Rocky Landing

I'm not even sure what point you're trying to make here. If Hollins makes the 53, he'll be #4 on the depth chart at best, and a likely core special teamer. Somehow that long, and varied list of WRs has something to do with Hollins? If you're in search of some sort of confirmation bias on Beane's ability to build a roster, I'd say you have fallen short.

Our very own Nathan "Late Nate" Peterman was one of the real innovators of the arm punt, or "mini punt," as J.T. O'Sullivan describes it.

I mentioned upthread that I don't personally adhere to the perspective of one WR "replacing" another... Every receiver group is unique, and each receiver offers their own value to the group (and I assume you would agree with that?), but I don't agree with your assessment of Sherfield, or Harty. I think Harty just wasn't a good fit for the Bills, beyond his return abilities (which were quite valuable, frankly). I'll bet that if Daboll were still our OC, Harty would have been much more productive, and probably still a Bill. Trent Sherfield was a situational player that really wasn't used to his strengths (beyond being a "locker room guy"), outside of his blocking ability, which was... not bad (i suppose)... I honestly think he was culled for his "character," as much as his ability-- something Beane/McD take quite seriously (which I like, btw). Not for nothing, both of these players are still in the NFL. Your post did get me thinking though... In some ways, last season was more of a transition season than this one. We changed our identity as a team, first with the Dorsey experiment, and then with Brady. We shifted away from Diggs before the end of the season, shifted away from players like Harty (McKenzie light?), and established a more balanced approach. And at the end of the season, we started to look towards players that Allen would feel comfortable with-- not the OC du jour. This latest draft, and FA would suggest this, no? It wasn't a better version of McKenzie, or Harty, or Sherfield, or even Diggs we were missing. It was the big bodied, sure handed, bruising athletes that can "get the ball, or nobody gets it..." (Allen's words), right? I'm excited as hell for this season. Whatever happens with our thin defense notwithstanding, this Bills' offense is not going to get pushed around. GO BILLS! (and, yo.... lay off the birds!!!)

I'm sure it had Coke in it...

I'd prefer they automated the officiating over automating the chains.

I moved to Los Angeles in 1990, and I wasn't able to watch a live Bills game until the Rams moved back to LA in '16. Thankfully, the Bills have now played here four times. In 2022, I had the pleasure of bringing my 11yo son to his first game. He had already been playing NFL flag football for two seasons, and was also really into watching the Bills games with me on TV since he was maybe six-- so... he's a basically a life-long Bills fan. It was great that the Bills won that game handily. But what really made it special was the turnout of the Bills Mafia. We were maybe 20% of the crowd, but 80% of the noise. It was one of those games that the players later said felt like a home game. And it was for me.

IDK, the combination of Coleman, Hollins, Claypool, and MVS seems awfully redundant. I think if they don't see a role for any of the other WRs in the room that offers either something unique, or a ST role, they might only go with only five WRs-- especially with two passing-threat TEs, and two passing-threat RBs. KJ Hamler is my personal dark horse candidate. He might be the fastest player in the building.

I don't really agree with this. I do think Hollins does have a leg up on the ST role, but he's not the only one of the WR group who's qualified. He will have to compete for it. But as far as last year's buzz on Sherfield, I don't think it's the same with Hollins. Allen and Beane have brought up Hollins numerous times, while answering other questions, and there's a very different tone-- it's always about leadership. I think that gives him a leg up for the 53, as well, but there's no guarantee that they're going to need those traits to carry over into the regular season if he's not solidifying his roles on the field.

I generally don't agree the perspective of, "so-and-so is going to replace Diggs, so-and-so replaces Davis, so-and-so replaces Harty," etc. There are various roles on the field of play, various roles on the practice field, and various roles in the locker room. Diggs doesn't get replaced. Other players step up and fill those roles, whether they're new to the team, or not. On the field of play, the ball will be spread around differently than it was last season. Every receiver group is unique. That's the way I look at it, and I suspect that's the way the coaches look at it.

