mjt328

This is why people criticize Sean McDermott for "babying" rookies. If the plan was for Terrel Bernard to take over for Tremaine Edmunds this year, then why did he barely play last year? How is Brandon Beane supposed to make intelligent decisions about the roster, when nobody has any idea if the guy he drafted last year is any good?

I'm 44 years old later this month. Grew up watching the 1990s Bills. Suffered through every moment of the drought. Hate to say it. But I'm finding it almost impossible to enjoy watching this team. It's been that way since the 17 second debacle. My expectation is Super Bowl. Period. Nothing else this team does impresses me in the slightest. Wins no longer get me excited. Losses frustrate me beyond all understanding. Maybe I'm just a grumpy old fart now. But I probably enjoyed football more when the Bills were bad.

Honest question... Why in the world would James Cook want to play with his brother? He's lived in Dalvin's shadow his entire college career. Now he gets into the pros, has a chance at starting for an NFL team himself, and in only his 2nd season is immediately put back onto the bench. I can't see the appeal. This isn't like the Diggs brothers, who obviously play different positions.

As a GM, it's much easier to rebuild a team from scratch (assuming you land the right Quarterback right off the bat) than it is to conquer the final hurdle or to maintain consistent year-to-year success. Think about it. At the beginning, you have tons of cap space. You have really high draft picks. Most spots on the roster need to be upgraded, so you don't need to focus on specific needs. As the Bills have gotten closer to the Super Bowl goal, it's gotten trickier to find the last piece to the puzzle. Once the Bills reached the doorstep (the 2020 AFC Championship), Brandon Beane identified the pass rush as that missing piece. And most of his focus and resources have gone towards upgrading that unit. Greg Rousseau, Boogie Basham, Von Miller, Daquon Jones, Tim Settle, etc. My opinion is that Beane has started to "reach" in the draft in recent years, because he's desperate to fill-out the biggest needs on his roster. Unfortunately, the team's biggest need (Edge Rusher) happens to be one of the most difficult positions to find a difference maker. Beane's scouting preference also seems to lean more towards high-ceiling, developmental players (as opposed to safer choices with less risk). Combine all of that with constantly having late (mid-20s) draft picks.... and you basically have a recipe for very high bust potential. Overall, I can't necessarily blame Beane for taking this approach. He's bold and swings for the fences. Regardless, when a team has 2-3 straight years of subpar drafting... it's really hard to maintain a championship level roster.

This is the type of signing where I used to just trust the front office. But after last year, I just don't know... So far in his career, it seems like Deonte Harty/Harris has been mostly a return specialist. Which would we great if we didn't have Nyheim Hines on the roster. But we do, so it seems somewhat redundant. Maybe this signals that Harty (or Hines) will be more involved in the offense. But that would assume Ken Dorsey has a master plan. And last year it certainly didn't seem like he knew how to get these kinds of players the ball. Hines had a whopping 11 touches (rushing + receiving) in his nine games with us. Gadget plays for Isaiah McKenzie were nowhere to be found. There seems to be a growing disconnect between our General Manager and the coaching staff. Hopefully this doesn't turn into another wasted signing.

The key to winning Free Agency is not the big splash signings. It's figuring out which cheaper players have untapped potential (such as when we originally signed Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde), and knowing which older veterans still have something left in the tank. Almost like playing the stock market. Buy low. Sell high. Von Miller made all the headlines last year. But our best signing (by far) was Daquan Jones.

The list of free agent RBs is massive. This is a position to play the waiting game, and see who is left-over and desperate for a 1-year deal.

Aaron Rodgers was the back-to-back MVP in 2020-2021. His "bad" 2022 season was still pretty good by most other QB standards. The Jets roster otherwise is stacked with young talent. They have been held back by poor QB play. Even a 2022 repeat season from Rodgers probably wins them the division. The only issue with the Dolphins is the health of Tua Tagovailoa. His first concussion issues derailed the team's hot start. Missing the playoffs cost them a Wild Card victory (over us). Guys with head injuries may be more likely to suffer them again. But not guaranteed. Dismissing them because they "are the Dolphins" is the same mistake the Patriots made with us a few years back. As I mentioned elsewhere in the thread... I don't have any problems with signing McGovern or letting Edmunds walk. I just think the damage to this roster was done during the 2020, 2021 and 2022 drafts. That is how you keep the cupboard stocked when free agency steals your starters. And we walked away from those drafts without sufficient talent, and now we are going to pay for it.

