Alphadawg7

I think this is more a depth signing and I still expect to draft one to compete to start at the very least, likely first 4 rounds and good chance first 2 rounds given we have no 3rd.

Ive been saying this for years and still 100% believe it...Beane is one of the best GM's in football. I think someone would be hard pressed to find 5 GM's who have a strong case to be better than him, so for me is a top 5 GM. A Super Bowl is all that is missing from him to cement his case for top 3. His ability to retain his own, and on good deals, find value all over the draft and outside the overpay rush of FA, and in getting more than expected back in trades is second to none IMHO. But, to be fair and unbiased, the one area he has not had enough success yet is landing elite talent. He has found good to even very good players in the draft and other avenues, but his only real hits on elite talent are Allen and Diggs via trade before Diggs was known as an elite player. In Beane's defense, its not always easy to do picking where we pick every year, and again, he has still found guys who have been good to very good starters for us, so not like he is out there whiffing most the time. Hopefully we can find a difference maker in the draft this year, and with fewer holes than we have had before and still having 10 picks, this is the year to be aggressive and move up more than move down to go get guys with a higher potential to be those difference makers. I felt strongly last year that BTJ was that player for us that we should go get if he got within a reasonable trade range (and he did)....now maybe Beane tried, but listenting to him it seemed trading back was the direction he was looking to do in order to get back the 3rd we used on Rasul. And I get the reasoning, I really do, I mean we had a ton of turnover and lost a lot of veteran leaders last year clearing out age and cap which felt like a mini reset year. So getting back more picks makes sense and can't really fault him just because a rookie taken before we picked hit big. This year is very different though...less holes...doorstep of the SB (really a ref screw job from the SB)...team ready to win right now with SB expectations. We don't need 10 picks or more picks...we need to get some impact players. I know Beane isn't afraid to trade up, and this year my BTJ of the draft is DT Kenneth Grant. We need a guy just like this and I am not at all convinced he last to our pick. Go get him Beane...and then look to be aggressive on the next 2 picks to get a starting CB and hopefully and another WR.

Amari - Has an entire history of a handful of big games and a bunch of mediocre to non existent games. The number of games in his career that he had under 40 yards is astounding for a player of his level. For me, there is now, and always has been, just another gear missing from him. His talent is there, but I just don't know he has that edge, that fire, to really maximize those talents all the time. And this is also why I think he drops so many passes, the mental focus, the mental tenacity just isn't there and I think the Bills saw that first hand last year. Don't get me wrong, its great when a player plays unselfish, buys into the system, etc...but you still want that player to WANT it. Shakir is a prime example...this guy is all about team and fully bought into everything here...but man, he WANTS it on every play. Doesn't matter if the ball is going to him or not, he wants the smoke in blocking, still getting open in case Josh needs to come off his reads, etc. Cooper to me just doesn't have that gear. And while he can get going at any time, its the lack of going so often that always concerns me with him. I said the same thing when the Cowboys gave him a huge contract (think it was $20M and highest WR contract at the time if not mistaken) a while back. It was just too much money for a guy who just so inconsistent week to week. He is consistent in his season totals because he is a guy that can put up some big games when he gets going. But week to week, that just doesn't happen enough IMHO and why I have never felt he was a top 10 WR. I wouldn't be mad if we brought him back, again, but he did so little here that the offense isn't going to miss him. So I would prefer to go get someone in the draft who has more long term upside and maybe brings more speed and explosiveness down field.

What is this thread? Is there some noise he is even available? My wife is a die hard Niners fan and I haven't heard anything about him even rumored to be available, and she has been totally distraught this offseason so far over the loss of so many players.

