The Athletic calls Buffalo the NFL's best front office.

[JGMcD2]

29 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

 

Josh Allen??  Stop..

 

At least 2 mock drafts had him going to the Bills.  BR even said he might go 1st overall in the draft (before predicting Buffalo would trade up to get him). 

That doesn’t make him any less polarizing? 

Edited April 13, 2021 by JGMcD2

[BringBackFergy]

4 hours ago, SlimShady'sSpaceForce said:

pssst —  https://www.buffalobills.com/news/bills-today-the-athletic-calls-buffalo-the-nfl-s-best-front-office

 

Pssst- 

 

[Mr. WEO]

1 hour ago, JGMcD2 said:

That doesn’t make him any less polarizing? 

 

No, it doesn't.  He was a near consensus pick.  That's the opposite of polarizing.

[klos63]

8 hours ago, Chandler#81 said:

C’mon, Man! 

Ya gotta put more quotes in when creating a topic of The Athletic. It’s a pay service! Not everybody is willing to fork out cash monthly for a couple worthy articles. The way this reads, doesn’t rate the space it takes up.

 

jmo

 

🤦‍♂️

all last month they had a special $1 per month for a year. Well worth it.

[HardyBoy]

4 hours ago, Rigotz said:

 

Hey man, I really appreciate the time and effort you put into this ... but Football Outsiders did the same analysis and improved it by adjusting for total # of draft picks and draft position, which was sorely needed:

https://www.footballoutsiders.com/stat-analysis/2020/nfl-drafting-efficiency-2010-2019

 

In 2019 the Bills were #7 in total draft return. After adjusting for draft position (they shouldn't be credited for losing), they were #10.

In 2018 the Bills were #4 in total draft return. After adjusting for draft position, they were #11.

In 2017 the Bills were #2 in total draft return. After adjusting for draft position, they were #2.

 

So you're right that they were VERY GOOD. I agree that they were very good, per my first post.

 

The drafts also don't pass the eyeball test for me... regardless of what numbers stat geeks are putting on them.

Name one player we drafted in 2019 who has looked elite.

Outside of Josh Allen, name one player drafted in 2018 who is considered elite... Tremaine Edmunds (#16 overall)?

 

Yes, VERY GOOD Front Office staff overall, but I'm not ready to say the best in the entire league.

 

 

I dunno about the shouldn't get credit for losing piece in the bills case for the 2019 draft...agree 100% when it comes to teams perpetually drafting at the top, but they've drafted as a playoff team three times in four seasons, and put themselves in a position to draft in the top 10 to get Oliver in 2019 through a very shrewd rebuild.

 

Also, the 2020 first rounder ended up perfectly valued to net Diggs...if that's a top 10 pick, they're likely not getting Diggs without a trade down, and Diggs wasn't going to be available long enough to wait until closer to the draft to find a trade down partner.

Edited April 13, 2021 by HardyBoy

[JGMcD2]

55 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

No, it doesn't.  He was a near consensus pick.  That's the opposite of polarizing.

He was a near consensus pick because B/R had him going 1.1?

 

Come on man... you’re really going to try and pretend like Josh wasn’t a polarizing prospect? 

He was mocked to the Bills because the Bills were interested in him... which means the Bills did their homework and took a swing on the most polarizing prospect ever and hit. Feel free to introduce more polarizing draft prospects... 

[JGMcD2]

1 hour ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

No, it doesn't.  He was a near consensus pick.  That's the opposite of polarizing.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theringer.com/platform/amp/2018/1/23/16925662/josh-allen-nfl-draft-senior-bowl-wyoming
 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/bs-pr-sp-ravens-lamar-jackson-josh-allen-afc-divisional-round-20210115-gibp3oabjzgchhlyiqx6nbsnna-story.html%3foutputType=amp
 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/buffalowdown.com/2018/04/06/buffalo-bills-closer-look-polarizing-josh-allen/amp/

 

https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/11/14/josh-allen-wyoming-2018-nfl-draft-top-small-school-prospects

 

excerpt from a B/R article this year...

 

What do the scouts whose predraft assessments made Allen such a polarizing prospect—boom or bust—make of the wide respect he's receiving now and its influence on upcoming drafts? Are they surprised by his play this season, or did they really see this coming?

 

 

Edited April 13, 2021 by JGMcD2

[Boxcar]

10 hours ago, SlimShady'sSpaceForce said:

 

 

1. The Athletic calls Buffalo the NFL's best front office

 

The major stages of the free agency period have come and gone, and the focus now shifts to the NFL Draft which is less than three weeks away. 

 

The Athletic NFL writer Sheil Kapadia went back and looked at all the signings that took place by all 32 teams and put together a list of what he learned about each team so far this offseason.

 

For the Bills, he noted that the front office, led by Brandon Beane, might be the best in the entire league.

Of course the first reply had to be some salty Chiefs fan. It's like banking on the sun rising.

 

God they are so insufferable.

[BADOLBILZ]

2 hours ago, ScottLaw said:

Allen was the huge hit.... not sure they are a .500 team if Allen doesn’t take that massive MVP like jump last season. 

