Beck Water

That's actually more along the lines of what "golden handcuffs" actually means,but it's less about "job is so comfortable" or "work is easy" (both may not be true) and more about financial incentive, in the traditional meaning. Like you are offered big stock options at certain time intervals if you stay, but the options you already have aren't fully vested and you'll lose most of them if you go. So you stay even if you're expected to work 60 hrs a week and the work is crazy hard.

I think you need to balance adjustment to time difference, with maintaining the normal post-game recovery and "get right" routine. It's probably not the greatest idea to fill up a plane with a bunch of bruised and dinged players and let them stiffen. Better to do the normal recovery routine at home.

At a guess, and it's only a guess, the Bills decided to sign Miller to the PS before Ankou's agent communicated with them that Ankou would join Atlanta's 53 man roster So they may have made an unnecessary move in releasing Ateman It's possible that they'll want to fill Ankou's spot with a DT though. Minor nit, I don't think 'waived' is the right term for a practice spot cut, since all practice squad players are free agents and not subject to waiver claims

Thanks! Great stuff, great job putting it together. There's this: https://www.buffalobills.com/video/baldinger-bills-2023-defense-is-like-a-big-moving-amoeba

So we went through camp with 4 6'4" wide receivers - Shorter (IR), Shavers (PS), Dezmon Patmon (signed to PS at the end of the season), and Marcell Ateman. Now there is one (Shavers) Though we do have Shorter on IR.

Calm down, Peeps. Guy has been in the league 3 years (this is his 4th). He's been on rosters for a few games for Tampa Bay and Cleveland (2 years) but mostly on practice squad. Panthers picked him up as a futures signing in January and waived him at the end of camp. There is really no coaching familiarity with this player. He was not in Carolina when anyone now with the Bills was. This is purely about Beane's pro-personnel guys hunting the league looking for the best unsigned guy they can put on the practice squad, with PS backup Ja'Marcus Ingram suffering a leg injury during practice (he walked off); Tre' White on IR, and Benford day-to-day with a shoulder. Jeesh, crazy the Bills signed a PS DB who played for Tampa and the Browns, and was only on the Panthers roster during the off-season? C'Mon Man. People are looking overtime for Carolina Connections they can froth about I'm more worried he was in the Browns locker room for 2 years. I don't think that's a winning environment.

Now let's pump the brakes on that "D that the Bills have struggled against in the past". Bills lost to the Jags 6-9 in 2021. At that time, Urban Meyer was the HC and Joe Cullen was the DC. Cullen came to the Jags from the Ravens, where he was their DL coach under first Dean Pees then Wink Martindale. But before that his coaching "roots" go back to .....Lovie Smith and Leslie Frazier. Currently, under Doug Pederson, we have Mike Caldwell as the DC. Caldwell came from the Bucs, where he coached linebackers under Todd Bowles. He came with Bowles from the Jets and before that the Cardinals. But if you follow him back a bit further--- he coached for the Eagles under Andy Reid with Jim Johnson and Sean McDermott. Anyway, the Jags now run a 3-4 base D while under Meyer/Cullen I believe it was a 4-3. End Roy Robertson-Harris and LB Josh Allen are constants, and K'lavon Chaisson is still on the team. Cisco and Jenkins are still the safeties, and there's some CBs who were starting who are now depth. Whether we'll have more or less trouble now, can't tell you - all I can tell you is 1) just because we had trouble 2 years ago doesn't mean trouble now, due to personnel changes, coaching changes scheme changes, etc 2) we better take them seriously, Or Else. I think we wouldn't have had trouble in 2021 if we'd come into the game taking them more seriously, and if Daboll had a Plan B on tap other than to run empty sets and boatrace them with the passing game

Gotta give a little love to my man Quintin Morris (85) also on the sideline there

I think they try to limit it to actual runs, but yeah - that was quite the pass reception.

https://www.nfl.com/videos/kyle-brandt-crowns-week-4-angry-runs-winner-x5311

That's right, Diggs did score a 'hat trick' of TDs.

Right, when you have your first drive sustained on an almost-intercepted pass that your receiver manages to come down with on a tip drill, and your second sustained on a fumble recovery, it may be a sign that everything is NOT easy, and while it went your way those two times just wait.

I can't dispute perception, but just factually, the Dolphins took fewer plays to score (7 and 7 vs 8 and 10) and less time (4:11 and 3:23 vs 4:10 and 5:20). They did have a lucky bounce on that fumble recovery, and that "tip drill" interception that somehow was caught and resulted in a huge pass play for Waddle. So I don't have too much trouble with Sal going "well they scored pretty easily on their first 2 drives" but the rest of it - faugh.

