BillsVet

Check where he played during that infamous 2011. Johnson was playing OLB because Buffalo didn't have the OLBs to fit their 30 front defense. https://www.buffalorumblings.com/2011/9/15/2426871/buffalo-bills-spencer-johnson-alex-carrington Those were some lean years.

Still plenty of social media lovers to make up for 'ole copy and paste.

Next year when Croom becomes an unrestricted restricted free agent we're going to be screwed!

We've seen the sizzle type picks (Spiller) and we've seen the safe ones (Lawson). The people who made those picks are long gone and will go down as unable to move this team into contender status. I don't need to see sizzle, but I want to see more than conventional, which is what taking a DT at 9 is save for Q. Williams. If the pick is defense and not a DE, then it's a waste given positional value. Wherever they pick should be in support of Allen, preferably a skill position type. That is, if they don't want to end up like the guys who took Spiller and Lawson.

In terms of draft strategy I'll go based on actions, not words. Exempting their moves to take Allen, Buffalo has traded down to pick Tre White and moved up 3 times for Zay, Dawkins, and Edmunds the past 2 drafts. I'm not saying they won't live up to what Beane is saying, although when it was said provides more context on this quote, which I don't have. It's also unlikely that Beane is going to tell the NFL community how he approaches the draft. He strikes me as too savvy to spell out his thought process. There are other inputs toward what the Bills looking for in round 1? I tend to think the HC is going to pound the table for a defensive prospect because he's a conventional thinker and that won't be lost on Beane. And, this draft features much more defensive talent at the top of the draft than offensive skill types.

I'm a firm believer in a team not falling back on letting the draft come to then. In fact, McBeane have moved up or down for each of the 5 players picked in rounds 1-2 in '17 and '18. If they're not happy with what's available at 9, I'm sure they've war-gamed strategies and made calls about moving down.

Their first pick this year goes a long way toward seeing whether McD is still a conventional type coach and capable of adapting his approach to feature more offense. I'm not the biggest DKM fan, but it would sure tell me he's not falling back on the safe decision, i.e. another OT or DT. It would also indicate the HC knows that offense, specifically through Allen, is how they get to the playoffs. Not stocking the defense with another 1st round pick. McD talked at the combine about needing to score 21 points per, which I take as his prepared reaction to criticism he's a defense first coach. Picking DKM or another offensive skill position player puts something behind that talk. Still, I need to see them make personnel moves beyond medium grade offensive players before I believe McD has adapted to the modern game.

The guy who is selling tickets.

It was. Awarding him a Silver Star to divert people from knowing he was lost from friendly fire. I remember it was like it was yesterday. Found out about it in a Stars and Stripes while in Baghdad. Felt like a punch to the gut.

40% of Buffalo's current roster is occupied by unrestricted free agents. Very few are draft picks as a result of McBeane's near-erasing of the Whaley and previous eras combined with some retirements. This is more a team built in free agency (see the OL) than in the draft...for now. Trading up is something Buffalo's done 4 times in 2 drafts, which could be the reason people expect it for the third year in a row. Then again, there isn't a 1st or 2nd round pick they've made the past 2 drafts where they say and used their pick. Tre, Zay, Dawkins, Allen, and Edmunds were all guys they moved around for.

We find Belichick driving (with Brady no less) to Nantucket in June on his annual retreat and get a faster car.

Cocaine is a helluva drug. That or alcohol, weed, or some combination thereof. Ole' Buddy sure had them fooled. Made everyone think he was a DT until they flipped him to guard. Some here praised Nix to the hilt over that move. Gotta love the homer fans.

Buffalo will offer the NFL their 3rd round pick for a late season primetime game.

Is that similar to a Bennett Brauer commentary? "I'm not camera friendly." Or, "Maybe I'm not...the norm." Or, "I don't wear clothes that fit me."

If the Bills were building a team circa 1985 then yeah, I'd think more defense with their first pick given their off-season acquisitions. Then again, if McCoach is the defensive guru some believe him to be, then he needs to get by with what he's got. They spent the better part of the past 2017 and 2018 off-seasons building McCoach's defense. If it needs more picks, then it comes at the expense of the offense. Teams win with offense and should focus on having enough defense. That's the NFL of 2019. Besides, a rookie isn't likely to improve them next season.

