Logic

Give me the best offensive tackle, wide receiver, or 3-technique left on the board and I'll be happy.

I am quite happy with how the season played out. McDermott and Beane came in and it was pretty clear that a full tear-down and rebuild was going to happen. Somehow, by providence, the Bills managed to make the playoffs last year, which was awesome. It doesn't change the fact that 2018 was year two of a complete rebuild, though. With that being said, 2018 saw the team break in a rookie QB who, by getting 10 starts in his first season, is ahead of where he would've been had he sat on the bench all year. McDermott even said this. It also saw the Bills defense finish 2nd in the league. That's no small feat. The season ALSO provided lots of meaningful snaps for what is becoming a very young roster. Tons of first, second, and third year players all got experience. Last but not least, the Bills have probably (not definitely, but probably) found the long term quarterback of their defense. All of this was done while clearing dead cap space off the books and accumulating 3 extra 2019 draft picks. So, to recap: Identified and gave meaningful snaps to potential franchise QB and MLB, established a dominant defense, took our cap medicine, added a lot of young talent. And now? 10 draft picks and $90 million in the bank, and we already (hopefully, potentially) have cornerstones at the most important positions in football (QB, LT, CB, ILB). The future is bright. I won't go into team needs now. There are plenty of them, and there is a long offseason to get into that. 2018 was as productive as a non-playoff, non-championship season can be in football, if you ask me.

My question to you is - when does the excellence start? When does the team get to 10+ wins? Not hovering around 0.500 hoping to gimp into the Playoffs as the 6th seed? You maybe missed the part of my thread where I agreed that YES this staff needs to win next year and YES they need to take a big step. The winning needs to start next year. I already said that. But when people say "they need to start winning!", it ignores two things: One, that they DID make the playoffs last year. I get it, you aren't impressed. A playoff season is a playoff season, though. If it's so easy to do, how come none of the previous six head coaches did it? And two, we all knew from the start this was going to be a rebuild that took a few years. YOU say "well it's self inflicted!". I disagree. They had an overpaid, under-performing roster that did not play as a TEAM. It was a collection of talent only, and not even good talent at that, for the most part. They were going nowhere fast, and had a hellacious cap situation. EVERYONE knows and agrees they need to start winning next year, but it's disingenuous to act like they haven't won at all while here (playoffs in first season) and that they aren't in year two of a complete tear-down and rebuild. I get that the last 20 years of Bills football has been frustrating, and I get how that could cause you to lose patience with THIS staff. I simply disagree. I haven't lost patience with them. I think they're doing a great job. Next year I hope for and expect 10+ wins.

