FireChans

Can’t all of these arguments be made for Milano?

Tyrod is about to be enshrined

yeah, when Ray Lewis played poorly it was because his OLB whats-his-name was out!

He wouldn’t have made the Pro Bowl if the ILB from the Steelers stayed healthy.

If Milano and Edmunds were both UFAs, I’d put money on Milano. But you’re right, the timing of their deals make it moot. I do find it frightening that Edmunds looked a whole lot better with Milano back. Obviously, teammates matter especially on defense. But Edmunds was supposed to be All-Pro level. Not sure he’ll ever reach that if he needs a decent LBer next him to play well.

That’s not the only option. The other option is doing “nothing.” Just keep drafting JAGs and filling holes. Also, quite importantly, just because management thinks they are trading for an upgrade doesn’t mean I agree. If the Rams traded for Carson Wentz, I wouldn’t agree with the move. But because I agree Stafford is an upgrade, I do. I’m not judging anything on the benefit of hindsight. I loved the Diggs trade at the time. If Diggs sucked and demanded a trade, I’d be disappointed. But that wouldn’t change that I agreed with the trade. You have to accept that you can make the right decision and have things not work out. That’s gambling and that’s life.

A. Are you good enough to make a run? B. Are you actually acquiring an upgrade?

No. That’s a really silly way to look at things.

I mean I’ll complain if they make bad moves. If they make good moves and fall short, so be it.

Yes. I mean, what else can you do? In the salary cap era, we won’t keep our team together long anyway.

Tre, Edmunds, Allen, Oliver. Only 2 of those players are pretty much guaranteed to be Bills 4 years from now and even that could change. A team like the Jets have only 3 of their first round picks on their roster and honestly who knows about any of them being Jets in 4 years. The Rams saw the insanity of pick valuation and flew in the face of it.

Incorrect. I could spend my time listing out every bum drafted but that would be wasting time. You’re all over the place. Mario Williams was an All-Pro in Buffalo and our best player for multiple years. How was he a bad acquisition? Because we didn’t win a Super Bowl? What is your lens for judging good or bad acquisitions? No one has ever said that there’s zero risk in acquiring an FA or trading for a player. That’s a Wizard of Oz level strawman. Everyone has heard of Albert Haynesworth. You aren’t proving anything.

They are great examples that what? That no player is a guarantee? You got me. Enlightening stuff.

You have to cut Bills fans some slack. This was still in the dark days of thinking first round picks and not QB play were important. Some have come around with trading up with Allen. Even more with the Diggs trade. But there are still some poor souls out there rubbing their hands together in anticipation that drafting the 4th best DB prospect at pick 30 will our salvation. Pity them.

I would take every single one of those guys as backups lol.

I mean, yes and no. You can't use strict math like that. Every team had a "chance" to win the Superbowl, but do you think the Chiefs had the same odds to win as the Washington Football team? The answer is clearly no. The best teams that make the postseason have the best chance to win. You want to be a part of the "best teams."

I don't understand how watching the landscape of the NFL this isn't more obvious. This is what true contenders do. What the Pats have done, no team will ever do. I feel confident in saying that. If your goal is to compete for Super Bowls for 20 years straight, you will miss your chance by looking to the future. Some teams, like the Seahawks, have remained in that playoff space because they have a great QB. But how many years have they had a Super Bowl worthy squad? Step 1 is acquire a franchise QB. Step 2 is build a team around him to compete for a 3 year window. Step 3 is tear down the team for a turnaround. Step 4 is rebuild a team to compete for a 3 year window. Most teams suck at step 1. A lot of teams suck at step 3 and 4 (looking at the Falcons here). But that's how it works.

Haha 90% of these names are old as dirt. And they aren't all even good examples. Rosen was a proven vet? Case Keenum signing a front-loaded prove it deal after a miracle year was a big gamble? Deion retired and was off the books in one season. Like what are we even talking about here? Maybe redo your list a bit. I believe it is the logical conclusion of the "what if they aren't a star in your system" argument that you could make for every player acquisition ever. Acquiring a ProBowl level player for a later first is safer in terms of playing ability than acquiring a late first round rookie. Point blank. Period.

I think the answer is that the Rams don't care. You are ABSOLUTELY correct that they are gambling on this team in the next 2 years. But they don't care. McVay lost confidence in Goff's ability to get that team where they wanted to be. I think we all agree that on paper, Stafford is an upgrade. So they rolled the dice on the dude. They think Stafford, in McVay's system, with that roster currently, is one of the best teams in football and better than the 2020 team. We all agree they could be right. The risk of being a poser contender was already there with Goff at the helm. Their SB odds have gotten better. Their division winning odds have gotten better. At a certain point, you have to double down. You have to say, "we have to risk a few painful years in the future to win the big one." The Chiefs have done that and the pain will come. The Eagles did that and they won, they re going through it now. The Falcons did that, lost in the SB but the pain arrived. Hell, the Pats most recently did that. I would LOVE for the Bills to go all in and put their chips on the table. That's how you give yourself the best chance to win. Your goal shouldn't be winning 10+ games every year but not being good enough. I'll take a few 9 win or 8 win seasons to win the big one. Everyone would.

But they were already there, weren't they? I mean, what QB they could draft in the late 25's was going to put them over the hump with their short window?

That's a pretty slim distinction. Player A is a star at the highest level of sports. Will he be a star here? Player B is a star in college, plays for a big time program against a group of players that 99% of them will never be good enough to be in the NFL. Will he be a star here? The risk is CLEARLY higher with player two. Like not even close. ~50% of first round picks bust. If you think that two late first round picks at CB had a lesser risk of being bums in LA than Jalen Ramsey, you are just incorrect.

Bad premise. You don't know this about a rookie you've scouted either. The bolded is literally exactly what the Pro Personnel department does.

Noah Igbinoghene Deandre Baker Mike Hughes T. J. Watt Vernon Butler Damarious Randall Jimmie Ward Alec Ogletree AJ Jenkins Muhammad Wilkerson Jahvid Best Last 10 years of pick #30. 1 great player, 2 good players. Oh nooooooooooooooooo

Or you trade up higher.

I hear you. But honestly, what does jamming Kelce prevent you to do with a guy like Hill? They can get you on the crossers without middle zone, but other than that, what are you schematically limited by?