Richard Noggin

And is there anything you wish to point out about this seemingly inconsequential observation?

Kromer, if he elevates a passing game coordinator? Would rather not lose him.

What if those drops are influencing most assessments? Didn't it get bad last season? Dude is so greasy good, naturally, destroying defensive angles and arm tackles with his explosive forward lean. And he runs good routes, too, so those play-action, outbreaking touch passes especially need to be hauled in. Lethal dual threat from the RB position no matter who gets the snap, ideally.

We're already fully there, aren't we? At least as much as we're going to be. "The run" isn't something that can consistently work without a similarly threatening pass game, unless of course that offense is willing to ONLY run well. Offensive balance and general physicality is probably the notable hallmark of a contemporary Andy Reid/Matt Nagy attack. They attack ALL quadrants of the field at all times with all kinds of pre- and post-snap motions, and when they're able to control the LOS, they have success. (Reminds me of Brady's collaborative and dynamic approach to offensive football in 2024.)

What about Ty Johnson's availability? Prior to 2024, has he struggled to remain available with anything above a sparse #3 workload? Sincere question. He's OBVIOUSLY dynamic and versatile when he's healthy. His current role is also helping him remain healthy and explosive. Hell, I thought he looked pretty good returning kickoffs recently, didn't we all? Perfect #3 RB talent. Great 3rd down guy, teams guy, everything guy. Can sub in for moderate carries too, probably. But will he accept the same kind of deal he's been working with each season so far? I'd expect some team to reach out with a deal more suited to #2 money for a couple/few years. Will the Bills match it, or even have a chance to match it?

Something to consider here is that anything the Bills offense has been specifically rostered to do in recent years, such as Harty being a dynamic weapon early on, or Curtis Samuel being a similar dynamic weapon early on, or now James Cook being someone who can leak out of the backfield without deliberate eyes on him, has not worked early on as desired. The Bills have had to prove their ability to attack all quadrants of the field before defenses were going to back off those motion-based and near the LOS plays for these obvious McKittrick-style players. The Bills offense was not effectively diverse enough and multiple enough to back defenses off of some of these personnel-based downhill reads for a while there (mostly in 2022 and 2023). Maybe Johnson just doesn't warrant the same defensive alert level (as James Cook), so far. But maybe he will moving forward?

Wish I knew. Sure, it seems smarter to play it out if the team doesn't wow you with an extension first. But I don't know how this guy and his representation will handle the 4th year without the bag.

Does Cook report to camp next season and play out his 4th year without an extension? His brother threatened and grumbled but did report in year 4, had a career year, and did get paid. But, he never matched that 4th year production and only played 2 solid seasons of his 5-year extension before being released.

Nah, everyone was kinda half-speeding it before the play ended and Dawkins was rightly looking to go full-throttle. When #72 is across from you over the years, talking pre-snap and taking physical liberties after the whistle, you might also aggressively seek some valid and violent recompense DURING the actual plays. Cheers to Dawkins for being a dude against a team who is always begging to be bullied.

Interesting that Bills have 4 guys listed and the Patriots, from what I could see, have zero? Plus the Pats locker room has been overtly frustrated and even calling for "change," and they're sitting the talented rookie QB which signals an obvious kind of looking ahead, organizationally. Brissett is a pro backup, and could be efficient against Bills backups who will be running vanilla schemes. But will the guys around him be fully motivated? Will be interesting to see how the battle at the LOS plays out on both sides of the ball. Early game script could dictate how both teams handle personnel and play-calling in the 2nd half.

Is the thinking that both Edwards and the Bills are happy to have him play out 2025 on current deal, and then see where his market is in FA? This would keep Anderson in that 6th man/primary OG backup role for another season, provided the Bills tender him or extend him. He seems like a priority guy in the pipeline. Can't see Edwards getting paid when both OTs and the OC is paid, and the drafted RG is nearly up for re-signing.

You're thinking of Keon Coleman

Never heard of it.

First two paragraphs are fair or at least possible even if I don't want to agree. But the last section is just too rigid and presumptive imho. Hyde might have had very real life plans and/or physical limitations and long term rest/recovery timelines in place that made him unable to even think about being ready over the summer or even well into Q4. We've seen more late season additions in recent years than I recall previously (could be wrong), but it feels like veterans at the ends of their careers lately have this more restful and unconventional path to joining proven contenders down the stretch if the timing and fit seems mutually beneficial. Think of Eric Waddle joining the Rams for their SB run as a much more extreme example. The meaningless game against the Patriots in which the Bills will be playing so many backups doesn't seem like valuable experience for a 12th year 2x All Pro. But I could be wrong.

