wilcoam

Is this what it's getting to? Celebrating comp picks as we let FAs walk? Sad. Actually Scott, we can't even celebrate getting the picks, DW first let the free agents walk Then when the NFL offered compensation, he said we don't need em He took his cue from the average Bills fan They told him signing depth at 1M - 3M per season to fill out the roster in 2017 Was more important than free high draft picks at $500K between 2018 and 2022 Go figure... That being said I have no issue not getting comp picks if we actually went out and signed great FA talent To replace the talent we lost Did we? Nope And will these FA signings result in a minimum 10-11 win season with this FA crop? Doubt it So we don't make the playoffs in 2017 and we don't get the free comp picks in 2018 Great plan jc

Great post Though I think the reason for trading other than the obvious extra high draft pick you get is because the players you wanted all got taken Now none of us have any clue who these players are My initial guess is Adams, Lattimore, Davis, Williams, Davis, Hooker, and the surprising dropping Allen, and say they all get picked And our Bills decide they don't want a QB, RB, Howard, or Foster You look for that partner trade down Maybe you even had a tent deal down in advance However IMO if any of the above slip to #10 its because lots of QB's got taken Then I would not trade out, I'd grab Hooker or Lattimore cos you're getting a 3-5 player at #10 Geez, I think Allen is a #3-#4, so if he drops to 10, you take him, its not outta left field, he'll eventually replace Kyle But hey that's just me... jc

Of course, why would the average Bills want a 2018 3rd round compensation pick from the league for losing Gilmore and or 2018 4th round compensation for losing Woods? Apparently we are better off without the compensation Afterall these high profile FA's signings like Holmes, Ducasse, Poyer, and Davis, will turn out to be better long term finds for our Bills Than say lousy future 3rd and 4th round picks And we're elated to be shelling out million dollar to 3 million per year contacts instead of say fixed $500K one's Shall we all do a happy dance? jc

Depending n whose mock you follow I see three scenerios unfolding in this draft 1. Two QB's go b4 us forcing one of a Hooker, Lattimore, or Williams, to drop to us 2. No QB's go and all the above are gone by our pick, in which case we take Howard/Foster, or we try and find a partner to trade back the problem being, folks usually only trade up to take a QB, 2 of which will be gone 3. We take the 2nd best CB, Conley, or the 2nd best WR, Davis I can't see Adams still being there at #10, he likely goes top 5, and none of the RT's are top 10 value My dark horse is DT Allen, who should be going top 3, but has a shoulder injury, lol, so folks have him dropping to #12-#13 He'd be a hell of a long term replacement for Kyle jc

If our Bills take a back up QB in the first, and then an injured CB in the 2nd, they will be replicating last years feat of having almost no or little impact in the draft year from incoming new players While I get that the draft is more about getting production over a 4-5 year period, a mediocre team, doesn't have that kind of luxury, unless of course you are punting 2017 I'm just saying you can get the same long term production from 2 other high prospects while still having an impact in 2017 jc

I would not say 2017 tackle prospects are weak, there's still 3 good one's to be found in the first two rounds There's just not as many as they may have been in past years And they may not line up to be worthy picks when the Bills go to the podium jc

You misunderstood my sarcasm, I never said Goodwin was a big loss Except because he was on a drafted contract he was at least inexpensive I'm just pointing the former teams of the dumpster diving WR;s we sought in return are not lamenting their loss either, lol At the end of the day, we didn;t upgrade the starting WR position The fact over a 2 year span more starters left Not to mention these sideways moves have not get us closer to winning 10 games plus As a fan there's not a single thing about our offense to be more excited about going into 2017 Though there's still the draft jc

Gossip, but interesting gossip... jc

Unfort I highly doubt Listenbee makes the team let alone has a breakout season but I''d love to be proved wrong Though on the basis on whom we just signed at WR recently A breakout season amounts to about 25 receptions That would actually be a whole 9 more than the incredible talented Andre Holmes had last season Exciting... jc

Nobody knows if any of the dumpster diving WR's we signed this offseason will make an impactful contribution All I know is over a 2 year span we lost Goodwin, Hogan, and Woods and replaced them with Holmes, Brown, and a bunch of nobodies Meanwhile the Phins lost no-one and went out and upgraded their offense with the addition of Julius Thomas Its hard not to be uber-jealous I mean who team has the better receiving corps and is most likely to win 10 games plus next year? jc

