msw2112

Thank you.

This sounds right to me. I'm curious about McGovern's experience as a center. I don't have any knowledge on the subject. He's a good guard, but a center has to snap the ball and make line calls. It's not the same, although many players can do both. I don't know if he's one of them, but I have to assume the Bills know. I'd like to think they're not going to make a guy the starting center on a contending team if they don't already know that he can play center. Particularly after trading another player who they know can play center.

I highly doubt Haack makes the team. I think Martin is done and they need a body for spring activities and camps. May draft a P and/or bring in someone else.

I like Sutton and think he's a very good player, but the numbers don't add up. His age and salary are both too high for what the Bills need. Jeudy is oft-injured and while very fast, not a very good NFL WR. He was a great college player, but has not really panned out in the NFL. I think the Bills have to go draft for WR. One in the first 2 rounds and another in rounds 4-6.

I don't like Rattler. He's a talented player, but a very me-first type. He lost his job at Oklahoma and did not handle it well, ultimately bailing and transferring to South Carolina. He did play some good football there, but I just don't like his personality and don't see him as a good fit for the Bills (not a "process" guy). Someone else above said that Rattler is living off his reputation of being one of the top QB's to come out of high school when he did (might have even been the #1 guy), but he has not lived up to that potential at Oklahoma or South Carolina. I agree with that.

Milton is terrible. He's a slightly more athletic version of EJ Manuel. He was given the starting job twice at Michigan and lost it, and then transferred to Tennessee and was again given the starting job and lost it. After injuries and graduations, he got the Tennessee job last season and he did OK, but he has never come close to reaching his athletic potential. He's a guy that, in practice, looks like the best player in college football, but he wilts when the bright lights come on. He's big, strong, and athletic. By all accounts, he's a hard worker and a team player. He has one of the strongest arms ever to play the game - can throw it a mile with great velocity. All that said, he has no touch and zero accuracy. He can't read a defense. I suppose some might call that Josh Allen 2.0, but Josh carried a bad Wyoming team, whereas Milton couldn't win with a very talented Michigan team and was good at times, but not great at Tennessee. Again, he's more like EJ Manuel 2.0 than Josh Allen 2.0. I have nothing personal against Milton and would be happy for him if he succeeded, but I've seen him play enough to have a good feel for what he brings to the table and I just don't see NFL success in his future. For a 2nd string QB, I believe a team is better off with a cerebral guy who knows the offense and can be a game manager that won't make a lot of mistakes and try to let the defense win the game. Maybe an undersized guy or a guy who has the mental makeup of a starter, but not the physical tools to be one. Milton is the opposite. He oozes talent and has the ability to make wow plays, but makes a ton of mistakes and can't keep the train on the tracks. If anything, he's a practice squad type of guy that you work with to try and develop over a long period of time. Not they guy you give the keys to as a rookie when your star QB goes down.

I was thinking the same thing. Bates can play any of the 5 positions along the line and has starting experience at guard. The Bills were fortunate to go the entire season without injuries on the OL, but that's unlikely to be the situation again this upcoming season. It's possible that Bates asked out so that he could get an opportunity to start and Beane did him a solid, and along the way, saved some salary and cap space and netted a 5th rounder in return. I typically give Beane the benefit of the doubt. I don't think they would have made this move without 1) a good reason to make it; and 2) a plan for replacing the function that Bates provided to the team.

Other than a franchise QB, which now commands a salary in the $25-$55M range, who impacts a team more than the head coach? In other words, relative to player salaries, these head coaches salaries are very reasonable. Those kinds of numbers are obviously in a totally different stratosphere than what your average working joe (or message board participant) makes.

I was there with 3 other guys and we were this close to leaving at halftime. We decided to see how the 1st drive of the 2nd half would start and it ended up with the Bills throwing a pick-6 to fall even further behind. At that point, we said, "what the hell, we stayed through halftime, so we might as well stick it out." It was an unseasonably warm day for early January. Had the weather been anything like the last couple of Bills home playoff games, we likely would have bailed. I probably have my torn half of the ticket stub at the bottom of a drawer somewhere. If I find it, I'm happy to sell it to someone for a few hondo. Since the ticket was actually used, I think it has more value than some unused ticket. Put another way, not only was I there, but that ticket stub was there too! 😉

I agree with this. I don't see anything good coming out of bad-mouthing opponents.

Buffalo media? This was a huge national story that was in all media outlets, not just sports media. The Bills were trying to get through training camp and play in a preseason game and this was 100% of what Beane and McDermott were dealing with every day. The team was the favorite to win the Super Bowl and needed to get the focus off of a rookie punter's legal troubles and back onto football. They were in a terrible spot and made the best decision they could at the time. In a perfect world, they would have let the legal process play out, but the Bills did not have the luxury of time. For those that now lament the Bills not signing him after the legal matters were dropped, there are several things at play: 1. It's likely the bridges were burned with the Bills and he wasn't going to come back 2. 31 other teams stayed away from him for 2 seasons, so it's not like the Bills were a bumbling outlier 3. Signing him for the playoffs would have been a terrible idea. The guy had played only 1 NFL snap (in the PRESEASON), had never been a regular PAT/FG holder, and had never played in cold weather. I'm happy for the kid that his legal troubles are behind him and glad he's getting a chance to resume his career. It sucks that it's with one of the Bills' rivals, but he was a free agent and could have signed wherever he wanted. It wasn't going to be Buffalo, and KC gave him the opportunity. It's time to move on.

