mjt328

No. But he is proving to be a very good General Manager. There were many different reasons that our previous GMs failed. Some were good drafters, but couldn't manage the cap. Some were great in Free Agency, but constantly picked busts on draft day. Some lacked forward thinking when building the roster. Some just couldn't get on the same page as their head coach. But Beane seems to be the complete package. In order to be successful at trading, a person needs to: a) Know the strengths and weaknesses of not just his own roster, but the other teams in the NFL. b) Develop strong relationships around the league, and be willing to work the phones. c) Be clever enough to sell another front office on a deal. Let's be honest. Not every GM has these qualities.

People who cover the Bills seemed to give Wyatt Taller a 50-50 shot of making the team, especially after the addition of Ryan Bates. The fact that we traded him for future picks makes it pretty clear. He wasn't going to make it. What's astounding is, Teller played pretty well this offseason and is still very young. It says a lot about the talent Brandon Beane has added at O-Line. Prior to Free Agency, he was possibly our second best linemen. Five months later, he's on the outside looking in. It also says something about Beane's ability to get something out of nothing.

Backup QB is an unused luxury... until it isn't. Without Nick Foles, the Eagles don't win the Super Bowl - and are instead complaining how an injury to Carson Wentz destroyed their season. There are MANY instances where a good backup can win 1-2 games during an untimely injury, keeping a team in a playoff race. How many times did Frank Reich come through for us during the Super Bowl years?

Every coach is different. Some want to use Game 3 to shake the rust off, and have no problem giving starters significant time. Some just want to get through the Preseason without injuries, and keep their key players on the bench. Watching our strategy (on offense in particular), it was clear that Sean McDermott uses each game to practice a different aspect of the scheme. For instance, Game 1 saw the offense working almost exclusively on downfield routes. In Game 2, we switched to mostly short/high efficiency passes. Then Game 3 was almost entirely running the ball, until the 2 minute drill.

So Miami gives up a (probably high) 2nd Round Pick.... to rent Jadeveon Clowney for exactly one-year... during a season most are expecting them to win less than 5 games. And then after the season concludes, he will become a Free Agent and sign with Seattle or Philadelphia. I'm 100% down with this.

Not sure the Bills even need a practice squad QB. Based on what we've seen against preseason 3rd stringers, Tyree Jackson is nowhere close to being capable of running an offense. He won't be active on gamedays. And in the event we needed a #3 quarterback to actually play, our front office would certainly scan the waiver wire for vets before putting Jackson on the field. We don't really need to develop another "future" guy. Both of our current Quarterbacks are young, and should be around for the next several years. Jackson is obviously not displacing Josh Allen anytime soon. At worst, Allen will get another 3-4 seasons to prove himself. Matt Barkley is also only 28, and has developed into a dependable NFL backup.

Know what? I didn't say the Bills would win 10 games and make the playoffs. I said that IF this rebuild goes as planned, we would win 10 games and make the playoffs.

Not sure I would give up a 1st Round Pick under any circumstance. Even if it was conditional. Most draft classes just have too much talent in the Top 20-25. General Managers who know what they are doing (which I believe applies to Brandon Beane) will hit on these picks the vast majority of the time. The highest pick I would consider is a conditional 3rd Rounder, which then turned into a 2nd Rounder. I'm OK with trading players like LeSean McCoy, Frank Gore, Jerry Hughes, Lorenzo Alexander.... pretty much anyone who won't be contributing to our team within the next 2-3 seasons. Bottom line... If this whole thing goes as planned, the Bills will be a 10-win playoff team this year. By next season, they will be displacing the Patriots atop the AFC East. By 2021, they will be serious contenders for the Super Bowl. Obviously it's important to build confidence and start winning NOW. But all roster moves need to be made with the future in mind. When we start talking about using future draft picks for high-priced vets, I start getting really skeptical.

If we can get Clowney for a 3rd Round Pick or less, I'm perfectly OK with that. That way if we lose him to Free Agency, we can possibly recoup high compensatory pick. If we can get Clowney for a player (or combination of players) who may not be with the Bills in 2020-2021, I'm perfectly OK with that. Those players probably won't be around if/when we become true Super Bowl contenders, so no big loss. Anything that requires us to sacrifice a high future pick, or a young player who could help this team for years to come... in my opinion, that would be risky and foolish. It's the type of move that would backfire on this franchise 9 times out of 10.

