Interview with Beane - his McCoy explanation

[Hapless Bills Fan]

Pretty good interview with the Beane-meister by Vic Carrucci (TBN - paywall, think they've got a trial?)

 

https://buffalonews.com/2019/09/06/bills-gm-brandon-beane-on-expectations-challenges-and-changes/

 

What think you guys about his McCoy explanation (what he said vs McCoy being cut)?  You really gotta read the article, but some snips:

"I love my players, I truly do, if they're all in and they're working hard. And LeSean embraced the competition."

" It's not to be deceptive, it's truly not. It's, "I'm with my guys as long as they're here and as long as they're doing what we're asking them to do." If LeSean had been causing a problem or something like that, it probably would have been a different answer. But it wasn't. I saw a lot of reasons that LeSean could have been here for this season"

" I didn't say it to posture or anything like that. I truly meant what I said when I was asked those questions."

Buy it?

On the OL:

BN: It has to be a bit disconcerting to know you're the only team in the league with four new starting offensive linemen.

BB: I mean, that's not how you draw it up. But, again, at the end of last season, we had to be blind to say that that wasn't something that we had to improve. Because if you can't protect or you can't open holes, it's hard to execute an offense consistently. So goal No. 1, agenda No. 1 was to bring in some experience, add some youth, rework this thing and if it's three new guys, five new guys, whatever it is, we've got to get it fixed.

 

A few other points:

-with Kroft out, he points to Lee Smith as a vet influence to help the rookies adjust to the real NFL game

-about the somewhat muff-handed McKensie: " Most guys are either straight-line fast or they're quick. He is the one guy on the roster (with) both

-about Allen: "I think you can definitely feel more of his maturity and his growth. Just Year 2 of the offense, understanding the NFL game is totally different from the college game, and I've seen his maturity, a lot in practice but even in the (preseason) games."

 

Again read the article...Beane actually comes across as somewhat lukewarm on Allen to me.  Though perhaps it's just Carrucci, who comes across as skeptical (maybe a bit negative?): " So, too, is the fact the revamped offensive line has had virtually no time to build continuity. And that rookies on both sides of the ball are being asked to fill key roles right away. And that most of the team's fortunes depend on quarterback Josh Allen making major strides in his second season. "

 

Sunday can't come soon enough
 

[BuffaloBill]

If Beane is lukewarm on Allen it is a very concerning situation.  GM’s generally don’t survive missed QB picks.  The Bills have been through enough front office and coaching upheavals. Let’s hope that history is not repeated anytime soon.

[PlayoffsPlease]

1 minute ago, BuffaloBill said:

If Beane is lukewarm on Allen it is a very concerning situation.  GM’s generally don’t survive missed QB picks.  The Bills have been through enough front office and coaching upheavals. Let’s hope that history is not repeated anytime soon.

Where does it say he is lukewarm?

[Hapless Bills Fan]

2 minutes ago, BuffaloBill said:

If Beane is lukewarm on Allen it is a very concerning situation.  GM’s generally don’t survive missed QB picks.  The Bills have been through enough front office and coaching upheavals. Let’s hope that history is not repeated anytime soon.

 

Bear in mind it's just my impression based on what Carrucci put in his article (and Vic comes across as a bit skeptical or lukewarm overall on the Bills, at least to me).

 

My impression could be mistaken, or it could be based upon a "spin".  It's just that what wound up in the article struck me a bit as a man trying to persuade himself.

Just now, PlayoffsPlease said:

Where does it say he is lukewarm?

 

Again, it doesn't say.  That's my "read" on what is said.

[PlayoffsPlease]

2 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Bear in mind it's just my impression based on what Carrucci put in his article (and Vic comes across as a bit skeptical or lukewarm overall on the Bills, at least to me).

 

My impression could be mistaken, or it could be based upon a "spin".  It's just that what wound up in the article struck me a bit as a man trying to persuade himself.

 

Again, it doesn't say.  That's my "read" on what is said.

Ok, I don't take it that way.  Beane has not once made a statement publicly about wins being part of his responsibility as gm.  He is very cautious to make sure that there are no known objective goals (playoffs, .500, super bowl).  I think this is just Beane's standard lack of willingness to define success. 

