wilcoam Posted March 14, 2017 Posted March 14, 2017 I cant blame DW and our Bills for not making a bigger splash in FA, I get that we are a small market team, and playing the football version of moneyball Which is why the draft and picks are so important because they freeze the overall salary of a group of players for 4-5 years So we have to stop giving them away picks on trades for depth, and stop moving up in the draft Instead when we can be moving back and compiling more draft picks And we need to start taking every comp pick we can get to mirage the loss of FA's More draft picks is the long term answer here I feel more confident getting real starting safeties there than say signing folks from teams where the guys didn't even start, I mean, c'mon... jc
Chilly Posted March 14, 2017 Posted March 14, 2017 We need a backup safety but I believe the two we signed are both starters and improvements over last year.
LABILLBACKER Posted March 14, 2017 Posted March 14, 2017 I think Byrd will reunite with his father and the Bills for a discount. I also see Zach coming back for a little less than he was hoping for in FA. I'm praying we land Corey Davis @ 10 and Obi @ 44. And if by some Act of God Adoree fell to the 3rd round you run to the podium. I'm not saying anything of this will happen but a fan can dream. And if we had a 4th round pick I'd snag Nate Peterman. Still need RT, TE etc...
LABILLBACKER Posted March 14, 2017 Posted March 14, 2017 No. Blake Annen Logan Thomas Some golfer's grandson & Clay Some golfer's grandson...lol
Prickly Pete Posted March 14, 2017 Posted March 14, 2017 I am looking at the Bills roster, and there is a ton of holes. The draft may be able to fill three of those, but that may even be pushing it. We all know this past year how many injuries we had just in terms of our top picks. With FA drying up, Bills need to start picking what positions they want to fill in FA and what positions they want to leave for the draft. Positions with best FA still available: Safety: I think the Bills should really completely close this hole before the draft. There are some really good players here (McDougald, McDonald, Webb, Quddus, Byrd). LB: There are also some players that could come in and start right away for Bills left (Minter, Z.Brown). A couple guys could be a nice rotational player (Riley, Hodges, Spence, Moore). Filling these two positions would leave TE, CB, WR and RT in the draft. Wait, a 7-9 team that hasn't been to the playoffs in 20 years, has too many holes in the roster to fill with draftees?
KRT88 Posted March 14, 2017 Posted March 14, 2017 The whole are S, TE2, RT, LB, CB, WR2? That sounds pretty accurate. I think they can still get sole free agency help, draft sole help, get depth for other positions, and only have a hole or two going into the season which isn't huge. hole's WR and CB - 1st rd/2nd rd of draft RT - that's Mills job again LB, they will have 2 LB on the field an awful lot TE - like we use the guy who starts, who needs a backup
Pbomb Posted March 14, 2017 Posted March 14, 2017 It's only day 4 of FA and people are going to say we have plenty of time. The issue with that is the good players are gone. We could have 6 years to fill the roster, the guys that could have helped us are already gone. Now we will look at the Philly Brown and Jeremy Butlers of the world and wonder why we never make the playoffs. We signed a backup D-lineman today. The 1 spot on the roster we are actually good at already. 5 or 6 massive wholes in the starting lineup and we are signing no name depth at positions of strength.the one spot we are good at? We signed a backup de because behind hughes and shaq we have no other de but that was a bad signing?
8-8 Forever? Posted March 14, 2017 Posted March 14, 2017 (edited) they'll put good competitive second tier players or rookies in those holes and compete well. probably go 6-10 as they put in all new schemes and change out the roster to "fit the new schemes", discover a few rookies who can play, then lose Sammy and a few other top vets who actually want to win before they die to FA , and rinse and repeat. coaching staff prob canned mid 2019 and the coaching cycle starts all over again. this is the Bills and WNY. top talent demonstrably does not want to come there or stay there if they have choices. Kelly and Shady went bs when they found out they had to go there. Everyone from Winfield to Peters to Gilmore got out as soon as they could, pushed by their agents. Washed up (etc Mario W. or anyone Rex brought in ) or just starting out players (high draft choices) and entry level coaches go there bc they have no better options or no choice . No offense intended, hell I grew up there and in that stadium, but the Bills are Kevin Costner's Durham Bulls from the movie "Bull Durham" in a New York Yankees league. Square peg trying to fit a round hole. Doubt it will ever fit. this cycle has repeated itself since I was a kid. the SB years were the outlier, a one and done. Enjoy the tailgates, that's the point anyway, right? Edited March 14, 2017 by 8and8-->NoMore
BillsVet Posted March 14, 2017 Posted March 14, 2017 I cant blame DW and our Bills for not making a bigger splash in FA, I get that we are a small market team, and playing the football version of moneyball Which is why the draft and picks are so important because they freeze the overall salary of a group of players for 4-5 years So we have to stop giving them away picks on trades for depth, and stop moving up in the draft Instead when we can be moving back and compiling more draft picks And we need to start taking every comp pick we can get to mirage the loss of FA's More draft picks is the long term answer here I feel more confident getting real starting safeties there than say signing folks from teams where the guys didn't even start, I mean, c'mon... jc This small market excuse was appropriate when RW and his people were cutting off the team at the knees. It no longer applies. The spending spree a la 2015-16 when they went desperately for the playoffs and couldn't get it done is what has led to this off-season. There wasn't anything "moneyball" about breaking the bank on McCoy, Clay, Hughes, Dareus, Glenn, TT (to an extent), and trading up in the draft in between 2014 and 2016. That this team is rebuilding once again with the same front office should make people question the direction of the team. Hiring new HC's isn't a solution and they could bring in a very good experienced one and it won't overcome a distinct lack of talent.