I've watched plenty of Texans games. I'm sorry, but the guy just doesn't stand-out much to me. Yeah, I guess it isn't fair to judge him based on "sack numbers" alone. My fault for bringing that up. But at the same time, I'm not going to call him a superstar just because PFF gives him high grades. Regardless of Clowney's talent, my main point still stands. The Bills cannot sign him to a contract extension. Which makes trading anything of significant value a HUGE risk. If we trade a 1st Round Pick, and then he becomes a Free Agent, it would be considered one of the worst decisions in franchise history.

But what happens if Clowney doesn't want to re-sign with us? Even if his new team verbally agrees to terms, there is nothing that requires either side to honor that agreement after the 2019 season. Let's say he verbally agrees to a 5-year, $100 million contract. Then he gets seriously hurt. How many teams are going to honor that contract? Flip it around and imagine he notches 20 sacks, while earning DPOY honors. What's stopping him from demanding even more money? I have absolutely no problem with Clowney being a Buffalo Bill, despite the questions about his effort and work ethic. Since we have plenty of cap space, I'm even OK with him getting a bloated overpriced contract. What I'm not OK with, is parting with significant resources for a 1-year-rental.

I'm not sure I understand the fascination with Jadeveon Clowney, or why the Bills may be interested. I keep seeing the terms "All-Pro Talent" floating around his name, and it makes me laugh. The guy has been in the NFL for five seasons and still hasn't recorded a double-digit sack season. And that's with offensive coordinators focusing their blocking schemes against stopping J.J. Watt. He's a good player, but certainly not a dominant one. For all the comparisons I see to Mario Williams (which I think is a fair comparison), I don't think Clowney is anywhere close to the pass rusher Williams was at this point of their careers. And as many have pointed out... whoever trades for Clowney cannot sign him to an extension until after the season is complete. The NFL rules forbid it. So unless you are foolish enough to trust a verbal agreement, this would be nothing more than a 1-year rental. Next season, he becomes a Free Agent and can sign with anyone. Now I'm as excited about the upcoming season as anyone, and I'm very optimistic we can make a playoff run. But let's be honest. This team isn't competing for a Super Bowl yet. It would be really dumb to trade any kind of valuable player/draft assets for a guy who may only be in a Bills uniform for one season. Now if we are talking a Day 3 draft pick, or a player like LeSean McCoy (who will also probably be gone next season), that's a different story. Anything earlier would be a bigger waste than Kelvin Benjamin.

The overreactions here are hilarious. The regular season can't get here soon enough. Yes. The "hero ball" throw was an absolutely poor decision. I wasn't happy with it, and I don't want it to become a habit. But it was literally ONE THROW. The idea that veterans don't ever make that throw (you hear this quite a bit) is totally false. Even Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers occasionally do things like that . And we all recall Hall of Famer Brett Farve making regular decisions like that well into his 40's. Now if it eventually becomes a Jay Cutler or Ryan Fitzpatrick type situation, then we can talk. Until then, give the guy a break. And outside of that ONE pass, Allen barely even threw the ball last night. His 3 incompletions were all tough throws into tight coverage. Oh well. It was clear the offensive plan was to focus on the running game. He wasn't even asked to pass, except to convert third downs.

Every coach utilizes preseason differently. The idea that Game 3 is the "dress rehearsal" for the regular season doesn't always apply. The coaches have been talking up Zay Jones and his versatility all offseason. I think the reason he played well into the second half, was because they wanted to give him actual game reps out of the slot (which he isn't going to do with Cole Beasley on the field). I would be absolutely shocked if Jones gets cut. To me, he is absolutely safe - along with John Brown, Beasley, Robert Foster and Andre Roberts. I agree that WR#6 comes down to Isaiah McKenzie, Duke Williams and Ray Ray McCloud. My guess is that McKenzie has the leg-up in this competition, but they are going to have a really tough time letting Williams go after his performance the last two weeks. It felt like they wanted to give him a chance to earn his place, and he's stepped up big. They may be forced into keeping 7 receivers. McCloud hasn't stood out in preseason games, and he's still eligible for the practice squad. He's on the outside looking in.

