jkeerie

I remember that draft. Both teams were locked into players they wanted and were afraid they wouldn't be there where the Bills were picking.

Case in point the 2012 draft...Oh yeah. Maybe not always the rule.

So don't get desperate. Desperation got us JP Losman. Desperation got us EJ Manuel. Beane's moves to this point have been measured and rational. I don't expect anything less from him moving forward.

They react too much to their fan base.

Excellent topic Macaroni! You just can never know for sure. Look at the Redskins. They took RG3 in the first and Kirk Cousins in the 4th. Which one turned out to be the better QB?

Everything that Beane has done has been cool and calculated. If you listened to his comments yesterday, he even has guys at One Bills Drive holding him in check, so that he doesn't make a move that will be more costly in the end. There is no reason to panic just because the Jets moved up. Many on this board have preconceived notions of who the best QB in this draft is. Quite frankly, none of us knows for sure. And right now...neither does Beane. If he comes to the conclusion that there is only one guy...I think he will make a most serious attempt to insure the Bills get that guy. But...he will need to be damn sure before he mortgages the future. He's using his head...not his emotions to make his decisions. If you react the way many on this board react, you end up grabbing a Blaine Gabbert or a Christian Ponder...christening them your franchise QB just because they were the top rated QBs that year. (Heck...you can throw in EJ Manual into that mix.) There are a number of good QBs in this draft and each is flawed in some way. After workouts and visits to One Bills Drive, the Bills will decide on who their guy is...and will do their best to get him.

He needs to go to Canada. He won't have to kneel for their anthem.

And you know...you would think the NFL would love to see two teams who have never won the Superbowl duke it out for their very first one. That would garner more fan interest in the sport. They are losing fans not just due to the poor officiating but because that officiating tends to favor the same teams. People don't want dynasties. They want to see THEIR team have a fighting chance. That's when they can get excited!

Not to mention out of the conference so Belicheck would only have to face him once every 4 yrs.

Wentz wasn't a gamble. I actually would have been thrilled if the Bills drafted Watson. I'm not talking bargain bin shopping...but to mortgage your future on a single pick that may or may not pan out is taking a huge risk. With the number of QB needy teams this year it will take an awful lot to move up. I don't see a "cream" QB in this draft. I see a number of QB's that have a lot of potential. If the Bills can sit where they are and get two impact players...one of which may be a QB...I'd prefer if they did that...particularly if you are talking multiple first round picks in multiple years to trade up. If you watched a lot of college ball this year, you will have noted a number of freshman and sophomore QBs that will be available in the future.

Nope. There is no sure bet QB in this year's draft. If you guess wrong you set the team back for another 3 years. This team has a lot of holes to fill. Depending on what we do in free agency, I'd stay where we are and draft LB, DT, WR, OL or whichever QB falls to us with our first 4 picks. Build depth with remainder of picks.

I like Tyrod and would have loved to see him succeed in a Bills uniform. He has a lot of the qualities one would want in their starting QB. Unfortunately, the ability to play the position in today's NFL isn't one of them. There were times he was fun to watch...and other times when it was just excruciating. For those good times...and playing well enough to help the team get into the playoffs this year...I thank him as well. Likely he will be gone after this season. Perhaps he'll go to a team with more offensive talent and an OC that can design an offense around his skill set. I won't blame him for today's loss any more than any of the other offensive players who failed to make plays when they had opportunities, or who committed untimely penalties that killed drives. They just didn't get the job done today. There's a lot that needs fixing in the off season...but also a lot to build on. Go Bills!

Actually...I played with the NFL playoff machine on ESPN. There's a scenario where the Bills, Chargers, and Ravens all finish 9 and 7 and they all make the playoffs. The Chargers win their division knocking out KC...and it all comes down to the Jags beating the Titans in the final week. It puts the Jags in and the Titans out and the Bills in the final slot.

I have heard more players from more teams use "process" in their postgame chats with the media. It's not indigenous to McDermott. I do agree the winning could fix a lot of things. In fact, the Bills winning to get to 5-2 fixed a lot of thoughts that this teams was tanking, the team had enough talent, etc. Well...the problem is the Bills could not afford to lose ANYBODY to injury. Once the injuries started hitting the team, the reality of how fragile this roster is hit. And...the Bills had to rely on more of those old veterans to pick up the slack. Those old veterans were available and they came relatively cheap, though. Before the Bills will be in a position to add some younger veterans in addition to their draft picks, they need to free up cap space. The move of Dareus was for just that reason. Beane and McDermott inherited a mess. They likely knew it would get messier before it got better.

