hondo in seattle

Exactly. That rookie year was uncanny. I remember plays where Byrd seemed lost. But then the ball would be deflected right to him. 9 picks his freshman year in the NFL and averaged 2/year for the rest of his career. I actually thought his skills got better in this 2nd and 3rd years. But his luck got worse.

I always thought Byrd was overrated. Often out of position. The picks seemed more a function of luck than superior play’ Good to see the other top 5 spots are held by current Bills.

We have a SB caliber QB. But, IMHO, we haven't had a SB caliber roster. And yet folks want to fire the HC for not getting to the SB. Pre-McD, for 17 years long painful years, we didn't stand a chance of getting to the SB. We finally found a coach who gets into the playoff dance. We haven't won yet, but each year with McD we have hope. We enjoy a possibility that we didn't have before. Yet we want to fire the guy. We'd rather roll the dice on a hot coordinator when history tells us most hot coordinators flame out as HCs. I've heard all the arguments but, personally, I don't get it.

If I'm reading this right, it's weird. Half of Davis's routes are either nines, posts, or digs? And he barely runs routes to the outside (corner, out, comeback)? Doesn't seem balanced.

FWIW, PFF has our receiving corps rated ninth in the league. Since we're striving for a SB, I'd rather be rated #1, especially since we're a passing team. But we have a pretty good group and I think Josh will do some damage this year with these guys. www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/bills-wr-corps-ranked-among-league-s-best-in-pff-s-latest-reveal/ar-AA1cESnM?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=3e0541621d75421c9353463770518624&ei=7

You're probably right: Diggs missing the first day was probably not a Josh issue. And I hope you're right that the Diggs-Allen spat is over. I don't have any inside information. I don't know what's going on. But it is something I'm interested enough in to watch closely with some degree of concern. I felt more comfortable when we kept hearing about the bromance between the two. But even if the bromance is over - and maybe it's not - that doesn't mean that the two of them can't tear it up together on the field.

Dak is reportedly a good leader. I don't know why people are upset by this. I think there are people on this board with better leadership skills than Allen. That's not a knock on Josh. But leadership doesn't seem to be Allen's forte. He's a strong-armed talented passer, a good runner, a fierce competitor, and an overall nice guy. But nothing I've seen or heard makes me think he excels as a leader. Then again, my opinion is based on observations from afar. I've never been in the huddle or locker room with Josh. But Beas has.

Obviously, I don't know who the friction is with. And it might be with more than one person. The one thing we do know is that Diggs blew up on Allen on the sideline only a few months ago. It's only speculation and rumor that Diggs is mad at anyone else.

A better version of Lil' Dirty.

I think the Bills are more likely to win the AFCE than the Jets, Fins, or Pats. But every year funny, unexpected things happen in the NFL so nothing is guaranteed. The funny, unexpected thing that I hope happens this year in the AFC is that the Bills beat both the Chiefs and Bengals on their way to the Lombardi.

A best-of-three playoff system would be fairer. But that's not realistic. I think we all have to accept that the system isn't entirely fair and the best team doesn't always win the Super Bowl. No matter what you do with the playoffs, you still only end up with 1 winner. 31 fan nations are going to be upset. GMs, coaches, and QBs will be the principal objects of their wrath.

I evaluate the same way: results versus talent. So, yes, it's reasonable. I can't imagine doing it any other way. I've noticed that. We haven't won a SB, yet, but we are winning a lot of games. So between Beane and McD, one of them must be doing something right.

