hondo in seattle

McD makes our D above average. Josh makes our O above average. We make the playoffs.

There's been a lot of hype - some of it well-founded, some of it overstated - about Josh's problems with turnovers. I think some see Josh as being undisciplined with the football.

The thing is, I do it to. This year, I consciously decided NOT to fall for any practice squad players or marginal backups. (Last year, I was on the Sherfield train for a while after reading the Tyler Dunne article). I think maybe we all just like underdog stories.

The P-Squad is full of unspectacular players every year. The spectacular guys make the final 53. Yet despite the overflowing mediocrity of the p-squad, every year we fans will fall in love with one of those marginal guys while barely paying attention to the other marginal guys who weren't good enough to make the final roster. I guess it's kind of like going to the animal shelter and falling in love with one particular puppy that nobody else wanted to adopt.

For those who do, he was a scout (Phoenix, Tampa), defensive assistant coach (Jets), and director of player administration (Jets). He was also an OC in college (Hofstra). In other words, he's not just a media guy. He's real a football man with experience in coaching, scouting, and salary cap administration.

I'm asking because I honestly don't recall: Who was he covering? Because if he was covering a 4.8 wideout who was later cut, it's not that impressive. Beane said - unsurprisingly - that one thing they look at is who the guy is playing against.

It's funny how we get enamored with some p-squad players and ignore others. For example, why isn't Te'Cory Couch getting any love?

Actually, that's probably the reasoning behind it. But the flaw is when everyone gets a trophy, it's kind of like no one getting a trophy because the trophy is made meaningless. What's better is giving the trophy only to those who earned it. And telling the others something like, "I believe in you and your potential! If you work hard and do the right things, you'll get a trophy next time!" You give the high acheivers awards. You give the rest hope and encouragement. That's what McD seems to do, and it's the right approach.

I think the OP brings up some excellent divergent data that's hard to explain. While this isn't a complete explanation, I will say this: If the Bills didn't limp into the last two playoffs with injuries and other significant events (Tops shooting, Damar's death and resurrection...), I think the recent Bills story would be different. If the Chiefs didn't have a generational lead trio (HC, DC, and QB), the story would be different. And if both those things didn't happen (if the Bills entered the playoffs healthy and the Chiefs only had Reid but not Spags and Mahomes), we'd all be praising Beane and McD as the best GM/HC combo in Bills history.

Last preseason, I thought we had a fair shot at a SB run. This offseason, I feel less confidence because this squad does seem a bit less talented/proven. But if we can get through the season with fewer injuries to key people, we could potentially enter the playoffs with a stronger gameday roster. Another variable is that we have new coordinators. While Babich may not autonomously run the defensive show, his elevation may add something to the D. And Brady has had an entire offseason to retool the offense and according to some sources has made some meaningful changes. It's not outside the realm of plausability that the 2024 version of the Bills ends up being better than the 2023 edition.

You're not wrong. But Doc Brown isn't wrong either. People generally perform better when authority figures (parents, teachers, bosses, coaches) show faith and confidence in them. This principle (the "Pygmalion Effect") has been studied & verified in the classroom, in sports, by the USAF, the Israeli military, etc. Conversely, people tend to perform worse when the authority figures in their lives don't exhibit confidence & belief in them - this anti-Pygmalion effect is sometimes known as the "Golem Effect." Beane and McD have both publicly expressed faith in Bass not because they are naive but because they know (intuitively or scientifically), it's the best way to help him (i.e. Pygmalion Effect). Doc Brown is saying, in his own words, that we don't want to have the Golem Effect working against us.

I think its about having guys who know the system.

Some of the excitement for fringe players confuses me. For example, we all know what Trubisky can and can't do. He's started 57 NFL regular season games. So we have strong opinions about whether or not he should be our backup. But some of these fringe guys have barely - if at all - seen live NFL gameday action. All we know about them is what we've seen in preseason and heard from second-hand camp reports from non experts. Beane and the coaches, on the other hand, know what kind of attitudes they have, how well and hard they practice, how they get along with coaches and teammates, how coachable and trustworthy they are, and so on. I'm not faulting Beane for any of the cuts when his knowledge of these guys is infinitely greater than mine.

My wife likes to watch my spending by checking our bank account online and giving me feedback on my purchases. The other day, I spent $1.87 to park for twenty minutes to park in San Francisco. Long enough, to pick up some good Argentine empanadas. By SF standards, $1.87 is really cheap for parking and my wife hasn't said boo. (And she shouldn't since she's the one who wanted Argentinian empanadas!) That's how I feel about this trade. We spent $1.87 on a returner. We gave away a sixth round pick and received a seventh rounder in exchange. The chances that either pick will result in an impact player is slim.

Is it? Beane is primarily responsible for acquiring players. But I think cutting players is more collaborative. The coaching staff works with these guys day in and day out. They know who should stay and who must go. I imagine, Beane, McD, and the coordinators all meet to discuss cuts, each bringing their own perspective and insights. I wonder who gets the final call but if I was in charge, I'd leave it in the hands of the head coach.

I get the point but... How is copying the 2006 Patriots with lesser athletes at the TE position qualify as forward thinking?

Most of this was very much expected. For me, Morrow is the biggest surprise on the made-it list. Well, not counting Codrington because I hadn't anticpated that at all. Of course, a few months ago I didn't think Andreessen had any chance.

If we're truly heavy at DB and thin at WR, it just means some happy DB who made the "final" roster is going to be heartbroken tomorrow when he's cut and replaced by a FA WR.

Maybe I wasn't watching closely enough. Although he doesn't good high end speed, I though Gore had quick lateral moves and made speedy decisions.

Weirdly, I'm not rooting for anyone. They may all be equally great kids who 'deserve' a chance to fulfill their dreams and earn a spot on an NFL roster. I'm just curious about how Beane is building the roster. I'm happy for the young men who make the final 53 and sad for the ones who don't.

It's about value. MVS is a cheaper Mr. Drop.

Back when I was in college (before the social media, internet, microwaves, or stone tools), I couldn't even name the Bills entire starting lineup. Now I care about the 5th and 6th WR, even knowing that they are not "weapons" and that the choice of the final receiver slot isn't likely to effect our W-L record in the slightest.

I think she's just letting us know that this wasn't officially announced by the Bills. If the Bills say they cut someone, they're cut. If a "source" says they cut someone, there remains a chance the source is wrong.

Weird. That's kind of what I thought when Van Miller retired and Murph took over.

There was some kind of wierd/special 'radar love' between Stevie and Fitz. Sometimes, I wondered how the hell Fitz knew where to throw the ball because Stevie was clearly not running a designed play. After a while, I decided that sometimes Fitz was just throwing the ball to a spot on the field that defenders couldn't get to, trusting that Stevie could. And he did. At its best, the Stevie-Fitz show was both strange and exciting to watch.