That Aud Smell

Let's go, Buffalo! Please, please keep the good juju going -- take the play to these flightless birds. Minty Winks!

Beane is a very skilled, savvy GM. He's not bluffing, and this is nothing like Enron. Beane is doing what most (all?) other GM's do when they are in his position (of competing for a Super Bowl). He's going all in. And with the way cap can be manipulated, there's no real risk of anything cratering. There will probably be a few painful cuts of valuable veterans in the years to come, but the Bills should be able to reload* pretty quickly once this roster has had its chance at winning it all. *The trick is getting the right talent when you do that. Of course, that's always the trick.

It sure seems that way. It's like a malleable fiction. With the malleability being a function of how much money the owners are willing to spend. When you're in a Super Bowl window, that amount seems to be quite a lot. I mean - there are chickens that come home to roost eventually. ... I think.

And content like this just makes me realize that the NFL cap is best left a mystery - let the experts sort it out.

The Bills’ cap situation (compliance) is a total mystery to me.

Davis does not play the slot. McKenzie can play the slot, but his ability to find openings in zone coverage is unknown. Crowder knows how to do that. Can he do it as well as Beasley? And with the same sort of chemistry that Beasley had with Allen? Hopefully.

Losing out on McKissic was a bummer. This signing feels like Matt Breida 2.0. Wasn't Duke essentially out of the league a little while ago (having been cut by the Texans, of all teams) before catching on with Miami and having that one big game? I do want to shout out one thing about Duke Johnson: A couple years ago, a member of my ~20 year-old fantasy football league, who had pissed off and even offended most of the league with some bullsh1t antics the prior season (note: this guy's a newcomer to this league), intended to choose David Johnson with his first round pick. This was after the Cardinals had dealt David Johnson to the Texans for Deandre Hopkins. Setting aside the dubious choice to take David Johnson that high (that year), the story here is that this FFB manager chose Duke Johnson instead of David Johnson. He then started typing furiously in the online draft's chat (and texting to phones) to stop the draft, unwind the pick, etc. For reasons that remain a mystery, the 3 members of the league who had League Manager powers did not timely receive his pleas -- such a shame. 😏

Let's go, Buffalo!

Well, that is something.

Were his YAC ever a thing? Beasley is the master of finding a gap in the zone, sitting down, and getting a key 6 yards.

I’m not being funny: Aren’t the Rangers good this season? (I just checked — they’re a playoff team.) Maybe you’re referring to another period of time?

Will drafting a corner help the team (enough) in 2022-2023?

Hockey was/is a massive part of Russia's 20th century culture. I wonder if that alone has had an influence on Poland's view of the sport. OTOH, the regions of the former Czech Republic embraced hockey, notwithstanding their former imperialist occupier's affection for the sport. But every culture is different. My sense is that Poland has a unique, singular antipathy for Russia.

I think maybe that's why it's nominally a 6-year deal? Maybe that allows dead money to be spread out further over time? This is essentially a three year deal for $51.5M. And that is just about exactly what Chandler Jones got. I would not expect Miller to be on the team after that third year. By that time, they'll have renamed several local landmarks for him, including that stretch of Delaware Avenue where he climbed down off the Super Bowl parade float and danced with that grandma who was holding a sign with his name written in blue and red sparkle paint.

Not me. I just saw them being likened, and I was like 🤨

Holy spit - I cannot think of 2 more different captain types. There's no way Tuch came in and told Dahlin to turn off the stereo, eat bland chicken, and hit the weight room after a game.

??

Late round pick. Late bloomer. Hobey Baker winner ...?

Da fuq.

I have enjoyed hearing national announcers -- from both ESPN and TSN -- refer to John Hayden as "Big John Hayden." But beyond that - he can go, for sure.

@dudacek trust the process? 😲

I think this plays here. And I think that's a smart approach. By its nature, creating offence (and scoring goals) in highly competitive environments requires so much initiative, imagination, skill, technique (and an emphasis on the latter - technique in that final third is so difficult to attain) that you must focus there first. Defence, by comparison, is more reactive and also more straightforward in terms of how it gets done. I actually think that the biggest trick with teaching defence is teaching how it best transitions to ... offence.

I thought this was a great post. I was going to reply to a number of things in it, but then they became too numerous. Just solid takes. I don't even necessarily agree with all of them -- but I nonetheless think this is a fair and fairly comprehensive assessment of who and what HCDG is and what the Sabres are under him -- for now. Upthread, it was discussed how DG is intentionally making the team play fast and free in order to get them to understand what it takes to create offence in the NHL, which he posits is the hardest thing to teach at this level. My inference has been: The other stuff comes later (hopefully not too much later). Fair deuce here as well. I'm not sure I'd call what they're doing fire wagon hockey. I think the plan is for the d-game to improve on a timeline that's different than the offence's development. I think. We'll see.

I like the McKissic signing - addresses a need with a good player. I saw someone Tweet that the Bills' are free agent shopping at Aldi's. I think it was meant as a jab, but I'm not so sure it plays that way. If you go to Aldi's for the correct stuff, you get great value.