hondo in seattle

Really? I don't worry about many things in life but I worry about the Bills every year. If some kind of advanced alien technology allowed us to bring back youthful, fit versions of Smith, OJ, Thurman, Kelly, Tasker, House, Cookie, Reed, DeLam, Biscuit, and so on... I'd still worry about the Bills. Can they play together? What will the chemistry be like? Can McD keep the egos in check and the culture alive?

Obviously, I knew I was going to be attacked. I was actually hoping for strong counter arguments to make me more optimistic. And the best counter-argument is that the other three teams still lack QBs - unless a rookie phenom changes the picture or one of the incumbent QBs makes a surprise improvement. Regardless of the QB discussion, I still don't like that - for the most part - we're standing pat. Picking up a better backup QB is great if Josh goes down, meaningless if he doesn't. And while I thought a healthy Smoke would be a good compliment to Diggs in 2021, I like the Sanders acquisition. But with the rest of the AFCE making bold moves to get better, Beane seems mostly to be content to hold on to what he already has. When I look at our roster, I hope for more. We need offensive linemen who can open holes, a legit starting TE, a legit starting RB, an edge rusher, another good CB... This team has a lot of solid guys who fight for each other. We don't have many elite players. Where we're blessed is that one of our elite players lines up behind center.

I love the way you guys overdramatize. I never said we were doomed. I did say I had concerns. The Bills had the 3rd best passing attack in the NFL last year. It was a thing of beauty. We had the 21st best running attack. It was not a thing of beauty. Our RBs were not effective. Our pass D finished the season ranked 13th - mediocre Our run D finished 17th - mediocre. According to Gosselin's formula, our ST finished 8th - good. I stand by what I said originally: we were good passing the ball and on special teams. Everything else was blah. Without Bojo and Roberts, I'm afraid special teams becomes blah too. Which means the fate of the season rests on Josh's arm because our blah defense and blah running attack isn't going to produce a lot of Ws. Our cap situation being what it is, Beane had to scramble just to hold on to our own FAs and wasn't able to upgrade the blah areas.

My hair is shorter.

I don't bet and don't care what Vegas is thinking. My main point is that we've mostly stood pat this offseason. That's not terrible when you're 13-3 but I'm 62 years old and my favorite sweatshirt reads, "Just One Before I Die." Beane has to find ways to make us better. And I'm not knocking Beane. I give him credit for building a playoff roster in the first place and then keeping the band together in a challenging year. But we need more before we can hoist a Lombardi.

Agree with the points about Roberts/McKenzie, Hollister and Sanders. But about Bojo. Last season... * Bojo averaged 50.8 gross and 44.0 net. * Haack averaged 44.7 gross and 39.8 net. Haack may have better directional control but overall he's not as good as Bojo.

I love your take on this. I do believe a team is more than the sum of its parts. And McD has created something special here. But from what I've read, Flores is successfully building a similar culture in Miami - even if he waffled on the QB call. And - despite last year's results - I still think there's something to "The Patriot Way." Also, culture may be important but so is individual talent. I wish we had more of it. Weirdly, that did make me feel better.

I’m usually not a Negative Nancy but today let me be that guy. The AFCE will be harder this year. The Pats, Phins, and Jets all got better while the Bills got worse. Pats. They didn’t resolve the signal caller issue but Bill’s epic spending spree improved the rest of the roster. Phins. Tua – who Fitz seems to love – should be better his sophomore year. To help, they went out and got Will Fuller. Jets. While they picked up a couple nice free agents defensive linemen, the best thing the Jets did this offseason was change out their entire coaching staff. The Bills were an interesting team last year. Despite the 13-3 record and AFC Championship game appearance, our guys only excelled in two areas: special teams and passing the ball. Unfortunately, our ST unit lost its two best players: Roberts & Bojorquez. While there were moments of excellence, no level of our D was consistently good. And our offensive running attack was putrid. None of those shortcomings have been addressed so far. Beane did a nice job retaining our offensive linemen. Sadly, though, they’re just not that good. They don’t open holes in the running game. And Daboll has to use TEs and RBs to help with pass pro. Even with that help, we couldn’t protect Josh in KC. While the rest of the AFCE stepped up, we stood still at best and probably stepped back. Fingers crossed –free agency isn’t over and we still have the draft.

I wanted to vote for 4 of the 5 choices but went with edge. It’s weird to say of a team that went to the AFC championship game but the Bills have several big needs.

My guess is because wideout may be our strongest position group and of all the cap-heavy guys, he was the most expendable. Still I'm sad to see him go. When you have a good QB, it would be fun to see the team stockpile talented receivers. But we have bigger needs elsewhere.

All the stuff about him wanting to test the market and buy a yacht - and Beane's apparent lack of enthusiasm to re-sign him - makes this news a surprise. He's still a puzzle to me. When I watch him play, he doesn't look like a difference maker, but the stats say he is. I guess I trust the metrics more than my own eyes because I was very happy to learn he re-signed.

Fitz is a great testimony to the power of hard work: A smart kid from a weak program with a limited skill set who eventually earned a starting job and millions of dollars. I think he'd be a great color commentator or QB coach. Or he could just retire and play golf.

With 39 sacks in the previous 4 seasons, I thought Addison was a great addition if a bit overpaid. I was hoping for another 9 or 10 sack season from him. Sigh.

Thanks for posting the Ted Talk. As you mention, Dwek says to praise the effort not the result. "Oh, you worked so hard" - that's what you want to promote. In other words, it's all about the "PROCESS." Thanks, brother. Usually I just rephrase Yolo or cut-and-paste Wikipedia.

Great work. Like your methodology. Good to see you that both methods have Bills among the best and the Pats in the bottom half.

