Mango

Really tough break for the Bengals this year. Burrow has had a couple big time injuries early in his career. And just as his calf seems to be on the mend this happens. This is good for Buffalo though. We need some help given our schedule and record at this point.

They should get used to it. At least compared to the level of winning they have been used to the last 3-4 years. Even if the Bills win a SB this year, they have a looming low/mid-level reset. We are the oldest team in the league with something like 25 pending FA's and no cap space next year. We have to clear out some a lot of our age and expensive contracts without much depth in the wings. It will likely mean a bit of a step back to retool and reload. Not that I expect us to be bad. We have a QB. But I expect us to be about a 10-7 team in 2024 and maybe 2025. Turns out that record may be coming a year sooner than planned.

Sheesh, could you imagine if the same people who owned the Sabres owned the Bills....

I think this basically answers a lot of questions as to why we often don't see guys get involved early in their career or why some guys just cannot participate like TJ Yeldon. Also weird to talk about "Less time on the roster". I get that people think he is talking about Davis and maybe he is. But if you apply it to the RB position which is what he was asked about, he played a PS player and brand new FA over a guy that has had 27 games and done a pretty great job of protecting the football. It doesn't exactly track for the conversation being had.

Honestly, I think this team scared itself with the Jets game to open the season. They bounced back, but found themselves in one of their midseason lulls like we have seen before, and what we are seeing is a team collectively grip too tight.

You and I have argued about Allen a bit over the years. But that would be insane. Allen is the franchise. He is the most important person at OBD, getting and keeping him firing hot is and should always be the priority. If the Bills were to move on from Allen, it can't be over a battle of wills. He has to be toast, done, or "washed" as the kiddos say these days. And I don't believe Allen's and I don't thin Allen believes or wants his career to be over. Soooo.....Deuces McD.

I am very curious what McD's thoughts are on this.

For all the talk about Dorsey's X's and O's I think your point was likely his biggest flaw. A huge part of coaching isn't just telling people the right things to do, it is getting them to do those things, finding the right words, to get the desired results. In fact, most coaches in the NFL are likely pretty comparable when it comes to x's and o's, but the difference between good to great is communicating that, and providing the proper environment/structure around it. Like a bunch of former QB's have said "guys are open, you have to make a play". Some of that is on the individual and some is on the coach. Whatever Dorsey was saying, nobody was hearing. It was time to move on because of that more so than any play call.

I agree. I think part of it is that the position is just getting an overall better athlete too. Those guys bring an additional value add. When their passing can be "good enough" they also bring an extra variable. I still think the QB position is pass first in this league. Maybe the NFL goes the way of the NCAA, where eventually you can just have a RB back there. But until then, if a QB wants to have longevity in this league they need to become proficient passers first and foremost. For long term success mobility is in "addition to", running cannot be in "replacement of" if QB's want to stick around for a while. To Fraziers point, Allen is a great athlete, rocket arm, and a good but not great passer. I think Josh getting a better feel for when to run, when to risk it, and when to take what's there will go a long way.

The comment was snarky, but it was specifically towards the Bills-Broncos game. A game where the Bills had zero 9 play drives. Edit: I took a quick gander at offensive plays per game, and the Bills rank 19th. So to their and your points, numbers of plays seems to be a problem.

Brady was on his podcast. Linked below. The Manning’s was from the Manningcast during the game. But there were comments like “if you have to throw it that hard it makes you wonder if you should throw it at all” and “they’re giving him everything underneath. Just march down the field. Does he know he is allowed to have a 10,11 play drive?”

I agree. Also, Stef has been great this year. Sure I wish he would put some of this to bed but to his point he’s been a total professional this season. I appreciate he’s unhappy and grateful he’s improved as a player and a teammate. If he has to go at some point he has to go. I’ll be upset but understand from all parties. Hoping he ends his career here though.

