BADOLBILZ

Whatever TeddyKGB/Ryan L Bilz is going by now someone should probably do a wellness check.

Yeah I'd bet Adebo is high on Beane's radar. He was looking like a star in the making in 2023 but was banged up last year. The Saints were a dumpster fire. One of the more crazy stats on a team with a bunch of them was Adebo making 52 tackles in less than 7 full games. And somehow still graded out atrocious in run defense per PFF. I loved him as a fit for the Bills defense coming out of Stanford.

There was a big influx of talented DT's that entered the league between the Chris Jones thru Dexter Lawrence draft years and it seems like there have consistently been a few less studs entering the league each year since. A lot of those guys you mentioned are just past their athletic primes now so I suspect that's why the drop off. Williams and Simmons, for instance, clearly aren't as good as they were at their peak. Christian Wilkins went from the most active DT in the game to vanishing/injured in Las Vegas. Ed Oliver had a good season in 2024 and was excellent in the playoffs but a lesser regular season than the year prior for certain. This draft class is very deep in HUGE, athletic DT's. But they've maybe never been harder to project. The talent is spread out more, which is probably a product of NIL money. A lot ended up on teams where they weren't used like they will be in the pro's. And it was a weird year in college football with the ground and pound teams like Alabama, Georgia and Michigan having down years so not getting to see the top DT's square off in as many big games where the tape projects well to what they will do in the pro's.

Yep, but not because the players weren't trying to win or the coaches were intentionally preparing to lose. It was done simply by playing a bad QB every week against a first place schedule. And also remember that it was a league much more bereft of QB talent than it is today......it was easier to eek out a few victories with a horrible QB back then. Those Colts simply had a bad roster and having a middling QB instead of bad one's weren't going to get them to .500. These 2024 Bills with a "Fitz" level QB instead of Josh Allen would have maybe been a 7-8 win, sub .500 team. The post I was responding to tried to give the Bills credit for winning 15 games but they don't come anywhere close to 13 in the regular season without Allen and therefore don't get a chance to win 2 more in the playoffs. The Dolphins would have won the division in this scenario because they were effective with Tua on the field. Because he is well above average when healthy.

I think the focus has been turned to Beane. He was heavily criticized for not finding a WR1 last season after dealing Diggs. Not having that quality in the intermediate and deep passing game directly caused their exit from the playoffs for the second year in a row. He's not found enough difference makers on either side of the ball in free agency or the draft. By contrast, I think McD upped his personal stock with his coaching job this season. He got some heat for the ending of the Houston game but hit numerous HR's with big decisions in other games.

You can field a fringe SB contender with a bad roster if the QB is that good. The Colts proved it going from 1st place SB contender with Peyton Manning.......to 2-14 when he missed the next season........and back to first place and SB contending the season after that when they drafted Andrew Luck with that 1st round pick obtained by going 2-14.

Yeah the larger point is absolutely true. The Bills are at a disadvantage scheming against Reid and Spags. Brady could close that gap because offense is the side that's always innovating but there is just something about having a veteran DC. You saw it with Baltimore bringing in Dean Pees at midseason when Orr was failing as a first time DC. And Spags was such a horrendous HC that he is unlikely to ever get another look no matter how many SB's he wins as a DC. There was a time back in the Marrone/Rex era where the Chiefs were just slightly ahead of the Bills by the slimmest of margins. Reid was a better coach but the Bills roster was a bit more dynamic. Those Reid teams blocked the Bills from reaching the playoffs numerous times with some maddening regular season wins over Buffalo. But when McBeane tore the roster down and traded Mahomes to KC they set themselves a full two years behind KC and they've been a year or more behind them ever since. Both teams have been pretty futile at separating themselves(KC) or closing the gap(Buffalo) because neither has drafted great or had great success in free agency. Beane just can't find a difference maker for the defense or a difference maker to pair with Allen on offense.

Brady was a 4th year play caller in the NFL this season. Babich was new but his HC was the DC the year before so it wasn't like he was flying without a net. Yes they were grossly out-experienced by the Chiefs staff, who also had a bye week to work on plan for Buffalo/Baltimore matchups. A first time OC hasn't actually won a SB since Mike Holmgren with the 49ers back in the 80's. Ken Dorsey had a chance to break that streak before Allen's GF drama killed that season a week before Chiefs week. Otherwise the Bills haven't had a first time play calling OC since Anthony Lynn and you have to go back to the Jauron era before that for a first time play caller.

Fast but terrible receivers. Shavers couldn't even make it as a WR in college. Every team has a bunch of scrubs like that.

I will believe that Hyde will leave his sunny San Diego abode to be a full time coach when I see it. One of the more disingenuous promo's the Bills ran late in the season was Micah talking about he knew he'd come home to Buffalo. It's all well and good for a couple months during a winning season. Or even to live it as a player when you get 5 months vacation time in So Cal. Live in Buffalo 12 months a year at coach pay? Doubting it.

