BillsVet

Klein is a strictly a Sam and Milano a Will. In passing downs Klein is a liability and on running downs Milano obviously is.

Complete football teams do not necessarily win Super Bowls. The 2015 Broncos are a fine example, with a QB in his final season and clearly a shell of what he used to be. They had, for that season, an outstanding defense. On the flip side there's the 2018 Chiefs who were an offside away from a trip to the Big Game. That team was porous on defense, but had the NFL MVP throwing passes to top skill players. I would like someone to, for once, point out a dominant defense that remained together for more than 4 years. The reason none exist is because keeping a defensive unit intact is far more difficult than finding the QB who is a force multiplier of talent around them. If Pete Carroll and John Schneider couldn't do it, how would McBeane? Problem is, good defenders want to get paid after their rookie deal and that means you've got to mine talent later in the draft almost every year Already in this thread I've been told the draft is a crapshoot, so it stands to reason leaning on late round picks is just that. Even McD and Beane aren't finding long term starters in the 4th round or later every year. They, like most GM's, are finding it hard to do so in the 2nd or 3rd rounds. If retaining a solid defense were straightforward and done through "Drafting them and cherry pick(ing) the exceptional talents" Buffalo would be a top 10 defense 4 years into the McD regime. But they're not. So keep loading up on offense and riding Josh Allen. We've seen the strategy on defense doesn't work with McD making decisions. Go back to last year's WC game.

I'd debate you about the assertion of "every GM" but I'm confident it would go unabated through both ear holes. Have a nice day. I've been told for several years now how the draft is a total crapshoot so as to deflect from the Bills missing on players. Never gets old. The second point was made in reference to Mahomes just days ago. Buffalo has a major need at a position, eschews the player being debated, chooses a lesser player at perhaps a less important position, and fans 1-3 years later defend it with the "he wouldn't have developed the same in Buffalo."

Fan deflection mode. Buffalo had a first round grade on a tweener and moved up that year to grab him. Teams that more readily prioritize guards, safeties, linebackers, DT's, and RBs (as Buffalo has) are left behind quickly in the modern NFL. And it wasn't like Metcalf's abilities were unknown. You take a WR with that skill set based on potential before you select the plodding guards who might have some potential because not all positions are valued the same. Case in point: How many 6'4 230# who run 4.4s are there versus tweener OL types with average movement ability? Re Ford: Not all his fault the injury occurred, but he's been hurt with a torn labrum last year and now a tear in the meniscus. That, combined it unclear where he plays doesn't bode well for his long term future.

Organizational front office dynamics in early 2017 were extremely odd. But that was a result of the Pegula's never quite understanding how to time hires. For example, when the new owners came on scene in 2014 they had every opportunity to get it right and failed. Carrying Whaley over and having the same plans with Marrone maintained the dysfunction. The answer would have been to hire a GM and a HC after their first season (2015) and move from there. Yet, they allowed Dugout Doug and Wrex to co-exist was one of the biggest mistakes they made, leading to the need to hire someone strong in McD. Obviously it's settled down with McD paired with his guy Beane. I wish it wouldn't have taken them 2+ years to figure out people like Brandon and Whaley were leading them down a dark path.

Reading Dunne's article reminds me of the revisionist history many writers pawn off on fans when something else works. Such as, Gregggggg telling people he would have drafted Brees in 2001. Also not surprising that Whaley and Monos are sources, both of whom are out of the NFL and don't seem destined to return. It's all about performing an image makeover and another reason why the media's angle is more attuned to helping people around the league than doing real journalism. Pegula, Whaley, and Monos are the heroes for liking Mahomes. OTOH, McD is the goat for taking the less risky path by trading down and then going full Corleone and whacking almost the entire front office.

We'll never know how much McD's desire to win now inhibited their ability to win later. I think his "process" was all about having a top defense from the beginning and playing Jauron-ball to be reasonably competitive. That method didn't require a young QB and it's why they deferred on the QB decision until the following season. Which meant needing to spend another season plus developing that guy.

Except not all snaps are the same. It's a lot different lining up when it's 1st and 10 versus 3rd and 12 or 3rd and 2.

If he follows along Alexander's career track, we should see Epenesa become that sort of player by the year 2029.

There are lies, damn lies, and statistics. You get bonus points in your "argument" for telling me who said that.

In 8 games Epenesa has participated in 110 snaps or 16% of those in games he's played. Has 2 TFL and 2 QB hits: https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/E/EpenAJ00.htm I'm not seeing what you're seeing.

LB - This isn't a criticism of your post. But sometimes the threads you start are so obvious. It's about the talent to ask intuitive questions. Less is more.

