Brandon Beane Set To Double Down on 2022’s Big Disappointments

[JohnNord]

36 minutes ago, MJS said:

 

"Brandon Beane Set To Double Down on 2022’s Big Disappointments"

But that’s exactly what Beane said in his press conference!?!?!?

[Beck Water]

12 hours ago, MJS said:

The roster isn't even set. The draft hasn't happened.

 

Shouldn't we wait until those things happen before we start hurling accusations?

 

Exactly.  Wish I could like this x10

[Thurman#1]

26 minutes ago, BillsVet said:

 

Cincinnati's OL was crippled with injuries so it was something of a draw there injury-wise.  Somehow, Bills fans always forget that.    The other excuse, predictably, was citing their lack of cap room for not improving the offense as much this off-season.  It's hilarious the grand canyon level reach people are making to defend them.  Or, that McBeane didn't create that problem themselves. 

 

Most of you rubber-stamping the McD vision of NFL football just throw up mental roadblocks and go full automaton whenever someone asks about the value of taking defense at this point in McBeane's football management lifecycle.        

 

Besides, how does Cincinnati manage to go to the SB and then back to an AFC Championship?  I guess it was because they had JaMarr Chase as Beane said in January. 

 

 

Nonsense. The injuries were NOT just DL for the Bills, though we did miss probably three of our four best defenders in Von Miller, Hyde and Da'Quan. Did the Cincy offense miss three of their best players? Two? One?

 

In fact, the Bills were in much worse condition. Poyer played but he was a shell of himself. White wasn't close to his best. And Jordan Phillips was playing with one arm. We had to give significant snaps to Jaquan Johnson, Dean Marlowe and Cam Lewis. Even Siran Neal played a few downs on D.

 

If you think they were in as bad a shape as we were, you are absolutely kidding yourself.

 

And speaking of kidding yourself, ignoring cap problems as a limiting factor is more of the same. 

 

 

 

 

As for the remainder of your post, it's not really relevant to my post which you answered, or even very understandable in paragraph 3 . But whatever. Guess I'm glad you're amusing yourself.

 

 

Edited April 6, 2023 by Thurman#1

[julian]

13 hours ago, JohnNord said:

I took another listen to the Brandon Beane interviews after the season and at the combine.  What stuck out to me was his defense of players than were much maligned by the fan base.  
 

In my opinion, the three of his former draft picks who didn’t “take the next step” in 2022, are being counted on to “take the next step” in 2023.  
 

This season will prove to see if The Bills faith in these players will be rewarded. 
 

Spencer Brown

Brown was the Bills worst lineman at times in 2022 which is notable considering how poorly Roger Saffold played.  
 

Still, Beane was effusive in his praise and defense of Brown.  He point blank said he had confidence in him and listed some reason for his poor performance in 2022.
 

These comments make me think that the Bills won’t invest a high draft pick at tackle and will again roll the dice that Brown greatly improves.  

Gabe Davis

Like Brown, Beane was quick to defend Gabe citing “unrealistic expectations” from his amazing playoff performance and a numbers of injuries. 

 

Losing faith in Davis as a true WR2, many fans wanted the Bills to make a big move.  Some foolish fans convinced themselves to believe the lying huckster on Twitter “ErieCountyBills” who said they were trading for DeAndre Hopkins.  All false hope.

 

It’s doubtful the Bills make a huge move at WR like OBJ or Hopkins given the context,    Because Davis is a FA in 2024 I can see a scenario where they draft a WR in the first 3 rounds.  But again, when it comes to WR2 in 2023, the Bills are putting their faith in Davis to improve yet again.  
 

Ed Oliver

Same story with Ed Oliver.   Nice player.  Not a difference maker unless he plays against a BAD offensive line…or on Thanksgiving.  

 

Beane again defended Oliver mentioning how the things he does go unnoticed and that he fought through injuries.  He did mention that he left “more meat on the bone.”  But Beane could have said this during any of Oliver’s seasons in Buffalo.  
 

Because of his guaranteed 5th year option, The Bills likely didn’t have a choice but to have faith in Oliver.  But I can definitely see the Bills use a higher draft selection on a DT given the contract situation.  
 

