Logic

The issue is that when your depth chart is thin to begin with, you can’t afford to lose anyone. Even if MVS and Claypool were healthy, I wouldn’t be feeling good about our potential week one WR depth chart if Samuel misses the game. Without Samuel in the lineup, Shakir is about the only WR worth a darn. Any way you slice it, injuries or not, Josh Allen may be about to enter his age 29 season with the worst receiving corps he’s had since he was a rookie. That’s downright criminal. Joe Burrow has Chase and Higgins. Mahomes has Brown, Worthy, and Rice. Josh Allen, as of this moment, may be starting week one with Hollins, Coleman, and Shakir. Nauseating.

The fact that we are two weeks prior to the season kicking off and there's a "receivers the Bills could go after" thread is so infuriating, and so predictable. The loudness and ferocity with which I was called a negative Nellie and told not to doubt Brandon Beane back in May. And here we sit. Failing some miracle trade, we're very likely looking at Mack Hollins being counted on as a starting outside receiver in week 1 of the season. If you think that constitutes anything but criminal roster mismanagement by Brandon Beane, then I don't know what to tell ya.

Why rush him back? Because with the wide receiver depth chart minus Curtis Samuel, the Bills' chances at staying afloat until November don't seem great. It'd be lovely to get a full strength Samuel back in November, sure, but not if the Bills are 3-5 at that point.

I'm sure you can barely contain your excitement.

The severity of Samuel's turf toe would be a great thing to know, as it drastically affects the outlook for his recovery. We have to assume from the "week to week" language that it's not Grade 3. Grade 1: A mild case that may heal on its own in a few days to a week with rest. Grade 2: May require a few days to a couple of weeks off, but could take a few weeks to fully heal. Grade 3: Can take two to six months to heal, and may require surgery and wearing a cast for six or more weeks. A study of 15 football players with grade 3 injuries found they missed an average of 16.5 weeks of playing time while recovering from surgery.

Turf toe absolutely lingers and absolutely limits players' effectiveness. Of all that bad injury news, Samuel having turf toe is easily the worst of it. Especially with how integral it sounded like he was going to be to this team's plans offensively. There is really no one on our offense that can replicate his skillset, either. This is NOT good. Potential week one WRs: Coleman Hollins Shakir Shavers Hamler That is truly ugly. Good God.

Plus we let Sammy Watkins go there. Grrrr I'm MAD

Seeing the lack of success for our receivers so far this preseason (bad QB play notwithstanding) is irritating, because it was entirely predictable. On draft night, I wanted Xavier Worthy. Why? Because if you've decided that you're going to operate a lot of your offense through the middle of the field with guys like Dalton Kincaid, Dawson Knox, Khalil Shakir, and Cook/Davis, it makes sense to ensure that the defense can't squat on it. It makes sense to put explosive guys on the outside to take the top off the defense and open things up. So the fastest WR in combine history was sitting there, and I had visions of Worthy and Samuel on the outside, and the aforementioned TEs and Shakir eating in the MOF all day long. Or pounding the run game and opening up deep shots to Worthy. Or killing them with crossers if the defense went man-heavy. Instead the Bills decided they wanted a big-bodied X receiver (which I thought they could've gotten later in the draft with someone like Javon Baker), and to let the Kansas City chiefs -- Yes, the KANSAS CITY CHIEFS -- get the fastest player in combine history instead. Fast forward to today, and Worthy is making deep touchdown catches in camp and preseason games, and Coleman is still struggling to separate from any cornerbacks of competence. Of course it's still only preseason, and we need to give Coleman time to develop, and I direly hope I'm wrong about the whole mess and he makes me look like an idiot. At this moment, though, the lack of separation and, ultimately, production by our wide receivers through two preseason games is anything but surprising, and the fact that Worthy looks like an early star (or at the very least a productive starting WR) makes it sting all the more. It's early, yes, but it looks like once again it's going to require expert scheming by the OC and all-world heroism by Josh Allen in order to get production from our offense. Lovely.