McDermott likes the concept of “Growth Mindset.” You often hear this expression when he talks: “We embrace that growth mindset…” When Beane and McD evaluate college players and available FAs, one of the qualities they’re looking for is a growth mindset. That's why the documentary has that name. For those who may not know, the expression “Growth Mindset” was coined by Stanford psychologist, Carol Dweck, and popularized in her book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. In a nutshell, she says people can be divided into two groups: people with Fixed Mindsets and people with Growth Mindsets. People with fixed mindsets don’t see future growth on their horizons. “This is who I am, get used to it!” Or, “I have a bad temper. That’s just who I am.” But people with growth mindsets see themselves as forever malleable and capable of new growth. If you want to know what children in school will achieve the most in life, don’t look at IQ. Look at mindset. People with growth mindsets accomplish more because they don’t put false ceilings on themselves or see themselves cast in concrete. They’re always looking for ways to learn and grow. And that’s the mindset McD wants to see on the Bills.

Do the 4 people who voted 'other' win prizes?

Exactly - and that's a key point. When you have one really super-high-effort player, he may or may not rub off on the other players. But when you have a core of guys like that (Diggs, Allen, etc.), that core becomes an irresistible force and everyone wants to do their very best. That's why I was excited when we signed Diggs and why I hope we bring in more guys with that kind of obsessive will to win and desire to excel.

Fair points but I don't think we're looking at this the same way. #1. Yeah, as a player, Villapiano was a disappointment in terms of on-the-field accomplishment. And I wasn't in the locker room, on the sideline or the practice field so I don't know for a fact what I'm about to say. What I suspect is that his work-ethic, his no-holds-barred attitude, and his intolerance of defeat all helped other players get better and play harder. #2. It's not about winning per se because one player doesn't make a team a winner. Instead its about the commitment to winning and the drive to be "the very best version of yourself" as McD would say. JJ has the that drive and it would rub off on anyone on the D who doesn't. JJ Watt's contribution to the Bills would be more than his sack total. It would also include how much he elevates the play of the people around him.

As an army officer I was taught: "Reinforce success." If something works, pour more effort and resources into it to earn even more success. One thing working for the Bills is "the process" and the culture that McDermott has been creating. And, yes, McDermott is building a fine culture without JJ. But why not reinforce that success by pouring more effort and resources into it? Most people know what kind of guy JJ is. But as reminder, Romeo Crennel once explained that Watt is "a workaholic... J.J. wants to be the best, he works to be the best and he doesn’t want anybody to be better than he is... There are a lot of people with talent and ability that don’t have the drive that’s needed. J.J. has the drive.” I don't know how many sacks JJ would garner in a Bills uni. I'm not sure he's as quick and agile as he once was. But the drive is still there and his drive is elite. And the cool thing about drive, if the environment is right, it becomes contagious. McD's Bills have the right environment. https://texanswire.usatoday.com/2018/11/15/workaholic-texans-j-j-watts-work-ethic/

I hear you both. I don't know how much Sherman - or Watt - have left in the tank. Nor do I know what their price might be. But certain players elevate the players around them and you can never have too many guys like that. Brain dysfunction. Spelled it correctly in the title and then added the 's' in every mention in the body of my post. Senile dementia doesn't normally occur early in my family but maybe I'm the exception.

All the speculation about JJ Watt and Richard Sherman potentially joining the Bills makes me think, oddly enough, of Phil Villapiano. Villipiano was never quite a Watt-Sherman caliber player. But in his prime, he was a Pro Bowler who helped the Raiders win a Super Bowl. But the Bills didn’t have Villapiano in his prime. When they traded for him in 1980, he was clearly on the downside of his career. It was considered a questionable acquisition at the time but Head Coach Chuck Knox wanted someone who could teach the younger players how to win. Is one player’s ‘locker room presence’ really worth a sizeable contract? Sam Walker argues in his best-seller, The Captain Class, that the world’s elite sports teams aren’t built by coaches or schemes and don’t necessarily have the very best players. But what they all have in common is one player whose desire and will-to-win is so intense that it lifts the play of the entire team. And while I think Walker might overly simplify the matter, I have to admit he makes a compelling case. Which leaves me of the opinion that the Bills passing attack improved dramatically last year because of Stefon Diggs. Oh, I’m not talking about the obvious: 127 catches and 1,535 yards. I’m talking about his love of the grind, his dedication to his craft, his obsessiveness about football. I’m talking about Diggs watching the Chiefs hoist the Lamar Hunt trophy with his blood freaking boiling. Daboll has said of Diggs, “He's got juice, he's got fiery competitiveness, he's got swagger -- and I want him to have it because it rubs off on our team.” And that’s why Watt and Sherman intrigue me. They’re dogs in a street fight. What used to be an acceptable level of play won’t be acceptable anymore. McDermott’s culture would reinforce what’s already good in Watts and Sherman and, in turn, they would help take the culture higher. Villapiano, over-the-hill though he may have been, helped Knox transform the Bills from 2-12 laughingstocks to a playoff team. Watt and Sherman can help McDermott transform the Bills from a playoff team to a Super Bowl victor.

Wade’s a good interview. Thoughtful, down-to-earth guy who’s very comfortable talking on air. Rooting for him.

Best wishes, brother. May your tailgate celebrations go on for another fifty years!

When I was in the army, we used to do a "After Action Review" after every mission. I didn't know that pilots take off their rank. Cool story, I thought: In normal years, Rivera and his wife, Stephanie, would host groups of players and their wives for dinner. After eating, Stephanie would have dessert with the wives in one room while Rivera held court with the players for a “debriefing.” “It’s what the military fighter pilots do after every mission,” Rivera said. “They literally take their ranks off of their uniforms and put them in the middle of this round table and they sit there and they have a forum and discuss what just happened. It’s a chance to be brutally honest.”