newcam2012

Allen has been 90% of the team's recent success and playoff streak. Without him the team would likely be a bottom third tier team. Truthfully, when you analyze the Bills roster it's not overtly good. After Allen and Diggs there's not a lot of meat on the bone offensively. Defensively it seems like it doesn't matter who's on the field come playoff time. The nice defensive regular season stats go out the window. The teams thrash Fraizer's defense. Pretty consistent theme. Gotta hope the Bills play QB Jones or Jackson.

Somewhat true of KC but let's not take anything away from what they did. They still went out and beat a Cinci team that thrashed the Bills. Not to mention Cinci had their way with them in previous meetings. Not to mention they beat a better Eagle team. In short, quality organizations with quality coaches and quality players know how to win. That's KC from top to bottom. Compare that to a Bills team. Veach huge edge over Beane. Reid huge edge over McD. Spags huge edge over Fraizer. Bienemy edge over Dorsey. Get the picture? There is talk about being too harsh on Beane. Perhaps too harsh on the coaches as well. I totally get that if you have standards to the losing ways of the past. Totally understand if you are satisfied with multiple playoff appearances. At some point, the playoff appearances need to be Super Bowl appearances. Wouldn't you agree? The Bills have absolutely squandered the last two years! There's no other way to say it or see it. Enough with the excuses and the kid gloves. This organization has failed with greatness to meet its goals. It's all good though. Let's run it back again this year. What's the likely result? What a farce. One can clearly see teams are right on the backs of the Bills. Two just so happen to be in the division. Two other teams have made clear jumps past the Bills. The writing is on the wall. I'd argue that Diggs and even Allen can feel it slipping away. Their comments and attitude indicates frustration and unhappiness. That comes from disappointment and losing. The Bills brass has obviously blundered in protecting Allen and giving him weapons. Coaching and scheme is also an issue. Maybe under Dabol we have seen the best version of Allen? Dorsey certainly didn't get the best out of him? In fact, I'd agrue the opposite. Hold onto to your seat. The upcoming season is likely a bumpy road with a whole less success.

He is very good at working the numbers. He is just not good at selecting free agents or drafting.

At the right price, he would be a nice fit on the Bills offense. Dependable WR there's a dependable pro. Could be Josh's third down to go WR. I wouldn't hate the pick up for 3 to 5 mil.

Yes he can pretty much do it all. He's was a good blocker as well. He's being compared to Barkley's skill set. A 3 down back for sure. He sticks out like a sore thumb as the best RB in the draft. Many think he's top 5 prospect in the whole draft. He would be a steal at 27. My concerns are Dorsey and the oline. Both have to improve in order for Robinson to excell.

I really like what Hyatt brings to the table. You can never underestimate speed either. He's a good fit for the Bills. I'd be really surprised if he's there at 27. Agree what you said early about his 40 time. That's going to move him up the board substantially.

If he is there at 27 he absolutely should be considered depending on the board. You shouldn't pass up a talent like that. He probably would be the BPA by a landslide. I would love the pick. With that said I'd be shocked if there there when Bflo picks.

Agree. Letting Allen play Superman and relying on the defense to get stops isn't working. Especially evident in the playoffs where it counts. The Bills have to rethink their course of action and plan accordingly. How likely is this to occur with the same people in charge?

Some luck is involved but it's also a process of skill and evaluation. You can't sell the scouting department short and mitigate the draft process as getting lucky. In today's football there are so many tools scouts have at their disposal. Analytics can used so probalities of success or lack of based on measurables. Think Oliver pick here. He dropped mostly due to lack of size. So yes luck is involved but it much more than that.

