Beck Water

LOL I have a crazy ass memory. Can't remember what I said 10 minutes ago or where I put my phone. Can remember all sorts of junk. I think at one point maybe after he scored a kickoff or punt return TD including some pretty slick moves and good use of his blockers, a reporter asked McKenzie if he'd ever played any RB at any level - HS or college. He said "no 'cuz I played with Sony Michel" "How about in HS?" "Played with him there, too" Ended that line of questioning!!!

TRANSPARENT ALUMINUM!!!!

How much are you paying to buy that? Not too much I hope. Although, "smart" is a relative term.

Are you his agent, or his mom? 😁 Seriously, I love the passion and the enthusiasm. D1 or D2 was raised only in the context of how hard it is for a small kid to get D1 offers (Buffalo716 may have some experience there). I hope he will stay healthy and shine on the Bills, but I'm a bit skeptical he will become a WR2 at all, much less "easily". Now sometimes the #2 WR plays a lot from the slot. In yards, Beasley was our #2 in 2020 and 2021, in part because injuries meant Davis/Brown then Davis/Sanders were splitting time as the #2. In receptions, unquestioned #2. It's gonna depend upon how the Bills see Kincaid's role. As far as playing outside - I don't see a guy with 28" arms being able to gain a release and hold off a handsy corner, whether his name is Shakir or Hardy. I dunno, maybe I'm wrong.

There's friction when there are tough conversations and people say things that are hard to hear. Then maybe you have some hard to hear stuff you want to say in return. You process them, you speak in your turn, you calm down, the people you're talking to process and calm down, you all move on. That's what being a professional means. The key point is to break off talks before you or someone else speaks what I call "bridge burning words". Ever hear Allen talk about his contract negotiations, I think it was with Kyle Brandt or maybe Pat McAfee? When asked how they went, he said (sarcastically) "Oh, Super Smooth. Nobody sat in a room and got upset. But it's done now and I'm looking forward to the season." It was clear there was friction over some issue, but also clear it got worked out.

I appreciate your take on this, but what it would boil down to, is that by trying to avoid a mistake, McDermott blew it up nationally. If your scenario is correct, why not just tell the press Diggs was an excused absence from minicamp? If he'd done that, the question about "how concerned are you about that?" would never have been asked, and if it was, he would have said something canned like "I'm always concerned when one of our players is not out there practicing". I think he's a little more savvy than to respond to an excused absence like that. I think he was taken by surprise, and somewhat alarmed, when he learned Diggs had left and wouldn't practice. In that scenario it's true that he told Diggs to take a break (from their talks, not from practice), it's true that he excused him so that he wouldn't be fined - but one proactively and one retroactively. I think what he said had its intended effect as it motivated Diggs agent Bakari to reach out to Diggs and try to settle things down/straighten them out, and McDermott was more than willing to take it all on his shoulders to keep things settled and straightened. If you are correct about Frazier actually being relieved of his duties/fired, then Beane and McDermott are both lying through their teeth about it when they insist it was Frazier's decision and that if he hadn't decided to take a year off, he'd still be the DC of the team. Is that your belief? It's well known Daboll wanted "out" as in becoming a HC. It was pretty clear there was conflict between Daboll and McDermott at times, mostly about the lack of run game and the amount of running Josh Allen was asked to do. Whether that conflict rose to the level of Daboll wanting out in a lateral move vs maybe kvetching over a beer, I can't say; the only place I've seen it was in Flores' racist hiring practices suit against the NFL, where it reads more like a "I'll say whatever" recruiting pitch than a serious search for a lateral move on Daboll's part. He got his HC gig, so we'll never know I guess. With this, one can only agree.

I think that latter is what it actually was, unless a W2 was posted and someone thought better and deleted it. I said once to a work friend of mine (very very solid guy) "Smart is, as Smart does".

In fact, wasn't that how Josh got his shot at Wyoming? Buhl sent someone to scout another player on his JuCo team, and while they were there, the QB "popped" at them? Anyway, looping back to Harty - he clearly has the potential to be a dynamic player, both as a returner and as a receiver. According to what Beane commented when he was signed, he may have some skills they hoped McKenzie would develop but he never did - the ability to track the ball and catch the deep throws, the demonstrated ability for YAC (though I still think YAC have a lot to do with Allen and/or play design not making decisive short throws while the YAC gettin' is good) But I def. see him as a high ceiling/risk of low floor kind of guy due to injury potential (not because he's small, because he's had them)

McKenzie not only starred at a top Florida HS, he played on the same team as Sony Michel. So when colleges came to scout Michel, they saw Isaiah.