The concern for me, is that we’ve seen the Bills make similar excuses for players in the past and it hasn’t worked out (Star, Cody Ford, Zach Moss, AJ Epinesa, Boogie Basham).  IMO a big part of next season will be whether the faith the Bills placed in these former draft picks will pay off…

Maybe these coaches have more information and more insight on their trajectory than fans, doesn’t mean they’ll ultimately be correct in their beliefs bout can explain why they’re being given more opportunity for success.

 

 Much like Allen in year one and two, Brown’s overall performance leaves much to be desired but also like Allen, SB has flashes of athleticism and dominant reps.

[Dopey]

20 minutes ago, BillsVet said:

 

Cincinnati's OL was crippled with injuries so it was something of a draw there injury-wise.  Somehow, Bills fans always forget that.    The other excuse, predictably, was citing their lack of cap room for not improving the offense as much this off-season.  It's hilarious the grand canyon level reach people are making to defend them.  Or, that McBeane didn't create that problem themselves. 

 

Most of you rubber-stamping the McD vision of NFL football just throw up mental roadblocks and go full automaton whenever someone asks about the value of taking defense at this point in McBeane's football management lifecycle.        

 

Besides, how does Cincinnati manage to go to the SB and then back to an AFC Championship?  I guess it was because they had JaMarr Chase as Beane said in January. 

So, we had two teams with serious injury issues play and they won. Get over it. You're making a mountain out of a mole hill. It's hard to improve on the 2nd highest scoring offense in the entire league. Rubber-stamping, mental roadblocks?! I guess no one can disagree with you. OK. I like McBeane's football ,management lifecycle. No rubber stamping or mental roadblocks here. If you all are mad we didn't win a SB, news flash: NEITHER DID CINCY. So you're comparing us to a non-super bowl winner. What good does that do, if winning it all is the end all? Cincy fans, along with you, should be questioning their GM too. Philly too?!? Quit acting like NE fans in their heydays. You are not entitled to squat. Enjoy the ride or don't. 

[LabattBlue]

IMO regardless of how 2023 goes, Davis and Oliver will not be part of the Bills in 2024.  

[RoyBatty is alive]

12 hours ago, Doc Brown said:

A hopeful comparison for Brown would be Josh Allen and Dawson Knox's ascension in year three.  Extremely athletic prospects coming into the NFL relatively raw.  Brown fits that mold but can you bank on that leap?  Given his injury history I wouldn't hesitate to draft an OT in the first round if the right one falls to us.  If not then I think Beane takes that leap of faith.

Agreed and your comments about athletic freaks is very spot on for Beane.

 

Looks at the freakishly athletic, large and young (and the most overused expression of all time "raw"), all these guys fall into that category imo:  Josh Allen, Spencer Brown, Greg Rouseau, Tremaine Edmunds, Knox, Kaiir Elam.

[ColoradoBills]

1 hour ago, NewEra said:

If we don’t draft a tackle in the first 3 rounds I’m going to lose it.  There will some solid prospects.  Dawkins contract has 2 years left and his play vs the bengals was atrocious.  
 

They say that Josh needs to run less, slide more and not play as reckless.  Well…. They can certainly thank Spencer Brown for Josh running more and putting his body at risk. This will be 3 years in a row we’re trusting a bum (and other bums) to protect our franchise QB.  

 

We have Josh Allen-  protect him and extend his career rather than shortening it.
 

If Brown works out as Beane would hope, we can move one to LT or trade one.   Everyone wants good OTs.  
 

If Brown is the guy we’ve seen in his 1st 2 years, we’ll still have a chance to win the Super Bowl with a rookie RT

 

Couldn't agree more with you.  The only thing I'll add is they need to do it now as next year a Center will be needed to be drafted most likely.

Josh deserves a solid center.  I have no problem with Bates as backup, but I'd much rather see a full-time college center taking over from

Morse.  There's a lot that goes on between the ears at that position and I don't want any hopeful quick fixes.

[starrymessenger]

13 hours ago, HurlyBurly51 said:

Even worse imo is their statements that Edmunds replacement is already on the roster🤦

That means they intend to draft a linebacker.

