BarleyNY

The funny thing is that the NFL has not even directly said they were wrong on the original call. I mean, sure, they are now using it as an example of a legal block, but I’m missing the actual mea culpa.

Way to really go out on a limb there. You’re really all over the road in this thread.

That’s a pretty good synopsis. My only changes: RB: A difference maker here would be huge IMO. I’d like to see an upgrade OL: Need a C of the future and could really use an upgrade at OG DB: Agree but also would like to see that Big Nickel safety added WR: A speedy X should be on the shopping list

One of his TD catches was against DiCaprio Bootle.

I had a pretty serious sex addiction. It took marriage to break me of that. Been clean and celibate for years now.

Lol. So can you give me a list of all of the sure fire guys in this draft?

That wasn’t Whitner’s fault. I am a lifelong Buckeyes fan and was still living in Ohio when the Bills drafted him. I was like “What are they thinking? Good player, but that high? Crazy.” Then we all watched the Browns GM, Phil Savage, hand Haloti Ngata to the Ravens and lost our collective 💩 Oh and F Kelvin Benjamin.

I was born and raised in Cleveland so I’ve watched the Browns issues closely for a long time. Up until this recent reboot they’ve really ticked off most (all?) of the boxed when it comes to how to screw it all up so you’re way off there. They’ve had meddlesome ownership. The Haslams went against a unanimous vote by the brass and hired Hue Jackson instead of Sean McDermott. They also made Ray Farmer trade up for Manziel and insisted on other personnel moves. Lerner stuck Phil Savage and Romeo Crennel together despite being from totally different defensive philosophies. GMs demanded that coaches play certain players. Coaches uneducated on draft prospects demanded certain players (Jason Gilbert, Gerard Warren over Richard Seymour). The list goes on and some of it is much worse than that. But I digress. It looks like you are making a common error here. You think you can pick the players that’ll be elite. No one can. There’s a limit to how good GMs can be. A conclusion of an analytical study I read is really interesting. It is that after enough of the correct kind of work is done on prospects - so that the effectiveness of more work is negligible - the main change is an increase in the overconfidence of the decision makers, not anything useful. As for Julio Jones, that is just 20-20 hindsight. How certain were most fans and people in the Bills FO that Sammy Watkins was going to be an elite WR? Similar trade, both incredibly highly ranked WR prospects and a similar injury history in college too. Similar expectations. But vastly different results. It is worth it for a team to put a lot of draft capital into a good chance of finding their franchise QB. A case can be made that it is worth overspending draft or financial capital to get the last piece for an otherwise elite team for a SB run. But beyond that you really only want to move up for a player that is “sticking out” and then only within reason. Otherwise spread that draft capital around and make trades with desperate teams to acquire more.

Yes and no. Yes, one big hit is worth a lot of draft capital. But no, you can’t ever trick yourself into thinking any one player is a can’t miss prospect. There are percentages attached to every last one of them. Don’t fall in love with any of them. The hit rate for successful players drafted in the first round is 50%. That includes the Shaq Lawsons of the league as successes. 50% bust outright. And players that are real difference makers are a much smaller part of the 50% of successes. Then it declines in every round after. More ammo equals more chances to hit big. Those cold, hard numbers are why it was so smart of Beane to trade for Diggs. He traded draft capital for a much better, surer WR in Diggs than he could’ve drafted there and the only premium he paid was the contract difference. It’s why I loved that trade so much.

Sure, but this one’s 25 and might be a bit old for him.

I agree that the Bills pass rush needs improvement, but DBs can’t cover for 4-5 seconds either. No one can with any consistency. TEs were still a particular issue last season and it should be addressed. Maybe a healthy Milano is what we need, but that’s still thin. There will be dings and two TE sets. Even with an improved PR (if we get that) helping everyone I still want a big nickel that can cover TEs. It would sure be a boost to the defense IMO.

I do like me some D’Wayne Eskeridge and Tyler Shelvin.