I agree with the idea that the Bills need to start winning in 2019. It IS time to start getting results, but there's a few things I think you're wrong about. First of all, the first bolded part. The Bills did not choose cap hell. That came at the hands of Doug Whaley. A lot (not all, but a lot) of the jettisoning of talent you mention in the proceeding sentences happened of necessity BECAUSE the Bills were in cap hell. When Beane arrived, the Bills were loaded with a lot of overpaid, under-performing players like Marcel Dareus and Charles Clay (the contract of the latter, they are STILL stuck with, but I digress). Beane's staff has done an EXCELLENT job clearing up the salary cap situation. Unfortunately, in order to do it as quickly as possible, they were left with a bad situation this year in terms of their ability to be competitive in the free agency market. Going forward, though, they have the 3rd most cap space in the league. That wouldn't have happened without the moves they made over the past two seasons. As for the "they lost credibility" thing: I simply don't agree. When we talk about "the Bills need to start winning in 2019", let's not forget that this staff oversaw a team that MADE THE PLAYOFFS in year one of their tenure. So yes, they need to win in 2019, but they DID win enough to make the postseason in year 1. In year 2, in the midst of a (yes, self-imposed, but for the right reasons) rebuild, they failed to qualify for the postseason. One playoff season and one playoff-less season where the main focus is cleaning up a salary cap mess, building for the future, and breaking in a rookie QB does not equal "lost credibility" in my eyes. Indeed, I believe that Sean McDermott gets the absolute most out of his players. I don't believe there are many coaches in the NFL who would've gotten last year's roster to the playoffs, nor do I believe that there are many coaches in the NFL who would have gotten this year's roster to six wins. As for the poor personnel decisions, I count Vlad Ducasse, Anquan Boldin, Vontae Davis, and Mike Tolbert. Benjamin, Coleman, and McCarron were risks worth taking, in my opinion. They didn't work out, but it's easy to see why the decisions were made. But even IF you consider them outright bad decisions, it is still only fair to ALSO mention the GOOD personnel successes, which FAR outweigh the failures: Micah Hyde Jordan Poyer Tre'Davious White Taron Johnson Levi Wallace Matt Milano Tremaine Edmunds Harrison Philips Star Lotulelei Trent Murphy Rafael Bush Josh Allen Zay Jones Dion Dawkins Robert Foster Isaiah McKenzie Jason Croom That's a lot of talent that this staff has brought in. They signed a top tier starting safety duo, a nose tackle and defensive end that -- no matter what you say -- DID contribute to the league's 2nd ranked defense this year. They drafted quality players at the game's most important positions (LT, CB, QB, ILB), they found valuable contributors in undrafted free agency in Foster, Wallace, and Croom, they signed a valuable slot receiver and gadget player off another team's practice squad in Isaiah McKenzie. In short, their positive personnel acquisitions outweigh the negative ones by quite a bit. They also may have identified a long term franchise QB for both the offense (Allen) and defense (Edmunds). No small feat...just ask any OTHER Bills GM from the past 20 years. Oh, and I almost forgot: The front office not only found these players, the coaches then DEVELOPED them. Wallace and Foster both learned on the practice squad and were brought up and now contribute. Poyer and Hyde were free agency afterthoughts that McDermott has helped mold into top safeties. etc, etc. Because of their overall good drafting, ability to find UDFAs and practice squad players that contribute, ability to identify and acquire some quality free agents, ability to develop talent, emphasis on high character, high upside players, emphasis on building a CULTURE and a TEAM rather than just a collection of talent, and because McDermott gets the most out of his under-talented rosters, I feel the Bills are in absolutely EXCELLENT hands going forward. Beane and McDermott have set the foundation for LONG TERM, SUSTAINED SUCCESS. In order to set said foundation, they had to go through a tough season this year. Let's not forget that they MADE THE PLAYOFFS (no small feat in Buffalo) in year one, and let's not forget that the Bills are likely set up for long term success with what looks to be a quality QB, a selfless roster that plays as a team, a young defense that ranked SECOND in the league this year, 10 draft picks and $90 million in cap space, and a winning culture and process in place. Beane and McDermott have made a few mistakes, and they DO need to start piling up wins, but to say they've lost credibility or done anything less than a fantastic job thus far is inaccurate and shortsighted, in my opinion. On the contrary, what they've done in so short a time qualifies in my mind as just short of a miracle.

I would love for him to be a Bill, but I sincerely doubt he will last until round 3. He may be the first running back drafted.

Star continues Strong Second Half of Season https://buffalonews.com/2018/12/27/star-lotulelei-continues-strong-second-half-of-season-trent-murphys-slump-continues-vs-patriots/

There were two factors at work with EJ: 1.) There was no reasonable plan in place to develop him. The Bills coaches started him too soon, asked him to run a no-huddle offense from day 1 (seriously, who asks a raw rookie to do that?!), gave him a crappy offensive scheme to work with in general (who here likes Hackett Ball?), and gave up on him too soon. 2.) There are two kinds of inaccuracy. There's the kind Josh Allen has, where he'll throw 5 passes in a row right on the money, perfectly placed, then sail an easy throw over hisWR's head. Let's call this sporadic inaccuracy. Then there's the second kind, which EJ had, which is area code accuracy. That's where the QB more often than not gets the ball in the vicinity of his WR, but never accurately enough to allow YAC or a play to be made. EJ often hung his receivers out to dry or made it so that they had to make an insane, acrobatic leap to secure the ball. While Allen's type of inaccuracy is something you can overcome and tolerate, EJ's is not. So despite item 1 (bad infrastructure around QB, bad coaching, etc), it's questionable whether EJ Manuel would EVER have become an upper echelon QB. I will say this: The Bills damn well better give Josh Allen more support and more time than they gave EJ Manuel.

