Straight Hucklebuck

We should be way past this by now. This isn't about culture anymore, we need talent, we need a Top 5 offense, a consistent Josh Allen.

The same things we've seen for over a year now: 1. Why does Gabe Davis have to play 95% of snaps? 2. Terrell Bernard is too small. 3. There is no vertical speed on this team. 4. McDermott got his two veteran running backs with size and we don't use either one of them. 5. Ill-timed runs that make you react like this: 🤷‍♂️ 6. Spencer Brown on skates. 7. Why are the corners playing 12 yards off on 3rd-6? 8. Slant to Stefon Diggs for a quick 8 yards and we never see it again 9. Kaiir Elam inactive again 10. Ed Oliver invisible again

You’re watching the Vikings, and despite the loss, it’s clear Kirk has chemistry with Jefferson and Hockenson. He finds those guys despite a crappy OLine, no run game, Osbourne dropping the ball constantly. Here in Buffalo it’s a scattered mess behind Diggs. Not being able to figure out how to do anything with Hines last year is a red flag on this offensive staff when it comes to me believing they can find ways to unlock Kincaid (and Knox). Can you think of anything, last year they couldn’t find a way to use him as a running back or a pass catcher. We are (or most of us will eventually) come to the joint understanding that Gabe Davis flat out sucks, but that means this offense has to revolve around the money investments. But Week One Kincaid is getting 1.6 air yards/play and nobody else is involved in the pass game but Diggs. Allen, Dorsey and that Tight End room have to figure out how to consistently get utilized. Because waiting for Gabe to do something is going to be the restrictor plate on this engine. Similar to the Hines point, no way do they figure out how to use Sherfield, Shakir or Harty. Harty is stuck in the exact role McKenzie was in. Goofy dump offs at the LOS, an occasional reverse, but never in motion towards the line of scrimmage at the snap, no drag routes. He’s going to be 2-4 touches per game.

1-1, now get to 2-1.

23-17 Bills is the first score that comes to mind.

At this point just get a win. I don't care if its 10-7.

Get him out of the game more often and rotate his snaps between Sherfield and Shakir. The coaches hate Shakir and love blocking so even if it was Sherfield that mixed in, but yeah, no reason Gabe has earned 95%+ snap count. He's one of the most inefficient players in the league. "People want" Diggs is a balanced WR who can run all three levels. After that, what have the Bills invested in? Tight Ends - Knox at $10.8M cap hit and a 1st Rounder in Kincaid. Harty is on a 1-year $4M deal. Sherfield is 1-year veteran minimum $1.7M deal. Shakir is on a 5th-Round rookie deal. So, like it or not Josh, there is no vertical speed on this team to throw it deep regardless other than peppering Diggs with 15 targets a game.

In the 17-game era: 2023 Targets/Game Hill = 15 (1st) Diggs = 13 (4th) 2022 Targets/Game Jefferson = 184 (1st) Diggs = 154 (5th) 2021 Targets/Game Kupp = 191 (1st) Diggs = 164 (5th) The realistic bar seems to be 10.8 - 11.5 targets/game on average. So realistically, Josh shouldn't be targeting Diggs much less than he did on Monday Night. It's Year 4 now for the hardest worker in the room. But our Coaches have it written in stone that he must play every snap of every game. It's never his fault though, I'm sure he was hampered by a rolled ankle from OTAs that will carry throughout the season.

There was a Day-1 starting RT to be had in the 3rd Round and we passed. We got the typical run around about not having a full training camp, being a young player with limited experience (didn't stop them from playing him out of desperation as a rookie though). On WR#2, just as was predicted, the run on WR started right before the Bills pick. Out of the bunch I liked Smith-Ngijba and Zay Flowers the best. It's the Bills who have told the fans ad-nauseum that Gabe Davis is the hardest worked in Buffalo Bills history and can't be taken off the field. None of this should be a surprise to anyone. Harty is a 5'6" undrafted player with 4.40 speed. That's not Tyreek Hill. Sherfield has 833 career receiving yards. Our best shot is to optimize the two tight end set and pepper Diggs with 20 targets a game. We are the late-era Aaron Rodgers Packers with one dominant WR (Adams) and little else on offense. Come Playoff time we'll struggle as we always do because the line will not hold up, Diggs will be taken away, and the Bills have no run game or second option in the pass game. Not every process will yield 100%. Beane's philosophy of carrying 2020-2021-2022 has kept the team competitive. But there seems to a ceiling.

I took play by play notes on Monday Night. It wasn't long before I wrote: "we have no speed on offense" This is just as it was in 2021 & 2022. Allen wants chunk plays, and other than Diggs, he has no vertical playmakers. That's a part of Allen's frustration at the podium. He has been provided checkdown offensive personnel. He said it verbatim last year: dink and dunk is nice, but sometimes you have to make things happen.

I think Mahomes is great and would work in any system. His vision is incredible. If you stuck him on the Cardinals today, they'd become more competitive instantly.