When you enter the playoffs with playoff-average talent/health, you can expect an average playoff W-L record. The thing with a 1st round bye (three years in a row now) is that you jump into the playoffs when only the very good teams are left. Games between two very good teams is a coin toss. In 17 years before McD, we had zero playoff appearances. Since McD, we've had 9. I don't see his playoff record as a mark against him. It's a mark for him. For the past 3 or 4 years, we've entered each season with maybe a 10% or so probability of winning it all. That's a huge improvement over the 0% chance we had pre-McD. With enough time, he'll bring home a Lombardi. There's no guarantee, as you say. But there's no guarantee that Reid or Belichick will win another Super Bowl either. It's a game of probabilities and you do the best you can to tilt the odds in your favor. McD is doing that. Andy Reid didn't win the SB till his 21st season as a head coach. Now he's won 2 of the last 4. There's often a learning curve with these guys. And some luck. Plus, it sometimes takes time for HCs to build the staff they want. McD's first year, he hired whatever assistants he could find who weren't already under contract somewhere else. The longer McDs in the league as a stable, winning HC, the more good assistants and coordinators will want to work for him. I like the Pittsburgh model: only 3 head coaches in the past 54 years. That stability has brought them 6 Super Bowl wins. Coaches, trainers, and all the other staff of a franchise prefer to work in a stable environment. Stable teams attract better talent. Or we could follow the Bills model: fire your head coach whenever you feel disappointed. During that span when Pittsburgh had 3 HCs, we had 18. That instability brought us zero championships.

C'mon. Even the ''68 Bills, who went through 5 quarterbacks, won one game.

A few of my mafia brothers and sisters mention the tougher schedule. I don't really care about that. As long as the Bills stay reasonably healthy, they'll be AFCE champs once again. And, if healthy, they have a chance to make a run in the playoffs. Though with 31 other teams - maybe a dozen of which are legitimately good - it's foolish to predict, or demand, a SB appearance. But I probably feel better about the Bills this offseason than I have since the early 90s.

Florio is fine for what he is: lawyer-turned-NFL-commentator. If he's reporting something new, which is rare, I'll pay attention. But if he's analyzing the Bills, I really don't care what he has to say. He's not a good football analyst. Nearly all of us at TBD know more about Beane, McD, and the Bills in general than he does.

From SI's Packers coverage: How did a player with such a meager history in the small-time world of Division III football get a shot in the NFL? A 4.49-second time in the 40 at 6-foot-4 and 248 pounds and a broad jump that rivaled any tight end to ever participate in the Scouting Combine. www.si.com/nfl/packers/transactions/packers-give-chance-to-former-d-iii-player-with-meager-history

For some reason, this thread makes me think of the old saying: "Arrogance is God's gift to little men."

I hope you are right. I really do. But why did McD say they all needed some space? You don't need "space" unless there's some friction. It was great to see Diggs on the field with his teammates yesterday, but I still worry there might be some residual bad feelings. Hopefully, Diggs puts those aside and performs.

You just did. But the point is valid. I know high-IQ folks who don't openly talk about their scores. Their attitude is often something like: the only thing a high IQ proves is that you're good at taking IQ tests. Something similar goes on with soldiers. Prince Harry brags in his book that he killed something like 25 enemy soldiers. As a combat veteran myself, I can tell you that many/most soldiers who notched kills don't brag about it.

Despite the SB buzz, I wasn't super confident going into 2022. New OC, new starting WR2, new starting slot receiver, crap OL... I'm probably a bit more confident now than I was last year at the same time. With meager resources, I think Beane's done a really nice job improving the roster.

Cowherd has a show because he's a good talker, not because he has good judgment. I don't value his opinions. Most of us on TBD know more about the Bills than he does.

I think you're right. I heard a MD explain that a UCL issue may indeed interfere with short passes more than long. Beane said that Crowder's injury hurt a lot because he was supposed to be the undeneath guy.

You're right. But the context matters. It's not that a guy is missing. It's that one of our star players might be mad at another star player or a coach. Fear makes this wonder where this is heading.

No, I absolutely did not foresee the injuries or the death on the field. But, yeah, I did post my concerns about the OL before the season. While I didn't buy the hype during the offseason, I was starting to buy into it during the season. We looked really dominant for a while. If I recall correctly, at one point about a quarter through the season, both our O and D were ranked #1 in the league. I was jazzed. And then, one by one, things started going wrong - though we still won a lot of games. It's weird. My memory of the 2nd half of the season is a lot drearier than the W-L record or point-differential says it was. But we looked off - thanks in part to the mounting injuries. But I also believe Dorsey could have been better.