Kirby Jackson

Why play Hamlin when you can get older, cantankerous Hamlin?

This is exactly why I always advocate for more speed. Think about Deonte Harty. He was not good in a Bills uniform. He also was CRUCIAL to winning the division. He had the longest punt return in Bills history, resulting in a TD, to beat Miami by 7. If he fair catches that ball, the Bills start at their own 5. What happens if they have to punt? Are they even a wild card?

Diggs is still the better player (although that gap isn’t huge). For THIS year alone, I’d still say Diggs. Moving forward, taking the cap hit, getting the pick, and clearing the deck, all while getting Cooper, will be better imo. The Bills were also able to do this in a year where they are already 4-2 & still in control of the division. Sometimes you have to take a step back to take 2 steps forward. In this case, the passing game took a step back for 6 weeks but the team did not. At 4-2, with this schedule, they’re actually a game ahead of where I thought they’d be at this point. Everything is still in front of them and they’re a much better team than they were when they took the field Monday. I also think, that the Bills will extend Cooper for 2-3 years if this goes well. His game feels like it will age well (as does Stef’s). Guys that are technicians age better than guys that win with pure athleticism.

There’s Bar Bill there now as well. If you’re looking to feed people wings that’s probably your best bet but it’ll be tough to accommodate that many.

Yeah, it’s high on the list of needs. I was trying not to rank them, just kind of listing areas where they could improve. Bass has lost his confidence and everyone but McDermott seems to have lost confidence in him. Hopefully it doesn’t burn the Bills.

As crazy as it may have seemed a couple of months ago, 11-6 almost certainly wins this division. 10-7 might even get it done. The start for the Bills/Dolphins/Jets has the Bills in firm control at this point.

They had the worst WR room in the NFL. They added a WR that has been to the Pro Bowl 5 times. Even if Cooper isn’t as good as Diggs was, the Bills are WAY better today than they were yesterday morning. “Moving the dial” is so hard to pinpoint. He may make 2 plays this year that Hollins or MVS wouldn’t have made that result in a win or 2 extra. That changes seeding, home field and potentially a playoff outcome. You took your biggest weakness and elevated it to average. We should all be excited about this. Is it enough? No one knows. Are they better? Unequivocally yes.

The Bills still have needs if the right player becomes available. They still could use another WR on the outside. They could use a safety. Hamlin isn’t the guy. Maybe they try Bishop or Edwards there but need to do something. They could also add a big run stuffing DT. I fear that they don’t know what to do with those guys. I saw Linval Joseph and Poona Ford both filling that role on other teams this year. A big space eater would be nice. There is always a need for pass rush if they can get an inexpensive part time player. Maybe Solomon can grow into that? A backup QB would be nice but that might be an offseason move. We’ve had worse than Mitch. Kicker is the other thing on the list. It’s difficult at this point to have confidence in T Bass. In no particular order the needs are: boundary WR, S, space rating DT, backup QB, pass rush and kicker.

100% agree with this too. Sometimes you want to let things play out to see if the issues can be resolved. This was a clear lack of talent and the Bills recognized it and upgraded. That’s strong.

So Tucker isn’t credible enough? Harmon has an agenda? Orlovsky taking about the inability to win vs. man good enough? There’s plenty more where that came from. Instead of discrediting the data and experts, can you provide the data and experts refuting the separation concerns (prior to Cooper of course)? The Bills receivers were awful prior to this move. They are now average and that may be enough because the league is pretty open. Credit to the Bills for realizing their massive mistake and giving Josh a real weapon. Progress

We are in agreement that multiple factors are at play. Josh holds a small part. Brady holds a larger part. The WRs hold the largest part (imo). Cooper should alleviate a lot of that.

Matt Harmon’s expertise on the subject good enough?

Ah yes, the old, “I don’t like what the data says so discredit the source.” That’s a popular way to go about things in 2024. That “confirmation bias” continues to be backed up by data. They aren’t getting open. You can watch the all 22, listen to experts like Ross Tucker (talked about it yesterday on WGR), read data supporting it or choose to deny it. At this point it isn’t a “feeling” that they aren’t good. The Bills made a move yesterday because they see it too. I’m not blaming the receivers 100% (I had it at a very conservative 70%). The teams with bad receivers throw to their first read less often. That’s not surprising. Cooper gets separation and is a great route runner. The Bills are missing that. He takes away that cover 0 that teams have decided to play because of the lack of receivers.

That’s not what this is saying. It is where you intend to throw the ball, not what’s closest to the LOS.

That’s pretty much what the graphic shows. He throws to his first read less than anyone in the league. He’s great in the rare occurrences that it is open.

Lol, please don’t be so simple. Throwing to your 1st read, less frequently THAN EVERY TEAM IN THE LEAGUE, is a sign of that read not being open. Whether you want to blame the QB (maybe 5%), play calling (25%) or trash pass catchers (70%), that’s a problem. What do Mahomes, Allen, Lamar and Herbert have in common this year? They have bottom 7 pass catching rooms. Unsurprisingly, they’re forced off their 1st reads.

My goodness were the Bills in bad shape here prior to this:

Are we cool to refer to him as a “scrub receiver” now? I know that there were some people that were pretty sensitive to calling our scrubs, scrubs.

All of this!! This was what we were fighting for. We weren’t trying to be negative for no reason. We were screaming out loud, “you need to get better at WR to compete for a title!!” I’m glad to know that Beane get the same way. FWIW, I’d STILL be open to adding Diontae Johnson if the cost to acquire him was cheap. This was a huge first step. They aren’t “good” yet but are at least average which may be enough. They needed a guy at the top of the depth chart and got that guy.

@Pete are you good with Amari Cooper playing ahead of Mack Hollins? You were pretty clear that you didn’t want Davante Adams playing ahead of Mack. I didn’t know if Cooper was different or if you still prefer Hollins?

I promise you, your presence hasn’t impacted the outcome of any games (good or bad). My buddy travels to a bunch of road games. The Bills were 0-7 or something in his first 7. He was CONVINCED that it was his fault. 😂😂 He continues to go though and has had his share of wins (although not last week in Houston).

This is going to be a painful end to one of the worst threads in TBD history. RIP to people thinking that this trash WR room was good enough 6/23/24 - 10/15/24.

In like 2 years, me using MVS for Bills/Packers in Immaculate Grid.