There are 31 teams in the NFL that I hope will fall flat on their collective faces. The Bears aren't high on that list, but they're on it.

Mack Hollins hasn't really gotten a lot of buzz around here. Many have been dismissive of him, and few people posting on here have shown any level of enthusiasm for the acquisition. Personally, I thought he was a solid pickup as a situational player, and probable replacement for Siran Neal on ST. Others expressed everything from confusion, to anger over his signing. The emojis given on the first post of the thread that announced his signing back in March offer a pretty good cross-section of the attitudes surrounding him on this forum: (1)👍, (2)🤮, (2)🙄, (3)😢, (2)😝, (1)🍺 But since OTAs have started, I've been struck by how much he has been talked about-- not by Bills fans (who would much rather debate the potential of Claypool and/or MVS), but by Brandon Beane, and especially Josh Allen. Josh has brought him up at least a couple times now during a press conference, and notably in the link below on NFL's Insiders, saying that he "has been such a great addition so far to that room with his mentality, his mindset is infectious to others." Beane has made similar comments in response to questions that were not specifically about Hollins. In a season in which Beane has felt it necessary to add leaders to the team (with the departure of so many vets), has Hollins established himself as a near lock for the 53?

Goodell briefly mentioned the possibility of an 18-game regular season the other day, and I'm all for it. More football = better. Here's how I think it should be done: The regular season should be 20 weeks long with two bye weeks. Rather than every team getting two bye weeks that are staggered, every team should get the same weeks off: week seven, and week 14. So, six weeks of play between each bye week for every team. I'm tired of the bye week being a dice roll as to how beneficial it might be for a team. The 53-man roster should be expanded to a 58-man roster, with 50 active on game day. The preseason should remain as is. Week three is all about upcoming roster cuts trying to make a name for themselves anyway. Let the scrubs eat. But really, in a perfect world, the NFL should be almost ceaseless. The regular season should be 40 weeks long, with every team getting a chance to play every other team, (plus twice each for division rivals, of course), with a bunch of bye weeks, and several "crossover" games" with other World Conferences (keep reading), and a much larger practice squad, that's much more protected from poaching (perhaps a time limit for how long a player can be on the PS, before getting offers from other teams?). There should also be two, or three other conferences (maybe more) that bring the rest of the world into the mix. Like, maybe a European Conference, a Russian/Asian Conference, a Southern Hemisphere Conference? Whatever works. Then the league takes a month off (that's right, a one month "offseason" that includes the draft), and start again. And enough with these draconian PEDs restrictions. If God didn't want people to enhance their performance, he wouldn't have created pills.

Whether it's in two TE formations, or with one of our 6'4" WRs, I'd like to have a receiver that can stretch the field above Kincaid on some of his inside routes to take the pressure off him at the catch point, and then throw some blocks to help him get some YAC. And I'd like to see less of those Jumbo formations where a sixth lineman declares as an eligible receiver. I didn't even realize how often they were running that play until I was at the Bills at Chargers at SoFi (maybe 10 times?). It was pretty much telegraphed every time as the announcer would blare it over the PA: "number 76 is an eligible receiver..." I lost track of how many times it was used in that game, and it should have been a much higher percentage play, as it was generally at third and short. But the number of times the RB (mostly Murray) got stuffed was embarrassing.

Josh Allen mentioned him several times in his interview, as well.

Apparently I am mistaken. As oldmanfan stated above, it was a tibial plateau fracture. I might have associated that with an ACL tear, because I actually had a tibial plateau fracture, as well as an ACL tear from a skiing accident. That injury required two surgeries to repair. Also, worth noting that a tibial plateau fracture really is a knee injury, and very likely has some amount of soft tissue damage associated with it. (For me, it was a tibial plateau fracture, ACL tear, meniscus damage, and MCL tear.) Hopefully Milano's is not too bad, but even with a full recovery, it's going to take some time to bounce back from.

It's super weird to see Claypool wearing #14.

