Logic

I will admit to always being tantalized by highly talented, high round draft picks who need a second chance and a change of scenery. That said...if Cine is EVER going to excel in the NFL, one would think that playing for Sean McDermott and his former coach Jameel Addae would be the place. McDermott has been a bit of a safety whisperer in my opinion, turning late rounders and aferthoughts like Kurt Coleman, Jordan Poyer, and Micah Hyde into productive starters. Give McDermott (and Cine's college coach) a chance to work with a guy with Cine's demeanor, athletic ability, and pedigree, and let's see what happens. Is it unrealistic of me (after up to a season on the PS learning the playbook) to envision a Bishop-Cine duo leading the Bills defense for the next five+ years? Maybe, but I'm gonna envision it anyway. Cine is a tenacious and hard hitting guy. He's got a little but of Jordan Poyer to him. Love this move.

This thread will be filled with lots of jokes and snark, I'm sure, but I like this move. The offensive coordinator should call the offense, the defensive coordinator should call the defense, and let the head coach be free to be a head coach. Last year was the first year Sean McDermott had to concentrate more on the defense, and the offense wound up being an undisciplined mess (relatively speaking) until Dorsey got fired. I don't think McDermott wants to "take his eye off the ball" like that again.

Thanks for the post. It's a good one, and a great question. I think if anyone knows the answer definitively, they ought to rush to One Bills Drive and share their wisdom with Beane and Co, because I'm sure they'd love to hear it. To put it simply: The Bills have been the second best team in the AFC the past four years. Unfortunately, the FIRST best team in the AFC has been standing in their way that whole time. That team has a HOF QB, too, but they ALSO have a HOF head coach, and one can argue that that has made the difference. I can't answer the question of why our defense folds in the playoffs -- though bad injury luck has surely had something to do with it. I can't answer the question of why they can't seem to kick the door down, summit the mountain, whatever you want to say... The best I can say is that this Bills team is the modern version of Peyton Manning's Colts teams. Hall of Fame quarterback, and consistently a powerhouse in the AFC. Unfortunately, their run of greatness coincided with a SUPERIOR run of greatness by a HOF QB/coach combo. That's what I think is happening here. Sure, there's the loss to the Bengals. I'll never know how much to take from that game, because the intangibles of our team were so funky at that time after the exhaustion of Hamlin/deadly blizzard/moved games/Kim Pegula. Mostly, though, it's been the Chiefs standing in our way. By and large, I just think we're a great team who can't seem to get past an even greater team. And yes, the only way the Bills will likely EVER win a championship in the Josh Allen era is if the defense can figure out a way to perform in the postseason the way they perform in the regular season. Can they? That's THE question, in my mind. Josh Allen will almost always get the job done in the clutch -- or at least perform well enough for a Bills win. Can the defense hold up its end of the bargain in January and February? Where for art thou, Bobby Babich?

On a tangential but somewhat unrelated note: If you're ever arguing with your wife and you want to guarantee to make things 10 times worse, tell her to "relax" or "calm down".

The key is that Kumerow played on special teams and Hodgins didn't. I know fans hate it, and don't like to think this way, but if you're a WR5 or WR6 in the NFL, in order to stick and be valuable to your team, you HAVE to play special teams. Hodgins didn't/doesn't. So the Giants rostered a guy last year who had 20 receptions for 230 yards, and didn't contribute on special teams. It's just not a very logical use of a roster spot.

No. Zero chance.

I mean...even the 2019 Bills -- whose roster seemed irrefutably worse than this year's roster -- won 10 games and made the playoffs. That was with a second year Josh Allen. The Bills haven't won single digit games since Allen's rookie year. I'll believe it when I see it.

The more I think about it, the more I think Codrington took Hardy's roster spot. A surprise given how well Hardy showed on defense, but...there's a surprise roster cut just about every year.

Straw man says what?

Yep. Hardy is the surprise cut of the year. I hope he winds up on our practice squad and not suiting up for another team, a la Alex Austin and Rachad Wildgoose before him.

Joe Andreesen is the Vince Papale of John DiGiorgios.

Nobody seems to know the details yet, but Joe Marino is saying he thinks IR for Hardy may be a real possibility (not sure if that's of the 4 game variety or the season-ending variety, or what the difference even is any more). Agreed that Hardy balled out and is an exciting prospect moving forward. It just might not be this calendar year that sees him making contributions. Even if he makes it back from IR this year, I could see him being a regular gameday inactive.