Couldn't agree more with the original poster. I think it was in the movie "The Replacements" where the cocky QB told Shane Falco, the replacement QB, "the worst that they can do for guys like you is give you hope." I think that's the worst pretender teams can give to their fans is hope. As to trading Darby, after Gilmore left, he said "that will be me in a couple of years"...like he was also going to be seeking a big contract and the Bills likely wouldn't sign him. So, I think the Bills got something for him now rather than watch another player walk. We're lamenting that these players are all becoming "stars" on their new teams. We're negating that the reason these players are now "stars" is that they are playing on teams that are loaded with stars and talent. They have joined better teams and are now playing better because others around them are elevating their play. I do hope that McDermott doesn't limit his decisions as to who "fits" to just the players. He has a couple of coaches that aren't good fits (offense in particular) that need to be replaced. We'll have to wait and see on that one.

This team is who we thought they'd be at the beginning of the season. We never expected to win more than 5 games before the season started. You could say that we got rid of good talent either by trade or by not resigning them...but in truth, we exchanged our talent for other equally talented players. The exception being Dareus. We got nothing but a draft pick...but we will have cap relief in the future. So, the Bills are proving the initial prognosticators correct. I know we are playoff starved, but does anyone seriously want these Bills to barely make the playoffs? All we'd do is reduce our draft position. The switch to Peterman was as McD said, a calculated risk. Well...the risk cost us a game...although with this defense, there's no guarantee we would have won anyway. If anything, we are seeing how truly far away we are from being contenders and not pretenders. We've drafted middle of the pack for too long and the teams that are now doing well, that were perennial losers, had the advantages of a lot of high draft picks and lots of cap space to build their teams. We drafted poorly...trading away picks...and then signed high-priced contracts that got us into cap jail. Finish the season. If we only win one or two more games. Fine. Go into the off season, knowing better what the team needs. Use the draft picks we've accumulated and start the rebuilding process. Learn from the mistakes made this season. Please get rid of Dennison. Our issues are more than QB and o-line related on offense.

I was just about to post this. With Tyrod, he wants a quick 3 step ball out. So...he puts in Peterman to run it. Where is that offense??? He needs to go!

NFL Today said Beane was there.

Outstanding! BTW...I love Tyrod too...even have his jersey...but this move makes sense for this season and the next.

Really appreciate this! Thanks for your very well written description.

This was a very good analysis. Thanks to the OP for posting this. I think it all came down to Tyrod versus Dennison. Dennison is either stubborn or incapable of designing an offense that would be more suitable to Tyrod's talents. I like Tyrod, but in Dennison's scheme he was clearly a square peg in a round hole. Peterman is a much better fit. To Tyrod's credit, he is being a team player. Also...knowing Lynn's knowledge of Tyrod's ability...and how to defend it, I think this was actually a more advantageous time to make the switch than later in the season. The way this offense was playing, this team, even though in the lead for a wildcard position at present, really wasn't looking like they were headed in that direction. If the offense is going to work, it's going to work with Peterman. The Bills will likely be in a better position next year, one way or the other as well. If Peterman is successful, the Bills don't need to package a boat load of picks to move up for a QB and can let the draft fall to them. If he is not successful, they will have a clearer picture of what they need.

They just lost Sherman. They need a body badly. He knows there system. It's a logical move.

Best post in this thread. I agree with you one hundred percent. We had "beginner's luck" at the start of the season and all got hyped that this was the year we end the playoff drought. Now we're seeing reality. As to Tolbert...there's such a thing as "being loyal to a fault." I asked my brother at the beginning of the season, if with all the trades, etc, he would rather see the Bills end up with a losing record and a top ten pick so they can get the QB of the future without having to trade way up in the draft, or if he'd rather they make the playoffs. He opted for the latter...with the presumption of if the Bills make the playoffs, they won't have to draft high for a QB. Well...we now are at the point where we may end up with a middling record, and a poor ranking in the draft. This is the worst position to be in if you need a QB. I truly hope they let the draft come to them and don't package all those picks to get a QB. We clearly have a lot more holes on this team than can be filled in free agency. For now...please, start some of the younger guys and see if there may be one or two less holes that need to be filled in the draft.

After the Bills got blown out by the Jets, we all wanted to see how the team responded. I was particularly interested in how the coaching staff would respond. Today, we saw. Very disappointing to say the least. The Saints are an excellent team. In truth, I was hoping for a Bills win, but not expecting one. What I didn't expect though was this thorough of a beating. It seems the coaching staff learned nothing from the Jets game. They refuse to make any adjustments in personnel or scheme. It gets worse with every play and after halftime. What talent you do have must fit the scheme you are trying to run. If it doesn't, and no adjustments are made, you get the result we saw today. So...if the coaches are going to stubbornly stand by their schemes, then I'd like to see them start the guys they drafted to see if they fit. If they do, they could enjoy success this season. If they don't, then you've just added more draft needs to your list.

If we're going to keep Dennison as our O Coordinator, we should start Peterman. As much as I like Tyrod, he's not a good fit for what Dennison wants to do. He wants the ball out quick, and Tyrod doesn't do that.