Einstein's Dog

C'mon give Damar a little credit, he took out the opponents starting QB with a legal hit. He should get a little credit, no one would be saying much if Damar had puzzied out and laid off, given his circumstances, but he didn't do that. I think most of us believe Damar to be a place holder until we get others back - and Bishop develops. But it's nice to see Damar make an impactful physical play. Looks like he can be an excellent team player type backup. That's more than I expected.

Happy - I think you're being a little too harsh here. This looks to be a sure-handed pass catching unit. No diva attitudes hindering an "everyone eats" philosophy. I didn't see any bad drops of the kind we had from G Davis or McKenzie or even Diggs at the end. On the other side MH Jr had a bad drop. My fear of not having a top tier WR was the based on the fear of a M Hollins or MVS with a substantial role. Hollins did well out of the gate, and MVS did as expected. But it seems like every top tier WR these days comes with a diva attitude - like D Adams last year in a win say that he needs the ball more. While Kincaid didn't get much, no one expects to hear much complaining from him, he'll take the W. So for me, I think you can say so far this looks like an excellent catch percentage group with a great team first attitude.

And this is where I think the difference is, giving an A grade for doing what was asked, when you are not asking a lot. For me, what I liked about the pass catchers were the lack of drops - the sure hands. I hope that continues.

"Likely means a new GM"? Why do people let Beane off scottfree? The cap problems lie squarely in Beane's lap. He has Diggs stink all over him, from extension to trade. When Beane traded Diggs, this was his plan? Really? Pretty much nothing - we were all expecting a WR early to replace G Davis. And now the alleged "metamorphosis" is going on with an incomplete WR room. Who do you blame for not drafting 2 WRs?

From a Bills perspective we remember him being cut in half. But as for claim to fame, M White did have a 400+yard, 3 TD game where he was the AFC offensive player of the week. This was just in 2022. He was on fire until the Bills/Milano busted up his ribs. Trubisky is not getting you 400 yds. Trubisky will get into the game and turtle, hoping we win 13-10 on a defensive stand. Not that McD thinks there is anything wrong with that. Stupid move by Miami. It's nice to see Beane is still above the GMs in our division >Miami+NYJ, even if he pisses me off w his WR nonsense.

But if Beane saw this developing and chose the route of not paying/avoiding, the $30M+ WR trend, what is his excuse for not doubling up in the draft?...so furstrating.

To the OP, I think the board is more negative for the following reasons: 1. After several years of the Bills being Superbowl contenders, this year they really aren't. That hurts. 2. The personnel that has been chosen/prioritized shows a lessened value for the WR. That makes for a less exciting product and hurts the potential of what many see as a potentially great QB. That can be frustrating. 3. When you evaluate the moves made this year most objective observers would downgrade their overall evaluation of Beane. The cap situation was his doing along with a part in the Diggs saga. Coming to terms that you don't have a great GM is disappointing. When you have a lot of hurt, frustrated, and disappointed people the board can get negative.

One point of having an offensive minded regime is getting Josh weapons. The WR problem is brought on by McBeane. Take the new Tenn guy, B Callahan, the previous offensive coordinator for Cincy. He came in and brought C Ridley and Boyd to go along with DHop and T Burks. Clearly prioritzing WRs. Chicago brought in Keenan and drafted Rome while having DJ Moore. Even San Fran who has Deebo and Aiyuk (along w Kittle+McCaffery) double dipped in the draft. McBeane's defensive leanings certainly affect the type of team we will be. It can still win, it's just the style in which they want to do it that is frustrating to many. Would like to see Josh have good weapons.

I have the following concerns/questions: 1. Frustrated over the rebuild year thing, the lowered expectations. This was a choice made by McB+Pegula. Plus even in choosing a rebuild not to double dip on WRs irritates me. 2. What happens if even the lowered expectations aren't met (no playoffs)? Are McBeane fired? Do we then get an offensive minded regime? Or has this been a pre-arranged mulligan year? 3. If expectations are met, will it mean they continue with the pathetic WR room? Or is this a one time thing.

If you have 4 intermediate threats the safeties can't come down too far. Lets hope they are good intermediate threats though. This can still be an exciting offense if these sure-handed WRs can be intermediate threats - no need for MVS, that would be a mistake IMO. I think the plan is to unleash Josh from the get go. Risky but exciting. The offense will be more Josh, dual threat dependent than before.

Why is that fine? A talent downgrade in the middle of Josh's prime? That's outrageous. When they shipped Diggs out, a lot of people (myself included) thought Beane had a plan, and what we have now does not look like the result of a good plan (any plan?). Most thought it was going to be a slight rebuild (I personally wasn't even on board with that at that point, I was thinking they were planning the big trade after Tre money). But a rebuild plan that has limited WR investment? What a terrible idea.

I'm hoping it's a preplanned ride or die on Josh. If the first couple of reads aren't there, it's up to Josh to improvise. Get out of the pocket and make something happen. If the plan is to make Josh the focal point of the offense in a dual threat capacity by surrounding him with a non-prima donna, sure handed Receiving core, that seems like an exciting way to go.

The one exciting aspect of the change is it seems like they will start from day 1 with the unleashed Josh version. While it's of course risky, it is fun to watch. An unleashed Josh can make up for a lot of WR ills.

