Beck Water

I think you've cut to the heart of the matter here. McDermott was on the record saying "what he's doing on offense is almost revolutionary". He then proceeded to dissect and neutralize what McDaniel was doing. Other teams paid attention and adapted the principles if not the method. And McDaniel hasn't counterd as yet. It's rather the same thing as Daboll. In 2020, when Josh took a giant step up as a passer, we were shredding teams. In 2021, when Daboll committed to doing what he did in 2021 only more so, the Pittsburgh Steelers totally neutralized us in the season opener and other teams took note. Not immediately, and not all teams could pull it off, but the blueprint was out there and we had some critical losses. We don't know if Daboll would have adjusted in Buffalo 'cuz he left for the Giants, but Dorsey, who kind of took over as "Daboll lite", got solved (and replaced). But it's not because McDaniel is a nerdulent-looking capris wearing pustule that he'll have problems, if he's having problems. It will be because he's been "solved" schematically and hasn't adapted.

? McDaniel played football at Yale. Where he earned a degree in history. Shades of Marv Levy and his masters degree in History from Harvard. Frankly, I think you need a lot of football talent to play football at just about any school beyond HS level, but Yale ain't DI

Certainly, a certain dress code is expected in some businesses. My point is: while a number of football fans commented unfavorably on McDaniel manner of dress and speech, it was pretty clear the team was fine with him when he was taking them to the playoffs for the first time in 6 years then taking them to their best record in 15 years and vieing for the AFC East title in the final game. I think the corollary there is, IF it's true that McDaniel is losing or has lost the locker room, it won't be because he's a capris-wearing nerd - that was fine while they were winning. It will be because they've lost faith in his offense, or they've lost faith he can get them "over the hump" to win a playoff game in cold weather.

How many more months years centuries 'til the draft? What exactly headache has Cook been? He wants to be paid. Good for him. I want a pony. He's under contract next season. He has a choice, play here or don't play.

"Vitamin W" cures just about everything in sports. NFL players on the Dolphins respected McDaniel just fine when they were a team on the rise from 9-8, to 9-8 with a playoff game they came embarrassingly (for the Bills) close to winning with Skylar Thompson under center, to 11-6 and playing the Bills for the AFC East in Week 17. Doesn't matter what the coach looks like, or how he dresses, when you're winning. The Dolphins back-slid from 2023: from 2nd to 22nd in offense, from 11-6 to 8-9. Defense improved, but not enough, and it kind of looked as though McDaniels offense got "solved" a bit. If McDaniel adjusts and the offense returns to form, the locker room will be just fine. If he doesn't adjust, he may have problems holding the team, but it won't be because he's a capri-wearing nerd.

You're funny, especially comparing a WR's blocking role to an RB's blocking role and saying "we are a better offensive team with him on the field than anyone else on this team". Oh, I dunno, maybe the league MVP of 2024? Fact 1: Nobody picked up the blitz when Allen took off running to his right and hit Kincaid in the hands because the Bills got fooled by Spagnuolo and the Chiefs - they expected them to blitz from the L based on film/previous plays so that's where they slid the protections. Fact 2: Cook had 38 targets in 2025. Yes, he had a low drop rate, but that's because the Bills cut his targets by ~1/3 from 54 to 38 and used him in a limited way in the passing game - subbing in Davis or Johnson when they wanted. In 2024 with higher targets, Cook had 11% drops and 9% in 2022 which is the rational, performance based reason his route tree got cut. Fact 3: If we just look at Y/A (to account for him coming off the field) he was 6 for RBs (behind Henry, Barkley, Gibbs, Irving, and Mason.

What did that poor chimney ever do to you?

Regarding the Patriots: The NFL is a year to year league. I think the Patriots next season are not going to be a last-place team. Unless he's changed, I think Vrabel is solid as a coach. He brings discipline. He does thorough game prep for opponents and plans well to exploit the tendencies he sees. I don't know how good they'll be. I think Drake Maye has a lot of potential. I'm skeptical of Josh McDaniel as an offensive coordinator. There are some QB where he seems to bring out the best, and there are some QB where it seems as though they just can't execute his offense, though they can function adequately or even well under other OCs. Regarding Diggs: By the end of his last year in Buffalo, Greg Cosell (who watches A LOT of film) was saying that Diggs at that point no longer had the physical abilities of a #1 WR in the NFL. Maybe he was; the issue with Diggs in Buffalo his last 2 years here seemed to be fading down the stretch and disappearing in the playoffs. I think it's not uncommon as a player gets older, he can still play and come into the season strong, but it's harder to maintain a high level throughout the full season as the dings and dents mount up. That's the pattern the Bills saw in 2022 and 2023: a strong start to the season with multiple 100 yd games through wk 8 or 9, then falling off a cliff. Certainly the Texans didn't trade for Diggs and then re-negotiate his contract to shorten it and pay him more because they agreed with Cosell. But they lost their gamble when Diggs went out with the ACL after Week 8, so we'll never know if he would have done the same "falling off a cliff" move in a full season with them. I don't think Diggs is gonna be ready to play until the middle of the season. It'll be interesting to see how he goes.

I don't see it stickied. If you don't want to talk about it, why are you here? I agree with you, I don't see the team that paid $30M to NOT have Diggs on the team inviting him back.