At best, the average fan is just "piggybacking" off the information they obtain from media sources. They need to watch ESPN or read CBS Draft Scout before even knowing WHO the top prospects are. The professional scouts are literally starting from scratch. They spend all year long researching hundreds of college players, from all over the country. Don't get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with regular guys with watching YouTube game film on players. And I think it's very possible for non-professionals to develop well-researched opinions on various prospects. It's actually one of my favorite things to do in the offseason. But it's also important to keep in mind when you are scrutinizing Josh Allen's film and bashing the bills for drafting him -- a QB from Wyoming wouldn't have even been a blip on your radar if not for the professional scouts. Personally, I wanted the Bills to draft Josh Rosen instead. But I'll willingly admit to being wrong.

Said it before. The Internet has changed the way people debate, and not necessarily in a good way. Everyone thinks they are an expert at everything. And very few are willing to admit when they are wrong about something. Most people will double-down, and refuse to budge regardless of the evidence. Josh Allen has always been a PERFECT example of how the general public (a.k.a. the fans) differs from the NFL professionals, when it comes to scouting a college prospect. Fans usually HATE when their teams draft players based on physical potential. They want their GM to take the guys who put up the big stats and had lots of college success. They want guys like Baker Mayfield, Johnny Manziel and Tim Tebow. But NFL scouts are paid to see past the NCAA results, and try to forecast how good a guy CAN be. By most accounts, Allen was absolutely loved by most NFL scouts. He had all of the physical, athletic and mental traits desired in an NFL quarterback. The only reason he lasted as long as he did, was because 2018 was an exceptionally strong QB draft. Up until the flood of Draft Websites and YouTube channels, the average fan could scream how STUPID his team was for not drafting Manziel.... but never had to own up to it when that guy turned out to be a bust. Now all of the Internet "experts" are learning how difficult scouting really is, and they can't hide all of their old opinions. But instead of admitting "Maybe the Bills actually did draft the right Josh"... they choose to criticize EVERY inaccurate pass, and downplay any success Allen has. It's actually kinda sad and pathetic.

The worst position an NFL team can be in, is being stuck with an average/mid-level Quarterback with a bloated contract. For example, see Miami/Ryan Tannehill, Cincinnati/Andy Dalton, etc. Teams like this don't have the cap space to build a strong roster around their QB. But at the same time, their QB is not good enough to win without a strong roster around them. To make matters worse, they usually get stuck in a 5-8 win rut, and are always drafting too high to find a good replacement. In today's NFL, it's also foolish to give big contracts to Running Backs. Regardless of how talented they are. The strongest offenses are generally those with efficient passing games, who use a RB-by-committee approach. By the time an RB reaches his first Free Agent contract, he's usually 25-26 years old with 4-5 years of heavy usage/wear. Very few will get through another contract with the same kind of production. In my opinion, Dallas should try trading Elliott. He will not be worth a second contract. Let someone else deal with the headache. If they can get anything for him, it will be a plus. And hopefully they will be smart enough NOT to draft another RB in the Top 5. With Prescott, I believe they should let him play out 2019 and see where he stands. Right now, he's shown flashes. But he's still too inconsistent. Unfortunately (if you are a Dallas fan), this may turn into a "Kirk Cousins" situation - a guy who puts up really good Top 10 numbers on the stat sheet, but can just never pull the team onto his back when it counts. Of course, I hate Dallas. So I'm really hoping they do the opposite of everything I just said...

