hondo in seattle

Gunner said "Bold" so here I go: Josh passes for more than 4,500 yards and earns MVP honors. Bills finally beat the Chiefs in the playoffs. Samuel surpasses 1,000 yards. Coleman starts the season slow but establishes himself as a legit starter in the 2nd half of the season.

Maybe my memory is faulty but why does it seem our star defensive players (Tre, Milano, Von) are the ones who keep getting major injuries? I don't want anyone to be hurt, but why don't our scrubs end up on IR instead? As much as we worship at the altar, the Gridiron Gods seem to have it in for us.

Yeah, GB, that's the fear. A look at 2023separation: Kincaid 4.1 Shakir 3.8 Diggs 2.8 Davis 2.8 What I want is for that list to tell me is that we lost the right guys. Kincaid and Shakir got more open than Diggs and Davis and gave Josh easier completions. But that might not be the case. First of all, separation is a wonky, subjective stat. Secondly, Diggs attracted more defensive attention than Kincaid or Shakir. Still, I do find the separation stats a bit encouraging, maybe because I'm a homer. And the homer in me hopes the tweaks Brady is adding to the offense compensate for Diggs' departure.

I like and respect McD. But Reid is probably a better offensive mind than McD is a defensive mind. Both are pretty good at offseason preparation, building teamwork, getting a team to execute, etc. Where Reid has a big advantage is with the coordinator on the other side of the ball. McD is on his 4th OC, still searching for the right guy. Hopefully, Brady proves to be the one. Reid and Spags are a dynamic duo. Both are strong at what they do. Best 1-2 coaching pairing in the league. The Reid-Spags-Mahomes combo is (sadly) special. We'd have a Lombardi by now if not for them.

Production has a lot to do with scheme and targets. Last year's scheme was built around Diggs and Davis, mostly Diggs. I think you'll see Shakir's production go up this year. Probably Kincaid's too. People will fill the void. If you look at catch rate and separation stats, you could make a strong argument that Kincaid and Shakir were better receivers than Diggs and Davis last year. Let's see how they do with more opportunity. I wouldn't say I'm supremely confident, but I'm definitely not pessimistic. More just curious.

I'm not sure it's better. I hope it is. I'm confident it's not significantly worse. At the end of last year, Diggs was mediocre and Davis struggled to gain separation all season long. The best receivers at the end of the season were Kincaid and Shakir and they're both still on the team.

This is an interesting assertion and maybe there's some truth in it. WR production is often as much about scheme and QB play as it is about the talent of the WR. Maybe putting Samuel in Brady's scheme with Josh under center will turn him into a star. When I was in high school, we had two total coaches for the whole team, O and D combined. Both coaches had played line in college. As a receiver, I received no coaching on how to beat press coverage, which foot to cut from, how to find the soft spot in a zone, or any of that. My daughter's high school had five coaches... just for receivers. Something like thirty coaches for the whole team, not to mention 6 strength & conditioning coaches. And kids these days go to football camps in the summer which I never did. In other words, the guys who make it to the NFL nowadays are all - to a greater or lesser extent - genetically superior, well-conditioned, and masters of their craft. It's kind of like the men's 100m final at the Olympics where the winner was only 1.2% faster than the last-place finisher. In some fields of athletic endeavor, there's not a lot of difference between the top guys. I do believe, however, that there is a big difference between the NFL's #1 best WR and #30 best receiver. But not so much between #10 and #40. So maybe our wideout group is 3% worse than the better groups in the NFL. Brady's scheme and Josh's arm will - hopefully - compensate.

My Negative Nancy side thinks this: It's not good when you're a passing team and your starting RB can't catch and neither can the guy you brought in to be your speedster/deep threat. But I have some thoughts about Nancy's negativity. Cook had some critical drops last season. But his catch rate (81.5%) was actually above average for a RB. Maybe because his big-moment failures stick in my memory, I'm underestimating his hands. And maybe there's a little confirmation bias going on. I'm noticing every drop, even the ones reported from the practice field, and saying, "Ah. That confirms it. He's a mutant who was born with hands of stone."

You're right. I didn't mean to paint all CEO's with a single brush stroke. That long ago conversation left a lasting impression on me. Yet, actual CEOs I've known have had very diverse leadership philosophies - some quite admirable. You're also right about Terry. He's a smart guy. Whatever he may have said, what he probably meant was that he hoped to get more leadership out of Josh. You were lucky to have such a good boss. Sadly, there are some bad ones out there, too.

