Einstein's Dog

A lot of us here were banging the drum for a top tier WR right from the start (you and I included). For Doc to think that the Houston game made Beane come to this realization seems a cheap shot. We all want the Bills to be Super Bowl contenders every year. But the outset of this year with the retool and Diggs drama, there was a drastically different feel (and yes, this was in large part due to Beane's actions). The "really lucky" part for Beane and Co this year seems to be the 4-2 start and winning the squeakers over NYJ and Miami, and the Division being an unexpectedly easy laugher. The plan seemed to be this was going to be a second half team - get a top tier WRmid-season, get Milano back (and maybe Hyde) and make a late run to save the jobs of McBeane. As for the Bills had no choice, I disagree. Beane had several choices D Johnson (looks like would have been a terrible choice now - released by Balt), D Adams (too much a diva in my book, and expensive), and DHop to name a few. It's possible Beane paid a little extra to outbid KC and get his choice of A Cooper (over DHop). Jury is still out on that move - but A Cooper is younger, saying the right things so far, and the future looks bright with him in a Bills uni.

Wow, this statement has so much I disagree with: Too late in the game? We still have another third of the season to go. Cooper should be totally integrated by the playoffs. Even with Diggs you think we needed 2 more outside guys? What? We needed to replace G Davis which they did with Coleman. Gross incompetence? How has it blown up? The Bills are sitting at 11-3, with a wrapped up home playoff spot. "Piss more asset management"? They got Cooper for pennies on the dollar. Upstream it was called "really lucky". With consideration to all the above bizarre takes it's hard for me to give much credence to your "Obviously it was an audible".

I don't know if you follow the Bills but they had a unique situation with one of their WRs - Diggs. He was a locker room cancer and a decision needed to be made on how to deal with his future. The FO decided to trade him. Trading him put the team into difficult cap constraints. So no, this was not business as usual. Any plan at that point was going to have drawbacks. What was yours?

Was it just "really lucky" out of Beane or was it his plan all along? You're suggesting he got this idea after the Houston game whereas I believe he had the outline of the plan in his head prior to letting Diggs go. Beane may not have known the exact WR but I tend to think he planned on getting one. The drafting of only 1 WR was a signal to me that the Diggs position was not going to be a full rebuild situation. The lame additions of Claypool and MVS were never serious candidates in most of our minds (with the exception of a few that the OP appealed to). If it hadn't been Cooper it easily could have been someone else. DHop/D Adams/D Johnson That's not luck, that's a choice.

What the OP doesn't give as an option is Hyde. The Bishop/Elam play time is more for future seasons. Nice to see get some game time this year but they aren't really factors in this years playoff plans. Hyde, on the other hand, has the potential to upgrade the team for this years playoffs. Would like to see him get some game time.

I think Beane will certainly be more careful. He might have taken a rental for the half year knowing the damage would be mitigated if they didn't work out. I think that is part of the A Cooper hesitation. Got to see how he fits and if he's real.

It is my contention that it was cap constraints that kept the top tier WR off the roster for so long. You think it was clear in game 1 now, even though that was one of the better "everyone eats" games? The C Samuel deal is not really relevant to the Diggs situation, it happened before him. MVS and Claypool were given very little money and were always viewed as stop gap measures. Cap constraints along with the monkey wrench that the Diggs situation brought in could make for an out of box solution. They didn't draft two rookie WRs and that was always a sign to me. They kept Hydes locker for him and that's another sign. 2024 season was done on an austerity budget with reinforcements coming in late, and yet McDermott has them sitting at 11 and 2.

My saying pre-season meant prior to the season, Beane has rectified the WR room with A Cooper. But prior to A Cooper there was a dramatic year to year downgrade in talent in the WR room. Same with the safeties. Going from Poyer/Hyde to Rapp/Hamlin was looked at as a talent downgrade done for cost savings. The safety room is now being upgraded with Hyde over Hamlin. I agree that overall Beane has done a good job. But in September it looked like it was going to be the first year where Beane had downgraded the talent from the prior year. Yes, they were calling it a retool, but we saw what looked to be downgrades at positions, replaced with cheaper labor done as a way to meet cap restraints. Dealing with the cap is a big part of Beane's job, so this year was looking like he was taking his medicine for supplying talent in prior years. McDermott took this retooled group and has them sitting at 11-2 with talent on the way - A Cooper, Milano, Hyde. Good times ahead.

