Does it seem like the Bills are adding FA more selectively and with more purpose this year as opposed to previous years?

[SoTier]

5 hours ago, oldmanfan said:

I find it sad that a fan can be so incessantly negative

 

What's really sad is that the Bills have only had 3 winning seasons in the last 19 and only made the playoffs once in that entire time. 

[oldmanfan]

7 minutes ago, SoTier said:

 

What's really sad is that the Bills have only had 3 winning seasons in the last 19 and only made the playoffs once in that entire time. 

That's disappointing.  Continually and incessantly looking for negatives of teams you supposedly root for is truly sad

[LSHMEAB]

1 minute ago, oldmanfan said:

That's disappointing.  Continually and incessantly looking for negatives of teams you supposedly root for is truly sad

He's not LOOKING for negatives. He's pointing them out. 

 

We all HOPE this time it's different. To scoff at the skepticism is folly when you take into account this franchise's propensity to disappoint. 

[SoTier]

Just now, oldmanfan said:

That's disappointing.  Continually and incessantly looking for negatives of teams you supposedly root for is truly sad

 

Apparently unlike yourself, I'm sick of the losing, and nothing that McDermott or Beane have done so far make me believe that this Bills regime is significantly better than the ones before them.    It's not MY problem that you don't approve of my views.

[oldmanfan]

3 minutes ago, LSHMEAB said:

He's not LOOKING for negatives. He's pointing them out. 

 

We all HOPE this time it's different. To scoff at the skepticism is folly when you take into account this franchise's propensity to disappoint. 

Look at the history of his posts.  It's sad.  

 Every single person on this board knows that the signings etc. donevthis offseason all have to show it on the field next year.  That is a given.  It is reasonable when you look at the signings to think that the front office has a plan they are executing, and that the signings should help.  For example the special teams were bad, and they changed coaches, brought in an All Pro returner and a really good gunner.  The O line was bad and they have brought in a number of individuals to upgrade.  They needed receivers and brought in a good outside guy and good slot guy.  Yes, time will tell but they did what they said they'd do, identify areas to fill in with FAs and fill them.

 

Soory but SoTier is like the kid that gets a pony for Christmas and complains because it will give him manure.  He is obsessed with claiming all these moves are bacause the team wants $$ vs. wins.  He fails to recognize time after time that ownership and team management has changed, and just spins every single thing done in a negative fashion.  And that's just sad if you claim to be a fan.

8 minutes ago, SoTier said:

 

Apparently unlike yourself, I'm sick of the losing, and nothing that McDermott or Beane have done so far make me believe that this Bills regime is significantly better than the ones before them.    It's not MY problem that you don't approve of my views.

Right.  No one else is sick of losing.  You're just sad.

[billsfan_34]

On 3/23/2019 at 10:54 AM, HOUSE said:

The draft is the big mystery to me. Nothing would surprise me now.

 

 

And that gives us much more leverage when draft day comes!

5 hours ago, TaskersGhost said:

 

Great post Logic!  Very engaging.  

 

As to your bolded part allow me to add some perspective there.  There always seems to be a boolean (aka binary) association with things of this nature.  I'm sure that I speak for a bunch of people when I say that they aren't necessarily pessimistic, rather simply not optimistic, largely for reasons that you stated.  So in short, it's possible to be neither over team "news" or player signings.  

 

As for me, I'm simply not seeing any upgrades with the exception of Morse, and there again, he's missed almost half of his games the past two seasons, so if he continues that trend we can't really say that it was a great signing.  Presumably you would agree.  So that one's on ice and IMO that's the best signing we've made.  Otherwise, as someone has already opined, I view it more of a rearranging of the deck chairs.  

 

Now the signings of marquee/premier/impact players are cause for optimism, but A, there are none in the bunch we've signed, and B, again, to McBeane's credit, there really weren't many in free-agency available on offense. 

 

Antonio Brown would have been such a signing, but again, and partial credit to McBeane, it's good to have avoided him.  Mr. "Play by My Rules" isn't exactly what a developing QB that's struggling with his passing game needs at this point.  I can easily see that acquisition having derailed Allen's develoopment.  The absolutely last thing that Allen needs right now is a prima donna rambling in his ear constantly what he should be doing.  So on that end I'm a little surprised that they were even considering Brown.  

