Richard Noggin

You make really excellent points here about contemporary team-building draft strategy. I have to admit I hit the "agree" reaction on the post you quoted My first reaction to this post was, and I've left it in place, "Agree." It's true that the negative impact of bad play at the CB position can immediately result in points. In theory, with AFC offenses especially stacking insane talent at the skill positions, a hole at CB is more likely than ever to be exposed. This introduces a compelling counter-argument on both the micro and macro levels. The Bills, and all teams who are paying elite QB contracts, cannot count on long-term stability at WR. At least not right now. Stocking the cupboards with rookie deals seems more essential than ever. The Bill have some work to do on that front. Also, name all the elite CBs who played deep into the NFL playoffs (outside of Jalen Ramsey...who had his struggles). Defense is becoming more about scheme in the secondary and talent up front. Offense is essentially the opposite now.

Has the Panthers 2016 draft been mentioned in this thread? I'm guessing yes, but if not: a few early-to-mid-round (2, 3, & 5) CBs did NOT help that defense retool that position group. They took a notable step back that year, primarily due to their secondary. I know Tre will be back at some point, and obviously Dane has shown some ability. But CB is a big hole relative to this roster's depth elsewhere. You gotta have guys at that position. Obviously (insert St Doug reference)

How dare you suggest that ultra-rich NFL owners should stick to responsible budgets to finance their desired goals. That's advice for working class folks to follow. Because.

What are you implying by saying "neither of [Dawkins and Morse] have exactly been pillars"? Outside of COVID or a concussion, respectively (and in different season), both players have been EXCELLENT. Especially down the stretch in 2021, Dawkins and Morse are exactly what I'd label as the PILLARS of the Bills offensive line.

I'll admit that Tua looked more athletic and elusive in the pocket last season. Even Flores and his alleged/reported suspicion of his own QB's off-season physical "progression" would suggest that others can see Tua's work in the weight room. Conversely, his mediocre arm strength and lack of success downfield thus far in the NFL is a thing. To be fair (cue the gif) in the context of this board, no Miami QB has looked remotely competent against the Bills, specifically, for some time. I think that is skewing fans' perceptions of Miami's potential in 2022. That roster, with an annoying Shanahan offensive scheme, could be annoying.

I think if you dive deeper you'll see that's a more recent development. Hill in earlier years, even as far back as with Alex Smith, had a larger share of downfield production. NFL defenses forced this more recent shift to shorter, YAC-based production. (Although catching a 9-route 20 or 30 yards downfield can also result in significant YAC if he's got a step (in case the YAC-specific numbers are similar). Gotta look into avg depth of target.)

The phrase "words of wrong" really resonates with me.

So...on what grounds do you disagree with this source? You posit such a concrete timeline, which does NOT align with the sourcehttps://www.sportsmd.com/2021/09/01/recovery-time-for-acl-surgery-timeline-tips-and-faqs/, so please help me understand why 9 months is more realistic that 6-8. Thank you.

You're both recognizing the need to add a CB early in the draft, AND celebrating Beane for not leaving a "GAPING hole" at CB heading into the draft. Let's not overthink this. CB is a HUGE need.

IF the Bills truly entered the 2022 draft with no glaring holes (which doesn't look likely), then drafting a high-end safety prospect could make long-term sense. The cap situation would be helped considerably by moving forward in 2023 with only ONE big veteran safety contract (the Bills must be near the top of the league in cap allocation for safeties). Couple factors that convincingly, for me, counter this approach (of drafting a replacement for either Poyer or Hyde): the Bills have already drafted and begun developing Jaquan Johnson and Damar Hamlin, who each have some promise. Also, if McD is at all guilty of sticking with "his" guys too long, then for sure he will not easily part with either of the two safeties (his own college position, of course) that he seemingly personally targeted and signed before he even had his own GM in place.