Well if Josh needs the same OC-QB Coach for the duration of his career that's not reality. Such a goofy take.

Do fans realize when they say things like - Jets have an amazing backfield, or that's the best D-Line we'll face all year, that the goal is to win a Super Bowl? And to do that you're going to face nothing but good teams with good defenses inevitably in the Playoffs? We do this all the time for the Buffalo Bills. We lower the bar to make ourselves feel good. Beane has not done a good enough job after acquiring Stefon Diggs when it comes to WR. We have "guys" after Diggs. If Allen isn't throwing to Diggs, Kincaid or Knox, I have no confidence. That started with Drive #2 with back to back Cook runs. We never did it again. The "creativity" bar is so low in Buffalo. A toss sweep is like wow, a reverse - holy smokes!, there was a play were Shakir motioned in the backfield - it catches your eye because every other play is so static and stationary. The Bills wild-package is a standard 4-wide, that's as "creative" as we get. Kincaid's average air yards on 4-catches was 1.6 yards. 6 total air yards. JUST WILD.

The Bills coaching staff is actively covering up concussions.

Gabe Davis 3+ years in still runs two routes: The post The comeback off the post No burst, no cutting ability, no jump ball, no precision. Completely inefficient in an era all about extracting the most from the margins of difference. As I said in other threads, he is a black hole in the offense. I wish the Coaches would start cutting his snaps back by phasing in Sherfield and Shakir. How can you pay a player who over 50% of the time gives you 40 yards or less? Hard pass, let some other team waste their money on the “hardest worker”.

Bills are slated to have: R1, R2, R3, R3 (Compensatory), R4, R5, R6, R6, R7 So if Beane can resist the urge to trade up, finding a quality OT, WR (really need two WRs and flush these spare parts from other teams), MLB should be possible. I agree with Airseven though, more overhaul of the line is needed, and the secondary has advanced age. Bills are also probably at a tipping point at DT and DE with Floyd on a 1-year, Epenesa in a contract year, Lawson on a 1 year, Phillps on a 1 year, Poona Ford on a 1 year and so on.

I hope so. Never should have extended Oliver and we should not spend a dime bringing this guy back.

"He can't block" The old Lee Smith argument.

#79 went to a DII school and played 2 years of organized football or something. We all knew he was going to be a problem again and yet here we are being told by our GM that he had a back injury last year, not enough reps in Training Camp, needs a full offseason. So in this instance, none of this was a surprise and there were options in the Draft to address this and the Bills choose not to. Maybe they will deal Kaiir Elam at the trade deadline for a RT.

Not talking him up Gunner, but your #2 WR right now is useless. Freaking useless. You know what? Take Gabe completely off the field, don't put Shakir out there because he can't play, start Sherfield at 94% snaps like Gabe gets every week and see if he can do more than 2-32 every game.

Well he did have two 3rd down catches against the Ravens, he went up and snagged one against the Dolphins Playoff game, had a nice one in the middle against the Steelers and a TD on an underthrown ball.

The Bills don’t have much. Harty is 5’ 6” without real game changing speed. His Week 1 usage suggest an Isaiah McKenzie-esque role. Sherfield has 833 career receiving yards. So Shakir has made a few plays here early on that suggests he has some talent. Last year we all said this when we saw McKenzie struggling, with Jamison Crowder out for the year, and Shakir is good enough to make a highlight catch in the Dolphins Playoff game (and a drop on a bomb that would have scored), is he not trusted to do more than this?

I just don't understand why Gabe has to play so much at the expense of Shakir. He runs two routes. We talk about Defensive Line rotations, Gabe Davis needs to be put in a rotation with Sherfield, Harty and Shakir immediately.

He says all the right things at the podium, but come Sunday I expect Gabe Davis to be playing 99% of snaps again, not getting open, Spencer Brown being put on ice skates, and if he's trying to go to anyone but Diggs, Knox or Kincaid, it's eventually going to be a turnover. When you look at the who the Bills are paying skill wise: Diggs should be getting 20 targets a game, then Knox and Kincaid combine for 15, and everyone else should split 8 targets. That's your 40-45 attempts per game, but targeting guys this team has actually invested in. 12 attempts to Cook, 5 for Josh, 3 to Harris, 3 to Murray. There is your 60 plays a game. Will Josh accept a shorter more disciplined passing game? The answer so far has been no and the rest of the NFL is not scared come Playoff time of Diggs, and a bunch of short area WRs. 2019 Josh showed he can do it but they also had better line play back then as well.

The Bills need to start cutting down on Gabe Davis snaps. There is no reason he needs to be on the field for 99% of snaps. I know this coaching staff hates Khalil Shakir, but I still not sure why he's only getting 7 snaps a game. How many more 2-32 yard games does this staff need to see from Gabe Davis? In the meantime, I don't blame Josh for over targeting Diggs, and moving Knox/Kincaid to #2 and #3 in targets, and avoiding Gabe Davis and probably Deonte Harty.