 

Here's where we differ on their philosophy:  Their attempt at a rebuild, offensively anyway, actually began last year.  But they swung-n-missed on just about every one of their offensive acquisitions, which frankly, were very similar to what they're doing this year.  Coupled with the fact that McD is a defensive-oriented coach and Beane, quite frankly, is still largely in OJT/Unknown mode, this isn't exactly cause for optimism.  

 

Lastly, the big thing, namely what's going to determine their futures here in Buffalo, perhaps beginning as early as this season but next for sure, is Allen's own progression.  I keep reiterating that, and the narrative is that all of Allen's faults, not talking merely areas required for development common among QBs, but actual faults per se, are all resultant from a "lack of weapons/tools" which IMO is tremendously faulty to assume.  

 

Allen's going to have to take a huge leap in his own rite, HUGE!  Again, as a passer last season his short-medium game was bottom-dwelling, worse than all other rookies.  That can't all be because of a lack of tools, particularly since his fellow rookies for the most part, besides Mayfield perhaps, also didn't have much better talent, if better at all, at their disposal.  Consider too that Jackson had John Brown who's now here.  So if we're going to apply the same standard across teams, then couldn't it also be said that Jackson's play was hindered due to the same "lack of weapons?"  The answer to that is of course it is despite the fact that the narrative here will be that it was all Jackson there for whatever reasons.  But then, why should we be optimistic about Brown here?  Pessimistic not necessarily, but what's the cause for optimism?   I see none.  

 

Think about all of their offensive moves since they arrived, McBeane that is.  How many have worked out?  Any?  I see none, at least not to the level that's going to move us forward and into playoff  competitiveness mode.  That's not a good sign for them.  

 

Having said all of that, IMO, I see absolutely no way that they can avoid drafting an OT with the 9th overall, or preferably trading down in the 1st for more day-1/2 picks yet still getting an OT.  

 

Thoughts?  

Brown and Beasley upgrade our WR Corps- maybe not by a ton, but some nonetheless. Special Teamer Williams is an upgrade as well. Kevin Johnson not so sure but he is going to push Levi Wallace in camp.

[Ronin]

7 hours ago, Doc said:

 

Only 6 playoff teams had a 1,000 yard WR (the Rams had 2).  And true Jeffrey would probably have eclipsed 1,000 yards, but barely.  I chose 1,000 yards because it's a nice number but in reality I could and should have chosen 1,200 yards, which is more true #1 territory.

 

OK ... so what?  

 

In light of what I posted, who cares?  I don't understand why that's relevant.  

 

NONE of the four teams competing for their conference championships lacked receivers.  

4 hours ago, billsfan_34 said:

And that gives us much more leverage when draft day comes!

Brown and Beasley upgrade our WR Corps- maybe not by a ton, but some nonetheless. Special Teamer Williams is an upgrade as well. Kevin Johnson not so sure but he is going to push Levi Wallace in camp.

 

Beasley does, but again, he's not the type of WR that Allen "finds" and makes optimal use of.  

 

I disagree completely on Brown.  Horrific catch % and not the WR that many here claim that he is.  

[TigerJ]

On 3/23/2019 at 12:25 PM, RPbillsfan said:

The NFL has a huge gap in even average offensive lineman, the Bills have added depth and with cap space they can hold onto guys like Ducasse and Bodine until after the draft and see if they can trade them for late round picks in 2020.

 

its all about building depth at as many positions as financially possible.

I haven't agreed with many of your posts, but this makes plenty of sense if they can find a trading partner or partners.

[LSHMEAB]

10 hours ago, TaskersGhost said:

 

 

Allen's going to have to take a huge leap in his own rite, HUGE!  Again, as a passer last season his short-medium game was bottom-dwelling, worse than all other rookies.  That can't all be because of a lack of tools, particularly since his fellow rookies for the most part, besides Mayfield perhaps, also didn't have much better talent, if better at all, at their disposal.  Consider too that Jackson had John Brown who's now here.  So if we're going to apply the same standard across teams, then couldn't it also be said that Jackson's play was hindered due to the same "lack of weapons?"  The answer to that is of course it is despite the fact that the narrative here will be that it was all Jackson there for whatever reasons.  But then, why should we be optimistic about Brown here?  Pessimistic not necessarily, but what's the cause for optimism?   I see none.  

