BillsVet

They had invested 1.4B+ into a team, been duped into hiring Rex, and McD saw an opportunity because T/K Pegs were desperate and needed some structure to a massive investment. Enter McD and later his guy Beane. Even though they've made their share of mistakes, you can't deny it takes a solid plan and strategy to go 13-3. Drafting Josh Allen in a QB league was a big win. But once again, what we as fans think should be isn't the priority for billionaire types who own our favorite pro sports teams. Sure, they want to win, but on their terms and retaining control over their investment is what some owners believe is their right. Doesn't matter if they make bad decisions like the Pegula's have year after year, they want control. And that's especially the case when the team is losing tens of millions of dollars. You could have ended this post after "inept ownership notwithstanding." There's no overcoming that and if memory serves, a lot of TBDers mocked Dan Snyder years ago for mismanaging his NFL team. Well, the Buffalo Sabres are the Washington Football Team of the NHL now. A laughingstock to players, employees (many now former) and people throughout the NHL.

Ideas that make sense to fans need to be considered first in light of ownership and their priorities. There isn't gonna be a press conference where anything positive happens. There isn't gonna be a president of hockey ops hired from outside the organization. They aren't moving Kim out of the president role. Ownership isn't going to sit in the back of the room and be quiet. Ya gotta live in the real world and understand where Terry and Kim operate from. You can hate on Jack all you like, but their handling of his injury sends a message that Buffalo isn't a place you want to be as a veteran player. They have to earn respect and ownership doesn't care about that. And rebuilding? How many times does one ownership group and the people they hire have to do this before it works? Because it couldn't with a MVP candidate from last year. It couldn't with numerous high draft picks and millions spent on UFA's. And if this continues, why would any decent player who gets traded to Buffalo not eventually arrive where Jack is now - stuck in a losing culture where it seems there's no way out.

Fans can go after players all they want, but why are so many players (and now former ones) in Buffalo not happy? Is that an Eichel problem or is something deeper going on? The way you describe it, Eichel is a cancer who needs to be removed for them to move forward. He's infected that locker room and must be excised. Yet, it's high likely that Reinhart, Ristolainen and now we find out Taylor Hall know/knew there were deep issues in Sabreland. That ain't Jack's fault. The organization is a dumpster fire. You're don't finish last twice and in the bottom quarter of the league 5 times during Jack's tenure without there being significant organizational dysfunction. And if Jack is such a horrible influence, would that not mean teams don't want to trade for him? Because I'm pretty sure there's gonna be multiple teams trying to acquire Buffalo's best player.

No one's gonna force them to check their egos. The deeper this goes, the more they'll continue blaming others (Jack, local media, NHL) as the reason for the dysfunction. They don't trust anyone from outside the organization because the last few GM/HC hires didn't go well. Which means they draw upon the late RW years Bills playbook and hire only people they know and the circle repeats itself.

When teams aren't profitable, owners begin doing strange things and letting their ego(s) get in the way. They want control like they had in their private business, and allowing someone else to drive is anathema to their mindset. The Bills were a major investment that brought with it major revenue sharing. The Sabres were Terry's toy for a few years until they started losing 40-60M per. Besides, how much does fan response matter?

False equivalency. Paul Hamilton has reported the Pegula's aren't enamored with all the power they handed McBeane. Given their track record, I could see them snatching away control if the opportunity presents itself. Today cemented that the Pegula's ownership of the Sabres is pretty much the final years of RW owning the Bills. They (emphasis Terry and Kim) made multiple bad executive hires, got bad results, and now do in-house hires because they don't know/trust anyone. Not to mention, they're hiring cronies, cutting costs left and right all the while alienating key players. They've driven people away from the organization, meddled in personnel decisions, and horrible anytime they're in front of the camera. They've taken a proud NHL team and run it into the ground. But it's the NHL's fault for recommending bad executives. They are incompetent and it will not change.

It is quite a generalization to state that courts have "pretty uniformly" decided on vaccination requirements. You've long insisted on objective evidence to support assertions, and relevant case law is essential to your position here. Please cite the cases. An individual still has the right to elect not to receive the vaccine. And let's be clear, emergency use authorization vaccines are not quite what it was to receive your MMR or small pox shot to enter kindergarten. At some point, there will be people who decide against the vaccination for religious or other reasons. There will be forced compliance, albeit not by government but by the sector those individuals work in. I would hope that the courts rule in favor of individuals (who likely cannot give up their livelihood) if private or public sector entities requiring EUA vaccination can take this route. It reminds me of legislatures trying to mandate massive insurance coverage for people to exercise their 2nd Amendment rights. It's a backdoor way to force compliance. Lastly, something can be non-discriminatory but be held unconstitutional. Whether the Courts recognize the Constitution has not been suspended is another matter we are still working through. My sense is precedent around vaccination and employer limits has only begun in light of what has most recently happened. Especially when one considers the risk posed by the virus among working age people (those under 60).

