Logic

This is why they pay him the big bucks.

Are Bills fans cool with giving up AT LEAST a 1st and 3rd round pick? If not, forget about OBJ.

Everything you just said stems from....the Bills' reported interest in a backup running back? There are no reasonable signs that the Bills AREN'T going to be active in free agency. Their reported interest in Frank Gore CERTAINLY is not a sign of that. All I'm saying is two things: One, people need to relax and quit being so reactionary. Interest in one guy doesn't mean they WON'T have interest in others. And Two, while I expect the Bills to find a few starters and contributors in free agency (just as they have the PAST two offseasons, with a lot less money to spend), I DON'T think they're going to be reeling in big fish after big fish. It's not gonna happen. As they've said all along, they'll fill some holes, find a few starters, and continue to build through the draft. Doesn't mean they plan to take 3 more years to be good, just means they have an idea of how they want to build a sustained contender, and it may be different than how the message board GMs would build it. I'm sorry if people want to get their panties in a bunch over a RUMORED free agent interest, or if they set themselves up for disappointment by thinking the Bills were gonna land 3 or 4 of the top 10 free agents. It's not who Beane and McDermott are, and they've been telling that to anyone who would listen for 2 years now.

I would sign him in a heartbeat. The latest Beane/McDermott reclamation project. I feel confident that McDermott could find a productive role for him on defense as a sub-package linebacker.

Dude. This is just getting weird now. I agree with you AGAIN on this. Williams should be the big fish for the Bills. Paradis will pick NYJ, because he is familiar with Adam Gase. And throwing ludicrous money at a guy whose career high sack season was 7?! That's a hard no for me.

You keep saying that, but it's exactly what you're doing. We're in the first 45 minutes of the tampering period, free agency isn't even officially open yet, and you're upset. And no, I DON'T understand people being puzzled. This team has shouted "We're going to build through the draft" and "we're going to be judicious in free agency" over and over. If people ignore that and expect them to go out and throw crazy money at a bunch of top free agents, they're setting THEMSELVES up for disappointment.

I think the Bills were ready to spend mega bucks on Clowney or Clark, but both got franchised. As such, they're sniffing around Flowers, who isn't NEARLY the same level of player. If his deal winds up being as big as anticipated, I hope the Bills stay away. No need to spend funny money on a guy whose career high season in sacks was 7.

I love how "first thing reported" = "This is your first move" to people. Just because its the first thing we've heard from the media doesn't mean it's the first priority of the Bills. Sheesh. People sure are fidgety, reactionary, and awful during free agency. I had forgotten.

BADOL, I find myself in an interesting position this morning: Agreeing with you! It feels weird. But we're both okay with Gore potentially being added, right? This is the first (and maybe last?) time this happens. ?

A terrible, terrible idea to make this guy the highest paid o-lineman in history. He was good because Brady gets the ball out so quickly and because of Dante Scarnecchia. Now, with Derek Carr to protect and with Tom Cable as his position coach, he's going to regress tremendously. He may still be an average or even slightly above average left tackle, but for THAT kind of money? Nooooooo thank you!

All the kvetching over what will be a 2nd or 3rd string running back is funny to me. Look, the Bills' thoughts about their running back position seems obvious to me: They have a ton of other needs on both offense and defense, and trying to get younger at running back is the least of their priorities. They're going to use this offseason to upgrade everything else about the offense: WRs, TEs, O-linemen. They're going to ride LeSean McCoy and Ivory (or, if the report is true, Gore), for one more year. Then, NEXT offseason, there will be a youth movement at the position. They want to lean on a veteran backfield while they break in the rest of their offense, which is about to be VERY young across the board. Time will tell if their approach will work or not, but I'm not betting against it. McCoy doesn't look to me to have lost much of a step, and Gore had the highest YPC last year of his entire career. Back to your regularly scheduled whining.

Was just about to post this. Very telling. All of the signs of high but potential are there: 1. Barely ran a route tree 2. Combine measurables and physique vastly more impressive than actual production on a football field 3. Had a serious neck injury his senior season 4. Great straight line speed, but very little suddenness or change of direction ability Note: I am NOT saying that he can't or won't become a good or great NFL player. I am simply saying that the combination of the above factors indicate that he may not live up his potential. "Combine Hero" WRs whose measurables outweigh their production are not usually my cup of tea.

The most legitimate seeming reports right now -- and this seems to validate what Vic Carucci reported -- are that the reason no one has acquired Brown yet is because he's seeking too much money on a new deal. If it's true he wants $20M a year, then, well...sayonara, Mr Big Chest!

