Reset Year - Phase II

[MarlinTheMagician]

The sun rises folks.  We have a young and very talented roster.  This group outperformed expectations, whether or not it performed to its maximum potential yesterday (I don't think it did).  We need more athletes on defense, plain and simple.  We are close.  We have 10 picks in the draft.  There is reason for optimism.  Phase II of the "reset" undertaken this year may well push us over the top.  Enjoy the ride, and never say die!  Go Bills!!

[peterpan]

I wish I shared your optimism.  I don’t think this roster is particularly talented, I saw a number of other playoff teams with seemingly far superior talent. But we have JA.

 

and the draft, too many wiffs and no superstars from Beane.  We needed the 2024 class to be big time contributors and it was basically a total waste.  Other teams found studs, just not us. 

[MarlinTheMagician]

We are a field goal away from the Super Bowl - and if Kincaid makes a tough catch or we get a fair spot we might well be in it.  There is lots of talent, just came up a little short.  The previous disappointments we all have just don't count when weighing this roster.  Those rosters are done and dusted.  And the facts say this roster and coaching staff fell just short of the best.  Not all is bleak.

 

But in fairness to your point - I thought the D needed some players all year.

[Ethan in Cleveland]

There are maybe 6-7 open roster spots on this entire roster.  Having 10 picks is useless. They need to use those picks in trades. They need three starters on defense (Edge, CB, and S)  and three reseves(Edge, DT and S). Milano looked good enough to play. Williams and Bernard should compete for MLB. Douglas, Hamlin, Epenesa, Elam, and Miller should all be kicked to the curb. Of those I would only keep Hamlin if I was forced.

 

On offense they need one WR assuming Hollins is back. Amare could be that starter on a 3 year deal.  Assuming Johnson comes back, they are set at TE, RB, OT, OG, and C. Dawkins continues to play well enough and Brown is a stud. They already have a couple back up developmental OL. 

At WR a healthy Samuel, Shakir, Hollins, Coleman, and Cooper are good enough to win. If not Cooper then they need to go after a high quality veteran FA. 

 

They will fill at least 3-4 of these spots in free agency.  That realistically leaves maybe 2 or 3 roster spots for the draft, a 4th if you want to get a QB #3. 

 

I'd trade two #1s for Garrett or Crosby. Raiders are more desperate for draft picks. Brady saw Belichick repeatedly trade guys when he could get value for them - Richard Seymour is the obvious example here. Then draft DT, CB, Edge with the two second round picks and the third round pick. 

 

We are stuck with McD and Beane for at least one more year. We must now let hope not give way to anger and fear. Time to turn the page and start thinking how to tweak this roster. 

 

[Norcalbillsfan]

4 minutes ago, peterpan said:

I wish I shared your optimism.  I don’t think this roster is particularly talented, I saw a number of other playoff teams with seemingly far superior talent. But we have JA.

 

and the draft, too many wiffs and no superstars from Beane.  We needed the 2024 class to be big time contributors and it was basically a total waste.  Other teams found studs, just not us. 

I'd agree with alot of your points but I think we have alot more "good" players than most teams in the nfl. We don't have anyone that's well below average in the nfl. Most teams have at least one guy that is straight up bad and wouldn't start on most teams. I would argue that the chiefs have several starters that wouldn't dress on the bills. But to your point, we have no super stars. And it's looking like beane is incapable of drafting super stars outside of josh (hopefully cook). So for the first time in my life I'll be advocating for the bills to make a blockbuster trade this off-season. A game changing edge rusher like Crosby (if we can make it work financially obviously). I would ship away at least 2 first rounders to get a sure thing in a Crosby or Garrett because with beanes track record, what would we be missing out on? Another Elam, Kincaid, Rousseau? Nah go ahead and take the sure thing like we did with diggs.

[FireChans]

28 minutes ago, MarlinTheMagician said:

The sun rises folks.  We have a young and very talented roster.  This group outperformed expectations, whether or not it performed to its maximum potential yesterday (I don't think it did).  We need more athletes on defense, plain and simple.  We are close.  We have 10 picks in the draft.  There is reason for optimism.  Phase II of the "reset" undertaken this year may well push us over the top.  Enjoy the ride, and never say die!  Go Bills!!

Who are the young and talented players on this roster? 

[Zerovoltz]

....(I know, I am not the guy you all want to hear from....but whatever)

 

I agree with this....The Chiefs are a good team with a deep roster.  The Bills have given KC ALL IT COULD HANDLE every single post season they've matched up..and always are just barely on the short end of the stick.  It's not the time to reset or tear it down.  You'd have to keep plugging away, trying to build more depth, and hopefully hit on a high impact player or two with all the picks.  

 

Getting the QB is the hardest part.  you guys all know that.  You have that part.  Your O line is good which is one of the harder things to put together.  

 

I am not in Buffalo and obviously you guys are way more familiar with all of the dudes on your roster than I am, but from afar, I think the Bills do have some really talented guys worth keeping and building with.  Allen (Obviously), Cook, Shakir...your O-line...I thnk Oliver is a very good player....Milano and Benford....but you guys are thin at depth on D...and your DB situation isn't so great.  

