Beck Water

So this is an interesting point. The Steelers had a top-10 defense last season. 4 pro-bowl players and an all-pro in Cam Hayward, Watt, Queen, and Fitzpatrick, and they're all back. But what about the other 7 defenders? On the front 7, they still have their NT but Ogunjobi signed with the Bills. Still have Highsmith but Elandon Roberts signed with the Raiders. Both Ogunjobi and Roberts were north of 30 yrs, so it remains to be seen how much of a loss they are. On the back, Donte Jackson is now playing for the Chargers. Still have Joey Porter Jr. Still have Elliot. I'd say assuming their talent development is on track, their defensive personnel are pretty much on track for another good year. The Steelers, last year and this upcoming season, appear to be playing the Broncos "all we need is a QB" game which the Broncos won by signing Peyton Manning. Well, Russ Wilson is no Sheriff, so the Steelers said "Next!" and brought in a QB who legit was great, Manning level great, in his time. Frankly, I thought the Steelers OL stunk last season. I'm sure formerly DangeRuss didn't help it. They also had a very young OL except for Seamalo with rookie C and RG and a 2nd year RT, so I'm sure they hope for improvement. But Rodgers has all the mobility of a sloth on Sominex, so they'll need all the improvement they can get. IMHO, it's kind of a re-run of 2023 Jets with a chance for a different outcome. In 2022, the Jets had a great D and returned most of the pieces in 2023. Their idea was "all we need is a QB" so they signed Rodgers. And as we know, that lasted a whole 4 snaps into the 1st game. In 2024, Rodgers played but the wheels seemed to come off all around and Rodgers exceeded his age in sacks. It'll be interesting to see how it shakes out.

I had no idea what the Steelers plan at QB was. I respect Mike Tomlin, but this seems like "A plan where you lose your hat. And a plan where you lose your hat is...a Bad Plan" A good friend is a Steelers fan. We could be proven wrong, but we're both predicting a rough year for her fandom. I'd be really surprised if they don't butt heads by week 4 Time will Tell.

OK, let's think about this a minute. We still have Taron Johnson, our nickel, who is one of the most consistent players on defense. If we're playing more 4-3, that means we're taking Taron Johnson off the field for...who?

No player wants to play on a 1 yr contract if they can help it. The ideal is to get a new deal signed before the last year of the contract starts, preferably with some injury guarantees and decent guaranteed money. But in any event, "playing out the contract he signed" starts when the season starts, not at "voluntary" OTAs or even mandatory minicamp.

I feel like there's a need to just drop this here. https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-catch-a-37-pound-salmon/428910/28

I agree with you on the "different world". One source said the wedding was at the San Ysidro Ranch. I googled, and it claims a "resort buyout" would allow 150 guests at an event. Now maybe they can actually arrange seating and dining for more, my limited-duty obsession didn't motivate me to dig into it more. But 150 guests (if that's correct) .... 75 each to the bride and the groom, that would be a tough limit. Maybe the source is wrong and they were somewhere else.

Whoa, they just got married. Even if they get very busy, it will be a minute before they're attending PTA meetings!

That could well be.

Winner! They got engaged last fall. Pretty sure they chose the wedding date with her existing schedule in mind and she negotiated any future activities around the plans. I agree it makes a lot of sense to go to OTAs and mandatory, then honeymoon in the dead time - if for no other reason than every paparazzi in the world is on high alert to uncover and pester a honeymoon trip right after the wedding, so why not wait a bit and try to throw them off the scent?

Was it sarcasm? If sincere, that seems odd given it appears to be a relatively small wedding and it doesn't look like a large number of Bills players were there (Knox, Shakir, Dion, Spencer Brown who I've seen so far - I would expect the entire OL was invited) You got a NFL superstar and a movie star getting married, they either have to limit the guest list hard, or they have to invite hundreds and hundreds.

