BillsVet

Cousins isn't the be-all end-all solution to what ails this team, especially if he's eating 30M in cap room each year. I don't see Buffalo going hard after him for this reason and the team building strategy they're going to insist on. They've got so many needs throughout the roster that this kind of contract would inhibit the improvements they need to make on the OL, defensive front 7, and WR group.

If you believe Doug Whaley had much personnel input last off-season, well there's a bridge in Brooklyn I'll sell you.

Mularkey was 18-14 in 2 seasons and he's on the chopping block unless he wins a playoff game? The NFL is churning through HCs so quickly teams may as well treat them like auto insurance: having 6 month agreement terms.

Not literally. Hard to believe he wasn't "aware" of what was going on in Buffalo.

I don't see TT in their future. They can get out of his contract after the season, perhaps even trade him for a late round pick if they pick up the option. I suspect they'll bring in a veteran and continue developing Peterman. McD is going to push to improve the defensive front 7 and they certainly need to improve their OL. Spending lots of draft capital on moving up for a QB isn't out of the question but unlikely considering the roster is extremely thin.

Mike Tolbert means Buffalo is anything but thin at RB.

Strange be thinking about playoff games and not the forthcoming QBs available.

I log on and observe some fans demanding other fans who've been cautious about this team repent of their doubt. Shudder the thought that after many years of mediocre to average seasons some so-called "hater" fans weren't ready to emotionally invest in the 2017 team. The same 2017 team that had a new HC, the same QB, saw several contributors traded, new offensive and defensive schemes, and gave up 101 points in back to back games last month while becoming pedestrian on offense. It's amazing that on the one day we can all be glad the Buffalo Bills are in the playoffs that some fans still need to puff out their chests to pronounce themselves better than others because they're Nostradamus super-fans. There are so many good fans that have left the board who I'd love to talk to right now. But they don't post as much or anymore because ITG's need their super fan status reaffirmed.

That's the worst part. For a team that's prioritized adding more picks in the '18 draft, they gave up their 2nd and a 3rd to move up 7 spots and take Jones. This team, needing so much roster help as they get older, doesn't have the luxury of giving up resources and drafting players who don't produce.

McBeane better have one excellent 2018 draft considering what they sacrificed this season at WR.

I can't help but refer to him now as "Drop Zone" Jones.

The ceiling is 9 wins if the strategy from McBeane moving forward is to win with tight defense, running the ball, and not turning the ball over. I would hope the GM would reign in the HC and remind him that an excellent offense combined with enough defense is the better way to go. Last off-season McD revamped the secondary with two UFA safeties, drafted a starting CB, and traded for another CB. What they lost on offense (Watkins, Woods, Goodwin) far exceeded their additions (Dawkins, Benjamin). So if they're going defense heavy in UFA and the draft I would expect the offense to be even more pedestrian. This has been a down year in the AFC and for OBD to expect that defense will win is asinine.

Getting the QB at the right price is the key. I cannot believe McBeane would trade away multiple picks in '18 and '19 to move up from ~20th overall to top 2-3. So much of the rumors and discussion right now are pure subterfuge. Everyone knows who everyone else is scouting. Every team knows who needs a QB and tries to wargame what other teams are going to do. Free Agency hasn't even started, which surely will affect draft boards, which also aren't even close to final yet. I have no doubt McBeane know they need a QB and defensive improvements even before they've started their roster evaluation.

I'd say both are representative of their respective jobs. HC's are immediately under the gun during their first season because their big decisions are on-field. They typically are fired before the GM and as a result they're in win-now mode from the start. Most GM's enjoy a little more latitude because their job is almost all off-field. They're focused primarily on the long haul where the HC may not be. At least as much. Still, I would hope the HC and GM by virtue of their common history together would understand where the other is coming from. There shouldn't be surprises about what the other one wants to do schematically and personnel-wise.

A DC coming into town and focusing on the defense during the first two off-seasons. If true, I guess McD hasn't followed the league enough to know that offense is winning games now. I know the front 7 needs help, but the idea a "modern" NFL HC is going to use more high picks to put together his defense just makes me want to throw up. And, at what cost will this come to the offense? You've got two interior OL in their 30s, the right side is weak, the WRs save for Benjamin are not even replacement level, the RB is pushing 30, and of course the QB. Maybe there's a reason that OCs aren't enamored with coming to Buffalo...like the HCs who believe that side of the ball exists to score just enough.

No doubt the Saints are a much more balanced team running the ball with Ingram and Kamara. That said, the Bills aren't really a balanced offense. Including the half he played in LA, Tyrod is averaging 28 attempts for about 185 yards per game in 2017. Compare that to about the same number of attempts in 2015, but 30 yards more passing per game. (EDIT: TT was averaging about 8 yards per attempt in 2015. Now he's at about 6.5. I don't put that on Dennison, but teams taking away the deep sideline pass TT was attempting and completing). It's hard to watch other teams throwing the ball down-field and Buffalo not having done that in years. It doesn't guarantee wins, but it's more entertaining football. Yet, in a ball control grind it out type offense, we're not going to see it with this QB. Buffalo is now tied with NE and the Chargers for 5th with a +7 in turnover differential. http://www.espn.com/nfl/statistics/team/_/stat/givetake Interesting to see Baltimore and Kansas City ahead of the Bills.