 

 

I look at something like this the same way I looked at the Buffalo Sabres having a top ranked farm system in the mid-2010's.

 

The easiest time to look like you are making hay in the NFL is when you have a QB on a rookie contract and lot's of money and tons of starting jobs to hand out to your draft picks.............just as it's easy to have a great looking farm system in the NHL when you are picking in the lottery year after year.

 

The measure of a front office is winning big on your QB's rookie deal and THEN continuing to excel when your payroll gets bloated and you don't have the margin for personnel errors any longer.

 

That's why the gold standard organizations are like New England, Pittsburgh, and more recently, KC in the AFC..........they all cashed in during the easiest part of the deal and won SB's with QB's on their rookie deal........but they also won before and after that.

 

If the measure of a front office is only 3-4 years of work and doesn't require titles and is just being efficient with personnel decisions,  building a loaded roster and remaining cap flexible so you can sustain it..........then maybe the Colts would rank #1.    They have a loaded roster and still tons of cap space going forward.

 

[Mango]

3 hours ago, ScottLaw said:

Allen was the huge hit.... not sure they are a .500 team if Allen doesn’t take that massive MVP like jump last season. 

That feels a bit harsh. I guess it depends on the Allen replacement. The line is good enough at pass pro to be able to move the ball around with this WR Corp and a guy like Dak, Tannehill, or Cousins. I think we win 9+ with Trubisky. Not a good enough team to win 9 games with Cam. 
 

We have done a good job in finding a gem or good contributor here and there outside of the top 100. Milano, Bass, Davis, Teller. Dane Jackson, Taron Johnson in the slot. It’s the top 100 picks we haven’t gotten enough production out of. None of them are bad. Just nobody is standing out outside of Allen. Having none of Singletary, Moss, Phillips, Oliver, Epeneza, and Cody Ford be a difference maker in any sense is my worry. I think the best chance of that group to be a great player is Oliver at the moment. But I don’t see Phillips, Singletary, or Epeneza being game changers. 
 

We’re talking about drafting another edge guy high with our first pick in 2021. Which is cool. Pass rush is important. But we aren’t drafting a guy to play next to AJ. We’re talking about it because we spent huge cap dollars without any output and didn’t get much out of our top pick last year. 

[GunnerBill]

They are certainly top 5. I think you can make cases for a few then as number one. Kansas City, Baltimore, New Orleans, Indy.... but Buffalo is in that group for sure. 

 

The Pegula dollar is part of it. Brandon Beane was able to attract good people away from other franchises (without promotions in some cases) by paying them more. From what I hear Joe Schoen is a really critical piece. He is referred to as the best talent evaluator on the Bills and Beane who is more a strategist than pure scout leans heavily on him. We will lose Schoen at some point (I am still shocked he wasn't hired away this year) and they do have good people in situ who can step up, but the challenging part is to come - we will lose FO executives and we will have less cap flexibility when Josh's mega deal is on the books.

[machine gun kelly]

Weo, not busting you’re chops, but who is BR?  Not familiar with the initials.

 

I think it’s very difficult to make a sweeping statement the Bills are the best front office.  The proof to me they are in the top 5 at least is a steady ascension over four years from one of the worst run teams to taking their licks, but making the playoffs three of four years finalizing with making it to the championship game.  Other teams like Baltimore, Indy, Tampa and Buffalo are building for now and later.  
 

I was a little surprised didn’t use of more of their $ in FA this off season.  Tampa has been building for awhile, amd although some players are getting older, they have drafted well along with plugging in holes.  They are really banking on the real increase in the cap from 2023 and on.  I say 2023, as 2022 being around $203-4 mil. Is really getting back to normal.

 

The Steelers were a very good FO for a long time, but now are looking down the barrel of a rebuild.  Three linemen gone, their QB needs a replacement, and so on.  They were very good though for a long time.  I appreciate the OP, and Shady thanks for those links.  Last JGMcD2, I love you’re data, but you’re handle drives me nuts.  Why don’t you go ahead and put a special character in there as well. 🤪😜🏈😂

[FieldGeneral]

If we pull off another good draft, with the core players we have, it'll be competing for division titles and Super Bowls for the next decade. I firmly believe that the days of free agents and players laughing off Buffalo is over. 

[Chandler#81]

14 hours ago, IronMaidenBills said:

Paying people to write articles isn’t free, If you like the content then pay to read, if not then ask people to break forum rules is pretty low. Would you moderate without being paid? 

I wouldn’t pay a buck a month for the Buffalo Snooze, so I’m not paying anything for other sports print.

btw, yer mudder wears Army boots.

 

[GunnerBill]

The Athletic is well worth the subscription as an aside. For someone whose two main interests are soccer and the NFL it really is a must have and it is like journalism used to be because they don't need advertisers so there is much less click bait. 

[JGMcD2]

1 hour ago, machine gun kelly said:

Last JGMcD2, I love you’re data, but you’re handle drives me nuts.  Why don’t you go ahead and put a special character in there as well. 🤪😜🏈😂

Lol I think it rolls off the tongue nicely when you say it 😂

[Mr. WEO]

8 hours ago, JGMcD2 said:

He was a near consensus pick because B/R had him going 1.1?