I doubt McD would give analytics types the time of day even if they were in the room during meetings to develop their draft board.

I think it was after the Houston WC loss when Beane said in the season ending PC that you're defined by how you lose your last game. The AFC CG loss was not the result of poor RB play, the lack of a 1T, or even CB2. The major personnel issue was a pass rush that could not pressure Mahomes and they've sought to improve that. Now, if only they can become more aggressive in game-plan/play-calling on both sides of the ball.

For years I had hopes Buffalo would demonstrate a cogent long term plan across the roster and they're doing just that. The plan, as good teams follow, was to rebuild with a veteran while drafting their replacement. It took a little longer, but this draft follows that strategy. I'm pretty confident the plan is for Brown to slide into a starting role within 2 seasons. because you can't keep paying the 2 starting OT's what they are with a QB under a contract Josh is sure to receive. Dawkins and Brown count 17.5M and 21.6M against the cap barring restructuring in 2021 and 2022 respectively.

It's not revolutionary for teams that are good to use the draft for what Buffalo did this year. Identify players with high reward potential who'll likely be in a rotation. What's not going to work is using the draft for need or, when your roster is thin at multiple positions, going BPA with an eye on those rookies starting. I'd rather be in the first scenario. The second is what (poorly) rebuilding clubs do year in year out...kinda like Buffalo circa 2005-2016.

The irony about today's move is that if someone had asked in mid-2018 who would develop faster into an All-Pro, I think the vast majority of TBD would have said Edmunds. After all, he played a position with a unique physical skill set, had continuity in coaching, and the scheme was set up for him. Yet, it's Allen who ascended to All-Pro status and Edmunds we keep hearing has potential, is still very young, and going to get better. Giving TE the 5th year option pushes the problem down the road, but without significant improvement he'll be a 10M+ albatross in that defense come 2022.

Hard to understand how multiple regimes eschewed being have a comprehensive plan that prioritized throwing the ball and rushing the passer. Looks like that's finally in the rear view mirror now. Beane said this draft was about the future, which is what is should be when you've ascended to being one of the better teams. All those years, particularly from 2006-2016 it was about getting guys who could play now and likely were lesser talented but more pro ready. Also helps them get cheaper when JAs contract comes due. Spending 6-10M on vet DEs has to be curtailed along with some other positions.

Beane said at the pre-draft luncheon that they're looking at this draft for the long term, and these picks fit that. I'm not going to bank on either DE coming in and giving them 15 sacks. They're likely not going to provide the margin in key games either, but who knows. Still, last year they had enough offense to out-score plenty of teams. But everyone's getting better and Buffalo's gotta stay ahead of them as their scheme is more well understood. We'll see if what they've done and how much Josh improves is enough to keep the advantage.

I'd counter he's used more picks and UFA dollars on defense: 2017: Signed Hyde and Poyer (later re-signed). Drafted Tre with a low 1st round pick 2018: Signed Star to a large contract along with Murphy, traded up in mid 1st to take Edmunds and 3rd on H. Phillips. 2019: Re-signed Hughes to a moderately high contract. Drafted Oliver with a high 1st. 2020: Signed Addison to a moderately high contract along with Klein, V. Butler and Q. Jefferson. Drafted Epenesa in mid 2nd. 2021: Re-signed Milano to a moderately high contract. Drafted Rousseau with a low 1st and Basham with a low 2nd. That's 7 top 100 picks including (4 first, 2 2nds, and a 3rd) and 10 UFA's or re-signings of some note in 5 off-seasons (so far).

It's not as strong a group as people think. I know a lot of people cite what they did in 2020, but next season will be different. Teams have tape on Daboll's offense and Josh isn't gonna sneak up on anyone. They're gonna need some new wrinkles and another receiver would help. Gotta stay fresh on offense unless you've got elite talent, which aside from Diggs and an older Beasley they really don't have.

McD under-values offense more than he should and both the draft and UFA illustrate that. People are gonna look at the current offense, but aside from Diggs there's no one at the skill positions who can make a big play deep. Beasley, Davis, Sanders, Knox, Moss, Singletary are not those types. Breida perhaps, but he's not a 3 down back. We're going to find out if McD's plan to load up on defense with all these picks and UFA's is worth it. Because I'd hate to see Allen become Aaron Rodgers under the later McCarthy years when he could have used more skilled talent. A good team, but not good enough to win deep into the playoffs as they get lapped by other teams who emphasize faster offenses.

