BADOLBILZ

It was actually a modest 4 year build to get to the AFCCG..........we just had very low expectations as a fanbase. Light speed is having the #1 pick in 2020 draft and reaching the SB in the 2021 season like Cinci. Or maybe the LA Rams being a woeful 4-12 in 2016 and then reaching the SB in the 2018 season.

I don't know if it's been discussed but a friend of mine is with Dresser Rand..........they are closing their Olean plant in June and it's expected that Populous is moving in.

This. Except I would say talent/skill. Spencer Brown had talent. Skill not so much. Dion Dawkins had talent but his skill was diminished by illness. Mitch Morse has talent but the system wasn't helping him. Daryl Williams had proven talent but he appeared to come into the season inexcusably out of shape/unprepared. Cody Ford, Ike Boettger and Jon Feliciano were definitely fighting an uphill battle against a lack of talent though. As for @HappyDays take about the organization "determining" that any issue with the offense was just coaching and preparation. There is a distinction between determining something or just deciding it. Determine by definition indicates that there is no doubt.

"At the very least"? Rodger Saffold is 5 years older than DW and missed 300+ snaps while battling a chronic shoulder injury in 2021........about 5 full games worth. Williams played 98% of Bills snaps with OG and OT versatility that Saffold doesn't have. PFF had thier performances graded about the same. The at the very least is "at the very least Aaron Kromer liked him".

I didn't say they were planning to use less disguise. As discussed..........they have played well in man coverage.........your "couldn't match up in man coverage" is technically false.........they were the top defense in the NFL. The issue against KC the past two years has been an inability to get pass rush. As I've said...........doesn't matter who is playing CB if the QB has 6 seconds to throw to an elite group of receiving talent.

I don't get depressed about football. It's a good time, whether you win or learn.

I wouldn't doubt that figure but it's kind of a throw away stat. As Beane said........they wanted to be able to play more press-man. The key to their defense is their ability to disguise coverages........34% some-kinda'-man is still low enough to merely be part of the designed confusion.........especially when you are often playing with enormous leads as the highest point differential team in the NFL. And with moderate exposure they've had great success in the past with press man even...........I remember when Kevin Johnson was here he ranked #1 or close to it in press man success rate. That certainly wasn't because he was Jalen Ramsey-esque. The disguise improves the success of ALL coverages.........if the pass rush is on time and forces quick throws. But if the rush isn't there, then it becomes athlete vs athlete in coverage. They drafted Elam, IMO because they want to be able to rely less on disguise and instead be able to matchup better when they run into that combination of elite QB/elite receiving talent but also an offense that doesn't let them get to the passer in a timely fashion. All of the investment in pass rush and now the "traits" add at CB are basically the Bills trying to create a defense, on paper at least, that doesn't have any inherent vulnerability. Whether that degree of effort/investment is worthwhile at the expense of offensive investment is questionable.

Yeah Jerry's insistence on a weak HC combined with the distractions and immense pressure of playing for the Cowboys tends to neutralize some remarkable drafting.

At least this hyped OL coach is actually good and we saw it with our own eyes. The hype around Juan Jesus Christillo when McDermott first arrived was laughable.

That's not based much in fact. Go back and watch Tre White in the 2020 AFCCG in Kansas City. He was atrocious. His advanced stats were terrible enough but even that doesn't tell how badly he played that day because the game was over at halftime. If it had actually been a barn burner that day he would have been a barn full of straw. Great QB + Elite WR1 + No Pass Rush > ANY CB1 Assuming that he would have been a difference maker in another game where the pass rush was ineffective is nonsensical. How many times have we seen DB's slid into the system and the defense not miss a beat? There are ways to use Tre White and have him play GREAT...........putting him on Tyreek Hill or Mike Evans and asking him to cover for 6 seconds without getting spun is NOT such a situation. What was needed was for them to fix the finishing aspect of their pass rush. They hopefully did that with Von Miller and Settle/Phillips expenditures along with Oliver and Rousseau maturing. If Tre returning and Elam being in the mix additionally improves them that's great but if the pass rush falls flat again then the coverage will fail against that elite QB/elite WR combo........ regardless.

