hondo in seattle

What's interesting to me is that some really good coaches had to wait a long time for their first Lombardi. And some not-so-good coaches didn't wait long at all.

I personally don't care what other people say. After 17 years of the Bills failing to make the playoffs, I'm deeply enjoying the ride with McD. It's fun to be good.

True. But it would also be hard to ignore his speed and playmaking ability. Hines averaged 47 catches/year in his five prior NFL seasons. Then he joined the Bills, a pass-happy team with a desperate need for an outlet receiver, and he hauls in only 5 passes. It was a criminal waste of talent though, supposedly, his slowness to learn the offense contributed to his lack of use. Beane says we'll see him more involved in the offense this year and that, to me, is good news. I'm indifferent about whether we use Harty or Hines on returns.

The weirdest thing is ESPN has us in a 4-3-4. Do they really expect us to change from a 4-2-5 or is that just laziness? Did ESPN standardize all 4 down linemen teams as 4-3-4? Do they really expect Leonard Floyd to line up as a LB??? They have Kincaid as TE2 and it's reasonable to list him that way. But clearly, Kincaid's role isn't to be Knox's backup. I'm excited to see how Dorsey uses him. I'm not entirely convinced Shakir starts. I'm keeping my eyes on Harty and Sherfield. Plus, you've gotta imagine we'll do more 1-2 this year and that would put Shakir on the bench. I'm not convinced that Cook starts. I think Harris will be the guy we see most often on first-downs. The OL is hardly set in stone. There will be a battle for the guard spots. And Brown's spot at RT isn't guaranteed if he doesn't play better than last season. I'm not sure what I expect at MLB this season. The whole post-Edmunds LB situation gets even more interesting if McD does indeed decide to run 4-3 more often. It'll be fun watching the LBs this preseason. Rapp is an interesting addition. Will we play big nickel more often?

I agree with everything you've said. And yet... as an old soldier I have to point this out. Soldiers are expected to win battles even when they haven't seen home for months, the food sucks, they're sleeping outdoors in crap weather, enemy soldiers are trying to kill them, and their friends are dying. I think McD is a very good football coach and I'm glad we have him. But he failed to have the team ready for Cinci. Leaders have to find ways to lead their guys to victory even when everything sucks. The circumstances McD was up against pales when compared to the circumstances some military leaders have successfully faced.

I'm okay with McD being Dungy. In the playoffs every year. Won a Lombardi.

You guys know this roster better than ESPN. I’m not interested in their projected depth chart but I am interested to see how preseason plays out. There will be some good camp battles and some decisions to be made.

Honest question... How many 3-4 base teams switch to a 4-man defensive front when going nickel? It's not something I pay much attention to, but it would seem that a 3-4 team would more naturally run a 3-3-5 nickel rather than a 4-2-5 nickel. Nickels come in different flavors. 4-2-5 and 3-3-5 are common but I've seen teams do 2-4-5 as well. Anyway, I agree with Oliver. He's somewhat overpaid but it's not egregious. I think Beane was in an uncomfortable position with no DTs under contract for next year. He had to do something.

Started his career well and then fell off a cliff. Had some injury issues as well as an unspecified personal issue which caused him to miss time with the Vikes. Once upon a time, they were excited about him in Minnesota. But he fell from CB1 to CB6 and was eventually waived. The Commanders then recently gave him a look but cut him after just two months. It's not a good career trajectory. Hopefully, he can reverse things with us though I'm not sure I'm optimistic. vikingsterritory.com/2021/general-news/cameron-dantzlers-fall-from-grace-is-mind-boggling www.si.com/nfl/vikings/news/surprising-fall-cameron-dantzler-cornerback-future-vikings-49ers-scratch

I don't watch because I don't care about Cowherd's take. There are a thousand talking heads in the media. The vast majority, like Cowherd, know less about the Bills than most of us here. Now I would watch if Cowher was talking about the Bills. I'm not sure if Bill knows more about the Bills but he does know far more about championship football than I do.