The narrative here is that Jackson is a trash passer and Allen is much more effective in that department. Unfortunately, the stats belie this narrative as Jackson was actually a more "efficient" passer than Allen. So the assumption would be that Brown was part of that superior supporting cast. Since we now have one of Jackson's weapons, that should make Josh's job that much easier.

 

Look. I get the optimism regarding Josh. He's got all the tools in the world and makes multiple "wow" plays a game. The reality is that he's got to be much more EFFICIENT. He's got to "take what the defense gives him" and that's going to require a leap in pre snap recognition/in play decision making/ball placement. It's entirely within the realm of possibility that he will do just that. 

 

I don't believe the offensive moves have been terrific, but they've made the offensive talent at least on the low end of average. If Josh is the QB we all hope for, he will take a big leap this season. I simply don't have the patience to sit around waiting for Allen to "get it." This is all speculative of course, but I could see a scenario in which Allen once again struggles, and we collectively point to the supporting cast. The supporting cast was the reason he wasn't particularly prolific during his last season in the MW. At some point, Josh is going to have to really step up and produce more results than excuses. I want to BELIEVE. I am at the stage in my Bills fandom that I simply won't believe it until I see it.

[Doc]

1 hour ago, TaskersGhost said:

OK ... so what?  

 

In light of what I posted, who cares?  I don't understand why that's relevant.  

 

NONE of the four teams competing for their conference championships lacked receivers.  

 

You don't see why only half the teams making the playoffs, and the team winning the SB, didn't have even 1,000 yard receivers?  OK then, there's really nothing more to discuss.

 

1 hour ago, TaskersGhost said:

Beasley does, but again, he's not the type of WR that Allen "finds" and makes optimal use of.  

 

I disagree completely on Brown.  Horrific catch % and not the WR that many here claim that he is.  

 

We'll see about Beasley.  And Brown to me is a decoy that despite his catch rate, can't be ignored.

[Mat68]

On 3/23/2019 at 1:26 PM, TaskersGhost said:

 

They all scream back-up/depth to me.  

 

Either way, they're not much better than what we have.  I like the Morse signing but he's missed nearly half of his games over the past two seasons due to injury.  That's risky.  If he misses even three or four games this season it won't be good and will render his signing questionable.  

 

Otherwise, there isn't a player that we've signed that made a big impact on their former teams.  They're all categorically in that mediocre-average range for the most part.  

 

I don't see a plan, frankly, other than for what you say, namely as camp fodder with the "pool of average-mediocre" simply being larger to choose from, presumably thereby hoping that one or more players will emerge as something greater than what thye've been elsewhere.  That doesn't sound like much of a strategy to me.  

 

To McBeane's credit, there wasn't a whole lot available at top levels this season offensively speaking in free agency.  Having said that, every seasoned football fan knows that teams are built via the draft, not via free agency which is more used to plug holes and leaks.  

 

The offensive strategy for McBeane to date has left us in this unenviable position of having an offense all but completely bereft of starting caliber talent.  Excuses can be made, "reasons" given, but that's the state of the O right now and it's on them.  

 

To add some relevance to that, I've seen a whole lot of people applauding the WR Brown and Beasley signings.  They've both averaged only a few TDs season and not any more yards than any other WR we currently have.  So, if Brown's going to be a bona fide #1 WR, as I've read more than just a few people suggest while applauding McBeane, then he'll have to add then again at least 50% more to his average annual stat-line than he's averaged.  Also, I posted elsewhere that he's had only few deep TDs in his career, lastly notable in '14 & '15 with Palmer playing QB.  He's also bottom-dwelling in terms of catch-%, almost as bad as Jones is. 

 

As to Beasley, same thing.  Are we expecting his numbers to then again increase by 50% over his average?  Would that make sense to expect that?  Re: him, he'll be playing a position that Allen overlooked in terms of finding open receivers last season.  Beasley's good, but he's not the type of WR that Allen utilizes to that extent.  

 

Between 'em they've averaged 542 yards/season.  Is that something to get excited about?  

Between 'em they've averaged 3.75 TDs/season.  Is that something to get excited about?  