I like that Reeves/McDermott comp. It makes a lot of sense on the surface and you may be right that McD might never evolve into the type of guy to get the best out of Allen. But in fairness McD did let that dingbat Daboll run a wide-open offense and then he let Dorsey bomb away to much success in his first season as Bills OC. I think we have to give McD the benefit of the doubt a bit wrt to being not offensively minded enough. They drafted Kincaid and Coleman with their top pick in back to back years. That just hasn't produced anything resembling explosive, early round pick results. So I think Beane is more responsible for the way the Bills have had to play offense than McD. And it's hard to argue with the win-loss results since the change compared to in the few seasons prior. They've played like a #1 seed worthy team they just started out too slow before the change in 23' and the Chiefs went 15-1 in 2024 before the meaningless reg season finale. Since McD fired Dorsey and they went to a more ball controlled, complementary football approach they've been a much better team. They are a stud WR1 away from being far and away the best offense in football. I mean it's not like Brady didn't orchestrate the greatest passing offense in college football history. I just don't think the personnel has aligned, more than anything. Things were much different in Denver with Elway/Reeves. Reeves was not at all open to running a more modern offense at the time. But they also struggled to put the right personnel around Elway by not drafting all that well in the late 80's. And Shanahan benefited from better personnel work, for sure. Those late 90's teams were stacked compared to their 80's SB teams.

Yeah I view Pederson as a Wade Phillips type HC. Sloppy, no attention to detail. Pederson won that SB by taking over a team that had trained harder than any other for 3 years under Chip Kelly and had been at the forefront of the RPO under Kelly. People forget that Kelly with Nick Foles playing at a 27 to 2 TD/INT ratio and lead the NFL in passer rating at yards per attempt under Kelly in 2013. Pederson got the double bump because the players were ecstatic that Kelly was gone but also primed physically and schematically for success. Wade got a similar bump in Dallas taking over for Parcells and getting better results(until the playoffs) initially. Until, of course, his lack of attention to detail eroded the foundation that Parcells had built. The guy I would like to see the Bills bring in with some kind of promotion is Davis Webb. He seems like the obvious successor to Brady.......other than the fact that he has no actual play calling experience. Would be great to have him working with Brady for a year. Ronald Curry might not like that but I presume he'd follow Brady as his OC when Brady gets his HC job in that scenario.

If you are going to miss the Bills after the season then I would suggest learning to follow the draft year round or at least starting to get to know the prospects in late fall. We have our people who get angry at offseason discussion on the board in-season but it's great to be able to pick right up with offseason stuff right after the season ends. Eliminates that void entirely because there is a never ending supply of draft info now. I follow the draft(and college recruiting) year round but actually start ramping up more on the draft DURING the NFL playoffs because most of the talking head nonsense leading up to the games is only interesting if you enjoy having your buttons pushed by the media. Did anyone really have anything to learn from "expert" opinions on Mahomes v Allen version 9.0?

Not in SB XXV. The Giants D didn't even try to dominate the LOS that day. They were largely out-coached and under-prepared in the SB's but unlike current Bills teams they collapsed when the other team had the better plan. Until the last one when they actually had a good gameplan against an overconfident Cowboys team and the players just choked in the second half. Allen often outplays the opponent despite being out schemed. See the long Allen TD run in the regular season win vs KC and the remarkable arm punt that Kincaid dropped. Those 90's Bills didn't.

Some sad sack Bills fans just try to project their nonsense on Josh Allen. He isn't thinking about 4 SB losses that happened before he was born to a team he didn't even play for until 2018. His mistakes in big moments are relatively minor. If that softy Kincaid catches the arm punt that landed gently in his arms we aren't having this discussion. Allen is great. He doesn't wilt in the spotlight like Jim Kelly and his boys did.

Well, he certainly didn't get the opportunity to prove that he can catch the ball downfield so I don't know where you are going with that. They drafted James Cook to be a weapon in a pass-heavy offense and it turned out he's just a 2 down RB who isn't trustworthy on 3rd downs or in the passing game unless it's a screen. Those people who thought he was going to be a 3 down RB........or at least a great 3rd down RB........do look foolish. That was actually Brady's 4th season as an NFL OC. He was fired late in his second season as OC in Carolina and took over about halfway thru last year but he was not new to calling plays. Inexperienced compared to Spags for sure, but not even close to being a rookie.

Well Brady probably believed that Spags would empty his playbook of blitzes(and he did) on the final drive and Cook being Cook would ruin it for them. It's funny how people know that Cook isn't anywhere near Ty Johnson in blitz pickup or as receiver (particularly downfield) and that Johnson is often even brought in to convert short yardage......he's basically THE high leverage back of the team.........and yet it's inexplicable to them why he is on the field during a critical drive and not James Cook. The notion that if Cook had been in there they could have just plowed over an amped up Chiefs defense in their biggest drive of the year is illogical, IMO. They hadn't even worn the Chiefs defense down. Even in the divisional round game last year when the Bills had the ball for nearly 40 minutes the Chiefs weren't relenting the run on the final drive. Do we remember why it was 2nd and 9 at the 2 minute warning? Because they were still playing the run tough. That game and this game were going to be won in the passing game. Cook isn't the guy for that. I hope like hell they don't extend him this offseason and then feel compelled to leave him on the field on 3rd downs to miss blitzes and drop wide open TD's.