For the Bills, the damage has already been done with poor/mediocre drafting. Now they are stuck. They can either overpay badly to try and stay on top in the AFC East. Or they can be smart with contracts, let talent walk out the door, and then watch themselves slip to the third best team in the division. Both options suck. Re-signing Tremaine Edmunds at that price tag would have been foolish. But now we have a massive hole at Middle Linebacker. What does Brandon Beane do? He can throw that money at a DIFFERENT overpriced player, and then not have the cap space to upgrade all the weak positions on the roster. Or he can sign a bunch of average roster filler (like Connor McGovern), which barely moves the needle. Both options suck. In reality, the root of the problem is that we spent a 3rd Round Pick on a linebacker (Terrell Bernard), and he doesn't appear ready to take over the spot being vacated by Edmunds. This is a failure in roster building. You can say similar things about other positions on the roster like Running Back, Guard, Tackle, Wide Receiver, Defensive End, Defensive Tackle, Safety. Hit on those picks, and it doesn't hurt letting overpriced talent walk. SO excited for when we throw $7-10 million per year at mediocre talent like Mecole Hardman, DJ Chark or Jakobi Meyers... then fans have to pretend they are actually good players who will truly improve this roster. Yuck.

I hate to say it, but I also believe the Bills are headed for a rough couple seasons. I'm not sure whether this is Chapter 2 or 3, but I don't think Sean McDermott (and possibly not Brandon Beane) will be around for the next one. People just don't realize that New England, Pittsburgh, etc. are by far the exception to the rule. Most teams cannot stay competitive for longer than about 3-4 seasons, before the salary cap, age and mediocre drafting pulls them back down to the pack. All signs point to the Bills championship window being closed, and now it being time to reboot/reload. It seems like most Bills fans are either blind or in denial. I mean... Aaron Rodgers is about to get traded to a division rival, and they still don't see the Jets as a threat. Jalen Ramsey going to the Dolphins is nothing to worry about either. But Connor McGovern is the move that will solidify our O-Line and push us over the top. Ugh. Kansas City just won another Super Bowl, and they are out aggressively upgrading the O-Line. We spent most of Day 1 re-signing special teams-only guys. The stadium is another kick in the pants. Buffalo was good just long enough for fans to get all excited about the team, allowing the city/state to push through tax approval. I wonder how people are going to feel about that deal when the Bills finish in 3rd place the next couple seasons.

Bottom of the roster player. I understand why every roster needs guys like Cam Lewis and Tyler Matakevich. I don't understand why other teams are negotiating with free agents who can significantly upgrade their roster. And we are busy on Day 1 filling out the back-end with guys who are just special teams.

Mixed feelings. Pretty sure that Tremaine Edmunds won't be worth the highest Linebacker contract in the entire NFL. You have to be smart with extensions, and I can't blame the Bills for letting him walk for that. However, this does significantly hurt our defense. As will the very likely loss of Jordan Poyer. Many of us (myself included) would much rather see the Bills use those dollars on upgrading the offensive side of the ball. Unfortunately, I anticipate our front office making it a bigger priority to replace Edmunds/Poyer. Which means we probably use up our cap space without moving the needle on offense. More average/subpar signings that will hopefully compete for starting spots. Meh.

Pretty typical move for Brandon Beane on the O-Line. Average player with some starting experience. Similar to guys like Ty Nsekhe and David Quessenberry, who really never worked out. Hope he's an upgrade on the interior, but don't cross your fingers.

Green Bay has had a Hall of Fame QB under center every season since 1992. For the math challenged, that is 30 years in a row. And now they have another 1st Round QB ready to step in, after three seasons of development on the bench. Yes. Most people believe they have underperformed in the playoffs... if you consider 15 division titles, three conference championships and two Super Bowl wins during that span "underperforming." But that has to do with what they have surrounded Brett Favre/Aaron Rodgers with. The Packers are the premier NFL franchise at handling the quarterback position. What they are NOT is the model for giving a QB adequate support. Particularly when it comes to weapons.

