BarleyNY

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DAc7uCKXgAExV-x?format=png&name=large Here's a comparison graphic for Hodges vs. Brown. Can someone post the actual pic? It's from PFF. Looks like quite the upgrade.

Nice signing! Glad to see things coming together.

I broke down the cap consequences of cutting versus trading Dareus earlier in the thread. He still has $20.6M of unamortized bonus money on the books now. It would be very, very difficult to even trade him due to that. He sure can't be cut due to the guaranteed salaries on top of that and he's not eligible to be waived since he has more than 4 accrued years in the league. The Bills are stuck with him for this season for sure. Trading him before 2018 would still hurt, but be manageable. If he screws up again this season I can't see anyone wanting him even at his base salaries though. In that scenario he just wouldn't be tradeable unless we pulled a Houston-Cleveland style trade. We're stuck with him for awhile regardless of what the FO or HC is saying.

Thanks for the breakdown.

Looks like his former employee, Berry, did him a solid. Grigson was a total disaster as a GM. Can't see how this helps the Browns.

Couldn't agree more. It's especially true when the person in question is supposed to be a team leader and is the most highly paid player on the team.

If Dareus was traded now, the Bills would get hit with $20.6M in dead money. If done before next season dead money would be $10.44M, but at least the team would see a small net increase in cap space. Trading him is reall the only option in the near term, but I'm not sure it's much of a threat. Either way he's getting paid and it's not like he's getting shipped out of a Super Bowl contender or particularly desirable city. (I love Buffalo, but don't tell me Dareus wouldn't rather be in Miami or LA.) This contract for this player is Exhibit 1-A on why Whaley had to go. Here's a link for anyone wanting contract details. Note the tab for different cut dates/trade. That can be used with the year tabs to quickly see what the impact of cutting/trading players is at different times. https://overthecap.com/salary-cap/buffalo-bills

Awesome

I blame them all. The Wrecks Brothers were a train wreck to be sure. Whaley wasn't nearly as bad as them, but he sure wasn't good.

*It's "you're," schoolteacher. Sadly, you're pretty much on the nose with the rest.

WAY too young says this 48 year old. RIP Cortez.

The "I didn't find a QB!" schtick is just a deflection so that his myriad other mistakes aren't on center stage. Him not finding a QB was just symptomatic of his more basic problems.

Yeah. There's a point where further complicating something is detrimental to efficiency. Complaints from players throughout the two seasons Rex was here about not being able to react effectively due to the complications of the defensive scheme were telling. It also didn't help that the scheme sucked.

I agree that probably both do. But I see it happening after the drought is ended. It just seems a bit too much like celebrating the drought to do it while it continues. But maybe you're right. Maybe the fans are looking for something to celebrate in the meantime. Yeah, I could see it looking at it that way.

Maybe the phrase should be "no longer overcomplicated".

You have better friends than me

Yeah, I hate that Kidd is right. If/when the Bills become a regular playoff team or win a championship guy's like Kyle and Fred have a better chance. No player from the drought era is going to get in as long as the drought continues.

Thanks, I appreciate you taking my comment as intended. I really do hope Sammy has matured, for his own sake. But I'm too old to take it as fact without first seeing what adversity reveals.

Easy to act mature when there's no adversity. Let's see how Sammy's doing if/when there's a problem. That'll tell us where he is.

Anytime.

People in Cleveland hold Dawson in very high regard. He is definitely a quality hire. He missed out on some GM spots he interviewed for, but I suspect he'll get one before too long. Hope we hang on to him for a bit here first though.

Safety is paper thin. Hyde is a quality starter, but that's pretty much it. Poyer needs to take a huge step forward from last season with the Browns. Maybe supporting cast and scheme change will do him well.

The three team that traded out of pick 2, 10 & 12 where the QBs were selected all needed QBs, but they all traded out anyway. All three teams have regimes that are on their first or second season. Only one of the 3 teams that traded up was in that position - Chicago who went from 3 to 2 - and they traded out with SF who might be waiting on Cousins. For those reasons and because Trubisky was out of range for B-lo anyway I'll disregard that trade. KC-Buffalo and Houston-Cleveland are different situations. KC and Houston are feeling pressure to find their QBs of the future, take a step forward and win now. Both look to be a QB away. But was either Mahomes or Watson really worth it? Two very QB needy teams didn't think so. I didn't see it in those two (or Trubisky for that matter). It sure looks like KC and Houston moved up and reached due to the pressure to win now. The teams that moved back didn't see QBs worth at top 10 or 12 pick and took advantage of the teams that needed a shot at one right now.

Exactly. Lots of people don't understand odds and bet size.

Speed certainly helps in any system, but that's not entirely true. Certain skill sets fit certain systems. Luckily Darby showed he was getting a good feel for zone in college so it looks like he'll be a good fit. Here are a couple scouting reports: http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/1998179/ronald-darby http://www.nfl.com/draft/2015/profiles/ronald-darby?id=2552689