JohnC

That's exactly what the referee analyst for this game said. You or someone else made the point that the player who glaringly lined up off sides was beyond comprehension.

Andy Reid wasn't using hindsight because he had the foresight to trade for him. Jeffismagic and I were both advocating for him prior to the draft. Only I wasn't so unrelenting that I got thrown off the board for unceasing and exhausting zealotry.

Gronk is like an old warhorse who although is on his last leg gives a heroic effort. Brady is still great. He doesn't have the lively arm any longer but he still gets the ball where it has to go. He's the smartest qb in the game. We had an opportunity to draft Mahomes. We passed up for a trade deal. We made a mistake. This was an epic game. It was great drama.

The signing of Hunt is ultimately not a Beane decision because the owners have the last say. This is an organization beyond the football operation that got rid of Brandon and more recently someone who was very high up in their organization because of inappropriate conduct. I doubt that they would change their value system for a football player. The Pegulas would look like crass hypocrites if they allowed this player with such a troubled history associated with conduct towards women to be part of this organization. I'm not one to give a career death sentence to anyone unless the person is irredeemable. I don't believe that he is so bad a person that should be precluded from playing again. However, I don't believe he should be brought into this organization because of what this ownership and organization stand for. My position is basically I have no problem with another team signing him and giving him another chance. But not here.

Terrific post. What you are saying is so logical and basic. When you put your most valuable asset (qb) in peril you are wasting his value. Last year, it was unexpected that Woods was not going to play because of a health issue. I'm not sure why this regime put the financial squeeze on Incognito when we could have handled his original contract for another year. There may be more to the Incognito saga that we are not privy to. So I'll give the organization a pass. But entering next season the glaring deficiencies are well known. There is plenty of talk coming out of their building that the braintrust knows what it needs to do on offense. Let's hope that it gets done.

Buddy had this pernicious desire to show the world how smart he is. Instead of being fundamentally sound he wanted to be recklessly creative in order to demonstrate his creative talents. He wasn't willing to be boringly good because that fundamental style of play doesn't garner much attention. While the New England coach is maniacally stressing the fundamentals on the practice field our cartoonish coach was in his offense designing complex plays to be executed by a team lacking in fundamentals. This huckster hoodwinking our billionaire new owner to hire him after his record and history were in plain view was a testament to the owner's lack of knowledge in his new business. The blame is on the owner for this fiasco. This stupendous mistake set this franchise back by at least two years.

You are preaching to the choir. By significantly upgrading the OL we not only will be protecting our qb (our most valuable asset) but we will also have a credible running game. The threat of a good running game enhances the strengths of our strong armed qb. Allen is more suited to a downfield play action passing scheme. He, at least for now, doesn't have the attributes that is suited for a more quick paced rhythm passing that is associated with a west coast offense. The belief that the both of us share is that when you have extended a lot of resources to get a qb unless you put that player in a position to succeed you are wasting/diminishing your biggest asset. Rebuilding a less than credible line to a good line is essential for success. It's got to done.

You got it right. You win nothing but intrinsic rewards. I hope you are right about us being able to bring in OL help from the market. We'll see on that. As you pointed out the Colts brought in free agents and used high draft picks to bolster their line. That's exactly the model that I am encouraging. And without question that offseasoni addressing was tremendously beneficial for the team and their prized qb.

I knew before a game was played that the Bills were going to fail when Rex Ryan was hired. This was a ridiculous hire bordering on weird. The Pegulas paid over a billion $$$ for their new business and endeavor. Instead of talking to a number of people in the business they allowed a huckster coach with a good interview act and a marketing staffer to influence him in hiring this fool. This loud and brash talking coach with the circus-like act performed to his level of competence. This staffing foolishness set this franchise back by a couple of years.

Quenten Nelson is going to be a perennial all-pro. Just because you can't attain that exceptional level of talent on the line doesn't mean that you shouldn't strive to improve the unit with good players and prospects. When discussing the OL the issue shouldn't be considered in isolation with respect only to that unit. The core issue is about putting our qb in a position to succeed. There is a saying: "Don't let perfect be the "

Pilut at time shows flashes of being a good player. And as you pointed out that he periodically has damaging lapses. Mittelstadt and Tage at time show flashes of being good players. And it is obvious that at times they are glaring liabilities on the ice. That's certainly no surprise. Young players are unsurprisingly inconsistent and at times are lost and befuddled. There is a near universal agreement that Dahlin is going to be an exceptional player. Yet, no one can deny that he has had his struggles. However, one of his greatest attributes is his mental toughness exhibited by the fact that when he makes a mistake he plays past it and continues on. My point is what is most important for this team and franchise is not the playoff chase (although I want to make it this year as much as anyone, including Plezmd) but the development of our young players. I'm hoping that by the end of this year or beginning of next year that Nyalnder and Guhle will be added to the mix and continue on growing as players and helping to increase the talent pool of this roster. That's the priority!