My nose just bleeds for Coach Sal there. It was a reactive take, and Sal deserves to take crap for it. Tua was the beneficiary of a lucky bounce on a fumble that could have ended his 2nd drive [Edit: and I forgot the almost-intercepted tip drill that Waddle somehow came up with] It's not like Sal said "Miami has scored pretty quickly on their first two drives, which included 5 chunk plays of >15 yds and a lucky bounce on a fumble [and a tip drill completion]. If the Bills defense doesn't step up and figure something out, it's going to be a long day for the home team." There's a lot of room between that and what he actually said, which was "I do not see the Bills stopping this team all day. This offense is unbelievable. It's not even hard. Everything is easy". Which seems like a lazy recap of the "OMG 70 points unstoppable!" media hype. Sorry, when the Fins were beneficiaries of an Offside call and a fumble recovery, as well as a couple incomplete passes and 1 and 2 yd stuffs on runs, "everything is easy" seems over the top.

At the present time, Joe Burrow is looking like a poor man's Tua Tagovailoa

C'mon man this is a Bills board. GTFO with this I thought your question was "so far this season"

It's an interesting point, but I do think "past history doesn't guarantee future performance" may apply. I think McDaniel has legit built something that's a challenge to slow or stop. NE managed it, Buffalo managed it, but do you think the Giants, Panthers, Raiders, Jets, and Commanders will manage it? The Giants D played like a team that is thoroughly demoralized last night on their way to a 24-3 drubbing by the Seasnakes. They couldn't buy an offense. Their defense is blitz blitz blitz without the manpower to shut down receivers. I think Tua is going to feast and the hype will be back on. I could be wrong of course The good question is what the Dolphins defense really is. They have talent, but people are asking valid questions about whether Fangio's scheme suits them. They don't look as good this year as last. Anyway I can easily see the Dolphins as a 10-7, 11-6 type team and in the playoffs. Oh, and we're playing the Giants in 2 weeks. They can watch our film, but I don't think we're sharing inside scoop on our defensive schemes with them as much as you think.

Can we wait to see more than one very good game first? My $0.02 is McDermott needs to send him to Charm School first, like he seems to have sent Daboll in 2019. I know his players loved it, but the tablet-slammin', headset-throwin' look in the coach's box is not what Owners and GMs want to see on the sideline after a tough loss. Losing a game is embarrassing, having an "unsportsmanlike conduct" called on your coach in an out of reach game makes the people with hiring authority look foolish. He does have competition on the coach's roster.

A bit harsh for an offense that did score 20 points. But at least they have one poster who's not delusional

@Shaw66 good stuff as always. @WhoTom I think you're on to something here. The 2019-2020 Josh had a security blanket first down (or 3rd n short) generator named Beasley. Josh also did learn to take the short throws, and do it very effectively in several games. After the Game 7 Miami win where Beasley took a hard shot to the chest that we later learned broke multiple ribs then the Game 8 Jax loss where Beasley probably aggrevated them, Josh no longer had that. Oh, he got Beasley back after 4 low-productivity games and Beasley made catches and some yards, but he was no longer quite the same "fight for every blade of grass, count on a 1st down" player (though he did show up vs. KC in the playoffs). Then the players the Bills counted on to replace Beasley (and Manny Sands) in 2022, for different reasons did not step up. So Josh reverted to "hero ball Josh", encouraged perhaps by Dorsey's more aggressive play calling and coaching, and it spiraled out of control. Hopefully the Jets fiasco was the course-correction Josh needed, and we're back on the right path offensively.

You got the Baldy he popped in? Been watching Baldy, didn't see

Mods please feel free to merge with postgame if deemed appropriate

Huh? It was said over and over that Tre' had difficulty with his recovery in part because he hadn't been seriously injured before. This is an achilles tendon tear, not an ACL.

I agree with what you say here. The thing is...in 2019, when the Ravens and a new, improved G-Ro offense were being hailed as "unstoppable" "unprecedented" and "how do you slow that down?" there were actually a couple of defenses that limited it pretty well - and about the best of those was Buffalo, who held them to 257 yds of offense and 24 points (7 of which came off a strip sack practically on our goal line, by the way). The Titans acknowledged they riffed off elements of that to win in the playoffs. And since then, more teams have caught on and the Ravens offense has been good, but not as good, winning, but not unstoppable. So NE did a pretty good job against the Dolphins, and could have won if they'd had an offense. And the Bills D was, I believe, different, but also effective enough. Teams around the league are going to be watching that tape. Not everyone will be able to follow those blueprints because you have to have the pieces on D. But the thing about McDermott's D is it's not built on having superstars, but on working together for something that's bigger than the sum of its parts. So I think a lot of DCs around the league look and ask "could we do that?"

Have we had this yet? Take away his first read and Tua becomes more ordinary.