This. Also, Gm's don't make public statements stating that they have pulled out of trade talks only to secretly continue said trade talks. Brown won't be a Bill. Furthermore, I'd bet 2 boxes of Flutie Flakes that he'll be a Raider or a Saint.

Ya know what happens when you take a player who is long on freak physical stature and athletic attributes but short on career production? You get Aaron Maybin. This is why we can't have nice things.

And going back to the original "coach and QB" point, it seems likely that Whaley was missing BOTH of those things, thus causing the rest of the names mentioned not to matter. It also points out that collecting talent is not the same as building a team. Think of the character/motivation of guys like Dareus, Watkins, and Glenn. Not exactly "team first" guys by most accounts.

As cool as it would have been seeing Allen throw bombs to Brown, I must say this: Giving $20M per year to a 31-year-old head case diva WR is EXACTLY how you start back down the road to cap jail. Oh, and one more thing: for a team and coach that so often use bulletin board material as motivation and thrive when they feel like they're being disrespected, this whole episode should provide some nice fodder.

Ask me again on May 1st? Oh, also: trading AJ McCarron for a freaking 5th round pick should be on the list. I mean Case Keenum, who is indisputably better than McCarron, just fetched less than that. He also got a draft pick for MARSHALL NEWHOUSE (!!!) Beane's a wizard.

We get outbid for Paradis and Morse. Beane counts on a Bodine/Long competition in camp to determine starting center (barf).

Seeing the money being thrown at mediocre TEs in Boyle and Allen has me thinking the Bills may just have to draft one high if they want one. Yikes.

I agree with the bolded. If you don't have a QB and coach, nothing else matters. The following sentence you wrote: "that doesn't mean that's all you need", that's where this discussion comes in. What ELSE do you need to give the coach and QB a better chance at sustained success? I'm not convinced that once you get the coach and QB, you're ready to roll. If you want a shot at multiple titles with your coach/QB combo, you'd better have some more around them. Dan Fouts and Don Coryell = 0 championships Dan Marino and Don Shula = 0 championships Philip Rivers and multiple coaches, including Marty Schottenheimer = 0 championships Peyton Manning and Tony Dungy = 1 championship In three out of the four instances mentioned above, defense was usually lacking. So we know that that's a need as well. Simplified, I would say that a coach, QB, and at least reasonably good defense gives you a shot every year. We also know, as discussed, that you've got to protect the QB. I don't think his weaponry is as important. If you have a truly excellent QB, he'll make do with average to slightly above average receivers. You probably can't consistently roll out a WR/TE depth chart as bad as what the Bills had last year. But even that, with better protection, might have been sufficient. As it was, we saw the Bills averaging nearly 24 points per game by the end of the season. This is what's so interesting about football: There isn't just one right answer. I mean, yes, "coach and QB". But after that? Teams have done it lots of different ways, and the ongoing strategic evolution discussed in earlier posts means the roster building strategy is always changing. Doug Whaley once made a quote that I wish I could remember in its entirety, because I liked it. It was something along the lines of: Beyond QB, you need and can afford to pay about 6-8 high quality, important players. Where you spend those dollars and on what positions is up to you. I'd say the Bills have some of their 6-8 already. Tre'Davious White, Matt Milano, Tremaine Edmunds, Dion Dawkins. More are needed, obviously, so it's a critical offseason, as everybody already knows.

My question for Bills fans: If the price tag for Frank Clark is the 9th overall pick, do you do the deal? What if the Bills have already signed an OT, C, and WR in free agency? Bear in mind that Frank Clark is only 25, and consider what the Bears paid for Khalil Mack just last season. It's not unreasonable to think that a 1st would be the asking price. So what would be your answer? Personally, I'd have to give it serious consideration. If you take a defensive lineman at 9, which is a very real possibility, you're rolling the dice and HOPING he becomes a good NFL player. With Clark, you already KNOW you're getting very good to elite sack production, and he's still only 25 years old.

I'm all for getting a dope edge rusher.... But isn't Frank Clark a low character turd?

Geoff Schwartz

Absolutely. There are some really great books about the evolution of football: The Genius of Desperation by Doug Farrar and Louis Riddick The Games That Changed The Game by David Plaut, Greg Cosell, and Ron Jaworski And speaking of strategic moves and counter-moves: I'm looking forward to power run offenses and bruising running backs coming back into vogue a little bit in the coming years to counter the ever smaller, ever faster defensive players that teams are rolling out these days.