BarleyNY

I don’t think he’s seeing anyone seriously right now.

I’d love to trade him and dump his salary, but who going to trade anything for him? He’s an off the ball LB playing on a fully guaranteed one year, $12.7M contract. No one is trading for that.

I hope that we are nowhere near pushing the chips in. The Bills overspent in some places and now you’re right, it is gonna be tight. They have to be smarter and draft better going forward or they will have to make that decision on pushing in sooner than we’d like. Here’s hoping we can be more like the Steelers and Ravens rather than the Eagles in that regard. I agree on Levi. Some team will pay him. The Bills should be quiet during the first wave (or two) of free agency. They have to find a corner there though. And then probably another somewhere in the draft. I worry about when Tre will be back and rounded into form next season.

Lol. It’s always so hilarious to read fans say that players should - or even better yet, WANT to - be paid millions less than what they are worth so that the team can get a ring. But let’s get some stuff straight first. Diggs did not get a raise. The Bills converted some of his 2021 salary into a signing bonus to free up cap space. He did not get any more money. Also despite being a top 5 WR he is currently 17th in AAV. That position will drop further after free agency, even after Amari Cooper gets cut. Diggs should be comfortably top 10 at least. Why should he take less than he’s worth? So another player can get paid more? So YOU can have a marginally better chance at seeing the Bills win a championship? You want a man to give up eight figures for that? And you want him to do it to play with a QB that didn’t give up a dime on his new contract (nor should he have)? Please. The man is one of the best WRs in the game (just ask anyone on this board) and he deserves to be paid as such.

I know McDermott isn’t as seasoned as Reid, but damn. This is ridiculous. I didn’t know that he called two TOs on that drive and did not adjust or change alignments either time. Wow.

What back ups? Our starting 3 CBs (Wallace, Taron Johnson and Dane Jackson), our starting 2 Safeties (Poyer and Hyde) and our 2 starting LBs (Milano and Edmunds) played every defensive snap. 76 total. We were in dime for two plays and Neal came in for a DL. He was the only other back 7 player to see the field. No wonder they were gassed by OT. I didn’t say that Tre would not have made any difference. I said we were so shallow at coverage positions that no one could take a breather. Meanwhile the DL had a robust rotation with only Hughes and Oliver having over 50% of the snaps at 44 and 43, respectively. Of the 9 DL rotating through the game I only saw Oliver make a real impact. As for KC having players out, that was in response to people comparing the two defenses/teams and using Tre’s injury as an excuse. Every team has injuries. It’s a cop out to say “if we were totally healthy we’d have won” while ignoring the fact that the other team was more banged up than yours. Just a horribly weak argument in general and doubly so when your team ignored depth at that position.

I expect most of these moves, but they aren’t as clean as they look. Diggs will almost certainly want a pay raise and/or extension so the savings probably will be somewhat different. Players like Beasley, Haack and Matakevich will need to be replaced and that’s not free. Our WR corps without Beasley is pretty much just Diggs and Davis. I think Beasley gets swapped out for another vet and we draft another WR. That vet will cost something. There are plenty of other needs as well, starting with CB2. The good news is that, as you point out, we can create space. The bad news is that we are going to need it.

Fair point.

I guess you wouldn’t be hurting most chain pizzas with it anyway.

I was assuming that the crux of the story was true - that McDermott wanted a squib, which didn’t get through to the kicker, and that there was some disarray at the end of regulation. While I’m not taking the full report as gospel - things get embellished - the basics seem plausible if not probable based on what we all saw. Caution is often the result of disarray and uncertainty. When in stressful, high stakes situations it’s better to not make the situation worse if you can’t make it better. But obviously that is not nearly as good as being prepared and actively and calmly navigating those situations. The team that had the coaching staff and team that was better prepared for that incredibly frantic and stressful situation won the game. That makes sense because they had the far more seasoned HC. Reid was in McDermott’s shoes when he was in Philly where he fared no better than McDermott did Sunday. And if we would have won the OT toss, we’d still have won the game. To be clear, I’m not beating up the coaches here. They already have brought the Bills a long way. They need to learn and grow from this game so that next time we can get over the top. If they do, then this will be looked at as a galvanizing moment for the franchise.

If the pizza is of good quality then such accoutrements are unnecessary. What kind of pizza would I want ranch on anyway? Is there a pizza with raw veggies on it?

Only an idiot would willing admit to a situation as described above. Poor execution by staff and team? Sure. We all saw that. Failure to get a called play in followed by frustration and disarray? No. Even if true you can’t tell the world that. It is so much worse. You just have to learn from it an make sure it never happens again.

Fully understand where you are coming from. This is a good reason why it won’t happen and I would not consider it unless Tre was good with it.

He’s not Kelce, but he would be our best TE. So, yes.

It really is not necessary regardless of the exact circumstances here. He’s the HC. Ultimately it is his responsibility. He chooses his staff, he chooses how involved to be in scheme, preparation and play calling - and in what situations to do so. Ditto for personnel on the roster (along with Beane, whom he chose) and on the field. McDermott should be first and foremost where responsibility is concerned, be it good or bad.

I find it very odd that you insist my issue with not wanting to support EsPN is over $60 a year and not the mind numbingly poor content offered by them. Are you projecting you own financial struggles? Are you blowing too much of your income on your ranch dressing habit? If so, check one of your tubs for a ranch addiction help line.