Unless I'm mistaken, I believe it was a torn ACL, and fractured tibia. It was reported just today that he is a month away from being cleared for practice. Considering the injury, I'll be surprised if he's on the field week one. But, that being said, I don't think anyone would currently consider Milano as a "reclamation project."

Fun thread, if for no other reason than I've got opinions. Bear in mind, I'm not pounding the table for any of this... Hits: Chase Claypool. I think all of his issues are between the ears. McDermott, and Beane have worked hard to build a certain culture. Much of that culture is based on character, and work ethic. But, I think also that they like to bring in guys who have fun on the field. This season especially, whether intentional or not, seems to have made quite a few additions, as well as subtractions that should lift the team up from the downers that had become the last couple seasons. This Bills team could be the environment in which Claypool could thrive. Will Clapp. If Banged Up Bills is right, and Clapp's knee injury that ended his '23 season is not a concern moving forward, he should provide at least a solid, and versatile depth. I have more faith in (a healthy) Will Clapp at Center, than I do David Edwards at LG. (Of course, hopefully Van Pran-Granger will start early a la O'Cyrus Torrence...) Mack Hollins. This signing got raked over the coals on this site when it was announced, and I get it. He's slow, and has weirdly poor YAC. But, he has reliable hands, an exceptional catch radius, blocks very well, and-- most importantly-- fills the special teams role vacated by Siran Neal. This makes him a situational WR in RPOs, WR screens, and endzone targets, as well as being a core ST player. What's not to like? Kaiir Elam. There's been a lot of speculation on what's been going on with this guy, and why he spent so much time inactive last season. Injury? Bad attitude? Poor practices? Can't adapt to zone? In the doghouse? It's all been said. But he did have flashes, he's on the team, and we're still woefully thin at the position. It's a long season, and at some point, someone's going down with injury for a game, or more. It happens every year. And he did show some potential for improvement towards the end of the season. We're all rooting for him. Dark Horse Hit: KJ Hamler. A dark horse candidate for a hit, to be sure... but: The Bills currently have six WRs on the roster who are 6'4", but not a lot of speed. His catch % is paltry, but he had crap QBs throwing him the ball in Denver. He lost all of 2023 dealing with pericarditis (a nasty heart condition caused by infection). If he's resolved the health issues, and gotten his body, and speed back into shape, could he be the speed gadget guy? Busts: Von Miller. I would love, love, love to be wrong, watch Von beat the odds, and have a great (or even adequate) season. But, I think we might see an injury settlement in Von's future... Marquez Valdez-Scantling. I know this is a very unpopular opinion at the moment, and I keep hearing (from posters whose opinions I respect) that he's "playoff proven," "clutch player," and "fast for his size." But, I just can't get around the fact that he has the worst completion percentage of every Bills receiver on the roster who has played in a regular season game, and an egregious drop rate of 7%, with one of the top two quarterbacks in the league throwing him the ball. And just how many 6'4" WRs do we need?

I agree with this. I'm mentioned this all offseason-- if they thought Edwards was a better option at LG, he would have had that position last season. It's a clear downgrade. Also, don't sleep on Will Clapp. A week 15 knee injury ended his '23 season, but he had played every snap up until then, and Banged Up Bills is of the opinion that it doesn't present any injury concerns moving forward. We'll know soon enough in TC, but from last season's tape, I thought he looked good.