Same, unfortunately. Anyone else remember 2021 camp footage of a few one-on-ones where Neal was effective? Either way, I think he's best suited as an inside guy. I've seen a couple healthy plays out of Lewis that I didn't hate (mostly just remembering him being aggressive/impressive in run support, but also hurting himself). Otherwise, I got nothin.

My first inclination was to roll my eyes at the tone of this post, but as I kept reading...I realized you might be absolutely nailing it here. Two possible counters to your prescient frustration could be: 1) if they actually got the D-line right this time, finally. Imagine what a consistently disruptive D-line would do for this defense and for this team's ability to compete with the AFC. And 2) the O-line play in the final third of the season was better than average. The line play down the stretch was NOT in need of major overhaul. I hate the prospect of losing Bates, a LOT, but the Bills are then only one guard away from a solid starting unit (assuming Brown grinds and improves, which he should, especially under Kromer). Overall, I agree that the Bills should be investing heavily in surrounding Josh Allen with studs everywhere. Keep him happy and healthy above all else. Then again, defensive pass rush DOES seem to matter in big games.

And you could tell he's a pro, gathering info and getting his bearings, questions about practice field surfaces, and especially his willingness once or twice to deviate from his tour guide to check out a defensive meeting room, for example (an impactful space, internally, but very unspectacular, externally/on film). The whole time he's trying to get a sense of what his workdays will look like.

This is definitely NOT how most Bills fans are thinking about the CB depth chart with an injured Tre White. But thank you for listing the current stable of CBs...anyone see a guy or two here that COULD ascend as a temporary plug? I know Lewis is a tenacious tackler, but smallish. More of a fit inside? Griffon I've never watched. Harris and McCloud I got nothin. Love Siran Neal, but not necessarily outside for any length of time. Thoughts?

The OP is upsettingly incongruous. Terrifyingly incoherent. Fascinating.

Is there a site for those RAS spider graphs? Love those.

For sure. Sorry to be pedantic.

In the uncertain, Not For Long career of a professional football player, hitting free agency while healthy and coming off a promising season, it would be kind of crazy to choose currently perceived off-season TEAM power rankings over a rare chance at guaranteed money and contract term. The low RFA tender is still, of course, fine compensation for a year's work, but when compared to maybe twice the guaranteed money (or more...5+ million compared to 2.5) in such an unpredictable and brief career...well it's easy to understand the players who take the life-changing GUARANTEED payout. Guys who are later in their careers, after earning many millions, can more easily justify then leaving millions on the table to chase a ring. Of course to pleebs like many of us, any NFL salary for a year or more would be a life-altering haul.

Agree on play-action, but "power running scheme" implies a MAN or GAP blocking scheme, rather than the ZONE (and more specifically OUTSIDE ZONE) scheme the Bills will be featuring prominently under Dorsey and Kromer.

To be fair, though... the Bills STILL drafted defense in the first round even in Allen's year.

I'll never forget watching Whaley, upstairs at Tempo, physically mocking Trent Richardson's footwork to the delight of Shady McCoy and others. This was probably right after the Bills acquired McCoy (every big trade, signing, or impactful development resulted in a private function upstairs at Tempo during Russ Brandon's executive tenure). Whaley really hammed it up, pantomiming taking the handoff whilst stomping out like 5 or 6 heavy, unnecessary back-and-forth steps before moving forward at all. I mean, he wasn't wrong in his talent evaluation in this case. At all. But in such an interconnected league, where word of that kind of disrespect (albeit hilarious and accurate) from an NFL exec probably spiderwebs outward through player and agent backchannels like so much gossip...damages the credibility/professionalism of Whaley and the Bills in league circles.

That's gonna leave a mark.

I think it's pretty straightforward: Miller - Oliver - Jones (maybe Settle) - Rousseau Jones probably compliments Oliver more, whereas Settle is more supplementary. But I'm sure we'll see various combinations.

I did my undergrad in Broome County. Never found myself in the Susquehanna, somehow.

Crazy that people get worked up online. But they do.