The market for good free agent offensive linemen is not going to be as great as many people think. And the teams vying for those limited valuable commodities are going to be more numerous than many people are aware of. Or to put it in economic terms the demand is going to be greater than the supply. Last year, the Colts used a high first round pick and a second round pick on linemen. They both started and played well. If you ask Andrew Luck if he is happy at how his organization handled that draft I'm confident that he will exuberantly respond with a yes. And it should be noted that this formerly battered qb finished the season healthy.

I don't disagree with your take about the importance of regularly bringing in players for the OL and secondary. However, this year it is more of a priority to address the offense and especially focus on the line. Our most important player and investment on the roster is the young qb that we worked so hard to get. It's absolutely essential to put him in a position to physically survive the mayhem caused by a porous OL. Nothing is more important than helping the qb to develop and succeed. There is no doubt that Josh Allen is a terrific runner. And there is no doubt that the more he runs because he has to elude the defense the greater chance that his lifespan as a player will be shortened.

I'm sure the scouting reports he read while at Carolina were a factor in his selections when he moved to Buffalo. Most people would concede what's so obvious. But I don't see anything wrong or unethical about that. (Not saying you are suggesting that. ) When coaches move they also have intimate knowledge of players associated with their program and also knowledge about players they regularly compete against. All teams have draft boards and they also have pro player rankings and contract information related to players in the league. There's nothing secretive or proprietary about that information when a staff member changes organization. If Carolina was irritated about someone using their scouting reports for another team I can understand why. But the nature of the business sometimes works in your favor and it sometimes works against you. That's just the nature of the business.

He came out of that draft class. And relative to how he was acquired he was a good bargain.

Simple solution: Do it on your good foot.

Fair enough. But it has to be remembered that he was a fifth round pick who played some of his career in college on defense. So he still has a lot to learn. He was far from being stellar but his play wasn't below the player he replaced. Getting playing time in his rookie year should serve him well entering his next year.

In your list the best value pick was Milano and obviously the most important pick was Josh Allen. If the Bills can continue to hit on some of their lower picks such as Teller, Foster and Taron Johnson we will get to the required critical mass of players to make this team a competitive team sooner than expected. As you suggested stringing together good drafts rather than having uneven results from your drafts is what will accelerate the its development.

In your response you didn't mention that there will be free agent qbs added to the mix for qb needy teams to acquire. Foles, Flacco and I believe Bridgewater will be on the market. It doesn't make much sense for a team such as Jacksonville to use a first round pick on a qb instead of getting an experienced qb from the market because they have a roster when healthy that is ready to compete. I agree with you that the betting line should lean toward the Bills drafting one of the enticing D-linemen because of the inclinations of our HC. Although I have preferences as to how the Bills should approach this draft if the Bills don't get too fancy and out-smart themselves and select talent commensurate to where they are drafted I will be more than happy. The Bills are entering their third draft under McDermott. In my opinion they are not far off from attaining the critical mass of players to rebuild/rework the roster that was inherited. Getting the qb sooner in the tenure of this new regime certainly allows for greater flexibility when making personnel decisions. You mentioned that the Bills could end up trading down with Tennessee. That leaves me very perplexed. I know the often injured Mariotta hasn't lived up to expectations but I just don't see them moving away from him just yet.

Even with a reconstituted line I would like to have a hard between the tackles once cut runner (young Ivory). That's not a running style that McCoy is best suited for. I rather get two hard yards in a tight seam than a five yard loss with him scampering around looking for a cease that doesn't exist.

The trade down strategy is tough to execute because there are so many teams that have the same desire to do the same. What makes it even more difficult this year compared to last year is that this draft doesn't have the same amount of highly rated qbs. For some teams that want a qb they can stand pat and still get the one they prefer. I would not mind trading down and getting an offensive lineman. Many people here prefer procuring offensive linemen through free agency. But the problem is that of the available players there will be a lot of buyers competing for their services. And it wouldn't be surprising some of the more appealing players stay with the team they are already on. I would love to come out of this draft or even free agency with a tough inside runner to get the ground game going. I just don't see McCoy's dancing style of running trying to find a hole being effective with our OL. On the other hand I would like to see him more involved in the passing game.

Thanks for the response. Let me ask where you have the top three O-linemen ranked. And if we decided to take a more highly rated defenseman with our first pick then what O-linemen would be available in the second round and still be good additions for us.

What offensive tackles do you have ranked ahead of him?

Good point. But for the sake of simplifying my proposition let's assume that money is not an issue with our current tandem. Then which player between Thompson and Josh Williams would be more impacting for the Bills? My contention is the Bama lineman.

Your board is very sound. But let me ask you that if Delonte Thompson was rated #10 and Jonah Williams was rated #14 who do you think would have more value to the Bills? Without diminishing Thompson I would comfortably say Jonah Williams. The ranking of players is a very imprecise process. Precisely sticking to it without factoring in your specific team's needs is in my opinion is not the wisest approach to take.