JohnNord

I don’t necessarily buy this. Kraft foolishly wanted Mayo to be the next Belichick but he was completely unprepared for the job. He didn’t really have many connections so he needed personnel to help him fill assistant positions (aka Alex Van Pelt). He was very unimpressive both on and off the field, plus he said something to embarrass the organization every week at his press conference. Yes the roster sucked and I think Elliot Wolf is bad at his job too. But it does make you wonder how much synergy/direction there was with coach/GM. All in all, the team was a laughing stock. Ultimately, it was Bob Kraft who screwed up by promising him the role as Belichick’s successor despite being unqualified. The Kraft’s realized they made a huge mistake and wisely cut their losses. Maybe Mayo becomes a good HC or DC in the league but he was just as bad at the Patriots roster and I don’t feel he was scapegoated in any way. He sucked

This is an experienced staff, sure, but I feel you are overrating the assistant coaches staff based on the fact they held higher coaching positions in the past. There’s a reason for that… With that being said, I think Vrabel is a big upgrade from Mayo. Given that and Maye’s development along with the money they have to spend, it’s reasonable to think that NE will be competitive next season and definitely better than last year. I’d put them in the same range as NYJ next season. Still think Miami will be better but we have yet to see any of these rosters so who knows?

Good breakdown, dude. And that 2022 draft is looking a lot strong after 3 seasons! I think they’ll bring back Hollins and Johnson. Both players won’t be getting big money elsewhere and offer double duty on Special Teams. The other signing I can see is Smoot. He too shouldn’t receive huge offers and I think they value his versatility. It’s a given Ferguson is back as well. That’s why I prefer they explore a big trade. Even if they keep all the picks, the chances of the rookies playing at a high level is not great. Also, the track record of Bills rookies making an impact in year 1, isn’t so strong. They need to do something to bring in higher level talent on defense or at WR and how is the perfect time.

It’s actually 6 picks: Round 1 Round 2 Round 2: from Houston in Stefon Diggs trade Round 4 Round 4: from Chicago Round 4: compensatory Round 5: compensatory Round 6 Round 6: from Cleveland in Amari Cooper trade Round 6: from New York Giants

I can co-sign for this. It does appear that Beane, and other GM’s as well, overvalue draft picks. Everyone loves draft picks until you end up with Kaiir Elam or Cody Ford. So a draft pick is really only as good as the player you draft. This season there aren’t going to be a ton of “holes to fill” as this board loves to say. The Bills currently have 6 picks over the first four rounds and then 2 6th round selections. All of these players aren’t making the team. Plus there’s also Free Agency. If the Bills have a chance to trade for Garrett they need to go for it

I’ll say this. NFLN replayed the Patriots-Eagles Super Bowl and it made me wonder whether Keon could turn into an Alshon Jeffrey-type WR. Jeffrey was noticeably more physical but most of his catches were contested in tight coverage. He wasn’t getting much separation and passes weren’t perfect but he found a way to make the catch. In looking at his stats, he usually put up around 700-800 yards and was a solid target. My hope is that Keon can turn into this type of receiver. What I also noticed is that there were at least 3 catches made this game (maybe more) that were more challenging that the ball that Dalton Kincaid. No excuses. Big time players need to make plays.

100% that travel is hell.

Sure it’s possible, but I’m not sure how likely it is. Samuel was healthy toward the end of the season. While he played better, his production was still was a far cry from the player the Bills signed. As far as Kincaid, I’m wondering why they are just talking about him adding size now. This was the pre-draft knock on him, and it was obvious in his rookie season that his lack of blocking affected the snaps he got on the field. I think they envisioned him playing the “big slot” WR role until they found out Shakir was a much more productive fit. But we’ve seen Beane’s faith play out both ways. After 2022, he pleaded with people to give Spencer Brown more time and it paid off. He did the same for Gabe Davis, using injuries as an excuse, and he was the same player he’s always been in Buffalo. Just in my opinion, both don’t seem like a great fit for the defense.

No… would have been the ideal player in 2022. There’s too much redundancy in his skill set and Shakir, Samuel, and Dalton “big slot” Kincaid. Maybe if they’ll trade Kupp for Samuel

If you look at the current WR’s there’s two traits that are missing: - vertical speed - separation (route running) The Bills need to add 2 receivers with these attributes. Shakir, Samuel, and Coleman have their strengths but mostly in the intermediate areas. Not really… over the past few years we’re seeing more WR’s contribute as rookies.

The rotation makes a lot of sense in theory, in actuality I’m not so sure how well it works in Buffalo. IMO part of the problem is that there really isn’t an impact player on the DL. Maybe Von back in 2022. But if there’s a player you always have to worry about it makes life easier for others. There’s no one or elevate the talent on the DL

Hendrickson is the only possibly. I know the Bengals GM hinted that they can pay everyone. But it’s very much a situation like Von Miller. They’d trading assets and signing a 31+ year old player to a multi-year deal. I don’t believe Simmons or Lawrence are on the trade block.

I don’t have much hope for Carter. He made on nice goal line stop against Tennessee but aside from that he’s been really bad. Easily one of the worst players in the defensive line, so much that they made him a healthy scratch. He can get better, but at this point he seems to be trending toward having a ceiling of a depth lineman. Solomon had some nice pass rushing snaps this season but he’s so bad against the run it limited when he could play. Again, at this point I think I think his ceiling is a situational pass rusher. Overall Kincaid hasn’t been a bad player for Buffalo, but he’s hasn’t lived up to draft status. The drop last week is a great example. i don’t think we can rely on Coleman to be anything more than a WR4.