You may be right. Maybe Milton would have been a better choice - if he was available. But Trubisky had three mediocre 3,000+ yard seasons. In other words, he's got a lot of NFL gametime experience. And that's good because the 2nd stringer isn't going to get as many reps as the QB1. So you want someone who can take the field in the middle of a game without a lot of practice and take control without a gallon of jitters. I also think an experienced vet has more value on the sideline and in meeting rooms than a rookie. If Josh misses an entire season, we're cooked. But if he misses, let's say, four games, we may be able to win two with Mitch - enough to keep us in the playoff race.

In 2018, he threw for 3,000+ yards in 14 games with a passer rating of 95.4 and a QBR of 71. He's not entirely devoid of talent. But I heard a scout once explain the poor hit rate with QBs. According to him, no college QBs are truly NFL-ready. So you have to guess who will improve their mental skills (schemes, pre-snap reads, leadership, etc.) as well as their physical skills. Part of this is psychology: Who's going to avoid the distractions that come with fame and money and do the work? It's all guesswork. Educated guesswork, to be sure, but still fraught with uncertainty. For whatever reason, Chicago seemed to expect more growth from Trubisky than he delivered.

I followed that link and saw "Mansfield Wrotto" was listed as our starting RT. I have no recollection of this guy. Zero. I looked him up and he only played 3 years in the NFL but started 7 games for the Bills in 2010. He left no lasting impression on me. I didn't think any former Bills starter over the best few decades would be obscure to me.

I agree with Doc Brown about this being a cap allocation issue. Just look at our WR room and its lack of big names. While I'm not super negative on this group, we'd have an established star in there if we hadn't started the season in Cap Hell. I don't think Beane wants to pay a lot for a QB insurance policy when he hasn't (yet) built a SB quality roster of starters. As for third string, I want a guy who's smart, gets along with his teammates, and says intelligent, productive things in QB meetings. I don't care if has a noodle arm because if we're down to our 3rd stringer, we're screwed anyway. Josh is the alpha and omega of our offense.

When I first saw this post, it brought up an old memory. I work in the restaurant industry. And I was once told about a retired Marine Gunnery Sergeant who was now working as the General Manager of a fast food restaurant. He was failing which I thought was odd since I have a lot of respect for gunnery sergeants. So I went to talk to the guy to see what was going wrong. To my dismay, I discovered he didn't know how to prep food, take orders, make orders, or much of anything else. I told him he was violating atleast two of the military's 11 Principles of Leadership: "Lead by example," and "Be technically and tactically proficient." He didn't know squat and hung out in his office all day. His counterargument went something like this, "Here's how I think about it. I'm the CEO of multimillion dollar business. Maria is my VP of Operation and Jacob is my Comptroller. CEOs delegate. They don't do grunt work." No wonder he was failing! I've hated the CEO model of leadership ever since. If Terry really said Josh should be like a CEO, he was wrong. Josh shouldn't be aloof from the grunts. Instead, he should be like a good Marine NCO and roll up his sleeves to work alongside them but, at the same time, demanding teamwork, effort, and flawless execution.

Tillman & Kalsu

I don't know if the WR room got better, but it may have gotten more productive. But let's start with my pessimistic thoughts: We lost Diggs and didn't replace him with anyone as talented. Joe Brady wasn't good last season. He didn't demonstrate any ability to scheme a good passing attack. Outside the Dallas game, he was even more inept at scheming a running attack. But here's how passing production may go up anyway: Diggs's departure has created a lighter, freer mood among the offensive players. This might result in more productive dialogue, teamwork, and leadership from Josh. Brady has, reportedly, been adding more presnap movement and new concepts to the offense. Only one guy truly needs to step up. Shakir and Samuel are already legit starters. We need one of the following to step up and prove they're legit as well: Hollins, Coleman, Claypool, Shavers, or MVS. Just one - that doesn't seem like too big an ask. The others will be competent backups.

Just Quit the Season??? Did we quit when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?

