mjt328

I've never been happier NOT to have a star running back. Now in addition to them being the worst value on the roster, they are becoming a massive off-field distraction. I'm perfectly happy rolling into the season with James Cook, Damien Harris and Latavius Murray, and letting other teams deal with the mess.

This. Some positions can flash in training camp. But at this point, the linemen are just going through the motions with their hands and feet. Until they put on pads and are playing at least somewhat physical, it's really hard to draw anything from their performance in practice.

The Bills had some REALLY bad offensive coordinators during the drought. But there was just something about Nate Hackett that was especially awful. Not sure I could even put my finger on it, but I must say I was floored when the Broncos hired him last year.

So basically, Stefon Diggs is frustrated that he's getting older and the Bills haven't figured out how to get over the hump in the playoffs. Completely understandable. That's exactly how I feel as a fan on the sidelines. Not sure exactly what was said at the meeting with Beane/McDermott, but for some reason the head coach believed that Diggs needed a day to cool-off and dismissed him from OTA practice. He then used a poor choice of words at the press conference to explain the absence, and the story blew up way bigger than it should have. The media had plenty of reason to pursue this story. But the rampant speculation that many "reporters" dished out... about Diggs being upset with the quarterback, wanting input in the playbook, demanding we sign DeAndre Hopkins, etc., etc., etc. Those guys should be ashamed of themselves and resign from their jobs.

Wow. Couldn't even make it to training camp before the first season-ending injury.

Jalen Hurts probably has the best O-Line in football, and one of the best #1-2 WR combos. Not to mention his breakout season happened during a ridiculously easy schedule in 2022. I want to see him continue the high-level of play for multiple seasons, before I rank him ahead of guys who have been doing it for 3-4 years (or even longer).

Every person requires a different approach. Some players need hard practices and ruthless coaching in order to stay motivated. Others respond better to softer practice sessions, and coaches who are less "in-your face." Beane/McDermott seem to understand what kind of players fit well in this locker room.

I voted Daniel Jones. The worst thing a team can have is an average QB on a franchise QB contract. The Giants surprised a little bit last year, but I see them falling back out of the playoffs and Jones getting the majority of the blame. Unfortunately, I don't think Aaron Rodgers is the decline that some Bills fans tend to believe. He has some weapons in New York, and some renewed motivation. Hopefully we can fight them off, but I think the Jets are going to be very tough this season. I could see David Carr bouncing back a little bit as well, especially in a very weak division. Lamar Jackson's deal will look fine by the end of 2023. I just don't think he continues to play at an elite level over the long-term, and the Ravens might be regretting it a couple more seasons down the line.

A player's "value" is only what NFL teams are willing to pay. And for many legitimate reasons, teams are realizing it's not worth paying Running Backs big contracts. Considering the wear/tear and small shelf-life, I agree that RBs get a raw deal compared to most other NFL positions. But then again, the fact that so many serviceable guys can be found out of college... that suggests it's one of the easiest positions to play in the league. I know that even back in high school, there were tons of guys who were pretty good at playing RB. Much tougher to find a guy who could throw or run routes and catch. When it comes to linemen, the physical size disqualifies the majority of human beings. And at the end of the day, even these devalued RBs are making 100x more than average Americans. Nothing is stopping them from playing 3-5 years and then retiring if they can't get the contract they want. Someone will surely step up and take that job.

The media had a responsibility to report on the Stefon Diggs situation, especially after the coach said he was "concerned." The media has a responsibility to continue asking questions and following-up on the situation as the season progresses, especially if new information becomes available. However... there has been NOTHING NEW to report since about June 13-14. The media has been very irresponsible regarding this story over the last 3 weeks, constantly adding new fuel to the fire through anonymous sources and rampant speculation. None of these so-called reporters knows anything, but I've still seen stories about how Diggs is mad at the coaches, Diggs is mad at the quarterback, Diggs is mad about us not getting D-Hop, the front office is quietly trying to trade Diggs, etc., etc., etc. The fact that Thad Brown is now tossing threats, shows he's got no clue on what reporters are actually supposed to do. His job is to report the news, not get involved and emotional.

