Straight Hucklebuck

It's not insane to conclude that Josh isn't as dedicated to his fitness when sequences on Kyle Brandt's basement go like this, and I'm paraphrasing here: Kyle Brandt: What's up man, are you working out? Josh Allen: Yeah (smiles) ... all the time Kyle Brandt: Really? Josh Allen: All the time Or later in the interview where he says that he has leaned on natural talent more in his past. Or when he talks about how Joe Burrow is "all-ball" when working with Palmer and Josh is cracking jokes. Then you see pictures of him and he's carrying a belly. Josh Allen HIMSELF came back to Buffalo and said he can do more and lead this team better. So it's not anti-Bills, it's not anti-Josh, it's not you really want the Bills to fail. It's this team hasn't won a Super Bowl. We're 0-4 in 60+ years of existence. And of course, in Buffalo luck, we get good just when the AFC is exploding with QB talent. And because the cap is strained, Beane has kept the 2020-2021-2022 team together as much as he possibly could (to his credit), one of the few levers this team has to get better before age catches up with them (Diggs, Von, Milano, Hyde, Poyer, White) is for Allen to take his game to another level. Since he's in Year 6 now and Sal C is running around saying he doesn't need a veteran QB anymore, he is the veteran, then his physical fitness is one avenue to possibly extract more performance. Nobody is saying they hate him or the Bills. That's classic embellishment.

Bills fans and Bills media need to get this fact through their heads: Allen and the Bills are not Mahomes. There is a gap. If Mahomes never gets better he’s proven that level wins Championships plural. For Allen, he has played at a Top 4 level for the past 3 years. It’s 35-37 TDs throwing, 6-8 rushing TDs. It’s outstanding! But the Bills are not the Chiefs, so all some fans are asking - is there another level that Josh can get to? He’s not getting younger and this staff doesn’t want him to run more, so the obvious door that is open to me is his physical fitness. If Danielle Radcliffe can get ripped, all I’m noticing is that Allen doesn’t hit the weight room by comparison. He has said this. The Kyle Brandt interviews where he talks about getting by on talent. He came back to Buffalo this year saying he “can do more” and “he’s more focused on football than ever” we all know what that was. I don’t hate the man or anything like that, of course he’s great for this team and city. But I don’t think it’s illogical to listen to the interviews that he does, listen to these podcasts with Jordan Palmer, listen to the Simms interview, see this photos and conclude, the guy doesn’t work out as much as he could. And for a team desperately trying to keep 2020-2022 together, Allen’s fitness is one potential path to unlock a higher level. And the Bills need that. Nobody is saying he can’t have a beer or he needs to stay in his house with the shades down all day. But get photographed with a lower body fat content and actual definition in your legs? Maybe get photographed with a weight in your hand like Herbert who realized quickly that he needed to lift to improve in the NFL?

I agree. When he goes on Kyle Brandt and talks about getting by on natural talent, when he laughs about putting in all the offseason work, and you see these photos of him, no way is he working as hard as he can to put himself into the best position he can. Let alone all of these stories about drinking. Then the Phil Simms interview where he talks about box squats, but does nothing up top. It's like okay, then you watch a video of Hurts squatting 600-pounds, see Mahomes back in the gym 10-days after the victory parade, Burrow starting work in March. The more of these interviews I hear, the less convinced I am that he works on his body in the offseason. And I noticed it last year that he looked pudgy. He's saying now that it's all football and he's never been into it more. I hope so, because as you point out, the talent is there, and so there is more meat on the bone for him to reach another level. Scroll to photo 7/8.

https://www.yahoo.com/now/nfl-quarterback-josh-allen-girlfriend-170726772.html You look at some of those pictures, and I think it's clear that Allen hasn't exactly been a gym rat.

Not a shock with Josh and the drinking. Has he started to lift weights or is he going to continue to get by on "farm" strength?

Yes. This is correct. Von is 34 Hyde and Poyer are both 32 Diggs is 29 Morse is 31 Milano is 29 Tre is 28 Dawkins is 29 I felt last year was the "last best chance" for the main core, but Beane has already talked about the cap being strained in 2024 as well. So this season could be the last before larger changes are needed. For instance, when you look at the Bengals defense, everyone is in their prime or young. Off the top of my head - Reader is 29, Hendrickson 28, Hubbard is 26, Logan Wilson is 27, Pratt is 27, Hilton is 28, with young DEs, and secondary players.

National sports media daily playlist: Topic #1 - Aaron Rodgers & Jets hype Topic #2 - Cowboys Topic #3 - Mahomes blowing - Large Drop-off - Topic #4 - Bring on ex-athletes for generic, no-impact "analysis" - Large Drop-off - Topic #5 - Stock up / Stock Down - Bills on the Stock Down, Dolphins on the Stock Up

Diggs said he worked with a personal trainer this summer, so hopefully he chiseled up his physique more than last year.

