BillsVet

3 QB's in one off-season. Deshaun wants to have a say in the HC and GM. Russ is mad his OLine isn't better. Rodgers didn't like the Jordan Love pick. It's not new for players to demand trades, but front office moves that need to go by the QB is a recent trend. Fans look way too much at last season as though it's a guarantee the next season will be better. Lot of conventional thinking, but rosters turn over really fast in the NFL. Players get hurt, they leave in UFA, and cap management becomes more challenging when you play well. This is a place Bills fans haven't been since the cap was introduced in 1993. Depending heavily on UFAs in 19-20 is a luxury they no longer have. Only now, they're right back against the cap with the expectation is to remain competitive. 2. The free agents mentioned aren't coming back if they haven't re-signed by now. And no way is Matt Barkley a key contributor, nor Levi Wallace an above replacement grade starter. 3. Buffalo needs to be more efficient with cap dollars, the result of spending big on UFA's in 2019-20, particularly at OL, DL, and WR. They need to get younger and better production on cheaper contracts and/or a rookie contract. 4. Buffalo's WR group isn't solid after Diggs. Davis had a nice season as a 3 but how, if now the Z, he plays is entirely different. Beasley isn't young either. I'd expect to see a Day 2 pick there. The DL needs to be overhauled and younger value type players need to step up, especially Oliver and Epenesa. They've gotta get younger and better on DL.

Sounds you need a Snickers bar right now.

Have you ever heard a player, whether 1 hour, 1 day, or a year out from being cut ever publicly talk about whether the QB was consulted on the former being cut? I've never heard that. My contention remains: that NFL players are beginning to demand a say in personnel decisions, both player and executive. Russell Wilson and Deshaun Watson won't be the last who demand trades or question the front office publicly. It's not gonna go over well if players believe they're entitled to a seat at that table. Massive conflation. Your job ain't NFL football nor on a contract like what Brown was signed to. And I'm guessing that you didn't appeal to your co-workers to run the Regional Manager's decision by someone higher up. Be relevant in analyzing that statement as I have. How many teams with veteran QB's that go to the playoffs don't or won't have one of those? I'll wait Doc.

I would avoid copy and pasting articles (even with a link) to make a thread. NFL players seem to be modeling their approach to personnel and other front office decisions based on where the NBA has trended. It's not going to end well, particularly when QBs demand to be traded or to have a say in who the HC or GM is. Right now I cannot imagine being a Texans or Seahawks fan and learning your star QB wants out because they're unhappy with who the GM is or thinks they need more talent to compete. EDIT: Where does this end? Do teams, especially those with big dollar QB's, allow high priced players input on player personnel decisions to satisfy them? Does the QB take added heat then if a player doesn't work out or when the cap is not managed poorly?

Very sorry for your loss Returntoglory. RIP.

I get the sense initially under the Pegula's Sabres ownership that Terry was playing uber-fan and allowed his hockey people to do whatever they could financially and within the cap to win. They tried to spend their way to success and of course it didn't work because the people they inherited (who they retained) didn't know their stuff. And as the team remained at the bottom of the NHL, Terry and/or Kim began asserting more control over the entire operation. They maintained hiring bad executives and blamed the NHL for guidance over these moves. The move to buy the Bills in 2014 required a refocus on the bottom line with all their investments and that meant the Sabres got singled out because they were losing. It couldn't be Terry's toy like it had been before. Not to mention, they over-expanded into all these businesses for some reason. There again, I think there were some bad advisors or they made bad decisions. I know Terry made billions in gas, but I have yet to see how Kim is qualified to be leading these major organizations. Bottom line is they're trying to do things their way as a response to letting others run the team into the ground. What they're not capable of is admitting this "plan" is making things worse. It's their decision-making for why the franchise is losing money, why the fans are so dissatisfied, and why dysfunction exists in the front office. I If they think the Bills can be put on auto-pilot and win without good football management, this sports town is in real big trouble. They'll never recover from that level of stupid. They're in waaaay over their heads and won't admit it now because they look so bad already.

More appropriate thread title would be 2021 NFL Prospect But clicks.

I'm not convinced even if the NHL afforded this service to new or current owners that the Pegula's would make the right choice. I think Kim once mentioned they were misled. That's a lot of misleading considering they've now inherited or hired Regier, LaFontaine, Ted Black, Murray, Botterill and many other non-hockey personnel executives these past 10 years. There is something wrong in the upper rungs of management there. And there's a common denominator.

From 2020 to 20201, the DL needs to transition from the nonsense of needing an 8-9 man rotation that sucks up cap dollars to one which can pressure QBs. It's beyond me why a middling DL costs 51M+ for players who can't get to the QB or stop the run. Fortunately, it appears there's a decent crop of UFA rushers available. They'll need some pieces at LB and CB, although those should be value types and not the big contract types. Aside from that, the offense must again be the priority. Another Butler or Jefferson type DL isn't going to equate to much in W's anyway.

Fans debate each off-season over LBs, DTs, and Safeties, but using cap dollars there is not going to result in W's like it will making Allen better. That's just where the NFL is now, but people want to pursue balance on both sides of the ball? Why? Allen is the way you win now and so long as you can rush the passer on defense. All this talk about lower positional values signings is just that. If there's any balance this team needs, it's a running game that complements the passing game. And I'd start up front before falling into the new narrative about drafting yet another RB. This off-season remains a discussion about how they continue making Josh the centerpiece and giving him everything he needs to succeed.

