John Warrow’s High Praise For Beane & McDermott Regime

[Magox]

Some people just don't get it.

 

Yes, the Bills did inherit a salary cap mess.   What the hard-heads have a very very hard time of understanding is that this regime didn't hold in high regards players such as Watkins and Dareus relative to their contracts.   I know that the hard-heads loved these players, even though their production over the past few years was on par with your slightly above JAG level players, specially considering that they didn't fit the DNA of the type of player that this organization wanted.     I get it, terms such as "process", "culture" and "DNA" are terms that are foreign to the hard-heads and they believe these are mythical made-up words that exist only in sports fans imaginations.    So attempting to explain to the hard-heads that building a team from the ground up with culture, process and players that fit their DNA is a wasted cause because the concept is too abstract for their heads to wrap around.    

 

The Bills could have decided to try to keep underperforming players such as Dareus and Watkins despite them not being the type of players that fit their preferred DNA had they been playing up to their contract levels.  But they weren't.   And despite all the howlings and screeching we heard from the same hard-heads of how getting rid of players such as Watkins and Dareus would spell doom, the Bills still made the playoffs.    And yet when you ask the hard-heads how this happened, they shrug their shoulders and suggest Luck.   

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

11 hours ago, ScottLaw said:

This has been discussed here a million times.... they didn't inherit a salary cap mess.

 

Did they have loads of cap to spend? Absolutely not. But were they buried over the cap? Not even close. In fact after releasing a couple veteran duds they found enough cap space to sign Jordan Poyer and Hyde McDermotts first offseason here while letting Goodwin and Woods walk.

 

The Saints have been salary cap restricted for YEARS. They find a way without gutting their team. 

 

Not saying these guys are no better then the previous guys before them, but they've had their fair share of ***** ups in managing the team and I'll reserve my high praises until they actually start winning games..... considering we've been down this road with the franchise for a couple decades now. 

 

And he failed miserably.?

 

It doesnt, nor should it take four years to turn a franchise around. 

Oh Scott   You never fail ....  

 

http://www.espn.com/blog/buffalo-bills/post/_/id/31007/brandon-beane-puts-bills-in-better-position-under-salary-cap-in-2018

 

More than $30 million of the Bills' approximately $137 million in 2017 salary-cap commitments was "dead money," or amounts already paid to players who did not remain on the roster. That was the third-highest amount in the NFL and included $10.6 million from the October trade of defensive tackle  Marcell Dareus  and $5.6 million from the August trade of wide receiver Sammy Watkins .

 

Mismanaging the salary cap has been part of Buffalo's reputation in recent seasons, but that could end soon. If Beane's first eight months as general manager are any indication, he is more likely to move bloated contracts off his roster this offseason than to add more to his payroll, creating a healthier financial situation moving forward.
 

 

Some teams are lucky to have "More than $30 million" in total cap space.  

Edited May 1, 2019 by ShadyBillsFan

[JohnC]

10 hours ago, ScottLaw said:

I'm not arguing that's Rex Ryan was not a complete dumpster fire of a HC..... he was

a disgrace. McDermott won with mostly a Whaley/Rex roster. 

McDermott did win mostly with Wahley/Rex's roster because that was the team he inherited. It's not like he can take over a team and completely wipe out the roster like erasing a black board. It takes time to redo the roster and rebalance the cap. And for the most part he did accomplish that in short order.

 

The argument you and some others make is that there wasn't a need to drastically rebuild the roster. That's not an unreasonable position to take. But the plan that the new coach had was not to build on what the prior regime did but for the most part to redo/undo it. His plan was to clean out the roster and bring in his own players and have them paid within his salary structure. 

 

This regime is entering its third year with mostly his players. The few remaining players from the prior regime will probably be dispatched in the not too distant future. An example of a player who falls in that category is Lawson. A lot of roster activity was done in this offseason including this year's drafted players. Let's be fair and allow this season to unfold before conclusively making a judgment on how he has done.

[Boca BIlls]

11 hours ago, ScottLaw said:

This has been discussed here a million times.... they didn't inherit a salary cap mess.

 

Did they have loads of cap to spend? Absolutely not. But were they buried over the cap? Not even close. In fact after releasing a couple veteran duds they found enough cap space to sign Jordan Poyer and Hyde McDermotts first offseason here while letting Goodwin and Woods walk.

 

The Saints have been salary cap restricted for YEARS. They find a way without gutting their team. 

 

Not saying these guys are no better then the previous guys before them, but they've had their fair share of ***** ups in managing the team and I'll reserve my high praises until they actually start winning games..... considering we've been down this road with the franchise for a couple decades now. 

 

And he failed miserably.?

 

It doesnt, nor should it take four years to turn a franchise around. 

When the Saints were in cap hell they finished 7-9 three years in a row.

[badassgixxer05]

10 hours ago, ScottLaw said:

I'm not arguing that's Rex Ryan was not a complete dumpster fire of a HC..... he was

a disgrace. McDermott won with mostly a Whaley/Rex roster. 