I am not advocating cutting or trading him unless of course he demands it. And to your point, why the fork would he do that, his situation here is pretty good. His "net negative" is $3M next year. My only argument is with people who say "he can't be moved his contract is too prohibitive". It isn't. That said, I don't think he finishes his contract here in Buffalo. It is just really high and extends all the way passed his 34th birthday After 2024 the team saves money by moving on. Right now I think $27-$28M for a receiver is too big of a hit multiple years in a row. I wouldn't balk at a high year or two, but he is about to have 4 of them. The only way to avoid those numbers and keep him is an extension. at a value I would guess he wouldn't take right now. He is a top 5 receiver and we would be asking him to sign a 3 year $12M AAV deal. Which sounds crazy. But also he would be 37 tears old when that ends and we have no idea the type of player anybody will be at that age.

I posted elsewhere, no I do not think it is. Pre-June 1 Trade: The team does have to eat $31M in dead cap yes. But Diggs is would cost $28M to have on the roster. So it isn't a net $30M dead cap hit, the Bills only lose $3M. There is one positive to a pre-June 1 cut and that is that Diggs is off of the books entirely for 2025. Post-June 1 Trade: The Bills gain $19M for the 2024 season. Huge positive, especially given our cap situation for 2024. On the other hand we have $22M in dead Diggs money for 2025. Which would stink, but it is nearly identical if he were on the roster. So the net change is $0 for 2025. Depending on the date a Diggs trade in 2024 has a cap hit of up to $19M for that season. That is 14th highest WR cap hit in that year. That is very good value. And because Buffalo has restructured Diggs about as far as they can, they own all the bonus money (which is essentially what dead cap is), any team that makes that trade will save money if they cut/trade him in 2025 or beyond.

Or what if they wanted to talk about how all communication should be in giant double spaced lettering?

Listening to Diggs presser. He has a level head around Dorsey. He also seems the most upbeat about it from everybody I have heard. I do wish the reporters would have the balls to redirect the question around his brother based on his answer. "You will have to ask my brother about that, because that is how he feels"....OK dude, how do you feel about your brothers thoughts on Josh Allen? Do you feel the same way? He hasn't really walked the statement back...at all... "Does it matter how I feel?" "Personal feelings are personal. I am a professional at the end of the day" This is where things always get so messy. He didn't say anything controversial. All in all this was a decent presser. But he also seems to consistently refuse to put this issue to bed. It is why he gets asked about it so often. Because things happen. He acts a certain way. Or his brother tweets about certain things. And he never ever just says "no".

What in the Marty McFly? Am I the only one weirded out by how similar McDermott and Brady look?

I wasn't piling on Josh, but to your point in the last 2 weeks 4 HoF QB's have said Josh needs to be a better decision maker. Warner, Brady, Eli, and Peyton. I was simply adding some color that actually gave maybe some pause for concern outside of Josh himself, and that may actually be our former QB coach and new Offensive Coordinator. Warner points out early that Allen isn't getting his feet set on time, sometimes early sometimes late. He specifically says he has to pair his drop back with the routes. It was something that was an issue early in his career. Something that Dorsey as his QB coach was able to help remedy. It is certainly plausible that part of Allen's problems fall on his newest QB coach not addressing it effectively. This was my point. Specifically to your point about "those who blame Allen". Tom Brady isn't right all the time, Kurt Warner isn't right all the time, Eli Manning isn't right all the time, and Peyton Manning isn't right all the time. These guys are not infallible. But when all 4 seem of those guys align on a single issue it deserves some traction. How much much attention to it certainly varies, but if those 4 guys are saying you are doing the same thing wrong, they are probably right.