 

I don't quite understand the advocates for a reset....?  You are consistantly 3 points or less away from the SB every year....what does a reset look like that is different and gets you there as opposed to plugging away at it and trying to improve the roster now?  Is a roster purge really the answer?  I can't see how that would be better.

 

 

[Niagara Dude]

29 minutes ago, MarlinTheMagician said:

The sun rises folks.  We have a young and very talented roster.  This group outperformed expectations, whether or not it performed to its maximum potential yesterday (I don't think it did).  We need more athletes on defense, plain and simple.  We are close.  We have 10 picks in the draft.  There is reason for optimism.  Phase II of the "reset" undertaken this year may well push us over the top.  Enjoy the ride, and never say die!  Go Bills!!

Outside of Allen and maybe James Cook,  the bills have no young elite level players

[BillsFanForever19]

6 minutes ago, peterpan said:

I wish I shared your optimism.  I don’t think this roster is particularly talented, I saw a number of other playoff teams with seemingly far superior talent. But we have JA.

 

and the draft, too many wiffs and no superstars from Beane.  We needed the 2024 class to be big time contributors and it was basically a total waste.  Other teams found studs, just not us. 

 

There's a massive difference between how we're entering this upcoming season and how we entered this season.

 

Of course there were a number of Playoff teams with far superior talent. We entered this season 54m over the cap. We had to do everything we could just to get to zero. And then re-sign or replace TWENTY NINE players with little to no money. This season's team was patched together with less than desirable starters on both sides of the ball. Some overachieved (Mack Hollins (who still wasn't a game breaker), Connor McGovern (at Center), David Edwards, Taylor Rapp) and some underachieved or played like we thought they would (Curtis Samuel, AJ Epenesa, Daquan Jones, Damar Hamlin). And injuries to Benford and Rapp had us taking a STARK dropoff in talent with Elam and Bishop because of a lack of depth.

 

We weren't supposed to do what we did this year. Next year, entering basically at zero - meaning all of the extensions, re-structures, pay cuts, and releases will go straight to acquiring players rather than just to get to zero from -54. We've got less to re-sign or replace than this year and have 10 Draft Picks (including 3 in the first 2 Rounds). This upcoming year was always set to be the year where we could truly build a Super Bowl contending team. This was the year where we were just getting by on journeyman players we could afford to field a team. And they still, against all odds, came this close to a Super Bowl.

[zow2]

Well i said back in preseason minicamp i think we win 10 games, 11 if the ball really bounces our way.  We won 13.  I also said that 2025 would be our big year. So we actually are ahead of the reset schedule imo.  But that doesn’t mean we will win 13 games again, i just think they start the season with a more talented team than we ended this season with.

[DuckyBoys]

I'm having a hard time getting excited when 1. MCDermott will continue on with the little nickel defense  2. Beane cant seem to hit in early rounds and resigns marginal talent to justify his picks   3. we still routinely get out schemed against the Chiefs 

[JerseyBills]

30 minutes ago, peterpan said:

I wish I shared your optimism.  I don’t think this roster is particularly talented, I saw a number of other playoff teams with seemingly far superior talent. But we have JA.

 

and the draft, too many wiffs and no superstars from Beane.  We needed the 2024 class to be big time contributors and it was basically a total waste.  Other teams found studs, just not us. 

How do you lack optimism? We were literally a play or 2, arguably inches from getting to a SB, with 95% of our roster coming back,  ton of draft capital and more cap space 

Edited Tuesday at 12:33 AM by JerseyBills

[RyanC883]

2 minutes ago, JerseyBills said:

How do you lack optimism? We were literally a play or 2, arguably inches from getting to a SB, with 95% of our roster coming back,  ton of draft capital and more cap space 

 

we were not having McD’s D giving 7 pts to the opponent by letting them score on their first drive like he did all year away.  

[PauleeeWalnuts]

31 minutes ago, peterpan said:

I wish I shared your optimism.  I don’t think this roster is particularly talented, I saw a number of other playoff teams with seemingly far superior talent. But we have JA.

 

and the draft, too many wiffs and no superstars from Beane.  We needed the 2024 class to be big time contributors and it was basically a total waste.  Other teams found studs, just not us. 

Lots of whiffs, especially in the early rounds where they really need playmakers. 

5 minutes ago, JerseyBills said:

How do you lack optimism? We were literally a play or 2, arguably inches from getting to a SB, with 95% of our roster coming back,  ton of draft capital and more cap space 

Aren’t they always just a play or two away? When are those plays finally going to be made? It’s the same song every season, I don’t blame the lack of optimism. 

[BillsFanForever19]

31 minutes ago, Ethan in Cleveland said:

There are maybe 6-7 open roster spots on this entire roster.  Having 10 picks is useless. They need to use those picks in trades. They need three starters on defense (Edge, CB, and S)  and three reseves(Edge, DT and S). Milano looked good enough to play. Williams and Bernard should compete for MLB. Douglas, Hamlin, Epenesa, Elam, and Miller should all be kicked to the curb. Of those I would only keep Hamlin if I was forced.

