billsfan1959

I hope this is sarcasm. If not, then you are actually worse at being a fan than they are at playing football

While I absolutely defend your right to whine and throw a tantrum like a 3 year old child...it still isn't a good look.

Baltimore is not an elite defense

I think this says more about you than it does anyone else.

Honestly, can people be more hyperbolic?

Yeah, if he broke it in the second quarter of the Bills and played the rest of the game, then he showed some toughness.

Right. IMO, the Bills have one of the better pro personnel departments in the NFL Beane is always thinking about how to make this team better - from the smallest addition to a major addition - and they do their due diligence on all available players across the league.

It feels like his strategies in conflict resolution could use just a little refinement...

Maybe they could create a reality show featuring a twitter war between ODB's father and Zay Jones' father...

They are too busy complaining about an offense that leads the NFL in points per game....

Everyone wants to use the Rams as an example of the all in strategy working since 2016. The fact is, they didn't really go all in on the strategy until last year. Starting in 2016, they kept trading first round picks; however, they still had decent draft capital every year. In 2017 they had 8 picks (5 in rds 2-4), in 2018 they had 11 picks (9 in rds 3-6), in 2019 they had 8 picks (5 in rds 2-4), in 2020 they had 9 picks (5 in rds 2-4), and this year they had 9 picks (5 in rds 2-4). They did a good job of drafting to go with those select players they were trading for. However, since late in 2019, between Ramsey, Stafford, Miller, Michel, etc., they have left themselves with a 6th and two 7th round picks next year (as well as little in the way of salary cap). So, their future wasn't really mortgaged until now. IMO, this is the year to see if their srategy works. Like I previously said, I am not opposed to spending a future high round pick for a proven talent that is commensurate with the pick given up and works for the team for more than a one year rental. I would have been thrilled if Beane could have found a player to make the team even better. The trade for Stefon Diggs is a perfect example. I supported it 100%. That is what the Rams were doing early on. What I am opposed to is overpaying and engaging in transactions that do not help the team for more than the short-term - or actually hurt them long-term. I will say, I am interested to see what the Rams are going to do over the next couple of years. They may actually weather the storm on the horizon because the core of the team is still young. So, they could be just as good next year with the same roster and the lack of draft picks may not hurt them.

Their strategy is to go all in to win the SB now. That's the strategy I was arguing against. In one post you say it will be successful IF they win a SB and the next post you say it has already been successful. Which is it?

Absolutely right. Anyone who has experience in the criminal justice system understands the complexities that exist in evaluating crimes and those who commit them. I am absolutely about personal responsibility and holding people accountable for their actions. I also understand that each and every case is different and needs to be evaluated individually - even when a loss of life is involved.

I am not opposed to trades or giving up draft capital to acquire a player that can make the team better immediately - as long as it makes sense. Stefon Diggs is a case in point. 1st round proven talent for a 1st round pick. Beane didn't overpay and it worked for the team both short term and long term. That is not what I mean by mortgaging the future. I am talking about trades that really do have adverse affects down the road for a "win now" mentality - like giving up 2nd and 3rd round picks for a 32 year old linebacker in Miller who is clearly not anywhere near what he once was. You might be ok with that. I am not. Yes, they would achieve their strategy of a SB win. But if they don't win the SB, then they won't have achieved it and they are in worse shape because of it. But there are rewards for building a consistently good team. You are in a position far more often to achieve a SB win, particularly if you have an elite QB. Also, as a fan, would you rather be watching the Bills from 1988-1999 that made the playoffs 10 times even though they didn't win the SB, or the team from 2000-2016. My guess is that if the Bills had won the SB in 1999 and then had the same awful teams in the years from 2000-2016, you would have been just as miserable in that stretch as you were without the SB win.

I understand your poll is based on the argument that the Bills are comfortably ahead at some point. So, I am not bashing it. I believe they should win and that they will. But I never like predicting blow outs. It is still the NFL and, remember, they played the Cardinals pretty even and it took a pick six by the Cardinals to pull ahead in that game going into the 4th quarter, before adding an insurance touchdown at the end. Hopefully, your wishes come true and we see Trubisky!