I'm sure it's been said somewhere in the 30 pages..........but can't Case Keenum hold? Seems to me he has done it before in his long run as a backup but perhaps I'm misremembering. The Araiza pick isn't anything they should go out of their way to make work........ he's just a developmental punter with a powerful leg.............but for holding what's wrong with having an actually offensive player handling the football? If nothing else it gives the defense reason to have pause about over-pursuing the kick block and ignoring responsibilities and potentially getting jacked on a fake. I mean train your punter up but I think a QB with a guaranteed roster spot should be ale to be the primary.

Daryl Porter was a really good special teams player..........lost his focus after an emotional moment where Rob Johnson drove them into FG range and Christie seemingly won the game.........but on the ensuing KOR he didn't stay in his lane and HR Throwback happened. Both situations are ultimately on the staff to great extent because they didn't have the detail attended to. I know that's a high bar.......maybe every other staff but 1 is vulnerable to that kind of mental lapse....but that's the difference between a Belichick and everyone else and that's a good standard to have. SB XLIX where Malcom Butler picks that pass off in the end zone for the shocking victory..........the Patriots had practiced that play on Friday and were prepared to execute in the biggest moment of the game. Belichick had Pete Carroll scouted and pegged and knew he couldn't hold his water in the big moment.........he kept his nickel defense on the field despite it seeming like a certain run situation with Lynch in the backfield. Bills have an elite QB talent.........McDermott has room for improvement...........not saying most others don't.........but they need him to graduate to another level in the playoffs to reach their potential, IMO.

Yeah Davis is the answer. People are just assuming that he's already there but he only put up about 35 yards per game last season before blowing up in the playoffs. They probably need 1,100 yards from that WR2 spot just to match the 1,100+ split production of last year..........which frankly was something of a disappointment for the passing game, with Allen falling to 6.7 yards per pass attempt. That was primarily because of atrocious pass protection but also a lack of speed/yac in the WR corps. They didn't exactly attack those issues with blue chip replacements but that was a choice.........so we should expect those issues to be fixed. The bar is pretty high at WR in the NFL now.........Cinci has 2 1K+ WR's in Chase and Higgins and another over 800 in recent 1K producer Tyler Boyd. The Bills should be back closer to 8 yards per pass attempt and around 5,000 yards passing for Allen and they aren't likely getting there without Gabe Davis becoming a second 1,000 yard receiver, IMO.

Yep. And if they actually become a more multiple defense........capable of going back and forth from heavy zone to a lot of press-man usage based on opponent.........then Elam is a premium position pick. If that defensive plan fails and they end up having to stick with what worked well with Levi...........even if Elam plays fine in zone concepts, and it's hard to say if he will because he didn't do it much at Florida...............then it becomes a question of whether they invested a $20M kinda' personnel chip into a guy at a position they could have filled with a journeyman type.

That kinda' tackling is why Elam was the 3rd CB off the board. You gotta' wrap Chapelle UP B!

It's the best way to explain their tunnel vision on getting a press-man cornerback and really the only explanation for the Bernard pick, IMO. My one oft-vocalized complaint about the defense under McDermott has been that for all of the investments they've made in defensive personnel........and all of the continuity they have had in the back 7............they haven't been able to make broad schematic adjustments for different opponents. Against KC the Bills have sort of fallen into the rut that Pittsburgh had against New England for so many years...........the Steelers lack of ability to mix man coverages with their preferred zone looks made them easy pickings for Brady. I'm sure the Bills were very aware that it was a weakness but the way Cinci adapted their defense to win two road games and reach the Super Bowl probably underscored the value in that. The question, of course, is whether they are robbing Peter on offense to pay Paul on defense.

