BigBuff423

This has been my favorite Super Bowl commercial since it came out....just fantastic! My grandfather grew up on a dairy farm in Unadilla - hated it and it drove him to do very different things in life, but he always respected the work ethic and the general principles of farm life.

If Stephon Diggs makes it out of Minny, he would be near the top in terms of talent and potential. In his case it will be entirely about what he does this year (of course) as opposed to his resume of accomplishments. Additionally, every year there is a WR who is "cut" or traded that makes you scratch your head, see Dez Bryant for a team that really needs a good boundary WR, and others. Equally head-scratching is a case like Moncrief who absolutely got PAID relative to his accomplishments thus far...no doubt Jax is taking the gamble on his ability to contribute. All of that said, I prefer for years the Seahawks and NE model, where WRs are just used as interchangeable parts and not the focal point of their Cap or FA period. The year NE did that? Cooks and while the team was great, Cooks wasn't really worth the price of the trade and now he's in LA. Beane did the opposite by trading Watkins and getting value for him while making the playoffs with a rag-tag bunch of WRs and Benjamin who struggled with injury. Point being, I want good WRs as anyone else does, but they don't change the dynamic of a team or an Offense by themselves like a QB does. So, I'd prefer they spend top dollar protecting the QB investment - depending on how the O-line does this year - and as someone said a LB opposite Milano, CB because Vontae is a one year rental most likely, a TE because they are hard to develop - depending on how Clay plays - and younger depth at WR, not so much an "elite" talent.

That's not what I meant....I didn't mean to imply Shady would be suspended or cut or anything drastic...more an emphasis on the polarity of the subject and recency bias....but, I can see how my poor presentation alluded to a different bent on the statement.

He's going to need a mentor....I think Shady might have some time on his hands...

These are the kinds of issues that make me think with the next CBA there will be a stoppage of play / strike. The lack of revenue sharing and these nebulous disciplinary proceedings with virtually few checks and balances for the Commissioner says that it will take a virtual overhaul of the financial system and the conduct policy to make continued NFL play viable.

He missed and missed "bigly"....also, McDermott doesn't value the Offense, Beane is his "Yes man!", they can't Draft or sign Offensive talent, are stuck in the old ways of run first football and both will be miserable failures half way through the 2018 season. Pitchforks and torches are to be picked up in the lobby with your "I hate everyone who disagrees with me" registration packet. On your way there be sure to check out the lovely kiosks, "Marcell Was a Stud, We Never Should Have Traded Him!", "Tyrod Broke the Curse and They Traded Him! Losers!", with an honorable mention of, "If the Bills Had Drafted Russell Wilson, Pegula Wouldn't Be Ruining TWO Franchises".....they have stickers and party favors for the parade of misery to be led by McD and Beane's likeness burned in effigy. PTR, you made it JUST in the Nix (I mean, nick) of time! Whew.....

No thanks....hard pass. All that FA money will be necessary for Offensive Line, CB depth, possibly a WR, and a TE. The Draft is deep on Defensive Line / DE, so I hope they use those Draft picks they did NOT use this year (on Allen) to get better and younger on the D, just as they did this year in some ways. Man, what a difference a competent GM and HC make when it comes to looking at the future.

Much of this QB discussion feels more like a spurned lover who loses themselves in nostalgia of the "one that got away".....so many times during these discussion we fans go back to Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, etc. of the QBs we all really wanted but didn't get and now we debate over who could be the next one of these. When in reality, it seems no one is ever pleased with the QB. If this board was around when Kelly was QB, how many meltdowns would this board have had when he threw INTs or forced the ball into situations or took the hit and the sack? His legacy was not about a pristine resume it was about his toughness....to get the snot kicked out of him and get back up, to keep throwing like a machine gun even after throwing two INTs, and to keep forcing the ball into situations until something clicked or hit....but in today's NFL, he would have been run out of town with pitchforks and torches. Point being, that while I was not the Josh Allen fan during the Draft I am today (because he's a Bill), I've come to the place where I'm tired of having Tyrod debates, and "What if..." scenario discussions and I want to focus on the positive. For the first time in a long time, I feel like there is AT LEAST hope at the QB position. They are ALL unknown (given the somewhat nebulous Peterman showing at mini-camp earlier), but there is hope....as for whether Josh Allen becomes the QB savior we've all been pining for, I don't know and none of us do - but we could at least stop whining about what might have been or should have benn or....whatever. I think we can focus on how he needs to get better, what he can do in Daboll's scheme, what he's shown thus far both good and bad, and talk about what we'd like to see from him in the 2018 season - minus the obvious stat lines. Just my .02, but negativity while the common theme here at TBD, seems like maybe it's finally gone out of style....at least for a couple seasons until we see what Allen has to show for all of his promise.

