Billsfan4588

I stumbled past this post on twitter today: I'm by no means a cap guru. I don't understand the purpose of a "salary cap" if you're going to allow teams to manipulate it to this extent anyway. It shouldn't be this complicated, either have the salary cap as a simple number that teams under no circumstances may surpass on a yearly basis, or get rid of it completely. I don't fully understand the void years tactic, I've heard from others that it involves more risk because you may end up with a lot of dead cap in the future. I don't understand this (mainly as an arguement/defense from eagles fans here in downstate NY). It seems to me that this tactic could just as easily be exploited by teams with owners willing to shell out more $, which again, sort of defeats the purpose of a salary cap. Today, joe burrow was mentioning along the lines of him wanting the Bengals to do the same thing this year (spend lots of $ and use void years) citing the Eagles as the example so they can keep both Tee Higgins and Trey Hendrickson. What say you all, join the fun and manipulate the cap, try to buy a chip or stay the course? I'm personally shocked by how few teams are willing to exploit this tactic to the extent the Eagles do. I imagine it's not as rosey as it seems if you know how these financials work, or else everyone would be doing it! Signed, Salty Bills Fan surrounded by annoying Eagles fans

I feel bad as a human, but it's overdue for the business. It's one thing for our special teams to not seem to ever have any special plays scripted to take advantage of the other team in specific situations/deficienies they may have in certain formations. It's another thing entirely for other teams to seemingly be able to find holes in our special team formations in key situations consistently. It was unacceptable and the time to correct it is now. This was another area we were soundly outplayed in by KC in.

I had hope that Beane learned something this year, guess not. "I don't expect us to be big spenders this year." Where's the money? I know we've extended some core guys and probably will do so again, but for as conservative as beane has mostly been, why are we so cap poor? We're cap poor regardless. Bring the talent, and dump some draft picks for proven players, you're whiffing regardless.

Thank you!

Daily, multiple times per day, this message board is where I would get my Bills addiction fix. Just prior to the Bengals playoff slaughter, my son was born. I actually accidentally fell asleep 5 minutes before the kick off of that game and woke up to the game pretty much out of hand already (thanks newborn sleepless nights). You knew something was off, that was not the effort you expect from a home team in the playoffs. Follow that up a year later with the Diggs rumors swirling. Eventually leading to the firing of Ken Dorsey, the birth of a new more efficient offense, and the phasing out of Diggs. We all remember how that season ended. This preseason reminded much of the one where McDermott, and eventually Beane had initally arrived. I remember getting off my flight on my way to a resort in the Dominican Republic, turning my phone off airplane mode, and seeing that Sammy Watkins had been traded. This preseason, for a different reason, was another necessary cleansing. It brought a new energy, and shifted accountability to other players. The team got a little younger, but leaders like Josh and Bernard matured. Change isn't always fun, in fact it rarely ever is, but it's necessary in order to grow. McDermott, to his credit, has fought against many of his own previous conceptions of how to handle certain situations. Going for it more often on 4th, not being afraid to blitz to end a game, playing a different base defense for portions of the game vs the Ravens. It's slow and frustrating but strides are being made. Last night was rough, Josh starting out slow (probably jittery and too hyped up). What felt like every single crucial call going in the Chiefs favor. And in the end, with ~3 minutes left, down 3. We had the ball, we had a chance. So what happened? Easy answer is "execution" or just "coaching". In honesty, it was both, though I'm more on the "coaching" side. Whether Chiefs are on offense or on defense, in those end of game situations, need to have it first down or need to stop them 4th downs, they had a unique play ready to go in every situation thatvwas run to perfection. The most frustrating part of the final offensive play of the year for the Bills wasn't just the outcome, but rather, that they never even had a chance. During the commercial break, as I sat next to my brothers and a friend in my man cave, I said, "the Chiefs are going to blitz. And it's going to be a blitz different from any they ran tonight. And there will be a free runner directly at Josh who gets there so fast , he won't have a lane to run to, or time for anyone to really get open. Unfortunately, I have no idea where that blitz will come from." Fast forward to the play. Initially I wanted to blame Joe Brady for not have a blitz counter scripted in the play, but after watching replays seeing that he in fact did have Shakir in position, but that couldn't be taken advantage of from the direction the blitz came, and how fast they got there. I can't blame Joe Brady for being out witted by a DC with multiple superbowls who has 3 times the NFL experience Brady has. I was honestly exhausted when the game was over, pained mostly by how much Josh was showing it on his face, because as simple and silly as it sounds, he really cares. I was numbed to it and bummed that we got the ugliest SB match up imaginable. But, where do we go from here? It's obvious the coaching has to improve, but I believe it's mostly on Brady to grow this offseason, through no fault of his own, he's only 35 years old, and with a defensive head coach , who does have to lean on? If he does take a step forward, we're that more dangerous. Nothing is more frustrating than watching Josh have to complete td passes to wrs with 0.5 yds of separation named Mack Hollins (GOAT!) while Mahomes simply needs to flick 3 yd tosses to wide open RBs in the flat to further solidify his legacy. I hope to one day see Kincaid catch a slant wide open and take off to the endzone so many times as we've seen his draft class mate Sam Laporta do. A couple of days ago, my 2 year old son had whats known as a febrile seizure or "fever seizure", unfortunately my wife and I had no idea what it was or that it's apparently very common. But one second he's eating dinner, the next he's limp, choking on air, eyes rolled in the back of his head and having a seizure on our kitchen floor for about 6 minutes until the ambulance arrives. He's doing great now, but it leads to my next point. As annoying as it sounds, I think we're right there, but there's another person who needs to grow and have a shift in his philosophy, and that's Brandon Beane. Sure, his draft picks haven't all been hits, but he's still fielded a pretty solid team. But after thinking my son was going to die, the old cliche of not waiting for tomorrow pops into my head. Do you really want to keep being conscious of the future for the sake of being decent for a prolonged period of time, or do you just want to win that 1 damn super bowl! My newest fear is dying and never seeing this team just reach the superbowl (I'm currently 34, only started watching football seriously in 2009 when I became a freshman at UB and had to be a Bills fan, my first draft comment ever was "who the hell is EJ Manuel??). I think it's time to sell out, be 49ers, be the Eagles, you can even be the 1 and done Rams, but just get it done, just once so your fan base can say they really went for it one time before they die. The last person who needs to grow is me. The Chiefs are back to back champions, they went 15-1 with their starters this year, they did not take a singular game this season for granted. The Bills lost last night as one of the final 4 teams of professional millionaires all gunning for the same goal. I need to appreciate every one of their victories more often instead of always just appreciating the macro. Sorry for my novel, but I had to cram a years worth of posts here! Until next year, I really think this might be the season where Beane finally does something against how he's fundamentally run the team and go for some big splashes (Garret, Crosby, bring Khalil Mack back home, why not 2 of the 3?) Yes I remember the Von Miller signing, but I'm thinking more extreme, you have Josh Allen, you can attract all kinds of talent, let's hear other fan bases say "how in the hell does that fit in their cap space!" For once. Let's go Buffalo!

