BuffaloBillyG

Ok, so I watched the interview and have a few thoughts. Some factual and some I speculate based off what we know and what makes sense. 1.(Fact) Been reported that Buffalo was granted and had talks with DHop prior to his release. 2. (Speculation) After being released I would figure Beane touches base again to see where he's at and what he's looking for now that he's a FA. 3. (Fact) Beane was presented a golden opportunity to shoot down the rumors that he's in negotiations with DHop. He didn't do that. Now, this could be that he wants to give the allusion to other teams that he's lurking...could also be because he is in fact negotiating. Summary of thought: I believe that Beane has an offer sheet to DHop and his agent basically saying "This is what we can do. We know it's lower than hoped, but shop around and see what you can find. If you find what you want..good. You deserve it. If not, this offer is on the table....give us a call".

Naw, it seems that someone on Twitter is looking for clicks.

Now you KNOW it's an outright lie. Beane likes his draft picks too much to risk losing them in a tampering situation. Yet we will have people here claim for years that Beane was "all in" on him for YEARS now...

That's tampering. Also if the Jets want to spend $11M on a 28 year old RB with a history of shoulder issues and is coming off a shoulder surgery...let em.

You would have gotten me there if my mom hadn't passed 30 years ago. Now it just raises more questions about your odd tastes...

Awe c'mon, dude this is unreal. You expect anyone to believe you have a girlfriend?🤣

And that's why I'm not as concerned with who is playing MLB. We literally have former All Pros and Pro Bowl caliber players all over this defense. More I think about it the more I hope Williams wins the spot so he can get valuable experience playing along side some really smart and gifted players. Add in McDermott hopefully bringing more aggression and risk taking on that side of the ball...if this defense stays healthy it's going to be really fun to watch.

Fantastic signing especially for this stage of the off season. And he can hold down the fort until Von is back...no need to rush him now. Then adding him to Miller...hoo boy this defense is gonna eat!

I believe it will be a blend of what you are thinking...but it will still be a bend but don't break. The difference will be that McDermott will be very timely and strategically pick his spots to roll the dice and play aggressive. Choose when to catch the offense off guard and force a pass out too fast, force a bad decision. But against the high powered offenses in the NFL these days and the rules being slanted heavily in the favor of the passing game bend but don't break is way you have to play. Can't turn every game into a track meet.

His cap number for this season comes wayyyyy down most likely. Been widely speculated that it could add anywhere from $4-7M off the cap for this year. That would open the door to re-sign Davis and backload his contract a bit to fit the cap going forward. It's like numbered Tetris.

I believe it's already in the works. There have been quite a few times this off-season where Beane mentioned getting Oliver and Davis re-signed in the same sentence. He's done everything but tattoo it across his forehead and yet many still don't believe it. Getting Oliver extended was step one in the process. That cleared money for the eventual Davis extension. I expect them to make an offer. Now, wether Davis takes it and signs or decides to bet on himself to have a breakout year, stay healthy and see a potential bigger payday in the off-season is another story.

Honestly I believe (and just my own theory here) that his foot/ankle injury still was bothering him even after the designation was taken off. That was right around the time White came back as well. I think he was working back from that for longer than noted and it had an affect on how often he was put out there. Again, no proof just a thought. And I do think that injury and time with reduced snaps let him learn a bit. He seems like a very cerebral player so I will agree that maybe slowing him down a bit let him learn and study which is something he benefitted by. Kind of reminds me of Allen's rookie year and the way he looked before the injury that held him out a few weeks and the way he looked after. Game seemed to slow down for them both once they came back...which is encouraging.

While that may be what the numbers say (I haven't looked myself to verify if those percentages are even correct)...as usual numbers without context are meaningless. Beginning of the season Elam saw increased snaps due to injury. There was no Tre White on the field who once back and at full speed was eating close to or at 100% of the snaps on one side. And while he was a "healthy inactive" one time it's worth noting that he had just come off injury and while he did not have a designation the choice to sit him that week had a lot to do with opening snaps for Tre White and getting Rhodes on the field to get a look at him. In the playoffs he recorded the most snaps he had seen since week 6 at KC. Aside from a 3 week stretch (weeks 4, 5 and 6) that saw him play increased snaps due to CB injuries the 2 playoff games were his next highest snap total. After his inactive week he played zero snaps the following week and then saw his usage slowly ramp up heading to post season.

What makes you think this? Have they said something to indicate it or is this just projection based off what you would like to see? Not an attack... genuinely curious if I missed something Beane said.

I would expect that if they do sign someone it will not be for very much money still. Beane generally likes to have $4-5M to get the season. Maybe they keep a bit extra stashed to the side for a small trade deadline add. I would estimate that is they sign a guy it would still be in that $2M range at most, but time will tell.

