JohnNord

It wasn’t all hindsight… Not everyone believed Oliver was the better DT prospect. Simmons was always touted as a top prospect at DT in 2018. The knock on him was character related because a video re-surfaced of him hitting a woman a few years earlier. He likely would have been drafted higher. As far as Oliver - the reception was very much mixed how he would transition to the NFL. Some were enthralled with the quickness of his first step and his athleticism whereas others were more concerned about his size. I think the comparisons in his game to Aaron Donald helped raise his stock in the eyes of some. Not to say he was going to be the next Donald, but that he had that kind of potential. Oliver’s career over his first four season is probably dead set in the middle of his ceiling/floor trajectory coming out of the draft. He had flashed at times but overall isn’t nearly the difference maker the other 2018 first round rookie tackles have been

Simmons, Quentin Williams, Christian Wilkins. These players are true game wreckers at DT. Ed Oliver is not. Period.

Nothing… Like he’s always done, he simply re-phrases news already reported by other outlet and pretends it’s his own. I’m glad to hear that you gave him some crap because it’s astounding how many people actually thought he had some kind of info. I completely believe those fans just want to be lied to:

…and plenty of times random users on Twitter pose as insiders or in the know about certain players. In most cases it’s a fan trying guessing based off national reporters and trying to make themselves feel important. If their guess actually happens then they take a victory lap. If their guess doesn’t happen then “plans change” What gets me is how easily some otherwise knowledgeable Bills fans in this forum have been duped by this random account. It seems that Hopkins might have had his former player friends put that out there. Pac Man Jones did a whole segment on Pat McAfee talking about teams he would could be traded to.

It’s over… when nothing happens I’ll be the guy to tell you “I told you so” He went further than Wilson did and fans like you treated ECBulls like he had legit information. It was pure BS…we all knew it was…but fans were so desperate they allowed themselves to believe some random Twitter account.

Remember when so many people believe the random “ErieCountyBills” account that said the Bills were trading for Hopkins 🤣🤣🤣 I tried telling you it was BS…some of you just want to be lied to

It’s always a hard balance when to move on from a player. I think it’s fair to say that after the 2020 season the Bills probably put too much faith that Cody Ford would work out. They penciled him in as starting guard and didn’t really bring in any competition. When he didn’t work out they had to move Darryl Williams and start Brown which wasn’t the plan but ended up working out ok. Had the Bills cut bait on Ford earlier they might have been able to get better compensation that why received in 2022. The opposite thing happened to Wyatt Teller. He had a relatively uneventful start to his career and was on the edge of the roster. The Bills traded him while they could still get decent value rather than cut him or keep him on the bottom of the roster. In this case they moved on too soon. But either way, we’re at that “fork in the road” with the three players I mentioned in the original post.

I think the drafting has left a lot to be desired - especially when you look at how many premium assets were spent on DL. The crazy thing is that they drafted every type of DL player from freaky athletic (Oliver) to pro ready (Basham, Epinesa) to very raw (Rosseau) and yet they still needed devote a massive contract to Von Miller since no one worked out. Of course, if Beane’s faith pays off in the three players I mentioned above, the narrative about drafting changed big time.

My issue with Morse is more about his inability as a people mover in the run game. It’s just not his specialty. He’s a fast, athletic blocker with good technique but he’s not the type of Center that will blow a NT off the ball on his own. Still I think Morse and Dion are easily the best lineman and the Bills would be smarter looking to upgrade the other 3 spots rather than those two

I agree but I really get the impression that the Bills don’t see OL as much of a need as many of use fans do. The comments about Brown really seem to reinforce that. I feel that they are good with him at RT. You are missing the point of this thread. I’m not suggesting to get rid of these players. I am questioning whether more should have been done to add competition to their spots. Instead he is once again showing a lot of faith in these positions. As far as player progress, it’s not always an upward trajectory. Sometimes players have a down year(s), before breaking out.

That’s what some people don’t seem to understand. It wasn’t that he defended them…it’s how strongly he worded his defense and then how he seemingly backed up those words but not bringing in competition for those spots. Of course, he could draft players at these positions but it would be a big upset to see any of these players unseated by a rookie in 2023. He is once again, electing to put his faith in his players. It didn’t work out last season. Time will tell what happens this year. Hey Hapless Bills Fan, why are you ignoring my DM’s?

But that’s exactly what Beane said in his press conference!?!?!?

No one is saying that these three are bad players but you can certainly argue that they didn’t take the step forward that the team and fans had hoped. My biggest concern out of these three is Spencer Brown. He was among the worst starting RT’s in the NFL. He didn’t make much progress from year 1 to year 2. The Bills elected not to bring in any competition to push him. He could end up like a Wyatt Teller….He could end up like a Cody Ford

It isn’t just that he defended them…it’s how STRONGLY he defended and that his actions (or lack thereof) seem to back up his words. The whole point of this thread was that he did the same thing last season with these players. It didn’t work out. This year there is more of a microscope on them. He chose not to make any moves, so his faith may or may not pay off.

