BillsVet

I'm talking specifically about overpaying in UFA, which will be required when that market opens. The draft should typically be used to obtain players at positions that aren't available in UFA like pass rusher, perhaps OT, WR, and (forgive me BillinNYC) CB.

For a split second there, I thought his girlfriend's name was Andy before I opened the thread.

Maurice Pouncey requested his release from Miami. http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/22775721/mike-pouncey-released-miami-dolphins-add-daniel-kilgore-trade The Bills have gone about building the OL the wrong way for so many years. They've tried to buy one (Dockery, Hughes in '07) then use high picks for immediate need (Wood, Levitre '09) went cheap (Nix with Pears, Urbik, Rinehart) and now we're back to square one. There's going to be a lot of competition in the UFA market this year with teams having so much cap room. Agree with Bandit that it's time to overpay because frankly, how do you put a true cost on keeping Allen upright and making throws downfield? They'll do their work on guys, but going cheap isn't an option. McBeane have put all their eggs into the 2019 basket and HAVE to win.

Well, this is what happens when you fire Russ Brandon.

It's a bold strategy Cotton. Trouble separating was a theme this season. If they're going to have guys who struggle separating they had better be able to make contested catches. Zay had a hard time with this despite the stats he recorded.

Way too much sideline clapping. And penalties of course.

Building an OL is not something that's going to happen in one off-season. The surface level view is that Buffalo use high picks and UFA and voila! we're good. The reality is, a good OL group takes time to mesh and it's why OL play has suffered over the years. Signing a Matt Paradis would be nice on paper but he's got to fit with what they're doing and how they're doing it. The other issue is, from an economics standpoint, there's going to be a lot of demand for better OL and not much supply this off-season. Lotta teams with plenty of cap room.

Reading some replies here, you might believe Gilmore personally visited select fans and gave them the finger on his way to New England. Guy was voted First Team All-Pro and it's a good topic for discussion. Threads like this bring out some of the best and also some of the worst posters.

I have to think it's because Tre's persona is more excited and happy as opposed to Gilmore. Frankly, I don't think it matters, but emotion is everything nowadays. The bit Tre did with the hockey goalie stuff though is pretty funny. I could never see Gilmore doing anything like that.

2nd overall in yards allowed, but not really a big play defense. They didn't score a defensive touchdown, were tied for 25th in sacks, although t-7th in INT and fumble recoveries. One thing I like is t-8th (36.5%) of stops on 3rd down. There are some encouraging signs though, but I expect that after 2 off-seasons largely spent re-stocking the defense in McCoach's image. I'm just surprised, on another note, that no one's mentioned LVE being named 2nd team All-Pro yet.

Frazier was so solid that McCoach took defensive play calling away from him early in the season. Coaches are networking with other coaches all the time in the NFL. By the time a defensive guy becomes a HC, they have people in mind for offensive coaching positions.

Where are you getting the receiver's drop data?

The three coaches fired may well have needed to go and McCoach made changes. It doesn't remove the fact that personnel challenges are as much a reason for their struggles as the coaches themselves. But down the road, it's moves like this which put more pressure on this regime to win in 2019. All excuses have been or are being eliminated, including the removal of certain coaches.

I doubt anyone would argue that the OL, WR, and ST groups' performance were acceptable. Yet, the same could be said about the players the HC and GM put on the field for those groups. McBeane are effectively distancing themselves from those personnel issues. It doesn't hide the fact that Buffalo has major personnel issues and those coaches were somewhat set up to fail. Firing coaches only increases the expectations for 2019, which are already high. Coach McD doesn't have as many bones to throw to the wolves anymore. It's on him and the GM more now that since they took over.

Is the NFL going to mandate Bills opponents feature defenses consisting of HS varsity players next year? If so, yes, I think he can do it. As long as he has NFL players to throw to that is.

Facts like this are the wet blanket on the emotional fire some homers live in during the off-season. Not even a week since the season ended and some are posting how close the Bills were. By March, we'll be hearing how they were really a playoff team.

McD's coaching staff is becoming a revolving door now with Dennison, Castillo, Robiskie, and perhaps Crossman axed in 2 seasons. Not to mention Frazier (at least temporarily). His coaching picks on offense have been underwhelming.

That Tennessee WR who dropped what would have been a game winning TD never gets mentioned here.

It's not appropriate to use major mental illnesses or medications to treat them in describing a NFL team's defense. These things aren't laughing matters, particularly to those who are diagnosed.

The bigger issue is that McDermott has, after only 2 seasons, fired 2 of his principal assistant coaches, both of whom were on the offensive side. Last year it was Dennison, and now it's Castillo. At this point, McCoach's coaching decisions on that side of the ball winning games are suspect. And let's not forget he started making the defensive calls at some point in the season, if only temporarily. The problem isn't so much with guys like Castillo. It's the HC picking the assistants and a HC/GM combination that haven't really provided much talent on the offensive side of the ball in 2 off-seasons.

It's hard to win in the NFL.

The current CBA does not permit rookies to re-sign until after their third year of their rookie contract. http://insidethepylon.com/nfl/front-office/2017/06/26/art-rookie-extension-deal/

After the bye, Buffalo played 6 games and went 3-3, although only 1 was against a playoff team. NE easily handled them and allowed 1 TD late in the game. Those final 6 games (all of which Allen started) saw Buffalo play teams that went a combined 40-56 (.294). The defense was better given the lack of quality opponents, and allowed about 19 points per. As Scott said above, their game at NE showed that they're still not on the same field with playoff opponents. It's going to take a huge leap for them to get in the conversation for the 2019 playoffs. Becoming a 10 win team one season removed from 6 wins is a huge leap in NFL terms. Only IND, HOU, and CHI increased their win total by 4 or more games from 2017 to 2018.

Every GM in the NFL is under pressure and it was no different in Buffalo by the end of 2016. He was fast and loose with resources, had internal battles with 2 HCs, missed on the QB, foolishly traded up for a WR in a draft featuring several good ones, and mismanaged the cap. For these and other reasons, his tenure as Bills GM has resulted in him not having a gig with a NFL team for 2018 to present day. That's not a coincidence.

A good measuring stick for any team is how they fare against those clubs who reach the playoffs. The knock on earlier Bills teams this century is they were good against bad to average teams while getting smoked by the league's better clubs. This past year, Buffalo played 7 games against playoff teams (NE 2x, SD, BAL, HOU, IND, and CHI) losing all 7 by a cumulative score of 225-68. Six of those games were blowouts or not really contested, save the away Houston game. In Buffalo's remaining 9 games against non-playoff teams (MIN, GB, TEN, NYJ 2x, JAC, MIA 2x, and DET) they were 6-3 and scored 201- (EDIT) 149. McBeane have pushed their chips in on winning in 2019 and I'd like to think Buffalo will finally be competitive with playoff caliber teams next year.