 

On offense they need one WR assuming Hollins is back. Amare could be that starter on a 3 year deal.  Assuming Johnson comes back, they are set at TE, RB, OT, OG, and C. Dawkins continues to play well enough and Brown is a stud. They already have a couple back up developmental OL. 

At WR a healthy Samuel, Shakir, Hollins, Coleman, and Cooper are good enough to win. If not Cooper then they need to go after a high quality veteran FA. 

 

They will fill at least 3-4 of these spots in free agency.  That realistically leaves maybe 2 or 3 roster spots for the draft, a 4th if you want to get a QB #3. 

 

I'd trade two #1s for Garrett or Crosby. Raiders are more desperate for draft picks. Brady saw Belichick repeatedly trade guys when he could get value for them - Richard Seymour is the obvious example here. Then draft DT, CB, Edge with the two second round picks and the third round pick. 

 

We are stuck with McD and Beane for at least one more year. We must now let hope not give way to anger and fear. Time to turn the page and start thinking how to tweak this roster. 

 

 

We're in a much better situation this year than we were last year on players needing to be re-signed or replaced. And in a much better situation cap wise than starting 54m over the cap. But saying there's 6-7 open roster spots on the entire roster is simply not true. Our Free Agents are as follows:

 

WR Amari Cooper

CB Rasul Douglas

WR Mack Hollins

DE Von Miller (almost a lock to be released)

FS Damar Hamlin

RB Ty Johnson

FB Reggie Gilliam

TE Quintin Morris

DE Dawuane Smoot 

TE Quintin Morris

DT Austin Johnson

LS Reid Ferguson

OT Ryan Van Demark

OG Alec Anderson

DT Quintin Jefferson

DT Jordan Phillips

QB Shane Buechele

OT Tommy Doyle

 

Each player on that list, save for the bottom 2 represent a player on the 53 man roster we fielded last night that will need to be brought back or replaced. That's 16 roster spots. And that's not accounting for other possible releases made to upgrade positions.

Edited Tuesday at 12:52 AM by BillsFanForever19

[DuckyBoys]

Need more talent  More playmakers  Cant live on Josh being able to make something out of nothing sandlot style and hoping for flukey turnovers on defense

[quincy]

30 teams are in reset mode now.

 

Year on year it seems that the rookie class has a very limited impact, in year one at least, in comparison to other teams.

 

It could be argued that we are most excited by our 6th round pick this year, Grable, going forward with Davis having had the best year of all our rookies. 

 

We really need Coleman, Bishop, Carter and Solomon to improve and flash next year and be coached up and developed to excel in the postseason like Worthy and DeJean are currently doing.

[Brianmoorman4jesus]

The sad part is I actually think we do have alot of really good players. I think the roster is excellent and we should already have a Super Bowl. This team is incredibly hindered by horrendous coaching. The players are not the problem. But until we get a different coach in here, it won’t matter. Bring in whoever  you want on defense and they won’t matter. You can have miles Garret or Chris Jones and this ####### will be rotating them off the field every other drive because he knows better. You can have 2 lockdown corners and they’ll be laying 9 yards off the WRs on the snap because we are terrified of giving up a big play. It’s ok if they get 8 yards 10 plays in a row, just can’t let them get it in 1. This guy knows better. Nothing he ever does works but god forbid you ever question it because he knows better

[Norcalbillsfan]

4 minutes ago, BillsFanForever19 said:

 

We're in a much better situation this year than we were last year on players needing to be re-signed or replaced. And in a much better situation cap wise than starting 54m over the cap. But saying there's 6-7 open roster spots on the entire roster is simply not true. Our Free Agents are as follows:

 

WR Amari Cooper

CB Rasul Douglas

WR Mack Hollins

DE Von Miller (almost a lock to be released)

FS Damar Hamlin

RB Ty Johnson

FB Reggie Gilliam

TE Quintin Morris

DE Dawuane Smoot 

TE Quintin Morris

DT Austin Johnson

LS Reid Ferguson

OT Ryan Van Demark

OG Alec Anderson

DT Quintin Jefferson

DT Jordan Phillips

QB Shane Buechele

OT Tommy Doyle

 

Each player on that list, save for the bottom 2 represent a player on the 53 man roster we fielded last night that will need to be brought back or replaced. That's 16 players. 

I think mack, ty Johnson, Gilliam, Ferguson and maybe van demark are back out of that list. It's alot of names, but luckily most of those names are JAGS.

[JerseyBills]

18 minutes ago, RyanC883 said:

 

we were not having McD’s D giving 7 pts to the opponent by letting them score on their first drive like he did all year away.  

Agreed but the final 3 Chief drives- stop,stop, FG 

The getting behind early and making great adjustments really started week 1 , when in Arrowhead in January,  can't afford that, still, this team was resilient asf. Truly thought they'd be the one of many. Still heartbroken