BillsVet

I've always thought Russ was the "Mr. Smithers" to Ralph Wilson's C. Montgomery Burns.

I'm sure there are some more China AFL players who are out there. Signing upwards of 30 street free agents, UDFA's, and low cost FA's shouldn't be the method to build this roster after the past 4 (some might claim 7) off-seasons of rebuilding. We shall see how many of the low end signings make the roster, and if they do, are significant contributors.

Who are you to tell another poster what's right and wrong? Millennial, right?

Watching that makes what Don Hutson did all the more remarkable.

Corrected. I just don't see them going WR or TE with their first pick. Not with a defensive minded HC inheriting what he has on that side of the ball.

I doubt McDermott goes (EDIT: offense) given the secondary issues. In the age of fantasy football WR's and TE's are nice, but a HC from the defensive side of the ball isn't going (EDIT: offense) with his first draft. This is especially the case with Buffalo's defense was so poor last year because McD knows it wasn't just the scheme.

Actually, criticism is forthcoming when you don't get into the playoffs. That lack of results tends to be frowned upon.

Brandon isn't gone. He got a promotion. EJ was not re-signed because he couldn't play. Rex was fired after a tumultuous season in which the front office blamed him through the media for the season going poorly. It was partially his fault, but the roster assembled wasn't good either. Career minded coaches like McDermott do not take a HC job where there isn't a chance to succeed. If McD can get T/K Pegs to jettison Whaley, who is only 1 of 2 HC's in the NFL (Dave Caldwell) to be a GM 4 full seasons and not deliver a playoff appearance, it would be a long overdue move.

It's not a plan to hope someone who's never been a #2 and been in the league a few seasons to all of a sudden develop. In 2015 and 2016 (32 games), Andre Holmes was targeted all of 58 times, catching 25 passes. During this time Derek Carr threw 1,100+ passes, which makes Holmes the intended receiver about 5% of the time. The notion Holmes is suddenly a #2 caliber receiver is absurd given the production. This will not be a passing team and besides, the new HC comes from the defensive side of the ball. The chances they take a WR in the first round are slim and it wouldn't surprise me if they take the best DB on the board. WR isn't that important and the quantity of retreads they've signed indicates this isn't a priority. They'll hope someone performs, and if not, it's not the personnel department's fault anyway.

Because he reads TBD. He knows this is the home of rational, logic driven thought for how to make this team a winner - now.

I didn't realize there were so many Baghdad Bob's on this board.

Your picks in rounds 1-3 are where you should find starters. And I chose 2009-13 because those players would now be on their second contract, and therefore re-signed. Darby is not a replacement for Gilmore. He was chosen because they needed another CB in 2015 and met RR's priority on the position. Seymour is almost a complete unknown and it seems the off-season revisionist history now pronounces him a starter. He hasn't proven after 1 season he's starting material. Listenbee is a complete unknown who's never run a full route tree and is coming off multiple injuries. If you bank on essentially a redshirt freshman basically being a reliable pass catcher, it's delusional. The Bills needed to sign so many players this off-season because the roster is without much depth. If Doug Whaley was this great architect of a roster, why would this be the case after 4 seasons he was in charge of personnel?

No one in the first wave of free agency deserves what they get. The market bears it out though if you want to sign a quality UFA you're going to pay. I realize discussion of roster and cap management here is an exercise in futility, but whatever. Good teams don't perennially use the draft to fill gaping roster needs. Usually, a team that drafts well has a player ready to step in and play. That doesn't happen in Buffalo, and their depth is typically lousy which requires them to spend in UFA when that those players should be on lower rookie contracts. And this narrative of not being able to re-sign everyone should be dead. From 2009-2013 Buffalo had a total of 17 draft picks in the first 3 rounds. 4 (Maybin, Troup, Graham, EJM) were busts. 7 were not re-signed and hit UFA (Byrd, Levitre, Spiller, Carrington, Gilmore, Woods, and Goodwin). 2 were traded (Sheppard, Alonso). And a grand total of 4 players were re-signed (Wood, Dareus, A. Williams, and Glenn). They're not signing so many of their own it precludes them from keeping other players. They're just not getting value from the draft, especially after the 2nd round and trying to balance that in free agency. They've been fast and loose with resources and now find themselves backed into a corner. I'm not a big Tim Graham fan, but his article at the end of last season hit the nail on the head. The root cause for their inept roster is poor drafting. And the same guy who's been affiliated with the team since 2010 is still there. For the past 4 years he's been behind on the draft and result it relying heavily on free agents. It's only papering over the real issue.