From a Fantasy Football perspective, he is much better than he gets credit for outside of Cleveland. Consider playing in that dump-stain of a franchise since turning Pro and putting up some of the numbers he has, albeit many of them in receiving yards. I think in a different Offense and behind a different line (except HOFer to be Joe Thomas), Duke is a solid middle of the pack RB and a little better as a receiver. But with Cadet, you really need that guy who can carry the rock and get you those runs who turn from two to six yards by making one cut or slipping through the tackles. Given Seattle's (questionable) 1st round pick in Penny, I might be more amenable to trading for Carson.

"Shady" is the perfect nickname for his character.... I won't presume anything not factually proven or at least with strong corroborating evidence to support the assertion that he was involved. Of course there are many circumstantial pieces that point to him and certainly his history (regardless of the article) shows he has questionable decision making regarding friends / acquaintances and what he does in his free time. What happened to that young woman is horrific and I'm sure she will suffer from PTSD for years to come, but as has been said so many times on this board he is truly innocent until proven guilty. However, keeping that standard in mind, rarely if ever does the justice system work so neatly and cleanly as a solid verdict clearing all the questions. If I had to hazard a guess I'd say in the end - which will take for-freaking-ever, a person will be caught and charged, that person will be offered a plea based on cooperation and testimony, IF and that's a huge IF Shady is involved, there will be a long trial and in the end, Shady will eventually be found guilty of a misdemeanor receiving something along the lines of Probation a fine and some community service as well as a permanent Order of Protection. However, for football it is more complex because Beane and his team won't know what happened until the legal system has completed its process but the Bills were absolutely depending on McCoy to be a big part of the Offense maybe even more this year and dependent on one RB probably more than they will in the years to come which creates another problem. The Bills could hang (and I think they already have) their hat on McCoy being the beast of the Offense while either a game manager or Rookie lead the Offense and the Defense being strong and the principal unit to lead the team in wins. Without McCoy or someone coming out of the shadows to replace his productivity - not his style, that is truly unique - then I think Beane fears the season is much, much harder to achieve their intended results. Legal issues will take quite a long time - football waits for no one and the season is rolling up on us quicker than we think and they need to make a decision.

I totally forgot about McDermott!! And agree, its possible he was a real "find"....as for Henderson, he is no longer with the team. He signed elsewhere, but I can't recall where he went.

Of those listed, Mike Davis, Orleans Darkwa, and Terrence West....that's not a great list. But I do think if it came down to it, Beane would unearth talent somewhere....maybe the supplemental Draft has come just in time and the Bills find a RB they can spend a 6th round selection on?? No idea which RBs are in the Supp. Draft as all I've seen are DBs linked to the Bills.

To the bolded portion, I respectfully disagree. In fact, I think I could argue that except for Dawkins, they don't have that stand-alone incredible talent but have depth in terms of width of talent. Wyatt will probably not start this year, but otherwise, Bodine was a 4 year starter albeit pedestrian in terms of numbers, Newhouse can be a real find if they move him along the line, Mills was much improved in the 2nd half of the year as Joe B. pointed out, Groy - well you know - Miller could see a resurgence due to change in Offensive scheme and Badoll and Ducasse (again pointed out by Joe B.) did a much better job in the 2nd half of the year than perceived by fans. But what you don't see is Joe Thomas / Travis Fredericks/ Jake Matthews / Jason Kelce type of talent. So, IMHO, depth is much better than it's been for a few years, but I don't know that there's that true incredibly gifted talent on the O-line. So, much will determine (more so than usual I suppose) how they play together as a unit. Can they help each other pick up the stunts and blitz packages? That kind of thing...

I understand your point: a true franchise QB trumps everything else and that's how you evaluate your talent (per se). But, IMHO, without Tre White the Bills don't end the drought curse. So, while I'm not satisfied just making the playoffs every year, getting that damn monkey off our backs was such a momentous relief, I still have a hard time believing it. So, if Allen doesn't prove out to be worth the pick, I'll be disappointed but to the OP's original point, I'm not running him out of town with pitchforks and torches either. To me, if the Bills continue to improve (and yes, we can see / measure improvement outside of the QB - see Bills, 2017) then I think Beane can stay to pick the next QB if somehow none of the guys they have work. Even if it's Peterman (which I doubt) rises to the top and keeps his spot, then I say it's still a success. Watkins would have walked in FA anyway, so getting a 2nd in return for him was good. Glenn I really wanted the Bills to keep to slide either him or Dawkins to RT, but I get the economics of it as well and the sell-out need to get closer to the top 10, so that was a solid strategic move IMHO as well. Time will tell, but I do truly think this FO and Coaching staff have the goods to deliver a Lombardi (hopefully several!) and I'm tired of all the turnover. So, given what they've accomplished in a short time, I'm willing to give them at least 5 years to demonstrate they can build a perennial winner - presuming they don't go 2-14 each of the next 4 years, of course.

