 sack seasons primarily as a rotational guy. But what Groot are we getting? The guy who put up 8 sacks in 2022 and looked poised to be a double digit guy in 2023, or the guy we actually got in 2023 who only put up 5 sacks? Then there is how much does Von and Solomon bring to the pass rush and the edge rotation early? While I do remain somewhat optimistic about the defense this year, its more of a cautious optimism vs confidence that I had last year. Lots of questions to be answered heading into camp about roles, starters, play callers, etc leave this a harder defense to project than we have had the past few seasons. While as of now we are looking at 2 new safeties (Hyde still might come back), I am not too concerned either as I think our safety room is still pretty good with the vets and Bishop as it is. I am concerned however on how thin we are at some positions like CB and as I mentioned Edge (at least until we see if Von or one of the young guys can bring anything to it). If I had to guess today, I still think McD wants to see this be an aggressive defense again this year. I expect we will see a good dose of Cover1 and Cover3 again as well, and from a players perspective, I expect strong or big seasons from guys like Rasul, Oliver, Milano, Bernard, Taron, and DaQuan. I think the deciding factor on how good this defense will be is going to come down to how effective our edge rushers are at getting to the QB, especially Groot and AJE who are the likely starters.

I agree on Safety and Cornerback, and don't worry about the WR crowd...they will soon realize there is no major WR moves coming. In regards to Safety specifically, I think the fact both Beane and McD have made it clear Hyde has a roster spot this year if he decides to play again probably indicates at least a move at Safety is coming at some point...either Hyde if he comes back or someone else if he decides not to. So, I think part of this money is currently reserved and set aside for Hyde on an already agreed upon deal between both parties and the decision is on Hyde on whether or not he wants to play one more season. Hyde has made it clear he would ONLY play this year for the Bills, and that appears to be a 100% medical decision for Hyde who seems to "want" to play another season, but is weighing the risks with his neck and stuff. And based on the fact that both McD and Beane have basically said if Hyde wants to play again this year he is welcomed addition to the team tells me they are not worried about agreeing to a deal or cap space if Hyde does play again, which is why I feel pretty confident that the two sides have already confirmed terms and that money is being reserved until Hyde makes an official decision and probably given him some deadline for that decision in terms of reserving the cap space for it. If Hyde doesn't come back, then there is probably a strong chance they look to add someone else who is available given they seem already willing to add Hyde. At cornerback, I do think its possible, might even say probable, they add someone as well as we seem pretty thin behind Rasul, Benford, and Elam. But I will say this, this regime has run thin in the past at CB too, so if they think Cam Lewis and some of the young guys are showing enough, maybe they won't. But the group feels pretty thin outside the top 3.

I couldn't believe that Wilson's name wasn't called on that pick. I think the only other time I was that upset over a pick was when they didn't call Ngata and instead called Whitner. Rex was a disaster in every capacity. Exactly

Nope. Not even close.

Go check my thread history. Weeks BEFORE that game I started a thread when we were 4-0 and said that if Trent Edwarda keeps playing soft like this we will miss the playoffs. The Cardinals game wasn’t for 2 or 3 more weeks. We missed the playoffs. Edwards was afraid to pull the trigger on the field before that game and after that game. Those who bought into the mirage of Edwards want to blame the Cardinals game for their bad take, but he was a pedestrian, conservative and safe QB before that game (hence the coward comment) and after that game. He was a maddening QB to watch play. Because we started 4-0 against 4 of the worst teams in the NFL that year people think he was good. Yet they failed to recognize his production was pedestrian and we won multiple of those games thanks to defensive and special teams TDs leading into the AZ game. Trent got all this credit despite being pedestrian because our record was good thanks to a squishy easy schedule to open the season several defensive and ST TDs to help us win some of those games. He played scared to make a mistake, and that is why I said he played like a coward and he played that way before he got hurt in AZ.