 

Come on man... you’re really going to try and pretend like Josh wasn’t a polarizing prospect? 

He was mocked to the Bills because the Bills were interested in him... which means the Bills did their homework and took a swing on the most polarizing prospect ever and hit. Feel free to introduce more polarizing draft prospects... 

 

He was mocked in the 1st round because he was felt to be a 1st round pick.  The Bills were one of at least 4 teams clearly looking for a QB in the 1st.  Allen was clearly considered one of the top 4 QBs. 

 

"Polarizing" would mean that lots of people felt he was not a top 4 QB or should not go in the 1st round.  Mayfield and Darnold were gone.  

 

8 hours ago, JGMcD2 said:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theringer.com/platform/amp/2018/1/23/16925662/josh-allen-nfl-draft-senior-bowl-wyoming
 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/bs-pr-sp-ravens-lamar-jackson-josh-allen-afc-divisional-round-20210115-gibp3oabjzgchhlyiqx6nbsnna-story.html%3foutputType=amp
 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/buffalowdown.com/2018/04/06/buffalo-bills-closer-look-polarizing-josh-allen/amp/

 

https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/11/14/josh-allen-wyoming-2018-nfl-draft-top-small-school-prospects

 

excerpt from a B/R article this year...

 

What do the scouts whose predraft assessments made Allen such a polarizing prospect—boom or bust—make of the wide respect he's receiving now and its influence on upcoming drafts? Are they surprised by his play this season, or did they really see this coming?

 

 

B/R at the time:  (Matt Miller, sending him to Miami)

 

"The Pick: QB Josh Allen, Wyoming

Disclaimer: I do not expect Josh Allen to last this long on Thursday night. In fact, he could be the first pick in the entire draft. But right now, with no trades, this is what could happen. I would expect Buffalo to move heaven and Earth to try and get him should a slide like this happen."

 

With Darnold and Mayfield gone, it was down to the 2 Joshes. Rosen was considered a great passer, but not a great athlete and his behavioral issues (including not being liked by coaches) were a red flag.

 

Compared to Rosen, Allen was an easy choice for the BIlls, despite the "boom or bust" narrative.  

 

 

 

 

Edited April 13, 2021 by Mr. WEO

[Buffalo Junction]

8 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

I look at something like this the same way I looked at the Buffalo Sabres having a top ranked farm system in the mid-2010's.

 

The easiest time to look like you are making hay in the NFL is when you have a QB on a rookie contract and lot's of money and tons of starting jobs to hand out to your draft picks.............just as it's easy to have a great looking farm system in the NHL when you are picking in the lottery year after year.

 

The measure of a front office is winning big on your QB's rookie deal and THEN continuing to excel when your payroll gets bloated and you don't have the margin for personnel errors any longer.

 

That's why the gold standard organizations are like New England, Pittsburgh, and more recently, KC in the AFC..........they all cashed in during the easiest part of the deal and won SB's with QB's on their rookie deal........but they also won before and after that.

 

If the measure of a front office is only 3-4 years of work and doesn't require titles and is just being efficient with personnel decisions,  building a loaded roster and remaining cap flexible so you can sustain it..........then maybe the Colts would rank #1.    They have a loaded roster and still tons of cap space going forward.

 

I’d say the real test comes when the FO talent starts getting poached. A lot of teams drop off after they lose top executives to other teams. That also tends to coincide with second QB contracts. 

[Jumpsuit Jim]

The job of the front office is to build a competitive team. The draft is a part of team building. To minimize a front office’s success because they didn’t draft perfectly is myopic. 
 

The simple truth is that this front office took a team that hadn’t been to the playoffs in 14 years and changed them into a team that played in the AFC Championship Game. This happened on a much quicker timeline than I think even the most homer of fans wouldn’t have dreamed of 4 years ago. That fact alone makes them one of the best, if not the best (which I believe they are), front offices in the league. 

[GunnerBill]

16 minutes ago, Jumpsuit Jim said:

The job of the front office is to build a competitive team. The draft is a part of team building. To minimize a front office’s success because they didn’t draft perfectly is myopic. 
 

The simple truth is that this front office took a team that hadn’t been to the playoffs in 14 years and changed them into a team that played in the AFC Championship Game. This happened on a much quicker timeline than I think even the most homer of fans wouldn’t have dreamed of 4 years ago. That fact alone makes them one of the best, if not the best (which I believe they are), front offices in the league. 

 

If only the drought ended at 14..... it was 17!

 

EDIT: As for the rest of your post I suppose it depends what you define as "front office." I like this front office, there are some very talented people in it and Brandon Beane has done a very good job. And yet, I still contend that the person who is the biggest single reason for the transformation in culture and expectations for the Bills is Sean McDermott. Maybe you were meaning to include him in your reference to front office some people see the HC as part of that definition, others don't. 

Edited April 13, 2021 by GunnerBill