hondo in seattle

This part of the game is fascinating to me: leadership, building culture, loyalty, buy-in and so on. I've read dozens - if not hundreds of books - on these subject and appreciate the importance. I'm glad McD and the staff are digging in. But x's and o's are important too. I hope McD is also studying the latest gridiron tactical developments at both the college and pro level. And then what about preparation: walk-thru's, film-study and etc? There are a lot of theories about how to best prepare a team for a season or a game. What work is being done there?

Well, we celebrate Memorial Day in my family... usually - like today - with a family barbecue. I think those who sacrificed themselves would be pleased that we're honoring them with family celebrations. But I make it a habit of telling my wife and kids a different story each Memorial Day about a member of the Armed Forces who didn't make it home. One year, with weepy eyes, I told them the story of Bob Kalsu. Happy Memorial Day to all. RIP, Bob Kalsu.

Thanks to all who served. Prayers for all those who didn't make it back.

My thinking is similar. How much better is Kroft than the next guy up?

I think giving it to a fringe guy is intentional. "32" was unofficially retired. So the Bills are un-retiring it in baby steps, starting with a fringe guy. If Perry makes the team, it'll be really weird for old timers like me to see someone besides OJ wearing that number.

A friend of mine was once asked to babysit an actress while filming a movie on location. Her mission was to keep the actress - a big partier but not an addict - away from drugs. Well, that's quite the challenge. How do you entertain a partier without parties? Museums??? Parks??? My friend decided to throw drug-free (but not alcohol-free) parties at nice locations around the city. She says the plan worked - but only because of the limited length of the shoot. She couldn't have kept the actress out of trouble much longer. So my question is, how does a babysitter keep a trouble-maker out of trouble? I don't think you can expect sustainable success. People are who they are. Maybe a life-coach would be better than a baby-sitter. Maybe not.

I think the one thing interesting about the future of the running game is defense. Today's defenses are geared to stop the pass. Nickel is the most commonly run defense in the contemporary NFL. In the old days, linebackers used to be thumpers. Now many LBs have better coverage than tacking skills. It seems the time is ripe for a creative OC to build an offense around a strong running game to take advantage of today's defensive tendencies.

I really don't care what Prisco says (he's not any smarter than we are) but anyone watching how Beane has been managing the cap would conclude: * 2018 was a Cleanse-the-Cap year. * 2019 is Rebuild Year 1 * 2020 is Rebuild Year 2 Beane set himself up to have lots of picks and money this year, and lots of cap money again next year. It looks like he's betting big on 2020. The open question is how wisely he spends his draft and cap capital. So far, I like what I'm seeing but it's all speculation at this point.

Wow. I like Gore but I just don’t see him in the Jim Brown/OJ category.

To me, Steve is a perfect hometown media guy. He’s not as polished as some of the other national figures but knows the sport and loves the Bills.

There are of lot of running situations (3rd and 1, for example) where the D will load the box, whether the offense trots out a blocking TE or receiving TE. In those situations, Smith is a great blocker who can turn his assigned defender into a non-factor.

Considering we drafted 2 TEs, I wonder if Lee Smith's role is two-fold: block & mentor. They say he's a hard-working ("process") guy.

A 1 year deal doesn’t surprise me. A 3 year deal does.

This is true. That's why I never blamed Castillo when our offensive linemen looked overmatched. But I did blame him when they looked unprepared and/or out of position. And that happened too often.

I'll confess I didn't realize how bad Castillo was until we hired him. In fact, I remember Castillo getting positive reviews as the OL coach in Philly until they bizarrely made him the DC - apparently thinking at the time that he'd be an upgrade over our very own Sean McDermott! I was oblivious to his struggles in Baltimore.

I get what you're saying and agree that little Pike needs to get his own house in order. But when McD worked for Reid, he didn't become Reid.

As you probably know, no HC hires his dream staff his first year in the saddle. The best coordinators and position coaches are typically employed and under contract. When he came to the Bills, McD hired the best unwanted castoffs that were available. Over time, he'll continue to build his staff. This season, it sure feels like we have upgrades at the QB and OL coaching positions.

Congrats on changing your lifestyle and best of wishes in your continuing sobriety!

It's a low-risk, low-reward proposition - just a goodwill gesture for his dad. Pike's girlfriend in the story - Dani Cogswell - went to the same high school as my daughter. Dani was a great young lady by all accounts. I believe she was the 3rd ranked gymnast in the country when she was 9 or 10. Switched to cheerleading later on and led the HS team to the national finals. Effervescent, talented girl - killed by drugs. Very sad story.

The salary cap is generally good for the Bills because it prevents big market/high revenue teams from buying their way to championships at the expense of small market/low revenue teams. But I don't understand why any Bills fan would advocate for a salary cap for coaches/trainers/GMs at this point in Bills history. We have one of the richest owners in the NFL and he's demonstrated a willingness to spend those riches on the team. Why would we want to cap his spending???

I saw this too and was encouraged. Our OL looked physically overmatched at times last year. But other times they simply looked unprepared. I'll say this for Greg Roman - the running plays were well-designed and the offensive linemen, while not road graders, were typically in the right place at the right time doing the right thing. And that created running lanes. Unlike last season. The article says Bobby Johnson was "engaged and energetic." I'm guessing this is in contrast to Castillo who was what? Disengaged and lethargic? Games are won and lost in the trenches, as they say, and this will be a better year.

Any interest? "Rudolph is a potential trade candidate out of Minnesota after extension talks between him and the Vikings broke down on Friday morning, sources told NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport. There is interest in Rudolph's services around the league..." "Rudolph, soon to be 30 years old, hasn't missed a game since midway through the 2014 season and hasn't seen his production dip too much in recent years. The tight end reeled in 64 catches for 634 yards and four scores in 2018, and Rudolph made a Pro Bowl appearance in 2017." http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000001030498/article/vikings-could-trade-kyle-rudolph-after-talks-break-off

The kid from England, I think.

I really wanted DA to stick around this year. I was hoping Allen would stay healthy and we’d never actually see Anderson line up under center. But I thought DA could be useful in the mentor role.

Some of those mediocre guys are better than the bad players they'll replace. The others are good depth guys. Overall, we're going to field a better squad this year than last. And we're still looking at roughly $80 million in cap space in 2020. Watching Beane work, I've always thought 2020 was the year he'd field the team he really wants.