JohnC

I would have preferred keeping him here. But if the team felt that it didn't want too spend so much for a backup then you can't say that their position was unreasonable. Just because you disagree with a transaction that doesn't mean that there isn't some merit to the opposing view.

I interpreted the comments in a different way. My takeaway is that the same players playing for a far worse team and then playing for a much better team are better players on the good team. Even if the interpretation was as most are saying here that these players were better than the Buffalo players, so what? The Bills organization doesn't have a reputation as being very astute so it is not surprising that many of the transactions they make are not early on going to be given the benefit of the doubt. From Buffalo's perspective each of the player transactions that Buffalo made were reasonable and defensible. And also, each of the transactions made sense for New England. In my view Collingsworth and Michaels may be the best broadcasting tandem in the game. Michaels is getting older and isn't what he once was but he is still very good.

If the thread is so stupid why are you posting on it? It's like ordering a meal you know you won't like so you can have the opportunity to complain about it.

I have always believed that Sammy was an elite talent, who in any draft year would be ranked in the top half dozen. It is clear to anyone who watches him in the games that he is one of the most dynamic players on the field. So there is no question from my standpoint that he is an elite player. I fully understand why many (if not a majority) people would be outraged with the trade of Sammy for a second round pick and a CB who will probably be a starter and well suited for McDermott's zone defense. As it stands Sammy's abundant talent was not going to be realized with Buffalo while there is a void at the qb position and play on an offense that is skewed toward the run game. If the added pick, the second rounder, is used to make a deal to get a very highly ranked qb prospect then I feel that the deal was in our interest. If one accepts the reality that the Bills are on a rebuilding venture, as I do, then the deal makes even more sense to me. I'm not saying anyone who disagreed with the trade is wrong because their position is very understandable. However, what I am also saying is that I understand from a big picture sense why Watkins wasn't in the plan in the rebuild for this new regime.

As I said in my prior post one way to partially compensate for the loss of picks in that year is to emphasize acquiring mid-range free agent picks to help bolster the roster. But after that initial year you will then have a full complement of picks. For the sake of arguing if you draft a high end qb prospect its probable that it is going to take a year or two to acclimate to the pro game. That isn't an issue with Luck.

Why wouldn't the Bills prefer one of the top 4 or 5 qbs in this draft if the Bills felt that any one of them would be better than last year's prospects? The Bills have draft ammo to move up or stay in place with the benefit of using the extra picks to add an infusion of talent. If the Colts offered Luck up for most of our picks and I knew that he would enter the season healthy I would give up most of the draft picks. I would then for that year be very involved in the mid-range free agent market to bolster the roster. In my view Luck is one of the best qbs in the game. His albatross is playing on a limited roster. While Alphadog is looking for reasons to dismiss this grand talent I would salivate at the possibility of acquiring him. However, it is a pipe dream. The Colts may be a stupid organization but not stupid enough to get rid of him in his prime years.

I prefer not to be in the vicinity of vomit and drunken fools. Most people are responsible but every year the proportion of ragamuffins increases.

Maybe he doesn't want to be in the midst of drunkards?

Bona fide #2s as starters get you nowhere. A first round pick wasn't invested in him to be a #2. I wish Cardale well. When he was drafted by Whaley it was recognized that he was a long term project. Under the new regime Peterson simply beat him out because he was more suited to McDermott's offense. The organization had an opportunity to draft Prescott in the Cardale draft year. While we pass opportunities other teams seize on them. There is nothing you said I disagree with. There is also a theme that has afflicted this woebegone franchise for many years: it's mediocre drafting record. It simply has not been good enough. Included along with the firing of Whaley the Pegulas let go all the scouts and started over. That was a radical thing to do and it was also the right thing to do.

The Bills have not had a franchise qb since the retirement of Kelly, over 20 years. When you don't have a franchise qb you have to keep attempting to get one. If one doesn't work out then you keep at it. Being passive or timid because it is such a difficult endeavor to accomplish is a mentality that results in a generation of more losing.

I've had made this point on a number of occasions so I apologize for the redundancy. When a team doesn't have a franchise qb it needs to take a more aggressive and proactive approach in finding qbs in the draft. Prescott is another demonstration by the Bills of passing on a qb when he could have been had at a reasonable point in the draft. My concern is not with other teams missing out on qb prospects as it is with the western NY team passing on prospects.

You get an EJ caliber qb in the first round when your organization isn't very adept in evaluating qbs. It's been close to a quarter century since the Bills have had an established franchise qb, since the retirement of Kelly. I don't understand why you cited Reid passing on Deshaun Watson in this past draft? He favored Mahomes in the same draft and then made the deal to get him.

I did do some searches and the story is really not clear. Some stories indicated that the owner wanted Mahomes, and there were stories that indicated that Whaley had some influence in the draft and there were more stories that McDermott was making the selections. I read some links that KC's Reid was pushing hard to make a deal with Whaley prior to the draft. So a fairer way for me to describe the situation is that I can't say for sure. What makes it difficult to make a determination is that behind the scenes it was evident that Whaley's voice was not the loudest and that McDermott was selected by the owner as the designated voice for the football operation. What's clear in doing the searches is that Reid was willing to go all out for Mahomes. My position is that we should have selected Mahomes with our first round pick. As I said in another post to Happy Days only time will tell if it was the right decision. Every team has it owns situation to deal with. So using the KC template shouldn't be relevant to Buffalo's situation. The primary issue for me is getting a legitimate franchise qb prospect in our pipeline sooner rather than later. Taylor is a presentable bridge qb. Nothing more, at least to me.

