finn

And on the Titans.

This. The evidence is now clear that he messed up royally, possibly to the point of ruining what might have been a Super Bowl year. He also didn't draft a corner until the late rounds, another area that will become a liability if injuries hit. Doubling down, he also declined to trade for these positions. To be fair, it's possible that he's relying on McDermott's judgment that the OL is Super Bowl quality, and maybe McDermott is relying on the OL coach's judgment. But Dawkins appears to be the only excellent lineman we have; Morse seems to hold his own, and Spencer Brown, to judge from the Athletic's All-22 breakdowns, is doing quite well. But Boettger and Ford have to be two of the worst players in the league. This site was screaming for Beane to take Creed Humphrey, a budding all-pro in Kansas City, in the second round. Boogie Basham looks good, but what a blunder not to take Humphrey, just like it was a blunder to take Ford instead of Metcalf in the second round in 2019. He can't hit them all, but if we're going to praise him for his hits, it's fair game to nail him for his blunders, especially when the solution was blindingly obvious at the time, not only in hindsight. Plenty of blame to go around for this awful loss, but in my view the biggest share goes to Beane.

Not surprised. Did you expect him to blame Ford or Boettger for letting d-linemen in his face all day, or point out that Beane passed on Creed Humphrey and other interior o-lineman, then sat on his hands as the trade deadline passed? Think of what you would have said about him if he had said any of that. He's playing his role right, just like he did during the game. There's not a qb in history who would have done much better than him. I blame him for the hero interception, but that kind of play is part and parcel of his fierce competitiveness. Like the OP said, he fought his heart out when at least some of his teammates were taking the day off. And you're calling him trash.

That's absurd to call him "trash." So you think Brady or Mahomes would have done better? He had rushers in his face, he was getting hit constantly, he had no run game and no running lanes himself, and his receivers were dropping balls and mostly not getting open. Yet you're happy to call him "trash." I hope you're just venting. If not, well, I'll stop there.

This isn't on Daboll or Allen or McDermott, or even Ford. It's on Beane and his assumption that he was fine with such a poor offensive line. Even after the draft, he could have done something, but he didn't. It's a Super Bowl caliber team everywhere but on the line, which isn't even mediocre; it's one of the worst in the league. If it wasn't for Allen's incredible ability to escape, the evidence would be so overwhelming that even Bean would have to admit it.

How about putting in Jamil Douglas. Could he be worse than Ford? (Could I be worse than Ford?)

Still plenty of time? And the defense is playing great?

So they're taking away the deep ball, taking away the short ball, and somehow still overwhelming the offensive line on literally every play. And this is one of the worst defenses in football. What is going on? Is it really just the OL? I'm genuinely curious.

Wouldn't it be nice to blow out a team from the very start, on both sides of the ball? Just once?

Would you elaborate on how he burned official bridges? I recall him reportedly alienating officials calling a Patriots game years ago, but was he somehow blacklisted afterwards? He does seem like he never draws holding penalties, but, if that is in fact the case, I never heard why.

I recall there was a woman who was one of the most informed, thoughtful posters on the board, but she left because (she said) she found the discussions too toxic. Does this ring a bell to anyone?

There goes the shutout...

This. To be fair, Beane can't put blue-chip or even red-chip players everywhere, but he seems to be just crossing his fingers at guard. (I won't say anything about Wyatt Teller, I won't, I won't!)

I remember that long drive where they just fed it to Emmitt Smith play after play. And Levy/Corey refused to play their two run-stuffing rookie defensive tackles, John Parella and James Patton, sticking with Jeff Wright and Mike Lodish even when they were being humiliated. Thanks for bringing it up.

Yeah, but that means he might have been number 1 in the league the previous two years.

This sounds right to me. I see Basham and Epenesa turning into quality players. Not stars, though. Oliver is the only one with that potential, it seems to me. But Rousseau... I defer to Bean's judgment, but that pick looks very iffy to me. He just doesn't seem to move very well. No burst or change of direction, not a lot of power, at least compared to Basham and others. A lanky guy who'll hold the edge and get there eventually with his long arms. This draft will have "legs," but I don't think Rousseau is going to make it. I really want to be wrong.

Thought Leif Larsen was a steal and Jamie Nails was going to be an All-Pro.

If you're concerned with correctness, start with your posts: your semi-colon should be a colon, "reread" doesn't take a hyphen ("run-on," from your previous post, does); and your ".." needs to be either an ellipses or period. Face it (note the correct colon here): Your reply to my post was out of line, especially for a moderator. Instead of doubling down, you should apologize.

A personal attack from a moderator. Interesting. And one who no doubt has never posted a sentence with a typo. Chandler#81, the moderator who is doing all that can be done to make posters feel welcome to the board, maintain a civil tone, and advance the dialogue. Nice job. Let's see if you keep up the vigilance, especially in your own posts.

So...why isn't CWade not playing? Or rather, is he playing or not next year, or is he on the team just to host podcasts?

There are many quarterbacks with awful lines and unreliable receivers, starting with Allen his first year, but none of them is defended so vehemently as Mahomes is. Some psychological effect is at work, like the writers are identifying with him or are otherwise tied to his being not just very good but flawless, godlike. They seem threatened by critiques of his play, as though they fear the critiques are about them and their manhood. Weird. We've seen the same with Marcia all these years. Any whisper that he might have played poorly is shouted down.

I don't quite agree (about Edwards and Oliver being just average). Edwards is overrated, by pretty much everyone. Yes, he's fast and can cover, but he misses tackles and can't shed blocks. His instincts have improved, but they're still not elite. He's still above average, but that's not saying much. On the other hand, I think Oliver is terrific. He doesn't show up in the stat line much, but if you read the all-22 analyses, such as the Athletic's, it's clear he's very, very good. He's a major piece of the puzzle, as is Milano. Addison has been no more than adequate, which is fine, but he's pretty expensive. Not sure if it makes money sense for the Bills to cut him, but if they do, Epenesa might be ready to step in.

Not sure I agree. He's has a big wingspan, good hands and decent speed, but he lacks quickness and doesn't seem to get open easily. An excellent third or fourth receiver, but I think the Bills need more speed to complement Beasley and Davis and let Diggs do whatever he wants. I do think Davis will improve next year, but I don't see him as an effective number two receiver.

Maybe. From my list of needs, I would settle for a healthy Moss, a healthy Brown/Brown replacement, and a coach with a spine. Not in that order.

Good point. Sure seems there's a lot to work on suddenly, though. We need a running back, at least one guard, a corner, somebody to cover Kelsey, at least one receiver, and a defensive tackle. Oh, and a head coach who doesn't stab his team in the back.