BarleyNY

That’s people in general. I tip my hat on the rare occasion I see someone admit they’re wrong on here. True. But if you don’t think the guy you’ve got is gonna get you there then it’s foolish to not take a shot on someone who might. I think a lot of ills fans are so afraid of backsliding that they won’t risk that.

A few reasons: - a decent backup QB can get a team into the playoffs (or a better seed) if their QB is out for a bit but comes back - can sometimes be traded if they develop and perform well if/when they play - in this draft the Bills have 10 picks, mostly in latter rounds so why not take a shot There is reasonable debate to be had about whether or not to spend real cap space on a backup QB. I get why we wouldn’t. But why not take a chance on one with one of our six day three picks?

I think this is what Kyle Shanahan intended when he took the ball in OT. If you get it then the best your opponent can do is tie you. If that happens then you just need a FG on your 2nd possession.

There is nothing definitive happening at this time, but my expectations of Diggs being on the team in 2024 went from almost 100% to under 25%. I’ll be working on some numbers to see how it could feasibly work out.

Another: Moving on from key pieces of the team this off-season and/or next builds in an excuse for subpar seasons and/or postseason failures.

Terry Pegula has made and will continue to make decisions aimed more at acquiring a new stadium and selling PSLs than on winning a championship. This would be a very good reason for my opinion.

The buzz in Vegas last week says there’s a very good chance that you get your wish.

I’d be shocked if Tre plays under his current contract this season. It’ll be a renegotiation or release. No need to get worked up about this today. The new league year doesn’t start for about a month.

Exactly. It’s not like he’d be worse. I think the main criteria the team is looking for in a Bills backup QB is that he’s very cheap. Maybe we can draft someone with a late pick.

I don’t think of any single fan base as the “best”. There are countless measures and each group is likely to value their own traits. I’m a transplant Bills fan and I hate the Bills Mafia moniker. I think people diving through tables is stupid and that cheering for someone getting doused with ketchup and mustard is absurd. But with that all said, Bills fans show up like no other (of which I am aware) to support worthy charities. That’s something that those fans should be very proud of and it speaks incredibly well of Buffalonians in general. It certainly far outweighs the little things I mentioned above.

No argument from me that there were two strong defenses. I’m just saying that the two QBs were working with very different qualities of supporting casts and the one with the far weaker one performed much better.

I think it was simply a matter of McDermott bringing in his own guy. He had been working with Beane, who was Assistant GM in Carolina. I’m not sure why he waited until after the draft to hire him though.

That’s quite the star studded video! I think what was said carries a lot of weight. If we get audio I may change my opinion, but it didn’t look like Kelce was trying to do anything physical to his coach. He just grabbed his arm and bumped him a little. I compare it to the Diggs - Allen incident. The biggest factors - other than what was said - are: - KC won that game while the Bills lost theirs. The W smooths over a lot. - Diggs had prior issues so it added fuel to an existing fire. Doesn’t seem to be the case with Kelce and Reid.

“Getting”? If a geared up Kelce had really run into Reid he wouldn’t have just been knocked off balance a little, he’d have flown 5 yards through the air. Kelce was very emotional and he needed to calm down, but there was no ill intent apparent.

Sure the defenses were very good, but my points about the QBs and supporting casts stand. Mahomes got the job done with a far inferior supporting cast. If KC had a Purdy level QB, then I doubt they score double digits. If the 49ers had a Mahomes level QB along with Kittle, Debo, Aiyuk and CMC, then they win easily.

Whaley had been neutered by McDermott for the draft. He was so angry at being totally ignored that he left the draft room. Then he was fired immediately after the draft. The only reason he was kept through it was so that he wouldn’t leak info.

I always chuckle when I see the “didn’t have time to study the QB class” excuse. SMDH. Is there a more important factor in determining the success of a team - and by extension that team’s HC - than the quality of QB on the field?

I only have one thought on why this could have made some sense. KS may have intended to go for 2 after a TD. That would have them playing for a FG on their second possession if KC matched them. I think there’s merit to taking the initiative in that situation rather than letting your opponent dictate the outcome with their two point try. The question then becomes “Why didn’t they go for it on fourth down?” Maybe the distance was too great and the math said to kick the FG, but it had to be close. I think if that is your plan then you have to go for it.

KC scored on their last four drives and on five of their last six. Seems to me like Mahomes dialed it in before OT. And he did it with a far inferior supporting cast compared to what Purdy was working with.

If KC had put a QB on the field who was equivalent to Purdy, then SF would’ve easily walked away with the win. Mahomes was the difference between a not very close loss and a very close win.

Crap. You’re right. I misremembered that. I thought they got a TD there.

Two big differences between regular season and playoff games are coaching and management of pressure. 1) The best coaches plan for the playoffs. They save plays and wrinkles in their schemes to take advantage of other teams’ weaknesses. One example from the last Chiefs-Bills playoff game. Reid put 10 men on the field for the Bills punt that got faked. He knew from it happening previously in the regular season that the Bills had the fake baked into their system and were likely to run it if they faced 10 or less men. They knew exactly what was coming and got a huge turnover on downs. It is very unlikely that KC wins that game without that play. 2) Pressure increases throughout the playoffs, ramping up each and every round and in close games. Coaches have to instill confidence in their players that they are up to the task and putting them in the best position to succeed. We’ve certainly seen pressure get to this coaching staff (13 sec) and team (2022 playoffs). The expectations have to be that the coaches and players will prevail, not that someone will find a way to lose. Problems here manifest themselves as blunders, unnecessary risks lack of focus. Hero ball and overly aggressive play calling are examples.

I think there is a kind of roster window that extends through 2024. There will be a big turnover of older, highly paid vets by then. We may see the start of it this offseason, but next is the big pivot point. Allen’s window will be open for quite some time. The way I see it, he will likely have a career of 12-15 years including development and quality QB play. He’d be aged 33-36 at the end of that span. We are 6 years into that so while his window is wide open for years to come, we have already burned through 40-50% of his career. Tick tock.

Agreed. This season MVP seemed like a war of attrition. There was a list of 6-10 players and, gradually, all but Lamar crossed themselves off of it with a poor performance. Those playing the “reverse racism” card are just showing us their character.