Isaiah Mckenzie Re-signed!!

[Nelius]

Love this and am floored by who we've been able to keep this year. Everybody we want to really. A+ offseason so far.

[Thurman#1]

6 hours ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

I like Beane but his best draft pick in 2 years I believe is a kicker. 

 

 

Yeah, except probably Moss, Davis, Dane Jackson, Ed Oliver, Jaquan Johnson, Epenesa the second half of the year and maybe one or two others.

 

 

6 hours ago, ColeB said:

Word nerd!

 

 

I know. Guilty as charged, damn it.

[Buffalo_Stampede]

4 minutes ago, Thurman#1 said:

 

 

Yeah, except probably Moss, Davis, Dane Jackson, Ed Oliver, Jaquan Johnson, Epenesa the second half of the year and maybe one or two others.

 

 

None of them are anything yet. None have accomplished what Edmunds has for example and many people believe he's replaceable. We need someone to step up and become a difference maker. Doesn't mean they won't or can't, can't expect that from 1st or 2nd year players. 

 

And I would say Bass is the best pick Beane has made. 

 

 

Edited March 24, 2021 by Buffalo_Stampede

[Thurman#1]

5 minutes ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

None of them are anything yet. None have accomplished what Edmunds has for example and many people believe he's replaceable. We need someone to step up and become a difference maker. Doesn't mean they won't or can't, can't expect that from 1st or 2nd year players. 

 

 

 

 

 

None of them are anything yet? Nothing?

 

Well, your clear misjudgement about that explains why you think a kicker is the best pick we made.

 

Not that Bass is a bad pick. He's not. Solid pick. So are they, and some are better than that.

Edited March 24, 2021 by Thurman#1

[Buffalo_Stampede]

10 minutes ago, Thurman#1 said:

 

 

None of them are anything yet? Nothing?

 

Well, your clear misjudgement about that explains why you think a kicker is the best pick we made.

 

Not that Bass is a bad pick. He's not. Solid pick.

I think he's easily the best pick so far. But I think Gabriel Davis will end up being the best. 

 

Bass is already a top 10 kicker, if not top 5. How is that not Bean's best pick? 

Edited March 24, 2021 by Buffalo_Stampede

[Thurman#1]

25 minutes ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

I think he's easily the best pick so far. But I think Gabriel Davis will end up being the best. 

 

 

Well frankly, that's kind of wacky.

 

Most of the best kickers in the league weren't drafted. Butker was a 7th. Tucker undrafted. Lambo undrafted. Gould undrafted.

 

And while Bass is good, he's not a difference maker. He's a good kicker, and plenty of those other draft picks, Moss, Davis, Dane Jackson, Ed Oliver, Jaquan Johnson, Epenesa are good or even very good for their draft slot.

Edited March 24, 2021 by Thurman#1

[Buffalo_Stampede]

28 minutes ago, Thurman#1 said:

 

 

Well frankly, that's kind of wacky.

 

Most of the best kickers in the league weren't drafted. Butker was a 7th. Tucker undrafted. Lambo undrafted. Gould undrafted.

 

And while Bass is good, he's not a difference maker. He's a good kicker, and plenty of those other draft picks, Moss, Davis, Dane Jackson, Ed Oliver, Jaquan Johnson, Epenesa are good or even very good for their draft slot.

I think Bass became a weapon. I disagree. But anyways the point I've been making is we need someone from the 19 or 20 draft to step up and become an impact player, other than Bass obviously. 

 

The 19 draft was a top 10 pick so I'm expecting those players to step up, Oliver and Ford mainly. 

Edited March 24, 2021 by Buffalo_Stampede

[No_Matter_What]

12 hours ago, HappyDays said:

 

Unfortunately he doesn't seem like a 1st round player for this regime. I'll be surprised if we don't draft an edge rusher or CB. Personally I would rather draft an explosive offensive player because I think those players will be off the board by time we pick in round 2.

Why do you think this? Even if we count 2017 draft I don't think sample size is big enough to judge what kind of players are they willing to draft high. Last year Diggs was sort of 1st round player. Why do you think speedy WR isn't?

[machine gun kelly]

Good call by Beane and by McKenzie.  He can lobby McD for more time, make an impact, and given he’s young on possibly a SB contender, could lobby for a better contract next year when there is $.  It’s a smart move for both sides.