Great story, no doubt. He is more raw and requires more refinement and seasoning than he showed in the Pittsburgh game. I agree with the notion that he likely wouldn't have made it to the practice squad, so the Bills' hand was somewhat forced. I will say this: It's best not to get too attached to bottom-of-roster guys who miraculously make the 53 until a week or so has passed. The possibility of a cut from another team being signed by the Bills and forcing a fringe player or two off the roster exists and is not all that remote.

That was a quarter century ago!

They both stunk as returners, though. Like it or not, KR/PR is essentially a starting spot on a football team. Especially with more kicks likely to be returned under the new kickoff format. We didn't have a viable KR/PR. Now we do. And all we had to is something like swap a 2026 6th for a 2026 7th. Of all the things to give a second thought to, this just doesn't seem remotely close to one of them.

But we actually DON'T. The presumptive kick returners KJ Hamler and Andy Isabella were cut. The only remaining returner, Daequan Hardy, is rumored to be injured. Who was gonna return kicks and punts for the Bills?

Yeah gosh that 2026 7th round pick swap sure seems like a huge gaffe on Beane's part.

Best I could do is the article below. Seems like he was brought in strictly to be the Bills' returner. With Hamler and Isabella being cut and the rumor that Hardy is injured, the Bills literally didn't have a viable guy on the roster to return punts and kicks. Codrington is likely that guy. https://www.ganggreennation.com/2024/7/23/24203096/scouting-new-york-jets-udfa-cornerback-returner-brandon-codrington Codrington felt he was overlooked because of his lack of size as a high school recruit, with schools only offering him partial scholarships and preferred walk-on status offers. He instead opted to walk on at NC Central, where family members including his father had attended. Despite initially being buried on the depth chart, Codrington worked his way into the rotation as a freshman and registered six tackles in 12 games while also contributing as a return man. After the 2020 season got cancelled due to the pandemic, he started the first seven games of his career in 2021 and racked up a career-best 43 tackles with four pass breakups. In addition to his performance on defense, Codrington started to make a name for himself on special teams, as he was third in the FCS with a 15 yards per return average on punts and second in the MEAC on kickoffs. This earned him all-conference and HBCU All-American first team honors. In 2022, Codrington’s return numbers dropped off, but he still contributed well on defense with 19 tackles and a pass breakup in five starts. His 2023 season saw him start off as a reserve, but he started the last six games and racked up 25 tackles and a career-high five pass breakups. He also had his best year on punt returns, with two touchdowns and a 19.6 yards per return average to again earn all-conference and all-American first team honors. At the end of his career, Codrington attended the HBCU combine and his pro day, but he wasn’t expected to be drafted and didn’t get signed as an undrafted free agent. However, Codrington then attended the Jets’ rookie mini-camp on a tryout basis and earned a contract with no guaranteed money. Codrington is...very small. Although listed at 5’9” and 185 pounds, he weighed in at just 176 pounds during the offseason and measured less than 5’8”. He also has extremely short arms. At the HBCU combine, Codrington’s numbers were pretty bad across the board, including a 4.61 in the 40-yard dash, 32.5-inch vertical and 4.47 in the short shuttle. He improved on each of these at his pro day, registering marks of 4.55, 35 inches and 4.33 in those disciplines.

The Panthers cut Terrace Marshall. I wonder how Joe Brady feels about his old LSU and Carolina WR...

Agreed. I'm used to seeing these late round OT projects not amount to much. Tommy Doyle, Luke Tenuta, etc. Grable looks like a completely different story. I thought he mostly looked awesome in the preseason. The rare developmental guy who genuinely looks like he could become a starter -- or at least a quality swing tackle -- a year or two down the line.

From that list, give me Andreesen and Spector. Jonathan just doesn't do it for me. The rest are practice squad guys.

I can't help but think that Kincaid is gonna be the de facto number 1 receiver on the Bills. A projection of about 55 yards per game would put him at 935 yards, which would've placed him 5th in the league in terms of receiving yardage among tight ends last year. I'd like to say that 55 yards per game seems like a modest estimate, but with the presence of a (presumably) healthy Dawson Knox and Brady's proclivity for spreading the ball around, it seems like a reasonable estimate to me. In any case, I think Kincaid will become a household name this year and will cement his place as one of the top 5 tight ends in the NFL for the foreseeable future.

I explained myself clearly. I linked an article detailing exactly what I was talking about. It's all out there on Youtube to be watched by anyone with the time and inclination to do so. Your opinion is your opinion. Clearly no input, explanation, or video evidence to the contrary will sway you. That's fine. I truly don't care. Hope you have a great Tuesday.