I got to give Josh and Hailey's people credit, there are normally a bunch of social media posts and so forth that have come out from a player's wedding within a couple days. All we have so far are a handful of telephoto shots that all the news outlets are sharing. They've resorted to padding their articles with photos of the couple from their engagement, NFL Honors and entertainment events. If the Bills make it to the Superbowl they should hire the same security team to lock down their game plan and practices.

I don't understand that last. Kelce seems notorious for pushing off IMO. You can think whatcha like, but facts are that Kelce had 2 respectable 800+ yd seasons and 2 1000+ yd seasons before Mahomes ever took the field. And most pundits seem to credit him with very good route running skills for a TE. Did his career benefit from playing with Mahomes vs. whatever crap at QB they've fielded in Atlanta, sure. Every receiver benefits from great QB play. Now, of the last 2 years, has Kelce been taken out of games and less productive, Yeah. And it shows in his stats.

TE prospect Noah Grey appeared to be taking a bit of a step in his 4th season.

Gunner, with all respect, you're running on about the topic of dissing weddings and wedding events like rehearsal to a degree I haven't seen in you before. It seems disproportionate. "Methinks the Laddie Doth Protest Too Much" If you don't think wedding rehearsals are worthwhile or useful => don't have one Other people find them worthwhile and useful => what's it to you? their rehearsal isn't coming out of your savings Gunner, you are so vehement on this topic that I'm starting to picture you with the weird habit of stalking churches, parks, resorts, and other venues where weddings occur charting whether or not there's a rehearsal and whether or not there are snafus to the wedding, to develop those "objective measures" You aren't, of course. This isn't your lane, you're not an officiant or a planner or an event coordinator and you honestly have no idea whether the things are useful or not. So why are you so invested in this? I'm honestly curious at this point.

Couple of NetJets shares to get Josh back to OTAs after the wedding?

It's not the Vikes account, just a fan

I guess I must have missed the "off season podcasts where he openly criticized the team" while Diggs was still a Bill, but i focus on field. It was pretty clear to me that Diggs and Allen were not on the same page as of the end of 2022 and that Diggs was not taking accountability/ responsibility for anything. The Facts are the Facts: Diggs had 6 games over 100 yds in the first 9 games, but only 1 game over 100 yds in the last 7 regular season games, despite having 55 targets in those games (avg 8 targets per game). I did wonder if part of it was Allen's UCL injury, but I remember more than one commentator remarking that Diggs and Allen were clearly not on the same page or "Diggs should have had that". It wasn't just the Bengals game where Diggs was 4 receptions on 10 targets with at least 2 balls it looked as though he should have had. Meanwhile, Diggs was ducking his league mandated media responsibilities, in contrast to his assertion of leadership on the team. Then, after the mandatory minicamp fiasco, there were the September hot mic comments from Maddy Glab and her subsequent forced penance at the hands of Diggs media team. Whatever you think of Glab as a reporter, she doesn't come across as having a conniving bone in her body so I took her comments as speaking the literal truth about the Diggs she knew behind the scenes. And it wasn't a pretty picture. Then the 2023 season was a repeat of 2022: Diggs 5 games with over 100 yds in the first 6 games but the Bills were 4-2. Next games, Bills lost 3 out of 4 despite Diggs attracting 12, 12, 7 and 5 targets. Moved away from Diggs towards the run game (guy still got his targets, 8 targets per game in the last 7 games). It seemed as though for whatever reason Diggs had become a half-season guy who couldn't get it done in the 2nd half of the season - that seems to be common as players age, they start strong after an off season of healing up, but the beating their body takes every game starts to accumulate. Diggs, of course, attributed that to Joe Brady. Greg Cosell said he no longer had the physical skills to function as a #1 receiver (based on his film analysis) But you can 100% count me in the camp of people who felt that Diggs was functionally un-cuttable or un-tradeable in 2024 because of his contract and the huge dead cap hit it would create, and because of the dearth of other WR options on the team at the time and the fact that the Bills hadn't demonstrated much ability to run the ball consistently in previous seasons. I wasn't unhappy to see Diggs gone, but the move made me think that "Big Baller Beane" is actually an apt nickname and I thought "wow, our D is gonna have to be carrying our offense" going into the season.