2019 DK Metcalf would have been the right choice in hindsight. He's been a star since day 1. Knowing what teams know today of the value of WR's...........Metcalf and AJ Brown definitely go round 1 and in hindsight Terry McLaurin as well. The Oliver pick made sense despite being very undersized because it was presumed that he'd quickly turn into an elite interior pass rusher. He has gradually gone form a solid player to very good one........but still hasn't turned into a finisher. He may finally become that guy in year 4. Undersized 3 Techs are not in short supply though so if you take one early you would hope that they produce big.

Cornerback is more wide open than Lewis vs Benford, IMO. If the rules continue to allow.......then the tiny Cam Lewis might just make a permanent practice squad guy who has value to the Bills but not so much other teams. One of Griffin or McCloud is just as likely to make the team as Benford.

Poyer didn't switch agents to get this kinda' news.

There is no reason to say it or agree to the suggestion.........but he's pretty determined to squash the notion to the fanbase. Beane is very good at not saying things that compromise his relationship/leverage with players or agents or other teams. But it is a different story with his public perception. The other day he started a thought with "I don't lie". That's hysterical..........every other time his lips move it's a form of manipulation of truth. Dude is a true shyster on the mic and as I've said many times..........that was exactly what the Pegula's needed in a GM.........his confidence man persona keeps their hands off the controls.

Yeah, sure........but what would you have done? "I don't have a problem with......" isn't really an answer to that......it's an evasive measure from someone who is so often perturbed by any perceived vagueness.

Didn't you ask me this question before and I gave you a very detailed, 1,000 word kinda' response so there was no confusion? Correct me if I'm wrong but these are the questions you always ask me and I wouldn't indulge just anyone..........so I think it was you. But while we are at it..........what would YOU have done?

Yeah I think a lot of us wanted them to go big..........the motto coming into this draft was that they didn't have many needs...........so it came down to whether they addressed the low hanging fruit like KC did a couple years ago when they took CEH........or if they went for the longer range, find a star at a premium position kinda' route. As it turned out, the trade-up for Williams option would have been much cheaper than imagined......but Beane didn't talk to any teams prior to pick #20.......they were laser focused on what they eventually did........drafting for immediate need, regardless of value. Those closing quotes in your post may have their place........but aren't necessarily applicable to a sport that punishes the undisciplined and inconsistent, IMO. Long before McDermott arrived I said it here..........the draft is a process of organization building...........not an annual event to fill needs. Beyond not setting yourself up for longer term success in a situation where you are going to be cap-tight for the foreseeable future..........the OTHER fallacy is just assuming that drafting for need at easier to fill positions will yield better results than taking players at more valued positions. You don't even know if that will be the case in their rookie year..........we saw it in 2016 with the 3 "off the bus starters" draft........ Shaq, Ragnuts and Adolphus. I heard the same arguments then when I described that draft as "uninspired". We all know what happened.......NO starters. But how soon we forget. That's the thing with the draft.........you really can't count on a lot from year one anyway. It's a trap to assume that you can. Last year they went with an extremely raw, but big traits Pass Rusher, an over-aged Pass Rusher, then a raw LT traits OT. On paper that shouldn't have yielded much of an early return. Instead, they got two rookie starters who played key roles for them and one can envision them both being Bills for a decade. Maybe Elam and Cook and Bernard all play key roles..........but history also shows that they very well could not. Look at that 2016 draft........Shaq ended up not playing half the season but Lorenzo Alexander more than filled any expectations for him..............Ragnuts missed the whole year but Zach Brown lead the NFL in tackles. I guess they should have won the Super Bowl. As it turned out the NEEDS that season were elsewhere. Needs are a always a moving target in the NFL.

Yep........want. When you put feels on the top of the chart it's always got the potential to look bad. I find it funny that Beane is actively selling the idea that they aren't just going "all-in" on this season when this draft couldn't say that any more than it did. And people need to remember........these dudes had a team like those 2021 Bills when they were in Carolina.........they went 14-2 and had the league MVP at QB........and BLEW IT in the SB against a team with a washed up QB who had thrown 9 TD's and 17 INT's on the season. And that was it. They fell back to earth the next season and the franchise quickly fell back into the pack. Their experience has to be colored by that.