Both the offense and defense have played a role in our playoff losses the last 3 years. The difference between the two... is that we've invested so much draft capitol and cap space into the defense, loaded it up with a half-dozen All-Pro and Pro-Bowl talents (Tre White, Matt Milano, Jordan Poyer, Micah Hyde, Von Miller, Tremaine Edmunds) and the team was STILL totally helpless in stopping Patrick Mahomes or Joe Burrow at any point during those three postseason losses. This unit has been pretty much maxed out in talent, and it has meant absolutely nothing. The Chiefs and Bengals moved the ball at will. Our struggles on offense can usually be attributed to weak positions where the team just hasn't been able to find an answer. This side of the ball is pretty much just Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs, and not much else that scares opponents. When another weapon other than Diggs actually shows up (such as Gabe Davis in the 2021 divisional game), the offense does great. When the O-Line actually protects Josh Allen, the offense does great.

Well, our 1st Round Pick this year dropped almost nothing in college. So maybe Brandon Beane realized his hit percentage at this position wasn't good enough, and he decided to adjust scouting priorities.

Every time Brandon Beane talked this offseason, he mentioned getting the offense MORE weapons. He was limited in cap space and there weren't a bunch of options, but he still signed two free agent receivers (Trent Sherfield and Deonte Harty). We know he explored signing Odell Beckham and acquiring DeAndre Hopkins. In the draft, he ended up getting the best receiving Tight End (Dalton Kincaid) and adding another receiver (Justin Shorter). Everyone knows the Bills are inside a rapidly closing Super Bowl window. Everyone in the organization has acknowledged that. There isn't a single example in the last 2-3 seasons of us doing anything that could possibly be viewed as a rebuild or reset. Beane's moves have all been about trying to win a championship right now, with a little bit of care to not totally mortgaging the future. The idea he would trade away Stefon Diggs is laughable. Not only because it would completely blow-up our Super Bowl aspirations, but because it would also cause dead-cap problems. It would pretty much be the opposite strategy of every move Beane has made recently. Regardless of whether Diggs is causing issues internally (which is entirely possible), the Bills know they NEED him badly and couldn't realistically move on financially if they wanted to. I absolutely believe more is going on with Diggs than our front office is currently admitting. It could stem from a multitude of issues, up to and including anger with the coaching staff, gameplan, team acquisitions, or personal beef with other players. All of these possibilities are on the table. But nobody outside of a select few people on this planet know the truth, and the Bills are notoriously tight-lipped with allowing leaks. The media is desperate to milk this story during the NFL's slowest time of year, but they can't get anything concrete. So as usual, they are just running with rumors from anonymous sources. It's pathetic.

Maybe. Hopkins clearly wants to be on a contender with a top QB. He said so himself, even before the Cardinals released him. The Bills pursued a trade for Hopkins before the draft, and checked into signing him after his release. Brandon Beane admitted it publicly. There were also rumors about teams like the Chiefs, Cowboys, Ravens and others being interested. But nothing ever materialized. The fact that Hopkins sat for a few weeks and then started visiting teams like the Texans, Titans and Patriots tells me that offers from those higher teams weren't close to what he was looking for. But since he hasn't signed with any of those teams and things have suddenly gone quiet... it makes you wonder if their contract offers didn't quite blow him away either. He may be torn between the money and going for a ring, and having trouble deciding which way to go.

Ironically, this may be Elam's biggest hurdle. We saw plenty of flashes during his rookie season. But the main reason he couldn't secure the job last year (or yet this offseason), is because the Bills have also gotten strong play out of their 6th Round CB from the same draft. Not to mention that 7th Round corner they started developing a couple years back won't go away without a fight.

See the thread from yesterday about reporters making stuff up, using anonymous sources.

If you read the entire post, there are obviously exceptions to the rule. There are rare times when sources cannot (or should not) go on the record, and must remain anonymous. However, when this occurs, it should fall on the reporter to track down the proof BEFORE the story is published. They should use the anonymous tip to find additional documentation, or find someone else that IS willing to go on the record. It's foolish to just take someone's word... do no additional follow-up... and then report the story like it's breaking news. Yet based on the inaccuracy we see in the media, this is clearly the way things are being done now.

Yep. In the old days, the idea of an "anonymous source" was almost always laughed at. If a source wasn't willing to go on the record, then it probably wasn't true. Very few newspapers were willing to put their reputation on the line to print unverified rumors. So if a reporter got some information off the record, they needed to do MORE legwork investigation behind the scenes to 100% verify it was true. Today, reporters can just talk to the building janitor (or just make something up themselves), stamp it with the standard "inside sources tell me"... and then face absolutely zero repercussions if the story turns out to be B.S.

Many years ago, I was a journalism major and actually worked the first five years of my professional career as a newspaper reporter. The media in this country is a pathetic mess. And not just in the sports world. Editors used to require certain procedures to verify information and sources. Printing false information was embarrassing, and something that could legitimately get a person fired. Today, nobody cares. Every outlet is more concerned with getting attention (clicks and ratings), or pushing some kind of political agenda.

