BillsVet

I'd rather defend against a good RB than a TE who can make catches downfield. And the best offensive teams are throwing to set up their running game. A good TE forces teams to play defense differently and Buffalo hasn't had that in years. There will always be "needs" to address, but if we're talking about taking a RB before a TE, well, a that's 1980s mindset.

A negative effect of Buffalo perpetually rebuilding has been using the draft to fill needs. New regimes typically mean the previous group's players are sent packing, and thus, need to be replaced. Now that the Bills have settled on their QB of the future and spent tremendous assets on their defense it's time they drafted a TE. Charles Clay is a likely cap casualty and Jason Croom doesn't seem to be starting material. Buffalo hasn't used a high pick (rounds 1-3) on a TE since 2005 when they selected Kevin Everett in the 3rd. Since that time, several teams have featured TE's who create mismatches, can stretch the middle of the field, and provide Allen with a great weapon. Most of the top offenses feature one who does just this. This year's draft offers some solid options and you're not going to find much in free agency. It's time they use a 2nd or 3rd on a TE.

I don't start multiple threads a day and post thousands of times a year. Those that do need to get outside or, as I said, find something else to do. Welcome aboard noob.

Threads like this prove some people need to get hobbies.

Tanking has worked for whom? Even the 0-16 Lions in 2008 have never, despite taking Stafford, amounted to much. Cleveland remains an incomplete, yet needed significant changes to their front office, coaching staff and two straight top picks to get to 7 wins. No one, not team management or a fan based has the patience to go through a major rebuild that lasts more than 2 seasons. And that's why I think a lot of Bills fans are going to be disappointed in 2019 when it becomes clear that McBeane always saw this as a 4 year plan. They need to totally overhaul the offense save QB and that'll take 2 years.

"Just let the man coach your offensive line! He won't get in the way. He'll just stand in the back of the room while they're watching film." "FOR THE LOVE OF GOD JUST HIRE THE MAN!"

Maybe he was actually forced to find a job. Employment typically makes it difficult to post hundreds of times a week all hours of the day and night.

It's ironic that each of the four conference championship teams had a high pick at RB to start the season: New England - Michel (1st round, 31st overall / 2018) Los Angeles - Gurley (1st round, 10th overall / 2015) New Orleans - Ingram (1st round, 28th overall / 2011) and Kamara (3rd round, 67th overall / 2017) Kansas City - Hunt* (3rd round, 86th overall / 2017) *Released mid-season That said, Buffalo has a lot of personnel issues on offense and while they need to get younger, I would think OT, interior OL, WR, and TE are more pressing issues.

They may have thought long term in years 1 and 2 of their tenure, but I have a feeling they'll be less so in off-season #3. The honeymoon is over now that they've executed their plan to move out the contracts they didn't like.

Being better than the worst was a common refrain here during the late RW years as Buffalo toed the dysfunction line. The effect of an owner like Haslam flip-flopping all the time is no one wants to work for you, regardless of it being a NFL franchise. Thankfully, the last of the Wilson cronies is out and the Bills hopefully are under better front office management, although I've heard rumblings that the Pegula's are involved on certain decisions I'd rather they not be.

Their offensive drafting prowess hasn't struck me as solid, although that's deferring judgement on Allen. The UDFA types are bonuses, particularly at the harder to find positions To me, for McBeane to prove their ability to draft, it would be finding value in the mid rounds, which I consider 3rd-5th. I think Kyle Williams is the last guy, in 2006 (!) that I consider fitting that category. The only other player who looks like a long term starter from 2006-2016 might be Nigel Bradham. For Buffalo to continue rebuilding it's going to take more hits in those rounds. As to the thread, I could see them using a high pick on a RB if it's the right player. A quick cost-benefit analysis tells me that I'd rather have a young guy from round 2 or 3 versus a vet on a contract like what Ivory received. But, as previously mentioned, that line needs a talent influx and that should be prioritized first. Interested to see how McBeane set themselves up in the draft.

McBeane signed Tolbert in 2017...what more do you want? I'm sure they could drag Deangelo Williams out of retirement this year if need be. I think they'd like to lead the league in 30+ year old RBs. Not enough time has elapsed to judge their drafts. There's been some ups and some downs so far, notably with White and Milano, but then Dawkins and Jones from 2017. 2018 I'm not counting yet. This is a team that may be looking at 7-8 starters on offense. To draft well is great...but that's par for the course and getting starters in UFA for one off-season will be a challenge. Not impossible, but difficult.

17M rounding error? Don't you think that's substantial here? I do. Every year TBD goes through the same process. Talking about how close the team was and a player here or there will get them across the finish line. For a time this season they were one of the worst offenses since passing rules were changed in 1978. I'm hopeful and optimistic about Allen, but he's got almost nothing around him in terms of a proven NFL type at the peak of their career. Dawkins took a step back and beyond that, what is there? Everyone loves to point to Foster, but he played well for about a third of a season. They'll sign some free agents, but going from 6 to 10 wins is a big leap. Not impossible, but significant. And there's no way on God's green earth that they use the whole cap space this off-season. Not happening. They need to plan for the 2020 off-season and re-sign their guys from the 2017 draft class.