You missed the ***** apple pie (literally) the discussion of horse ***** (literally) and the pictures of puppies and kittens.

"You expect me to believe the wings were already gone when you got there?"

They're none of them big, but Harty is the smallest at 5'6" 170. Crowder 5'8 185 McKenzie 5'8 173 Beasley 5'8 174 Crowder struggled with injuries. Hasn't played a full season since 2019 and as we know, went out after a broken leg last season. McKenzie has struggled with hammies but aside from that concussion last season he's been durable Beasley was a warrior who played through everything but maybe shouldn't have The point is for McKenzie and Beasley, they contributed massively in the regular season but when it was all on the line and the refs were allowing more physical play, they could be taken out (and were) Physics has a tendency to win out, in the end.

I hear you - and it won't hurt your lawn - but check out that link. It's a real problem. It seems there's a market for just about everything, somewhere.

I know there were reasons that Beane targeted him. The problem Harty has had is staying healthy. He's never had a full season. He spent most of last season on IR with turf toe. He's had repeated problems with tweaked hamstrings. His ceiling is high, but he's by no means a sure contributor. So Harty didn't play D1. Assumption College, that's DII, correct? He did get to the league, and make it onto the field as an offensive player for 13 games in 2021. Also led the league in returns his rook year. He can ball, no doubt.

I'm not sure, but I think you might need something about puppies and kittens in there for that WHAT A GUY!! promotion.

Speaking for myself, last pre-season I pretty much drank the Kool-Aid that Saffold would return to the form he had with the Rams and that Aaron Kromer would weld together a workable OL that could both run and pass protect. I had a second glass around the notion that Gabe Davis and Isaiah McKenzie were both ready to Take That Step and that Shakir would contribute as a 5th round rookie from a small program. In hindsight, I feel a bit foolish, but we did win 13 reg season games and end as the #2 offense in football, so not too foolish. This season, I feel that Kromer legitimately has more to work with on OL including Conner McGovern and a top OG from the draft. Still a bit concerned about OT, especially RT, though I think if Edwards is fully recovered from his concussion he may compete there. Also interested by Brandon Shell. I feel that Trent Sherfield is solid and Harty is that low risk, high reward guy. Overall I feel the talent level is potentially higher on offense, it just remains to see how Allen and the coaches can meld it together.

get all the ***** they can shovel, absolutely free. no cap. no 🎩 either

I know, right? Plus right now Reid is the avatar for "Great superbowl winning coach". Won Superbowl in Mahomes 3rd year (2nd as starter) That's all well and good, but the QB, while a key part, is only one part of the team. Reid had 7 years in KC to put the team together. And that's not going into Reid's years as HC in Philly. 13 years with 1 AFC championship to show for it. What's my point: 1) maybe McD has it in him, maybe he doesn't. With other coaches, like Reid, they haven't had it in him...until they do 2) sometimes change is good, but sometimes change just establishes a Coaching Carousel and a cycle of futility

I'm a little concerned about this manure-fetching situation. Are you engaged in marketing a novel type of health baths and facials, or are you using it on your garden and fields? If the latter, are you monitoring it for contamination with pyridine carboxylic acid herbicides? I'm concerned for your soil. Your shoes and your shovel should not be of issue. Mmm yes well. Good point there.

You just did?

Hi John! Good to see you. Any chance you'd be willing to Spill that Tea now about the issue to which you alluded last fall? Nah, I'll speak up. Wawrow is a good journalist in my book. Good sources, puts information together to craft clear stories. Has to be. AP is a bastion of journalistic standards in an increasingly broad sea of slop Graham has always written very good feature pieces. I dislike his Twitter jousting with fans and his attitude of "thou must not criticize moi thou lowly peon" when he was here, and don't think either reflects well on him, but he still writes very good feature pieces.

Good point. If a team had actually had discussions with Daboll about his willingness to leave Buffalo to take an OC position elsewhere such that they KNEW he would be willing to do so..... That Would Be Tampering, I do believe.

So would you say, you're an EXPERT at MS Paint now?