OP: you're missing the IT between Beat and Louder. You're welcome.

I have NO idea how Peterman's career will turn out and I have equally NO idea if he is actually improving or it's just gym shorts that make the difference. However, for this one thing I'll say: if Chad f-ing Pennington can be a good QB in the NFL, virtually anyone with actual arms that can hold a ball with one hand, CAN be a QB. The difference?? Chad Pennington had accuracy and anticipation unlike I've seen since his days. I recall (unfortunately) when he played for Miami - so he was older and his arm was even worse than when he came out of Marshall - and the Bills were playing in that God-awful Toronto series. Ricky Williams did a wheel-route and Chad let the ball go when Ricky was still at the line of scrimmage, and drop that f-ing ball in a bucket to Ricky 30 yards down field. It was an amazing throw, but it was also maddening to watch. He just had this way of seeing 10 steps ahead and getting it to the receiver at just the right time. So, for Peterman, can it be done? Sure can...but even more than his arm strength, what will determine his career trajectory will be anticipation and accuracy because his arm is his arm at this point. Modest improvement is possible, but changing his entire game - I doubt it.

I think I understand your overarching point, but the question becomes as with Watkins (meaning Dareus as originally referred to in OP), what does a team do when the player simply refuses to accept the culture change? According to Beane they tried to work with Dareus and Watkins admitted after getting to L.A. that he didn't have a team first mentality, so what does a team do when the player refuses to accept that the team is more important than the individual - no matter how talented that player may be...? Darby trade I didn't understand and I wasn't a big fan of Glenn trade just because I think Glenn is a franchise LT and yes there's Dawkins, but why not either move him inside or flip him to RT and keep two great guys on the Offensive line? But other than Darby - which I understand was a scheme fit issue - I was good with the trades just because I do believe in the larger picture. We'll disagree about the negotiator part though because Dareus had a huge contract and under-produced for the last three years and has behavior issues with the NFL, so a 5th isn't terrible as I'm sure it was as much about unloading the contract as it was getting a player in the Draft. Keep in mind, the Bills also got Jordan Matthews in that trade that was supposed to help the WR corp for a year - but an injury is unpredictable so they didn't get much out of him and the Watkins trade also yielded E.J. Gaines who was arguably their second best CB behind the Rookie phenom Tre White. So while I'm not ready to give him the title of the best GM or think that everything he's done has been perfect, I think he's done an admirable job with what he inherited. Also, due to these same measures, the 2019 Cap situation is very, very good.

Of course, I hope you're right!! I want Hughes to be the Hughes he was when he first arrived - absent the stupid penalties. So be Hughes, but smarter.

A while back before the Draft there was a Jerry Hughes discussion I chimed in on, and while I took a bit of a beating (can't lie...kina liked it) about trading Hughes due to the net yards he actually produced due to penalties was interesting. I took all the sacks he created and the yards lost by the opposing team vs. the penalties he took and the total yards he essentially gave back due to the penalties, and the result was about as expected: the net yards were very minimal meaning, for his sacks compared to the yards he gave back on penalties, he wasn't even close to earning his contract. Now, it seems he's gotten better - and to the OP's point probably because McD is a man about team discipline - but his production in terms of sacks and pressures has also steadily decreased over the last three years. So, I'm hoping he rebounds this year with a monster year in production but keeps the discipline by avoiding penalties but if he does it this year - it will be his first ever.....so, we'll see. Thanks for bringing up a good point OP...these kinds of sneaky numbers can lost once all the information about TDs and turnovers and sacks get discussed. But as you've already said, they're important factors in the totality of the outcome of many games.