No, they have more signed at CB than those 2 - Taron Johnson and Levi Wallace are also under contract. As to secondary competency, last year they were second in secondary spending, yet ranked 13th in passing yards allowed. Obviously, pass defense is the byproduct of coverage and pass rush, but my point in analyzing spending versus results is all about the scheme. Is McD's scheme and his vision for building a SB winner suitable for how the league is in 2021? I don't think so. Talking about defensive resource allocation reminds me how Rex was never gonna have time to implement his defense. It took too many pieces to do so and the same thing is playing out now. You've got a problem when the HC needs so many 1st round picks and high dollar UFAs to run his defense, which as @BADOLBILZ has noted is inflexible and teams are catching on to. It'll come to a head eventually, but probably not this season when Josh gets his contract. Beane even admitted to them needing to adjust after that contract is finalized. You won't have guys like Milano or Feliciano getting extensions. They'll be under the gun to start guys on rookie contracts to save money.

Your analysis is inherently flawed because no one is talking about the volume of defensive players drafted Who cares that KC or TB spent late round flyers on Dlinemen? And it completely ignores that some defensive positions are more valued than others (CB, DE) versus others (S, DT, LB). Nor is anyone saying you shouldn't draft or sign UFA defenders. The issue is resource allocation in light of how you win in the NFL. My point remains that they are not getting the return on defense investment. Case in point: Buffalo spent the most money on defense in 2020 and in nearly every statistical category was ranked in the middle of the league. It's about matching your strategy in personnel to your scheme and determining if the scheme works to win against great teams. Because..the NFL is a passing league now. Drafting another defender with the possible exception of a true pass rusher at 30 is not value added given the era and how teams win now. You get more value in theory now with Josh being a top QB by supporting him. Better skill types and blocking give Buffalo a better chance to win than McD getting all the pieces he wants on defense.

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/positional/2020/defense/ Buffalo had 2020's highest paid defense that featured 3 1st round picks and numerous highly paid UFAs. If they don't have the horses 4 years into McD's tenure they never will. The issue is not limited to personnel. Because whenever McD meets an opposing offense that can score, he goes uber-conservative and ends up giving up big points. There's going to be a reckoning probably next year when Josh's contract begins to inhibit McD from getting all the players he thinks he needs on that defense. Drafting more defense does not work in the NFL of the 21st century. The faster people accept that, the better. Now, it's a matter of a HC who begins to accept that as well.

How many will return to this thread after Buffalo makes their pick (or trades out) on Thursday night and realize they fell for another time an insider was used to lay down some smoke? I'm guessing pretty much no one.

There were many here who, after Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz were let go on the same day, firmly believed KC wouldn't or couldn't recover for 2021. Funny how things can change. 6 weeks later the Chiefs have changed their OL in effectively 1 off-season by acquiring Kyle Long, Orlando Brown, and Joe Thuney.

You guys passed Conflation 101. Great job!

You can see what you want. I merely applied a different metric to evaluate the supposed increase in caliber of play. @BuffaloBill noted that Josh's escapability improves their performance. You've concluded more points scored is a the positive effect of more OL spending. Not quite. I'd say Josh's ascendance to being a franchise QB largely contributed to that. And, better skill position play. This is a fan message board, and I get that fans are gonna be less objective. At the same time, Buffalo isn't going to have the luxury of spending big throughout this roster with Josh's contract forthcoming. It may not seem like much to spend 4.5M in cap dollars on Jon Feliciano, but doing that enough times adds up. I remember back in the prime drought years fans jumped on here to remind other fans (when Buffalo didn't spend much) how UFAs wouldn't win titles. That was true then and it's true now. Difference is, now that the team is doing it, that's OK. I look at the OL and they've got no less than 3 UFA starters on decent sized contracts for their position. That isn't going to last because it can't.

Leaving some critical data out in this analysis: In 2018, Buffalo spent 11.38M to rank 30th in the NFL. OL represented 6.03% of team cap dollars That increased to 29.05M spent vaulting them to 12th and 14.5% of their cap. In 2020, Bills OL spending increased to 36.25M to rank 3rd and was 16.4% of cap. Sure, some players like Dawkins who are homegrown received contract extensions and they should be credited for that. But much of the rest of that OL is higher paid UFAs, which should provide better quality of play. In 2020, I don't see them as having gotten their money's worth from the OL to spend what they did.