Between 'em, of their 45 TDs, only 7 have been greater than 24 yards.  Only 4 have been greater than 33 yards.  Does that fit the "deep game" narrative that we hear incessantly?  Is it anything even approaching being game-changing to the point where it'll win games for us?  

 

Either way, I'm not seeing much of departure here from the free-agency methodologies of the first two season to be honest.  

 

Just my two-cents.  

It's simple, Buffalo are in the market for offensive talent when their wasnt much to choose from in FA.  All the guys brought in are on 1 year deals with team options beside Morse. 

 

At wr Buffalo added the top available deep threat and arguably the top availabe slot wr.  The slot was a position of need and Allen throws a good deep ball. 

 

In terms of trades.  I think Brown's personality and contract demands were too rich for them.  Beane values the draft and the top 10 pick this year too much to include it for Beckham.  Gettleman made a call to Beane probably out of some relationship and professional courtesy and Beane didn't pony up or call back.  

 

I think Beane values their pick.  They will get the pick of the best offensive skill player, Olineman, Db, Lb and a highly rated d lineman.  The first time in a long time their are not pressing need.  They have 10 picks, I bet they use 7 or 8.  

[Ronin]

11 hours ago, LSHMEAB said:

The narrative here is that Jackson is a trash passer and Allen is much more effective in that department. Unfortunately, the stats belie this narrative as Jackson was actually a more "efficient" passer than Allen. So the assumption would be that Brown was part of that superior supporting cast. Since we now have one of Jackson's weapons, that should make Josh's job that much easier.

 

Look. I get the optimism regarding Josh. He's got all the tools in the world and makes multiple "wow" plays a game. The reality is that he's got to be much more EFFICIENT. He's got to "take what the defense gives him" and that's going to require a leap in pre snap recognition/in play decision making/ball placement. It's entirely within the realm of possibility that he will do just that. 

 

I don't believe the offensive moves have been terrific, but they've made the offensive talent at least on the low end of average. If Josh is the QB we all hope for, he will take a big leap this season. I simply don't have the patience to sit around waiting for Allen to "get it." This is all speculative of course, but I could see a scenario in which Allen once again struggles, and we collectively point to the supporting cast. The supporting cast was the reason he wasn't particularly prolific during his last season in the MW. At some point, Josh is going to have to really step up and produce more results than excuses. I want to BELIEVE. I am at the stage in my Bills fandom that I simply won't believe it until I see it.

 

An oustanding post! 

 

Well stated!  

 

The one part I'd comment on is that bolded part.  Yes, it is entirely within the realm of possibility, but that's also something that is all but uncoachable.  If a QB does it he typically has to master that on his own.  Coaches can guide, comment, suggest, etc., but sorta like with Bledsoe and his "getting rid of the ball timing," QBs either get it or don't, and Bledsoe never did no matter what they tried.  Bledsoe could even read Ds to a reasonable extent, that timing held him back throughout his entire NFL career.  This is way more critical.  These patterns for these QBs get cemented and attempting to change them in the NFL is a tall order.  Even seasoned QBs coming in with a strong arm that were better as such have failed.  

 

So to the extent that it's entirely within the realm of possibility, I'd still place the odds at well below even that he does it. Remember, a huge part of that is the ability to read a D on the fly.  Again, tough stuff, really impossible to coach in as that has to come from within, mentally.  I'm guessing that a big part of the problem is that like a kid with a gifted arm on a sandlot, he's made full advantage of his size and athleticism, to the extent that he's never had to learn to read Ds to be successful at least to a large extent.  You can get away with that in college and for sure high school, but getting away with it in the NFL ain't gonna happen.  The problem is that the NFL is not the place to start learning that either.  Unfortunately for him, he wasn't in a program at Wyoming where it was necessary to hone those skills in order to be deemed "successful.  He never did hone them as a result.  

 

Here's what his nfl.com draft profile said:  Allen can make some truly special throws, but his ability to improve the mental part of his game will determine whether he's a good NFL starter or just another big, strong-armed guy.

 

That's spot on.  The problem therein as well lies in that NFL history is littered with QBs with that limitation that were unable to overcome it.  In fact, I can't think of any, no franchise QBs playing today for sure, that did.  