Everyone in the NFL (including the Ravens) knows that Lamar Jackson is simply not a great passing quarterback. In order to succeed, he needs a specialized offense built primarily around his ability to run the ball. And once his legs and athleticism start declining, Jackson will no longer be able to beat defenses with his arm. I know that people will immediately bring up Jackson's strong passing stats to defend him. But those numbers are an illusion, built on the tremendous respect defenses show him as a running threat. Teams usually play the Ravens by overloading the box with run defenders, keeping linebackers in as spies, and asking pass rushers to just play contain instead of trying to get sacks. This makes it much easier to find receivers wide open downfield. With each passing injury and age, Jackson will become less mobile and less of a threat to run. When this happens, defenses will feel more comfortable playing normal coverage schemes. Those wide open receivers will be a thing of the past. Jackson will need to start reading defenses from the pocket, and make pinpoint throws into tight windows. After five seasons in the NFL, he hasn't displayed a strong ability to do that. Jackson is a blast to watch. But the reality is, he already peaked in 2019. And even in his amazing MVP season, the Ravens were knocked out of the playoffs in the Divisional Round (after scoring 12 measly points). The last two seasons, he hasn't been able to stay healthy either. I can't blame any team for being skeptical of trading two 1st Round picks, and then handing him the biggest contract in NFL history.

I've been worried about the Bills failing to take the "next step" and win the Super Bowl. If this happens, we need to worry about them winning the AFC East.

Decent article. But it neglects us trading a 1st Round pick for Stefon Diggs. The problem isn't necessarily which positions we are allocating resources. The problem is that Brandon Beane is missing on too many picks in general. You simply can't afford to waste 2nd/3rd Round picks on backups and busts. If we hit on guys like Cody Ford, AJ Epenesa, Boogie Basham, Zack Moss, etc... then we could focus our free agency dollars on the other positions. We could definitely afford to sign or trade for a good WR opposite Diggs, except we still need to address positions like the Offensive Line, Defensive Line and Running Back (among others).

Leslie Frazier deserves a lot of blame for our disappointing playoff exits the last 4 seasons. Does he deserve all the blame? Does he deserve most of the blame? That's a tough question to answer, because nobody really knows how much of the decision-making falls on him vs. Sean McDermott. Also... replacing a coach is only a good thing IF you can manage to land an upgrade. This does not seem to be a planned exit by our front office. And at this point, most of the better options have been snatched up. Which is not ideal at all. I understand why many fans are excited. But I'm not so sure.

The main reason Eric Bieniemy can't get an HC job is the same reason Leslie Frazier gets zero consideration. He's not the reason for the unit's success, and everyone around the league knows it. The Chiefs offense ultimately belongs to Andy Reid, just like the Bills defense ultimately belongs to Sean McDermott. Granted, that is not the ONLY reason... but it's a giant checkmark against him. Frazier also has a failed stint with the Vikings, and the final impression he leaves at season's end is always of the defense choking. For Bieniemy, he also has multiple off-field arrests. Nothing hugely alarming or serious, but it's still a concern when you are talking about being the leader of a professional football organization. In addition, it's been widely reported that his past interviews for HC jobs have gone poorly. I don't recall seeing specifics, but it's something we've heard from reporters many times.

Heard the same excuse about our field against the Bengals, due to the weather (which is always going to be a problem in Buffalo). Players slipping, which somehow gave the advantage to the offense. Maybe a perfect field yields a couple sacks, and a different team wins. The Eagles still likely allow 30+ points. My point is the same. If an elite QB is on that day... even the 85 Bears wouldn't be able to stop them. Which considering the guys we have to go through in the AFC playoffs, makes it pointless to waste resources on that side of the ball. Because at some point, Mahomes, Burrow, Herbert, Lawrence, etc. are going to smack us around. Instead use the resources on the O-Line to keep our elite Quarterback healthy and pressure free, along with weapons to try and outscore the opponent.