Good video from Warner. I tend to agree with this. Overall there is something going on with the offense and I am not sure if it is as simple as Josh, Dorsey, etc. Part of me is a bit excited, but Warner eluded to something I am suddenly a little worried about. Josh is having some difficulty timing his footwork to the routes and setting his feet on time (early/late). Dorsey has OC is certainly in charge of everything, but as stuff gets more granular like the fundamentals of your footwork and decision making, eventually this gets drilled into by the positional coaches. Whether we like it or not, Dorsey was part of the staff (QB Coach) who helped fix this issue with Josh. I think there is a chance some things get worse under Brady if these are Josh's issues with him as his QB coach.

Not that you are doing this, but people talk about dead cap without relating it to the cap hit with the player on the roster. Pre-June 1 Trade: The team does have to eat $31M in dead cap yes. But Diggs is would cost $28M to have on the roster. So it isn't a net $30M dead cap hit, the Bills only lose $3M. There is one positive to a pre-June 1 cut and that is that Diggs is off of the books entirely for 2025. Post-June 1 Trade: The Bills gain $19M for the 2024 season. Huge positive, especially given our cap situation for 2024. On the other hand we have $22M in dead Diggs money for 2025. Which would stink, but it is nearly identical if he were on the roster. So the net change is $0 for 2025. One point of contention to the bolded. This one is just me being a bit pedantic so I apologize. But the NFL isn't like the NHL, teams cannot barter cap dollars because contracts are not guaranteed. Diggs would have to sign a new deal. And frankly I see no need to. I think his contract is friendly enough for a trade. Once Buffalo eats his bonus money, Diggs becomes super easy to move on from whenever the trading team see's fit. See above. Diggs isn't untradeable next season. Depending on the date of trade Diggs will either save this team $19M or cost the team an additional $3M for the season. Any team that acquires Diggs in 2024 has a $19M cap hit for that season. That is 14th highest cap hit in that league year among WR. That is very good value. And because Buffalo has restructured Diggs about as far as they can, they own all the bonus money (which is what dead cap is), any team that makes that trade will save money if they cut/trade him in 2025 or beyond. (Just a disclaimer, I am not advocating we trade him. Just pointing out it is totally manageable) https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/buffalo-bills/stefon-diggs-16872/

I agree to an extent. But even if this was the 85 bears defense, I think the offense would draw a ton of criticism still. The Diggs/Allen contracts are just too high to be stifled this often. I also think that since Josh is the franchise, when he struggles others around him take more heat for it whether or not they are to blame. Just to be clear, I think criticisms of the staff and the player are warranted. But to your point I have been pounding the table the last few seasons that we have long had some of the most highly paid front DL and/or LB groups in the league but have rarely gotten top 5 production from either. I know it is hotly contested at the moment, but I don't the defense has done "OK" this season all things considered and we don't have our starting DT, CB1, CB2, FS, and LB. There are a lot of pieces missing and we are getting winnable production out of them as long as the offense doesn't keep turning the ball over and can score more than 20 points. I think the biggest hurdle for McD is whatever is going on in the locker room/he has lost the team.

I remember this play and in the moment I was mildly annoyed, but in the context of the game it isn't even a blip for me. That said, I think he did a decent job of curing his route into the soft spot of the zone so he gets some points. My quick $0.02 on the play is that I think he saw the safety had the angle on him, so he thought if he slipped inside the safety he could get a block and slow him down and take it to the house. Otherwise he saw the play ending 10 yards (or whatever) up field. He is fast but not quick, he won't get up to speed quickly. This isn't a part of Gabe's game that holds him back.

I first read this as "Allen chants" after the coin toss. And frankly that sounds way better. Allen just starts a slow clap and generically chants "fans.........fans.......fans.......fans......fans....fans..fans..fans.fans".

This is a good point I hadn’t thought of. I’ll add on, I don’t think McD is the dud some paint him as. He also isn’t a world beater. Good coaches run their course sometimes. It’s exceedingly rare for guys in pro sports to have tenures like Ruff and BB.

Dorseys game against the Jets was more or less unanimously considered successful. I’m not trying to bring the other threads into this one. But I have some concern over Dorsey not planning this one and just installing Brady during the bye.