So far I've only watched Brian Thomas Jr., Adonai Mitchell and Xavier Legette on tape. I hate the fact that Legette looks the best to me out of those 3. Haven't gone in depth yet but he seems to be able to do everything Mitchell and Thomas can do, but far more physical, reminds me of Deebo. Time will tell

Kincaid.

The question is: do you draft potential future #1 to replace diggs (do it all prospect) or do you draft a deep threat? The deep threat would seem like a "need" with davis likely departing in free agency, but with the way teams play vs Allen, the deep shot is rarely there, if ever. I'm stuck on prospects myself, will be doing more digging in future weeks!

Rewatched the bills/steelers game yesterday and the chiefs/fins game today. I was a lot more pessimistic about this upcoming game prior to watching these again. The chiefs are super vulnerable, specifically: 1. The chiefs o line didn't look all that great. Fins missing their top DEs and the chiefs had to stick to the short game because pressure even with just 4 rushers was getting home. Also, a noticeable amount of balls batted down at the line on mahomes passes. 2. They didn't run the ball as well as you'd think. Pacheco had a few longer runs, mostly On their first drive/first half, but not a great running team and minus a run or two in the second half, they were held in check. Chiefs scored 7 points in the beginning of the 4th quarter due to field position they obtained in the end of the 3rd. 3. Chiefs struggled getting the ball in the endzone, kelce seems slightly old and unless he finds a soft spot in zone coverage, he's not really getting open. 4. Mahomes is human, especially if you hit him a few times, it doesn't have to be sack, just remind him that you're coming for him every snap. He missed quite a few wide open easy throws and receivers (including kelce) dropped others. 5. The chiefs defense is simply not all it's being hyped up to be. The dolphins game was easy for them because all the dolphins could do was try to run the ball or throw screens because Tua simply doesn't have a good enough arms for the game conditions. I truly believe if the bills don't beat themselves with silly errors/penalties and the refs don't screw them , they can win by even double digits. All that being said, I could be completely wrong and we get killed by mahomes/kelce/rice. Either way, Go Bills!!

The big play we've been waiting for, thank you AJ

Every Dorsey play call seemingly plays directly into the Jax defensive play call. At the very least josh hasn't forced anything stupid....yet

Color me confused. I'd understand if it was a discount, but that's top dollar.

Lol, does Beane trade back? Don't see much of value on the board now. Go crazy and double down on OG with Zavala? Or go OT with Jones still on the board?

Completely ignorant and random question (I have not checked weather forecasts for any neighboring areas), any reason the game wouldn't/couldn't be moved to the Carrier Dome in Syracuse? Mostly just curious and think it would be cool to see the Bills play there.

What I find personally disappointing is not the picks themselves, rather how it seems, at least at first glance, that they're prioritizing needs over BPA. I could be wrong, but just how i see it. I thought this draft would be a great opportunity to just go after BPA, especially after yesterdays CB pick. Hopefully allow the BPA to develop behind whoever is the starter if they're not ready yet

I've found it, more than once. The problem is, it's revolving 🤣

Bold move Beane, took a 3rd round RB for the third time as GM, except he took this 3rd rounder in the 2nd, that should work

You think Tua would've thrived in that situation? Lol, seem to miss the fact that Josh Allen is just a bit different as a QB than he. You may also notice that the only left of those 3 is Cody Ford, who may be on the bench if Bates is brought back.