Great post. The common denominator is rarely do the Bills have a player on the roster to fill in when they let a guy go via UFA. They're not prepared given the terrible drafting (particularly after round 2) for someone to step in who's semi-proven when a UFA leaves. The other interesting thing is how every new HC in their first draft has used the top pick on the side of the ball they originate from: 1998 - Wade - Winfield 2001 - Greggo - Clements 2004 - Mularkey - Evans / Losman 2006 - Jauron - Whitner / McCargo 2010 - Gailey - Spiller 2013 - Marrone - Manuel 2015 - Ryan - Darby (2nd) I doubt this team goes offense in round 1. McDermott knows the defense was their weak point last year and even though the offense is on the downslide, their secondary is extremely weak. More using the draft to backfill for departed UFA's and/or guys the new HC didn't prefer. And, if anything is clear now, Whaley defers to HC's because he's a weak leader and gives in to show he's a "team player." McDermott wants to win now and isn't about to address the side of the ball that on paper is stronger.

It's not saying much when a player isn't cut during his rookie contract.

"One man's trash is another man's treasure."

The question isn't whether TT is better than the likes of Losman, Edwards, Fitzpatrick, or Manuel. It is whether he's good enough to QB this team into the playoffs and so far the answer is no. He doesn't hurt the team, but he's not helping it much either. And he essentially admitted his play wasn't good enough by taking a pay cut. Any fan who comes onto this board and questions the Bills has a right to do so. When they fail to make the playoffs, fire someone, rebuild, fail to make the playoffs, and repeat that process it creates a little skepticism. And that is especially so when the front office remains largely intact the past 4 years. If you can't tolerate dissenting opinion about the team and where it's going it's you that has the issue. It's more than reasonable for fans to question the direction of this team, particularly with regard to their reckless use of cap dollars in 2015-16, the bad drafts going back forever, and revolving door of HC's, without changes to the front office. Some fans love to make excuses though, which means accountability goes out the window.

Something was wrong with Manuel when he declared in May 2013 that the playbook was easier than at FSU. http://miamiherald.typepad.com/florida-state/2013/05/ej-manuel-says-fsu-offense-harder-to-learn-than-buffalo-bills-.html

I agree. McDermott doesn't come to Buffalo without significant assurance that he'll get to do things his way. He knew the roster was top heavy, lacked depth, and the QB situation is far from ideal. He knew what transpired at the end of last season with the front office sniping at the coaching staff was corrosive. Rex wasn't someone you trust to help build a roster. He swung wildly on players to fit his schemes and didn't seem concerned with cap ramifications to signing these big names. It seemed like Whaley just went along with it and deferred to Rex until it was clear the season wasn't going to result in a playoff appearance. McDermott's going to do things his way, which seems more calculated and won't include more big swings in UFA and major risk taking. And I don't see Whaley getting in his way either.

Isn't he in the witness protection program?

Just like the end of last season basically. Amazing considering they've used 4 first through 3rd round picks on Watkins, Woods, and Goodwin since 2013.

Have they called Erik Pears yet? He was one of Buddy's blue light special types a few years ago.

This small market excuse was appropriate when RW and his people were cutting off the team at the knees. It no longer applies. The spending spree a la 2015-16 when they went desperately for the playoffs and couldn't get it done is what has led to this off-season. There wasn't anything "moneyball" about breaking the bank on McCoy, Clay, Hughes, Dareus, Glenn, TT (to an extent), and trading up in the draft in between 2014 and 2016. That this team is rebuilding once again with the same front office should make people question the direction of the team. Hiring new HC's isn't a solution and they could bring in a very good experienced one and it won't overcome a distinct lack of talent.

Fred was a the oldest RB in the NFL at the time. Groy turns 27 in September and is heading into his 4th NFL season. Clearly different situations. When you leave your roster thin and need bodies, you open yourself up to other teams signing some of the guys you'd like to keep. A similar thing happened last season when NE took Hogan on a contract the Bills couldn't match.

The approach to UFA this year reminds me of how Buffalo handled it in 2006: sign a bunch of low cost UFA's, hope the QB inherited by the new coaching staff plays well with a new defensive scheme. Make few changes to the front office and hope the new staff coaxes a few wins out of a younger team. Not the same, but similar. That the Bills are in this position after the past few seasons should say this is a rebuild. No one's coming out and saying it, but the roster is indeed weak all over and they need bodies. The cap room they had was misleading because it was the result of having so few players on the roster to begin with. This what happens when a GM without a plan goes for broke each of the past 3 seasons by trading up in the draft (twice) and spending a lot of money on a handful of players.