[Bray Wyatt]

I didn’t take his answer about Allen as lukewarm, it was more of a generic answer about qb play and how it correlates to winning. It was also answered in a way that it would not put any undue pressure on Allen which I think was his intent

[BuffAlone]

opinions vary

[Jumpsuit Jim]

I thought Beane was more medium rare to over easy on Allen. Which is awesome if it comes with a side of fresh salsa. 

[Don Otreply]

Nice article, I think he was as straight about players as you’re gonna see from a GM, as to his statements about Josh, I believe he was playing his card close to his chest so to speak, said all the right things imo. Everyone on this teams knows their spot is not guaranteed, and Beane speaks that way, it’s his job to keep everyone on their toes as it were.

 

Go Bills!! 

[mead107]

Think you are reading way to much into it.  

 

[atlbillsfan1975]

19 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Bear in mind it's just my impression based on what Carrucci put in his article (and Vic comes across as a bit skeptical or lukewarm overall on the Bills, at least to me).

 

My impression could be mistaken, or it could be based upon a "spin".  It's just that what wound up in the article struck me a bit as a man trying to persuade himself.

 

Again, it doesn't say.  That's my "read" on what is said.

Are you “lukewarm” on Allen?

[Saxum]

Article appears allow whatever reader thinks to be echoed by what is read.

This is like the ink blot test and we have Hapless's reading.

[MJS]

I'm not sure it matters if we believe Beane or not. What difference does it make? He is not required to tell fans anything. He's required to build and manage the team.

 

If I was a coach or GM I wouldn't tell anyone a darn thing. Ever. It would all be coach/gm speak from me. I'd be a terrible interview until eventually the media would stop asking me.

 

For fans, yes, it's about entertainment. But for the coaches, gm, and players entertainment is the last thing they are thinking about. They are thinking about winning games. Their job is not to entertain, it is to win.

[Lurker]

1 hour ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Bear in mind it's just my impression based on what Carrucci put in his article (and Vic comes across as a bit skeptical or lukewarm overall on the Bills, at least to me).

 

My impression could be mistaken, or it could be based upon a "spin".  It's just that what wound up in the article struck me a bit as a man trying to persuade himself.

 

Again, it doesn't say.  That's my "read" on what is said.

 

I'm not sure how you figure Vic was shading anything.   He asked questions and let Beane do all the talking.     

 

I thought Beane was refreshingly honest throughout the article, as he's been since he came here.   He was (truthfully, I believe) saying they hope Josh takes the next step this year but, right now, that's really an unknown.     He'll have to prove it on the field.  

 

I like a GM that doesn't try to blow smoke up my ass.   We--and McBeane--will just have to see how it plays out...

 

Edited September 7, 2019 by Lurker

[Shaw66]

51 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

Pretty good interview with the Beane-meister by Vic Carrucci (TBN - paywall, think they've got a trial?)

 

https://buffalonews.com/2019/09/06/bills-gm-brandon-beane-on-expectations-challenges-and-changes/

 

What think you guys about his McCoy explanation (what he said vs McCoy being cut)?  You really gotta read the article, but some snips:

"I love my players, I truly do, if they're all in and they're working hard. And LeSean embraced the competition."

" It's not to be deceptive, it's truly not. It's, "I'm with my guys as long as they're here and as long as they're doing what we're asking them to do." If LeSean had been causing a problem or something like that, it probably would have been a different answer. But it wasn't. I saw a lot of reasons that LeSean could have been here for this season"

" I didn't say it to posture or anything like that. I truly meant what I said when I was asked those questions."

Buy it?

On the OL:

BN: It has to be a bit disconcerting to know you're the only team in the league with four new starting offensive linemen.

BB: I mean, that's not how you draw it up. But, again, at the end of last season, we had to be blind to say that that wasn't something that we had to improve. Because if you can't protect or you can't open holes, it's hard to execute an offense consistently. So goal No. 1, agenda No. 1 was to bring in some experience, add some youth, rework this thing and if it's three new guys, five new guys, whatever it is, we've got to get it fixed.

 

A few other points:

-with Kroft out, he points to Lee Smith as a vet influence to help the rookies adjust to the real NFL game

-about the somewhat muff-handed McKensie: " Most guys are either straight-line fast or they're quick. He is the one guy on the roster (with) both

-about Allen: "I think you can definitely feel more of his maturity and his growth. Just Year 2 of the offense, understanding the NFL game is totally different from the college game, and I've seen his maturity, a lot in practice but even in the (preseason) games."