There is another angle and that is philosophy. There are those that want an explosive offense, to see Josh surrounded with weapons. Seems hard to let either Beane or McD off the hook for the lack of prioritization in the WR room. Your last paragraph seems to indicate you think McDermott is responsible for the "Other than blind luck, I'm not sure why anyone expects an improvement over that". But why would anyone expect differently when Beane is doing what looks like a cap reset. It's up to Josh and the coaches to punch above their weights if the Bills are to make any noise this season.

GunnerBill had speculated from Beane's background with Carolina that Beane would not be prioritizing WRs. GB said this at least a year ago, and for me it had never been a real consideration. But this year Beane has had, IMO, a real WR problem (contrary to what the OP is trying to sell us). No one is knocking Beane for his Carolina picks, but GB used that background as a basis to predict that Beane would not be prioritizing the WR room. I don't buy his reasoning, but his prediction has certainly come through.

I would add that there is a section of this board that brings past favorable bias into the evaluation of Beane's moves this year. While you had warned of us of Beane's past in Carolina, I think most here (including myself) had been very pleased with Beane's prior moves. Few seem to be modifying their views on Beane's job. This OP is a great example, the ".....love this WR room. We quietly got better" make it seem like Beane made great strides and McDermott would be responsible for a setback. The cries that McDermott should be fired if there is no AFCCG while not holding Beane accountable don't make sense to me.

You asked for a citation, I provided one. This opinion was not the basis for mine, it was outside confirmation. It really doesn't seem controversial to me, this is a rough year for Beane. Can you provide any citation to the contrary?

In addition to the many on this board, I will supply this from Fantasy Football Index's Offseason Transaction Report 2024. You would agree that Beane is in charge of the Bills Offseason transactions, right? BUFFALO BILLS Key gains: WR Keon Coleman (2nd), WR Curtis Samuel (Was.), S Mike Edwards (K.C.), RB Ray Davis (4th), WR Mack Hollins (Atl.), WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling (K.C.), LB Nicholas Morrow (Phi.). Key losses: WR Stefon Diggs (trade), C Mitch Morse (cut), DE Leonard Floyd (S.F.), CB Dane Jackson (Car.), CB TreDavious White (LAR), WR Gabe Davis (Jac.), S Jordan Poyer (Mia.), RB Latavius Murray. F The most dramatic changes are at wide receiver. Diggs wasn’t much of a factor the second half of last season and Gabe Davis was annually inconsistent, but there likely will be growing pains with all the new faces. Josh Allen lobbied for the team to select Coleman, while Samuel has worked with this offensive coordinator in the past. … Buffalo also shed several starting defenders. Injuries limited some of them, but the pass rush and secondary won’t be as good. … Ray Davis lasted until the fourth round but put up 21 touchdowns last year at Kentucky, looking like he’ll be better than anybody who backed up James Cook last year.

You don't know that KC would almost certainly get him. KC gave up draft assets to move up, I don't think they thought what you are claiming. What happens with Worthy and Coleman is pertinent to Bills fans. Beane dealt the pick to a rival. Beane has had a rough year and if it turns out that this bold move was a blunder the thin ice he may be on could break. So far the Worthy/K Coleman saga is going Beane's way.

No one is paying those $44M prices, that is just the way his contract with the Raiders was structured. That is why there are so many rumors about trading Adams. If the Raiders don't move D Adams now then after this season they will get nothing for him. A team that trades for D Adams would give him a new contract that would include a signing bonus and guaranteed money. But I agree in that I don't see how the Jets could do it, they already have pre-spent into the future with several deals, most notably Rodgers.

I thought Beane had said it was the other way around, that need became more of a factor in the later rounds. Beane says a lot, so both could have been said. In any event, what a coincidence that all their highest ranking players fit needs for the team - WR/S/DT/RB/C/LB/DE/OT/CB. Wow, got lucky there.

It shouldn't just be for this season, that is one of the problems that is catching up to this FO. A double dip on the WR was to help the future state of the WR room - along with solidifying their bet that they hit on one for this year - kind of like the Elam then Benford double dip The "fix" is a huge portion of the Claypool problem. And they could of double dipped and picked up the dumpster dive priced Claypool. Yes, the FO thought drafting the DT/RB and others over a WR was a good idea. It is this low prioritization of the WR room that I (and many others) are having problems with. And lets not forget they ended the draft with extra capital that they convert to carrying over to next year, in an extra 4th.

Claypool is still a resurrection project, he has been with multiple teams and has not stuck. A draft pick would offer a much greater level of optimism and signify more of a commitment to supplying offensive weapons than the dumpster diving that they did. A late 3rd or 4th round pick would IMO be much more exciting than MVS/Claypool/Hamler. If the FO knew an upgrade this season was not realistic it would have been much better to double dip - see SF (and they have a much better WR room).

Claypool + Hamler are nowhere near the same as double dipping. They are players that were drafted that did not materialize into the players the team that drafted them had hoped for. They are resurrection projects, not lotto ticket types. Brady's structure of offense is handicapped by the personnel he is given. It doesn't seem like there is much choice but to continue the dink and dunk, conservative complementary style. While this may be Brady's preferred style, we won't be able to make a good determination of that based on what he has to work with.

I agree, the other offensive pieces are exciting - several young improving rooms - the TE room is excellent, and the RBs being headlined with an improving Cook makes for a bright future. But the OP specifically mentioned WRs. And that particular area is a hot topic. Part of the reason IMO, it's a hot topic is because of the improvement of the other areas, and if the WR room was up to the prior years standards this would be the most exciting offensive potential we've had in years.