BarleyNY

Okay, let’s look at the changes in skill position players (other than QB) from your example: 2022: Diggs, Davis, Knox, McKenzie/Shakir and Cook/Singletary 2023: Diggs, Davis, Knox, Kincaid/Shakir and Cook/Harris McKenzie has 423 yards receiving. Shakir had 161. Singletary had 280 and Cook had 180. I have to think that if we are going to see a big uptick in production it’ll have to come from Kincaid. As I’ve already said, I really like what I saw from him as a receiver and I think he can be a very good receiving TE/Big Slot. But he hasn’t taken an NFL snap yet so let’s not get ahead of ourselves. As for the WR position, I wanted to see more done at outside WR. This is likely Davis’ last season on the Bills. I know they added Shorter, but I was hoping for more. It almost always takes a year or two for a rookie WR to get up to speed in the NFL and I think we should already have his replacement in development.

I covered Kincaid in my earlier post on page 4.

As for WR, going into last year the expectations for Davis were a lot higher than right now. I think most of us know who he is - a solid #2 WR with limitations to his effective route tree. If you want to call him a push, okay. Diggs and Shakir are a push too. Last season we had McKenzie Kumerow and Crowder. This season we have Harty, Shorter and Sherfield. Crowder got injured (as I’m sure some will this year), but he’s better than all of the three that replaced him. I think calling it a push was a tad generous if anything. Motor is a good back. So is Harris. I see that as a push. Hines and Cook are the same as last year. I’d certainly rather have Murray than Taiwan Jones, so I guess that is an upgrade. Still, he’s 33 so my expectations are not sky high. But, sure, I can revise my take to a modest upgrade at RB. I’m just looking at this team to see it for what it is. Sometimes that is a positive take and sometimes it’s not. Either way it has to do with my honest take on a situation. I understand that if I do not have a fawningly favorable take about everything Bills, that it won’t be well received here. Just like people told me how dumb and negative I was when I said that Tyrod Taylor was a bottom tier starting QB that had no chance of getting the Bills to a SB. It is what it is.

A friend of mine used to help organize charity golf outings involving current and former NFL players. He met Jim Brown at one and then saw him a year later at the same event. He walked by Brown, who was talking to a group people. Brown yelled to him and called him by name. “So you don’t stop and say hi, Mark?” Mark told him he didn’t think he’d even remember him. He said Brown couldn’t have been nicer to him.

I certainly don’t fault the Bills for taking a long term approach. I’m a little shocked by the degree to which some other AFC teams have pushed in this season though. I’m not quite as high on the team this season as most others. Part of that is the increased competition. Also I almost always take a wait-and-see approach to draft picks and non-premium FA signings. I like that the OGs were addressed, but we have to wait and see how (and when) that works out. I do not like that we haven’t addressed OT. Kincaid looks very promising as a receiving TE/big slot, but I’m certainly not anointing him the next Kelce yet. I don’t like that WR really wasn’t improved. RB seems like it’s a push from last year too. I think we will see an improvement in our running game if the OGs improve with Torrence getting on the field. The defense’s success will likely depend on the return to form of Miller and White as well as how well Edmunds has been replaced. Maybe there will be a play calling improvement with McDermott taking the reins too. I don’t mean to pee in anyone’s Cheerios - especially at this time of year. Sometimes everything clicks and that’s possible for the Bills this year, but it is rare.

I never said I expect Houston to get a contract like Smith’s. I don’t. My comment was strictly about the Bills’ level of aggressiveness and their options. Many AFC teams are pushing hard this season so the Bills have to decide how they want to play it. Do they want to push in hard this season and deal with the consequences later? Or do they want to play a longer game? As of now it looks like they want to be competitive, but have pulled up shy of really going for it this season. That’s a very defensible strategy especially with the meat grinder the AFC looks to be, but it does temper my expectations for the season. Not that the off-season is over yet. Things could change.

Thar sucks. I’m sorry. There’s usually not much that can be done about Cushing’s in dogs. They go quick.

That’s heartbreaking. Way too young. We had to put our last dog down at 6. Diabetes and Cushing’s Disease.

Something to be said for cashing out for billions of dollars too though. It may depend on what she wants and when she wants it.

I honestly think that a transition of Terry and Kim to Kim to Jessica made a lot of sense prior to Kim’s medical issue. I don’t see how it works now unless Jessica wants to give up her tennis career. I wouldn’t if i was her. Maybe they find someone to take the reins until she’s ready, but selling is a real possibility - especially with the skyrocketing values of teams. Agree on McDermott’s playoff record. But I think he’s safe this season into next unless something catastrophic happens. If this season goes like the last two did, then I think his seat will be scorching hot this time next year.

I have been wondering if the NFL will lean into the Browns as the new league villain. The only thing people tune in to watch more than a person or team they love is one they hate. The Patriots and Brady aren’t able to fill that void now. Seems like the Browns are a good bet IF they can win. If they stay around .500 or worse, they won’t generate the emotions needed to make the casual fans care enough to watch them.