A mismanaged team with an unbalanced owner who's been trying to make a splash for years. The Chiefs did not go undefeated with Patrick Mahomes throwing the ball to Tyreek Hill, you think you should be worried about Tua? They have a lot of speed, I give them that, but they hired a new offensive minded coach who's philosophy is to run run run and set up play action, contain the run and watch for screens. Not much else for them passed that. Did I mention, their QB is Tua?

Grossly overestimated? You didn't catch that Bills-Jags game last year huh 🙄

As a fan, I was all aboard the Jones train. If I was the GM, he'd be lucky to sniff anything near a 1-2 year deal at AAV of ~$10M , and honestly that's stretching it. That being said, Mahome-boy will be facing crosby/Jones, bosa/mack, bradley chubb and maybe another DE they sign 6 times a year, that may help soften him up a bit for playoffs on a yearly basis.

I get the frustration, but saying "he hasn't learned anything" seems fairly shortsighted. His increase in agressiveness in terms of going for it on 4th down this year is a major step forward. He's showing less respect to teams that they should handidly beat (as he should), where he would previously punt on 4th and short or come into the second half with a small lead and immediately start trying to burn clock, as opposed to now where they come out of the half ready to finish stomping the other team out. Forcefully changing his coaching style in order to better fit the needs of his franchise QB. It's not easy to adjust the way you approach things after spending an entire career doing them a different way. You learn something every loss, if you don't then you should be fired, I'm moving forward assuming he'll never approach a situation like those last 13 seconds that same way again. He's going to carry that all off season, just as much as Josh did last year. I'm fully on board with the idea that McDermott froze in those last 13 seconds, but I think he's getting better, at least I hope so. Food for thought: McDermott first 5 years HC record: 52 - 36 Belichick first 5 years HC record (Browns): 36 - 44

The 2020 AFC Championship was a game were Josh Allen was out classed, took his lumps, and got a hell of a lot better for it. The 2021 divisional round playoff game versus the Chiefs is where the coaching staff (really McDermott and Frazier, mostly McDermott) took their lumps. If you've been paying attention, as much as Josh Allen has improved each year, Sean McDermott has improved as well. From the onset of that game (as he did versus the Pats in the second regular season game as well as their first playoff match up) he showed an aggressiveness he never really had before (until certain points earlier this year, going for it on 4th down etc). And McDermott carried that agressiveness through the entire game, until those final 13 seconds. It is a guarantee that Sean McDermott will never play that situation the same way again because of what happened, he's now better for it, and the team going forward will be better for it. It would never be an ideal time for that to have happened, but it could've just easily happened next week or in the super bowl. Now that it's happened, I doubt it'll ever happen again. Colin Cowherd said something yesterday that I've been saying since Mahomes first "splashed" on to the scene, Andy Reid is above and beyond his perfect fit. Mahomes was drafted to an already playoff contending team (i remember week 1 that year they destroyed defending super bow champs the NE Patriots at home) by an offensive minded Hall of Fame coach used to coaching players such as Michael Vick and Donovan McNabb. Josh Allen was drafted by a defensive minded first time head coach. It was either going to work, or it wasn't, but it was never going to be quick. Allen had to work hard (off seasons with Jordan Palmer, hours of reps and studying with Ken Dorsey, learning from Daboll) and as Allen has had to work hard, McDermott has had to learn to adjust and better himself in ways that are uncomfortable for him. McDermott is clearly a more conservative/Bill Bellicheck type of coach, Josh Allen is not a system QB, he thrives in mayhem and havoc, which McDermott avoids.... until he started not to. McDermott has learned to take risks on the offensive side of the ball, he needs to learn to be a little more flexible in his defensive calls. And if this games ending doesn't teach him that, nothing will. Hot take: This Chiefs loss ushers in a new Patriots like dynasty, and it wont be the Chiefs, but rather the Bills. The Chiefs are currently playing at their maximum potential, Mahomes can't play any better, they can't find another Tyreek Hill or Travis Kelce to sign. The Cheifs have a first roumder and 3 2nd rd players on their starting d-line, one stud and 3 well above average rushers a long with Tyran Matheiu. They lost two starting o linemen last year and replaced them with a franchise LT immediately. The Cheifs, quite honestly, can only go downhill from here, though I'm not counting on it, and I dont think they have to, because regardless of that. Josh Allen, beat them twice. McDermott went 1-1 vs them. 2022-2023 Buffalo Bills - #1 Seed (caveat - if Allen remains healthy of course) lots of regular season blowouts and guaranteed AFC Championship. A superbowl will fully depend on if Beane will finally let go of the draft and develop strategy now that we have a legitimate game tested and season proven window, and get himself 1-2 game wreckers. Feel free to like the post as a "bring Khalil Mack back home" button. The Bills have done well in house, it's time to add the final touch, apply pressure a second earlier, force one more throw away, anything, and we'd be posting about very different things this week.