I remember reading Joe B.'s perspective on Ducasse and how perception of his play was not necessarily reality and defended his improvement, which I respect since they actually break down video whereas I just watch the games. As to your original question, I'd have to agree with you the WR battle is probably number one outside the QB group to watch. So much is unknown about whether Kerley can be the Vet to step into the slot role, will Proehl continue to be a revelation that he was in Mini-Camp and OTAs, will Foster emerge and can Reilly finally nail down his role in the Offense???? All good questions that I look forward to unfolding and hoping those guys truly emerge as the best outside of Benji and Zay. I like Streator's story, but I really want to see the young guns take hold of this team at every position and the aforementioned WRs would do that, except for Kerley - which is good so they can have a Vet presence for the young guys. Offensive Line is the next battle to watch - I'm really hoping Miller and Teller become the starters just because they're original Buffalo guys and I'd like to see them as long-term interior OL guys that help anchor that line for many years. To me, that would also mean the Bills would have 3 of their Drafted guys starting on the line....but only if both demonstrate they're worth the starter title. Groy / Bodine will be an interesting one as Groy showed real promise while Bodine was a 4 year starter for the Bengals - and he didn't grade out well, but that whole line suffered from inconsistency, so I guess we'll see which is it - him or the inconsistency of his former line? On that note though, adding Bodine and Newhouse were very good signings IMO because while neither was going to set the world on fire, both have years of starter experience and really adds to the depth of a line that needed true depth. Other than the potential QB situation with Josh Allen and even AJ, the two lines - Defensive and Offensive, IMHO saw the greatest upgrade. I'm not detracting from Edmunds as he is a very, very promising LB for the Bills for a long, long time....but as a whole, the two lines saw significant investment in one way or another and you can see how committed the Bills are to making the nuts-and-bolts type of improvements and not just putting a shiny new coat of paint on an old beater.

The fact that metrics support what most of us already knew is interesting because it was something we could "see" but couldn't "prove". And when national media pundits would trounce on Bills fans for not supporting Tyrod after two years, it became infuriating trying to have this discussion via Twitter. Anyone who actually watched the games, knew that Tyrod was not a "bad" QB in it's totality, but could not be a traditional QB and lacked the qualities and abilities a true Franchise QB is supposed to have - and they've all been rehearsed ad nauseum so I won't do it again. Yolo, thanks for sharing - to me, this is a bit like an autopsy: we know it's dead, but figuring out why can be cathartic and helpful in providing answers while we struggled with our grief.

The era to pile on the Bills and constantly be negative without a true justification is over. In your eager attempt to find nits to pick, you fail to see the larger picture and take the positive direction of the team into account. Are the Bills there yet? Well, duh...no. They haven't seriously contended for a title and they haven't brought the Lombardi trophy back to its rightful place at One Bills Drive. But, to fail to see how much traction McD and Beane have gained in moving towards the aforementioned standard of greatness would fail to appreciate the long-trek to get us there. It is not an overnight thing....that was my issue with McVay being named Coach of the Year. Yes, he deserves the credit for righting the ship and completely changing the production in L.A., without question. But, he already had the franchise QB in place in his first year and that same QB had a year of NFL credit to him when he arrived. He had Todd Gurley, arguably one of the best RBs in the league in his prime, they signed Robert Woods, traded for Sammy Watkins and already had many of the pieces for a good to great Defense. So, IMHO it was much more about Jeff Fisher being stuck in 1990 than it was about McVay's Coaching taking that team to the next level. McD had a serious overhaul to complete and Beane needed every bit of Draft capital to really make the Bills a much deeper roster, not to mention the trades and scouring the NFL for guys like Trent Murphy and the DE from the Giants (Owa-Whose-Your-Mama), and getting guys like Bodine and Newhouse while also getting young talent in Beane's FIRST true Draft as GM. Do we need to see how McD does with the team and Beane how he does in a 2nd Off-season to surround their young QB with a young stud RB and another great WR, not to mention bolstering the Offensive line? Yes, to all of it...and with tons of Cap space next year and all their Draft picks (no small feat mind you!), they should get it done with no excuses. But....and this is a giant arse in this conversation....you CANNOT tell me this team isn't currently trending in the upward trajectory toward winning consistently AND they executed that monkey strangling them for the last 18 years.

I don't necessarily root against him, but I understand your larger point. However, in fairness to Tyrod's time in Buffalo (and I was a pretty big Tyrod detractor) the supporting talent in Cleveland right now is much, much better than what he had in Buffalo except for his first season....which, was essentially his best. Had Wrex's Defense been what last year's was, the Bills probably would have made the playoffs that year. That said, I'm glad Tyrod moved on for both the Bills and for him. I wanted a true pocket passer with the quintessential capabilities of an NFL QB. However, he was always a decent man here in Buffalo and approached some tumultuous situations with class and professionalism. To that end, I wish him the best. I don't think his success and Josh Allen's success need to be exclusive, they can both succeed and this turn out well for both teams.

No, I don't think they have thoughts that either McCarron or Nate will be "the guy" beyond 2018, but I'm not so sure that's how the feel for THIS year. I think they're going to stick to their development plan for Josh and given his 5th year option, it buys them a "red shirt" year. Now, of course if Josh Allen comes in and does a whole Russell Wilson thing, then he starts. But, my larger point was that IMHO for Josh Allen to start this year, he would need to far exceed their already lofty expectations for him just to protect against damaging the newly minted future Franchise QB.