Dr. K

These are all reasonable arguments for taking a chance on Watt. I don't know what the reasonable alternatives in free agency or trades are if you need an immediate upgrade. I do hope that Epenesa and Oliver will improve their pass rushing abilities. But I also expect Jerry Hughes, whom I like, to hit the wall any day now. I generally trust Beane to judge what the cost-benefit breakdown is in bringing in D-linemen, though the bets he made on Addison and the others he brought in last season did not really pay off. I think the return of Lotulelei and the improvement of Harrison at tackle might help the run defense, and maybe free up others to rush the passer. If Beane thinks Watt is worth the money and the consequential inability to sign other free agents, then I'll hope he's right.

Of course I don't expect them to sit on their hands. That's a straw man argument. Any personnel decision is going to involve risk. I just don't think they will get the bang for the buck you expect from signing Watt. We'll see what happens. This comparison to Diggs is another straw man argument. Diggs was 26 years old, and was not signed in the midst of a cap squeeze. You're comparing apples and oranges. I've said my piece here, and there's no point in arguing it further. We'll just have to disagree, as good fans of the same team often do.

In two years Watt is not going to be playing at a level that warrants the salary he is going to command now. This is a short term move, and pays off if he stays healthy and performs at the "elite" level you expect from him for a full season. I don't think that's hard to understand. Signing him is making a bet that he will, as you say, put them over the top. If he doesn't do that, it's a waste and distraction, and spends money that could be spent on, say, Milano, or some other younger player.

You're right, I am worried about age and injury. He's played three seasons' worth of games in the last five seasons--basically he missed two of the last five seasons because of injury. How many 32 year old linemen maintain their excellence after that age. A lot of them fall off a cliff. And this is a short-term move, the kind of thing a team does when it thinks it just needs one or two moves to put itself over the line to get a championship. I can see how some fans might see the Bills as in that position, but I would rather see them build more for the long haul, get younger rather than older. If the Bills take the chance on him, I hope he stays well and can still perform. I'll be rooting for them regardless.

I can't argue with you, you're right. Still I don't think the evidence is as overwhelming as so many here seem to believe that he is still worth the $10-12 million per year they say he will cost whoever signs him. But of course I could be wrong. If the Bills sign him, I will seriously hope I am wrong. We'll see. It must be nice to be as smart as you are.

I saw that. We'll have to agree to disagree. I predict Watt, if he comes to the Bills, will be at best mediocre and at worst huge mistake that will set the team back. But I'm just a fan, no expert.

The more I think about this, the less I want Watt on the Bills. I don't want them to spend their limited cap space on a 32-year-old edge rusher whose best days are behind him. Does he fit into the Bills defensive scheme? Plus, getting him would have a domino effect on other players they might get or keep. I really think people are getting dazzled by the name and reputation and not thinking analytically on what Watt would realistically bring to the team, and the repercussions of bringing him.

This is my reasoning too. It's like the days when fans went nuts over signing Drew Bledsoe or Terrell Owens.

I do not want to see Watt on the Bills.

Anyone who wastes more than five seconds thinking about this needs to get a life. And I've now spent thirty seconds on it. You are right, JJ IS done, and the Bills should take a hard pass on trying to sign him.

No matter what you think about the teams and players, it was a just plain crappy football game. Add to that, does anyone really LIKE Brady and the Bucs? And the Chiefs, who were a fresh story the last two seasons, have begun to curdle.

RIP, Marty.

I thought the DUI/accident incident was less likely to be a factor than the other things I mentioned, but I thought it might have some effect. I could never have figured that the refs would start calling those penalties they did not call two weeks earlier, but I agree it had a significant effect. It's interesting because generally it's been my impression that, historically, refs call games looser in the playoffs. So it must have shocked the Chiefs to have those PI and holding penalties called, and put them off their game. I really think the decimation of the Chiefs' o-line was the greatest factor in the game. Brady played well, but any good QB would have won that game for the Bucs--they were that dominant on the offensive and defensive lines.

Just want to highlight my perspicacity. I posted this on Saturday: PREDICTION: The Bucs will win, going away. This will be the only Super Bowl that Brady will have won by more than ten points. Brady won't necessarily have a great game, but the Bucs overall will dominate the Chiefs. I don't say this because I like the Bucs--I'd much rather see the Chiefs win and Brady humiliated. I say the Bucs will win because: 1) The Chiefs are missing both their starting tackles 2) Reid's son's DUI puts a child in the hospital in critical condition 3) The best game the Chiefs have played in the last three months was against the Bills. They have been living on borrowed time and now their luck runs out.

Offensive and defensive lines need to be better. Other stuff is gravy.

Chiefs = pathetic

PREDICTION: The Bucs will win, going away. This will be the only Super Bowl that Brady will have won by more than ten points. Brady won't necessarily have a great game, but the Bucs overall will dominate the Chiefs. I don't say this because I like the Bucs--I'd much rather see the Chiefs win and Brady humiliated. I say the Bucs will win because: 1) The Chiefs are missing both their starting tackles 2) Reid's son's DUI puts a child in the hospital in critical condition 3) The best game the Chiefs have played in the last three months was against the Bills. They have been living on borrowed time and now their luck runs out.

I'm worried that the Chiefs will lay an egg and Brady wins another Super Bowl.

Uh . . . "as great as I" is correct. You can tell because it sounds right if you add "am" at the end: "as great as I am." You would never say "... as great as me am" (I hope). Everybody who says "as great as me" is wrong. There are no possessive nouns in the quote you give. Not that it's a big deal. Everybody makes mistakes, and this stuff doesn't really matter compared to important things, but it just happens to be my job.

A tough end to a great season. I prefer to dwell on the good things they accomplished and let the rest go. How far they came. Take a well deserved rest and look forward to next year.

The "finally" in that title is very weird. It might work if you made it, "I would like, finally, to see JA dominate an AFC Championship Game." But even that is confusing; Your sentence assumes he's been in multiple AFC championship games already. I'm not the kind of doctor who can do you much good, but I can fix sentences.

I think we should not overemphasize this situation. It's really a meaningless distraction to make such a big deal about it. I sure hope the Bills coaches & players are not spending time speculating about this. They need to play their game.

Surprise!

I lived in KC and nearby for ten years and have lots of friends back there, all Chiefs fans. I wish them well and hope the Chiefs are healthy going into the game, but am so pleased to see the Bills in this game and rooting for them to win. I'll be bummed if they lose, but I respect the attitude the Bills seem to have evolved going into this game, and it gives me a great feeling for the players and coaches. They seem mature and centered and have had their heads in the game. Hope they can keep that quality under the pressures they will face this weekend, and when they win, in the Super Bowl. I can't say this exactly makes me CALM, but it does make me feel like the Bills have a good chance to win. This really seems like the best team attitude the Bills have had at least since the 90s, maybe better than then even.

Wow. Just wow!