 

As with you, I'm hopeful.  This kid's got the leadership and other qualities that would make him a killer leader.  Even if you're not a Bills fan you've gotta be pullin' for him.  

11 hours ago, Doc said:

 

You don't see why only half the teams making the playoffs, and the team winning the SB, didn't have even 1,000 yard receivers?  OK then, there's really nothing more to discuss.

 

 

We'll see about Beasley.  And Brown to me is a decoy that despite his catch rate, can't be ignored.

 

Dude, all you do is throw mud up on the wall in these discussions.  

[Doc]

6 minutes ago, TaskersGhost said:

Dude, all you do is throw mud up on the wall in these discussions.  

 

Like I said, there's really nothing more to discuss.  We'll have to agree to disagree about who is actually throwing mud and who is throwing *****.

[Ronin]

12 hours ago, Mat68 said:

It's simple, Buffalo are in the market for offensive talent when their wasnt much to choose from in FA.  All the guys brought in are on 1 year deals with team options beside Morse. 

 

At wr Buffalo added the top available deep threat and arguably the top availabe slot wr.  The slot was a position of need and Allen throws a good deep ball. 

 

In terms of trades.  I think Brown's personality and contract demands were too rich for them.  Beane values the draft and the top 10 pick this year too much to include it for Beckham.  Gettleman made a call to Beane probably out of some relationship and professional courtesy and Beane didn't pony up or call back.  

 

I think Beane values their pick.  They will get the pick of the best offensive skill player, Olineman, Db, Lb and a highly rated d lineman.  The first time in a long time their are not pressing need.  They have 10 picks, I bet they use 7 or 8.  

 

I haven't looked at the contracts, but if that's true, the fact that they're all being brought in on 1-year contracts with team options thereafter hardly suggests that they're above-average and "upgrades," like so many are saying and which has become the narrative.  

 

You say that we added the top available deep-threat.  "Top available" is one thing, very good much less great is entirely another.  As I've often stated, the availability for offensive players was scant in this year's FA class.  Otehrwise, can you lay out all the deep TD passes that Brown caught for us in this argument?   I think if you do you may begin to question that narrative.  We have WRs on our team from this past season, meaning more than one, that have better "deep threat" numbers than Brown.  So how does one process that contrasted with the narrative?  What, we simply throw out any and all data and assume that mere talk trumps all of what we just pitched?   As a holistic and objective analyst I cannot do that.  Some others will say "using stats to prove my point," to which my response is what, using no stats or concrete data to prove a point that's based almost entirely on talk?  Does that make any sense?  

 

What about his catch%?  Have you looked at that?  It's bottom-dwelling.  So get ready for the next stage of the "dropped passes" narrative as yet another excuse for Allen of sorts.  

 

Secondly, the deep-ball is so overrated.  Fans get enamored with it but there isn't a franchise QB in recent history that was a great deep-ball passer with an average or worse short-medium game.  That really tells us all we need to know.  

 

I wouldn't have traded anything valuable for OBJ much less Brown.  Both are problems that Allen doesn't need right now and which won't help him, strangely.  

 

As to the "10 picks" narrative, 7 of them are on day-3.  On days 1 & 2 we only have one pick each.  NE and the Jets are in better shape on days 1 & 2.  

 

But if they don't take an OT they're nuts.  Even then, he'll have to emerge outta the gates swingin'.  

 

And BTW, I'm hardly criticizing their free-agency picks, what I am doing is challenging the narrative that we've somehow upgraded.  And frankly, it wouldn't take much to upgrade.  Keep in mind that we're in this position because all of the "one-year contract" signings last year on offense that everyone said we could jettison if they didn't work out, didn't work out.  Again, hardly an endorsement for McBeane.  

Edited March 25, 2019 by TaskersGhost

[Bing Bong]

As far as "more purposefully and selectively", no I don't think so. Whaley definitely had a purpose. He overpaid for a division rival TE that was one of the best available on the market (supposedly).. but it was certainly purposeful. Roman really needed the rare TE that blocks and can be a (supposedly) good receiver as well.

 

It was still a bad move in hindsight. Otherwise I though Whaley was superb in FA. I think this regime is good, probably better in FA, we'll see. I don't think Star was a great move, obviously Vontae Davis was no harm, no foul (lol), but Beane's been okay. No splash signings, a lot of really good dumpster diving. Whaley did the same for his part. Beane is a wizard at dumpster diving for secondary. Whaley for dumpster diving for front 7. They're both really strong in pro scouting to find low key players that become key players.. like LorAx.