In Ray Davis lone start with Allen when Cook missed the Jets game: 20 Carries, 97 Yards (4.9 ypc), plus 3 receptions, 55 yards. He put up 153 yards on 23 touches. Then when he started week 17 with Allen out and Trubisky in when they were going to gear up to stop the run more than Mitch...he still put up 15 carries, 64 yards (4.3 ypc) and caught a 1 yard TD pass. I like Cook as much as the next guy, but IMHO Cook is more a product of his environment of playing with an explosive dual threat QB and an excellent OL. I think for a lot of teams in the NFL, Cook stats will look more pedestrian than they have here. So, I don't know we need a $15M a year RB to put up similar numbers to Cook. And honestly, Ty has proven to be a good change of pace and 3rd down back...him and Davis could be an effective duo with a rookie coming in to compete for touches, someone who compliments Davis similar to how Cook plays. Do I hope we can keep Cook...of course...he has done well here...but...do I want to over pay for the position, meaning, give a 2 down RB big money who struggles in pass protection so much that on the most important drive in the Allen era he wont even get on the field? No. My ceiling was, and still is $10M personally even though that was before some of these other RB contracts suggesting he should get more...and look, I am not even saying he hasn't earned it. I am talking strictly for the best make up of this football team...I would rather spend that money elsewhere as I have a lot of confidence that Davis, Ty, and a Rookie could have a similar year as to our RB room had last year. My hope: Gets 3 year deal for $30M (probably unrealistic at this point). What I more expect to happen: Signs here for more like $36M for 3 years with well over $20M guaranteed. If Cook digs in on $15M: I think he gets traded ahead of the draft. Beane doesn't strike me as someone that wants to get into a hardball standoff that leads to a holdout. I genuinely think he would rather grant Cook the opportunity to get that contract from someone else, not have this hanging over the team, and just look towards the future now if it becomes clear they just aren't going to get there on a contract. I also think this is why he drafted Ray Davis, he always seemed more like contingency plan if Cook's price got to high as Davis was one of the better RB prospects in the draft and had 3 down back potential.

Super Bowl.

You are not grumpy, you're just being accurate as to what they are today. But where I would counter with some optimism, is 2 of our safeties have potential to be more than that in Bishop and Forrest.

I agree with you about how all GM's have these kinds of busts periodically...and everything else you said, although I will add it can be crippling if the bust is a higher profile player like a QB, especially if they made a big investment to move up to get them. But, Kincaid and even Keon are way ahead of where Elam ever got already and far from busts. Kincaid had the 4th most receptions and 10th most yards all time in the NFL for a rookie TE for example. He may not have become the next Kelce as a receiving weapon yet, but he is far from a bust already. Keon already showed more as a rookie than someone who would be labeled a "bust" too. So I am just saying its pretty hard from them to bust in a fashion like Elam given what they have already done on the field.

Agreed...still think he has potential, but it was clear it wasn't happening here in this scheme. Good low risk, high reward move by Dallas while Bills still getting decent value back for a guy who hasn't done a whole lot yet.

Let me know when a WR in our offense gets the targets to do that in one playoff season. Rams force fed him that playoff season, he isn't that player still for one, and thats not our offense.

While I am not going to sit here and pretend I feel like our Safety woes are just instantly solved, but it does seem this kid has potential to be a Poyer-esque like signing. Where a change of scenery and opportunity helped Poyer be the best player he could be, and this regime has a strong track record when it comes to the secondary. He brings speed, youth, and potential starter on a low risk type deal.

Its not really speculation though, I mean people no longer in the league, like former GM's, have alluded or even confirmed that this does go on. I agree with you about how people justify it by saying everyone does it, and that also doesn't mean "all" teams or GM's do it. But I would say it certainly does happen and probably at a higher frequency than people think.

Thanks, honestly didn’t know it was that high…still for me it doesn’t really change the low risk factor here given how cheap the deal is and being 1 year.

I love the deal...I honestly was not keen on signing Bosa...but for 2 reasons: 1 - I expected him to get a multi-year deal...didn't like that much and 2 - I thought with the mega deals this FA, he would get a higher deal. But at 1 year, $12M there is no risk here for the Bills, only upside. If our rotation can help him stay on the field, this is a guy who can make plays in big moments for us. If he gets hurt, well we were on the doorstep of the SB carrying $31M in dead money last year for a guy not on the team...his deal isn't going to cripple us. This is a win IMHO given the lack or risk and the potential to be an upgrade from Von.