I was temporarily (???) suffering from HIBS (Head In Butt Syndrome). I meant to say that including the $10m fifth-year option, Oliver isn't super highly paid. According to Getzenberg's ESPN article: The $45 million guaranteed is tied for eighth-most most among active interior defensive line contracts, per ESPN Stats & Information research. With his $10.753 million fifth-year option included, Oliver is set to average $15.75 million in salary over the next five years, currently 16th among interior defensive linemen. Roughly half the league uses a 3-man front while the other half uses a 4-man front. That means there are roughly 48 starting D tackles in the league. By the time Ed plays out half his contract, his salary will be about average for a starting tackle. Which seems about fair.

We've restructured some contracts which every team does. But it's like using a credit card - you get what you want today but you have to pay for it later. That's my worry. So far, I think Beane has been judicious. But if Beane restructures another contract to sign DHop, I'll feel like we've crossed a line and mortgaged the future to win this year.

I don't doubt it in this case but I think agents sometimes tell guys like Rappaport that their client took a discount even when they didn't. Agents want teams to think the true value of their client is greater than it really is.

I get the win-now school, but I think it's a real concern that we're mortgaging the future. If going all-in this year means we won't be competitive in the future, I'm worried. I'd rather buy 10 lottery tickets than just 1. And with Josh, we could legitimately contend for the next 10 years if we save ourselves some cap space to do so.

Beane deserves a lot of credit for putting this roster together but McD made it easier for him by making Buffalo a place where FAs want to play.

When I first saw $68m for Ed, I thought, "What the heck is Beane doing?!?!" But I've settled down. If you include his 5th year option, Oliver will average about $10.75 over the next five years. That ranks 16th among DLinemen. If each team fields four down linemen, then there are 32 starting DTs in the NFL. But since some teams use 3-man fronts, there are actually fewer than 32 starting DTs in the NFL which makes Ed's pay less than average. And if you think ahead a couple of years, by then Ed's contract will be significantly below average for a starting DT.

I can't remember if McD or Beane said it, but one of them once stated it was very intentional. He said that being a DLineman is fatiguing since you're battling with full effort every play. To keep guys fresh, you need to platoon.

Build bridges, not walls. Find ways to connect with people, not reasons to disconnect.

Wes Walker and Steve Smith were both 5'9" - not appreciably bigger than Lil Dirty.

Agreed. Beane said that the Bills drafted Kincaid because they needed someone to work the middle of the field. He added that Crowder was supposed to do that job last year but got hurt. Reading between the lines, it seemed to me he was saying McKenzie couldn't effectively work the middle as the slot guy. Supports what folz said.

The vids are too painful to watch but, yeah, we all know last season Saffold was a subway turn style masquerading as an offensive lineman.

The cap is proving problematic but it's still good news that guys like OBJ, DHop, and Delvin Cook were all reportedly interested in joining the Bills. We've become a place where good players want to play. Unfortunately, we've also become a place where good players can't get paid.

Tenticle erotica??? I watch my one game a week and go back to reading books, writing, meditating, running mountain trails, playing with my husky, and hanging out with family. I don't watch very much TV outside of Bills games. I am borderline addicted to TBD, though, and most of my DHop knowledge come from you guys and the links you post. While I'd love to see DHop in a Bills uni, I don't like stealing from the future to pay for the present. And that's what we'd have to do to get him here - we'd have to restructure some contracts. I'm not sure what he adds is worth the cost.

Maybe one of the "rosterable" guys is injured, out-of-shape, or otherwise a disappointment?

Optimism * If Poyer, Hyde, and Tre are all healthy this year and play at peak levels, our secondary will be extremely good. * If Von gets healthy, our DLine will be very good. * Milano is already good. So if one of the other LBs steps up and reasonably replaces Edmunds, our LB play will be good. * If Josh's UCL stays healthy, he's an elite QB and a freaking force of nature. * If the new OL guys are as talented as hoped, our OL will be much better than last season. * Dorsey has a lot of diverse weapons to play with. If he grows as a coordinator, this offense will be fun. Pessimism * Too many if's