Only time will tell whether passing on him was the right course of action but I would have been ecstatic with a Mahomes selection. It's obvious that KC's coach, Reid, saw that he was a qb worth investing in.

Whaley had an irrational reluctance to seriously address the qb issue. The irony is that (many reports) he wanted to draft Mahomes with last year's first round pick. The problem was that he lost his authority to make the selections to the wrestling coach. When all is said and done dithering is not a strategy that leads to success. Will McDermott use his draft assets to draft a high end qb prospect next year? I get the sense that he will. We shall see.

You hit the essential issue on a qb such as Mahomes. Can his dynamic yet undisciplined passing style and game be tamed enough to run a pro offense? For me I believe so because he has the personal attributes such as work ethic and intelligence to adapt to the much more complex game. From all that I have heard he is very coachable. However, it must be understood that it isn't going to be done right away. My thinking is that having Tyler was a good situation for him because the rookie wouldn't have to play right away. My preference has been for this lagging franchise to get a qb on its roster sooner rather than later. As it turns out KC believed that trading up for Mahomes was a worthy risk and investment while the Bills passed on another good opportunity to meaningfully address a positon that hasn't satisfactorily been addressed in almost a quarter century.

What the deflategate legal marathon decision solidified is the notion that league was given the authority to rule on disciplinary decisions. The evidence is not the issue rather the establishment of the league's authority to make basically an unchallengeable ruling, unless it act's grossly outside the wide boundaries. The union negotiated a deal that made them nearly powerless on disciplinary issues. Now the issue is not what is fair but what was negotiated. Goodell had nothing to do with this case. He studiously stayed away from it. However, to his satisfaction his basically sole authority is upheld.

Let me ask a relevant question? How big is the bottle that you share? Don't let him or anyone else rile you up. It's all part of the at times rough neighborhood. No one is spared the darts. You should have seen how I was abused when I defended Brady and the Pats during the deflategate saga. Still righteously believe that on I was on the right side.

Badol, If you could sing your responses you would sometimes be better off than with your warrior jousts. ebal, If you nightly drink a bottle of wine each night I salute you for your capacity. If I have a glass of red vino I immediately fall asleep and snore like a slovenly street wino.

While Whaley gratuitously gave away picks McDermott immediately worked to add picks. That gives you a lot of flexibility in not only seeking a qb in the draft but also adding an infusion of talent to the thin roster. Of the three qbs you listen it wouldn't be surprising if a couple or few additional qbs move up into the top qb ranks. That will provide more options and less need to add to the package to maneuver into position to get a qb. What happens if surprisingly Peterman shows that he can play in this league? Then our draft options increase. While many people question what McDermott/Beane are doing at least you can see some strategic thinking going on. That is a positive change.

You are right that good cover CBs are more valuable that zone cover CBs but they are also more difficult to find and expensive. If you are looking to spread out your cap resources a zone system might be a better way to go.

On some issues you and I are like two ships passing in the night going in opposite directions. On the qb issue we are in accord. I really believe that Mahomes would have been a worthy pick at our drafting position. The irony is that Whaley wanted to select him at the ten spot but he had no authority to make a selection because he was neutered by the owner. Moral of the story is when you dither you emasculate yourself. In my view Mahomes is a dynamic passer but a very raw qb who needed time to polish his game. But with someone who has a good work ethic and is very coachable I would have no qualms in investing in him. That opportunity is gone so it is pointless to lament. I do believe (hope) that McDermott/Beane will do what should have been done a long time ago and draft a high end prospect with their first round pick, and use more picks if need be to get the prospect that they most prefer. If this regime takes the same passive approach the qb position as its losing predecessors then I will fall by the wayside and move on.

The link shows Mahome making plays. The organization has had plenty of opportunities to draft good qb prospects. As usual it failed to pull the trigger. It's self-created futility. It makes no bloody sense. http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000838294/article/what-we-learned-from-week-4-of-2017-nfl-preseason

Last year Whaley could have selected Dak Prescott with I believe our 4th round pick . But instead it was dealt to move up for Ragland. I'm well aware that Prescott wouldn't have had the same success in Buffalo as he did with a more complete team in Dallas. But those short-sighted moves hurt us. Whether Prescott would have played or not isn't the issue. He would have been on the roster as a good qb prospect. Without a doubt Prescott was a much more polished prospect than Cardale. Teams that don't have a franchise qb have to address the qb issue with greater focus and aggressiveness than teams that already have a franchise qb. You brought up a lost opportunity with Carr. He could have been selected with a trade down that would have also added picks. This passivity on the qb issue has shackled this organization. And it is being done by itself! The Bills have not had a franchise qb for almost a quarter century, since the retirement of Jim Kelly. That's an utter disgrace and embarrassment!

No vision and philosophy works without a qb. Even if EJ fit the mold as you suggest it should have been evident very soon that he needed to seek another qb option, and do it with greater urgency. In my mind that is his biggest failing. This lack of urgency to address such a fundamental issue made no sense to me. I'm not saying that it is an easy endeavor because certainly it is not. But his apparent lackadaisical attitude toward that crucial issue was literally a job killer for him.