Just saying it's all the QB sure is an easy way to dismiss any criticism that can be put on Whaley. His record is what it is, but we could miss the playoffs for the next 10 years and the homers on this board would still be saying how much talent there is on the roster outside the QB position. I concur 100%, like every other NFL GM, regardless of our QB situation, its DW's job to assemble a team, each and every year, than can, at minimum, win 10 games plus - If he achieves it, then in comparison to all the other GM's, he succeeded, if he does not, he failed So, for all the message board koolaid homers, who insist with vigour every single off-season that our moves are brilliant, and that all the previous drafts by DW were brilliant, and or all the FA's pickups are brilliant, and or the trades are brilliant, the totality of all these combined moves, has not amounted to anything successful, its a fact Hey maybe 2017 will be different, perhaps all the FA's we allowed to leave, and all dumpster dive depth we signed results in a talent upgrade, and we go out and win 10-11 games, I will be the first person to say, wow DW did a heck of a job this off season, but if we don't, and its more than likely we do not have a successful season in 2017, and we only win 6-8 games this year, then I can say with certainty, he did not make the right moves this off season, not even close, sorry but the plain ole truth.... jc

I disagree Baskin, look if it took you 2 years to realize Rex messed up the D (lets be honest 75% of the folks on message boards loved the Rex signing and drank the koolaid) you should consider that you also have it wrong on DW I'm also not saying he's horrible GM, he's not, he's pedestrian, and I was also once a big supporter of DW, I still would like him to succeed, but clearly his moves have not resulted in any successful season to date, the lack of winning has shown DW to be a middling mediocre GM, and I can say with almost certainty by the moves he's made this off season I don't think he's assembled a successful team in 2017 that can win 10 games, sure I'd love to be be proved wrong, but I don;t think I will be, sorry jc

Our Bills were not strapped for cash They actually spent quite a bit in FA And ended up so far signing more players than they have lost However they allocated it to the other positions and or were able to find players willing to sign in Buffalo who play other positions And the focused on players who were currently depth back ups not established starters Dimarco being the exception Just saying jc

It is a good article I posted this in another thread that Kaep would make an ideal backup to TT this year if the $$$ is reasonable Not as assured about RG3 but I also wouldn't rule it out jc

It really depends how our Bills rate him on our board If they think with certainty he's an NFL future starting QB then you have to take him However if they only grade him as a potential future starter you pass Because their are better players available at that slot that will have a bigger impact over the next 5 years And at that point it does not really make a difference what position they play except RB I think Foster is falling, and Adams, Hooker, Lattimore, will all gone It'll be a CB, Williams or Davis, or Howard and either or is fine by me I'd be thrilled if Hooker fell to us, beyond excited, way more than drafting a QB, that's a potential transformative player jc

Sorry, I disagree Baskin A GM who pits together a 'good' roster should be able to at least had 'a' successful season, and overcome the odds, despite the QB The results on the field suggest the roster wasn't as good as you thought Look there's a whole body of work here over the last 4 years and no question the talent on the field has immensely improved DW deserves credit for making some nifty trades, bringing some nice FA's, etc However DW keeps making huge mistakes when it comes to leaving our team shorthanded in both WR and QB depth And his drafts have been mediocre He gives up too many draft picks instead of acquiring more He does not plan properly with regard to acquiring more comp picks But at the end of the day, the accolades and or criticisms of his work, we don't have successful winning seasons Until we do DW's work does not achieve a passing grade jc

I share Kaep's politics So likely do alot of players in the NFL and on our Bills However a decision to bring him in as a backup to TT should not be based on anybody's politics, but his abilities as a football player And I think he would make a superb backup QB in Buffalo A big upgrade to what we had in EJM However it would have to be reasonable money wise and likely on short term contract And I suspect contractual speaking our Bills and Kaep would likely not be on the same page Great idea though

Apparently the criteria for claiming a GM has done a heck of job is that he put 'talent' on the team, lol I guess winning and making the playoffs is irrelevant Look I have no issue giving DW credit for a number off great individual moves However the addition of all the moves as a measure of success has been a minimum 4 years+ of failure We will see what happens in 2017 But if folks here can't say with certainty that we will win 10 games plus this year You wil understand when I say all of DW's transactions this year will not have amounted to much except more failure jc

