Nihilarian

I believe Brandon cared about keeping the Bills in Buffalo and that he wanted the best for the team. I simply think that he thought his involvement in the football side was in the best interest of the team. Qualified, yes to a point as the Steelers pro personnel coordinator. Kevin Colbert held the job as GM and director of football operations. Whaley did tutor under Nix who was also somewhat qualified. However, I think his record and history as being GM in Buffalo speaks for itself. A .469 W/L%

The thing is that Bill Polian had a very difficult time in urging the owner to make changes all over the team. From paying Jim Kelly top dollar to free agents and stadium changes. Russ Brandon could have urged the owner to hire more qualified people was my point and that decade probably wouldn't have been wasted. My take is he enjoyed being involved and didn't want to share power or lose the ability to be involved. Russ Brandon wanted to be involved in football decisions and even though he didn't make actual choices he had a tremendous influence on most everything that happened during his time as GM, team president. Even Leroi stated the man was heavily involved in the football side! Then when you read that Russ was in the teams cut room meeting while on the phone with players is all it takes to realize just how involved he was.

I don't miss Gailey at all with his smoke and mirror offense. Five WR sets with one good WR. If it wasn't for Ryan Fitzpatrick Gailey would have been fired much sooner in Buffalo and NY then when he was. Gailey got the Job in Buffalo by telling Wilson he didn't need expensive star players to win games. Probably why his W/L% was .333 during his time in Buffalo. The man was a supposed QB guru and Fitz had stated that until the team hired QB coach David Lee that nobody had worked with him on his footwork, mechanics. Meaning that it was all Fitz from day one. Nevermind the fact that Lee really screwed up Fitz that season in attempting to correct some flaws.

If this were the least bit true he would have hired a top GM from the get-go or persuaded RW to hire someone other than only people he knew and trusted. Instead, he opted to be involved in the football side of things! Even if he didn't make any actual decisions on free agents or draft picks his presence kept a real qualified GM from being hired. What do Marv Levy, Russ Brandon, Buddy Nix and Doug Whaley all have in common? None were actually qualified to be an NFL GM and they all proved it over and over with stupid moves. Donte Whitner over Holati Ngata! Aaron Maybin over Brian Orakpo! Sammy Watkins that costs two firsts and a fourth over Odell Beckham Jr. Russ Brandon enjoyed his role involved in the football side of things with literally no accountability whatsoever. He wanted to be involved in building a winner in Buffalo and the end result was another Matt Millen. Brandon was involved in the Buffalo Bills football org side from 2008 thru 2016 and was with the team long before that. I'm just ever so grateful that Brandon did help bring in new ownership that wants to keep the team in Buffalo. Along with this new owner hiring the right man as HC and then standing back and allowing him to do his job.

Why on earth would they draft a less accurate version of what they already have? My take is that the FO hired a new OC to move away from that run-first offense of the last few years to a more refined pocket passing QB. I hope the Browns take RB Barkley #1 and Jackson with that #4 pick thinking he is another DeShaun Watson...and what they will get is another Geno Smith.

I couldn't agree more on all counts.

Both Stafford and Cutler had less than 56% accuracy coming out of college and they both improved as did Tyrod Taylor. Both those QBs improved to 62%. Care to see a chart of pass completion percentage for college players since 1956? https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/leaders/pass-cmp-pct-player-career.html

I wrote about the reasons why Allen didn't dominate the lower level of competition and his stats were more about the lack of quality talent around him over any comment on his ability. No QB can do it by himself! Go back and look at the 2014 Atlanta Falcons in which Matt Ryan played in all 16 games and Julio Jones played in 15 and yet the Falcons went 6-10 that season. Why did a known franchise QB with quality talent around him fail to dominate? Probably because he was running for his life most of that year. Same thing with Allen only no Julio Jones at WR. Allen his last year had no receiver over 600 yards and no RB over 500 yards and yet carried his team to an 8-5 record. How did Allen play in the Senior Bowl where the talent on the defense he faced was far superior to anything he had faced previously? The fact is he played very well against some of the top competition in the nation. He won't need 2, 3 years of bench time. If Allen somehow falls past the first six then Bills fans should prepare themselves for a Buffalo Bills trade up between seven and ten. I'm not saying the kid will be the next Big Ben or Arron Rodgers because I don't know that he will. What I do know is that many NFL player evaluators now have this kid as their number one, number two QB. What I also know is Buffalo still has blue-collar roots that love a big, strong, tough QB like Jim Kelly with an arm that some scouts say they have never seen the like of... READ THIS! http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2762483-is-josh-allens-offseason-improvement-enough-to-solidify-spot-as-drafts-top-qb

No question as his erratic throwing with one good pass and the next is a bad pass will have him rivaling Geno Smith for turnovers in the NFL. He might be a greatly talented athlete but that doesn't always equate to a franchise pocket passer.