Really good write up, Thank you for doing this! I'm going to pick out a few points to respond to. First of all, I think there are several factors to consider you don't mention. One is coaching. HC: McDermott is starting to lose a number of the fans because of 13 seconds, Bungle vs. the Bengals, and now Diggsgate. The unknown question is, to what degree has he kept or lost the locker room? I think he has the well-earned loyalty of a number of vets. Overall, do guys still "Trust the Process" and does he still have their respect? How do the new faces take all this? Unknown to us fans. McDermott stood to lose the locker room at several previous points, for example, when he benched Tyrod Taylor for Nate Peterman. He kept it by being willing to stand up and say "I made a mistake". I think the players will actually respect McDermott for defending Diggs and saying that Diggs was given permission and untrue and unfair stuff is being said, and will pull together against pundits ripping into him. But who knows. DC: Are we better with McDermott as DC than Frazier? I'm going to be a Tolkien elf here and say "No and Yes". I think McDermott will be more aggressive and more willing to make changes during a game than Frazier was. And I think he'll be able to focus less on D during games than Frazier could. Last, are there "too many cooks" trying to guide the defense? Overall I'll say worse off, but the question is, will we get to a place where it counts and when we do, will we be better then? OC: Dorsey is the big unknown. Will he be better in his 2nd year? Most people have that potential in their 2nd year on the job. I think it took Daboll 3 years here to really click, though. We'll see. There's still the "too many cooks" question on offense, too, with Shula, Brady, and Dorsey all trying to work together, then Kelly Skipper in the mix somewhere. Another is team psychology. Is the team pissed off and ready to prove they've got it in 2023? Or are they scarred by the Bungle with the Bengals and 13 seconds? Beane has turned over about 1/3 of the 90 man roster, which is typical. He's moved on from 12 FA and cut Isaiah McKenzie. Has he moved on from the right guys? Time will tell. Now, to your post. I agree that overall the defense will likely be worse. The Eagles were 8th, the Chiefs 16th in PA on D. The Bengals were 17th, the Rams 15th. If we can manage to keep our D in the top half of the league and pull out all the stops against the best teams, we can be competitive. Remember in 2020 when we played for the Championship, we were 16th on points, 14th on yards. We can get where we want to go with a D that's just good, not great, provided we don't have key injuries. Linebacker - I don't think it's a sho-in that Edmunds is being replaced by Klein. I think they have hopes for Terrell Bernard in his 2nd season, and they also like Dodson. I think when the dust settles, Williams will turn out to be the best of the lot. Safety - I like what they did with safety. The aging Hyde and Poyer are backstopped with Damar (if he can come back all the way, he showed he can play) and Rapp, who played on a championship team. Another topic but tying it in here - for those who believe Frazier was driven out or kicked to the curb, I think Frazier knew after the Jan meetings, the Bills weren't going to have the player personnel to field a top-3 defense again this season. There was going to need to be MORE work put in and MORE adjustments to try for capable D without a strong MLB. I think Frazier looked at that and said "how am I gonna compete for a HC job when my D plummets from 1st or 2nd to 17th, when I couldn't get looks as the guy leading the #1 or #2 D?" and decided he needed to try a different approach. I think Keenum had a vet knowledge of defense that Kyle Allen can't match. Kyle Allen has been able to play at times, more recently than Keenum put up good play. What I don't know is if either Barkley or Kyle Allen can help to rein Josh in. I think they are both too much "off season friends and buddies" there. So can the coaches rein him in as necessary? I don't know. Overall I agree, "push". I like the changes the Bills made at WR. I feel Trent Sherfield has the potential to be as good on ST as Kumerow and a proven better actual WR. I think Shakir was showing signs he was starting to "get it" last season. IF he stays healthy, I think Hardy has a floor ~McKenzie and a ceiling to be more. At the risk of sounding weird, the real question at WR is in the TE room. Kincaid was actually drafted to be a slot type receiver. Can he return the offense to potency over the middle of the field? Can he fill at least part of the role Beasley used to fill? We Shall See. I like what Beane did with the roster, overall. Overall, I think at the end of the day, he can't resist putting more resources into D than O with all the late adds in FA on D, so I'm worried he hasn't done enough at WR. But, that is a position that depends upon interaction with the QB to be effective so I suppose you can't add too many mouths to feed. I really think the questionmarks for the Bills are mental and emotional, not football skill and ability. Are they still a hungry team? I thought they began to believe their own PR a bit at times last year and 2021 and were kind of coasting through the season to grab their chance in the playoffs. Has that been addressed? And perhaps most key, do the coaches still have the locker room?

Of course you don't, but I'm not gonna get sucked in to trying to explain to you.