 

I don't know how much credit to give to Whaley for Poyer and Hyde but.. my favorite FA signings on this team. Fantastic move that turned a unit that seemed to be a glaring hole into a strength.. for a long time. I'm sure McDermott did most of the scouting/suggestions and Whaley agreed. They're both good pro personnel scouts, so that FA year was one of our best FA years I can remember.

 

There's really no way to say this has been a glorious FA year for us until we see it in action.

[auburnbillsbacker]

They have been smart with their signings.  Almost all of a free agent pickups have front loaded contracts or can be released without much penalty.  The Bills will still have a lot of cap space next year and beyond.  In general, I think the Bills wanted to fill holes with competent starters to give them flexibility in the draft and future off seasons.    I do not however, think the Bills view many of their acquisitions as long term starters.  You will see several of these guys get cut over the next two seasons as more talented draft picks and free agents are signed.  As fans, we will likely complain about how little some of these guys provided based on how much they got paid.  The Bills on the other hand, will not care.  It was all part of the plan.  

[Ronin]

19 hours ago, SoTier said:

 

What's really sad is that the Bills have only had 3 winning seasons in the last 19 and only made the playoffs once in that entire time. 

 

What's sad is that over the years since the Polian days that we can't get a GM in here that runs the place something other than a casual fan runs a fantasy team.  

 

Always relying on boring ill-founded narratives and drafting players like Jones, Watkins, Spiller, Lawson, Maybin, McCargo, etc. for which if they had looked at how those players racked up stats in college they'd have seen an ill-fit for the NFL.  But they draft them anyway expecting that circumstances that typically don't exist in the NFL for some reason won't be a factor in their play in the NFL.  

 

They translate to wasted picks, push our miserly along, and force the firing of the people responsible turning it into a vicious cycle.  

[Bing Bong]

8 minutes ago, TaskersGhost said:

And BTW, I'm hardly criticizing their free-agency picks, what I am doing is challenging the narrative that we've somehow upgraded.  And frankly, it wouldn't take much to upgrade.  Keep in mind that we're in this position because all of the "one-year contract" signings last year on offense that everyone said we could jettison if they didn't work out, didn't work out.  Again, hardly an endorsement for McBeane.  

I think our evaluation of how much our FA period improved the WR corps is very overblown. Really the best scenario to significantly improve is Foster taking the next step, who was already on the team. John Brown and Cole Beasley are at least talent we should have always had at bare minimum at WR instead of trotting out Jordan Matthews, Kelvin Benjamin, and rookie Zay Jones.. just horrible.

3 minutes ago, auburnbillsbacker said:

They have been smart with their signings.  Almost all of a free agent pickups have front loaded contracts or can be released without much penalty.  The Bills will still have a lot of cap space next year and beyond.  In general, I think the Bills wanted to fill holes with competent starters to give them flexibility in the draft and future off seasons.    I do not however, think the Bills view many of their acquisitions as long term starters.  You will see several of these guys get cut over the next two seasons as more talented draft picks and free agents are signed.  As fans, we will likely complain about how little some of these guys provided based on how much they got paid.  The Bills on the other hand, will not care.  It was all part of the plan.  

yep I like this post. I agree, they made front loaded contracts exactly as I wanted to improve the teams with vets while we wait for our young better players to reach their re-signing period with a healthy flexible cap situation to get the retain the right guys.

 

The vets are a great plug-in play to teach our young guys how to start winning until we evaluate their value compared to the Bills we drafted 2 years from now. Best thing is Bills are keeping themselves flexible.

[oldmanfan]

21 minutes ago, TaskersGhost said:

 

I haven't looked at the contracts, but if that's true, the fact that they're all being brought in on 1-year contracts with team options thereafter hardly suggests that they're above-average and "upgrades," like so many are saying and which has become the narrative.  