He wasn't coming back to Buffalo and since he was exonerated (more or less), somebody was going to sign him. He has a rare talent. I certainly would have preferred to see him sign with a NFC team that the Bills rarely see rather than an AFC contender who they face almost every year, regular season and playoffs. While a punter's impact might be fairly minimal, it would be a bit of a slap in the face if he boomed a huge punt that "flipped the field" against the Bills in a crucial moment of a big game. It would not have been realistic for the Bills to sign him late last season. The kid had never taken a snap in a NFL game, other than one in a preseason game, and had never held for field goals in any meaningful football game. He's also from a warm weather hometown and college, so he'd never played in cold weather. The risk was way too high, all of the other "distraction" stuff aside. I do think that he will eventually get all of that experience and be a very good NFL punter.

Hindsight is 20-20. Had the Bills known that Jefferson would be available and would be putting up video game numbers, of course they would have kept the pick and drafted Jefferson. But they didn't know that (and neither did any of us posting on a team chat board) and they made the trade. Diggs was a huge part of changing the Bills culture and becoming one of the top teams in the league. He was also a key player in Josh Allen's ascension to becoming one of the top QBs in the league. So, the trade was definitely not terrible. It was a trade that greatly benefitted both teams. It's also possible that the veteran leadership provided by Diggs may have lacked if they had a rookie in that role, and the team may not have been as successful as it has been. Going forward, Diggs may not be a big part of the Bills plays (although he's likely in the mix one more year) and Jefferson may be in line for a $30+M payday. The Bills are going to need to find the next Diggs or Jefferson in the draft. To the OP, although I'm not an Ohio State fan, I like McLaurin a lot and would love to see him in a Bills uniform for 1 or 2 seasons, before age catches up with him, but it's not likely realistic from a cap perspective. He's an excellent receiver and is underrated because he's on a team that's been bad and dysfunctional for a long time. Imagine his numbers if he played with a QB like Josh Allen....

I was watching it on TV and kept saying the same thing over and over ("they need to milk the clock down to next to nothing before they score....") and finally someone told me to "shut up already." And yet I'm STILL saying it! The truly unfortunate part is that they were in perfect position to do this (with Diggs wide open underneath on 2nd down, for an easy first down), but Allen decided to throw to the end zone (incomplete, as we all know) instead.

The bolded is the position that I'm taking and stand by. I don't know what the play's design or intent was, but on the fateful 2nd down play, there were three defenders in the end zone in the vicinity of Shair. I agree that he had gotten past them and a perfect throw would have resulted in a TD. That said, Shair's deep route cleared out everything underneath, which left Diggs WIDE OPEN for an easy catch and nobody between him and the first down marker. Had that play been made, the Bills would have had the opportunity to work the clock and employ the "score at the last possible second" strategy. That's a wise strategy in a game involving top-flight QBs and offenses that have delivered in the clutch time and time again (Brady's Pats, Mahomes' Chiefs, etc.) where it's highly likely that whoever has the last possession is going to score and win the game. That was the situation at the end of regulation in the Super Bowl and I believe the Chiefs handled it properly. They got into position to score the winning TD, but if they couldn't score it (which they didn't), they were able to tie the game with an easy chip shot FG, and they left no time on the clock for the 49ers to come back down the field and beat them. And that was with Brock Purdy on the other sideline, not someone like Allen or Mahomes.

Which is why many posters on this board have been saying repeatedly that on the final drive against the Chiefs, the Bills should have milked the clock down before taking shots at the end zone, giving them a) an opportunity to get the winning score; and b) keep the Chiefs off the field against that crippled defense. Allen is awesome, but he could have been even more awesome if he got the first down by hitting Diggs underneath and working the clock down before taking the end zone shots. I wouldn't trade Allen for Mahomes or any other player in the NFL, but I still think he could have handled that situation better. The coaches may bear responsibility too, as everyone should have been in synch with the plan. They even had the 2-minute warning timeout to discuss it.

I try not to make comments that are sexist or misogynistic on this board (or anywhere else), so my apologies in advance if anyone is offended, but when I saw that photo, that's EXACTLY the thought that crossed my mind.

Sounds like something you drop in the toilet after eating a lot of chia seeds.

