hondo in seattle

Maybe I'm wrong but Gruden doesn't seem to be a guy with really strong principles who worries much about the character of his players. I think Gruden likes to see the good in people so he's open to giving them second-chances. Rather than judging & condemning the mistakes people make, he tries to understand them (explain them away) and sees a brighter future. So it's no surprise Richie ended up in Oakland. Incognito played hard for the Bills when he was here so I wish him the best.

This is crazy. NFL teams spend millions doing their due diligence on potential draft picks. They employ teams of professional scouts, watch hours & hours of tape, interview countless coaches, attend dozens/hundreds of games, and sometimes hire private investigators. High paid draft gurus in the media have trouble saying anything accurate about the early draft picks. But Thor supposes he can fairly evaluate each team's haul of UDFAs! It's ludicrous. His personal expertise and the resources he can tap pale in comparison to those of a NFL club. Yet he has the hubris to hand out grades?

In the end, we're going to judge Beane on the players he did get. And rightly so. But it would be interesting to know all the potential trades he turned down so we can evaluate the opportunity cost.

Many of us watched every single snap last season. How many national media guys can say that? I think some of us want validation from the national media. I don't. I know what my eyes are seeing. And right now my eyes are telling me there is cause to be optimistic. And yet until the Bills start winning it's just reasoned hope.

At the ripe age of 60, I’ve only placed one bet in my life. But I’m sorely tempted to put $100 down on the Bills on the over. Barring catastrophic injuries, I don’t see how all the changes don’t give us another win.

The cap situation that Beane inherited might not have been an unmitigated disaster. But I think it's safe to say that Beane didn't love the player roster or salary cap situation the Bills had at the time. So he created a multiyear plan to fix each of them. That plan left the Bills with the lowest active cap roster - by far - in the NFL last year. Every one of McD's 6 wins came against teams that paid more for their squads and arguably fielded more talented players. McD never lost to a lower paid roster and often won against higher paid rosters. McD did his job. Beane's plan resulted in the Bills having approximately 10 draft picks and $80 million in cap space this offseason. He seems to have used his capital wisely - considerably upgrading the roster without mortgaging the future. The Bills still have $30 million in cap space this year and $84 million next year (3rd in the NFL) allowing for more upgrades in the near future. It looks like Beane's getting his job done, too. So far, I'm happy with these guys.

I get your point. I saw Tasker play. I know he changed games and I'm ambivalent - not entirely negative - about his inclusion in the HOF. I see both sides but happen to lean toward 'no.' But for the pro-HOF games, I'll throw this out from Bruce DeHaven... “He was the first guy I ever saw anybody actually use three guys to try and block him as a gunner on a punt. He forced people to do things that no one had ever done before on special teams." "I coached for Bill Parcells in Dallas for four years. I remember him talking about whenever we played Buffalo, telling his team, 'The first thing we’ve got to do is we’ve got to make sure that we contain Steve Tasker because if we don’t get him blocked, then we’re gonna get beat.'" https://www.profootballweekly.com/2018/08/29/team-for-the-ages-steve-tasker/aoj8sc8/

I'm not a betting man. The only football bet I've placed (not including a few small wagers with friends) was on a Bills game where I thought Vegas had the line all wrong. I lost that bet. But I'm tempted to try again. The 6.5 over/under seems remarkably pessimistic. Barring catastrophic injuries, I don't see how this offseason doesn't produce at least one more win.

I don't think even McD or Daboll have a clear idea yet about the starting five - though I'm interested in how others see it all coming together. It's going to be an interesting camp. The coaches are going to have to evaluate these guys quickly so they can name the five starters and start developing some teamwork. Man-for-man, it seems we're far better off than last year though the lack of continuity/potential lack chemistry concerns me.

Tasker was special on special teams. But it's... special teams - only a few plays a game. I'd love to see him get in because he was a great Bill but I'm not convinced he deserves it.

Before the draft, an anonymous scout told Bob McGinn that Metcalf was a “media creation.”

I guess Beane was serious when he said BPA. He nabbed a RB on Day 2 but no WR.

I’m a 60 year old man and combat vet. I don’t ever cry when facing misfortune. It’s not who I am. But that video teared me up. Viva los Bills! Best wishes to Pancho!

Here's how I look at it. The Bills get their money from ticket sales, tv contracts, and and licensed gear purchases. In other words, we pay Beane. I'm going to let the man do the job we pay him to do. If at first I don't like a pick, I'll research further to find out why Beane liked the guy. And then hope Beane is right. We'll find out as the season progresses. I won't pretend to be smarter than Beane and his team of professional scouts.

I might not be a fan of every one of Beane's picks. But I am a fan of every player we draft.

With all the comments about other wall-worthy players, this thread has me daydreaming about something. Imagine Cookie and OJ - in their prime - both in same backfield at the same time. I think OJ just might be the most naturally gifted runner ever. And Cookie was an amazing FB. It would be the best HB/FB combo ever by a long shot. Gawd, I'd love to see it. In regards to the original subject of the thread... When Lynch came to Seattle, my local friends here asked me about him. I told them he's a hard runner and will do great things in Seattle. I'm not always, or even often, right. But in this case I was. Lynch's talent was obvious. But having said that, count me in the club that thinks he should be on Seattle's wall, not Buffalo's.

Not to give you a hard time, brother, but does your "feeling" really warrant a new thread? Couldn't you have just put your feeling into some other Josh Allen or draft thread? Though I wouldn't mind doubling up on Josh Allens.

Why are we discussing such depressing stuff on the eve of the draft???

This is exactly right. Beane has done a good job building up the roster with decent starters. What we need now are difference makers. At least in the early rounds, I think Beane's going BPA as he says. While our RB room is full, we could use some young legs. Shady & Gore are not the future. I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't take a RB but I wouldn't be surprised if we did. The only position I'd be surprised if we drafted is QB. We need upgrades everywhere.

Certainly Rex's failed tenure contributed to Whaley's demise and Whaley didn't choose Rex. But you bring up a more interesting point about NFL leadership models. There are three in use: * HC works for GM. * GM works for HC. * GM and HC are coequals. They all have pros and cons. The Pegulas seem to prefer the co-equal approach and I'm not convinced.

Okay. I get the context now. And, as far as that goes, Whaley was far from an idiot. I remember SI calling him a 'rising star' or something like that when he was with the Steelers. He was and is a bright guy. In fact, no GM is an idiot. All of them know far more about football than we fans do. But some GMs are better than others. Sadly, in his time with us, Whaley did not outperform his GM peers.

Huh? I've never called anyone an idiot - not Whaley, not my fellow posters, no one. In fact, you'll find I've ranted against ad hominen attacks a few times on this site. My attitude toward Bills supporters is something like this... We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;For he who suffers Bills fandom with meShall be my brother.

I don't know how many Pro Bowlers we have in our starting lineup but it sure seems depth will be better than it's been.

Dude, why do you have to be offensive? I think Whaley was calling the shots and several people who know me don't think I'm an idiot. I don't think McD had the time or resources to control the draft. He was immersed in his new job and didn't have a bunch of scouts on his staff.

The fact it was discussed doesn't make it true. All the scouts worked for Whaley. The entire scouting process was under Whaley's control. Why would McD make the actual picks? The supposition defies logic.