 

You say that we added the top available deep-threat.  "Top available" is one thing, very good much less great is entirely another.  As I've often stated, the availability for offensive players was scant in this year's FA class.  Otehrwise, can you lay out all the deep TD passes that Brown caught for us in this argument?   I think if you do you may begin to question that narrative.  We have WRs on our team from this past season, meaning more than one, that have better "deep threat" numbers than Brown.  So how does one process that contrasted with the narrative?  What, we simply throw out any and all data and assume that mere talk trumps all of what we just pitched?   As a holistic and objective analyst I cannot do that.  Some others will say "using stats to prove my point," to which my response is what, using no stats or concrete data to prove a point that's based almost entirely on talk?  Does that make any sense?  

 

What about his catch%?  Have you looked at that?  It's bottom-dwelling.  So get ready for the next stage of the "dropped passes" narrative as yet another excuse for Allen of sorts.  

 

Secondly, the deep-ball is so overrated.  Fans get enamored with it but there isn't a franchise QB in recent history that was a great deep-ball passer with an average or wore short-medium game.  That really tells us all we need to know.  

 

I wouldn't have traded anything valuable for OBJ much less Brown.  Both are problems that Allen doesn't need right now and which won't help him, strangely.  

 

As to the "10 picks" narrative, 7 of them are on day-3.  On days 1 & 2 we only have one pick each.  NE and the Jets are in better shape on days 1 & 2.  

 

But if they don't take an OT they're nuts.  Even then, he'll have to emerge outta the gates swingin'.  

 

And BTW, I'm hardly criticizing their free-agency picks, what I am doing is challenging the narrative that we've somehow upgraded.  And frankly, it wouldn't take much to upgrade.  Keep in mind that we're in this position because all of the "one-year contract" signings last year on offense that everyone said we could jettison if they didn't work out, didn't work out.  Again, hardly an endorsement for McBeane.  

As a self proclaimed holistic and objective observer, you may want to look back in history as to the eventual impact of big name free agent signings on a team's overall performance.  You may be surprised.

 

The job of a GM is to look for ways to upgrade his team.  They brought in two WRs that are upgrades to the position vs. last season.  Brown takes essentially Benjamin's old job, Beasley takes what was essentially a non-filled spot.  Morse upgrades the C spot, they brought in two tackles one of which starts unless they draft one day 1 or two, two at G that should upgrade Miller and Ducasses and give competition to Teller, a TE that upgrades over Clay, an All Pro KR that upgrades that spot plus a good gunner for special teams, and two CBS for depth to upgrade there.

 

At some point people are going to have to listen to Beane and believe what he says.  He has said you look to FA to fill holes and the draft to get the best guys you can.  That is what he has done and is doing.  Now, if you want to give the all too trite "I'll believe it when I see it", or "show me the baby" stuff go ahead.  Of course we have to see how it works out.  Duh.

 

As for contract length, it is also clear Beane values cap space.  He has a lot of it next year, some remaining this year.  By signing this crop of FAs to manageable short contracts he gives himself flexibility to extend guys that he knows are integral ( like a Hyde and Poyer), and he can extend any of his FAs that merit the extension and let others walk after a year of service.  Pretty astute approach.

 

 

Edited March 25, 2019 by oldmanfan

[LSHMEAB]

5 hours ago, TaskersGhost said:

 

 

What about his catch%?  Have you looked at that?  It's bottom-dwelling.  So get ready for the next stage of the "dropped passes" narrative as yet another excuse for Allen of sorts.  

 

Ugh. I can see that coming from a mile away. Your posts are depressing!

5 hours ago, BarkleyForGOATBackupPT5P said:

I think our evaluation of how much our FA period improved the WR corps is very overblown. Really the best scenario to significantly improve is Foster taking the next step, who was already on the team. John Brown and Cole Beasley are at least talent we should have always had at bare minimum at WR instead of trotting out Jordan Matthews, Kelvin Benjamin, and rookie Zay Jones.. just horrible.

yep I like this post. I agree, they made front loaded contracts exactly as I wanted to improve the teams with vets while we wait for our young better players to reach their re-signing period with a healthy flexible cap situation to get the retain the right guys.

 

The vets are a great plug-in play to teach our young guys how to start winning until we evaluate their value compared to the Bills we drafted 2 years from now. Best thing is Bills are keeping themselves flexible.

Yeah. I really don't care if it's Metcalf at 9 or someone later in the draft, but they have got to swing and HIT on a receiver.