I assume he's referring to Tre'Davious White, Levi Wallace, and Taron Johnson.

Funny troll is funny.

Here's a whole article about how, while he has room for improvement, he already IS improving. It comes with video examples of both good and bad plays against the run and pass. My contention is that while he has lots of room for improvement, he has ALREADY shown major improvement. To say that he just can't or won't CONTINUE to improve is just as much of a guess as my saying that he will improve. No one knows. The fact that he is CURRENTLY improving (remember, player growth is not a straight line trending up, it's often an up-and-down process) leads me to believe that he hasn't yet reached his full potential. https://www.cover1.net/tremaine-edmunds-new-york-jets/ "Bob Babich, his position coach, and I talk about that often. Sometimes we’re having meetings and we’re just talking and leading meetings, and we talk about all the things that we put on his plate, and then you realize how young he is, and the fact that it’s a new position, because he was an outside linebacker in college. Now, you’re a middle linebacker in the National Football League, so young at what he’s doing, to see his growth is just incredible. You have high hopes for his future. He’s just going to keep getting better and better." -DC Leslie Frazier -and- "Those who believe that Edmunds was over-drafted or not worth the selection may not truly understand what he is asked to do. Most fans will chalk up Frazier’s statement about Edmunds becoming more “comfortable in this system” or how “his communication, handling all the different things that show up during a ball game that he struggled with early in the season” as coach-speak, but you will see all of those things in action in this article."

I find it unlikely that the Bills would achieve the #1 pass defense in the NFL and hold multiple quality passers under 180 yards passing with a middle linebacker who is bad at pass defense. Can he improve? Absolutely. Is he perfect? Certainly not. To say he has "not been good in coverage" overall because he has been beat at times is inaccurate.

To say that Edmunds has been just bad this year is incorrect. To say that he has been just GOOD this year is incorrect. The truth is this: He is good in pass coverage but has much work to do with regard to run fits and shedding blocks. Edmunds and his height, length, and ridiculous wingspan are big contributors to the Bills' league-leading pass defense. I do agree, though, that he leaves a lot to be desired with regard to stopping the run. Oh, and those who want to look at yesterday's bad showing from the linebackers need also to remember that Matt Milano -- arguably the Bills' best defensive player this season -- was out, and his replacement was UDFA Corey Thompson. That's a big dropoff and DEFINITELY contributed to the overall poor showing from the Bills linebackers. I'm not absolving Edmunds completely, though. He DOES have work to do to improve his game. But to say he's been "awful" or a bust or whatever? Nonsense. Oversimplification. Hyperbole. Foolishness.

Actually, I expect the Patriots to have Gilmore shadow Zay Jones all day, and then use bracket coverage with a corner and safety against Robert Foster to prevent the deep ball. Foster will have to win on comeback routes to contribute, and it may be incumbent upon Shady, McKenzie, Clay/Croom, and Allen to produce yards for the offense.

lol

Belichick will scheme to take Foster out of the game , limit Allen's running, and force the Bills to beat them through the air with McKenzie and Zay. Which is to say: Be wary of starting Foster this week.

I won't be there. I shelled out the money for Sunday Ticket this year. Figured I'd save money in the long run vs running up a bar tab every Sunday at Cheerful Bullpen. Last year it was still hopping at the end of the year, but that's only because the Bills were in the playoff hunt. I don't think you'll find the place packed, but given that it's Bills-Pats and that people are excited about Allen, I think there'll be a decent number of people there. On the other hand, I don't know that the turnout for a week 16, nothing-to-play-for game is the best representation of the Portland Bills Backers, any way. If you'll score some brownie points by hanging with the fam, it might be better to do that. Maybe someone else here who has been in the past couple weeks can shed some more light on recent turnout? Oh, don't get me wrong, I LOVE Seattle. I didn't mean to say that it's not a great place. It's such an awesome city. Ballard is my favorite. I visit often. I'm just saying that it's a shame to see thousands of locals getting priced out of the city due to Amazon and the like. It's a shame to see the homelessness situation there just like I see it here. And now the same type of mass infiltration is happening in Portland. I'm eventually gonna get priced out, and that sucks because I love the Pacific Northwest.