Another "I'm worried" thread. Man, just enjoy the season. I can't understand why people are focused on whether the front office will re-sign players in the off-season who haven't finished this season. My favorite "worried" thread of the past few years was when this board went apoplectic after NYJ traded 3 seconds to move up in the '18 draft. People were demanding Buffalo do something. NYJ of course later selected Darnold and early returns are Buffalo did better with Josh. Things worked out for the better then and the same will be said about the OL.

If Beane is playing the long game, the number of bad contracts in UFA isn't supporting that. That and dealing picks do not put a team in position at the deadline to improve the roster for what should be at a minimum the 4th seed in the AFC. That said, it sounded like sale prices were too high and sending higher picks to take on a contract were cost prohibitive.

More click-bait thread titles. Used to be LAMP were the thing. Now it's look at my thread stuff.

Are people on TBD paying his contract? Who cares? It'll get done and that's all that matters.

Five Thirty Eight? Come on man!

In the final years of Ralph's ownership it became obvious few reputable NFL HC and GM candidates wanted to work in Buffalo. This was evidenced during the period in late 2009/January 2010 when the Bills were forced to hire 70 year old Buddy Nix for his first NFL GM gig who brought on Chan Gailey. This after Ralph decided to: Re-sign Dick Jauron to a contract extension in 2008. He proceeded to then go 2-8 to finish that season and was fired in mid 2009. Promote Russ Brandon multiple times, including to GM in 2008. Hire octogenarian Marv Levy as GM in 2006. Permit Jeff Littmann to, well, remain in the organization for years on end. The Bills would not have attracted a HC and GM like McD and Beane to OBD in a RW owned franchise. Very little chance of success given the lack of investment into the team as what occurred from around 2006-2014.

I'm sorry, I'd rather not be like the Carolina Panthers. And Thompson, he of the 0 Pro Bowls and 0 All-Pro team nods in 5 seasons, is most definitely not the one to spend 12-13M on. Besides, he's missed 2 games each year for the last 5 seasons. MIlano's a good defender against the pass when healthy, but he's missed 8 games in the last 2.5 seasons. If I'm giving out contracts and using the owner's money I want something more than that.

The market for WLB's in the NFL is nowhere near 12-13M per. I know people have read that here and translated it to fact, but it's TBD narrative/fiction now. Bills fans, after about 20 years, need to grasp that some positions and some players will not be re-signed. You start finding enough talent and it'll squeeze other areas of the roster. This is why the draft is so important when you put together a better roster. With fewer needs, drafting is harder because you're not looking to improve all these areas like the 2001-circa 2015 Bills had to. LB, S, G, RB, and perhaps 1T DT are positions that they'll need to replace in the draft so they can afford to keep guys like Allen, Diggs, and the now re-signed Dawkins and Tre. Ain't gonna have enough for every home-grown player. Particularly at the aforementioned positions because it's not as value-added to producing wins.

After 4 years? Far from winning? That's called failure. EDIT: Cue the fans who note Beane has only been here for 3 full off-seasons.

Let's give it some time. As in after the next 6 weeks when Buffalo hosts Seattle, visits Arizona, the bye, then home vs. the Chargers, travels to San Fran, and then back home for Pittsburgh. That stretch makes or breaks their season regardless of what, if anything, happens on deadline day.

Beane bears some of the responsibility for the pro personnel side of the house not assessing UFAs. I would also place some of the problem on the HC and a scheme that apparently needed players like Klein. Sure, every 40 front needs the SLB, but McD has roster control and he had to have signed off on the signing. McD gets a wide berth here and I understand why because it's a Bills message board. At the same time, not all UFA decisions are solely on Beane. They're a team and thus far have swung and missed more than I'd like to see. Furthermore, as @BADOLBILZ points out, they've been very lucky in personnel decisions especially the draft. The big concern if this persists is that Buffalo reaches their ceiling of being a 10 win team a la Tennessee a few years ago and doesn't make the leap forward. Either way, Pro Personnel needs to be better and the scheme McD has must adapt.

Life in general is about continuous improvement. I expect that the GM and HC live by this same mantra and that they've identified the need to win in 2020. The game on Sunday should provide another, albeit not final, opportunity to showcase whether they are improving.

Whenever I see a thread started that ends in a question mark it tells the story. Someone is nervous about something and speculating what will happen. In the middle of the 2020 season, looking into the off-season is premature and a non-value added exercise. I do not understand why people are so anxious about every little thing. Hyde's on the roster and under contract. Focus on the games and worry about potential off-season transactions when the season is over.