Look, this may be the way of the future, to give away next year's draft to build your team this year - and then repeat each year. I don't know. It could possibly work. My point with the Rams is that they built a pretty good team 2016-2018 through the draft and a couple good players through trades that didn't leave their draft cupboard bare. It has been since the beginning of last year that they have really gone all in on the trade strategy (to the point they have virtually nothing in the way of quality draft picks next year) with Stafford, Ramsey, Miller, etc. So, it is really the next couple of years, for me, to see the real results of that "all in" strategy. If they win the SB this year, then their strategy paid off, at least short term. Then maybe this next off-season they trade what is left of their 2023 draft picks for the players to stay at the top. We can only wait to see... Who knows, maybe that is the way of the future NFL. I personally think it will end up with disastrous consequences more often than not. But I certainly could be wrong.

I thought this was about winning the Super Bowl? Nice try.... But, playing your game, since the beginning of 2019: Bills are 30-14 overall (2-2 in the playoffs) Rams are 27-15 overall (1-1 in the playoffs)

We may very well win one this year. The point is, I can name plenty of teams that have won Super Bowls by sensibly building their teams. How many SB winning teams can you name that have given virtually an entire draft away to "win now?" But hey, if you think giving up next year's 2nd and 3rd round picks for a soon to be 33 year old linebacker on the downside of his career is the best way to go about building a team, then good luck with all that. In the end, if neither the Rams nor the Bills win the SB this year, I have a pretty good idea which one will be in better shape to win it next year....

I have no idea about the type of person that Ruggs is. He may or may not be a "great guy." Nor do I have any facts as to what transpiered that evening. What I do know is that it is possible to be a good person and make some bad choices, or even do something bad, with tragic consequences. They are not mutually exclusive.

I think he has been a lot better this year with taking what the defense is giving him, but, like the first half against Miami, he still has his moments. I actually think much of what we’re seeing with Mahomes this year, in terms of his struggles, is the same issue. Teams are doing their best to take away the big play and force him to take the short stuff down the field. Just my opinion, but it seems QBs like Allen and Mahomes just operate from such supreme confidence in their abilities to make those big plays - no matter what the defense does - that they sometimes have more difficulty being patient than most QBs. And, they appear to get frustrated easier when they are unable to play their style. Maybe something to that whole “gunslinger mentality?” When Allen has the patience and finds that balance, he is almost unstoppable.

It has been this year and last year that they have really gone all in their strategy. As of now, I believe the Rams have a 5th and 2 7th round picks in 2022 and 2023 isn’t looking that much better. And how many Super Bowls have they won?

Yep, it does refer to the year of my birth and I have waited a very long time to see the Bills (and the Sabres as well) win a championship. And we have both lived through far more bad years with this team than good ones. I used to feel I would be happy and fulfilled if I could experience just one championship season. But it changed over the years. Particularly when my son, who wasn't quite old enough to understand the superbowl years spent the vast majority of his years as a real fan of this team watching year after year of awful football. It is wonderful to me to be able to see him enjoy what this team has become again. It would be nice to experience that championship, but, not at the expense of mortgaging the future. I'd like my son to continue watching playoff caliber football for awhile. I happen to think as long as Allen is the QB of the Bills, they will have that chance at a championship as long as they keep a decent team around him. That is the best part of having a great QB. I don't necessarily think you are wrong in what you want or how you think it should be achieved. There was a time I felt exactly the same way. I just don't anymore. Actually, I think that is yet to be determined.

I got your point. I just don't think it was ever a realistic expectation that Beane was going to be able to find an elite o-lineman without giving up far more than he would be willing to give - if he could even find a team willing to give up an elite lineman. And don't get me wrong. I absolutely would love a championship. I have been a die hard fan for 55 years. However, I am not a fan of mortgaging the future to do it. It rarely works and typically ends up having more negative than positive long-term consequences.

Just out of curiosity, what o-lineman would Beane have gotten in a trade today that would put the team over the top in terms of winning a SB? What o-lineman of that caliber ever is acquired in an in-season trade? Beane has built this team from a doormat to a team that has won 20 of the last 26 games they've played, got to the AFC Championship game last year, are currently tied for the 2nd best record in the AFC, 1st in pts scored per game, and 1st in pts against per game. I'd say he has done a pretty damn good job of building this team toward a SB winner. There isn't a team in the NFL, including past SB winners that didn't have issues somewhere on their team. The Bills aren't perfect, but they are currently capable of beating any team they play. That pretty much makes them a SB contender.

I might be in the minority; however, I don't ever want to see Beane mortgage the future for the present day. I would rather have the next 15 years of solid, competitive, playoff caliber football with no SB wins, than mortgage the future for a 1-2 year SB run (and maybe a win) and then drift off into mediocrity - again.