Very well stated again. Its hard to imagine someone is taking the words right out of my mouth only to say it more clearly and elegantly. Couldn't agree more with your post. Why people fail to use logic and see likely results is beyond me. I prefer a more reality based point of view. What Beane sold us at the press conference was garbage. Yet, Bills fans will pound the drum that the Bills are going to the super bowl. I guess one must have to suspend belief, ignore patterns, possess blind optimism, and have a disregard for probability. I have little confidence that Beane will be able to pull off getting quality high impact players with all the restrictions in place. As a result, the Bills are likely to fail in their journey to the top. Lets break it down. Tear it down and get better. Improve enough to bring one home. That has to happen with new coaches, new management, and new schemes. Otherwise, the team is stuck in good mode but not good enough mode. Expect similar results next year or worse.

Fantastic breakdown and analysis. Really enjoyed the detail and rational behind your post. Great read Gunner. I prefer option #2 and it's not really close. I'm probably in the minority and my reasoning might be flawed. Let me elaborate. Option 1 seems to be more of a win now mode. Imho, the Bills under scenario 1 just won't be good enough to reach the Super Bowl. Feels like it's another early exit from the playoffs. To be honest I don't think it's an easy division title. The necessary holes and weaknesses of the team are too much to overcome. Add in the same coaching staff and similar schemes. This seems to bolster the end result mentioned above. Plus, as you implied this option might not be ideal for the following years. Option 2 as a reload is my preferred decision. I feel like the upcoming season isn't going to produce a Super Bowl appearance or a Lombardi Trophy. Truthfully, I'm not all that interested in another early playoff exit. As a result, I'd rather sacrifice a little this year to get a lot better next year. I know many will disagree. That's fine and that's the beauty of this forum. Lastly, I would prefer an option 3 which would consist of getting new coaches at both coordinator positions. Fraizer would be at the top of the list. Dorsey really held back the team with his inexperience and lack of ingenuity. Coach McD is a great feel good story and a high character guy. However, he lacks nasty and his style is losing steam. Two years in a row he's really failed in dramatic fashion. 13 seconds and a unprepared and out coached performance vs Cinci. As some point, the coaches have to be held accountable.

A teardown seems unlikely. Since they are staying the course with the coaches I tend to think it's a plug the holes scenario.

The Bills need impact players. Most impact players come from the early rounds. This is a flawed strategy. Of course depending on a teams board they can trade up and down. A GM and it's scouting staff has to be able to make sound early picks. If they can't changes need to be made. I agree Beane's track record in early rounds isn't great. But you can't just throw in the towel and concede that you are incompetent to make good early picks.

I think it's a mistake to say that Beane is not a good GM. The fact that the team has found a franchise QB and made six straight playoff appearances indicates he's better than mediocre. His regime has turned the Bills into a winning franchise. However, Beane does have flaws and has made several crucial mistakes along the way. Like mentioned, repeated poor draft picks, poor free agency pick ups, and lack of building a cohesive Oline. Beane has been very good at restructing contracts and manipulating the cap. Now, it seems like his options are more limited due to Allen's contract. In short, I think Beane is solid, smart, and pretty forthright. I really didn't like his last press conference. It was unlike Beane. Prior to that, his other press conferences seemed way more upbeat and contrite. It almost seemed as though he was saying "it is what it is." We need players to stay healthy, produce more, and improve. I didn't see a whole lot of optimism or a game plan going forward. Stay the course with the current coaches and hope all goes well because my hands are tied. Over the years, Beane has absolutely put the team in position to win and win it all. He deserves credit for that. The Bills have failed to advance deep into the playoffs. Failed to represent the AFC and win a Super Bowl. Beane has to take plenty of blame for this. The ultimate goal is to win it all. The Bills have their franchise QB. The Bills have failed to surround Allen with the pieces to advance. I'd argue the coaching staff and management have played a major role in their failure. The window isn't closed but it certainly appears to be less open. In short, Beane is solid but seemingly falls short on the ultimate goal. I can see both sides of the argument. Staying the course doesn't bode well in my mind.