Meh, not to sidetrack this on politics (which njbuff already did), but I would argue that the Proud Boys (aka nazis by a different name) and their monthly intimidation rallies have been just as harmful to the peace of this city as ANTIFA. They're butthurt that what was once a bastion of proud racism (Oregon was founded as a "Whites only" state) has become a liberal stronghold. So they show up in ski masks with heavy weaponry to scare the locals. If anything is really dragging Portland down these days, though, it's rampant homelessness and skyrocketing real estate prices, not to mention the constant condo high rise construction projects. What happened to Seattle (and many other places) is now happening here. Gentrification ruining neighborhoods, population growth outpacing infrastructure growth causing constant traffic jams, etc... So in other words, the usual. Oh, and despite the above, Portland is NOT a craphole. It has thriving food, craft beer, cannabis, music, art, social, political, and sports culture, not to mention some of the nicest nature parks in the country. The huge population influx I just mentioned above is evidence that Portland is awesome. More people are moving here than the city can handle, and its one of the fastest growing cities in America. Wonder why that is? As to the original question posed in this post: Portland Bills Backers at the Cheerful Bullpen is an awesome time. Prize giveaways, Shout song after every TD, Labatt's, wings, etc...You'll have fun. Enjoy Portland!

I was under the impression that you couldn't own other sports teams IN OTHER MARKETS, but that it was permissable to own multiple teams in the same city/market. I could be way off base here.

The fact that the Bills are working out QBs tells me Anderson is retiring after this season (who can blame him?). Next year, Barkley will back up Allen and be the mentor/sounding board, while a younger developmental prospect of some sort will be brought in for training camp.

I can't bring myself to question McDermott and Beane any more when it comes to scrap heap and no-name free agent signings. I DID notice that the Rams waived Pharoah Cooper, who was a 1st team All-Pro kick returner in 2017. Can't help but think that signing him and stashing him for next year would be a great boost to our special teams.

Thanks. I was thinking the same. I have put in a waiver claim on Everett and Engram, though Engram scares me...ESPECIALLY if OBJ is back in the lineup. I have Brate, but he laid an egg with 1.6 points on Sunday. I've got some deep digging to do to determine which of the three to play. Weird year for TEs.

I am familiar with Hollywood Brown and N'Keal Harry...but I am not so familiar with the apparent top WR in the draft, DK Metcalf. Can anyone who IS familiar with him fill me in on some details? What is body type, speed, playing style, etc? Player comparisons? Given that the Bills have fallen to the 10th pick, I fear the top two OTs will be off the board and, as such, am warming to the idea of using a top pick on a WR.

I am in two leagues. In one of them, I coasted into the finals (which are a best of two series beginning this week). In the other, I went 11-2, only to see a guy who was 3-7 at one point come back from the dead and nearly beat me in the semi-finals. I won by ONE POINT because his QB Drew Brees somehow scored only 6 fantasy points, and my running back Christian McCaffrey caught two meaningless late game passes. One point. Phew. But I'll take it! Two finals matchups this week. Now if only I could find a tight end worth a damn...

Fair enough, Shaw. I think of Buddy Nix's old quote: "I don't care about the labor pains, just show me the baby". You're referencing the fact that Foster's college "Labor pains" didn't produce much of a "baby" at Alabama. I would argue, though, that what matters is what he's doing in the pros. So far, the "what's he doing in the pros" baby is looking pretty sharp. It's similar to Josh Allen in my mind. He didn't set the world on fire at Wyoming, but he's starting to show that he can play serious ball at the pro level. To me, what a guy does as a pro trumps whatever happened in college. I can't look at a guy who, since he's been starting for the Bills, has less yards than only TY Hilton and Amari Cooper, and not see a potential star...ESPECIALLY a guy who has been producing those results on a below average offense, with a sporadically accurate rookie QB. Time will tell.