When I have hopeful thoughts about the Bills D it's because I remember them against the 49ers (in Arizona in 2020) unveiling a 5-2 defensive front with Edmunds in an "over" alignment as an EDGE essentially, and Milano and Klein as the two off-ball LBs. Allowed for an additional DT to replace one of the DEs. It helped to keep a lid on San Fran's formidable running game (even though they passed productively against us). And then the Bills NEVER used this alignment again LOL. We agree we saw some flashes of innovation and aggression against both KC and Det this season. yeah? Like actual dynamic gameplans that the opponents weren't initially prepared for? I think where McDermott is most conservative is with how much he generally wants to hold onto, how little he wants to deviate from his core philosophies, whenever possible. Compare him to Campbell in Detroit, for contrast. Those coordinators, especially Johnson, seem to relish calling all the plays. Like for them, just like for their players, there is only one way to call/play the game: FULL SPEED. I admire that.

Would playing Hyde in a meaningless week 18 game alongside backups provide more value than risk? I don't think so. Micah Hyde has played enough high end football in this league to know if/when he's ready to go. I've consistently thought Hyde wouldn't want to bother coming back to WNY during the holidays and winter to work/practice six long days a week all just to be a poorly paid (relatively for a guy who made some millions) mentor/coach. I still think the ideal mutual plan is for him to be active eventually in the playoffs and fill a dime safety role. The talk in 2024 has always suggested that Hyde rejoining the Bills late in the season was a potentiality all along. But if there's no plan for Hyde to ever play, then why the delay in signing and/or the eventual signing as a PLAYER (who could potentially affect the cap) rather than consultant or coach? Weird.

Unironically fascinating to read. Each paragraph of this post contains at least one incisive and contextualized claim that I find compelling, and also at least one subjective and/or selective take that I find unnecessarily polarized. I'm nodding and frowning intermittently.

TE2 (In the spirit of the OP)

You've unearthed a fascinating option for closer-to-kickoff parking, as some of the mainstays reach capacity earlier than an hour-and-half-out. Especially when snow removal and storage eats into parking supply (although of course those smaller, private options could be more dramatically impacted under certain circumstances). Appreciate the granular detail. Love to hear how welcome you were made to feel at every step.

For the record, I was being silly when asking if anyone has ever suggested Dawkins gets moved inside to guard. It's amazing how completely his play has shut that down. But also I was being a little serious in wondering if bumping him inside towards the end of his career could make sense and keep a valuable guy around, like shifting an excellent, but slowing, CB to S down the back half of his career. Dawkins doesn't have elite length to "lean" on if his feet get a little heavier eventually.

TC Wheelers lays down solid pizza and wings, no doubt. I used to live nearby for a short time when I first returned to the region. Your seats were effing elite. Congrats there. I'm super curious about the private residential parking just off Southwestern. Pre-determined/selected, or just found it driving by? What time did you get there? (I almost always park at ECC out of habit, but the construction has really extended the walk to and from, so I'm always on the look out for options west of Abbott Rd.)

Prototypical guard-like size but absolutely ELITE athleticism and aggression allows him to dominate at LT. Makes sense as a Dawkins and Peters comp (impressively faster than Peters but smaller/shorter/not as long as both him and Dawkins overall). Dawkins being the least phenomenal of the three, of course.

I was actually wondering if, in a couple/few years, one way to prolong Dawkins' career would be to finally kick him inside to LG. Has anyone ever proposed such a radical idea? He's not tall for a LT, and well I guess I wasn't sure how functionally long he is (arms are decent length (34.65" is above avg but not at all elite). Dawkins is probably an awesome basketball player. His agility/feet helped him register a 8.4/8.8 RAS even with questionable height and explosion at a weight (314) much lower than even his end-of-season lbs these days. Seems like a guy who maintains his nimble feet even as he adds mass and mocks the funny 320 number currently published. And we know many offensive and some defensive linemen like to maximize mass/weight (without losing too much quickness) in order to hold up in the trenches over a season. Dawkins has proven to be a durable and impressively shifty athlete at this level even with the development of a natural flack jacket (also known as a spare tire). Ideal guard candidate in his mid-to-late 30s LOL

Okay, Daboll. (Deep ball to Patrick DiMarco in playoff OT against Houston)

Give us Nix and his issues with gripping the ball in that early wet game (was it @ Jets in week 4?). His hands aren't small by NFL standards, but that particular afternoon (rainy af but not cold or very windy) he looked like a kid who couldn't grip the ball with one hand. I wonder if the projected wildcard round weather in OP could significantly limit the Broncos passing attack? teens or very low 20s temps + moderate winds + maybe some lake effect activity = Nix being physically reduced? We already know our guy (despite his literally cold feet) can perform in some of the most extreme weather conditions.