[Shanahan's Horseshoe]

Let’s see how he drafts and then you can comment 

[TheyCallMeAndy]

Too bad it’s not the time of the year where you trust absolutely nothing a coach or GM says.

 

If only!

[T master]

Well some players have bad seasons i would be willing to bet that if you ask any of them they would say that hell the Bills went to 4 SB's & didn't win 1 so i guess that team was filled with a bunch of losers . 

 

Brown had a back injury that requires surgery if i remember correctly & he didn't get any reps in OTA's or the pre season so that very well could have had something to do with it & the fact that he had a different O line coach with different blocking schemes to learn with out reps didn't help either .

 

Gabe was injured for a time too sure he wasn't his normal catch anything thrown his way i'll give you that but Beane is referencing how he is as a team guy & his work ethic & has the confidence in him unlike some that he will work his ass off to not have the same thing happen & if it continues then i'd say he probably will find another to do better & take his place .

 

But because he had some drops & his consistency wasn't up to par for 1 season i wouldn't just get rid of him because Josh has developed a bit of chemistry with him & hopefully he will get better this year also there was a new OC last year that may be part of it different scheme with different plays . 

 

Oliver well now as a first round draft draft pick i was hoping that they could trade him & get something for him because he has shown although making flash plays from time to time his consistency is not first round at all .

 

But you can't just throw them all out because of a bad season as Beane does you need to have faith that they will work hard to turn their play around & help them to a SB ...

Edited April 6, 2023 by T master

[JohnNord]

4 hours ago, Thurman#1 said:

 

 

No, it's not typical coach speak. It just isn't. 

 

Typical coach speak is as vague and unspecific as possible. "He gives it 100% all the time. Tough kid. Gives it his all. We like him. The whole defense has been very very ...." That's coach speak. 

 

On the other hand, when Beane is specific and long-winded with his praise on a guy, he means it.

 

And again, Beane is perfectly comfortable NOT supporting his guys 100% when they have a problem. Remember his thing a couple of years ago about how nobody was game-planning to stop our TE room? He's got zero problem expressing dissatisfaction. No, he's not going to say somebody is as lazy as the guard dog at a slaughterhouse, or that someone's dumb or that someone just doesn't have talent. 

 

But he's perfectly capable of expressing dis-satisfaction or that a guy still needs to improve. Does it reasonably often.

 

 

That’s what some people don’t seem to understand.  It wasn’t that he defended them…it’s how strongly he worded his defense and then how he seemingly backed up those words but not bringing in competition for those spots.  
 

Of course, he could draft players at these positions but it would be a big upset to see any of these players unseated by a rookie in 2023.  
 

He is once again, electing to put his faith in his players.  It didn’t work out last season.  Time will tell what happens this year.  

1 hour ago, Beck Water said:

 

Exactly.  Wish I could like this x10

Hey Hapless Bills Fan, why are you ignoring my DM’s?

[buffaloboyinATL]

14 hours ago, JohnNord said:

I took another listen to the Brandon Beane interviews after the season and at the combine.  What stuck out to me was his defense of players than were much maligned by the fan base.  
 

In my opinion, the three of his former draft picks who didn’t “take the next step” in 2022, are being counted on to “take the next step” in 2023.  
 

This season will prove to see if The Bills faith in these players will be rewarded. 
 

Spencer Brown

Brown was the Bills worst lineman at times in 2022 which is notable considering how poorly Roger Saffold played.  
 

Still, Beane was effusive in his praise and defense of Brown.  He point blank said he had confidence in him and listed some reason for his poor performance in 2022.
 

These comments make me think that the Bills won’t invest a high draft pick at tackle and will again roll the dice that Brown greatly improves.  

Gabe Davis

Like Brown, Beane was quick to defend Gabe citing “unrealistic expectations” from his amazing playoff performance and a numbers of injuries. 

 

Losing faith in Davis as a true WR2, many fans wanted the Bills to make a big move.  Some foolish fans convinced themselves to believe the lying huckster on Twitter “ErieCountyBills” who said they were trading for DeAndre Hopkins.  All false hope.