Dodson profiles exactly like his Scouting Combine, graded at a 5.60 - "Candidate for bottom of the roster or Practice Squad" https://www.nfl.com/prospects/tyrel-dodson/3200444f-4434-1460-b378-91176d704c77 And Bernard isn't much better 5.94: "Average backup or Special Teamer" https://www.nfl.com/prospects/terrel-bernard/32004245-5223-6424-136f-901f81674ee9 And Kirksey, apparently, wasn't thought of as anything more than a backup and special teamer as well: 5.80 https://www.nfl.com/prospects/christian-kirksey/32004b49-5263-6906-3aa4-9ab200514c55 Still, Kirksey is 6'2", Dodson is 6'0" and Bernard is 224 pounds, so neither of those two can man the middle.

But that's not just the fans. The Bills were relentless in their pursuit of the 3rd down pass catching back, with Cook, agreeing to terms with McKissic, ultimately trading for Hines. And in the Press Conference after the trade, Beane talked about how they wanted that piece in the offense. Hines touched the ball 11 times on offense in 7 games. Yes we remember the Patriots game foundly and maybe him winning that game for the team made it all worth it, but I don't think the Bills did a good job at all utilizing him. It was the same old 2/3 Singletary, 1/3 Cook all last year, before and after the Hines trade.

Is he slower than AJ Klein? This will all be irrelevant after MNF in 10-days. We're all going to see Bernard is a safety, and Dodson is a Special Teamer, both of them taking wrong angles, both of them manhandled by Guards, both of them having their tackles broken because they both lack strength, so none of this will matter. Kirksey is a low-end starter, but if it needs to be said that it's August 31st that those guys are still "battling" despite Dodson getting a free month without Bernard is pretty revealing.

Well yes, converted safeties who weigh 223-226 pounds and don’t have elite athleticism don’t make effective starting MLBs in the NFL.

Agree Doc. Beane said that he wanted to give the young guys a chance to establish themselves. They haven't, and we all knew it. Bernard is too small, Dodson is a fringe NFLer. Kirksey weighing over 230 pounds is Evidence #1 that he'll be better than those two. Evidence #2 is that he's started in the league for 5+ years.

Kincaid - I like your description. A 600-yard tight end, with a 6 year career. He's already 23 and will turn 24 in October. Torrence - He becomes the Bills best Offensive Lineman by the end of the year, and has a 10 year career in the league. I can see him as a fringe Pro Bowl Guard once in his career. Williams - Too small to play in the NFL. Look at the video of him practicing yesterday, his legs are like a basketball player. Shorter - Washes out of the league quickly. Austin - I can see him sticking around the league, bouncing around practice squads and being a 6th corner for 4-5 years. Broeker - Out of the league quickly.

Sal C throws cold water on Kirksey whenever he can. I think the fact that Bernard and Dodson are still "battling" on August 31st confirms what we all knew 0.01 seconds into this offseason, that Bernard and Dodson are not viable MLB, and we'll get confirmation of that Game 1 MNF against the Jets. Kirksey will be starting in Week 2.

Main thing for this roster is that he weighs more than 230 pounds. And for the 31 is too old crowd, that's the same age the Bills thought London Fletcher was done as well and we know how that turned out.

Not even Kirksey at Linebacker. Dodson/Bernard on MNF it is then.

Kareem Hunt looked one doughnut away from being completely out of shape last season. I don't hate the idea, but he's not going to come in over Cook or Harris, so he's competiting with Murray for snaps, and then you have start looking at Reggie Gillman as needs to go because there is just too many people dedicated that to that position.

I hope things go so badly for them that he actually has to hit the field.

45.4 rating on PFF in 2022 (on 8 snaps)

This team lacks the top end talent to win a Super Bowl right now. Beane has done a good job of keeping everyone he can from the 2020-2022 teams, but there aren't enough playmakers, especially out of the draft.

OT is thin. Dawkins looks more out of shape than he did last year, and Spencer Brown is Spencer Brown. Another year on Mitch Morse. Best opportunity for growth is Guard play. The WR group is effectively the same as 2022, no change to Diggs and Gabe Davis. Unless we all think D. Harty or Sherfield will stay healthy and move up and produce noteworthy numbers. Kincaid is the obvious offensive upgrade. Defensively, there is age creeping into many positions - DaQuan is 30+, Miller is 33, Hyde and Poyer nearing the end of the line. The loss of Edmunds, but also, the unit lacks playmakers. Is Tre White going to start picking passes again? Does Dane Jackson take a step forward in Year 4? Do we get anything out of MLB? And then there is McDermott, who has confidence that he can outcoach people in the Playoffs?

Schneider's first few drafts in Seattle were incredible, then they wandered the wilderness for awhile after the Unger for Graham trade, but these last two drafts have them right back into the Playoffs with the Super Bowl ceiling capped by their QB. But moved off Wilson while still able to get a haul.

Well the story that kind of disappeared (or maybe I missed it) was around COVID in 2020 when the Pegula's put out the memo's regarding "sustainability", renewed focus on lean, profit margins, and fired all but a few scouts on the Sabres side.

I just don't understand how the Bills could be surprised about Kyle Allen struggling. He's as cheap of a primary backup QB you can possibly get in 2023 NFL football. It's a calculated risk the Bills have rolled with since drafting Josh Allen. They've skimped on backup-QB in favor of utilizing that money elsewhere.