You think the idea just popped into their head during the Houston game? You think after dealing Diggs they said to each other we'll draft one WR to replace G Davis (as was always the plan) and have MVS and Claypool take Diggs place? Wow, I can't believe that. I think they were looking/planning the whole time. They only drafted one WR signaling they didn't want to rebuild but instead stay with a retool, but had cap restrictions. I thought they would get one with Tre money but that didn't happen. Then felt they could swing a trade, someone would come available - a DHop/Amari/Kupp/Evans/Metcalf/D Adams. The above happened and is working and seems like so much of a better plan that I give Beane/McD the benefit of the doubt. It was risky in that we were shorthanded for the first part of the season. In similar fashion they had Hyde as a play for the end of the season. They chose to make do with Hamlin filling in the spot until Bishop could take it over. Bishop isn't ready, and Hamlin was never the answer so the premeditated call back of Hyde is being activated. Good move.

So you're trying to say the contract and dead hit with Diggs was unavoidable? That's a stretch. You do understand that Beane is responsible for the contracts, right? When a big mistake is made, such that it impacts the talent level of the team, Beane should be held accountable. The whole discussion of whether this year was a "retool" or "rebuild" were because of choices Beane was making for cap compliance- which again is under the direction of Beane.

Yes, and the quote said he lost some weight since mid-November. This is not some type of wasting away from year to year. It was two weeks of not lifting heavy- one of those weeks had Thanksgiving in it. And while I'm at it, the "game shape" thing seems completely overblown (if not an outright fallacy) for a Safety. All football positions are not equal. As to why pick up Hyde, because he is an excellent player upgrading a position of need! This is like asking me why get A Cooper, the Bills were doing just fine with the role M Hollins was doing. It's improvement. Apparently people see this differently than me, but for me it has looked for some time that Hamlin was the weak link out there. And Hyde is an excellent player. While it may be difficult to see, A Cooper has brought the offensive capabilities to another level. The defensive additions of Milano and Hyde will do the same on that side of the ball. It's starting to look like the plan was to gear up for a second half run - upgrade the WR mid-season, get Milano back, get Hyde back and have a strong second half of the season. McDermott/Josh surprised everyone by taking this undermanned group to 11-2 prior to being full strength.

All but the most diehard anti-McD haters admit that this is a stand out coaching year by McDermott. The regular season from now to the end is just an exercise in how high of a seed the Bills get. They have already exceeded expectations of most people. Beane however is a different story. The preseason expectations were lower than normal because the talent level appeared to dip - that's on Beane. Yes, the Diggs disaster was a large factor - but Beane's fingerprints are all over that - from the responsibility for the contract, to the ultimate decision to trade Diggs away. The "retool' was brought about by Beane. The WR room looked pathetic, the S room looked suspect, and the treatment of the OL was risky, along with a huge change in leadership. McDermott bailed Beane out. It's no longer a big deal that the Bills played half the season with a bottom 5 WR room. Just as many people bought into the laughable "everyone eats" nonsense at WR many have been fooled into thinking Hamlin was a legitimate starting S (spoiler alert Hyde wasn't brought in to coach from the PS). While many tie McDermott and Beane together, I would hope Beane is sending McD a really nice XMas gift this year. Looks like they'll be together for several more years.

That's what you came away with from his press conference?? Your comment prompted me to listen to it. He had personal trainers, was running, and stopped his heavier lifting for a little while in mid-November. I didn't hear where he said he thought he was too thin or needed to gain weight. I did hear him say how he felt healthier than he did at this same time last year. One item that seemed noteworthy to me is how the story of him coming back kind of morphed throughout the press conference. First he didn't want to answer who contacted who, then came up with this half-baked story about some connection when he congratulated Phillips. Then later in answering other questions, he dropped those pretenses and said things like "after I was contacted" I continue to believe the plan is to have Hyde start for the playoffs. And I like it!

Yeah, I thought this was a pre-planned event. Now their talking about weight changes, at this stage?

Why doesn't the #2 seed factor in? That's pretty important too. The two seed would secure having the first two playoff games at home (with winning of course). Much better to get someone like Pitt or Houston at home. So to me, if the #1 or #2 are affected, Josh will be in there. And he will be getting enough TDs to keep his streak going.