 

Again read the article...Beane actually comes across as somewhat lukewarm on Allen to me.  Though perhaps it's just Carrucci, who comes across as skeptical (maybe a bit negative?): " So, too, is the fact the revamped offensive line has had virtually no time to build continuity. And that rookies on both sides of the ball are being asked to fill key roles right away. And that most of the team's fortunes depend on quarterback Josh Allen making major strides in his second season. "

 

Sunday can't come soon enough
 

Thanks for posting this.  I read the article.  

 

Yeah, Beane's really lukewarm about Josh.  That's a good word.   I think he's underselling Josh; he doesn't want to put the pressure on him that the fans are creating.   I'm expecting him to be a star on the rise, known to all football fans by the end of the season.  Beane might believe that, but I think he just sees no point in saying it - it just puts pressure on Josh, and it puts pressure on Beane if Josh underperforms.  

 

Carucci was better about McCoy.  That guy in the Athletic wrote a piece a week or two ago that suggested Beane has been lying to us for months about McCoy.   I really don't think that's the case. What Beane said to Carucci, and I think it's true about what Beane always says, is that he says what he believes at the time (oor he says nothing).  When Beane said several months ago that McCoy was the starter, I understood him to mean that as of that time, McCoy was number one on the depth chart.  Beane wasn't making a prediction; he was talking about the status of that position at that time.   He and McDermott are always clear that it's a competition for every position all of the time, so I understood Beane to be saying it was McCoy's job as of then, but what went without saying was things could change.   

 

I wrote somewhere the other day that I'm beginning to understand what Beane and McDermott mean when they talk about position flexibility.   I always though it meant you could play two positions, like TE and fullback, or RT and RG, or DB and special teams.   It means that, but more importantly, I think, it means combinations of skill sets within the room.   He hints at it in this interview, talking about McCoy.   I think they concluded that Gore, SIngletary and Yeldon could do more varied things among them than McCoy and any two of the others.  Plus, when you come right down to it, the only guy with a sure spot on the roster was Singletary; one of the other three was going to get cut, and McCoy, who's most like Singletary, became superfluous.  You can also hear Beane talking about that kind of flexibility in the receiver room, when he talks about the different mixes of speed, quickness and other skills that the group has.  

 

Good stuff.

1 hour ago, PlayoffsPlease said:

Ok, I don't take it that way.  Beane has not once made a statement publicly about wins being part of his responsibility as gm.  He is very cautious to make sure that there are no known objective goals (playoffs, .500, super bowl).  I think this is just Beane's standard lack of willingness to define success. 

Actually, I think he has a very well-defined concept of success, which is sustained excellence.  There are several measures of excellence, one of which being winning the Super Bowl.  But excellence is the goal, because you always can improve on excellence.   If your goal is winning the Super Bowl, what do you do the next year?  You've already achieved your goal.  

[PlayoffsPlease]

5 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

Thanks for posting this.  I read the article.  

 

Yeah, Beane's really lukewarm about Josh.  That's a good word.   I think he's underselling Josh; he doesn't want to put the pressure on him that the fans are creating.   I'm expecting him to be a star on the rise, known to all football fans by the end of the season.  Beane might believe that, but I think he just sees no point in saying it - it just puts pressure on Josh, and it puts pressure on Beane if Josh underperforms.  

 

Carucci was better about McCoy.  That guy in the Athletic wrote a piece a week or two ago that suggested Beane has been lying to us for months about McCoy.   I really don't think that's the case. What Beane said to Carucci, and I think it's true about what Beane always says, is that he says what he believes at the time (oor he says nothing).  When Beane said several months ago that McCoy was the starter, I understood him to mean that as of that time, McCoy was number one on the depth chart.  Beane wasn't making a prediction; he was talking about the status of that position at that time.   He and McDermott are always clear that it's a competition for every position all of the time, so I understood Beane to be saying it was McCoy's job as of then, but what went without saying was things could change.   

 

I wrote somewhere the other day that I'm beginning to understand what Beane and McDermott mean when they talk about position flexibility.   I always though it meant you could play two positions, like TE and fullback, or RT and RG, or DB and special teams.   It means that, but more importantly, I think, it means combinations of skill sets within the room.   He hints at it in this interview, talking about McCoy.   I think they concluded that Gore, SIngletary and Yeldon could do more varied things among them than McCoy and any two of the others.  Plus, when you come right down to it, the only guy with a sure spot on the roster was Singletary; one of the other three was going to get cut, and McCoy, who's most like Singletary, became superfluous.  You can also hear Beane talking about that kind of flexibility in the receiver room, when he talks about the different mixes of speed, quickness and other skills that the group has.  