Bill Belichick is the team's GM, Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator. Last year, he was also the team's Offensive Coordinator. The HC for both of the last two Super Bowl champions (Andy Reid and Sean McVey) also called the offensive plays for their team.

Stefon Diggs restructured his contract on March 15, just a couple days into free agency. DeAndre Hopkins did not get released by the Cardinals until May 26. So I find it very unlikely Diggs only agreed to rework his deal on the condition the Bills landed D-Hop, since he wasn't even technically available for another two months. Most of the pre-draft rumors were that Hopkins might be available for a draft pick and that Arizona would be eating most of the salary. If Diggs was simply wanting a "weapon" on offense, I have no idea who he was possibly looking at. That is a very vague request, and the WR options in free agency were absolutely terrible this year. The popular names getting thrown around on this website were Jacobi Meyers and Parris Campbell for crying out loud. I don't know how those guys are better than Trent Sherfield and Deonte Harty. The cap space cleared from Diggs' restructure is only $5.4 million. The rumor floating around is that Hopkins is looking for roughly the same as Odell Beckham, who signed for $15 million. So if this rumor is true, then instead of being mad at the Bills, Diggs should be on the phone with Hopkins and trying to convince him into taking less. Or he can take a paycut (instead of a contract restructure).

Unfortunately, it's not crazy to think the Bills could fail to win the AFC East. It's very possible the Bills don't even make the playoffs this season. Even last year (13-3 overall record), the Bills managed to lose to both the Dolphins and Jets. Their victories over those teams were all close games and weren't dominant wins in the slightest. The Jets only true weakness was QB, and they added a guy who has won MVP two of the last three seasons. That's nothing to scoff at. The Dolphins season was derailed by Tua's concussions. It's not a forgone conclusion that he will get hurt again, like some here seem to believe. Last year, the Bills went from losing a bunch of one-score games to finishing 6-3 in those contests. On paper, this year's schedule looks tougher. And if that stat flips backwards again this year, we are looking at a 9-10 win season. In an absolutely brutal AFC, that could be enough to miss the postseason.

On paper, the Bills probably have a better roster than last year (outside of middle linebacker). But it's hard for me to be optimistic after the way 2022 played out. At this time last year, everything really seemed to be falling into place. Most observers felt we had the best roster in the NFL. Very few holes. Very few questions. Our rookie punter was even catching national attention. The schedule was tough, but the AFC East didn't look particularly challenging. Our main competition (the Chiefs) looked vulnerable after losing Tyreek Hill. We even seemed to have the magic touch when it came to avoiding injuries, which many credited to our top-notch training facilities. Maybe I just got my hopes too high. But last year really broke and emotionally drained me. Starting with the preseason mess with Matt Araiza, to the death of Dawson Knox's brother, to the first major injury to Micah Hyde, to the IR-fest that started in Week 3, to Josh Allen's elbow, to the fumble against the Vikings, to Buffalo weather once again becoming an issue, to Damar Hamlin almost dying on the field.... with everything culminating in an absolutely embarrassing show against the Bengals. Everything that could go wrong seemed to. And just when I was ready to wipe the slate clean and get my hopes up for 2023... Stefon Diggs.

In my opinion, Sean McDermott deserves one more season to get the Bills over the hump. Back in the 2020 AFC Championship, the Bills were still totally outmatched in talent by the Chiefs. Going into the season, I was hoping for the AFC East title and at least one playoff win. They accomplished that, so I felt like it was a successful season. The last two postseasons are strikes one and two. The 2021 AFC Divisional loss (13 seconds) was a horrific breakdown of coaching strategy, and really made me question McDermott's ability to direct his team in a high pressure situation. Last year's mess against the Bengals, in particular the defensive gameplan, told me that he learned nothing from his previous two playoff exits. There are some other great coaches who took some time to finally break-through. Andy Reid obviously comes to mind. Bill Cowher was another. But with our franchise QB in the prime of his career, we don't have the luxury of waiting a decade for him to get it right. I'm willing to sit-back and see what happens this season. But McDermott should be on the hot-seat if we aren't lifting the trophy in February.

So now it sounds like Diggs is either accusing the Head Coach or Quarterback of lying. Just great. I was slowly gaining my enthusiasm and optimism back for this upcoming season, and this mess is quickly reminding me of how my spirits were crushed just six months ago. I swear this team is cursed.