Freddie's Dead Posted March 11, 2016 Posted March 11, 2016 Exactly! We have 50 dollars of cap space, our depth is being depleted before our very eyes, and the Bills are still in need of starting-caliber players at WR, DE, LB. This coupled with the fact that there is little or no depth at all at LB, the interior of the offensive line, and at safety (if Rambo departs). The last ten roster spots are going to be filled by "players" who should be working at Foot Locker. Dang, I forgot about Rambo. We lost three CB's that either started or backed up.
Deranged Rhino Posted March 11, 2016 Posted March 11, 2016 Think of the $$$$$$ you're saving on playoff tickets.
John from Riverside Posted March 11, 2016 Posted March 11, 2016 Patience is hard when we're losing players left and right and not backfilling in FA because we have very little cap space. Right now the number of holes being created is a big concern for me. LB, DL, CB, RT, RG, and now WR. We're missing starters and depth. I hope I'm wrong. How many starters are we actually missing?
thebandit27 Posted March 11, 2016 Posted March 11, 2016 They cut Urbik, a quality backup at guard. We got Miller, Richie, and nobody right now. Well, he's unproven, but they did sign Ryan Groy, and he lined up as the 6th lineman at times in the final two games, so the cupboard isn't bare. Nobody is saying that they haven't had some loss of depth; what I'm saying is that it's not the doomfest that some folks are claiming.
Freddie's Dead Posted March 11, 2016 Posted March 11, 2016 Maybe they might find a backup you know....a......backup It's about depth. I like proven backups over guys off the street or the 6th round of the draft. Whaley's record for drafting lineman has been abysmal. Miller might work out, but Kujo and Richardson have been busts.
thebandit27 Posted March 11, 2016 Posted March 11, 2016 It's about depth. I like proven backups over guys off the street or the 6th round of the draft. Whaley's record for drafting lineman has been abysmal. Miller might work out, but Kujo and Richardson have been busts. Can a guy taken in the 5th round really be a bust? The percentage of any draft pick working out at that point is extremely low.
Deranged Rhino Posted March 11, 2016 Posted March 11, 2016 Whaley's new now? This is his 7th off-season with the Bills. It starts from the top. The way the Pegulas are running the team is night and day from how Ralph ran it, especially towards the end, and that impacts how Whaley and company can execute their own off season plans. This is only the second off season in which Whaley's had marching orders from the Pegulas. Fans (myself included) don't want to hear that it's only been 1 year, because for us it's been 16. But you can't in good conscious make the argument that the organization hasn't been drastically overhauled with the ownership change. From the money spent on coaches alone, to the commitment to spending money on the roster like a real NFL team, there is a new way of doing business in Buffalo. Terry and Kim are 0-1, 0-2 if you want to count their first abbreviated season.
Freddie's Dead Posted March 11, 2016 Posted March 11, 2016 How many starters are we actually missing? Mario and Bradham definitely, arguably Leodis, Rambo, Hogan. These guys may not have started out of TC, but they started enough games to be meaningful.
FireChan Posted March 11, 2016 Posted March 11, 2016 It starts from the top. The way the Pegulas are running the team is night and day from how Ralph ran it, especially towards the end, and that impacts how Whaley and company can execute their own off season plans. This is only the second off season in which Whaley's had marching orders from the Pegulas. Fans (myself included) don't want to hear that it's only been 1 year, because for us it's been 16. But you can't in good conscious make the argument that the organization hasn't been drastically overhauled with the ownership change. From the money spent on coaches alone, to the commitment to spending money on the roster like a real NFL team, there is a new way of doing business in Buffalo. Terry and Kim are 0-1, 0-2 if you want to count their first abbreviated season. Money spent doesn't affect draft picks. As it stands, we may have 1 player from each of the 2013 and 2014 drafts offered second contracts. Whaley doesn't get a 0-1 in my book.
Deranged Rhino Posted March 11, 2016 Posted March 11, 2016 Mario and Bradham definitely, arguably Leodis, Rambo, Hogan. These guys may not have started out of TC, but they started enough games to be meaningful. 11 starters on offense return... that's not something that gets mentioned much during these spirals. Money spent doesn't affect draft picks. As it stands, we may have 1 player from each of the 2013 and 2014 drafts offered second contracts. Whaley doesn't get a 0-1 in my book. It doesn't, but it's hard to argue against what Whaley's been doing in the draft since he's been given full control. The entire reason the team isn't spending this off season on outside FA is because they're focused on signing guys Buddy and Whaley brought in through the draft. That said, I'm not saying Whaley is 0-1. I'm saying the Pegula Bills are 0-1.
Santana Posted March 11, 2016 Posted March 11, 2016 I think we as fans get too caught up and in love with these guys but at the end of the day, we weren't winning with this guys. None of the players we've lost this offseason were taking us to the playoffs. The only thing that bugs me is that if we are going to let people go for salary cap reasons then I for the love of god don't know why EJ is still on this roster. Dude is counting for $2.8million and we could get a better back up in the draft.