You're right CD1, its not fair to evaluate DW, on the lack of success our Bills had b4 he worked here So I'll evaluate DW only on his work under Nix and since May 2013 when DW became our GM I also won't evaluate it based on a personal like or dislike, too much of that happens on these message boards And I personally like Whaley, I want him to succeed with our Bills, why not? So I will evaluate him on the only thing that counts Wins and losses on the playing field Unfort when you do that the evaluation remains the same We have not yet had a successful NFL season yet with DW working either as the GM or as Nix's assistant That's factual Perhaps the single exception, and its a reach, is the 2014 campaign, when we at least won 3 game more than we had won in 2013 Still the totality of DW's work has not yet resulted in a single successful season That is despite message board fans falling all over themselves about our drafts and FA signings and HC/OC hirings 'Brilliant' work yet none of it worked, lol Again, that's not saying anyone who has an opinion that he's the guy that can make it work in the future might not be dead on Maybe he can, we don't know the future But if you look back at his past work, his record, the totality of not making the playoffs in 4+ consecutive years, And claim he did a 'heck of a job' I have to say, with all sincerity, and backed by facts, you are congratulating failure Sorry... jc

Look, I'd like to see DW succeed in Buffalo, he's young, likes working in the region, and was schooled in the Steelers org, but I can't understand how fans can point to our recent overall record, the unsuccessfulness of our 2 decade situation, and then claim anybody associated currently with Buffalo Bills management is doing 'one heck of a job' Factually speaking its a rather inaccurate and misleading description After-all the objective of an NFL GM is not to just put together a 53 man roster, but one that wins more games than its loses, and one that qualifies for the playoffs, if not on an annual basis, but over any 5-6 year period, numerous times, let alone winning playoff games That's the inaccuracy of the OP's grand statement, you seem to be giving credit to DW just for putting a roster together and ignoring the actual lack of success on the field, sorry but that's crazy, because the reality is DW to date has completly failed, as have the Pegs, and or anyone else who has a hand in the putting together this teams roster, which includes the hiring of coaches And that's a fact, not an opinion!!!!! But sure, that is the past, and not the future, clearly if you have an opinion that DW has the skills to put together a future roster that can win 10 games or more, not just in 2017 or 2018, but on an annual basis, I can understand a claim you think he the guy who can build a a consistant winner in NY State, ok then make that point, but then he has to actually do it, you know achieve something, in order for anyone to get on a message board and make a grandiose claim he is doing a 'heck of a job' Remember, all those folks who jumped on message boards to claim our Bills had a great draft in 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016, and then signed great players in the off season, and for made great trades, were incorrect, that totality was nothing even near great, the opinions on the individual moves aside Just saying... jc

IMO the huge holes in the starting lineup are in no particular order, RT, WR#2, WR#3, Corner #1, and Safety #1 I think Hyde is your starting nickel CB and starting safety will come in the first 3 rounds of the draft As our Bills will play in nickel and dime 65% of the time That's why I think we won't be drafting any front 7 players I also think starting WR#2 and Corner will come in the first 3 rounds of the draft I don't think we take a QB high but I could be wrong I'd love to see the 4th round pick to be a WR#3 but it could just as easily be another corner/safety or tackles, or depth QB I think we are fine at TE, RB and everywhere else on the O jc

No question Z Brown's play, and specifically against the run, deteriorated, end of season However through the first 11-12 games or so he was playing at an all pro all star level Should he re-sign here, with no offense to all the other FA's we signed, he would be the highest profile player, and most talented, to return He also adds immense versatility as we would have 3 potential MLB's/ILB's of the 4 starting LB's I just wonder how many times will our Bills will actually use 3 LB's on the field in 2017 Its noted Sean's scheme plays in nickel 65% of the time That means only 2 LB's will be on the field 65% of the time, likely Ragland, and one of the Brown's Then on 3rd down, most likely Alexander on the outside supplanting both Brown's I'm just pointing out maybe why our Bills are not eagerly chasing Zack, for he is not a 3 down starting player in this scheme The again neither was Lorax jc

I know some folks here lecture all the time about continually drafting QB's every year until you hit But if you look at the picks the Jets have used/wasted on Petty, Hackenberg, and Smith That's 3 starting players they missed out on Hey I hope they grab another one at #6, that will likely make it 4 And it assures one more better player drops to us jc

From the mocks I am reading, which of course will change radically between now and next month, all the QB's all sliding out of the first 10 picks, and thus neither Adams, Hooker, or Lattimore will still be there at #10, as they should all be gone by the 7th pick What is more likely there, is Foster, a bunch of QB's, Howard, Williams, Corey, and and multiple DB's That being said I don't care who our Bills pick and what position the player plays, its irrelevant, I just hope he is healthy, can make an impact both this year and the next 4 years beyond, and is a game changing type player, that opposing team have to game plan around I am also secretly hoping we can find a trading partner and trade down, because I think we have more starting holes than high draft picks, and I'd like to see our team start to acquire more picks than say consistantly trading them away jc

Good info So b4 the injury Powell was basically WR #4 after Goodwin Higher on the depth chart than his actual season snaps jc