Thanks for the recommendation. I went to college in the late 70s at a school with a very diverse student body with kids from all over America. One time, a group of us were sitting around eating pizza when I said something about wishing the pizzaria had wings. The other kids all looked at me like I had a genital organ growing out of my forehead. I didn't understand what the confusion was about. One kid from Long Island had to explain. He said he'd been to Buffalo and didn't like it. There was nothing there, he claimed, except bowling alleys and beer bellies. Even the woman had beer bellies, he said, but then went on the extoll the virtue of the "Buffalo Wing." Until that moment, I didn't know they were called "Buffalo Wings" and that people outside of Buffalo didn't eat chicken wings independently of chickens. In the 1980s, Buffalo wings started appearing on menus across the US, though the wings were often small and the flavor profile was off. But since then, I've had many good "Buffalo Wings" outside of Buffalo and many great wings made from Thai, Korea, Brazilian, and other recipes. I hate to say this, but the best wings I've ever had were probably at an Asian restaurant, not in Buffalo. I do wonder, though, did these other countries always have chicken wing recipes? Or did Buffalo popularize wings and then the world's chefs added their own native flavors and flair?

Claypool's roster spot seems far less sure to me now than it did back then. And Hollins will fill the role that I expected either MVS or Claypool to fill. With all the doom and gloom some fans felt, I've been okay with the Beane put together on a budget. Shakir and Samuel are legit starters. To field a decent, if not great, threesome of WRs we just needed one guy to step up between Coleman, Hollins, MVS, and Claypool. It's always seemed likely at least one of them would.

I went to the Bar Bill in Clarence. Next time, I'll try the East Aurora location which I've heard is better/more consistent. Sometimes on trips back to Buffalo, I stop at the Anchor Bar. They may not have the best wings but they started it all. It's like coffee fans going to the original Starbucks in Seattle when another Starbucks, serving the very same products with a much shorter line, is only a block away. You gotta honor beginnings. So far, my favorite wing place in Buffalo is Duff's though I like to try one new place each visit.

I can't say that's not a legitimate worry because it crossed my mind as I wrote my response. MVS was seeminly brought here to be the guy who can separate deep. But I think his talent for that is overrated by some. In any case, I think he puts grease on his hands instead of stickum. But I also wonder a few things... Samuel has good burst and top end speed. Although he hasn't been used extensively as a deep threat, he may have some potential there. Keon does haven't tremendous speed but not all deep threats do. Gabe Davis was - supposedly - a deep threat and he only ran a 4.54 at the combine. In a different era, Steve Largent was a 4.7 guy and became a viable deep threat and HOFer regardless. Jordy Nelson ran a 4.51 and found ways to be productive deep. Etc. I probably haven't watched enough tape of Keon to see if he has this ability but I'm not sure how relevant college film is when his QB wasn't Josh. The two might find a chemistry that Keon didn't have before. Mack Hollins isn't a 'deep threat' per se but he's not just an underneath, safety-valve kind of dude either. In 2022, the only year he was targeted a lot, Hollins' Targeted Air Yards of 12.7 yards ranked him 19th in the league for average depth of target. And there's this. Allen only completed 31.6% of his deep balls last year, 24th in the league. Our deep game wasn't very effective in 2023. I don't think it's going to get worse. It may get better - not because of better wideouts but because of better coordinating/scheming. As a fan, I hope.

Maybe cuz I'm old, but I miss bands starting with "The..." The Doors The Turtles The Yardbirds The Kinks The Byrds The Zombies The Allman Brothers Band The Beach Boys The Clash

Last time I was in Buffalo, I stopped by both Bar Bill and Duff's. Maybe Bar Bill was having a bad day because the Duff's wings were much better.

GB, do you truly expect the Bills to play small ball this year? There would be two reasons to transition to small ball. (1) We no longer have the personnel to stretch the field vertically, or (2) McD and Brady prefer small ball philosophically. I don't think either are true. Our team speed isn't bad. And I think McD and Brady are smart enough not to ask Josh to be Ryan Tannehill. When you have a big gun, you shoot it. I think they want to play opportunistic, situational football. To oversimplify, if they see two high, they'll throw underneath. If the OL is struggling, they'll call quick-hitting passes. If they see light boxes, they'll run. And if they 'stack the box on Cook,' Allen's going to fire an artillery round downfield. When Brady says that everyone's gonna eat, I don't think he means curls, flats, and bubble screens.

Maybe because I'm a bit color blind, the buffalo doesn't pop enough for me. Plus, I'm not a huge fan of the standing buffalo. Why is just standing around? Bored? Falling asleep? It's not very fierce or dynamic looking.