Bills rank 9th in poll of top front offices in the NFL (article)

[Savage]

My thought when it comes to the draft, which a lot less informed and uneducated than most on this site, is you draft a football player first.

 

Josh Allen is a football player, he just happens to be a great QB, but he is a football player first and foremost.

 

we see that every week.

 

[BillsVet]

1 hour ago, Logic said:

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5777310/2024/09/26/nfl-front-office-rankings/

The Athletic polled 40 league insiders, including 35 high-ranking executives and five coaches, to compile the NFL Front Office Rankings. Respondents, who were granted anonymity for both their votes and conversations discussing them in exchange for their candor, were asked to submit their top-five front offices, in rank order, based on each franchise’s football operations side. (Respondents were not allowed to vote for their own team.)

The results favored stability, with eight of the top 10 teams featuring general managers who have been in place for at least five years. Four of the top six teams, including the top two, promoted their GMs from within.

“Ultimately, it’s about results,” the high-ranking exec added, “but how you operate day to day is about your process. (Do) you have a sound process in the draft, free agency (and with) contract structure? Are you matching your aggressive roster building with maybe the life cycle of your team? All of those things go into what (makes) the best front offices.”

 

Ironic that they've run this poll at the beginning of the season, unless of course it's only backward looking, i.e. 2023 and before.  

 

Because they finally had to take their medicine during the 2024 off-season after having poorly managed the cap for a few years, notably via some bad UFA decisions. 

 

And, it remains to be seen whether the ensemble cast thing at WR will work...that's very much TBD, yet a major factor in post-season success.  That is, whether complementary football is a concept that wins or just raises the floor of success a little.  

 

 

[RoscoeParrish]

5 minutes ago, Savage said:

Going high on LB and RB has served them quite well.

Has it?

 

Gibbs is a nice running back, but he’s no better than James Cook, who was drafted the year prior at the end of the second round. 
 

Campbell is a fine thumper but currently is allowing a perfect passer rating (158.3) when targeted in coverage this season, after allowing 128 as a rookie.

 

I think both picks were reaches from a positional value standpoint. Maybe Gibbs and Campbell are 10+ year stars for the Lions, but more likely both are off the team after their rookie deals, imo. 

[Savage]

1 minute ago, RoscoeParrish said:

Has it?

 

Gibbs is a nice running back, but he’s no better than James Cook, who was drafted the year prior at the end of the second round. 
 

Campbell is a fine thumper but currently is allowing a perfect passer rating (158.3) when targeted in coverage this season, after allowing 128 as a rookie.

 

I think both picks were reaches from a positional value standpoint. Maybe Gibbs and Campbell are 10+ year stars for the Lions, but more likely both are off the team after their rookie deals, imo. 

Never mind “reaches from a positional standpoint”.

 

that’s draft talk mumbo jumbo.

 

 They are both pieces of a puzzle, who are both fitting quite well.

 

at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.

 

 

[PromoTheRobot]

32 minutes ago, uninja said:

 

I think it's also how visible you are here as a player for one of Buffalo's teams. It's a hard place to disappear and be anonymous for both good and bad reasons and that has to be tough on a young person. I'd frankly get annoyed as hell if I was recognized a lot while I was out.

 

Is that a problem? I always thought most folks were cool with leaving players be when they were with family and such. I know some hockey players hate Toronto and Montreal for that reason. They live in a fishbowl.

 

I think young players thinking about their off-time get bummed because Buffalo doesn't have a "scene" like Miami or Vegas. The weather scares some players from the south who never had to deal with snow. Sadly a lot of players sit around their apartments in Orchard Park and play video games rather than get into the city and see what is there.

 

But Josh Allen is proving that if your star shines bright enough, people will see you, even in Buffalo.

[RoscoeParrish]

10 minutes ago, Savage said:

Never mind “reaches from a positional standpoint”.

 

that’s draft talk mumbo jumbo.

 

 They are both pieces of a puzzle, who are both fitting quite well.

 

at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.

 

 

I don’t think the economy of the NFL in regards to drafts and positional spending is mumbo jumbo at all. 
 

And really, we saw that with the Lions themselves. They lost the AFCCG because they had a porous defense, so much so that a 24-7 lead at half time evaporated.  
 

It’s a fun thing to talk about because there can certainly be differences of opinion, but NFL contracts are clear. QB, WR, CB, EDGE, OT >>>> RB, off-ball LB all things being equal. 

[WideNine]

Awesome?

 

We are 9th....😁

 

Honestly think the Stillers deserve flowers for how competitive they are year over year.

 

A solid HC.

 

I don't like them, but can respect how they turn over rosters and never quite slip to that basement level team you can just assign an "L" to before they play.

 

 

 

 

[GASabresIUFan]

Were these the same insiders who called Josh overrated?  The Ravens ranked No. 1?  LOL, about as valid as Lamar as MVP.

