JohnC

Free agents for the most part sign with teams for business reasons. The primary issue is which team is going to give them the best deal. It's a business. Signing with a team has little to do with the history of the franchise or the enthusiasm of the fans. The priority for players with a limited life span is the financial consideration. Sometimes players want to rehabilitate their status so they might sign a one year deal to restore their reputation. And sometimes players sign with a team like New England because they want to experience success. The reality is that many players, if not most, don't in the offseason live in the area where they play. As an example Eric Wood was very active in the community but he lived in Louisville.

If you get one of the top three prospects in this draft you expect early playing time for them, especially for Rosen and Mayfield. This would be a good situation to get a cheap and functional qb. When there is any discussion of getting a bridge qb or a bargain basement veteran from the market you are for the most part pursuing mediocre qbs with obvious limitations. The issue boils down to is it worth having a more expensive bridge qb with the intention of accelerating the time table to play a rookie qb or is it better to play it safe and pay more for your veteran qb as an insurance policy. Do I need to remind all those Tyrod aficionados out there that this is a situation that he would be hesitant to be a part of? For his sake and the team's sake it is best to cleanly cut the chord and move on. He, more than anyone else, deserves a fresh start. Also, I'm sure that this staff can make good use for that extra cap space.

I always enjoy listening to Greg Cosell. He made the key point that if you have a conviction on a qb then it is worth making the move to get your favored prospect. And the counter point is if you don't have that conviction on the prospect then don't make the costly move up just for the sake of addressing the qb issue. My impression from his appearance on the show is that he believed that the top three prospect (Darnold, Rosen and Mayfield) all would be worthy of pursuing. I also got the sense that although he recognizes Allen's physical talents he has some qualms about how he plays.

Pay attention to the road. Distracted drivers are a hazard to the law abiding citizens.

If the four folks were praying for society it would demonstrate that they had a religious orientation. If they were preying on society then it would demonstrated that they were predators who should be dealt with accordingly.

I have a suggestion. Trade Taylor for a pick and then use it for Bryant. A little creativity can go a long way. I have said it on a number of occasions that this is a multi-year rebuilding project. Getting into the playoffs was not expected. It is a tribute to the HC and the players who bought into the plan who deserve a lot of accolades. It's not very reasonable to expect that all our positional liabilities to be addressed in a year or two when the team was torn down to be rebuilt. In 2019 there will be a lot more cap room. That is the year that there will be an infusion of market talent. Assuming Benjamin returns to good health he is a solid number #2 type receiver. In my view he will never be a number one receiver. I make the same claim for Zay. At best he is a number two receiver. We don't have a number one receiver on the roster and probably won't for the year. If Zay and KB play as solid number two type receivers I will be more than satisfied.

https://www.sportstalk360.com/buffalo-bills-expected-to-make-another-trade-before-deadline/

The mistake some people make is that they assume Tyrod has value on the market. He doesn't. The obvious reason is that he is a known quantity. He and his agent last year had an opportunity to survey the market and make the best deal they could for themselves. Who was interested? No one. The GM who lost his authority simply wanted to cut him and be done with him. The incoming HC, and essentially acting GM, was willing to keep him on the condition that he scale down his contract. He did. What's the point of going through any year of mediocrity? Although his contract isn't onerous for a starter it is poor value for his standard output. I would rather bring in a qb such as Simian as either a short term starter or as a backup to a rookie starter. The cost for Simian would not only be a lot less but it also would give this team more cap flexibility. Keeping Tyrod another year is another year of not facing the inevitable fact about him i.e. that he is not good enough. It's time to move on and end this lingering issue. It's just time to make a decision that needs to be made sooner rather than later.

Even if you get your top tier qb prospect you still need to bring in a veteran qb. Whether it is as a backup or a short term starter I would think you still need a veteran qb on the roster. It would be simply be too risky to have Peterman be your fist backup qb. The advantage of having a qb like Siemien is that he has some experience and he would be cheap.

The bigger concern isn't the money as it is who will be the veteran qb who replaces Taylor? Even if the Bills are able to trade up for a top three qb prospect, and make no mistake that is very much in doubt, then who replaces Taylor? Another issue is how much is another veteran going to cost? There are so many layers to this issue. It's not only what you want to do but also what you are able to do. I'm not a Taylor fan and will never be. Given my position this is not an easy call for the organization. One option I would consider (and rile up a lot of people) is acquire Siemien and then either cut or trade Tyrod. In that way you have a player with some experience and have him at a very cheap price. There is an assumption that you will draft a high end qb prospect who in the not too distant future will be ready to play.

See my response to Kirby.

My mistake. I would still take Foles over Tyrod.

I'm not advocating for Cousins. He's not worth what he will garner from the market. But I disagree with your stance that his numbers would be comparable to Taylor's. The difference is that Cousins can read defenses and get rid of the ball. And he is a much better passer. What do you think Tyrod's value would be on the open market compared to Cousins being on the market? There would be suitors for Cousins and zero suitors for Tyrod at the price that the former Redskin is commanding.

