Brandon and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week

[ColoradoBills]

50 minutes ago, BillsfaninSB said:

Good teams fix their mistakes and move on.  Bad teams double down.

 

Waiving Howard was a bummer but just like Star, I would rather save a roster spot for someone who is motivated and can help the team then worry about dead cap. 

 

Brandon and the Bills will be fine.

 

 

Agree.  I will say I'm sure Beane did not think he would be going into the season with almost $22M in dead cap.

What happened is over with but I'm sure he will want to have a much better 2023 in regard to that and I think he will.

[badassgixxer05]

ohhhhh. That Brandon.....

[Florida Bills Fanatic]

A horrible or terrible week would be 17 in a walking boot holding a clip board on the sideline for week 1.  The "sky is falling" crowd needs to chill and look at the big picture.  Three million in dead cap money is small beans (unless it's your money), shipping away a drafted player because you found better linemen (some as free agents), and cutting a punter (6th round pick) when many other good options are available; are not big deals for any NFL team.

[mjt328]

None of these situations will have an affect on the Bills winning games.

 

Cody Ford wasn't going to play much (if any) this season anyway.  Everyone already knew the pick was a bust.  They have been moving him around since his rookie year.  He's was always the weakest link on our O-Line, and our blocking improved massively when Ryan Bates finally took his job at the end of last year.  Getting something in return was a positive, not a negative.

 

OJ Howard was a busted free agent signing.  But it wasn't like he was extremely expensive, and he was only signed as a backup.  And one of the main reasons for his release was the surprisingly strong play out of Quinton Morris.  We are out $2.6 million in dead-cap, but seemingly have a better/younger option ready to step up in his place.  Oh well.

 

The Matt Araiza situation was tough, because the team was put into a very difficult position involving a serious off-field situation.  The only critics of the Bills organization are those who agreed with Araiza being cut, but just felt the team should have done it 48 hours earlier.  They will voice their opinions, and then we can all move on.  Later this week, the Bills will sign a different punter (who may end up being better) and it will be like Araiza was never on the team.

 

[NoHuddleKelly12]

Whew 😅! And here by the title I was worried this was another RJR special thread today! 

[GunnerBill]

1 hour ago, GoBills808 said:

They're easily one of the best front offices in the league. 

 

I agree. But they had a bad week. That is all that was being said and it got objected to. 

[ControllerOfPlanetX]

And we lost to Carolina in an all-important exhibition game…or what the NFL likes to call it…preseason game.

[Codyny13]

3 hours ago, Allen2Diggs said:

It looks ugly on paper, but all three were the right moves.

 

It's hard to admit when you're wrong, but sometimes you need to cut your losses and move forward 

We're saving them for next year to commemorate our Superbowl victory.

Getting a 5th round pick for an underwhelming backup guard in a contract year I thought was one of the better moves. Not all draft picks work out as we know, so to get that worth for a player we were not going to re-sign was terrific

[GunnerBill]

1 hour ago, eball said:

 

Gunner, what you say is how you feel, but it's not how a pretty vocal contingent of fans on this board feel.  You know it's true.

 

I'm not thin skinned and Beane's record stands for itself.  My goal is to make light of the negative ninnies who cry wolf every time things don't go perfectly, and those who harp on the same things again and again and again.

 

I guarantee you Beane felt worse after January's playoff loss then he does this week.

 

 

I guarantee it is how Beane feels too. Vocal contingent be damned. 

[offyourocker]

3 hours ago, TH3 said:

No kidding...how long do you think they can drag it out

That dude from the Olean times said something like " This is only the beginning of this story" 

Then again that dude works at the Olean Times

[Mr. WEO]

Beane really needed another thread telling what a great to job he did this week.  
 

he thanks you because he really didn’t get the lift he was hoping for from the one thread.

[offyourocker]

I would say he did pretty good getting a 5th for Ford considering what he has done his first 3 years

[BuffaloMatt]

Optics . . . . I hate how people are using this word now. 

[HiMark]

3 hours ago, OldTimer1960 said:

This is a tricky situation.  Bills hired an employee (drafted) with no knowledge of the allegations.  No charges have been filed against that employee (yet).  They were informed of a civil lawsuit against this employee about a month ago (according to their statement).

 

Now, I’m not saying that the allegations are true or that they are false.  At this point they are allegations.  What is the employer to do in that situation?  If they fire the employee based purely on an allegation, that doesn’t seem fair to the employee (who may or may not be guilty).  If they don’t fire him, some (many) will argue that they are enabling a criminal or that they are only concerned with winning and not about social issues.

 

It is very easy to sit back and criticize the Bills in this case, but it is not cut and dry what they *should* have done.

 

Again, no judgement from me whether the accusations are true or not.  We must let the DA decide whether to prosecute or not and wait for the civil case to make it through court (if it isn’t settled first).

Agree.  Exception: when the lawsuit was filed it WAS cut and dried.  And they acted.

I'm not mad at Beane for drafting a guy that--as he says--he didn't know was an alleged rapist.

I AM mad at Matt Araiza for being an alleged rapist.

[Da webster guy]

getting any kind of pick for Cody Ford was a win.   

 

Araiza was a bad gamble but not many 6th round picks make the team anyway.  I respect them for making the right decision despite no criminal charges being filed in a 9 month investigation, it seems like they felt he was guilty of lying to the team in saying that he did nothing wrong.

 

OJ Howard, now THAT was a real blunder.   I guess they saw enough tape on him last year to give the dude a shot at redemption, he sure looks the part and was dominant in college, but the stone hands and the mediocre play just wasn't enough and Beaner couldn't rig a trade because the rest of the league seemingly felt his contract was way too much.   and they'd be right.

[Success]

There is literally no GM in the league I'd rather have. And that's not a homer take.

 

I have homer takes - but that isn't one of 'em.

 

[KHAN]

After a 17 year playoff drought, Beane has one bad week in 5 years as as the GM of the current super bowl favorite.

 

Sign me up.

[nosejob]

7 hours ago, HOUSE said:

I wanted to keep Doug Whaley but nobody would listen

That ain't even funny....

[oldmanfan]

Beane is doing fine.  As for the Araiza incident, he and McD said they could have done things better but that they are not lawyers and such.  And he’s right.  They will take what lessons they can from this and use them to improve the organization

[nosejob]

 Don't know if this has been posted, but here's a statement from his parents. I can't imagine being in this situation. As a parent, I would obviously believe in my son and this would kill me.

 

"The rule of law is innocent until proven guilty. That is not our experience. There has been war waged on our son. He has been tried and convicted in the media based on information released solely from the alleged victim and her attorney, much of it through social media. People have taken his information as factual, when it is not. We do not wish this experience on anyone, but question why our son is the only one receiving this kind of treatment by social media and national news media. The vitriol has been on him alone. He has been extorted, discriminated against, harassed and the subject of multiple and continuous threats of violence and death. He has been released from his job and our entire family continues to receive horrific threats of violence and death. We have all been canceled. Every member of our family."

Arazia's parents later wrote in the statement:

 

"Salacious rumors grew as fact. There are multiple witness reports to deny the claims that are made against him. The legal system is designed to find the facts and make decisions. They should be allowed to do that."

On Saturday, the Bills released the 22-year-old following allegations that he raped a then 17-year-old girl in San Diego back in 2021.

Arazia has now been named in a civil lawsuit.