Who'd they cut to get to $100M? The foundation on offense is extremely suspect: aged at RB, 3-4 new starters needed on OL, WR is an unknown or thin at best, and almost nothing long term at TE.

Fake News brought to you by the sports media. Their cousins in news can teach them a thing or two.

Bills fans haven't been faced with sustaining a winning team since the 90s, and that was during the infancy of free agency. Things are way more complicated, but that's what guys like Beane and the front office are for: developing innovative solutions to emerging problems like cap management. First, it's important to identify the players you can't live without and then build around them. Drafting well is absolutely necessary to avoid needing to spend in free agency. The better teams use UFA sparingly. Prioritize the positions in the draft which aren't typically found in UFA: QB, DE, WR, perhaps OT. You can find RBs, interior OL, LBs, interior DL and safety in free agency. As Beane has noted, once your're drafting well, then re-sign your own guys, especially at the in-demand positions. Move players who show signs of regressing. Better to get rid of a player 1 year early than 1 year late. Have a player in place ready to step up, again through solid drafting.

I think it's ironic that in the early 20th century when football was far more brutal, the forward pass was a big part of the solution to making it more humane. This is a quote from an article I posted earlier in the thread from the 5/29/2014 edition of the Washington Post: "The new rules allowed for forward passing of the ball - adding the position now known as wide receiver and turning football into the sport we're now familiar with. Allowing the forward pass opened up the game, spreading the players out across the entire field. It was a change designed to eliminate packs of players scrambling and viciously vying for the football, which is where many injuries were sustained. The new rules stopped the game when a player fell on the ball in order to eliminate heaps of men trying to get the ball, and allowed the ball to be kicked down the field. It took a few years for the rules to shake out, Miller said. In 1913, a university in rural Indiana cemented its football legacy by demonstrating a proficiency at the passing game, establishing the gridiron legend of Notre Dame. In 1920, the National Football League was founded." The more things change, the more they remain the same.

When did OBD add Baghdad Bob to their PR department?

Good to know. Seems the sports media is intent on taking down tackle football, which is odd considering it's such a huge source of income. I don't understand where the self-righteousness comes from. Safety is paramount and this isn't the first time the game has received so much attention for injuries. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2014/05/29/teddy-roosevelt-helped-save-football-with-a-white-house-meeting-in-1905/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.45d6427d5e76

Conspiracy theories again? https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-do-some-people-believe-in-conspiracy-theories/

During the first two years of Nix and Gailey, the Bills didn't spend big in free agency and talked about building through the draft. Nix said it was a 3-4 year rebuild. Then, in 2012, they spent big on Mario and Marc Anderson. Something had changed, specifically, that the pressure was on to win after a 10-22 start. It forced them to dramatically change course. I see a lot of pressure, albeit not as much, on McBeane to win in 2019 primarily because they have no excuses now. There's no more cap issues or problem players from previous regimes. They got their QB and implemented their defense. Whatever "the process" is, it has changed and if they decide to spend big in UFA it wouldn't shock me. No GM gets credit at the end of a season for not using 20-30M in cap space for that year. They may have a big move planned, perhaps not like the Mario signing to make a splash, but to move the rebuild into high gear. That said, it's not going to be an Antonio Brown or Le'Veon Bell type guy. It's going to be someone who buys into McCoach's way and adheres to that. Because, this is Josh Allen's team, but their leadership, at least on offense, isn't particularly strong. I see them going with some less heralded types who aren't going to rock the boat who might challenge their hand-picked QB.

Except, McBeane had another option in 2018 with Allen. Chan and Buddy did not acquire anyone other than what they inherited in 2010-11. That is, unless you count Tyler Thigpen.

Maybe let's judge this group when they've got more than anywhere from half to 2 full seasons of NFL experience before getting excited. Posts like this were all the rage back in 2006-07 after Marv's first drafts and the end result is expectations didn't meet reality.

I tend to believe Nix and Gailey thought they could win with Fitz after 2010 and never seriously considered getting a QB. That was the fatal flaw of their 3 years together. As forward thinking perhaps as Gailey was with offense, neither he nor Nix had much of a clue on building a modern NFL roster.

It's a sign of the times when someone like Kiper puts out their first mock and the response in this thread from a select group of posters is to angrily malign the writer and not debate the pick. Why is there so much anger? Why are people intolerant of other's opinions? Chill out for a second and stop being so bitter. I don't understand the vitriol directed toward Kiper and other draft types. Kiper doesn't "hate" the Bills and for those saying he doesn't know what he's doing as evidenced by mocks, well, he's been employed by ESPN for something like 35 years. He may not be able to predict the future, but no one does. He does know the prospects and has an opinion on practically all of them. You can debate whether he understands each team's needs appropriately, but his knowledge is up there. It's also funny to watch people trying to disprove every draftnik's opinion by saying their prognostications are inaccurate. As if the standard is perfection and anything less totally disqualifies their opinion or mock. People need to be a little more patient, a little more interested in debate, and a lot less prone to arguing.