I can hear the analytics person in the room talking up this point, but it's debatable whether personnel types would even consider this. As in, what's the impact a first round DT, LB, or S can make above one taken in the 2nd or 3rd round based on the talent available. It's not a complete solution to the draft, but it gets closer to building an team that can win versus improving individual positions as many here indirectly advocate for.

McDermott will never appreciate that he's a HC and not a DC. His personnel choices these past 2 years have certainly demonstrated a lack of acumen with offensive players. It's also shown a reliance on spending major resources on defensive players in UFA and the draft. This approach requires more on defense than will allow for to build an elite offense. No one's getting deep into the playoffs with this way. I fully expect to see a DL at 9 and perhaps another defender in the 2nd round. He and the GM will point to the offensive spending this past free agency, but in the long run it won't be enough to take one of the league's worst offenses in 2018 and get them into a top 10 unit next season.

Whaley made a trade for a WR in a draft where that position was loaded, perhaps on par with the 1996 draft. That he doubled down on Manuel when there was evidence that he couldn't play didn't help his case either.

That's a low standard and glosses over the idea that skill players are less readily available than linemen on either side of the ball. (EDIT: save top pass rushers DE/OLB) I'll put it another way. If they have a grade on a TE/WR similar to a DT/OT and you go with the latter, it's the same tired ideology. One cannot ignore that offensive skill players at the aforementioned positions contribute more to wins than do linemen.

Dareus was drafted high because he was stout against the run and could rush the passer, as evidenced by his 28.5 sacks from 2011-2014. It was his versatility that scouts loved. That discounts the positional value perspective to drafting, which is why teams trade up for QB more than any other position. A good QB is a better force multiplier than a really good DT. At the same time, I'm not opposed to taking a solid LT and kicking Dawkins to LG. Still, Allen needs more options in the passing game, which as I've said doesn't feature anyone scary. Foster had 4 solid games in his final 8 last year. Zay isn't a huge threat. Brown has 50 or more catches 1 time in 5 seasons and Beasley, while nice, is a short area target.

Who said anything about reaching? Ed Oliver may be a fine player, but from a positional value standpoint he's not worth more as an interior DL than a good WR or TE who poses a match-up issue for opposing defenses. Buffalo's offense doesn't feature one guy who a defensive coordinator is losing sleep over.

Ed Oliver is not going to be your run stopper or hold up against double teams. He's needs to line up as a 3 technique and win with speed and athleticism one v one.

The best way to beat Brady is keep him off the field. Drafting Dareus really didn't make a big dent in taking down NE. Why would Oliver do it?

Buffalo's DL depth beyond this season is thin and I could easily see McBeane taking someone in the first round to fit that need. It is a strong draft for that area, so there's likely going to be good DL talent available at 9 or wherever they pick on Day 1 of the draft. This would be the conventional approach and predictable given the HC’s background. Yet, each of the four conference championship participants last year featured elite offenses who could easily put up points (cue the person who references the SB final score). In fact, 11 of the 12 playoff teams scored at least 22.9 points per game during the regular season. This is an offensive driven league now and has been for quite some time. With this in mind, I don’t see how taking a DT makes this team that much better. IMO, the only position on defense they should draft in the first round should be a pass rusher. Point is, McBeane need to continue surrounding Allen with skill types. That may mean the HC gets by with less on defense, but so be it. For as many offensive UFA signings as they made, none of the skill ones are dynamic save perhaps John Brown and that’s pushing it. They invested so much in Allen, so it stands to reason they give him another weapon to use. Going WR or TE in the first round is a sign McBeane acknowledge they need to be a modern NFL offense.

Oddball...great movie, great clip. Also liked, "We have a loudspeaker here, and when we go into battle we play music, very loud. It kind of... calms us down." Amazing to think that since 2006, the Bills have entered the first round picking between 8 and 12 in ten out of thirteen years. That's some consistency. And those picks ended up as Whitner, Lynch, McKelvin, Maybin, Spiller and Gilmore. They traded out of their pick in 2013, 2014, and 2017.