You know that's a fake, right?

I see what you're getting at. I agree that the Bills can't use 12 sets with Knox and Kincaid as their TE and mount the prototypical threat in the run game that a 2 TE set poses. My point was that the Bills aren't really in 11 either, because Kincaid doesn't pose the same threat that a good WR poses. True, they could bunch Kincaid, but the Bills already have a good slot receiver in Shakir. I actually think that Kincaid is a better downfield blocker now than he's credited with, using timing and space to get in the way just enough. You're right that he isn't a road grader downfield and he can't block inline, which is why the Bills went to adding a 6th lineman on run plays. Anyway, I hope Kincaid has been able to put effort into improving the release aspects of his game, whatever that takes - sheer physical strength, footwork etc. His basketball background ought to give him the balance and body control to learn how to fake DBs out, I don't think he ever got to the point where he tried because the film was out that if they just jammed him he could be neutralized.

Wondering if you have a linky to that interview with Sal? The Bills got played by Diggs. When he showed up in 2020, he had been "all in" with the off season training his ass off. 2021 off season, same. Off season of 2022, he signed that huge contract extension with Buffalo and I'm not saying he didn't work, but I don't think it was to the same level - more time in Paris and at Coachella and fashion shoots. That was the same off-season Sanders was "one and done" and the Bills moved on from Beasley. So it was Diggs, Davis, and no one else. Diggs had no one comparable in skill or seniority in the WR room. Hindsight is always 20/20 but if the Bills made significantly more investment at WR than 5th round pick for Khalil Shakir and signing Jamieson Crowder that off season, I think it's possible Diggs would have checked himself instead of feeling like he was untouchable and had odorless excrement.

Mmm. Except one of Kincaid's problems (in my observation) is releasing off the line against physical coverage. As of last season, he hadn't learned to release like an NFL WR

You remind me of a joke. I bet your wife knows this one. A man notices his wife's butt is getting big. "I bet your butt is as big as my grill." He tells her. His wife rolls her eyes, but he gets a tape measure, measures her bottom, measures the grill, and teases her that they're about the same size. That night, he tries to see if he can get lucky. "Not tonight," says his wife. He asks her why not, to which she responds, "Do you really think I'm going to fire up this big-ass grill for one little wiener?" https://www.ba-bamail.com/jokes/comeback-jokes/?jokeid=1269

I agree, Pitts. cut him loose quickly. It was a rather strange decision for a team that has been patient. I think there was (and is) a strong element of win-now-itis in Steeltown. Their defense is still good, but the core of their DL and other key players are getting long in the tooth. Greats TJ Watt and Cameron Heyward are well past 30. Fitzpatrick is 28. They had several other older starters (Ogunjobi, Roberts) who left in FA. Smith came in and believed he could rescusitate Russel Wilson and Get 'Er Done. Now he hopes he can get 'er done with .....Rodgers? Maybe? It's the model Denver rode to one Superbowl victory with the Ghost of Peyton Manning, after all, and fizzled on doing again with Wilson. Anyway, it's my impression that it may not have been "on" Pickett that a normally patient organization cut him loose. I could be wrong. But the same NFL teams that give chance after chance to veteran has-beens, will surely look hard at Pickett if he's cut and signed to a PS

That's a goood question. Much better question than you may realize. Once upon a time, meaning a couple years ago, you could go on buffalobills.com and find, if not everybody who worked for the Bills, certainly all the heads. Player engagement? Head trainer? Assistant trainers? Strength and conditioning coach? Assistant S&C coaches? Ticket sales? Maintenance? All right there on buffalobills.com, some under "coaches" some under "front office" Last year (may have been earlier, but I noticed it last year) only the coaches and position assistant coaches were listed, and for the "Front Office" it's just the Pegulas, Beane, McDermott and EVP/COO Pete Guelli. Not saying it's a bad thing, not saying it's a good thing, but it's definitely a thing.