And yet… Josh had a chance to win the game at the end the past 2 seasons. The problem on defense is the same as on offense… you need more impactful players in both sides of the ball

I think you said it well, K-dog. The high-end talent is missing from this roster. You will never have a team with all elite players but you do need a couple. I know Beane’s biggest critics point to the fact that he’s found a lot of “single” and very “home runs.” I feel that’s valid criticism. Aside from Josh, his best pick might be Taron Johnson. I guess you can include the Diggs trade. The team’s other elite talent all came from the weird 2017 draft which saw them draft White, Milano, and Dawkins. The problem is it’s going to be really hard to add impact players on defense in their current situation.

I don’t know - I’m higher on Poyer/Hyde safety duo in their prime around 2020 and 2021. After that point both were hampered by injuries. Also both were re-signed in Buffalo and never had the chance to hit the FA market until they were past their prime. Best safety duo? Maybe a stretch but they were really good. Hyde had a knack for finding the ball and Poyer flew all around the defense. Also teams rarely ever threw deep on them. They likely were helped out a lot by McDermott’s system, but I also think they both excelled individually.

I’ve heard this speculated by a lot of people and if there’s one thing that would make a KC Super Bowl win even more nauseating, it would be seeing Kelce down on bended knee in the red and yellow confetti while proposing while Taylor pretends to act surprised 🤮🤮🤮 It almost seems like too good if press for the NFL for this moment not to happen. Also Kelce’s ego is too big for him to retire. He’ll play next season for sure as they prepare for the quest for 4 SB wins. One of my least favorite players in the NFL.

If you scroll to the 31:50 mark you’ll hear the discussion about Maxx Crosby (see how easy that was?) TL:DR - Tom Brady is going to want to keep Crosby Basically Diana Russini feels teams will be calling the Raiders but ultimately she doesn’t think he will be traded. She believes that retaining DC Patrick Graham was one way of appeasing him. Also she thinks that Tom Brady has been active in decision making and he is trying to build something. It wouldn’t make sense to get rid of a player like Crosby. Her co-host Chase Daniel, guessed that Crosby would be worth 3 first round draft picks. She said maybe a little less, which leads me to maybe 2 first rounders and something like a 3rd?

You could be Beane’s assistant. I hear that the team scouts Two Bills Drive for talent

It’s the age old “chicken or egg” argument when it comes to coaching/GM’s we’ve had many times here in Buffalo. It’s really hard to know who was more responsible. I think in the case of Beane and McDermott there’s a high degree of collaboration and a shared vision. I can’t see Beane drafting a player that McDermott wasn’t comfortable with, like Doug Whaley did Sammy Watkins in 2014. I tend to see how much success players have once they leave Buffalo. For the most part, most of the defensive talent that signed contracts elsewhere weren’t much better than they were in Buffalo. Better: Harrison Phillips Poona Ford Tim Settle Same: Tremaine Edmunds Leonard Floyd Tyrell Dodson Quentin Jefferson Jerry Hughes Dean Marlowe Levi Wallace Dane Jackson Dean Marlowe Worse: Trent Murphy Mario Addison Boogie Basham Star Lotulelei Vernon Butler Jordan Poyer Tre White Ironically, the three players who performed better in their post-Bills career were all DT’s - a position of great need. The only mistake IMO was letting Harrison Phillips walk. Ford and Settle had good seasons this year but there’s plenty of really bad Bills tape from 2024. You can understand why they weren’t brought back. If I could point to a flaw it might have been taking swings on veteran defensive players which often saw poor returns and forced them to address the same positions in the draft which also failed. So it’s like throwing good money after bad. I definitely think there are issues with roster construction and asset allocation but it’s hard to connect this to Beane and not McDermott. I feel both are involved.

Right, extra draft picks are only as good as your selections. There’s been a lot of players who weren’t stars after their rookie season. I’m hoping that happens with Coleman and Carter in season 2, but I haven’t been all that encouraged based on what I’ve seen.

I guess it all depends on what you consider “elite.” I like to think of elite meaning top 5 at the position or somewhere close. I don’t think any of those players are elite besides Allen, of course. What you have is a mix of players on the spectrum of very good (Dawkins, Cook, Brown, Johnson) to good (Shakir, Benford, Oliver, Rosseau) The rest fall somewhere in average range - slightly above and below. Compare this to the teams playing in thr Super Bowl

Scroll to the 32:42 minute mark. Interestingly enough Sal and Matt Bove were trying to interpret Beane’s press conference. Both feel that Beane will try a big swing at WR or defense. Bove really thinks it’s going to be Maxx Crosby. To add fuel to the fire, he said Crosby is still young (27) and that the Bills liked him coming out college. All guesswork, but the logic behind the move and the actual fit would make sense. I just think the Raiders will ask for a LOT of compensation and that there will be other teams interested. (See how easy it is to add context to a video?)

BTJ was the player I really wanted. I’d love to know what happened in the war room. Did they try to trade up and were rebuffed? Did they think BTJ could fall a few picks and they could trade less? Or were they just not that into him enough that they wanted to make a trade. We’ll never know After year 1, I’m not really high on either Coleman or Carter

This is an overreaction. The game against Kansas City might have been Brady’s worst game yet they still scored 29 points. Buffalo’s offense is really good and has been scoring points all season. I don’t mind the idea of getting a veteran offensive voice in the room, but I also don’t think it’s something he needs. What would help more would be getting Brady a few WR’s that actually separate and can stretch the field vertically