There are real reasons as to why so many NFL talent evaluators have moved the kid to the number one, number two QB in this year's draft. He already has improved his accuracy and touch and that showed in the senior bowl and combine. Allen had a good senior bowl and wowed them at the combine. Versus a kid like Lamar Jackson who threw one good pass and then threw a bad one and ended up with a very erratic evaluation. If you read up on Josh Allen you would read about a kid who had a slight build coming into college and recently grew into that big frame. Yes, the kid had a lot more talent around him in 2016 and still only had a 56% completion percentage. The thing is, all that talent left after 2016 and if plays were to be made it was all on the QB to make them as the surrounding talent drop off was staggering. Allen was in effect throwing to a far less talented and experienced team and that kept him from doing what the scouts expected him to do and that was to dominate at his level of competition. If you read about what his head coach said about him, “He’s been ultra-competitive, and it’s been whatever we’ve needed him to do,” Bohl said. “You look at our margins of victory, within our conference, on the Mountain [division] side, they’ve been pretty slim. And he’s been very resourceful, whether it’s running it or throwing it. And he’s done a really good job taking care of the football.” Bohl said that Allen has accomplished the goals the two had set in order to polish what everyone conceded was a very raw game at the beginning of this calendar year. He spent time on his mechanics, dedicated himself to watching tape, and traveled to the Manning Passing Academy to try and glean what he could from other quarterbacks. As a result, Bohl’s feeling is that Allen’s playing the position, rather than going out there and just playing, which is what he did last year to give birth to a style that made him a trick-shot thrower and YouTube superstar." https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/11/14/josh-allen-wyoming-2018-nfl-draft-top-small-school-prospects

Two, three years...really? Where do you guys get this stuff? I can see a team delaying from starting him on opening day so he can fully learn the offense and scheme while getting his NFL timing down due to the speed of the NFL. However, I could also see a team starting him right away depending on how quickly he picks things up. The kid played in a pro-style offense at Wyoming which means he is experienced under center. He has good footwork and a very efficient release and he puts a lot of velocity on the ball. Didn't have great numbers the last two seasons but that may be more due to the talent he was working with than any comment on his ability. The difference between Josh Allen and Sam Darnold was the talent surrounding both players. Allen had very little talent and carried the entire offense on his shoulders. How many players will the NFL see this year coming out of Wyoming besides Allen...exactly! From USC besides Darnold the fumbler, three. Although ten USC underclassman were seeking NFL draft evaluations this year. The talent, the coaches, the schemes on the teams surrounding USC, UCLA and big school QBs enables them to put up such great numbers while having great success in college. Let me ask this. How many of those greatly talented USC QB's have achieved great success in the NFL?

If they are keeping anything close to their vest I hope it's the interest in Cousins. I think moving up to the #2, #3, #4 spot would be cost prohibitive as they would get only 800 + 780 for this years #1s. And those spots would cost 2600, 2200, 1800.

Russell was also a junkie. Give a read to what Mike Bobo had to say about Allen in playing against him. "I can’t say enough about (Allen), he makes them go,” Bobo said. “He is about impossible to tackle. He makes plays after plays with his legs and his arm…Countless times over the last two years, this guy has made plays to win ballgames. Truly, truly impressive kid.” Possibly more than anything else, Allen’s arm strength presents the biggest challenge for opposing defenses. His ability to make strong, accurate throws on the run had Bobo awestruck. It’s not as if he just dumps the ball off in the flat, either. Allen routinely completes 40-yard strikes across his body, leaving defensive coordinators scratching their heads." “His toughness impresses me. They lost some pieces around him, and a lot’s on this kid’s shoulders,” Bobo said. “And he keeps coming out every series with the moxie and the confidence that ‘I’m gonna put this team on my back offensively.’” https://collegian.com/2017/10/mike-bobo-impressed-by-josh-allens-athleticism-not-focused-on-statistics/

This kinda tells me what I've always thought and that is the Bills won't be moving up into the top six. Moving up into the top ten is another thing I think they might want to do depending on who is still there QB wise. I suspect Allen, Darnold, and Rosen will be gone by the sixth pick and if Mayfield is still there they might make a move to beat out Miami, Arizona. JMHO

Just go back to these threads in which most of the fans are calling the kid garbage as he has already improved since the end of the college season. there is a real reason as to why so many scouts, draft sites, and mock drafts have the kid going in the top five. I will tell all the fans here that are so negative about him to not worry because there is no chance the Bills will ever come close to drafting him as no team will let them move up that far. The Browns, Giants are gonna fall in love with his arm and what they saw at the senior bowl, combine and draft him.

Just sayin. QBs usually always get drafted earlier than they should and if you read the article it looks like the Steelers are very interested in Rudolph. Plus, they already have Landry Jones on the roster. Remember the last time the Steelers beat out the Buffalo Bills on a QB and who Buffalo eventually ended up with? Besides, he is listed as tied for fifth in Mike Mayock's top 5 QB's and that other fifth is Jackson. Most mock drafts have both those guys going in the first round considering that there are at the least seven teams with a desperate need for an upgrade at QB There could be as many as 12 teams looking to draft QBs early this year and this year could surpass 1983 as the best QB class ever.