jeffismagic Posted March 14, 2017 Posted March 14, 2017 The dropoff in defensive talent from 2014 is pretty steep. Sure, people blame Rex, and he deserves it. But in 2014 the following players performed at anywhere from a well above average to a legitimate Pro Bowl level: Mario (yep, he actually had a good year!) Kyle Marcel Hughes Bradham Gilmore Searcy Aaron Williams And Preston Brown had a very good rookie year (sure, a lot of that may have been the great front 4). Right now, who projects at that level for 2017? I'd say only: Hughes Dareus (depends on his commitment level) Kyle, even if he comes back, is still effective but not what he was a few years ago. Lorax? Well, you can make an argument, but I'm not sold on a guy who had a great half season out of character with his entire career at the age of 33. Darby right now is probably around average, maybe a tick better, and he could move into that top 30% category, but it's by no means certain. Adolphus right now isn't quite at the level backup/rotational guy Stefan Charles was at in 2014. Sure, Shaq and Ragland could surprise, but that's pure speculation. I can't shake the feeling that our talent window of opportunity just closed without anyone really noticing it because they were so caught up in coaching debacle. Exactly. Rex was terrible but the roster got worse and star players got older or left on defense. We are not going back to 2014 next year.
Chuck Wagon Posted March 14, 2017 Posted March 14, 2017 We are going to go into the season with holes. It's going to be an opportunity for young guys or under the radar guys to step up, but more likely we just aren't going to be very good. Depending on what the Browns do at QB, I think we may be the 2nd or 3rd worst team in the AFC (the Jets are the only team I'm 100% comfortable saying will be worse than us). Our window to crack through to the playoffs was the last 3 years and we missed. McD isn't coming in with proclamations, they are going to take a more patient approach and put the right attitudes on the roster. My only real concern with 2nd level FAs is when you hit on a guy like Zach Brown or Lorax, they are immediately expensive, vs hitting on a pick after round 3 and having a few cheap seasons of the guy. However, you can't really sign the under the radar FAs for multiple years as a miss like Chris Williams leaves you with a nice chunk of dead cap space.
mjt328 Posted March 14, 2017 Posted March 14, 2017 It's always a mistake to judge Free Agency by splash signings. There are still lots of good players on the market that can make a difference. Even if you believe Doug Whaley is terrible at drafting and totally clueless at building a winning roster, nobody can argue that he is good at finding value in the free agent market. The last two years, the Bills have nabbed the following Pro Bowlers while dumpster diving in free agency: Ritchie Incognito, Tyrod Taylor, Lorenzo Alexander and Zach Brown. Some of our better depth players like Mike Gillislee and Ryan Groy were also bargain bin guys off the street. Meanwhile, the big name signings like Charles Clay and Percy Harvin have made much less impact.
jrober38 Posted March 14, 2017 Posted March 14, 2017 I'm throwing this out there, but I think DT is arguably one of the biggest holes we have on the whole team. Dareus is a mistake away from a 16 game suspension, Kyle is a year from retirement and behind those guys we have next to nothing. I can see the Bills surprising people and addressing the DL in the 2nd round. We need to get younger and more talented up front.
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted March 14, 2017 Posted March 14, 2017 It is a pretty hopeless situation. Below average QB extended, half a secondary, one WR with talent that can't stay on the field, no OL depth. Oh and a first time coach in a division with the best team in NFL history. What have we done to deserve this?
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