FireChan Posted March 11, 2016 Posted March 11, 2016 11 starters on offense return... that's not something that gets mentioned much during these spirals. It doesn't, but it's hard to argue against what Whaley's been doing in the draft since he's been given full control. The entire reason the team isn't spending this off season on outside FA is because they're focused on signing guys Buddy and Whaley brought in through the draft. That said, I'm not saying Whaley is 0-1. I'm saying the Pegula Bills are 0-1. Fair enough. Although I'd argue the reason we aren't spending on outside FA is because we made a big splash last year and can't afford it. Which is a little different.
thebandit27 Posted March 11, 2016 Posted March 11, 2016 I think we as fans get too caught up and in love with these guys but at the end of the day, we weren't winning with this guys. None of the players we've lost this offseason were taking us to the playoffs. The only thing that bugs me is that if we are going to let people go for salary cap reasons then I for the love of god don't know why EJ is still on this roster. Dude is counting for $2.8million and we could get a better back up in the draft. Because his contract is fully-guaranteed; he counts for that value whether he's on the team or cut. The only way to eliminate his cap hit is to trade him, and I don't think that's happening.
hondo in seattle Posted March 11, 2016 Posted March 11, 2016 (edited) I think we as fans get too caught up and in love with these guys but at the end of the day, we weren't winning with this guys. None of the players we've lost this offseason were taking us to the playoffs. The only thing that bugs me is that if we are going to let people go for salary cap reasons then I for the love of god don't know why EJ is still on this roster. Dude is counting for $2.8million and we could get a better back up in the draft. And we're not going to win without them if we replace them with players who are even worse. What positions have we upgraded this offseason so far? Making the roster worse than '15 doesn't sound like a sound plan for creating positive changes in the outcome. Edited March 11, 2016 by hondo in seattle
Deranged Rhino Posted March 11, 2016 Posted March 11, 2016 Fair enough. Although I'd argue the reason we aren't spending on outside FA is because we made a big splash last year and can't afford it. Which is a little different. I'd agree with you if it wasn't part of a plan laid out last year by Whaley and company. They spent big last year to reload the offense which needed it. In so doing, they were aware (and planned accordingly) that it would limit their ability to do anything but retain their own guys (Glenn, Gilmore, Dareus, Bradham at the time) this off season. The Pegulas brought a willingness to spend and a seemingly bottomless pit of dough, but with the NFL having a cap Whaley and JO had to decide how best to use their new funds. Some may disagree that spending to bring in Richie, Clay, Harvin, Taylor, and then on McCoy through trade was a good idea but I can't. Clay, McCoy, and (hopefully) Taylor will be three guys who will form the core of the team moving forward (all 27 or under) along with Watkins, Glenn, Dareus, and (hopefully) Gilmore on the defensive side. Hopefully #19 in the draft will become a core player as well (and Whaley needs him to be). That's a really solid core to build around. It requires trimming some fat from previous regimes and is most assuredly a two off season process (this being year 2), but I don't see how rational people could look at that plan and think it's a disaster. Perfect? No. But the plan being executed (which again, we were told about for the past 12 months and counting) is making this team better in the short term and long term (imo).
John from Riverside Posted March 11, 2016 Posted March 11, 2016 It's about depth. I like proven backups over guys off the street or the 6th round of the draft. Whaley's record for drafting lineman has been abysmal. Miller might work out, but Kujo and Richardson have been busts. You do realize that Urbik was just that......a guy off the street
TheBillsBlues Posted March 11, 2016 Posted March 11, 2016 No the roster will not be better unless they absolutely crush it in the draft. They lost a decent amount of talent and don't have the cap space this year to replace them. That's not to say that the team can't be better though by buying in and not having me first players like Mario that ruin the culture of the team.
Freddie's Dead Posted March 11, 2016 Posted March 11, 2016 You do realize that Urbik was just that......a guy off the street We picked him up from the Squeelers.
Deranged Rhino Posted March 11, 2016 Posted March 11, 2016 No the roster will not be better unless they absolutely crush it in the draft. They lost a decent amount of talent and don't have the cap space this year to replace them. That's not to say that the team can't be better though by buying in and not having me first players like Mario that ruin the culture of the team. They have? I like Leo and Bradham more than most but neither were irreplaceable. Mario is all world in potential but on the field his production is replaceable for far cheaper. Hogan? Meh. Ubrik? Meh. This team is returning 11 starters on offense for the first time in a good while, another year in Roman's system and a full off season with Taylor as the #1 QB should all help the offense gel. The defense was a mess last year, losing Mario, Leo and Bradham (two out of three weren't good fits to begin with) won't be the death blow for the defense. They absolutely need to hit in the draft, but that was always going to be the case. I'm convinced they are capable of finding one if not two day one starters in this draft on the defensive side of the ball.
BuffaloBillsForever Posted March 11, 2016 Posted March 11, 2016 (edited) No the roster will not be better unless they absolutely crush it in the draft. They lost a decent amount of talent and don't have the cap space this year to replace them. That's not to say that the team can't be better though by buying in and not having me first players like Mario that ruin the culture of the team. What do you mean by crush the draft? The draft can't cure the problems with this team in one year. Long term sure... You might get one maybe two players if you are lucky that can impact the team in meaningful ways out of this years draft to fill holes in 2016. Edited March 11, 2016 by BuffaloBillsForever
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