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

I humbly suggest that we ask the dictionary publishers to revamp the word that signifies giving up a position in an organization as 'rezign', so it stops confusion on NFL message boards.  Then again, judging from the mangled syntax and grammar on these boards, I think the idea is DOA. 🤔

[YoloinOhio]

10 hours ago, Logic said:

Seems to be a pretty common refrain this offseason.

 

When was the last time players were lining up to take less money in order to stay in Buffalo? Maybe never?

 

 

I love the subtle Dolphin slander 

[Royale with Cheese]

1 minute ago, YoloinOhio said:

I love the subtle Dolphin slander 

 

Arizona is on there.  Guess McKenzie and Watt have different perspectives.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

11 hours ago, BruceVilanch said:

I agree with this, I live in Seahawks land and everyone I've talked to who follow the hawks like I do the bills has been saying we got a really undervalued weapon, dude can move in space, his hands are a little suspect but I loved this signing.

Why do you say his hands are suspect?  It doesn’t show in his catch % or drops, both good

[Boxcar]

5 hours ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

None of them are anything yet. None have accomplished what Edmunds has for example and many people believe he's replaceable. We need someone to step up and become a difference maker. Doesn't mean they won't or can't, can't expect that from 1st or 2nd year players. 

 

And I would say Bass is the best pick Beane has made. 

 

 

Oliver was forced to play out of position so often last year. Impossible to make a judgment there.

I'm not sure how you can discount Davis, especially considering he was a late pick. He's a lot better than some of the guys picked a few rounds earlier.

Epenesa was playing 20-30 pounds lighter than he was in college. It required a complete overhaul of his playstyle. He was playing well closer to the end of the year. I think he'll be pleasantly surprising.

[4merper4mer]

11 hours ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

 Not even close to what I said. There's a few promising players. Davis is one of them. 

 

We need a draft pick to become a top player. Davis has a great chance to be that guy. 

You said:

 

Bass > Oliver, Ford, Singletary, Knox, Joseph, J Johnson, D Johnson, Sweeney, Epenesa, Moss, Davis, Fromm, Hodgins and Jackson.

 

I’ll leave Diggs out because he wasn’t a draft pick.

 

Just to be clear, you’re saying you believe Bass is better than all of those guys?  

[Hapless Bills Fan]

11 hours ago, Logic said:

Seems to be a pretty common refrain this offseason.

 

When was the last time players were lining up to take less money in order to stay in Buffalo? Maybe never?

 

 

 

Just a note that there's "take less" and "take less".  A team can offer him a bit higher annual dollar value and a multi-year contract, and if it doesn't have much in the way of guaranteed money or the money comes in the back end, it will only put more in his bank account if he stays on the team.  If McKenzie has good agents, they looked hard at the quality of the QB, how the OC uses his players, and what the rest of the roster is like and considered that.

 

There's an aspect of "bet on myself" too.  If he has a "breakout" year, he could theoretically win a bigger contract next year.

 

Arizona and Miami wouldn't like being lumped in that "wasn't in a position to win" though

[Shaw66]

18 hours ago, transplantbillsfan said:

 

Hopefully Ford is an upgrade at Guard on the OL and we'll actually have Mongo for the whole year.  Plus I think Hollister is a pretty sneaky under-the-radar signing that will have a pretty significant impact... especially given the chemistry he and Allen already have carrying over from Wyoming.

Both are interesting points.  Ford, of course, isn't new to the team, but I get the point.   I like Hollister, but I have trouble seeing him taking playing time from Knox.   It would be nice if he was good enough to make some two-tight-end sets a new weapon for the Bills, but I think at best he'll have only occasional impact.  

 

Whatever, it's pretty clear that the Bills believe the players they have, and the team, can perform at a higher level.  They value the continuity and the continuing improvement, the growth mindset, over the talent differential they might have acquired in free agency.

[Buffalo_Stampede]

46 minutes ago, 4merper4mer said:

You said:

 

Bass > Oliver, Ford, Singletary, Knox, Joseph, J Johnson, D Johnson, Sweeney, Epenesa, Moss, Davis, Fromm, Hodgins and Jackson.

 

I’ll leave Diggs out because he wasn’t a draft pick.

 

Just to be clear, you’re saying you believe Bass is better than all of those guys?  

Yes. What's the argument? He's top 5-7 at his position. Who else is? 

57 minutes ago, Boxcar said:

Oliver was forced to play out of position so often last year. Impossible to make a judgment there.

I'm not sure how you can discount Davis, especially considering he was a late pick. He's a lot better than some of the guys picked a few rounds earlier.