Goldilocks needs to learn how to pass block so he doesn't have to come off the field all year for Ty Johnson. I'm not absolving Brady of choking in the moment, it's been my biggest criticism of him. But Cook is a dumb player and it's understandable to not want him on the field in critical situations. Beyond blown blocking assignments we saw his buffoonery in the pass game last year when he dropped some critical TD passes when they leaned on him late in down sequences. It's not like replacing Thurman Thomas with Carwell Gardner........Ty Johnson is plenty good as a runner AND a better pass catcher in addition to the blocking element.

It has for sure. In 2017 I was definitely put out by all the people jumping onboard out of nowhere, feigning heart attacks on social media etc.. People who had been on a Bills-free vacation for 15 years or so and then acted like they had been suffering week-in and week out for 17 years. Like where did all these f#ckers come from? But at least some of them are getting a taste of the medicine and earning some stripes with each failed playoff run. The objective of the game is to win one........but when they do win that SB things will never quite look or feel the same. The good fight will no longer be as noble. Some people think it will be like replacing nothing with something but there is always a cost. I expect some post partum confusion on TSW. It will be like our annual "is the game not fun anymore" posts from the dude's who don't realize their testosterone level just dropped.

What Bills fans have is truly unique in the NFL. When the Bills do finally win a SB........and I do think it will happen with Josh Allen.......it will come at some expense to our own character as a fan base. That's the trade-off and it's pretty much impossible to avoid it. Bandwagoners and self esteem seekers glom onto championships and they are the lowest form of fandom and dilute your fan base.

Yeah if it's not a life choice being a Bills fan then it's probably just an OCD or something unhealthy. Finish line fans. I'd rather have 10 straight AFC East championships with outstanding QB play and no SB's than a few good years and a one-off SB win followed by mediocrity like Tampa Bay had with Brad Johnson/Gruden and thereafter until Brady blessed them with his presence. The objective every year is to win the SB and I will express my opinions about how to get there..........but the journey is the actual reward or you are doing it wrong. If they never win one, so be it. The SB rings are for the players, the trophies are for the owner. The fans get no hardware we get the entertainment and you can have most of that even if they don't win the SB.

I'd extend none of them early. Groot is the only one I would even seriously consider but I think I want him playing for a big contract to see if he can find that next level he hasn't been able to reach yet. Trade for or sign a veteran WR1 and then acquire or draft some quality DL early in the draft. Then get a RB(great RB draft) and a slot WR and some DB's on day 3 to start prepping to replace Cook, Shakir and Benford if they don't kill it in their walk years.

Having veteran coaches who've seen it all and are still on top of their game is an advantage over having young coordinators and a HC who is in his formative years by comparison. And the Chiefs had two weeks to prepare for a Buffalo or Baltimore matchup so were able to be a step ahead of the film. By comparison it looked like they just marched out a vanilla plan versus the Texans who they knew were going to be an easy out. Bills didn't have nearly as much time to think out of the box after having to play in the WC and divisional rounds and still were an easy catch and some basic execution thereafter away from winning in Arrowhead. An unforced error.......a dropped arm punt NOT the blitz that caused it......ended their season. Remember, Spags out schemed Brady on that 4th down TD run that won the game in Buffalo.......but a player made a play that time. Gotta' get that #1 seed next year and then you can be the one's who are one step ahead.

C'mon dude. We don't need that vaguery from a veteran. Replace 8 players on the DL rotation and 5 starters in the secondary and presumably at least one of the 2 starting LB's, preferably while trading for Crosby or Garrett and trading for George Pickens? Oh and find a way to keep James Cook? You know Cook is under contract, right? I mean I get that people are frustrated and maybe haven't looked at the options but replacing 14 players who get 40% or more of the defensive snaps while adding a superstar NFLDPOY caliber defender and a WR who will likely cost a day 2 pick in trade as well probably isn't feasible with 3 picks in the top 100 and maybe $40M in adjusted cap room. People just need to accept the facts that the Bills timeline didn't line up well with the Chiefs. Andy Reid in his first 18 years as a HC was no better than Sean McDermott in the playoffs. He reached a SB by force of talent(Terrel Owens acquisition) but then put on a disgusting performance in defeat to the Patriots. Reid was NOT acquiring Mahomes and one more year of early playoff exits again to the likes of Mike Mularkey from being fired in KC. But his experience of learning every way to blow huge playoff leads and choke on his home field finally paid off. And getting Spags was a match made in heaven for them. The Bills are good enough to win. They don't need 9 new starters on defense to win a SB. They simply need to be good enough to earn the #1 seed for once and let the injured team come to them in the AFCCG. They made strides toward becoming a #1 seed level team this year. The mid-season swoon was shorter and was more Beane's fault for not addressing WR sooner than it was fatigue due to McDermott's intensity. Next year they have 9 home games and like 7 of their 8 toughest opponents are on the home slate. They need to make some splashes and draft well but they aren't 15 players away.

Number of draft-able Iowa DB's this spring and I expect the Bills to come home with one of them and to hear a lot of talk about how they are like Micah Hyde or were trained like him etc..