See my response to Kirby.

If either Baker or Rosen is drafted the chorus for a change will come from the staff. And it will happen sooner rather than later. It does't seem like a good situation for Taylor or the organization.

Do you really believe that if the Bills drafted Baker there wouldn't be an immediate loud chorus to play him rather quickly? I have said it before that the best situation for both TT and the Bills is to have a fresh start. If the Bills can't make a deal to get one of the top three qbs in this draft then it would make some sense to keep him, although I would still be against it.

I'm rooting against you. They may be making him more tradable. side note: Good win at Niagara. Great win in a great basketball environment.

Without question the Pegulas have struggled as new owners in two sports. They certainly made mistakes as new owners who were too willing to provide resources without the careful thought that should have preceded the major expenditure. But I'm going to give them a mulligan as first time owners. What I see going on with the Bills is that Pegula hired a new HC in McDermott who prior to his hiring put a lot of thought not only how he would coach but also how an organization should be structured and staffed. That's why I'm more optimistic now than I have been in more than a generation about the direction of the franchise. I still see the Bills in a rebuilding mode that is going to take at least another few years before they become a serious team. What is encouraging is that there is an alignment between the front office and the HC. The staff that has been recently hired are top shelf. Already, the assistant GM has been hired by Houston and another staffer was seriously considered for a GM position in Carolina. That's a testament to the quality of people who were hired. Going back to the Brandon issue he is recognized as one of the best in the business in managing a sports business. He, more than anyone else, kept this small market and archaically run franchise fiscally viable through his regionalization plan. The tailgating crowd was upset with the Toronto series but from a marketing standpoint it made a lot of sense. Without a doubt Brandon has made some mistakes. His involvement in the hiring of Rex certainly was a big mistake. But for the most part I blame the owner for that absurd hire. Overall, the Pegulas made the right choice when they hired him to run the business side of their sports conglomeration.

Read Kirby's response two down from your post. There is a conspiracy theory that is often promulgated that Brandon weaseled his way into the GM position. That isn't an accurate description of what happened. As Kirby pointed out he basically held the fort in a chaotic situation.In a year or so later he passed the football operation to the football people. You make it seem that Brandon learning the football side of the operation from people like Nix was his attempt to take over. What you are missing is that it is smart business to intimately learn the operation, from top to bottom. That shouldn't be criticized---it should be praised. While you and some others have a negative view of Brandon's role in the franchise when Ralph was declining I'm more positive about it. He held things together when there was little cohesion and rationality to the operation. While others boo him I applaud him.

Very often people who have gone through and continue to go through such life challenges have an empathy and compassion toward others who others look askance to. And those same people who have been subjected to troubled times and have risen above it have an inner strength and toughness grounded through hard life experiences. Too often people harshly judge others without consideration that they could have just as easily been on the receiving side of the judgments. side note: Tough game going on at Niagara

Your response is perplexing to me. This staff is a dramatic improvement. Much of the dead money that has accumulated and weighed down this franchise was from the prior regime. There is now more of an emphasis on a cost/benefit analysis compared to what previously went on here.

I'm reluctant to say it but I don't believe that the Bills will sign him. He increased his value with his upscale play to the extent that he made himself too costly for the Bills. As well as he has played there is a durability issue that make the Bills hesitant to risk paying him what he would command from the market.

A lot of people howled when McDermott traded Watkins for a second round pick and acquiring Gaines. In hindsight it was a good deal for us. I'm not sure if Gaines is going to leave through free agency or if the Rams are going to sign a new deal with Watkins. But in balance it was a good deal for the Bills.

Brandon has received a lot of unwarranted criticism. He was never a functioning GM, and didn't pretend to be. When Marv left he did his best to hold things together. Responsibilities that he wasn't equipped for were thrust upon by the owner. He was a good soldier and did the best that he could to keep the operation functioning. Russ Brandon is one of the better sports manager in the business. He expanded the Bills market and made it more viable. He understandably got skewered on the Toronto episode but from a business perspective it made a lot of sense. He was tapping into the Canadian market and increasing the regionalization of the franchise. There are some people who criticize Brandon for influencing the hiring of Rex. That is a fair criticism while most of the blame should go directly to the owners. The Pegulas have struggled with their products in the sports scene. But they are astute and forward thinking business people. They were smart enough to recognize Brandon's business and marketing acumen to put him in charge of the business side of their sports operation that includes the Bills and Sabres.

Excellent insight. The crushing weakness of the organization was not in its frugality but in its staffing. As you pointed out in another post their cash to cap accounting system was also used by other teams. What made the system more onerous was the bad personnel decisions in this stricter structure. Where the franchise was also handicapped was when the better players contracts ran out. The self-imposed cap system made it difficult to pay the market rate for the second contract. In Ralph's business structure the MVP for the organization was Littman, his finance disciplinarian. He was the financial enforcer who had the most authority in this well run cash/flow operation. If the football side of the operation was staffed as well as the business side there would have been more success on the field.