Thank you for the excellent recap. I love the point he makes about Edmunds getting all the reps and fans really not being able to see what the staff sees in the MLB spot due to that. Very good point. While it's it's only natural for fans to be skeptical about the unknown (or even worse...having limited knowledge about a player/players) these guys and what they can bring to the table are very well known to the staff. Time will tell if their assessment is right. I think Williams profiles as the exact type player that McDermott wants in the middle of his defense. Good instincts, fast and physical. And when he hits someone they go down. I think that pick more than any other defensive acquisition this off season resembles what a McDermott run defense will be. Regarding Babich specifically, my best guess is that this year he will have a lot of new responsibilities. Media sessions could potentially be one going forward as well. Would not surprise me in the least if this year he is attached to McDermott's hip and groomed and readied to take over the defense next season in the mold that McDermott shows this year.

I can't get over how many here are saying they never saw this coming. Beane has said repeatedly that they would love to try and get a deal done. Said a few times they would look at it after they draft and would like to get something done if they could around training camp. Spoiler Alert: They are working on a Gabe Davis contract extension next. And frankly, it's a good chance to maybe get him locked up a little cheaper than he may be come next off season.

👆👆100% we just found Antonio Brown's burner account...

You play the best players. Period. Has nothing to do with what year it is. Case in point Elam didn't start week 1. But Benford (a rookie) DID. He earned it. Rookies on this team get the playing time they earn. We can agree to disagree, but your take on it being a rookies just flat out sit under McD is wrong. To the second; as I showed up above except for Elam last year traditionally 1st rounders in the McD/Beane era HAVE been starters or taken over by years end. White, Edmunds, Allen, Oliver, Groot....all played significant snaps year one...and Elam saw a LOT of work late and into the playoffs.

Elam wasn't ready. He's a press corner that needed to learn and get better at zone coverage. Benford played meaningful snaps because he was better suited for the defense. Cook not being ready was two fold, I believe. One at his position no use running him into the rookie wall early. Two, as he showed even late in the season he had some struggles reading pass protection as well as breaking off his routes a bit early or free lancing...which lead to 2 Allen INTs I can recall off the to of my head. Again...not rushing guys on the field due to draft position rather than getting them out there when they are ready is a GOOD thing and the result of a deep roster.

I believe this is one of the more overblown narratives on this board. 2017 Draft class included: White Dawkins Zay Jones Milano All saw significant snaps as rookies. 2018: Allen Edmunds Phillips Taron Robert Foster All saw significant snaps as rookies 2019: Oliver Ford Singletary Knox All saw significant snaps as rookies 2020: AJE Moss Gabe Davis All saw reasonable snap time 2021: Groot Brown Both ended season as starters and saw significant playtime throughout the year. So most of the top end higher picks have seen significant playtime their rookie year. Some worked in a bit slower and some started right off the bus. The mid to lower picks saw less time...and that's actually a result of the Bills taking guys that are a bit more raw with bigger upside than it is anything else IMO. Not handing guys playtime off draft status is actually a good thing. Make them earn it. Also notice that as the years go on and the roster gets deeper with more talent the rookies get less playtime. Believe it or not that's actually a POSITIVE thing. The drumbeat for this narrative has been growing louder since last year because fans want to see Shakir more. While I believe Shakir has the tools to be good he flat out wasn't ready last year. He showed some splashes. He just wasn't where he needed to be. The simple fact that they would play McKenzie over him (a guy they have tried for years to replace) and brought Cole Beasley back off the basketball court is a solid sign that Shakir just didn't impress the staff enough. And that's ok for a 5th rounder. He'll get there. There are a lot of things that are easy to target McD on with questions (challenge flag usage for example). However rookie playtime just isn't one of them.

Other Josh Allen is becoming too commercialized.

Agree. The guys left that they could restructure all have some question marks around them. I think it's far more plausible we see an extension or 2 that lowers the cap hit this year if they need to free up some money. Jones is possible. An Oliver extension would free up space (not that I'm advocating that they do that one). Dawkins perhaps (but like Oliver, not advocating). They could also have a surprise roster cut/trade this preseason as well. Tons of breathing room to still maneuver for Beane and still end up $4-5M under the cap without too much future impact.

I don't think it's a mystery at all. Shakir just wasn't ready. Yes, he looked great in the preseason and had some flash plays during the season... especially later on in the year. However, the fact they didn't give him snaps over the corpse of Beasley and McKenzie who they have actively tried to replace for 2 seasons speaks volumes. Kid was a 5th round pick and was taken there for a reason. That said , I do expect him to take some steps forward and get meaningful snaps this year. Some guys just need a bit longer to learn what to do. He'll be fine though, IMO.

He absolutely is. No question about it. Now, I don't see the Bills making this move, but it's not because of financial reasons. I don't think Beane would feel good about giving up the draft compensation that the Rams would likely be looking for if they choose to move him. And I can't blame him there. As fans it's easy to sit here and scream "DON'T CARE HOW...I WANT IT NOW" all sounding like Veruca from the Willie Wonka movie. But mortgaging the future is a risky endeavor and one that if it doesn't work out has far reaching consequences on not only his job security, but the job security of everyone under him.