HappyDays

This season should give us the final answer on the talent vs coaching argument as it pertains to playoff defense. No we don't have all-pros at every level of the defense, but throughout this offseason we have spent a ton of resources on talented players that are scheme fits, we've brought in new defensive coaches with different schematic backgrounds, and we've extended several defensive players presumably with the coaching staff's blessing. So they have to make this group work. There can't be any excuses. If we once again watch KC's offense move up and down the field at will in January that has to be the signal that no amount of investment is ever going to be enough for McDermott's defense to get it done. With all of that being said, I'm not predicting one way or another if the investments will lead to a different result. I'm hopeful that it will. Mostly I'm glad the excuses are off the table. Time to just get it done.

Might help us actually. Imagine the Bengals get in as the #7 seed at 10-7 and the Texans win the AFCS at 9-8 (not a super unlikely scenario). If we're the #2 seed, in the current format we'd play the Bengals even though the Texans would be the more favorable opponent. In the new proposed format we'd play the Texans because they'd now be the lower seed. So as a higher seed you'd always be guaranteed to face the worst remaining team based on record.

Personally I classify elite players as players who are specifically game planned against but still make game changing plays. Guys where just planning around them isn't enough. So it's somewhat subjective, I'm not basing it on stats or media voting. Spencer Brown may not be an official all-pro but to me he's elite because he changes the way our offense functions and there's nothing a defense can do to stop it. That's what separates Ed Oliver from say Chris Jones. You can take Oliver out of a game, Jones you can only slow down and hope he doesn't get you too bad.

You could definitely make the argument we should have ran the ball more on that final drive since Cook had clearly been our best skill player. I will say though we had him out there on the final 2nd down and he whiffed on his block which prevented Allen from completing his pass to an open Samuel... And then on 3rd and medium should he have been out there? Probably not. That is the give and take with Cook's skill set. What he adds to the rushing offense he takes from the passing offense. That's why he has been a 50% snap player for us.

For my money there's really only two guys in that tier though, Surtain and Stingley. Then's there a cluster of really good CBs with little discernible difference from one to another and Benford to me fits in cleanly to that group. It's really hard in the modern NFL for a CB to be a true game changing player. In that light I view the position the same way that I view OT. And Brown is someone I personally would put into the elite category already even though it has just been the one elite season, but again an elite RT is not going to be a true game changer. The Bills problem is that pass rushers and pass catchers are the biggest game changers (behind QB obviously) and we don't have anyone that really comes close to being elite at those positions. Oliver is very good, Rousseau is very good although more as a run stopper than a pass rusher, and Shakir is very good but plays a limited role. When you look at Super Bowl teams in recent years they usually have an elite pass catcher AND an elite pass rusher, sometimes multiple of each. Without either the margins are slim. Allen is almost enough on his own to overcome it, but unfortunately "almost" has been the ceiling. Hopefully Bosa rejuvenates his career and/or we get immediate impact from Sanders or Jackson. As far as pass catchers... hope that Kincaid or Coleman take a huge step forward.

It will be a fun trick question in 20 years. Which QB started the final regular season game at Rich Stadium? Mitch Trubisky, of course.

Not to whistle past the graveyard but this feels like a mistake for Baltimore... Giving a big contract to a 30+ year old RB is pretty risky.

Damn I was hoping to get them later in the season after Henry racked up more miles and Lamar is due for another mid-season injury. Missing Hoecht for that game is going to suck too. But that's a game we probably have to win if we want the #1 seed. The margins at the top of the AFC are going to be slim.

That was in his college scouting report but hasn't been true in the pros IMO.

I guess I can't 100% trust this guy anymore but good news if true, no Christmas game.

This is getting ugly:

No chance. McDermott would lose the locker room if he did that. Every player can see in practice that Cook moves at a different level from the RBs behind him. If McDermott put him in the doghouse because of a very common negotiation tactic, he loses his grip on the team.

Can't remember ever seeing a Bills CB move like this

Rumor I heard from someone that would know is Bengals @ Bills as the week 1 SNF game. Getting them week 1 in primetime in a rocking Highmark Stadium is the best case scenario since historically Cincy has struggled the first two weeks.

Well they're ultimately an entertainment business and that appearance earned them a lot of positive attention, which is a very profitable outcome for the organization. The rant to me also felt rehearsed. Like when Beane paused for a second and Jeremy White started stammering "uh, uh" and Beane interrupted him "let me finish" like he was waiting to say that. I'm not a conspiracy nut and I'm not saying I know for sure it was a stunt, but everything this regime has done on the public facing side has been very calculated from day one. So that's my theory.

I've gone back and forth on it but as of now this is where I'm at as well. My original thought was you let Cook walk so you can afford a true top 2 WR. But Beane clearly just isn't going to spend his money there. So Cook for the foreseeable future is easily our most explosive skill player. We aren't going to see deep passing TDs so without Cook our offense would have no easy button TDs on the menu, and it's just hard to run an offense with such a low margin for error. Cook's AAV will probably end up right around the combined cap hits of Ogunjobi and Tre White. No question I'd rather have Cook over those two, it's not even a debate in my mind. So I'm not sure paying him will actually negatively affect our team, it just means Beane will have to spend less money on defensive depth players which is a meaningless consequence to me.

Uh oh... Kincaid looks fat...

New regime coming in wants to clean out the stink from the last regime... I didn't expect it either but I get it. They have BTJ and Hunter to play outside so Gabe and his rehabbing knee are a redundancy on the roster.

He was in town to see Shane Gillis' show. It was unrelated to his release. I was told he was shocked to get this news today, didn't see it coming.

It won't even be that expensive. I wouldn't be surprised if a team throws a 7th at Jacksonville before he's officially released at 4PM today. The trading team would only be on the hook for $1.5M. If he doesn't get traded, it will probably cost around the same. He's still rehabbing a knee injury and teams mostly have their rosters set at this point.

My ranking assumes everyone is fully healthy: Shakir Palmer Samuel Knox Kincaid/Coleman Moore Shakir is easily #1. Palmer is easily #2. After that it becomes tighter. I put Samuel #3 because when healthy he has proven to be the most productive of the remaining players. It's possible he has just totally fallen off a cliff in which case he'd be near the bottom, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt for now. I'm surprised everyone is ranking Kincaid over Knox. Based solely on last year Knox was clearly the more reliable pass catcher. And I don't take Kincaid's knee injury as a good enough excuse for his lack of production. To my eyes he was drifting on routes, he wasn't adjusting to defensive coverage, and his hands were too unreliable. He has a higher ceiling than Knox but as of today Knox is the better player. I put Kincaid and Coleman together because I have them in the same bucket of young pass catcher who has been inconsistent but appears to have a higher ceiling than what they've shown to this point. I'd say I'm probably slightly more optimistic about Coleman at this point because he's younger and more raw, so more room to grow IMO. Moore I have last. I'm pretty down on him. He's entering year 5 and hasn't been able to stick anywhere. Bad QB play doesn't fully explain that career arc. I see him as just Shakir's and Samuel's backup. He'll play when injuries inevitably come up but he's been way too unreliable throughout his career to count on him for a full time role.