Last Guy on the Bench

Really? I'm sure you're right about what makes him special. But If I were the Rams I would ask to see practice footage, and I would have my doctors and coaches have a look at him after that (the typical conditional part of a trade). It just seems too haphazard to rely on a preseason game. Especially from the Bills point of view. We're going to "showcase" him the first few plays of the very first live action of the year? Hell, those plays might turn into disasters (sacks, miscommunications, etc.). No guarantee that you can ever really showcase a wide receiver. If I'm Beane trying to convince the Rams about his health, I just send them a bunch of practice footage of Sammy running routes and cutting on that foot. Preseason games are too unpredictable and random to be used strategically in this way. Again, maybe if you are talking about playing a UDFA for the whole second half or something, so people can get some game film on him. But there is plenty of game film on Sammy Watkins. I do agree that "not telling" McD until after that game seems bizarre. That one's hard to swallow.

I can't see how catching a few passes in a preseason game would be an audition or a demonstration of anything - especially when a guy has been around for 3 years. If a trading partner was going to base their decision on that they would be crazy. Even just to show he's healthy - who's going to put stock in a few plays (which he could gut out) as opposed to the full medical he would definitely be getting? Other teams know all about Sammy Watkins. They are not sitting around watching three or four plays in a preseason games and going, "Hey wait a minute, this guy is good! Let's trade our injured third string CB and a mediocre draft pick for him!" Maybe if he was some UDFA, that would make sense, but not in this case. In fact, if a trade was already potentially in the cards, I don't think they play him at all. Why risk injury?

This could not be more spot on, in my opinion. I cannot understand how cavalier many people are about truly gifted players. Or maybe it's just that they don't see him as such. For me, Watkins jumps out every time he is on the field. He is in a class above 95% of the players in the NFL in terms of his talent. And while he hasn't fully actualized that talent yet, even young Sammy learning his way into the NFL is a lot better than most other options. When you have a guy like that, you keep him, unless it will cripple the team financially, which it certainly would not in this case - even at the franchise tag amount. I love the draft as much as the next guy, but how people talk themselves into the idea that all of these draft picks will magically turn into good players, when even the best-drafting teams strike out more often than not, is beyond me. You want draft picks so you can find guys like Sammy! But if you just get rid of them once you get them, what's the point?

I have NEVER felt like giving up on this team. But this is just horrendous. One of the few guys on the team with legit star potential. Even with the injuries has put up some pretty impressive numbers. Looks healthy. Is still super young. They must have seen something they didn't like in practice (attitude, intelligence? I don't know.), but still no excuse. Watkins is the kind of guy you shape your offense around. Build around his strengths. And I can't buy the tank argument. This team has too much talent to fall off the deep end. The defensive line, running game, Taylor's playmaking ability - all will keep them in lots of games. Plus there are a number of crappy teams around the league. You can't really choose to tank in the NFL. At least not for the number 1 pick. Certainly not with the Bills roster. I think Darnold has a shot to be an all-timer, but if you think you can manipulate a season enough to guarantee you get that #1 pick in a year where it's really worth something, you're a fool. Your players certainly aren't going to tank for you. So I think they've just decided they don't love Watkins and would rather have draft picks to build the team their own way. I also think they are complete tools. My interest in this season just went down 1,000 percent. And I'm pissed I just laid out the $200 for GamePass (international), which I've always previously considered a great deal.

I was at lots of games in the late 80s and early 90s. That Dallas Monday nighter in 2007 was louder than all of them. By a LOT. I don't think my father's ears have ever recovered.

Based on what? More game-winning drives in his first four seasons than anyone in HISTORY. Led the league in 4th quarter passer rating in 2015. Couldn't find individual numbers for 2016 (I'm sure they're somewhere), but saw the Seahawks were 9th as a team for 4th quarter QBR in 2016. PFF had Wilson with the 6th highest 4th quarter grade for 2016. Not saying he's the most clutch QB in the league. But "doesn't have any clutch genes in his body" seems overly harsh to say the least.

Hilarious video. Thanks. No way to be sure how he'll project to this level, but he does seem to have pretty nimble feet and a distinct penchant for grinding people into the turf. Here's hoping he can do the same thing to bigger, faster people. Will be fun to see how he develops.

Right. It's only the first SB where the Bills were really outcoached. I think they had way more talent than the Giants. But the next year the Skins were a freaking juggernaut. I wouldn't say they had more talent than the Bills, but everything just came together for them that whole year. They were in the flow. Rypien spent the year looking like a Hall of Famer. I don't know why or what happened exactly. It was just a perfect storm for that team. They weren't going to lose to the Bills, even though long-term the Bills had more talent. The Cowboys arguably did have more talent than the Bills the next two years. They were a damn good team. I think if they played the Bills 10 times, the Bills would win 3 or 4 games. So not a great aberration that the Boys won two in a row.

Thanks for all the insight you've given in these threads. You clearly have some inside knowledge of the people and dynamics at OBD. And I imagine many of us, even people like me who don't post much, really appreciate getting a more balanced, reality-based take on the place. It helps counteract the idiotic demonizing of someone like Whaley. I have zero inside knowledge, but I know that when I watched that infamous press conference, I was astonished at the position the guy had been put it. The way he was answering and non-answering was clearly dictated by incoherent policies and probably in lots of cases direct orders (e.g., you can't talk about this, you can only say this about this). Sure, he's not the most polished speaker you'll ever find, but the awkwardness of that conference felt entirely situational to me - not based on Whaley's own beliefs, knowledge, preferences or even skills. I was sure he was falling on the sword through the whole thing, and I felt for the guy. I thought it made Pegula look bad, not Whaley. Anyway, thanks for whatever inside knowledge you are able to share. Many of us are paying a lot of attention.