I eat almost anything. I'm not a picky eater. On the contrary, I'd say I'm one of the more adventurous eaters I know. Mustard (and anything in the mustard family, like horseradish) is the ONLY thing on earth that will ruin a meal for me. I just can't stand it. I find it disgusting. ESPECIALLY the yellow mustard that's so ubiquitous in America. Absolutely putrid stuff.

They'll make the playoffs. Josh Allen is a good enough quarterback and Sean McDermott is a good enough head coach that the Bills are in the "playoffs every year" category until further notice. They haven't won less than 10 games since 2018. They have the second most wins in the league since 2020. Even in 2019, BEFORE Stefon Diggs arrived and before they had a Dalton Kincaid level talent at tight end, they won 10 games -- and that was with a second year Josh Allen! I simply don't buy the notion of the Buffalo Bills struggling to make the playoffs as long as Josh Allen is the quarterback of the team.

I'm worried about the BIG things. Global warming, cancer, monkeypox, bankruptcy, the anesthesia not working correctly and me being fully conscious during surgery, dying alone and with a lot of regrets, and the restaurant putting mustard on my burger when I explicitly asked them not to. But to each their own.

I was simply replying to the comment "a linebacker will not decide the destiny of this team". A linebacker kind of DID decide the destiny of this team just last year. I was simply pointing out that the notion that the absence of an off-ball linebacker (or the performance of his replacement) can't swing a season -- based on recent evidence -- seems inaccurate. That's all.

If he could get a game or two in December to round back into form and be ready for playoffs (assuming the Bills qualify for them), that would be huuuuuuge!

I think Davis will be more than that by midseason. In terms of the skills required of a starting NFL running back, I can't think of anything Cook does better than Davis. He's faster/quicker, and that's about it. All indications from camp seem to suggest that Davis is better at catching the ball, better at pass blocking, and is as effective -- if not more so -- as an actual rusher as Cook. I realize Cook had a productive season last year, but inability to consistently catch the ball and pass block, if not remedied, will pave the way to his ceding snaps to Davis.

I made no comment about where Klein lined up. I stated only that he was abused in the passing game and was a huge factor in the Bills' inability to stop the Chiefs offense. These things are objectively true.

Right no but I'm talking about actual reality that actually happened last year. AJ Klein -- an off-ball linebacker, same as Milano -- played in the Chiefs playoff game and was absolutely abused by Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce all game long. It was arguably the biggest factor in the Bills' inability to stop the Chiefs offense in a home playoff game that could've sent them to the AFC Championship game. This really happened. It was on TV and everything.

Sounds like December is the best case scenario, with playoffs more likely.

The Bills were NOT just fine without Milano last year come playoff time. A LB very literally DID determine this team's destiny last year.

When we drafted Dorian Williams in the 3rd last year, everyone cried that it was a wasted pick, as if depth in the NFL is not a necessity. Fast forward a calendar year, and Matt Milano has now suffered a serious injury in back-to-back seasons and is set to be out until the playoffs. This goes to show that drafting depth is NOT the crazy, dumb, bad idea and waste of a pick that many cried about. Now we just need to hope that Williams can step up at WILL the same way that Bernard did at MIKE last year. If he can, Bernard/Williams could very likely be the LB duo that leads this defense for the next five years.

per Cover 1. I realize this could go in the megathread on the subject, but seemed big enough news to warrant its own thread. Move if needed.

Right, yes, misspoke in that last sentence. Coffee hasn't hit my brain yet this morning. Even if they moved him to WILL, he'd still appear to be behind a few others. I understand that the linebacker positions are somewhat interchangeable in the McDermott defense, but not entirely. Either way, I think the Bills would certainly prefer that their second year 3rd rounder steps up and lays claim to the role rather than having to depend on a 29 year old vet minimum journeyman free agent.

Last seen running as the fourth string MLB. It's possible they could move him to WILL, and that he could climb the depth chart. Right now though, he seems to play a different position in the Bills defense than Matt Milano, and -- even if he were moved to MLB -- would seem to be behind Williams and Ulofoshio currently.

Yeah. The silence has been deafening. Time to see what Dorian Williams has got, I guess.

And it would be no less true now than it was then. Facts are facts.