Yibbyl

Diggs is obviously talented, but I can't imagine he fits into what McBeaneCo wants in our locker room. They will probably make some phone calls and talk to Diggs for due diligence sake, but I bet discussions don't even broach the subject of compensation. Just don't see him as a legit option.

Tough move coming into a team you are not really familiar with and trying to play GM. Frankly, you were destined to fail in the eyes of Bills fans, much like I would be viewed as incompetent suddenly handling the Packers' off-season. No offense, as I am sure you did what you thought would be best given the limited info you had (and certainly no one offered advice once you asked), but wow, this has been pretty ugly. Your Round 3 UFA signings were probably the strongest. I like the addition of Sharpe and resigning Spain was critical. Question the value of Lawson's contract vs. production, though admittedly he will probably be the wildcard in reality this offseason...making for some difficult valuation. Bradham is a liability in coverage - something that is a must for a LB on our D (back 7 gotta be effective in zone), so I really hate that signing. I do appreciate the effort and the fact that you asked for opinions. Just hasn't resulted in an improved pre-draft roster IMO.

Fiscally wise move...otherwise, whatever.

Aaaand here we go - our coaching staff is starting to get raided (per The Scoop.com): San Francisco 49ers: Bills assistant defensive line coach Aaron Whitecotton will be taking a position on staff, Alex Marvez tweets. Alex Marvez @alexmarvez Source tells @SiriusXMNFL that Chris Kiffin is leaving the @49ers to become new @browns d-line coach. Kiffin was SF's pass-rush specialist. Aaron Whitecotton, who was @BuffaloBills assistant d-line coach, is joining the @49ers staff per source

Interesting article and exactly the kind of moves Beane has made in the past... https://buffalowdown.com/2020/02/08/buffalo-bills-5-radar-free-agent-signings-make/ I especially like the attempt to upgrade Kevin Johnson. IMO, our other Johnson (Taron) needs to be kept around at all costs. He was impressive as a nickleback and could easily make the switch to safety as Hyde did. Kid packs a wallop, too!

Yeaaaaahh, I think your defense of Gilmore is a little too strong/lopsided to not appear biased. Here's the real difference you should be arguing: Even though White accounted for more turnovers (6 ints + 3 forced fumbles) to Gilmore's 6 ints, Gilmore took 2 of his INTs to the house. That's 12 points directly attributed to him. Argue that being worth more than the extra 3 turnovers White accounted for, and your argument becomes legit IMO. However, your subjective points and that "Case closed." comment make it seem like their performances were practically night and day different and, let's be honest, that certainly wasn't the case. They both shut down virtually everyone they faced for all 4 quarters, they both executed their individual assignments impeccably given the system they play in, and they both deserve a heck of a lot of praise.

Yeah, I agree on the timing for moving Foster (if able...and we better be able to), but the money wasn't my concern. I see him simply taking up a potentially valuable roster spot that we certainly should have a legit chance to upgrade. And absolutely want to see us swap out Star for Luiget for the immediate future. Luiget flat out executed when he got the chance and I will never understand the numbers behind Star's contract. In no way was he ever worth that much...at least in a 4-3. He really does nothing but take up space. Even in a 3-4, he's actually too small for that scheme unless you maybe you pair him with Wade Phillips and, even then, he's probably a back-up due to his inability to penetrate. Pretty much in every defensive scheme, his combination of body and ability makes him a square peg people try to fit into a round hole.

As a fan of the Bills, I wish White had gotten it, but the truth is man coverage play is more respected than zone. Both players really excelled this year. I'd say White deserved more than 1 vote, but in the end, I understand why he didn't win. So be it.

Yeah, your mention of Spain earlier in the year reminded me that I usually put a very high value on the trenches...even before addressing "playmakers". We need to keep that OL as good as it can be or else we will absolutely see Josh taking a step backwards next season. IMO, he simply hasn't shown that he can consistently handle pressure effectively at least at this point in his career. The playoffs especially brought that point to the forefront. Phillips is simply going to want more money than I think our FO can justify. I already have just assumed he won't be on our team next year. I feel bad for him. He totally deserved a Pro Bowl invite and that would have helped him at the negotiating table this off-season. My guess is he feels the same way and will have a chip on his shoulder. All that will just drive up his expected asking price IMO. So, again, in my mind, he is gone...hopefully to a NFC team so we don't face him much! I'd offer Shaq a contract. Defending the run was one of our weaknesses the past season and that is something he actually does excel at. His value in a DL rotation justifies an offer IMO. He might not get the offer he wants, but then again, maybe the feeling of "family" our players have repeatedly stated was a plus here in Buffalo will factor into his decision on whether to accept a low-moderate contract. As for that article, the parts I disagreed with were Foster and Perry. I just think there will be equivalent alternatives for less money...especially with Foster. Two years ago when he got called out and demoted, he responded. That didn't happen this year and I never heard anything linking that drop off to some sort of injury. In my mind, that's a signal that he just doesn't have the competitive drive to take the next step and maintain that intensity. I suspect he ends up with a career bouncing around the NFL in obscurity or maybe even ends up a star in the CFL. Sucks because he was my choice for Adopt-a-Bill this past year...even though we didn't do it on this board for some reason. As for Perry, I want any ST player who doubles as a RB to actually prove he is worthy of getting 1-2 offensive snaps at least every other game. Obviously, Perry wasn't that guy. Surely some rookie on the cheap can replace him. Also, though not addressed in the article, I think some discussion needs to be about Bojorquez. I saw a lot of comments in our forum this past season about his inconsistency and how he should be let go. He certainly frustrated me with some poorly timed bad punts. Even this article mentions that Beane values all 3 aspects of the game. ST needs to be scrutinized more than just looking at returners and gunners. Both of Bojorquez's average and net average punt distances ranked 29th and he also put up the 4th most touchbacks. On the flip side, he was the 10th best punter at pinning teams inside the 20 yard line. That last stat seems to contradict the others, but I believe his inside the 20 (and even his touchback) stats were bolstered by our excellent D stopping a lot of teams at midfield. I'd bring in competition and keep whoever performed better.