Bad analogy. Fat Kelvin's "get up and go" had got up and went during his time here. I see no evidence that Cooper didn't try hard. We didn't get production out of him, but it's not because he was phoning it in the way Benjamin did.

No, they're saying there are 169 CBs in the league who are paid better than Benford. Which, given that Benford is playing on his rookie contract and was drafted in the 6th round, is not exactly a shock.

I agree with your perception, but Rapp was still the one who launched into Douglas during the Rams game, taking him out/injuring him AND leaving Kupp to catch the tuddy. That was last season, early Dec. He did, but I think he went from awful to poor on this point. In addition to taking out Douglas, I believe he was involved in the back/rib injury that cost Hamlin 3 games.

I don't think he's cooked. He was playing hurt towards the end of last season - missed 2 games with a knee, and probably had back/side bruising too courtesy of "friendly fire" from Taylor Rapp. But, he's gonna be 30 at the start of next season, which is getting long in the tooth for a CB. I suspect the Bills would like him back on a 1 year contract and may well have a tentative offer on the table, but Douglas is likely hoping for a multi year deal.

I like some of the film clips people have put up. Of course it's highlights but he's clearly not afraid to bring the lumber, which is what made me wince every time someone suggested maybe we could convert Elam to safety. If only we can persuade Rapp to limit his hitting to guys wearing the other uniform. (I actually had the same 'that looks a bit like a young Poyer' thought)

Fair.

To me, he's kind of like this year's Chase Claypool without the history of public toxic behavior. He was one of Seattle's primary KR last season and they cut him in early December - I think it was after he muffed one kickoff but recovered on the 12 yard line, then fumbled on another resulting in a turnover against the Jets.

He was injured last season. Previous 3 seasons he missed one (1) game. Neck injury, though. Hard to tell what that means to a guy whose job is to hit people every snap

Didn't know the shoulder injury was why he lost the starting job - thanks for the insight Thing is, he didn't earn it back in 2024, and reverted to being primarily a STer. Any insight as to why?

I grant that as draft capital you're correct, but as compensation for a former 1st round pick: I said what I said. 34 spots in the draft is helpful, but as compensation for a 1st round pick (and recall, Elam's original cost was a 1st AND a 4th round because we traded up) ....it's next door to free.

I think we have a bigger need at DT than Hoechst will fill. [Edit: just saw we signed Ogunjobi, that's a big step in the right direction] The Bills did re-sign Hamlin. Just a 1 year deal, but to me that says they're not all-in on Bishop as a starter yet. I think the Bills and Benford/Cook are far apart on salary. I think Beane will wait until after the draft on that. CB is a huge hole to me with Douglas a FA.

My assessment, though he did start some games in his 2nd and 3rd years.

Shaw, you make some good points, and certainly "find the QB" is Job #1 for a good GM. As far as 1st and 2nd round draft picks, there are a couple of things to consider. In another post, I put up that going by pro-football-ref wAV and using a rather permissive cutoff, roughly 1/3 of the 1st round draft picks from 2016 to 2021 were 'busts' - not decent, starting quality football players. (whether wAV is a good criteria or not can be debated, but as an objective metric, I'd say it's as decent as any). The probability is strikingly different at the top of the 1st round, and strikingly lower towards the bottom of the 1st round. The Bills have been drafting near the bottom of the 1st round since 2020, when, btw, they swung for the fences by sending their 1st round pick to Minn for Diggs - not a FA, but not consistent with the "talent comes in the draft" strategy. How do teams cope with that? This is kind of a trick question, but if you look at the 1st round picks of other teams who have had sustained success, what is their GM's record with 1st round picks? Pick 2 or 3 teams. My perception is that Beane's strategy to cope with drafting consistently at the bottom of the 1st, has been to "swing for the fences" by choosing high-ceiling, low-floor players. That means sometimes choosing guys who are rated as having the physical talent to succeed in the NFL, but are missing something on their resume - they came from a smaller school and played against lower competition OR they just didn't have a lot of playing experience OR there are questions about how the scheme they played in would translate to the NFL. They fell to the bottom of the 1st because there's a legit questionmark about their ability to transition to the NFL. Rousseau certainly falls into that category - he simply hadn't played a lot of games at the point where the Bills drafted him. He seems to be a good player now, but despite starting 17 games his rookie season, it took him a minute.

This is something I've looked at some. Yeah, the odds are best in the top-10 picks of the 1st round. "Get a 2nd contract from the team that drafted them" may not be the best criteria - lots of reasons for that. Look at Baker Mayfield, the guy can arguably play football, but coaching changes and the team's decision to back up the Brinks truck for a "sick *****" got him slung out of Cleveland Using a pretty permissive value of wAV from pro-football-reference, in the 1st round overall between 2016 and 2021, ~1/3 of the guys drafted in the first round, just didn't establish themselves as decent, starting-quality football players over the long term. One could argue about the details (should guys like Wentz and Trubisky and Edwards Helaire who had 1-2 decent seasons count as 'decent football players', or not?) but the overall conclusion is the same.

For a former 1st round pick, a 5th and 6th round pick swap is pretty much free.

Media too. Watching them melt down is oddly satisfying. Pats got a solid player, and Hollins got a solid payday.