I love Mikey Sainristil, but I worry if he has the physique to survive in the NFL. He's listed at 5'10", 182 lbs. which is in the small side for the NFL to begin with, and I'm not sure he's really that tall or that heavy. Obviously, the real numbers will be revealed at the combine. That said, he's a great team player, leader, and clutch performer and his the skill and compete level to succeed in the NFL. The Bills could certainly use some young, talented CBs. I also love his teammate WR Roman Wilson, but have of the same concerns. Wilson is listed at 6'0", 192 lbs., but seems smaller than that. He does PLAY bigger than that, but I could see him having trouble getting off the line in the NFL and/or struggling with injuries. Wilson, like Sainristil, is a great team player who consistently comes through in the clutch. He may be too similar to Shakir for the Bills to be interested in him on Day 2, when he's likely to get drafted. I think the Bills are interested in a taller, more physical WR. Finally, I'm a huge fan of Michigan RB Blake Corum. He's not tall, but he's stocky and well-built, and squats unbelievable amounts of weight, so I think he'll be fine physically in the NFL. He doesn't have breakaway speed, but he always gets positive yardage, is fantastic on 3rd and 4th and short, and has a nose for the end zone. He's Michigan's all-time leader in TDs and had 27 (TWENTY-SEVEN!) TD's this past season, including the dagger to kill off Ohio State, the OT winner vs. Alabama in the Playoff/Rose Bowl and 2 in the fourth quarter in the National Championship game. He was not used in the passing game a ton, but showed good hands and was effective when called upon. He's also a team-first guy, active in the community, and a clutch performer (see the previous sentence). He's look awfully good in the red, white and blue next season. Again, with Cook, the Bills might not be in the market for a guy like Corum at the point in the draft when he comes off the board. I could envision Corum being a workhorse #1 back in the NFL, but most teams have platoon backfields these days and he'd be a nice complement to Cook. All of these guys made enormous contributions to Michigan's run to the national championship.

I agree that this was a terrible defensive call. I, watching on TV, saw the blitz coming. If I knew it, Mahomes and the Chiefs certainly knew it. I said to my friends that the Chiefs would easily beat the blitz and they did. I'd be OK with a well-disguised blitz (although blitzing Mahomes is risky in any fashion), but this was so obvious that it was very easy to beat. I still don't know if it warrants firing Wilks. His defense kept the 49ers in the game and the sputtering offense really failed them. But, then, Shanahan can't fire himself.

I agree that I don't agree.

I know this is an ESPN 30 for 30 documentary and is available on ESPN+. Is it also on Netflix?

I agree that 13 seconds was not Allen's fault. But despite the boneheaded coaching decisions made by the Bills helping him out, Mahomes properly read what the defense was giving him and got his team into FG range to tie that game in 13 seconds. It showed a mastery of the game that few have. Allen was off-the-charts incredible in that game and if he had the benefit of a possession in OT, I'm confident the Bills would have scored. But that's another story. Mahomes' mastery of the game in crunch-time situations is second to none (since Brady's retirement). That doesn't mean that Mahomes is a 10 to Allen's 2 or 3. Allen is a 9 1/2. Mahomes is not a "Mental God" over Josh. They don't play against each other, as they are not on the field at the same time. That said, Mahomes has displayed a mastery of the situation in crunch time, particularly in the playoffs, that Allen has not yet shown. Allen needs to work on the decision making part of his game and if he improves there, he'll be as good, and quite possibly better than Mahomes.

I don't think Mahomes is vastly superior to Allen. To the contrary, Allen is better in many areas. But you can't ignore the reality that Mahomes has 3 Super Bowl titles and Allen has none. Mahomes has found a way to get the job done in the playoffs and Allen has not. Mahomes has accomplished more than any QB in the first 5-6 years of his career than any other QB in NFL history. I'm not a Mahomes ball-washer. I prefer Allen for the Bills and wouldn't make the trade. That said, I can't ignore the facts and reality of the situation. I also stand by my belief on how the Bills should have handled the final 2 minutes against the Chiefs. It was critical that they used up the clock as well as scored (and unfortunately, they did neither). That's just smart football and the correct management of the situation. It's similar to when a player gives himself up before the goal line and slides at the 1 yard line. You don't want to leave enough time on the clock for the other team to beat you, especially when you have a Hall of Fame QB on the other sideline who has done it time and again. Furthermore, the Bills were trotting out a shell of their staring defense. Do you really think that unit was going to get a stop against Mahomes and the Chiefs in that situation? Perhaps Allen is not at fault - maybe it was Brady and/or McDermott not communicating the strategy or not calling the correct play. I would rather have had the Bills take a FG with no time on the clock than scoring a TD with almost 2 minutes on the clock and Mahomes on the other sideline. That's exactly what the Chiefs did in the Super Bowl and it worked out pretty well for them. They used up the clock, preventing the 49ers from having the last possession, tried to get the winning TD, couldn't get it, and wisely took the FG to live another day in OT.

I'm fine with bringing Trubisky back on a team-friendly deal. He's better than Kyle Allen and could keep the team afloat for a few weeks, if Josh were injured. I don't see Mitch going into KC and willing the team to victory, but could he beat the Jests or Pats in Buffalo? Sure. He's a good fit for the Bills' system and situation, better than he was for the Steelers' and the Bills were not going to (and are not going to have to) pay him what the Steelers were paying him. I also advocate drafting a day-3 QB to develop as a potential future backup. Kind of like a Jake Fromm who doesn't suck.