You guys seen this? Interesting read. Over the past 2 weeks I've come to agree that resigning Spain needs to be our first order of business. https://unfilteredsportsnetwork.com/unfiltered-gms-buffalo-bills/

I think this hire deserves a "Wow"! I don't think they could have gotten a better OC at this stage in the game and, honestly, didn't see this coming at all! Nice!

I agree with the bolded. I do see a team with really poor depth overall, but the starters are largely there, especially on offense. Coincidently, the last time I messed around with Football Mogol, I was handling the Bengals and, looking at that game now, the stats are still loaded. I made just 3 changes on offense: brought in Michael Floyd as a FA WR#3, reassigned TE Cethan Carter to an H-back position to provide some actual blocking from the backfield for Mixon, and set the alignment to show run 10% more than pass. I averaged 28.1 ppg after the simulated season. Floyd was a huge surprise hauling in 49/615/2, but much of that production probably occurred while Green was injured. No WR exceeded 960 yds on the season and Dalton and Mixon stayed healthy all year. Mixon was a monster in this situation, combining for just under 2100 total yards with 20 rushing td's plus 5 more through the air! Geezus! I'm not a fan of the Bengals' D, especially the linebacking corps, where I don't know any system that would find value in that collection of misfits. The DL wasn't complete either IMO, so I switched Atkins to a DE and went with a 3-4. The resulting NT combination of Billings/Tupou was quite weak. I made 4 trades bringing in other teams' 2nd and 3rd string LBers and a S to improve speed and coverage abilities. No big names, just also-rans, who unfortunately all struggled somewhat with tackling. Had to be done though because the LBers' coverage ability and most of their speed was noticeably substandard. Just for fun - and almost as an alternative to a 3-3 Stack - I paired this front with a slightly modified Tampa 2 coverage...something generally regarded as a faux pas. (I did retain LBers Vigil, Pratt, and Evans, but only Pratt started, though he was my drop back MLB-type in the Tampa 2!) The main modification was to add a Crossfire Blitz with the ILB's. The Sim didn't use that defensive play near as often as I would have on 3rd and longs...too bad. Anyway, end of season stats showed why the pairing isn't used as a base D: gave up an average of 126 ypg on the ground and 282 through the air and only got 17 sacks for the whole D! Still this turned out to be a D that bent...SIGNIFICANTLY, but didn't break as much as one would think. Finished the season with a 10-6 record and won the AFC North! LOL. Lost in the wildcard game to Baltimore...24-21. OK, so that was just a sim and I got insanely lucky that neither Mixon nor Dalton got injured, but imagine what would have happened if I had not utilized that funky defensive combination with the Tampa 2? Realistically, I would have pressured the QB more and and gotten off the field after 3rd down more. In short, there's no need to press the tank/rebuild button here. I'd target a QB, resign Eifert, add a S and a CB, and revamp/start revamping that LBer corp during the upcoming off-season. Overall depth will take at least a couple years to upgrade. Their Cap situation is pretty much average for the NFL and will get as good as ours after the 2020 season. With the Steelers needing QB help and teams figuring out the Ravens, they have the potential to be competitive quite soon, I'd imagine.

"Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect." - Vince Lombardi Point being, sure, Josh may have it easier continuing on with this system, but at his core, Daboll tries too hard to be cute/unpredictable instead of going back to the well until a D can prove they can stop it. Now, I have heard some say that "Daboll abandons the run only after opposing D's stack the box." Yeaaaaaaaah, not exactly. Those D's may stack the box on some plays more frequently after we have had success running the ball, but have not been doing so on every obvious (or less than obvious) running situation. Also, he should be dictating to the defenses, getting them off the balls of their feet, not succumbing to their will. For example, he could put Singletary outside as a receiver and employ quick shifts to get him behind or to the side of Josh an then run the ball. He could pull guards and utilize pitches to get SIngletary outside and behind a block advantage or at least a relatively equal helmet to helmet situation with his blockers. Ideally, I would like to see him change his play-calling, if not, then leave. Truth is, I doubt that happens as McDermott has stated in interviews that his focus is on winning, whether that happens as a result of 100 passes per game or 100 rushes. He has no concern with balance, only the end result of a W. And while that may be the right answer, the problem is they act as if you can't tell that a one-sided playcalling strategy has failed until it is too late. Yet, somehow, us lay people are picking up on it during the games though, so WTH? Again, as much as I called for his head during the season, upon reflection, maybe the ideal scenario is that we keep Daboll as long as he can recognize his tendency to over-think things and accept (or be ordered) to stick with strategies that are working during the game for a higher percentage of the time.

Just a quick FYI... Duke Williams got a cheap ($585K for 2020) 2-year contract last year. You didn't mention cutting him, so I expect we'd hang onto him just in case.

Not gonna say the refs cost us the game. I disagree with some of the calls, sure, but it is true Allen failed to call the TO before the clock ran out, Missed calls affected both teams. Errors happen in every game. It just the way things go. I can honestly say, though, that we lost this game due to Josh reverting to his early season self of trying to play heroball, Also, that ridiculously inept defensive effort to stop them on the 3rd and 18 play when it was in overtime. There's no excuse for that latter one. Josh trying too hard to make things happen? It's proof of desire to win. Most fans love that drive/spirit, but he needs to learn to let his teammates collectively be successful and that he doesn't have to carry the offense. He hasn't grown mentally to get there...yet.