It's fair to criticize a GM's moves. But you should take all factors into consideration. In the case of Mitch Morse, what other option would you have preferred? Matt Paradis was the only other Free Agent Center worth pursuing. He was also coming off an injury, and has yet to participate in either training camp or preseason for the Panthers. You can't criticize us for taking one guy with an injury history, while at the same time criticizing us for NOT taking another guy with an injury history. If we had gambled and waited until the draft, there were basically two good Center prospects. One was Garrett Bradbury, who went #18 to the Vikings. Drafting him would have either cost us (not getting) Ed Oliver, or a significant trade-up from the 2nd Round... very likely our 2nd rounder (Cody Ford) AND a 2020 first rounder. The second prospect was Erik McCoy, who went #48 to the Saints. OK, that sounds more realistic. But to draft him, we would have either passed on Cody Ford (who was a significantly higher rated player on most boards than McCoy) or swung some kind of trade, which likely would cost us Devin Singletary and Dawson Knox... in which case everyone freaks out because of Beane's failure to adequately address Running Back and Tight End. In my opinion, Morse was a calculated gamble. If the concussions end up becoming an issue, it will be due to bad luck, not mismanagement by our front office.

Agree with H2o. Sports and Entertainment used to be a way to escape from political issues. Now athletes and celebrities are drawing a dividing line, and forcing the fans to pick which side they are going to support. Most people would have been OK with Colin Kaepernick if he kept his activism off the football field. And truth be told, he would probably still have a backup QB job somewhere. But he (and many other players) screwed up when they decided to use the NFL as a platform for their ideas. The term "Social Justice" sounds nice and like something everyone should be able to get behind. But in reality, it's a partisan/agenda-driven set of ideals. If the NFL starts publicly supporting many of these initiatives, it's going to spark a lot of controversy and backlash.

I'm starting to think the same thing. Don't forget. This will also be the Raiders last season in Oakland, before they move to Las Vegas.

You said that Beane/McDermott have a history of showing favoritism to "their" guys... and that is one reason Zay Jones may have a better chance of sticking to the roster. What you gave are examples of them signing former Carolina Panthers in free agency. I'm just not seeing the connection. Not to mention, none of the ex-Panthers we've signed have been given preference for starting positions or roster spots. Most GMs and coaches go after veterans from their former teams. It's really not that strange. I recall Bill Parcells had the same 5-10 guys follow him from the Giants to the Jets to the Patriots to the Cowboys.

Do you have some examples of McDermott/Beane favoring "their guys" over someone else? Literally 90% of the roster is made-up of guys they brought in, and that includes EVERY SINGLE receiver we have. Robert Foster is one of "their guys" just as much as Zay Jones.

The Internet has created a generation of opinionated people who (instead of allowing themselves to change) will stubbornly defend their position, regardless of any facts/evidence they are presented with. Let's just face it. People are already "dug-in" on Josh Allen. Whether positive or negative. Their minds were made up by the second paragraph of his scouting report, or two minutes into his YouTube highlight video from Wyoming. Regardless of whether Allen becomes a regular Pro-Bowler or leads the Buffalo Bills to a Super Bowl someday, every inaccurate pass will be relentlessly scrutinized.

Like I said back in the spring... Coaches/teams are almost always willing to give multiple chances to guys who with off-field issues - getting arrested for DUIs or drugs, beating-up their girlfriends/kids, etc. If the NFL doesn't issue a suspension, they have no problem putting these kinds of players on the field indefinitely. They know that regardless of how bad these offenses are, they will have little to no impact on the team's success. But once guys start doing stuff like this, you can forget it. Teams (at least the smart ones) know they can't succeed with these kind of distractions. They bring down morale and divide locker rooms. Pittsburgh had absolutely no problem dumping Antonio Brown, and you can tell that Oakland is already starting to regret picking him up. Just something to consider when you see (for example) Brandon Beane trading away Marcel Dareus for scraps.

For those suggesting he will have trouble making the roster, I disagree. I think Wyatt Teller is pretty safe. Teams generally keep 9-10 offensive linemen on the final roster. The following six guys are pretty much locks: Mitch Morse, Quinton Spain, Jon Feliciano, Dion Dawkins, Cody Ford and Ty Nsekhe. I think Spencer Long would also be a heavy favorite, especially because of his versatility at Center. LaAdrian Waddle would have probably been next, until his injury. Being on IR, he won't count towards the 53. So the rest of the crowd is fighting for the last two... possibly even three spots. Teller basically needs to beat-out Ike Boettger, De'Ondre Wesley, Jarron Jones, Conor McDermott and Garret McGhin.