Epenesa was playing 20-30 pounds lighter than he was in college. It required a complete overhaul of his playstyle. He was playing well closer to the end of the year. I think he'll be pleasantly surprising.

I'm not saying anyone is a bad player or even being critical. Beane has drafted starter quality players. We need someone to step up and be more than starter quality. 

[Shaw66]

31 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Just a note that there's "take less" and "take less".  A team can offer him a bit higher annual dollar value and a multi-year contract, and if it doesn't have much in the way of guaranteed money or the money comes in the back end, it will only put more in his bank account if he stays on the team.  If McKenzie has good agents, they looked hard at the quality of the QB, how the OC uses his players, and what the rest of the roster is like and considered that.

 

There's an aspect of "bet on myself" too.  If he has a "breakout" year, he could theoretically win a bigger contract next year.

 

Arizona and Miami wouldn't like being lumped in that "wasn't in a position to win" though

Sure, there are lots of things to consider, but if I'm McKenzie, I'm beginning to see my ceiling and even the end of my career.   I've had four seasons in the league, and I haven't been able to force my way into a starting lineup.  If I want to start, I have to go someplace where there's less competition.  I start weighing what's important to me:  starting, winning, money.   Everyone weighs that, of course, but as I begin to see the end of my career coming, what's important to me starts to become clearer.   For some guys, it's money.   My agent and my financial planners are telling me how much money I need for the rest of my life, and their telling me if they can find me a contract to get that money.  For others, for the kind of guys that McBeane want on the Bills, winning, the team experience, personal self-improvement are what matters most.  

 

McKenzie seems to be saying that no one was offering enough additional money to make it worth giving up something that he values a lot.  He hasn't earned enough money to retire for life, and he almost certainly won't earn that much, wherever he goes. 

 

Logic's point really is that in the past, there was no reason to stay in Buffalo for any amount less than what someone else was offering.  Now there is.  

 

 

9 hours ago, Richard Noggin said:

Anyone else feeling like Isaiah McKenzie is being criminally undervalued by the entire league?

 

I'm really stunned by the deal he just signed. Genuinely thought there would be a market for his skillset/potential. Is it a product of the cap pinch and consequent novel devaluation of FA WRs in particular? I'm not the only person who thought Li'l Dirty was headed for a much bigger payday than 1-yr/1.15M deal.

 

I'm curious where Spotrac projected his market value heading into the offseason? Anyone make note of that prior to his signing? Buffalo Rumblings actually nailed his value in this article: https://www.buffalorumblings.com/2021/2/15/22283858/2021-contract-projection-for-buffalo-bills-free-agent-receiver-returner-isaiah-mckenzie. Scary accurate. So maybe homerism is clouding my judgment. 

 

Maybe I'm biased by my beliefs that the Bills offense operated best when incorporating lateral pre- and post-snap motion and play-action (usually through #19), and that his disappearance (due to injury, primarily) in the playoffs played a major role in the offense's struggles. 

 

Admittedly, his career production is not impressive. But his potential on offense AND SPECIAL TEAMS is valuable. I'm relieved he re-signed.

I think he is a mediocre receiver, and the league knows it.   If he were a good receiver, he would have played a lot more snaps while Brown was struggling, or he wouldn't have let Davis take snaps from him.   I don't think he's a good route runner, and I think he has bad hands.  He doesn't make many difficult catches, and he drops routine balls.  

[Shaw66]

6 hours ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

None of them are anything yet. None have accomplished what Edmunds has for example and many people believe he's replaceable. We need someone to step up and become a difference maker. Doesn't mean they won't or can't, can't expect that from 1st or 2nd year players. 

 

I agree with you.  None has emerged yet.   I also think great teams have only a few stars.   Bills have two in Allen and Diggs.  They need a couple of others to emerge.   Oliver is still a candidate.   They could use a standout on the oline.

 

But the other thing to remember is that McBeane aren't running a star system.  They're running a system like Belichick runs the Patriots.   It's a lot of good football players doing their jobs.   Other than Brady, the Pats didn't have a lot of studs.  Wilfork, I suppose.  And the  collection of shutdown corners.  But by and large, the people who looked like stars in New England were just good players in a great system.  Free agents who left New England rarely proved to be stars elsewhere.  

 

McBeane are trying to do the same thing.  They believe they don't need Oliver to that guy the Rams have, they don't need Edmunds to be Dick Butkus, they don't need Hyde to be Polamalu.   They believe in having a lot good players and together being a great team.