Utah John

Darren Waller, the tight end for the Raiders, also has a special combination of size, speed, and athleticism. And he's very good, but not the best tight end in the league. It takes a lot of work for even a total-package athlete to excel in the NFL. Maybe Pitts gets there, and maybe he doesn't. Defense wins by schemes and planning as well as player skills. The Bills have a very good defense that will probably get better through this year's draft, the return of Star, and the growth of Oliver and Epenesa. Just chill, baby. We'll be fine.

Several points: -- The Saints got screwed in their game against the Rams FAR worse than the Bills got screwed on the Cody Ford block. -- The Ford block was NOT a blind-side hit. Ford was in front and to the side of the defender. The defender had every opportunity to see Ford. The defender ran into Ford more than Ford ran into him. -- The second-half kickoff referee invention was worse than the Ford call. -- The Bills would have won on a previous play if (1) three of them had bothered to block one defender on the Josh Allen sweep, or (2) the defender who evaded those blocks and who tackled Allen with an illegal helmet to helmet hit, had been penalized. -- The Bills would have won if Milano had sacked Watson, instead of bouncing off of him, on the play where Watson's short pass got run almost to the end zone, setting the game winning field goal. I do not agree that by losing this game, the Bills were motivated to get better. It was clear all season that we needed better WRs, and Beane would have made the Diggs trade whether we had won that game or not. Also, there were Bills on that team who weren't on the team the next year, and they deserved a chance to play again.

That blind-side block call was the second-worst of the game, the worst of course being the decision to let the Texans off the hook for botching the second half kickoff return. At that point, the refs just got out their Ouija board and made something up to keep the pro-Texan networks happy.

I'm beginning to think this Beane guy might know what he's doing.

At this point I think Beane will be drafting for 2022 and 2023. So if you want to guess where he'll go in the draft, look at which key players are likely to leave after 2021 and 2022. The roster looks solid all around. He's accumulating excess O linemen as FAs whom he'll trade for draft picks to desperate teams during training camp. (The only time this went wrong was when he traded away Wyatt Teller to Cleveland.) Beane wants to build a dynasty. He's not going all-in on any particular year. He wants to be a consistent 11 or 12 game winner, year in and year out, which makes it easier to pop up to a championship one of those years.

A big question will be whether Antonio Williams can pass block. In this offense, THAT'S job one.

You can have all the great ingredients in the world, but if you don't know how to cook, it won't taste very good.

As for drafting a guy with an injury in college, I have two words: Thurman Thomas. Unfortunately there are a lot of other guys who didn't pan out. As with many things, this is a crap shoot.

Should be a lucky break for the Bills, playing the NFCE. The other three divisions first place teams would be a lot tougher games.

Signing Hollister does not preclude obtaining Ertz or some other high-skill TE. Lots of FAs don't make the final cut. That said, if Hollister can fill a role on the team, I wish him all the best. Paul Costa?

This is like a marriage where both the husband and wife figure they can do better. Lots of fish in the sea. So they agree to a separation, then both find the other fish aren't so great. Back together, but the damage is done.

McKenzie can stay put, make a lot of money, and have a lot of fun as a productive part of a winning team. Or he can move, make a little more money, and watch his career crash and burn when the Chicago QB can't throw passes to him in stride. So many players leave a situation where they just fit right to chase dollars where they don't fit. I like him as a member of the Bills and I hope he stays.

It sure would be nice to get a little payback for Gilmore...

Sad to see him go. At the end of last year, he was barely playing better than Peyton Manning (my personal GOAT) was playing at the end of HIS career. Both only a shell of themselves, getting by on experience, wiles, and game management. I'm afraid that a generation of fans will see the Brees of the last year or two and wonder what all the fuss was about. People will compare aged Brees or aged Manning with current Brady, and figure Brady must always have been better than either of them. Not true. Where Brady was a cunning surgeon, using a great game plan and his own great talents to pick apart defenses, Brees was a strap it on, let's go get them fighter. I admire both approaches but Brees was a lot more fun to watch. Peyton Manning could be either of those two styles, as the situation dictated, and that's why I think he's the GOAT.

Exactly. Both these players have shown up for work, done their jobs, and played extremely well. What grounds on earth would the teams have to demand money back If the OP's point is that both teams want to trade away their established, productive, franchise QBs -- well, they don't. And they don't have to.

1963. My dad was trying to explain to a seven year old (me) how the playoffs and championship worked. It came down to whether the Bills or Boston would win the most games. And my next question was, and then that team plays San Diego, right? Back then the Chargers were considered the class of the league. I think the first game I went to was in 1967, a preseason game that the Bills lost.

Just wanted to point out that there would be no way to keep Milano and Williams if we'd signed JJ Watt. I am more than OK with the way things turned out.

Honestly I don't see how Roberts could be worse than Cam Newton at QB. With respect to a bidding war for his services, I don't see that happening. All the teams are facing cap challenges, and no one wants to spend big bucks on a guy on the wrong side of 30. He's still very good and I would like to keep him.

Ain't it great? Now we can look at BPA. Although considering how organized Beane is, he probably is looking to holes he expects to need to fill in 2025.

Feliciano was the next name on the priority list. He sounds like he wants to be back and I wouldn't be surprised if we get a home-team discount.

Beane should be wearing a tall pointed cap with stars and moons. He's a wizard. Now if he could just turn Tom Brady into a newt ...

Great news. Now get Daryl Williams back so Josh Allen can continue to dominate. And then Feliciano, if possible. The draft for BPA and here we go!

Smoke speed for cheap? If he can still fly, sure, at an affordable price. John Brown did alter how defenses played against the Bills during the games he didn't miss. So a burner like Goodwin could be enough to open things up.

If we get Williams and Milano back, that's success. Add in Feliciano, who sounds like he'll not push for a max contract in order to stick around, and we're good. Losing Williams means drafting an OT for need rather than going for BPA. That usually doesn't work out well.

Statistically this was Hyde's worse year in Buffalo, but I chalk that up more to a deficient pass rush and Milano's injuries than to Hyde having problems. Our D was great for two years BEFORE last year because we had a pretty good D line as a major component, and Milano and Edmunds both came into their own as starting LBs. The problems last year were almost all due to 1) no Star to stop the run, 2) Oliver too small to be effective without Star, 3) loss of Jordan Phillips and Shaq Lawson, and 4) Milano missing so much time. We went from a smooth running V-8 to a choppy inline six that needed new spark plugs.