 

Most wins the last 5 years (2019-2023) RS

1. Chiefs - 63

2. Bills - 58

3. GB & Balt - 56

5. SF - 54

6  Dal - 50

 

Looks to me like a much more accurate survey.

[ColoradoBills]

If owners were drafting "front offices" there is no way that the current Bills executives/coaches are drafted 9th.

No way!

[Thrivefourfive]

Bills aren’t given enough credit here. Just because Philly was able to acquire tons of pro bowlers doesn’t mean they’ve accomplished their goals. I’m not a believer in the franchise at all, and I think a sense of belief year after year is the indicator of a great front office. 

[GASabresIUFan]

I'm not sure how to write this thought.  If Beane isn't the best or one of the best GM's in football I don't know who is!  How many GM's have taken a 60 mill dead cap hit, flushed out an old core in a off-season, loaded up on kids and a few castoffs for depth and made the team better instead of back-sliding like so many other teams have done in similar circumstances?

 

Add that over the last 3 years he altered his draft philosophy to add more weapons for Josh early in the draft, added more draft capital overall, and then executed a development plan for late round picks and UDFA that has resulted in Ingram, Lewis, Spector, Benford, T Johnson, Hamlin, Dane Jackson, Siran Neal, Shakir etc...

 

Also outside of KC and the Rams, which teams on this list have won a super bowl in the last 5 years?  

 

 

Edited September 26 by GASabresIUFan

[Logic]

I'm a little bit surprised to see so many people taking this placement as a NEGATIVE.

The Bills have a great front office. So do some other teams. It's an informal poll, and shouldn't be taken as gospel.

The Bills aren't always gonna place 1st in everything, and teams like the Ravens, Eagles, 49ers, and Lions DO have great front offices.

The takeaway should be that the Bills have a top 10 front office, and that multiple executives/sources/whatever hear the question "best front office in the league?" and list the Bills among their choices. 

Besides, in this poll, "front office" doesn't just mean Brandon Beane. They're also ranking the head coach, and Sean McDermott is coming off a string of playoff exits and mounting "can he reach the big game?" questions. I think the Bills' ranking is reasonable, but to each their own.

[Savage]

5 hours ago, RoscoeParrish said:

I don’t think the economy of the NFL in regards to drafts and positional spending is mumbo jumbo at all. 
 

And really, we saw that with the Lions themselves. They lost the AFCCG because they had a porous defense, so much so that a 24-7 lead at half time evaporated.  
 

It’s a fun thing to talk about because there can certainly be differences of opinion, but NFL contracts are clear. QB, WR, CB, EDGE, OT >>>> RB, off-ball LB all things being equal. 

Why did the Bills lose in the playoffs?

[RoscoeParrish]

9 minutes ago, Savage said:

Why did the Bills lose in the playoffs?

They couldn’t score enough and couldn’t get stops because their defense wasn’t healthy enough. 
 

It wasn’t because they didn’t spend enough first round picks on linebackers and running backs imo.

[Savage]

10 minutes ago, RoscoeParrish said:

They couldn’t score enough and couldn’t get stops because their defense wasn’t healthy enough. 
 

It wasn’t because they didn’t spend enough first round picks on linebackers and running backs imo.

Hell of an excuse:

 

“They couldn’t score enough and couldn’t get stops because their defense wasn’t healthy enough. “
 

perhaps just not good enough of a team, regardless of which players were drafted in whatever round, regardless of position?

 

[nedboy7]

Funny.  After reading this board at times they seem #35. 

[VW82]

This is a borderline slap in the face. Pegula situation has to be bringing down the ranking. 

[RoscoeParrish]

9 minutes ago, Savage said:

Hell of an excuse:

 

“They couldn’t score enough and couldn’t get stops because their defense wasn’t healthy enough. “
 

perhaps just not good enough of a team, regardless of which players were drafted in whatever round, regardless of position?

 

I find simplistic explanations like that to be less than convincing when every Front Office has like multiple teams of multiple people constantly analyzing things like draft pick and their value and free agents and cap allocation.

 

“Just get better players” sounds nice unless you think about it a little bit more.

[Savage]

2 minutes ago, RoscoeParrish said:

I find simplistic explanations like that to be less than convincing when every Front Office has like multiple teams of multiple people constantly analyzing things like draft pick and their value and free agents and cap allocation.

 

“Just get better players” sounds nice unless you think about it a little bit more.

Don’t overthink things.

 

[Breakout Squad]

The key is to draft well and re-sign our homegrown players.
 

It's lot easier to sign your own by dangling a big contract extension a year before they hit FA.
 

If the Bills build their team with picks, draft well and have a QB, like Field of Dreams…. They will come 😎

 

Go Buffalo!!