I was very high on Allen but after reading this article I'm thinking the Bills might be better off staying put and drafting Mason Rudolph. https://sports.yahoo.com/m/158dc1d9-864a-391b-b938-d3dfddfd26fb/despite-not-being-a-huge.html and https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2018/3/3/17073246/mason-rudolph-draft-oklahoma-state-qb-2018 "At his press conference at the league’s scouting combine on Friday, a reporter asked Rudolph how he’d answer the criticism that he’d only faced “statues in the secondary” in a lightly defended conference. Rudolph was blunt about it. “Well,” he started, “we played Colorado, Washington, and Virginia Tech, and we beat the crap out of all of them in [bowl games]. Those aren’t Big 12 defenses, and we played pretty well against those guys. So you throw on that tape, and I think that’ll kill that argument right there.” Starting to really like Rudolph.

I agree as I think they will trade up to the top ten "IF" there is still one of the top four QB's still available. Just not the top five as that will be just cost prohibitive. The Browns, NY Giants, NY Jets, and Broncos all are looking at QB's and should the Giants go for Barkley one of those top four will be there. I can see the Bills trading with Tampa, Chicago, SF, Oakland to get ahead of Miami, Arizona. Of course, a lot depends on what happens in free agency. Should the Browns go Barkley #1 and a QB at #4 then all bets are off and the Bills won't move up at all. Not surprising to me as I don't see this new regime putting all their chips this year and perhaps even some for next year all on one guy who has a 33% chance of making it as a franchise QB. At least not when the team has so many holes on the roster going forward. JMHO

I agree. This is a big red flag that he won't throw! Then I look at the teams past history of very highly touted failures at QB with Carson Palmer as the only exception and he has never played in a SB much less won one. A Heisman trophy winner with two pro bowls and three playoff appearances in a Thirteen year NFL career. He is the best the NFL has seen out of USC. Then you have Mr. Butt Fumble Mark Sanchez. Three time all American Matt Leinart, Cody Kessler, Matt Barkley, John David Booty, Todd Marinovich, Rodney Pete, Sean Salisbury. USC QB's have two great things going for them at draft time. They posses the physical talent and potential to make it and play in the NFL and they won enough college games to keep them as the starter. The biggest thing that USC does is with their great recruitment that the supporting cast around the QB is usually excellent and usually is enough to give their QB a big advantage. So far that hasn't equated to success in the NFL at the highest level. The odds that the Bills find a franchise QB out of this years draft even with the second pick in the draft is only less than a 30% chance of success. If they are smart the bills would go big into the Kirk Cousins sweepstakes unless they have supreme confidence in their new scouting dept.

Who the Bills paid two firsts and a fourth from a GM who watched too many highlight films on the guy. This and the fact that the kid caught most of his college passes in screen plays. From what I see Watkins isn't even a #1 WR on a team that needs a #1 WR as he had 14 game starts in 2017 with not even 600 yards total. Although he did have 8 TD catches does that make him worth a franchise tag with more than 16 mill per or as Spotrac holds him at 6 mill per. I think he is going to want 10-12 mill and he isn't worth that amount considering his injury history. Let the Rams attempt to sign him.

What we know after last season is that OC Rick Dennison sucks and what he did with Peterman really sucks! What the coaches don't know yet is if Tyrod, Peterman can further develop with a quality OC guiding them in Brian Deball. I think they both will improve should things remain the same. Even then the team can still draft a QB to develop or start and trade Taylor later on.

I wish it was Buffalo! The smart money is on the Vikes! If I were him I'd take one look at Denver with last years 5-11 record with a new HC and pass. Dunno why so many think Denver.

This guy worries me as he could drop and Buffalo goes after him. Small hands, weird delivery. When was the last time a USC QB won the SB...exactly!!

Got a link to that last sentence as I find it difficult to believe that so many scouts have upgraded their opinion on a prospect because he now has an agent. BTW, aren't you the guy that wants Lamar Jackson? Have a link for this because from everything I've read Josh Allen played in a pro-style offense which gives him fewer easy throws. NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah's top 50 players Josh Allen is listed as the 14th best player in this year's draft. "While he has room to improve on his overall ball placement, there were numerous dropped balls by his receivers in every game I studied. " http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000909727/article/daniel-jeremiahs-top-50-prospects-for-2018-nfl-draft On another note, some of the QB's since 2000 to complete their college career with less than a 58% completion percentage were Jay Cutler, Matthew Stafford as they improved that percentage once in the pros. There is a real reason as to why almost every draft site I've read as Allen as a top ten draft pick and most have him going in the top five.

Exactly. There is a real reason as to why Kiper moved him to his #1 QB and Mayock moved him to his #2 and my take was his performance in the senior bowl. There is more to evaluating a player than just stats. Allen was in a downfield throwing offense as in 2017 he threw 43 passes more than 20 yards. So when you throw downfield that many times you are going to get a lesser completion percentage. heck of a difference for that offense vs a spread with a ton of bubbles and screens. When looking solely at completion percentage Allen ranked 77th, Darnold 27th, Rosen 29th and Mayfield #1. Edit: No question in my view that Josh Allen will be drafted in the top ten or sooner.