Partially agree. But without Hyde/Poyer there was no way we were in playoffs.

[hondo in seattle]

The cap situation that Beane inherited might not have been an unmitigated disaster.  But I think it's safe to say that Beane didn't love the player roster or salary cap situation the Bills had at the time.  So he created a multiyear plan to fix each of them.

 

That plan left the Bills with the lowest active cap roster - by far - in the NFL last year.  Every one of McD's 6 wins came against teams that paid more for their squads and arguably fielded more talented players.  McD never lost to a lower paid roster and often won against higher paid rosters.  McD did his job.

 

Beane's plan resulted in the Bills having approximately 10 draft picks and $80 million in cap space this offseason.  He seems to have used his capital wisely - considerably upgrading the roster without mortgaging the future.   The Bills still have $30 million in cap space this year and  $84 million next year (3rd in the NFL) allowing for more upgrades in the near future.   It looks like Beane's getting his job done, too. 

 

So far, I'm happy with these guys.

 

[Shaw66]

This thread is excellent evidence as to how difficult it is to run a pro football team. The reality is that running any large organization is a complex endeavor and cannot be reduced to a simple conclusion about anyone any aspect of the operation of the team.

 

The notion that the team was or was not in cap hell when Beane took over makes for an an interesting discussion, but the team's cap position at any given time is only one of many aspects of the success of the franchise.  Other aspects include the quality of the coaching, the quality of the players, the conference within which you are playing, the division within which you are playing and a myriad of other factors that affect the outcomes of each game and each season.

 

These discussions often break down into name calling and battering of one another in an effort to establish one position or another about one of those aspects of the operation of a pro football team.

 

The more dug in people get on their positions about these this particular issue, the more difficult it is for them to see and evaluate the team as a whole. It is much like McDermott's approach to team football.  He has said repeatedly that the game is a complementary game; it's one where the offense, defense and special teams work togethe; it's one where teams within the team such as the offensive line team, the defensive line team, the defensive backfield team all work together.

 

Beane and his team had many decisions to make when they took over and from day-to-day moving forward. That is the nature of the business. He has admitted frequently that not all of those decisions can be made correctly, and he has made his share of mistakes, just he has anyone else would do in that job.  One major decision was the choice to gut the team and throw the team into a terrifically adverse cap situation for a relatively short period of time. That was a decision. It may have worked well it; may have worked poorly. Some other decision may have worked better and it may have worked worse. The important point is not whether the that particular decision was the best decision that could have been made. The important point is whether the decisions that he makes collectively add up to the success they are seeking to the success they are seeking to achieve.

 

Many of us think that Beane is on a good path toward success.  Whether he is will be much clearer to all of us in November.

[Delete This Account]

1 hour ago, Shaw66 said:

This thread is excellent evidence as to how difficult it is to run a pro football team. The reality is that running any large organization is a complex endeavor and cannot be reduced to a simple conclusion about anyone any aspect of the operation of the team.

 

The notion that the team was or was not in cap hell when Beane took over makes for an an interesting discussion, but the team's cap position at any given time is only one of many aspects of the success of the franchise.  Other aspects include the quality of the coaching, the quality of the players, the conference within which you are playing, the division within which you are playing and a myriad of other factors that affect the outcomes of each game and each season.

 

These discussions often break down into name calling and battering of one another in an effort to establish one position or another about one of those aspects of the operation of a pro football team.

 

The more dug in people get on their positions about these this particular issue, the more difficult it is for them to see and evaluate the team as a whole. It is much like McDermott's approach to team football.  He has said repeatedly that the game is a complementary game; it's one where the offense, defense and special teams work togethe; it's one where teams within the team such as the offensive line team, the defensive line team, the defensive backfield team all work together.

 

Beane and his team had many decisions to make when they took over and from day-to-day moving forward. That is the nature of the business. He has admitted frequently that not all of those decisions can be made correctly, and he has made his share of mistakes, just he has anyone else would do in that job.  One major decision was the choice to gut the team and throw the team into a terrifically adverse cap situation for a relatively short period of time. That was a decision. It may have worked well it; may have worked poorly. Some other decision may have worked better and it may have worked worse. The important point is not whether the that particular decision was the best decision that could have been made. The important point is whether the decisions that he makes collectively add up to the success they are seeking to the success they are seeking to achieve.

 

Many of us think that Beane is on a good path toward success.  Whether he is will be much clearer to all of us in November.

 

A sober and fair assessment, this.

 

jw

[Delete This Account]

17 hours ago, The Bills Blog said:

19 years covering the team?

 

He's the curse!

 

Maybe his "What do you make of X" questions to every coach and player are more than they seem... ?

 

geez, no one has ever noted this for an easy laugh.

 

Edited May 1, 2019 by Hapless Bills Fan
inappropriate language

[Hapless Bills Fan]

2 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

These discussions often break down into name calling and battering of one another in an effort to establish one position or another about one of those aspects of the operation of a pro football team.