DL: Star, Epenesa, Rousseau, Basham, Oliver. First, pick up Oliver’s fifth year option. Look to extend him during the season if he’s still playing at the level he was last season. Effing Star. We are stuck with him next season due to his contract and lack of bodies at DT. Please re-sign Phillips to a reasonable deal. He will have to want to be here because the DT market is going to get people PAID. We have to shore up the position somehow. Gotta go value shopping in FA or the draft at DE for depth too. LB: Milano, Edmunds and Klein. Stuck with Edmunds another season, but do not compound that mistake by extending him. Also no sense paying a 3rd LB (again) when you run a Nickel base. Klein was not good this season so he’s an easy cut. He’s due a 3/20 roster bonus so he should be gone by then. I’d add a depth FA and a draft pick (3rd round or beyond) with instincts and upside. DB: White, Poyer, Hyde, Taron Johnson, Joaquin Johnson, Dane Jackson. The obvious hole is CB2. I’d like to bring back Wallace if we can get a reasonable deal done. Plus we need to add another outside CB in case Tre is not back early in the season. A draft pick or a vet that comes at a decent price are fine. We also need to draft a safety as depth/future starter. Poyer is entering the last season of his deal and we should look to extend him. Specials: Bass, Ferguson, Haack. I would look to upgrade Haack. Otherwise I’m good. Also Id probably start talking extension with Bass’ agent later in the season or next offseason. He’s signed through 2023 now.

I did not know that. So there is some value there. I just couldn’t see paying for their opinions.

I think so lowly of ESPN that I’ve never looked at what it cost. Literally any amount of money is too much for their “Insider” content IMO. However I’m happy to support sites I deem of value. ESPN just isn’t one of them.

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/buffalo-bills/yearly/cap/ This is another way to look at the roster. Scroll down to each position group and you can see where the needs are. I’m only including players on the roster that matter in some fashion. No Christian Wades. My synopsis and opinions: QB: Allen is the only one under contract so we will need a decent backup. RB: Singletary and Moss. An upgrade at RB1 would be preferable. A complete back who can run, catch and pass pro is worth spending on. FB: Gilliam. Fine. Whatever. WR: Diggs, Davis, Beasley, Stevenson. Hopefully we can find some help here. Beasley is firmly on the chopping block if we find two good options. He’s due $500k by 3/20 so we should know by then. The plus is that Allen is a great selling point. Diggs is touted as an option for creating space, but there’s an issue. He’s underpaid by going market rates. I don’t know that he will be on board with a restructure that doesn’t include a bump. He might come looking for that bump anyway. Also it wouldn’t hurt to bring back McKenzie for depth. TE: Knox and Sweeney. Please, please, please find a good TE to go with Knox. Please. I’d prefer someone to push Knox down to TE2, but I’d live with someone who could push him and come in when he has the dropsies. A FA and a draft pick to knock Sweeney off the roster is my preference. OL: Dawkins, Feliciano, Morse, Williams, Brown, Doyle, Ford. Bates is a RFA. Restructure Dawkins to push cap space down the road. Morse is probably a cap casualty, tho he could take a cut to stay. His replacement should be added this off-season regardless. Feliciano and Williams are possible cuts, though I don’t think we would gut the whole IOL in one off-season. There has to be at least one IOL player added who can help in the run game. Brown is obviously safe. I’d love a swing tackle added. Oh and please get rid of Ford. He has no guaranteed salary left. Defense on next post.

Every time I see an ESPN insider article linked I have the same thought: Someone paid for ESPN insider? I mean, show me someone who pays for ESPN insider and I’ll show you someone who puts ranch on their wings. 🤭

It’s just not worth talking about specific free agents until March. So many will be re-signed, especially the top ones. Nothing has shaken out yet. Now is the time to look at our roster and determine where our holes are, which FAs we should re-sign and which players aren’t living up to their contracts. The other places to look are on rosters with new coaches. There might be some opportunities there for trades and with high turnover due to rebuilds.

Lol. Even at the tail end of his career Gonk would be TE1 if Knox was his competition. And it’s really not that close.

Knowledge of your opponent can’t hurt, right? Especially when there isn’t a lot of change or growth. I’ll give Reid a lot of credit. When he was with the Iggles the joke was that he bought his tickets to Hawaii cheap because he got them early. For the youngsters here, that was because he seemed to always coach the NFC team in the Pro Bowl which used to be held every year in Hawaii. It was an honor that was given to the head coach of the losing teams in the AFC and NFC championship games. And he was there a lot. He was a very good coach, but he has grown into a great one. Sure, he’s got Mahomes instead of McNabb, but he’s so much better now. He'd get his team far, but you just knew that he blow it at some point. He’s grown from one who was at McDermott’s level (and that’s certainly better than most) into what we have seen in KC. We just have to hope that McDermott elevates his game - or finds coordinators that do. Incidentally I think Daboll did a fantastic job, but is gone to the Giants this year. Hopefully Dorsey is up to the challenge.

This is very weak sauce IMO. Firstly, it’s not like KC wasn’t missing some key pieces of their team Sunday night. In fact, they were missing more than the Bills were. Secondly, some people myself included, discussed how egregiously thin our CBs and secondary corps were during the off-season. IOL too. Meanwhile tremendous cap and draft capital was poured into the DL, but we have only seen average to good results out of that so far. It’s been a poor value for what’s been spent. While we weren’t going to find anyone who could fill Tre’s shoes, we could’ve gotten both another decent CB and S who could spell our starters without being total liabilities. That might’ve been nice to have against KC. McDermott went all in on the DL so they would have a very deep rotation and they could stay fresh. But the secondary was paper thin going into the season and that definitely cost us Sunday.