Keon Coleman - I feel like his success has as much to do with Brady, as it does with him. If he really hits, I suspect it won't be until mid-season that he really starts to have a major impact-- just long enough for fans to start calling him a "bust." Cole Bishop - All the pundits have been saying "day one starter." But McD's defense can be complex where safety is concerned. I also have a higher opinion of Rapp, than most. I think he is one of the Bills' more underrated players, and I also think Mike Edwards was solid pickup. I suspect Bishop will be eased in, and start by midseason, and I'm fine with that. DeWayne Carter - The Bills were so thin at the position. Obviously, he won't be the starter, but he'll get plenty of rotation. Ray Davis - It'll be nice to have a third down power back who isn't in his mid thirties. Sedrick Van Pran-Granger - I've never been comfortable with the idea of McGovern at center, and Edwards at LG. If Edwards were the better LG, he would have held that position last year. It's an obvious downgrade, IMO. I'm really hoping that VPG is comfortable to start early at center (if not Will Clapp, whom I believe is better than people think). Edefuan Ulofoshio - I very much doubt that Milano is going to be back in week one. But, with the acquisition of Deion Jones, I doubt we're going to see much of Ede Ulo. Javon Solomon - I think McD will know how to get the most out of this guy. And while I don't really expect much of anything out of Von Miller, it'll be nice for Solomon to have him as a mentor, and hopefully he'll be a solid rotational DE-- which we really do need at the position. Tylan Grable - A wasted pick, IMO. He might make the PS. Daequan Hardy - I'm hoping he's going to be Harty's replacement for P/KR. I'm sure we're going to see him returning kicks in the preseason, and that should be a good indication if that's where he'll be used. I'm also hoping he'll be Siran Neal's replacement as Taron Johnson's backup (and maybe eventual replacement?). Undersized, sure. But the buzz on his athleticism makes him someone I'm excited to see. Does it seem like Brandon Beane is better at assessing late-round talent than he is at early-round talent? Travis Clayton - I have a fantasy that Clayton's going to make the 53, and be used in those Jumbo packages as the sixth lineman, and eligible receiver. I know it's not likely to happen, but I'd love to see him catch a short lob from Allen, and then flatten whomever's in front of him.

That 40 time is from 2018. He's not running a 4.37 in 2024. He doesn't play fast. And that 40 time is 5/100ths of a second from Chase Claypool's 2020 40 time, 18/100ths faster than Justin Shorter's 2023 40 time, and 1/100th second faster than Tyrell Shavers' 2023 40 time. Hell-- Mack Hollins ran a 4.53 in 2019. Obviously, Shorter, and Shavers have an uphill battle to get onto the 53, and don't have a single regular season snap to show for themselves. But do you know what Claypool, and Hollins, (not to mention KJ Hamler, Andy Isabella, and Curtis Samuel) all have in common? They ALL have a higher completion percentage, and lower drop rate than Marquez Valdez-Scantling. And all with far worse quarterbacks throwing them the ball. Here's a link to his 2023 highlight reel. (Bear in mind-- this is a highlight reel, from a season in which he had a 50% completion percentage, and a 7% drop rate). In some of those catches, he's wide open in the end zone. But, there isn't a single reception in the open field (save for one where the safety trips over his own feet), where he isn't covered, and not one route where he is lined up on the boundary. I'm not even making an argument that he won't make the 53. Going into TC, I would put him just behind Hollins (for Hollins' ST play). But, then one has to ask the question: How many 6'4" WRs do they employ? And is MVS really that unique?

Whether intentionally, or not, I think Beane has filled out the roster in a way that will both challenge Josh Allen's leadership abilities, and bring back some of the fun to the game. One of the things I have really grown to love about Allen, and the culture that Beane/McDermott have built, is how much fun they have on the field, and as a team. Remember when Diggs first arrived? How much fun they had? How fun they were to watch, and follow? It seems like the last couple seasons (and especially last season) really sank into a downer. The Covid season was more fun than last season. For these reasons, I voted "Better," but of course, I'm holding out hope for "Best of his career."

Hm. By that yardstick (pardon the pun) Tyreek Hill averaged 13.8 ypc during his time in KC, with a season best (2018) of 17.0. I can see why they got rid of him... unless, perhaps... there's something missing from your metric...? Like every other relevant receiving stat?

Do people think Von Miller is this high up the depth chart? We're stuck with his contract, but I'd guess they'll be looking for a reason to put him on IR, just to free up a roster spot for someone like Jonathon.

I agree with you, but #1WR is a close second, IMO.