BillsVet

You didn't? I'm sorry.

When were Darby and Watkins traded? Which off-season was that? But, for arguments' sake, let's look at where the Bills went from year 1 of Beane to year 2. They deliberately took a step back to clean up their cap and went from 9 wins to 6. You realize that right now their offense is among the league's worst? Their top 2 RBs hit 31 in a few months. They have no more than 3 proven OL on the roster. Their TEs consist of a journeyman and former UDFA with 22 career catches. The WRs? A UDFA with 6 good NFL games and a WR who struggles to separate and make catches. I'd "fact-check" your posts first.

Not horrible, but certainly nothing to write home about either. He's the same guy who handed Vontae Davis a decent size deal to ostensibly start. Trent Murphy looks questionable. Star at 50M...meh. The real good signings happened before he was GM: Hyde and Poyer were when McCoach was on his own. When they start winning division titles and/or playoff games, then they've proven their plan has worked. Until that point, "the process" is talk. At the minimum, they aggressively sought to draft a long term option at QB who has shown some good signs. That's more than previous regimes from 2006-2017 really mustered. I've come to believe many fans measure success now not on wins, but having national sports media respect and on moves made in the off-season. Excellence has eluded this franchise for so long that expectations have been permanently lowered. And, in the absence of on-field success, many fans revert to hoping to just being liked. As in, sports writer X said we're good at this or, this NFL guy likes our pick or, this outlet says our UFA signing is great. It's basically redefining success to fit an unsuccessful franchise.

Except Beane's not graded on how well he does on individual trades, even though everyone wants to declare victory immediately on moves these days. Beane is graded on building a roster, and through 2 off-seasons he and McCoach have a far from finished product ready to compete and win championships. You can take your individual trade victories, but over the long haul it doesn't matter.

Long's contract isn't huge, but it's not depth either. I would expect he could play RG in that scheme. I'd guess then that you lose a lot of money. If this team is serious about having a solid offense, they'd consider moving Dawkins to LG and drafting a LT. I've never subscribed to the theory that a LT's drop in play is as directly related to a LG next to him as some make it out to be. And, the Juan Castillo effect of going easy on the OL is over.

I'm glad they learned as well Dave, but for guys who've worked in the NFL pushing 40 years combined I don't think it's a stretch to expect them to show some foresight here. Entering the season with Peterman and Josh Allen was inexcusable. Sure, it's water under the bridge now, but in a game that's long established you need options at QB unless you've got a franchise type, I expected more. I agree they got the QB thing down, but a month from today I expect much more in terms of building that offense.

IMO, that the worst loss since the MCM given the opponent, audience, being a plus 5 in turnovers (with 2 defensive scores!) and a getting KO return for a TD. Oh, and Wade was the opposing HC. The end to that game was the most systematic coaching break-down I've ever seen. Lose an onside kick, Buffalo's defense then allows Crayton to catch a pass at the sideline when Dallas had no timeouts, see Folk miss the FG, but Buffalo call a TO...setting up another kick from 53 which was good to give Dallas the 25-24 win. I will never forget that game. For the obvious and being in the BN after the game.

Every year the off-season gets longer. It would be nice to make the playoffs just so fewer posters can create threads like this.

The off-season: Where reality takes a back seat to fan-hood. He can play based on what exactly? That he beat up on lower-end talent in the CFL? That he once played in the SEC? Plenty of types in both leagues never translate into the pro game. Maybe he's good but the likelihood is he is a camp cut. That team with a bunch of holes had been 7-9 the previous season when McCoach and later Beane came aboard. The cap situation obviously wasn't the best, but jettisoning all that salary wasn't required either. They chose to do a complete rebuild. Yet, in 2 off-seasons, they chose to use 2 first round picks on defensive players and signed 5 more UFAs to decent contracts. In 2 years on offense, aside from getting Allen, they've acquired practically nothing other than Dawkins. Many of their acquisitions (Tolbert, Ducasse, Bodine, Newhouse, DiMarco, Ivory) have been bargain bin types or don't contribute much. They have nothing on offense because they chose to build their defense first. It's why, contrary to a lot of fans' opinions, this will be a 4 year rebuild.

I've often thought about the desire to believe in conspiracy theories and how psychologically appealing they are. This thread reinforces that people will believe almost anything supported with a shred of truth if it aligns with what they want reality to be.

This a heavy dose of sophistry here and...you've completely missed the point. I'm talking specifically about rounds 4-7 and how many are starting NFL players. The Bills have a handful (that's less than 5) from 2001-2015 with a few who went to other teams. And that's out of about 85 picks over those years. I love when people talk about rookies or second year players being good after such a short time in the league. Reminds me of the 2006 Marv/DJ draft people were giddy about. By 2011, only Kyle Williams remained on the team.

The number of players from rounds 4-7 who have decent NFL careers, as in, 5 or more seasons starting or as significant contributors is not very high. In Buffalo, from 2001-2015 there isn't much aside from Terrence McGee, Kyle Williams, Stevie Johnson, and Nigel Bradham out of 85 picks. Some of that I put on the personnel people, but it's also reality in the NFL. Those picks are nice on paper but finding starting material is unlikely.

All the talk about being the youngest HC in the NFL, his photographic memory, innovative concepts, et al...you can throw it out the window. I think McVay went with 11 personnel because he knew NE was stronger against that set and figured he could out-do Belichick. It makes little sense, but then again HC's get stupid sometimes going up against Belichick.

The league wasn't hurting when Green Bay won 5 titles in the 60s, Pittsburgh 4 in the 70s, San Fran 4 in the 80s, Dallas 3 in the 90s, and the Patriots since the millennium started. If anything, dynasties have helped advance the league's popularity given that yes, people hate those teams. This is you wanting something consistent with your opinion when it's not. I can't stand the Patriots, but their dominance is not hurting ratings. Winning means overcoming adversity, and in most cases, not blaming things you can't control for not succeeding. This mindset that there's always a scapegoat like officiating is such a modern incarnation. Los Angeles wasn't ready to win on Sunday and it showed. One call wouldn't have changed that.

It was Brady who went to Kraft and demanded Garoppolo be traded. https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/pats-reportedly-offered-jimmy-g-18myear-belichick-furious-demoralized-after-trade/ Not a fan of QBs, even Tommy, affecting personnel decisions. Who does he think he is, LeBron?

Brandon's gone.

McBeane will not enter 2019 with Jason Croom as the starter, especially because he has that injury history and they'll seek to have more competition at the position. Croom also isn't the blocker that I think they're looking for to help establish the running game.

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.