May Day 10

While I do agree to a point. I was shouting before the season for a complete tear-down.... but you have to think they wanted to employ those 3 guys you listed to rub off on the team and help instill a culture of dedication/professionalism.... and hand it down to the young guys. At least 2 of the 3 guys you listed who were shipped out work against that culture. Not sure about Darby. Watkins was going to be a battle and it was likely the only way to retain him would be a malcontent franchise tag.

this is correct. its tough... and made tougher to deal with in light of the 5-2 start. behind closed doors, beane and mcdermott were probably "hoping" for 6 wins in a transitional season. the bills' roster is terrible on multiple position groups. they are showing it on the field. teams are exposing weak spots on the o line and lb corps. shredding. they probably recognize, even an 8-8 6th place is fools gold and this team doesnt stand a chance to win at a division winner. they know a franchise altering qb decision is looming, and they wanted to see if they had anything in peterman

I might be able to come around to Jerry Jones' side here.... but the fact that he appears to be acting like a child in the face of a suspension for domestic abuse to his own team destroys his case and position.

He is a good guy. I think his role of covering these teams who have been stuck in neutral for so long effects his moods on the air sometimes. It is the same thing, groundhog day over and over, same callers with the same viewpoints over and over, and they need to invent new angles to talk about mediocre Sabres and Bills. Program directors do not let them outside the Sabres and Bills bubbles much. People say guys like Schopp, Sullivan, Gleason, etc love the failure, but the truth is, they would be jumping for joy if either or both teams rose to the national stage and had big games and big moments. Schopp's wheelhouse is actually baseball, tennis, collecting, and analyticals/statistics.

to be clear, Schopp takes a position that will result in the most activity in the show by the way of callers/people paying attention.... and several-page threads on message boards talking about him. He may not necessarily agree with it in real life. He is just creating content for an entertainment program.

Make it happen Beaner

I tried to plug in the worst case scenario for each AFC game in the NYT calculator, and the Bills fall to <1% with a loss against the Colts in week 14 and 0% eliminated cant be 'accomplished' until week 15 (even with a win). That is with losing every game and choosing all the teams right behind them and the Jaguars to win all their games possible.

I have been one of the most consistently outspoken Brandon-firers for almost a decade. I have been skeptical with every half measure they have taken to make 'changes' that always resulted in Russ Brandon remaining untouched and front-and-center. I know his dream and career goal was to be a football (or baseball) executive (on the GM side), and Ralph Wilson really had an affection for Brandon, and prioritized giving him the opportunity to learn and GM.... while shielding him from the fans' ire (such as the Buddy Nix 'general manager of football' circus. At this point, I am satisfied with the evidence that he has finally been walled-off enough from the football side. McDermott and Beane finally break up the joke of the lineage of Levy-Brandon-Nix-Whaley that was largely designed to preserve the influence of Brandon and a few lifers. McDermott and Beane, unlike those other guys, are strong voices from the outside, with lofty aspirations. They would not agree to take jobs here if they needed to defer to unqualified people (this is why the Bills were never able to get any serious consideration from any coveted Head Coach candidate or FO candidates who matter). It is also why our only two 9-7 coaches quit. Under Brandon, they dont make these moves this season, especially the Watkins one. They would have rode him out to either a Franchise Tag battle, or just off a cliff. Trading down the way they did was a good move for the future.... The team failed to see more than 1 move ahead for the last 20 years. As somebody well studied in droughtology.... this is different, and I am willing to see this rebuild through.

My issue is, he seems to have a lot of opinions, ideas, and goals outside football. I want a QB who wants to be the best and is willing to dedicate the majority of his life over the next 15 years or so to focus on being the best quarterback. Mentally and physically.

I think they are on the right path. They just need the athletes. There is no depth on this team. They were able to cobble together some game-planning and inspiration to get some victories out of the gate.... but the film is out. I think I still view Beane and McDermott favorably. McDermott, I feel is a very good balance between a 'players' coach' and a guy who demands professionalism. I also like the ripping off of the band-aid moves they have made. It stinks selling Dareus and Watkins for pennies on the dollar for what they cost... but there was little choice IMO. These are the type of moves the Bills would shy away from throughout the drought. The one thing that troubles me... and has been troubling me all season.... is how in the heck can they have Tolbert as RB#2? He shouldn't be in the NFL, at least as a ball carrier.

Im actually terrified of Rosen.

the circle of life that is a bills season

This seems incredibly fishy

The Bills are a team short on athletes that wins games (for now) by preparation and mental toughness. They have also been getting the bounces. Last night they couldn't get the preparation edge and the bounces certainly and almost unanimously went the other way. The Jets played a hell of a game. We are still very early in the 'process'. 5-3 is still very much an over achievement. They still have a lot of roster depth to fill in, as well as mold the starting 22. Patience is a dirty word around here, but I am looking at the forest through the trees

I dont mind thursday games so much... but they do provide a big advantage to the home team I would like to see them schedule these in conjunction with bye weeks

Unbelievable brutal and unforgiving sport

I do think that he will walk off when brady is done... might be a few years but really the window is closing

This deal makes me wonder if Belichick might be planning on retiring with Brady (when the time comes). With Garoppolo under center, it looked like the Pats were poised to enter the next 15 years without missing a beat. it makes all the sense. They have a developed, schooled QB ready to start.... and also a likely top 3 pick to trade for a treasure trove.

Itll happen quickly. I dont think he makes it to 45 at this level. I would bet sometime within the next 3 seasons he is going to hit a cliff (if he doesnt get hurt). I also wonder what would happen if he got a scary concussion at this stage. He would be smart to walk off with a lot of house money IMO. He always has been very cautious.... and an expert at getting just enough out of the pocket to throw it out of bounds, or donk it off at a checkdown's feet.

next week will just be a boring Morales backstory episode

I believe the Steelers would hold it over the Bills due to strength of schedule. Bills would beat out Pats and Chiefs.

It would suck and be frustrating. But the culture and team they are building is what is important. I'm not even sure they imagined this start themselves. The upcoming picks and cap space will allow them to build some legitimate depth.

This is silly. I said 4-12 / 5-11 after the trades..... but still liked McDermott/Beane and the direction they are going. It felt like a final end to the continuous era of Levy-Brandon-Nix-Whaley, which is what they have needed since the day they sent Donahoe packing. But its not like I put anything on the line, root for them to lose to reach my prediction (maybe if they did I could post an awesome thread like this one and brag and antagonize? That would be uh, awesome I guess, along with another waste of season ticket money. Take that!) Anyone besides the complete optimists thought this team had a good shot at getting to 5-2. I didnt realize that McDermott would resonate so deeply with players in year one. I liked his messaging and his vision of bringing in players who do the homework and hone a mental edge... Didn't think we had so much in-house.

Football

While Steinbrenner had great success. He was owner at the time when the Yankees had a huge monetary advantage over the rest of MLB with no cap or restrictions. He leveraged the largest TV market into a huge insurmountable advantage. There was some warts. Impatience.... a lot of misses. In a capped league, patience and discipline are very important. The reason the Yankees are where they are today is they stopped chasing the huge scores every year and emptying their cupboards. They took some steps back and built up. Now that there are 8-12 MLB teams in the same stratosphere, the Yankees cant just try to grab the top UFAs every year and top players via trade. There is more competition. Im not a Yankees guy, but I have to tip my hat to young Steinbrenner and Cashman