 

Good stuff.

Actually, I think he has a very well-defined concept of success, which is sustained excellence.  There are several measures of excellence, one of which being winning the Super Bowl.  But excellence is the goal, because you always can improve on excellence.   If your goal is winning the Super Bowl, what do you do the next year?  You've already achieved your goal.  

Sustained excellence sounds nice.  How many wins is that? Does that mean making the playoffs each year? As best I can tell, Beane has never said "success in the NFL means making the playoffs, winning a playoff game etc.   I would speculate that none of the Bill's players have incentive bonuses based on "sustained excellence" or "going in the right direction" or any other meaningless platitude.  

Beane quote from the article:

""With that, we do want to play better and be more competitive. The result of that is hopefully win more games, ..."  

To me that is incredibly wishy washy.  I am more in the quote attributed to Lombardi (probably incorrectly) "Winning isn't everything, its the only thing".  Far far better than "hopefully win more games" or "trust the process".    

I think Beane has made many good decisions. I think Josh Allen is going to be special.  I think Beane is a good GM.  However If the Bill's fail, everything I have heard from Beane leads me to believe he will throw everyone under the bus he can to blame for the failure before himself. 

[Stads]

1 hour ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

-about the somewhat muff-handed McKensie: 

 

What pray tell does this mean? Has Isaiah been using hand muffs during practice? Has he been caught "muff-handed" whilst having extracurricular activities with the fairer sex? Inquiring minds want to know.

[Shaw66]

3 minutes ago, PlayoffsPlease said:

Sustained excellence sounds nice.  How many wins is that? Does that mean making the playoffs each year? As best I can tell, Beane has never said "success in the NFL means making the playoffs, winning a playoff game etc.   I would speculate that none of the Bill's players have incentive bonuses based on "sustained excellence" or "going in the right direction" or any other meaningless platitude.  

Beane quote from the article:

""With that, we do want to play better and be more competitive. The result of that is hopefully win more games, ..."  

To me that is incredibly wishy washy.  I am more in the quote attributed to Lombardi (probably incorrectly) "Winning isn't everything, its the only thing".  Far far better than "hopefully win more games" or "trust the process".    

I think Beane has made many good decisions. I think Josh Allen is going to be special.  I think Beane is a good GM.  However If the Bill's fail, everything I have heard from Beane leads me to believe he will throw everyone under the bus he can to blame for the failure before himself. 

 

You just don't understand what they're doing.

 

The Bills are operating a system where everyone in the organization has very well defined objectives that are established weekly, I believe.   Everyone is told that he's performing this particular task at an 85% rate and he has to improve it to 95%, that he has to make this block more often, that he has to fill this hole, that he has to make this throw.   Every practice is filmed and graded, and every player is told every week how he did, and if he hasn't improved, the player and the coach try to figure out why.   The guys who get graded out the highest make the team.  They're also graded on being on time, on sticking to their diets, on hitting their weight-lifting goals.   They're graded on all kinds of things.   If they aren't seriously committed to getting better at all these things, if they aren't working at it all the time, someone takes their job.  

 

Beane will tell you, I am sure, that the goals they set for players is to do their jobs right.   If they all do their jobs right, the winning will take care of itself.   Of, course, if the coaches are giving them the wrong jobs to do, it won't work, so all of the coaches are being evaluated all of the time, too.  Everyone in the whole organization is focused on getting better at their jobs, and that's their goal.   Not winning.  

 

I saw a long interview with Belichick after they had the comeback against Atlanta.   It was February or March.   The interviewer asked him what the Patriots had to do to win the Super Bowl next season.   Belichick said something like this:  "No one is thinking about that.   Everyone is thinking about what they have to do today, and how they have to get ready for tomorrow.   We won't start thinking about the regular season games until the preseason is finished, and we won't think about the Super Bowl until it's the next game on our schedule."   