Agreed. Football 101 mistake. Fireable offense right there and I started to say that presnap when I saw the alignment. Defending the Bengals was going to be a heavy lift, but the coaches took what chance we had away.

I think that’s correct so I don’t see any imminent decisions on GMs and coaches, though I really don’t follow the Sabres. The next Bills GM/HC decision is probably a year and a half away. Beane and McDermott are signed through 2025 so an extension likely would get done toward the end of the 2024 season/league year. Unless the Bills win a SB this season, then they’d get one immediately after that. If they aren’t extended, then after the 2024 season is when I’d expect them to be replaced.

I think Kim is probably focusing on her recovery. She certainly should be. And she can’t be involved in the day to day activities like she used to be. It is a shame, but it is what it is.

Man are you going to get flamed for this. But it’s a far more legitimate question than most here will admit. Kim Pegula’s serious health problems have taken away half of the brain trust at the top of the Bills and Sabres decision making pyramid. Anyone who fails to recognize this is not giving Kim her due. I’m not sure what Terry has done to fill that void, but I hope he’s found high quality people to do so. I also hope that he is choosing better than Jerry Jones, who he seems to be leaning on for all things stadium related. And, yes, NFL owners often seek the council of other, more experienced owners. The NFL is a business first and foremost.

We can kick some of the cap hit down the road a year or two with void years. The Browns are doing that with Za’darius Smith’s contract, though all the details are not out yet. Cap hit of about $3M this season on an $11.75M, 1-year deal. They’ll either re-sign him (unlikely) or designate him a 6/1 cut next offseason to push some of the hit out to 2025. They’re being very aggressive with the cap to try to gain an advantage. Obviously there are always risks to that. We will just have to wait and see how aggressive the Bills are willing to be.

Yup. He had a year left on his contract so they have to pay him out as long as he doesn’t take another coaching job in the meantime. Thus the year off. Pretty simple really.

I saw a program that did experiments with wolves and dogs. Each was put in a room with a cage. There was a stick sticking out of the cage. It had a piece of meat on the end in the cage. Both the wolves and dogs pawed at the stick until they got the meat. Next the stick was fastened so it could not move. Both the wolves and dogs tried to paw it out with no success and both got agitated. The wolves looked only to their pack for help. The dogs also looked to the people observing for help. We are part of their pack.

I’m very sorry for your loss. Pets are part of the family. My corgis turned 2 today. Not looking forward to that day 10 or 15 years from now.

Eli Manning kept Tom Brady from winning two more Super Bowls. He can go in a second time AFAIC.

To sum up: - Cards want to dump Hopkins salary but still get something in trade for him. - Hopkins wants to go to a contender, but not so much that he’s willing to take a pay cut to do so. - Now the Cards have to decide if they’re going to pay him $20M for a lost season, keep him in hopes of trading him at the deadline (praying the whole time that he doesn’t get injured) or simply cut him post 6/1. I think this thread will go well beyond 300 pages. The ride’s not over yet.

Spotrac multi year Bills That link is useful when looking at future seasons. There are some obvious restructures and some players that probably won’t be worth what they’re going to make. One huge issue is that the only good DL on the roster next season are Miller and Rousseau. Basham too if you want to count him. No DTs. Quality ones aren’t cheap and rookies usually don’t make a big impact. Here is what I see for 2024: QB: Allen-restructure, need to sign a back up. RB: Hines-probable cut or pay cut, will need to add to the room. WR: Diggs-possible restructure, need to replace Davis and add another. TE: Looks set. OL: Dawkins-possible extension. Morse possible cut. Need to add OT. DL: Miller-possible restructure. Need to add full DT roster of 3-4 players. Need DE depth. LB: Possible need of MLB depending on how players on the roster do this year. CB: Johnson is probable for an extension. Nothing likely to happen with White. S: Will need to replace Hyde and add depth. We could extend Rapp for one spot. Specials: Looks set. We could get a little cap space by restructuring Bass if we want. There you have it.

ILB - I didn’t want to see the Bills pay Edmunds $18M a year, but I thought the answer would be to snag a good vet for a lot less. RB - Difficult to see this as a big need. DT - It would have been better to have found another DT in the draft or signed to a long term deal. Still, DT doesn’t look like a problem this season. OL - OT is an issue, but not so much the interior. Real competition for Brown was in order and we didn’t get that. Bringing in that competition would have improved our swing tackle as well.

The Browns season will likely go as Watson goes. He has to return to form and gel with Stefanski’s play calling for them to be serious contenders. Even if that happens it might take time. In the AFC and AFCN that would be a problem. They open hosting Burrow and the Bengals so they start with a big challenge.

The Vikings are not in cap trouble, but Smith has been unhappy in Minnesota and asked to be released so a parting of the ways seemed necessary. The Browns capitalized on that. He’s 30 (31 this year) and is still playing at an elite level (10 sacks, 15 TFL, Pro Bowl).