And predictably that is what this thread has devolved into. None of it takes away that Buffalo is an 8-6 team with 2 road games needing to win at least 1 and get help to make it as a 6 seed. Sure, a lot can change in the final 2 weeks, but watching this team now for 14 games I don't come away overly optimistic. The Bills are averaging 14 points scored and 14 points allowed per game over their last 4 (EDIT: in going 3-1. That's not going to continue unless their offensive production improves mightily). I would still like to see how this team improves from an 8-9 win team into a 11+ win team. That kind of leap isn't automatic, especially when key contributors are aging and you don't have many players opposing coordinators have to game plan for.

Lighten up Francis. Nice job of completely missing the point. I never said McBeane won't completely avoid UFA. They're just not going to be huge spenders there and will likely save cap room for existing players and low to moderate UFA types like Hyde, Poyer, and Haushka. It would not completely shock me to see them sign 2-3 guys in the range of those deals next March. They'll have some cap room and there's really no one from the 2013, 2014, and 2015 drafts to re-sign. it doesn't take away that this roster is lacking in play-makers and you're not going to find those types with low to moderate UFAs and rookies. This is a roster getting older (Incognito, Wood, McCoy, Alexander, and Kyle) that still is without a definite starting QB in 2018. Teams aren't winning with "the process." Because, no matter how hard the coaching staff works to prepare for game-day, it's talent that wins out. And Buffalo's is aging, quite pedestrian, and "the process" isn't going to surprise anyone next year. That is, unless McBeane find their QB of the future this April and add some pieces to the defensive front 7, the right side of the OL, and at WR.

Buffalo is not an ascending team. Sure, at 8-6 you'd like to think you've got an above average roster and coaching staff, but is this team a few players away from being an 11 or 12 win team in 2018? Probably not. Even if so, they're not suddenly adding those types with 2 1st round picks in the 20s. Because it's clear McBeane aren't big in spending in UFA. Pro Bowl voting concludes tomorrow and I can't imagine the Bills have more than 3 players who'll go. It's nice that McD talks about trusting the process, but I'd be more trusting if they had a lot more talent. Playing ball control offense aligned with good defense only gets you so far in today's NFL. No one wants to hear that, but without a true answer at QB you're probably not going to win more than 9 games a season and get in as a 5-6 seed.

McCoach likely told TPegs that he could win this year. And this is already an older team headed toward no more than a 9-7 finish in McCoach's first season. It's unlikely 2018 draft picks are going to come in and in some cases replace the departed talent and improve the team right out of the gate. A team that doesn't acknowledge they're rebuilding and tries to cushion the blow will end up rebuilding anyway. It's just might be with another regime. They don't have 2 seasons to be mediocre to average, i.e. 6-9 wins, before things need to click.

Sounds like Sammy's agent been working the phones for some good PR. A savvy thing to do in light of this down year he's having.

LOL. Reminds me of the time Jerry Burns gave a meltdown performance after a game with random f bombs and calling out players. Reporter asked him if he won the game, to which Burnsie responded, "I think we did, yeah."

Shame on Glenn for getting hurt. Didn't he know the Bills needed him? As for Groy, he isn't on the field for a reason. I'm not sure why, but he's apparently not better than Ducasse. If the Bills trade Glenn in the off-season and expect to go with Dawkins at LT with the whomever at RT, I'd like to see the salary purge lead to something. (EDIT: Then again, with this injury history, I don't see them getting much). McBeane has saved a considerable amount by letting Gilmore and Woods go to UFA, then trading Watkins and Dareus. They already having almost nothing on the books for a QB for next season. Perhaps they're looking to spend on the front 7, but I can't understand why we're back to them cutting costs like the Littman/Brandon days. Not to mention, the cap is increasing to 174-178M next season. If Glenn has a nagging issue and they get something for him, well, good luck. But purging all this salary better lead to something.

John Schneider and Pete Carroll work well together in Seattle. Carroll (who hired Schneider) tells the GM what kind of player he's looking for and Schneider is responsible for taking that guidance and finding options for the HC. Schneider is basically working for Carroll. Here, it's GM and HC working together without either reporting to the other. I don't think there's anything wrong with that arrangement provided both of them understand which schemes are being run and the types of players to fit them. That, and both have prioritized finding a better QB. The old way of a GM hiring the HC and telling him what players he'll have doesn't always work. The thing to keep in mind is typically HC's are fired before GM's. As far as DD is concerned, he could be here to provide subterfuge to the fan base but who knows at this point. We're going to learn plenty about what this team thinks based on their decisions this off-season.

I'm not a huge RW fan, but a few years after this PC, it was Commissioner Tagliabue pushing a new CBA on the owners. Ralph (and Mike Brown) both voted against it and were roundly criticized for having done so. I remember calling him into question myself. About 2 years later, ownership opted out of that CBA early. In this regard, RW was correct to oppose the 2006 CBA. Every public figure is evaluated, fairly or unfairly, based on how they speak. I have no doubt RW was doing the best he could back then, but octogenarian humans aren't at the top of their game. The man made some terrible decisions and some good ones. I would let it be.