 

I think this thread has done a great job of expressing different opinions without breaking down (too far) into name calling, so Kudos to all!

As for the sentiment below, Word! Go Bills!

 

2 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

Many of us think that Beane is on a good path toward success.  Whether he is will be much clearer to all of us in November.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

17 hours ago, john wawrow said:

they didn’t bring in CJ Anderson.

 

Maybe he woulda bolstered Bills rushing game - 149 ypg for the Rams at the end of the season.  Beast!

[John from Riverside]

9 hours ago, Chandler#81 said:

 

You and the 2 posters who like this post have a combined 19 warnings, with you the lead dog. And that’s just with these monikers, right Phil the ill? 

But I think you make a good point. Screw warning anti-fans. As you clearly represent, Warning obviously does no good.

 The beheadings shall begin at midnight

 

I just want to take this small moment in time to tell you all that I love you all

[Hapless Bills Fan]

16 hours ago, Limeaid said:

 

They are likely anti-fans, they were fans and then discovered it was easier to going along with the bashing and predicting of failures but failed to realize they are no longer fans. Some ARE blatant trolls but have mods as friends and a mod will give you warning points despite same comments being given to non-trolls will not get your points.

 

As you've been told in PM, mods don't read every post or participate in every thread; we depend upon members using "report" to give us a hint when things go off the rails.  Thus some things get missed while similar get tagged, simply by chance of whether or not a mod sees it.   If you don't help clean up the trash, don't complain that one park is cleaned while another is covered with litter.

 

Further discussion of site moderation or imputations that mods play favorites in this thread will be shut down.  Suggestions for improved moderation can be made in Customer Service.  Complaints may be PM'd to the admins.

 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

4 hours ago, Boca BIlls said:

When the Saints were in cap hell they finished 7-9 three years in a row.

 

A valid point, and that's with a proven SB winning coach and a future HOF QB

 

They also had Rob  "Short Attention Span" Ryan at DC for 2 of those years, any chance that had something to do with it?  ?

 

[BillsFan4]

4 hours ago, ShadyBillsFan said:

Oh Scott   You never fail ....  

 

http://www.espn.com/blog/buffalo-bills/post/_/id/31007/brandon-beane-puts-bills-in-better-position-under-salary-cap-in-2018

 

More than $30 million of the Bills' approximately $137 million in 2017 salary-cap commitments was "dead money," or amounts already paid to players who did not remain on the roster. That was the third-highest amount in the NFL and included $10.6 million from the October trade of defensive tackle  Marcell Dareus  and $5.6 million from the August trade of wide receiver Sammy Watkins .

 

Mismanaging the salary cap has been part of Buffalo's reputation in recent seasons, but that could end soon. If Beane's first eight months as general manager are any indication, he is more likely to move bloated contracts off his roster this offseason than to add more to his payroll, creating a healthier financial situation moving forward.
 

 

Some teams are lucky to have "More than $30 million" in total cap space.  

Plus the Bills has a league high number of free agents (24 iirc) in McD’s first year and only had 39 players under contract. 

 

That has has to be taken into consideration. You can’t just look at the cap space number. They had to sign more than 1/2 a teams worth of players. 

 

 

Edited May 1, 2019 by BillsFan4

[Shaw66]

2 hours ago, john wawrow said:

 

A sober and fair assessment, this.

 

jw

Please.  Never accuse me of being sober.  

[Hapless Bills Fan]

6 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

Please.  Never accuse me of being sober.  

 

I was gonna give this a "Ha!" emoji but then I realized what was more appropriate.    Here's another

 

[JohnC]

2 hours ago, john wawrow said:

 

A sober and fair assessment, this.

 

jw

If you are suggesting that you have to be sober in order to give a fair assessment then I respectfully disagree. I know a number of committed drunkards who are capable of giving a fair assessment. 

[JohnC]

4 hours ago, badassgixxer05 said:

Partially agree. But without Hyde/Poyer there was no way we were in playoffs.

In my opinion one of the most impressive feats that McDermott accomplished in his first year was remaking the backside of the defense without extravagantly spending for the replacement players. Adding players such as Poyer, Hyde and rookie Tre' White and having them seamlessly fit in his system was a tribute to his coaching and scouting talents. I'll even go a little farther in saying that the wrestling coach was masterful in his first year on the job when he got his at best average roster into the playoffs.   

[Reed83HOF]

16 minutes ago, JohnC said:

In my opinion one of the most impressive feats that McDermott accomplished in his first year was remaking the backside of the defense without extravagantly spending for the replacement players. Adding players such as Poyer, Hyde and rookie Tre' White and having them seamlessly fit in his system was a tribute to his coaching and scouting talents. I'll even go a little farther in saying that the wrestling coach was masterful in his first year on the job when he got his at best average roster into the playoffs.   

 

With help and starting Peterman