Ha ha. I think you may have nailed it. Maybe I need treatment, not a message board discussion. I've been in love with this stupid football team since 1980. There have to be scars. My condolences to those of you that actually followed the team in the 60s and 70s as well.

This is a fantastic post. Thanks for such a thoughtful response. The stats you list do paint a picture of solid coordinator at worst. So that's a good start. The links were very interesting. I had read some of them before, but clearly needed a refresher. I hadn't seen that interview with Coleman, and that was revelatory. Rare depth for something on the sports pages. (In fact, it made me want to hire Kurt Coleman as a coach. What a thoughtful guy.) The picture he paints of McD is very strong, and it does shift my optimism meter significantly. The hard work/grinder stuff doesn't do much for me - there are lots of those guys in the league. But the flexibility, the willingness to build both strategy and culture from the strengths and temperaments of the actual individuals on the team (vs. some slogan), the attention to individualized player development, and frankly the caring - these go a long way for me. One thing that seems clear: whatever happened with Whaley, none of the comments about McD even hint at the kind of guy who is duplicitous or primarily out for himself - quite the opposite. So I have to assume that whatever role he had in things, it was fair and above board. As you say, we can't really know whether he's in over his head until we see how he swims. But it seems pretty clear he's a good guy, with a solid understanding of football tactics, and potentially a strong hand at culture development. I definitely feel better about him than I did yesterday, so thanks. (I still want to hire Kurt Coleman. Wonder if he'll retire soon? ]

You got me, man. I start one or two threads a year in this joint. Mr. LAMP. What a thrill it is.

Dude, nowhere do I say that I'm right. I may well be completely off base. Just wanted to have some dialogue around different people's reads on the guy so far. And of course facts and results as they emerge will tell the story. But it would be a pretty boring offseason if no one shared any reactions to what's going on at OBD.

Not at all. Wouldn't call it a determination. Just seeing things that were hitting me wrong and actually wanted counter opinions so I could take a more balanced view. Either way, there's no knowing until we see him in action. Agreed.

Well, McD, to his credit, hasn't banished fat coaches yet.

So we shouldn't discuss new players, coaches, strategy, etc.? I agree we shouldn't have any strongly held opinions before we see what's what in September. I don't. Can't argue at all with those who say wait and see. But I'm pretty sure this isn't the first post sharing initial judgments about a coach/player who hasn't taken the field. It's a grain of salt discussion, to be sure.

Well, I did spend three years in Cub Scouts and I have a cosmetology certificate. It's my impression. Could well be wrong. I was interested in others' impressions. Thanks for yours. We read him differently. I agree with you that it isn't wise to put too much stock into opinions about others without personal contact. I put very little stock into internet opinions (including my own) about any public figure, no matter how many years in the military the person with the opinion might have spent.

The weird thing is, even though I am skeptical about the long-term viability of the McD era, I have still (almost) convinced myself we are going to go 11-5 this year. I am a hopeful dude.

I like this argument. Because I do believe that we have more talent than we've shown over the past few years. If that's true, maybe a calm and meticulously organized guy is all we need to push us to another 2 or 3 wins a year. For now.

Definitely not true. I genuinely want to change my impression. I am (incorrectly) optimistic about the Bills every year. I am (incorrectly) optimistic about every new player. I am a bit of an idiot that way. I'm surprised to find myself struggling to get stoked up about McD.

Well, I do mean interesting about football, not movies or politics. It might be a poor measure, but it worries me because in my experience it often betrays a lack of insight. Most of the coaches that I like do have interesting things to say about football from time to time. At least, they don't sound like organizational manuals.

Re: attention to detail, in my opinion it can be helpful, but may not be necessary (if you are a good delegator) and is certainly not sufficient. For Rex, we had a lot more info. He'd been a head coach after all. And I always liked the energy his Jets teams played with and the style of defense. I don't mind his personality. In fact, I thought it might serve us well. He seemed super hurt about his exit from the Jets, and I bought the idea that he wanted to plant a flag in Buffalo and redeem himself. At the time, I would actually have preferred the Hue Jackson/Schwartz scenario, but I saw things to like with Rex. Anyway, I will definitely give McD a chance and I wish him all the best. I have no idea what's going to happen. Maybe he'll be the best coach in the league, and I'll start buying lots of leadership books.

Fair enough. Thanks for actually answering the question. I think you're probably right about those things being strengths of his. Not sure that's enough, but it will be a refreshing change of pace in that respect.

Ha ha. I know what you are saying. But Belichick's, um, terseness seems to be coming from a totally different place to me. It's not corporate speak. It's FU speak. Which I do have some respect for. Also, he says lots of interesting things in other contexts. We can see it in some secondhand reports, behind the scenes stuff on NFL films, etc. Maybe McD does too. I admit we don't have the material to judge. Here's hoping he's got half the insight into the game and player's mentalities that BB does.