 

A goal like "winning the Super Bowl" is the wishy washy goal.  It doesn't tell you anything about you actually have to do to achieve the goal.   What the Bills do is tell their players that their goal is to do the things they did today better tomorrow.  If you missed that block today, make it tomorrow.   What do you have do to make it?   Maybe move your feet differently, take a different step, deliver the blow with your forearm, cut him, something.   It didn't happen today, do it tomorrow, and keep doing it every day after that.   

 

That's the kind of goal setting the Bills are doing.   

 

It's like this:   Think about climbing Mt. Everest.   You start at the bottom.   As you walk, are you looking up at the peak, or are you looking at the trail?   You can't get there looking at the peak, because you'll fall and kill yourself while you're dreaming of the peak.  You look at the trail, make the first step correctly, then the second step.   When you string together enough correct steps you're at the summit and congratulate yourself.   McBeane work very hard to keep themselves and the players looking at the trail. 

[RochesterLifer]

12 minutes ago, PlayoffsPlease said:

If the Bill's fail, everything I have heard from Beane leads me to believe he will throw everyone under the bus he can to blame for the failure before himself. 

Wow, that is harsh. That is a flat out character assault. I have seen nothing from Beane to predict that potential behavior. And, I have to be honest. Tossing that statement out blindly, without justification, leaves me with no respect for your opinion.

[PlayoffsPlease]

7 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

 

You just don't understand what they're doing.

 

The Bills are operating a system where everyone in the organization has very well defined objectives that are established weekly, I believe.   Everyone is told that he's performing this particular task at an 85% rate and he has to improve it to 95%, that he has to make this block more often, that he has to fill this hole, that he has to make this throw.   Every practice is filmed and graded, and every player is told every week how he did, and if he hasn't improved, the player and the coach try to figure out why.   The guys who get graded out the highest make the team.  They're also graded on being on time, on sticking to their diets, on hitting their weight-lifting goals.   They're graded on all kinds of things.   If they aren't seriously committed to getting better at all these things, if they aren't working at it all the time, someone takes their job.  

 

Beane will tell you, I am sure, that the goals they set for players is to do their jobs right.   If they all do their jobs right, the winning will take care of itself.   Of, course, if the coaches are giving them the wrong jobs to do, it won't work, so all of the coaches are being evaluated all of the time, too.  Everyone in the whole organization is focused on getting better at their jobs, and that's their goal.   Not winning.  

 

I saw a long interview with Belichick after they had the comeback against Atlanta.   It was February or March.   The interviewer asked him what the Patriots had to do to win the Super Bowl next season.   Belichick said something like this:  "No one is thinking about that.   Everyone is thinking about what they have to do today, and how they have to get ready for tomorrow.   We won't start thinking about the regular season games until the preseason is finished, and we won't think about the Super Bowl until it's the next game on our schedule."   

 

A goal like "winning the Super Bowl" is the wishy washy goal.  It doesn't tell you anything about you actually have to do to achieve the goal.   What the Bills do is tell their players that their goal is to do the things they did today better tomorrow.  If you missed that block today, make it tomorrow.   What do you have do to make it?   Maybe move your feet differently, take a different step, deliver the blow with your forearm, cut him, something.   It didn't happen today, do it tomorrow, and keep doing it every day after that.   

 

That's the kind of goal setting the Bills are doing.   

 

It's like this:   Think about climbing Mt. Everest.   You start at the bottom.   As you walk, are you looking up at the peak, or are you looking at the trail?   You can't get there looking at the peak, because you'll fall and kill yourself while you're dreaming of the peak.  You look at the trail, make the first step correctly, then the second step.   When you string together enough correct steps you're at the summit and congratulate yourself.   McBeane work very hard to keep themselves and the players looking at the trail. 

Playoff wins. Every year. That is the goal setting I want to see. I want a coach and gm to say "If we don't win a playoff game this year, I will feel as though we failed to meet our goal"   

6 minutes ago, RochesterLifer said:

Wow, that is harsh. That is a flat out character assault. I have seen nothing from Beane to predict that potential behavior. And, I have to be honest. Tossing that statement out blindly, without justification, leaves me with no respect for your opinion.

Point me to a single statement in any interview where he mentions PERSONAL accountability for the teams success and I will gladly recant. 

What part of my opinion do you not respect now . This one one "I think Beane has made many good decisions. I think Josh Allen is going to be special.  I think Beane is a good GM"?  

Edited September 7, 2019 by PlayoffsPlease