jletha

I am aware. In these types of situations I operate under the concept that there are three sides to every story: My side, their side and then the truth. Nobody really knows what went down between us and AB but Id guess that a part of it was that AB didnt want to come here. And several reports confirm that. Of course Beane and AB wont say that directly though.

Winning will change the culture. We still were spurned by AB and the poll came out very recently that had us as the least favorable destination. So while I am happy with the FA class we brought in and I think the whole "Nobody wants to go to Buffalo" is overblown I wouldnt say we have removed the stigma. We are still a 6 win team and our QB, while exciting, is raw and far from a guarantee. But ultimately winning will remove any stench. There isnt much difference between Green Bay, Buffalo, Cleveland Green Bay has never had the same stigma as the other two because theyve been consistent winner. Cleveland was coming off a run of 1-31 a year ago, now theyre a desirable destination. We have to win. If we go 6-10 again and Josh doesnt improve then we will be back to laughing stocks with a bad QB situation.

Our 2015 was good. Much better than the 2017 that ended up making the playoffs. The 2016 team regressed on defense too much and Tyrod held us back unfortunately.

Exactly you need a good collection of WRs that are above average, can win matchups, create space and block. Any good QB will make it work with that and it allows the QB to learn to spread the ball around and make guys like that look good. I am pretty glad we didnt give up a ton for OBJ or Brown. I think the way Beane is approaching the WR position is smart.

You cut dead weight and make room for younger guys with potential. I think a lot of the WRs are gone: Ray-Ray, McKenzie certainly. Jones and Duke Williams arent locks either depending on who we draft. Croom as well.

I think from the standpoint of addressing many needs with sensible signings and contracts that protect us in the future Beane gets an A for this FA period. I think the guys we signed on offense are significant upgrades to what we had, especially Mitch. I am quite satisfied with this incoming class of FA, and I am firmly in the camp that the QB and scheme makes the WR, not the other way around. IF Allen is going to be great, we will see it with these guys. That said, I know this fanbase, and if a couple games into the season we are not meeting expectations on offense I know people will be clamoring and saying Beane got cheap and signed B-level talent instead of spending recklessly for Brown or going all out like Cleveland. These guys we got are all known commodities in the NFL but, with the exception of Mitch, not considered the cream of the crop in terms of talent. I really hope that Allen and Daboll make that jump. Because while this is all fun now I can already see the excuses coming down that Cole and Brown are too small, not good enough etc. To add to this: I have said this on this board before but I really think having one of the top 5-10 WRs in the game, when they are under big contracts, can actually hurt a teams development. You only need good WRs, not great. And giving up a ton to get a top guy isnt worth it. Thats why this list isnt OBJ, Green, Brown, Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Jones, etc. Even if you go back through the SB loser teams: Cooks, Edelman, Julio, Ginn Jr, Edelman, D. Thomas, Crabtree. Nobody besides Julio one year is ever considered a top 5 WR in any season.

Clearly he hasn't. He just prefers to be mad because that is the natural habitat of a Bills fan. Im sure he would have also been mad that Beane didn't sign anyone when we start losing this season if Beane actually waited until next year.

and a TE

This makes a lot of sense.

The Rams traded for Cooks, signed Suh, traded for Dante Fowler all last year, Not all FA deals necessarily but they went all in. Also extended Gurley and Donald but thats signing their own players

No it wouldnt. You need a good O-line to have a good run game.

Agreed, I dont love the Kroft deal and I really liked the Clay signing at the time but everyone knew we WAY overpaid. I dont think we significantly overpaid for Kroft looking at the contract structure. But John Brown and Beasely are proven entities that can find space and catch the ball. Certainly more proven than any rookie WR, which Sammy was.

Its the same idea, I just like the way we are going about it this time around. Instead of trading 2 firsts for a rookie and WAY over paying for a TE we are signing proven vets to reasonable deals. IMO thats a more prudent approach, especially with an unproven QB. No sense in going completely all in, mortaging your future if the QB doesnt have it. If Allen is the guy he will show it with Brown, Beasely & Foster. And was it worth trading 2 firsts for a WR so we could find out that Tyrod wasnt the guy? No, not in my opinion. Id much rather invest in the offense with sensible deals that dont handcuff our future. but thats just me

Even if I admit they are more talented players what did it get us? Did Sammy make EJ or Tyrod better? No. The teams were still bad. A good QB wins with less than top level talent. The method we are following now is much more sound for long term success.

We gave up much more moving up for Watkins and signing Clay. These deals are much more affordable and team friendly

Yea hed likely be the 4th option right now but I dont know why you cut him. He could be much more versatile that McKenzie. Unless we draft someone else in the 2nd or someone balls out in camp I think Zay makes the team

OBJ, the best in the league, is on a team that barely wins. I like this philosophy so much more at WR

Bills first. If the physical passes then dont let him leave.

It was an insurance signing with the possibility if added guard depth. Looks like a great signing now. They knew they were gonna go after a top C hard which meant, if they got one, they could just slide Long to guard and have him compete there. If we somehow struck out in FA on a center then we at least got a guy in competition. Also protects against a Morse injury Now knowing we have Morse, I love having Long compete at guard.

Hard to say for sure but I would say the majority of the time, the team that "wins" free agency does not meet expectations. The best way to build a team is still through the draft. in FA you are almost always buying high on a guy who will 1) age 2) regress to the mean 3) take time to build chemistry with. There are many examples of this from the Eagles, the Bills one year, the Dolphins.

The Bills-Bengals love fest continues. Big contract for an unproven player but its another body at TE. I like him better than James when hes right.

If were are in a massive bidding ware against the Jets I would almost rather we get Morse on the phone in the mean time and drive up the price of Paradis. As fun as FA is when your team signs a guy a LOT of FA's dont work out and you usually have to over pay. Id rather get an affordable Morse than get Paradis if hes too much money.

No today you get deals agreed to, they just get signed on Wednesday. Many big names guys will be signed at noon.

Fitz, AJ Green, Calvin Johnson, Andre Johnson, Brown, ODB, Hopkins, Brown, etc. Great WRs do not make teams good. You'd think, if having a stud WR led to success more teams would be willing to pay them like QBs. The truth is that WRs are product of the scheme and QB most of the time. They do not lead to wins on their own and the highest paid one eat up a lot of cap while not contributing in the same way as other highly paid players. If having a stud WR was a necessity in this league you'd think that one of those guys would have won something when most of them were on bad teams their entire careers. The best teams consistently have top QBs and good defenses. WR are plugged in

The top paid WRs in the league were ODB, Mike Evans, Brown. None of them even made the playoffs. Calvin Johnson was considered one of the best WR of all time and he was never on good teams. There is a long list of top WRs that never make their team good. I’m glad we didn’t sign this deal.