Ah. You are correct. I didn’t realize the new CBA changed the procedure. There is now disciplinary officer, who is approved of by both the NFL and NFLPA, in charge of initial findings and penalties. Goodell has the ability to place a player on an exempt list where they don’t practice or play, but get paid. And he handles appeals, as you said. Here is an article that explains this all wrt Watson if anyone else wants to read up on it.

Thanks. I think Moore’s size and injury history will drag him down on boards though so 61 is very possible. Jones was one of many great values I thought I got. Lots of easy decisions in that one

From PFN. I really wasn’t looking to go offense with the first two picks, but it just sort of fell that way. I posted it because so many of us are thinking it’ll be a defense heavy draft but maybe we get surprised. 30.Travis Etienne RB Clemson 61.Rondale Moore WR Purdue 93.Joe Tryon EDGE Washington 161. David Moore OG Grambling State 174.Nick Eubanks TE Michigan 213.Robert Jones OG Middle Tennessee 236.Deommodore Lenoir CB Oregon

I think you misunderstood me. My comment alluded to Goodell’s power in such matters and his wide ranging penalties. I’m not sure of any changes in the most recent CBA, but the previous one gave him near absolute authority in cases like this. Also I’ve found little rhyme or reason to his penalties except that he always seems to have an eye toward the bottom dollar and making sure his authority is not challenged. As for this case I meant that I have no idea of what Goodell will do. Is there cause for a penalty from the league? I’d sure think so. Will anything actually happen? No idea. I think you misunderstood me. My comment alluded to Goodell’s power in such matters and his wide ranging penalties. I’m not sure of any changes in the most recent CBA, but the previous one gave him near absolute authority in cases like this. Also I’ve found little rhyme or reason to his penalties except that he always seems to have an eye toward the bottom dollar and making sure his authority is not challenged. As for this case I meant that I have no idea of what Goodell will do. Is there cause for a penalty from the league? I’d sure think so. Will anything actually happen? No idea.

And in Goodell’s office there’s yet a different “standard” which could honestly be just about anything depending on how the wind is blowing that day.

Here’s a link to the PFF quote in a public article. I was mildly surprised by the Milano signing. Spotrac had his AAV at $13.8M a year so it’s not like we got a bad deal from their standpoint. And the contract has a 2 year out at $21.5M, just under the $11M AAV he the overall contract is for. I just thought some team would get stupid on an offer and he’d go there, but I knew there was a chance he’d re-sign here if that didn’t happen and they worked out a reasonable deal. It seems like that happened. Now about PFFs claim that we could’ve made different signings that maximized the use of that money, that is probably correct. But I also agree with PFF that: 1) this isn’t a move that was a bad one in and of itself and 2) that even if it doesn’t work out well due to injury or performance, it isn’t going to do any real harm to the team or cap. tldr: Re-signing Milano to the deal he got was fine

You’re right. I had a brain fart. I meant slot. No idea why I mixed up Z and slot.

Yup. Beasley is a stud. Sanders isn’t close to what he once was, but he’s not aged into JAG status yet. He can be a solid contributor this season. That said, we could definitely use a speedy X WR to round the group out.

This is exactly how I see his role too. Too many people see Brown out and Sanders in and think he’s the replacement. He’s not. His skill set is just too different from Brown’s, who’s job it was to be a speed receiver and who lined up at X. But it’s just like Beasley’s, who is shifty and lines up in the slot. Sanders will take Beasley’s spot if he can’t go or when he needs a breather and he’ll be the second Z on 4 and 5 WR sets. It was a good signing because we definitely needed that, but it doesn’t solve our other WR need. Edit: I meant “in the slot” not “at Z”. Confused the terminology.

Blend of best available, positional/scheme importance, need and scarcity.

Yup. I’m sure the work is ongoing, but the predraft notable acquisitions will be either 0 or 1.

Exactly

And he has a name