 

It’s doubtful the Bills make a huge move at WR like OBJ or Hopkins given the context,    Because Davis is a FA in 2024 I can see a scenario where they draft a WR in the first 3 rounds.  But again, when it comes to WR2 in 2023, the Bills are putting their faith in Davis to improve yet again.  
 

Ed Oliver

Same story with Ed Oliver.   Nice player.  Not a difference maker unless he plays against a BAD offensive line…or on Thanksgiving.  

 

Beane again defended Oliver mentioning how the things he does go unnoticed and that he fought through injuries.  He did mention that he left “more meat on the bone.”  But Beane could have said this during any of Oliver’s seasons in Buffalo.  
 

Because of his guaranteed 5th year option, The Bills likely didn’t have a choice but to have faith in Oliver.  But I can definitely see the Bills use a higher draft selection on a DT given the contract situation.  
 

The concern for me, is that we’ve seen the Bills make similar excuses for players in the past and it hasn’t worked out (Star, Cody Ford, Zach Moss, AJ Epinesa, Boogie Basham).  IMO a big part of next season will be whether the faith the Bills placed in these former draft picks will pay off…

Other players and coaches know which players are playing through injuries, and what they are actually capable of when they get healthy.

 

 We can not pretend to know what everyone around the team, sees them go through in practice, fighting through the pain. I trust Beane’s assessments, and therefore, whomever he chooses to bet on. 

[JohnNord]

50 minutes ago, ColoradoBills said:

 

Couldn't agree more with you.  The only thing I'll add is they need to do it now as next year a Center will be needed to be drafted most likely.

Josh deserves a solid center.  I have no problem with Bates as backup, but I'd much rather see a full-time college center taking over from

Morse.  There's a lot that goes on between the ears at that position and I don't want any hopeful quick fixes.

I agree but I really get the impression that the Bills don’t see OL as much of a need as many of use fans do.  The comments about Brown really seem to reinforce that.  I feel that they are good with him at RT. 

9 minutes ago, T master said:

Well some players have bad seasons i would be willing to bet that if you ask any of them they would say that hell the Bills went to 4 SB's & didn't win 1 so i guess that team was filled with a bunch of losers . 

 

Brown had a back injury that requires surgery if i remember correctly & he didn't get any reps in OTA's or the pre season so that very well could have had something to do with it & the fact that he had a different O line coach with different blocking schemes to learn with out reps didn't help either .

 

Gabe was injured for a time too sure he wasn't his normal catch anything thrown his way i'll give you that but Beane is referencing how he is as a team guy & his work ethic & has the confidence in him unlike some that he will work his ass off to not have the same thing happen & if it continues then i'd say he probably will find another to do better & take his place .

 

But because he had some drops & his consistency wasn't up to par for 1 season i wouldn't just get rid of him because Josh has developed a bit of chemistry with him & hopefully he will get better this year also there was a new OC last year that may be part of it different scheme with different plays . 

 

Oliver well now as a first round draft draft pick i was hoping that they could trade him & get something for him because he has shown although making flash plays from time to time his consistency is not first round at all .

 

But you can't just throw them all out because of a bad season as Beane does you need to have faith that they will work hard to turn their play around & help them to a SB ...

You are missing the point of this thread.  I’m not suggesting to get rid of these players.  I am questioning whether more should have been done to add competition to their spots.  

Instead he is once again showing a lot of faith in these positions. 

 

As far as player progress, it’s not always an upward trajectory.  Sometimes players have a down year(s), before breaking out.  

 

 

[Simon Says]

14 hours ago, HurlyBurly51 said:

Even worse imo is their statements that Edmunds replacement is already on the roster🤦

I'm still waiting for a link to that exact quote ...what I have  read is that the likebackers currently on the roster will COMPETE for the starting MLB,but I didn't see that Beane actually said the new MLB is already on the roster.

Why would he say that before the draft and the end of free agency? He wouldn't limit his options by ruling out an addition.

[Tipster19]

14 hours ago, JohnNord said:

I took another listen to the Brandon Beane interviews after the season and at the combine.  What stuck out to me was his defense of players than were much maligned by the fan base.  
 

In my opinion, the three of his former draft picks who didn’t “take the next step” in 2022, are being counted on to “take the next step” in 2023.  
 

