hondo in seattle

Like many here, I wasn't happy with Gabe this past season. Too many drops and too infrequently open. But with our cap situation, I didn't expect we'd sign Gabe's replacement. I'm glad, though, Beane got a couple of legit guys with speed. And I think/hope Sherfield has some upside. His actual talent and ability to contribute might be better than his resume suggests. Gabe is still #2 but Harty and Sherfield will see the field.

Beane has said in the past that - ideally - he goes into the draft with no gaping holes. He tries to fill out a competent roster before the draft so he can go BPA during the draft. Q is our backup tackle for now. He may yet be supplanted by further additions.

Yeah, I agree that KC has a "superior roster vision." I think they've proved that by winning two of the past four SBs. They're the current champions of roster building. And, yet, I'm thankful for Beane and McD. We win more than we lose with those two. They've transformed an irrelevant NFL franchise into contenders. And I've never heard them use Josh's salary as an excuse. They're pretty good at taking accountability and not making excuses. But I do think Beane needs to get better for us to starting winning Super Bowls. It's frustrating to have so many needs and so few resources.

If a member of the Bills Mafia invents a time machine, I'll ask them to bring us Thurman, Cookie, and Freddy to fill out our RB room. But given the harsh realities of science and spending caps, I'm happy with Harris. When I watched him play against, I remember thinking, "I wish we had a back like that." Now we do, at an affordable cost. For those comparing Motor's stats with Harris, let's remember Motor was running in a Josh Allen led offense while Harris was running in a Mac Jones led offense. Defenses playing against us play with one thought in mind: slow Allen. NE's offense is more balanced than our which means the defenses they face don't sell out to stop the pass.

With the cap situation being what it is, I had muted expectations for the offseason. Two speedy WRs, a RB, and a guard who can protect Josh if not run block... I'm reasonably happy. And there seems to be some upside with Sherfield.

I'm hoping there's one more WR joining the WR room - someone who can at least push Davis for #2. And, yep, that means McK isn't coming back to the Bills.

I'd be willing to sign Motor to a minimal deal as a hedge against not finding a better back. He's got some moderate skills and he's a great teammate. And, at the moment, he's best RB we have. Ideally, though, I'd love to have more speed in the RB position. Then again, a power back would be a great compliment to Josh. It's hard to shut down a power back and a strong armed QB both at the same time.

I'm sad McKenzie is leaving. He's such a great guy and it was so much to watch him in that Pats games a couple seasons ago. But this past season, he wasn't able to shine in a bigger role. Maybe the talent wasn't quite there. Maybe Dorsey misused him. I'm not sure. But we all know it didn't work out the way anyone had hoped.

Dave, I'm not a Singletary hater. But not a lover either, and I don't get the Gore comparison. Gore was a shell of his former self when he played for the Bills. Of course Singletary was better. If you want to make a comparison, let's try this one: * In 1973, OJ averaged 6.0 ypc against defenses that lined up with one singular purpose: stop OJ. * In 2022, Singletary averaged 4.6 ypc against defenses that lined up with one singular purpose: stop Josh Allen. Opponents don't scheme up ways to stop Singletary. They don't load up the box. They don't put a spy on him like they used to do with OJ or sometimes do for Josh. Singletary is an offensive afterthought. I like Singletary. He lives up to his nickname - he's a high motor guy and, by all accounts, a good teammate. But he's not in the same league as the better backs that have blessed the Bills backfield over the years: OJ, Thurman, Shady, Cookie, Freddy, Cribbs, Marshawn... Could we do worse? Of course. But we can do better and have in the past.

Good interview…. and all that.

Singletary gets yards against teams playing the pass.

Restructuring contracts means less money against the cap this year but more money against the cap in future years. Financially, it's no big deal to Terry. It comes out about the same for him either way. But Beane now has more cap space this year at the cost of less cap space over the next five years. So why is he giving up future cap space? Who is he signing - or resigning - this year? Seems like he's after someone and I'm guessing David.

We've heard players say that the grades they get from their position coaches are often different than the grades they get from PFF. Teams may have subscriptions to Sports Illustrated, that doesn't mean they agree with every opinion it puts out. Same with PFF. I really doubt that Beans trusts PFF more than his own pro scouts. I think the main reason the Bills use PFF is for negotiations when the PFF grade might suggest a lower market price.

I hear you but... we don't have enough draft picks to fill all our needs. And just because we draft a guard, it doesn't mean they'll be any good. There's more certainty in free agent acquisitions who have already proven themselves at the NFL level.

Poyer and Hyde are a perfect example of Aristotle's, "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts." They played really well together. Both could capably play free or strong safety, allowing them to disguise coverages easily. And they communicated well and instinctively understood each other. I'm afraid that if Poyer leaves, Hyde won't be as good with a different partner.

No offensive linemen???

Given how often Schefter is wrong, does it really matter if he said it or not?

You're right. But who knows, if EJ persevered, he might have ended up in Geno's position. EJ seemed to give up on his NFL career easily. He was signed by the Chiefs in the 2019 offseason to be a backup but retired just a couple months later to work for the ACC Network as an analyst.

I'm with you in prioritizing the offense - particularly the OL. But if they pick the Second Coming of Bruce Smith in the 1st round, I'm leaving my pitchfork in the closet. If Beane thinks he has a shot at a generational talent, he's gotta take his shot regardless of need.

Maybe Beane just doesn't draft guys who are good enough to contribute as rookies.

People said Tony Dungy couldn't win big games, and then he won a Lombardi. People said Andy Reid couldn't win big games, and then he won a Lombardi. People said Sean McDermott couldn't win big games...

I guess we all choose our data points. I'll remember him more like this...

Frazier was a contributor but this was McD's defense. And, schematically, it's not going to change much with Frazier gone. But let's give Frazier credit where credit is due. Frazier executed McD's defense well. From 2017 to 2022, the Bills led D led the league in yards allowed and were top five in a bunch of other categories. I'm not sure we've ever had such a sustained period of excellence before. Frazier was part of that. And, yes, I know there were breakdowns. All teams had breakdowns these past 5 seasons. That's why our stats are better. And, yes, each season ended in disappointment. But all good (i.e. playoff) teams end their seasons in disappointment - save one. And from where I sit, I don't think Beane has yet given McD and Frazier a Super Bowl quality roster. We were never very likely to win it all. Frazier isn't the villain. But he's not the savior either. If the Bills D is much different (either better or worse) this upcoming season, it'll be because the guys suiting up are better or worse.

I'm not sure I completely agree with your between-the-lines interpretation but neither Beane nor McD's is making anything particularly obvious. Ask McD about any player and he'll tell you how well they're doing.

McD: "... but there were also some times when our quarterback got effected a little too early..." Coach-speak, I think, for: the OL sucked and we desperately need to address it.