How do you quantify or even qualify whether a coordinator is good? It's hard considering that they operate within the HC's desired game-plan and may work with inferior or superior talent. Daboll's success improved dramatically with the ascent of Josh Allen to a top tier NFL QB. 7 NFL teams had job openings at HC this year. 5 decided against interviewing Daboll, although perhaps his presence deep into the playoffs hurt that. OTOH, if he was an in-demand candidate, one would think a team could wait for their guy. That's quite the validation he's not HC material and/or that his work as an OC hasn't yet proven he's worthy of a promotion.

Fans tend to overrate their players...and now apparently their coaches. Other teams looking at potential HC's look beyond their rankings for coordinators, meaning they are wising up about whom to hire as a HC. Too many bad hires of "hot" offensive coordinators that aren't suited to being in charge. McDaniels with Denver and Gase with Miami/NY Jets come to mind. It may take another 1-2 seasons to rehabilitate his previous coaching resume.

No one is claiming COVID hasn't factored into their 2021 cap situation, but you're leaving out the recent roster UFA spending decision history. Buffalo entered the 2020 season with 1.3M in cap space and this year are at 3.2M. That's a pretty slim margin to begin with, but the cost of building a DL, OL, and WR group largely through UFA. Those contracts add up, and make it more difficult to absorb the effect of the virus. It's also bad policy to expect something (the TV deal) to go up each negotiation, when it's clear with the NFL's ratings are down. No one can assume the TV contract will rise anymore. As for the players contracts, if they can front-load some money in those renegotiated contracts it won't be a major issue. They're confident in both Dawkins and White. It's why 2021 is about ending their reliance on UFA's to fill out the roster and transitioning to more team friendly contracts, many of which I expect will be rookie deals.

Re-structuring 2 home-grown players who signed extensions less than 1 year ago is not a good look nor good cap management. And much of this discussion is because Buffalo leaned on UFA far too much to cover up not obtaining productive players after Round 2 in 17-19. Some of it is just bad UFA decisions as happened in 2018. Beane and McD get credit for the run last year and no one can take that AFCCG appearance away from them. Now the challenge is to get younger, be more efficient with draft and cap resources and all while maintaining the same level of production. The days of liberally using UFA and being average/below average after the 2nd round have to be over for this team to continue being a top tier NFL franchise. Beane and McD are gonna be working with a lot smaller margin of error than they've had in the last 4 off-seasons.

We need more threads of NFL pundits confessing to the sin of doubting Josh Allen and offering penance for having done so. Seriously, why is anyone using brain matter to post this stuff? What benefit to this board does it serve to highlight this?

Main issue with McD this off-season and last was whether he could change his focus away from his defensive scheme and the personnel to suit it. An 8-9 man DL rotation that ate up 51M (minus Star's full contract) indicated he wasn't interested in it. This off-season is largely about re-tooling the roster to support Josh and finding a pass rush. To win in this league McD's gonna need to let go of the defensive investment and he and Beane are gonna need to find lower cost options in UFA and via the draft.

Finally, someone who could spell his name right.

Another thread that supports new posters not starting threads for their first few months. Or in this case...ever.

In the words of the great Henny Youngman..."Take my Milano...please."

It's not about the player you propose...it's claiming Singletary is the problem and therefore the only option is to use another mid round pick on a RB. What was clear all season long is the interior OL wasn't opening much for these backs to get through. That will be addressed, and while it's early, I think management will keep Singletary and Moss. Continuing to use mid-round picks on RBs is not exponentially going to improve the offense.

Need a better cost benefit analysis here. Situation: Cut a player who's had some production on a rookie contract with 2 years in this system to use a draft pick on a rookie. Benefits are hopefully increased production and marginal change in cap hit. Costs are, you have a rookie. You use a draft pick that could be allocated toward another position that affects the game CB, OL, pass rush (not in that order). I would not use another top 3 round pick on a RB. Nor do I blame Singletary for Buffalo's inability to run the ball. The root of the issue isn't so much with Singletary, as it is with their OL. He averaged 5 yards per carry in '19 and 4.4 in '20. I would, however, look to find a more speedy complement and competition, but not high in the draft.

Singletary gained 5 ypg last year and 4.4 this year. Some love to point out candidates for release, but rarely offer a solution to replacing that player. He's not dynamic, particularly in the passing game, but 1.1M savings is chump change. That said, bring in competition and see how he responds.

Maybe he's taking a cue from Harden. David Culley is an uninspired hiring, but the idea Watson wanted input in the GM hire is absurd. Yes, he's the franchise QB, but getting to contribute to that decision, well, is a bridge too far even in NFL circles. Bill O'Brien trading Hopkins out from underneath him combined with the 2020 season is him wanting a fresh start. But there's almost no compensation a team will offer to make that trade worth it unless Watson really digs in his heals and makes this an off-season drama fest.

Amazes me they had a 1st round grade on him and were giddy trading up to 38th in 2019 to select a tweener OL. They significantly overvalued him. Cue the hindsight is 20/20 types, but when he couldn't win the RT job in camp and then rotated with a journeyman I knew it wasn't good. He's finished both his seasons on IR, which is also cause for concern. But I agree, he seems weak at the point of attack. Maybe that changes and he recovers, but right now he's a spare OL part.

McD's approach to defense is quickly becoming antiquated, especially against top offenses. I'm not placing all the blame for this loss on him, but how he schemes a defense hasn't adapted to better passing offenses. The 2019 and 2020 playoff losses underscore this. Allowing Houston to eliminate a 16 point lead in 22 minutes or now the AFCCG where KC rang up 21 points in 18 minutes. For all the cap dollars and picks I'm not seeing how this scheme and these players McD needs works anymore. I would hope he does more than question his scheme...it should begin adapting to meet and defeat KC. Not gonna be easy, but unlikely if the same system is in place. The AFC is going to run through KC as long as Mahomes and crew are healthy.