This season will prove to see if The Bills faith in these players will be rewarded. 
 

Spencer Brown

Brown was the Bills worst lineman at times in 2022 which is notable considering how poorly Roger Saffold played.  
 

Still, Beane was effusive in his praise and defense of Brown.  He point blank said he had confidence in him and listed some reason for his poor performance in 2022.
 

These comments make me think that the Bills won’t invest a high draft pick at tackle and will again roll the dice that Brown greatly improves.  

Gabe Davis

Like Brown, Beane was quick to defend Gabe citing “unrealistic expectations” from his amazing playoff performance and a numbers of injuries. 

 

Losing faith in Davis as a true WR2, many fans wanted the Bills to make a big move.  Some foolish fans convinced themselves to believe the lying huckster on Twitter “ErieCountyBills” who said they were trading for DeAndre Hopkins.  All false hope.

 

It’s doubtful the Bills make a huge move at WR like OBJ or Hopkins given the context,    Because Davis is a FA in 2024 I can see a scenario where they draft a WR in the first 3 rounds.  But again, when it comes to WR2 in 2023, the Bills are putting their faith in Davis to improve yet again.  
 

Ed Oliver

Same story with Ed Oliver.   Nice player.  Not a difference maker unless he plays against a BAD offensive line…or on Thanksgiving.  

 

Beane again defended Oliver mentioning how the things he does go unnoticed and that he fought through injuries.  He did mention that he left “more meat on the bone.”  But Beane could have said this during any of Oliver’s seasons in Buffalo.  
 

Because of his guaranteed 5th year option, The Bills likely didn’t have a choice but to have faith in Oliver.  But I can definitely see the Bills use a higher draft selection on a DT given the contract situation.  
 

The concern for me, is that we’ve seen the Bills make similar excuses for players in the past and it hasn’t worked out (Star, Cody Ford, Zach Moss, AJ Epinesa, Boogie Basham).  IMO a big part of next season will be whether the faith the Bills placed in these former draft picks will pay off…

Great post, one that needs to be discussed at great lengths. When I think of the position(s) that we’re addressed heavily (DL) and/or dealt with with poor results (OL & RB) one comes to the conclusion that Beane and/or McDermott failed and failed greatly imo. Outside of Von Miller one can’t be too thrilled with the results along that DL and the OL, outside of paying huge money (hopefully all of the restructures made it more plausible), for an above average Center the OL is nothing special, actually it’s one of the weak positions on this roster. As far as RBs go, I don’t think that I have to even say anything about this position. The only thing that may become redeemable for Beane on this position is that it’s way too early to get a bead on Cook, time will reveal his actually worth. If he was overwhelmingly the answer than there wouldn’t be any kind of discussion on the Bills drafting a RB potentially in the first round.

 

Thanks for posting this, it was well written and truly a topic that is worthy of being discussed much more than it already has been.

[HurlyBurly51]

20 minutes ago, Herb Nightly said:

Why would he say that before the draft and the end of free agency? He wouldn't limit his options by ruling out an addition.

It could be a smokescreen is why

[BobbyC81]

5 hours ago, SoCal Deek said:

That’s where experience, repetition, and coaching come into play. Your same sentiments could apply to a host of NFL players who played in lesser conferences in college. The one thing I see in Brown is a natural aggressiveness. He doesn’t appear to be lazy, especially in run blocking. I’m hoping he can be taught better technique to use his length in pass protection. We shall see. (By the way my biggest concern on the O Line is in the middle. I’m fed up with watching our Guards totally whiff in pass protection only to have Josh run for his life…or watch our RB get swallowed up right after taking a handoff. Pathetic.)

I also think Morse is overrated.  He frequently gets bullrushed right into Josh’s face.

[SoCal Deek]

2 minutes ago, BobbyC81 said:

I also think Morse is overrated.  He frequently gets bullrushed right into Josh’s face.

I’m a bit hot and cold on Morse. I sometimes give the Center a pass since he’s got one hand on the ball, calls out signals, and has a defender right in his face on every play. Given all of that I don’t doubt that I’d get ‘bull rushed’ from time to time as well. 😂