QCity

One of the more entertaining threads to read for sure, especially the first few pages.

The penalties are a concern. The illegal formation flags are just sloppy and undisciplined play and shouldn't be happening.

Wonder if he'll be at 716 for the fight tonight?

Marcell is in form.

Most around here believe that we are going to trade all this capital for the highest pick we can get and draft a QB. I don't think that's necessarily the case. I certainly think we will draft a QB in the 1st round, but trading up for one is not a given. This team is not a QB away from contending. Beane is preaching the future-orientated approach, and I can tell you that some of our most talented players like Kyle W, Shady, Wood, Incognito are not part of our future. There's no shortage of positions to use draft picks on. I don't think anything better highlights the confusion over this than fans screaming "Tank." This isn't a one-year-and-done approach, where we will sink back to spending big money on FA's next year. I expect an average of 8-9 draft picks every year, not the 6-7 we were getting in the Whaley regime. That's how the top front offices build teams. When T.J.Yates starts game 1 under center, then you can yell "Tank."

A great post and you are 100% correct. Unfortunately, it will likely fall on deaf ears. Since UFA began in the 90s, this organization has never had a front office attempt to build a team through the draft, so this fan base has never seen it first hand. All they know is how to build through free agency, aka the "Win Now" approach (which is of course absolutely moronic). Sustained winning requires a constant infusion of cheap, young talent from the draft. That and a QB. Also, the years of losing have clearly taken their emotional toll, as evidenced by the hysterics over every offseason move.

The "common vision" talk is just standard lip service. I think every new front office wants it to be known that they are all working lockstep toward a championship. It's no different than a FA coming here and saying "this is a perfect fit for me" or "this is where I always wanted to be" or my favorite, "I really think this team has the talent to win it all". Time will tell -- if the three players are gone from the team before week 10, there will be no doubt who was making those acquisitions back in March.

The eclipse lasted longer than Anquan Boldin's stint with the Bills.

Implying that a franchise QB devalues draft picks is ridiculous.

Just the mere mention of Watkins' name causes coverages to break down all over the field.

Beane was not the GM that signed Hauschka, or Ducasse, or Holmes, or Davis.

No, it's week 10 and there's no speculation. The Jets cut Jarvis Jenkins after week 9 last year for the same reason. This only delays the inevitable for Holmes (and it still may not even do that).

Fans go crazy for throws like the first one shown here because the team hasn't had anything that resembles a decent passer under center in over a decade. At this stage anything remotely competent is heralded as the second coming of Kelly.

Was 7-9 back in January, still 7-9 today.

Is the end of the CoT nigh?

I'll be the first to tell you that it's fools gold to anoint a QB in the preseason. I do like his vision, and how poised he is under pressure when the pocket starts collapsing. He's a very interesting prospect.

You believe players are handed a script?

It's Beane's fault for underestimating how clueless our fanbase is.

Probably not that much different than when we lost to the Jets last year in Week 2.

Where do you think they're going to go? Do you think they retire in October?

Just because you can afford something doesn't mean you should buy it.

80%??? That's pretty optimistic. I'd say it's more in the 98-99% range. One of the ironic things about Sammy's tenure here is that he is chastised for one infamous tweet, but he has pretty much said all the right things since the day he was drafted. He told us this was the team he always wanted to play for as a kid, he wants to spend his career here, etc, etc. He was clearly groomed well by his agency -- as all high draft picks are in this age of social media. He also never threw his QB under the bus, but actions speak louder than words. We all watch the games. We've seen Sammy streaking wide open down the sidelines for an easy TD while TT over/underthrows him by 10 yards, only to see him throw his arms up in the air and stamp his feet in disgust. Does that look like he's having fun? Do you think it's fun for him to sit on his couch and watch his peers play in the Pro Bowl every year? Think about that. Even in today's silly watered-down Pro Bowl alternate system Sammy can't even come close to an invite. Bah, he probably doesn't want the recognition, right? I'm sure it must be fun to watch OBJ become an absolute superstar and national celebrity. Are we going to pretend that Sammy and his agent didn't notice the NFL-record $48M Nike contract that OBJ signed? Nah, he probably doesn't care about the money -- his last July tweet about how NFL players have to get paid more was probably a joke. When we didn't pick up his option the guy didn't even seem upset. If teams like Dallas and Oakland came after him in the FA market, does anyone here still believe he would choose us over them? It's time for fans to put their emotions aside and accept the fact that this guy wasn't re-signing here. Picking up his option or tagging him wasn't going to vault us to the Superbowl, it was only delaying the inevitable and putting us on the hook in the event of an injury.

Maybe stop acting like an emotional teenage girl?

There is a whole lot of risk in picking up a $13M guaranteed for injury option on a player coming off his 2nd foot surgery in a year. What is this potential payoff? Do fans think we were ever getting our 1st round picks back for him? And to your last point, I say it's just the opposite. It seems many Bills fans are conditioned to believe that letting talented players walk for nothing is good management, because that's been standard operating procedure in recent years. "Hey, lets just draft a CB in the 1st round to replace the CB we drafted in the 1st round a few years ago. We can also replace the WR we drafted in the 2nd round a few years ago by drafting a WR in the 2nd round." Why not also squander any compensation by signing back-up linemen and special teams players, rather than waiting until June like a competent front office? That's the Whaley regime in a nutshell. The top GM's in the league don't wait until the 11th hour to see how things play out - they put a plan in place long before it comes to that. Our GM clearly wasn't going to get stuck holding the bag if Sammy's body breaks down again. And this is absolutely nothing like the Peters situation (who they didn't want to pay) nor is it comparable to the Lynch deal (who was a complete flake). That's nonsense.

Could we? You don't think his value would be higher to a team that could better utilize his skills (aka a passing offense)? The most you're going to get out of the comp system is a 3rd rounder in 2019 if everything goes right. A 3rd round pick in 2019 is the equivalent of what, a 5th rounder today? Every athlete in their contract year says they're healthy. C'mon now. You don't think the team echoing his health statements was an attempt to allay suspicions and bolster his value? The first 3 plays last Thursday sure looked like a showcase to me.