My concern is that he looked better during a stretch in his rookie year than he did at any point in 2022. Maybe it was the injuries but the lack of NFL reps doesn’t seem to track

I’ll agree with you on Oliver. There really isn’t much a choice given his guaranteed salary and the level of play he’s shown on tape so far. The Bills don’t think he makes enough plays for $10M but neither do other NFL teams. I would disagree with you on Brown and Davis. While the Bills didn’t have the cap space to make a giant swing at top free agents - they also could have used the money they did have to sign better players to compete at RT and WR. The best the Bills could do was David Quessenberry and Trent Sherfield? I think these decisions speak louder to confidence in these players than it does to running out of options Isn’t that the whole part of a discussion forum? Almost every post on this site is speculation and/or an opinion. Also what accusations did I “hurl?” That Beane has confidence in Davis, Brown, and Oliver - he literally said the exact thing in his press conference

Exactly… I just thought that what he said about Brown was a very strong endorsement and more than what Beane typically says to defend a player. He also alluded to bringing in competition at RT. Many of us fans assumed this would mean a veteran to push him. Instead they only brought back David Quessenberry who wasn’t that much better than Brown last season. I think it all depends on how the board falls, but I can’t see the Bills using a pick on a tackle given how strongly they seemed to put over Brown

I took another listen to the Brandon Beane interviews after the season and at the combine. What stuck out to me was his defense of players than were much maligned by the fan base. In my opinion, the three of his former draft picks who didn’t “take the next step” in 2022, are being counted on to “take the next step” in 2023. This season will prove to see if The Bills faith in these players will be rewarded. Spencer Brown Brown was the Bills worst lineman at times in 2022 which is notable considering how poorly Roger Saffold played. Still, Beane was effusive in his praise and defense of Brown. He point blank said he had confidence in him and listed some reason for his poor performance in 2022. These comments make me think that the Bills won’t invest a high draft pick at tackle and will again roll the dice that Brown greatly improves. Gabe Davis Like Brown, Beane was quick to defend Gabe citing “unrealistic expectations” from his amazing playoff performance and a numbers of injuries. Losing faith in Davis as a true WR2, many fans wanted the Bills to make a big move. Some foolish fans convinced themselves to believe the lying huckster on Twitter “ErieCountyBills” who said they were trading for DeAndre Hopkins. All false hope. It’s doubtful the Bills make a huge move at WR like OBJ or Hopkins given the context, Because Davis is a FA in 2024 I can see a scenario where they draft a WR in the first 3 rounds. But again, when it comes to WR2 in 2023, the Bills are putting their faith in Davis to improve yet again. Ed Oliver Same story with Ed Oliver. Nice player. Not a difference maker unless he plays against a BAD offensive line…or on Thanksgiving. Beane again defended Oliver mentioning how the things he does go unnoticed and that he fought through injuries. He did mention that he left “more meat on the bone.” But Beane could have said this during any of Oliver’s seasons in Buffalo. Because of his guaranteed 5th year option, The Bills likely didn’t have a choice but to have faith in Oliver. But I can definitely see the Bills use a higher draft selection on a DT given the contract situation. The concern for me, is that we’ve seen the Bills make similar excuses for players in the past and it hasn’t worked out (Star, Cody Ford, Zach Moss, AJ Epinesa, Boogie Basham). IMO a big part of next season will be whether the faith the Bills placed in these former draft picks will pay off…

If you haven’t figured it out by now… that account is a complete fraud. I laugh at people that thought he had some kind of inside information or “sources.” He was trying to predict what would happen with D-Hop and now he had to backtrack. It’s astounding how many people fell for his BS

I listened to Sal and Matt Bove talk about Hopkins. Bove guessed that Beane was interested, made an approach to Arizona, and discovered they wanted too much. Between his age, contract and the compensation it was probably too high of a cost this season. There’s a chance AZ changes the demands but like Graham reported unless that happens the Bills aren’t making the deal

After watching Dodson and Bernard last season, they might want to sign Kuechly to play MLB!

I have no problem with people hoping it happens. I hope the trade happens too. I just get annoyed at these bad actors on Twitter making up fake information

It definitely makes sense but sometimes in the NFL the dots don’t connect the way they appear. If McDermott informed Frazier early on that he was taking over, then why did he wait until March to re-sign?

Me: Ian didn’t say the Bills were in on Hopkins Members of this thread: But he didn’t say the Bills WEREN’T in on Hopkins

Saying this is really reading into the video. He also didn’t speak of the interest from NE or Baltimore. It doesn’t mean they are out or in on Hopkins