I don't look at receivers in terms of numbers... WR1, WR2, WR3. I think it's better to look at them in terms of skill-set. Ken Dorsey and the Bills need to determine what kind of offense they are going to run, then aggressively find the players that fit into that puzzle. Based on what I saw this season, our OC and QB want to attack downfield with big chunk plays. Which is fine. But if that is going to be our gameplan, we need more downfield speed. Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis can make plays downfield, but their real strength is working the 10-20 yard area. Same thing with Dawson Knox. We have lots of roster spots for slot receivers (McKenzie, Beasley, Crowder, Shakir). Our top returning RBs both specialize in check-down passes (Cook, Hines). But our biggest speed threat is John Brown. That's just not workable.

With each passing season, I'm coming to the conclusion that it's pointless to have a good defense. The Eagles were statistically one of the best pass rushing teams in NFL history. They barely sniffed Patrick Mahomes the entire night, and would have allowed 40+ points if the Chiefs didn't fall down at the 1-yard-line. The Chiefs best defender (Chris Jones) and the rest of the D-Line was bulldozed back, pretty much every time the Eagles decided to run a QB sneak. It was almost embarrassing. The only play they made the entire night was picking up a ball that Jalen Hurts literally dropped on the turf and kicked to them.

Disagree. Roster problems always start with drafting. And while Brandon Beane has not been a "bad drafter" overall (compared to the other GMs around the league), the quality has certainly gone down over the last few years. 2017 (although pre-Beane) landed us Tre White, Dion Dawkins and Matt Milano. 2018 landed us Josh Allen, Tremaine Edmunds and Taron Johnson. Not to mention Wyatt Teller, an All-Pro we later traded away. First two drafts for this regime, and we have multiple All-Pro and Pro-Bowl caliber players. Excellent foundation that set us up as a Super Bowl contender. 2019 got us Ed Oliver, Devin Singletary and Dawson Knox. Overall very solid draft, netting us three starting caliber players. But unlike the previous two, none of these guys are real difference makers. 2020 was good for getting us Stefon Diggs. But that's pretty much it. The best guys we actually drafted were Tyler Bass (a kicker), Gabe Davis, Dane Jackson and AJ Epenesa. All role players at best, who are better in the NFL as backups. All positions we still need to upgrade. That is definitely a bust of a draft. 2021 got us Greg Rousseau... and some other guys who aren't making much impact. Spencer Brown was a liability this year. Damar Hamlin was OK. Boogie Basham is a backup who does very little. These guys deserve one more season, but this draft appears below average to date. 2022 has some potential to be solid. But probably not an elite group. Kaiir Elam looked good at times, but it's fair to question his fit in our defensive scheme. James Cook brings some speed, and has value in a 1-2 punch. Khalil Shakir flashed. Christian Benford may have something, and is being talked about as a potential safety.

I understand the value Tremaine Edmunds brings to the Defense. I understand the value Jordan Poyer brings to the Defense. I am starting to question the value the Defense brings to the Buffalo Bills as a whole. Every year, we have seen Brandon Beane dedicate the majority of our resources to that side of the ball (especially the D-Line). And every year, we end up fielding a Top 5 defense in the regular season... only to produce zero pressure and get blasted by an elite Quarterback in the postseason. So if a Top 5 defense is going to allow 35+ points, 400+ yards and scores on 75%+ drives... then how much worse could an AVERAGE defense actually play? Just start using those resources on protecting Josh Allen, and giving him other options to throw to. Make this offense totally unstoppable, and see if that gets us over the hump.

Being a GM gets progressively harder with success. Lower draft picks. Less money. Fewer holes mean you must focus on needs, instead of going BPA every round. Brandon Beane did a great job pulling the Bills out of the basement, and making us a Super Bowl contender. No doubt. He still needs to prove he can KEEP us at the top. Most teams can only contend for 3-4 years, and then must step back and reload. It's a rarity for teams to remain elite for a decade (like the Patriots). Unfortunately, the recent draft trend suggests we aren't going to sustain what we've seen the last few years.