I read the whole post. Throughly enjoyed the in-depth analysis and opinions. I couldn't agree more with what you said and how you said it. Of course, we have to give Beane and McD credit for turning around a losing organization to a winning one. Six straight playoff appearances is definetly no small accomplishment. Clearly, the Allen pick is the major reason for the success. That pick was by no means a safe one. No doubt it was more than the right one. Beane hit the grand slam and arguably has earned less criticism because of it. You elegantly lay out the many Beane errors and the state of the team because of it. As a neutral fan, it appears the Bills are on a descending path while many teams are trending in the opposite direction. So many things have to go right for the Bills to maintain their playoff and divisional edge. Health, player development, draft and free agency, and coaching. It seems unlikely that everything will fall in place. The Bills organization are in this position because of Beane and McD. There is little to argue about that. Do you view the regime's six years as a success? Hard to say it hasn't been successful. It depends on how you see things and what's the end goal. Clearly, no Super Bowl appearance or ring is disappointing. I think that is a realistic goal once you land your franchise QB. As a biased Bills fan, the last six years of football has largely been a joy to watch. The playoff run has been a lot of fun. The KC game, win vs Colts, pick 6 vs Balt, beat down vs NE to name a few. Of course, it comes with some major disappointment too. Most notably the last two years of playoff failure. I'm seriously starting to doubt this current coaching staff and regime can get it done. The path is becoming much more difficult because of the Beane and McD failures.

He had a really great year and he looked dynamic prior to his big signing. The Bills haven't seen such a tight end weapon since the Pete Metz days. I remember having mixed feelings about the signing. Really happy about locking him up as a Bill. At the same time thinking damn that's a lot of money. Fast forward to today and I'd say he has underperformed the salary. Partly due to injuries and partly due to scheme/play calling. For whatever reason, he doesn't seem to be as involved in the offense as he should. Almost as an after thought until the Bills get into the red zone. He did go on a nice TD roll mid to late season. I can't help but think he could be a bigger weapon if utilized more and stays healthy.

Sign Chark and Draft a WR. (1) It's all about protecting Allen. He can make Wrs productive. (2) Dorsey has to be better. His offensive scheme was bad. More motion, more passes to the RBs, vary the routes, etc... Allen just need a serviceable consistent run game and a solid offensive pass scheme. Dorsey was calling plays basically one play at a time. Plays weren't designed to set each other up.

"I think Allen is a guy who could be part of that kind of greatness. I'm starting to doubt that we have the other component that makes the magical brew." Well said right here. 👍

Brady made Belicheck. Mahomes is making Reid. Can Allen make McD is what im interested in.

I am not keen on either Evans or Dhop. The cost for their production just isn't there. Dhop can't stay healthy and I agree with your Evans opinion. I rather cut ties and or trade Gabe and Mckenzie. They are replaceable. Beasley and Brown have earned their right to be in the street. Have to draft a WR and pick up another one or two via FA. Time to see what Shakir has to offer. Looks like the Bills met one get away in Hodges.

Agree. Mike Ditka could be on the board and I'd still advocate for someone on the offensive side of the ball. People I can emphasize enough the defense isn't going to win games; especially in the playoffs. Load up on protecting Allen and get him weapons. He will win playoff games!

Don't panic. The Jets are going to upgrade their QB situation. That will make them a better team and more difficult for the Bills.

You think 3rd round draft choice Bernard can get it done?

What a home run post. No way could I say it any better than that.

I don't disagree with that. It's really hard to know but your thinking is more than plausible. There is no doubt the Von injury really hurt the Bills chances to advance. I have more of an issue with the others who didn't step up. Many are high draft picks. I don't expect any team to hit home runs on all their draft picks. But Beane has really set back the team with so many high draft pick misses. However, the opposite can said with the Allen pick. A duel edge sword sort of speak. I'm not as enthusiastic and optimistic about this upcoming year. We will have to see what moves the Bills make to improve. Have to see how players develop. Just seems like the Bills are slipping back into the pack instead of distancing themselves amoung the elites. Nice response. No arguments here.