LOVE this signing...I didn't like the idea of him when he was released because I thought for sure he would get a multi-year deal and I didn't like the idea of that unless it was cheap, which with the bloated contracts raising the prices of edge players, that seemed unrealistic. But...one year deal? Only $12M? SIGN ME UP. There is no risk here what so ever. We were a ref screw job away from a SB birth last year with $31M in dead wasted cap space for Diggs. So $12M isn't much to risk on a guy who could have a rejuvenated season here the way we like to rotate our DL. Honestly, I look at this as an upgrade potential from what Von was giving us. And if it doesn't work out, who cares, he is off the books next year and his deal didn't really hurt us this year. Now all that being said...I will manage my expectations given he needs to stay healthy still, but if he can, this is a guy who could come up in some big spots in a big game when we need to get off the field. I would trust a healthy Bosa on any given snap more than I would have trusted Von this past year.

Depends…if I’m factoring in the deals ahead of FA for Allen, Shakir, Groot, etc then I’m some where in the somewhat to very satisfied area as we got really good value on those deals IMHO. If it’s strictly on the FA signings only, it is slightly satisfied. I think Palmer is a good fit and solid signing and I love the Ty deal. I’ve seen Hoecht play in LA, so I’m intrigued but it’s also not overly exciting either, so we still need bigger moves on the DL as he probably is just a rotational player. It’s early though, so I am also still expecting more, and if we don’t do much else I would reevaluate my grade.

Love this...was really hoping he was coming back. I don't know that I want him out there every snap on the final drive of the AFCCG per se, but I think he is a valuable role player for sure who also made some big plays for us in big moments.

Haha, so true and its for sure going to happen. Although to give Evans some credit on fooling some peeps, he at least ran well his last time in camp. But yeah, this is probably more a camp body than anything.

I would bet most of those negative posters didn't watch the 8+ minute video...people seem to be forming what ever negative assumptions they can off the title of the thread/video and going with it.

I take it you didn't watch the video as their was nothing he said that was "pansy", in fact, it was all the right things you want to hear, unselfish attitude, winning is the priority, not his targets, etc.

IMHO the odds one of our first 3 picks will be a WR went up when Hollins signed elsewhere (unless they sign another FA). If we don’t then I would expect one in the 4th round for sure, if not a trade up.

I’m happy he got the most he could on what could be his last deal. I’m gonna miss the vibe he brought and tenacity. But truth is, with Keon here his skill set became redundant since Keon is a good blocker himself. This is a vote of confidence in Keon IMHO to where they want to see Keon stay in the field and have someone like Palmer, Samuel, a rookie be opposite and pressure downfield more. Thanks for the fun year Mack!

But that is just it...we don't "need" another difference maker on offense...we badly need one or more on defense as we have none. Not saying it wouldn't be nice, just saying I wouldn't label it a "need" when we were the 16th best offense all time last year without one. On offense, we need a guy that do things where we were lacking...Palmer checks those boxes. Scoring is not, and has not been, our problem...our defense however was amongst the worst in the nfl in both 1st downs allowed and 3rd down stops. If you want the offense to score more, get them on the field more by having our defense force more punts rather than give up longer sustained drives and scoring drives. We faced 3 of the best defenses in the AFC last year in our 3 playoff games, including the Ravens who had been the best for more than the 2nd half of the season after moving Hamilton around. We still got to the AFCCG and put up 29 on a team who failed to break 30 all year...and we did so in a game the refs stole a scoring drive away from us in the 4th, and did it twice on the same series, that flipped the game. Scoring 29 was not the issue...we gave up 32 to a team that was down 34-0 in the 3rd quarter a game later and had not broken 30 the entire season.

I think it does move the needle on our offense as a whole though. He is a legit outside WR as you said, and he is a downfield threat who gets open. Its going to help guys like Shakir, Keon, our TE's, etc by bringing that dimension to the offense. I don't expect Palmer to become a legit star here, but that is one of the beauties of this offense, we don't need him to be. We needed a legit guy on the outside that was a threat downfield, and we got someone who does that. What I hope is that this means we will also draft someone as well still and there are some guys I really like in rounds 2-4 that I think would be exciting prospects to include in our mix.

hahaha same