mjt328

I'm always skeptical about "reports" like this. It doesn't give any kind of source or even suggest who may have supplied them the idea that Buffalo was furious. Sure the Bills fans were upset, but our front office always seemed in control of the situation. Where did the writer get this from? Personally, I recall the ABSOLUTE PANIC AND DESPERATION on this message board after the Jets trade. At the time, most people believed the Giants were taking a QB at #2, and that Denver was certainly a possibility at #5. That meant the top 3 quarterbacks were certain to be gone in the first 3 picks, and we needed to swing a deal to get to the #4 immediately. No waiting for Draft Day to see who was left on the board. People wanted Beane to trade everything to get up there NOW. Besides... Even if this report is true, it certainly isn't a knock on Josh Allen. Speculation about how the QBs were ranked was all over the place, so the Bills would have been justified worrying about getting their guy outside of the Top 3. The media seemed to like Sam Darnold the most, with Josh Rosen a close second. But this was not an accurate representation of the teams. Reports circulated a few weeks before the draft that Cleveland was debating between Baker Mayfield and Josh Allen at #1. People were laughing at the Browns at the time, but nobody is laughing now. The Giants were going to have Darnold/Rosen fall in their lap, but they chose a running back instead. New York reports were saying the Jets wanted Allen the most. But those turned out to be fake, because they ultimately chose Darnold before him. There were many reports that Denver loved Allen too. But of course, they didn't pick a QB at all. The majority of our own fans seemed to want Rosen more (wrong Josh)... but reports later circulated that Arizona was disappointed when we picked Allen and left them with Rosen.

The two defensive players who get the most criticism from Bills fans are Tremaine Edmunds and Star Lotulelei. To me, I think their success ties in together. Edmunds may never be the type of MLB that can consistently shed O-Line blocks in the hole and knock the runner backwards. His game is going to be the sideline-to-sideline pursuit with speed and quickness. As he improves in coverage, he's going to be a huge asset in defending the short passing game as well. That's why it's vitally important to have a player like Lotulelei, who occupies the blockers, takes on double-teams and allows Edmunds and Matt Milano to make the tackles without trying to fight off Guards and Centers.

It's all about winning, and whether those players are helping us do it. I couldn't care less about stats. If we load up on weapons, there is no way that every receiver is going to get 70+ receptions and 1000+ yards. I want John Brown and Robert Foster to force defenses to keep their safeties playing deep. Then Cole Beasley, Zay Jones (and maybe a rookie TE) start picking them apart underneath. When they adjust to the shorter passing game, we hit them with a deep shot. When they start bringing in more DBs to defend all the receiving weapons, we run them over with LeSean McCoy and Frank Gore.

Lots of complaints around here whenever Sean McDermott talks about character. If there is any truth to this, the Chiefs are about to lose their second Pro Bowl player in less than 6 months from off-field concerns.

With all the injuries, I'm guessing Ansah doesn't have a huge market. He's lasted four days on the market (which is forever in free agency) and only has two visits lined up. Knowing the way Beane works, we probably gave him a good offer, but not something that blew him away and kept him from cancelling his visit to New Orleans. We'll see how it goes. Sometimes a player comes back to his first visit (Kevin Johnson) and sometimes they don't (Dwayne Allen).

To me, you keep Hughes as the starter on the right side. Ansah becomes your new starter on the left. Murphy is the primary backup/rotation on both sides in pass rushing situations. Lawson is the primary backup/rotation on both sides in early down/running situations. He can also slide over to tackle on passing downs. On the inside, you keep a heavy rotation depending on situation. Same as last year. Lotulelei is the primary DT in rushing situations. You need to add a 3-Tech to replace Kyle (maybe someone in the draft like Ed Oliver?) JPhillips and HPhillips are your subs, with Lawson even sliding over on the occasion. Alexander is the SLB and jack-of-all-trades. He can drop into coverage, come off the edge or even blitz inside. I think their rotation last year was great. The only problem was Murphy being hurt all the time, and neither he or Lawson providing quite enough with the edge rush. One more DE puts us over the top, and protects us in the event Murphy continues battling injuries. We also need to find a capable replacement for Kyle or we take a step back on the inside rush.

Keep all of them. - We have over $40 million in cap space. - Both Murphy and Ansah have a history of injury problems. - Hughes is a free agent next year, and Lawson might be if we don't activate his 5th year option. The best thing for a D-Line is a strong rotation, always keeping guys fresh and adjusting to the offense. Having four strong DEs and four strong DTs would be a fantastic help to our defense.

Looking at the roster (as it stands Thursday morning), I see our biggest needs as follows: 1. Tight End The Tyler Kroft signing was OK if we are looking at him as our #2, but we could still use a top threat in the passing game and a blocking specialist. We only have two TEs on the roster right now, so we are definitely adding more bodies before camp. My eyes are firmly on TJ Hockinson right now if I'm doing a mock draft. 2. Guard/Tackle We are now fully set at two positions on the O-Line with Dawkins and Morse. I really like the competition we have for the other three spots with Teller, Long, Feliciano and Nsekhe. There is also flexibility to move people around. But I would still like to see one more starting caliber option brought on. 3. Defensive End I'm a big believer that you need four strong players in your DE rotation. We have three. If we can add Ezekiel Ansah, we can cross off this box. 4. Defensive Tackle Same as above. You really need four strong players in your DT rotation. We have three on the roster and lack a 3-Tech to replace Kyle Williams. 5. Wide Receiver If we went into the season with the current group of WRs, I would be comfortable. But right now we have a roster full of #2 guys. It couldn't hurt to add a guy with #1, double-team drawing potential.

Logic says this changeover should have happened a few years ago. The Patriots have defied the odds by remaining competitive for a half-decade longer than they should have. The Bills/Browns/Jets/etc. have defied the odds by not being competitive for roughly the same period of time. It's finally going to happen at some point. Signs are pointing to it being sooner, rather than later. At least we can only hope...

Yep. There are two keys to this dynamic: 1. Getting the proper GM/Front Office in place 2. Getting the proper QB in place I think you can definitely see a (positive) change in direction over the last 2-3 seasons, particularly with the Browns and Bills. They now have both pieces in place. The Colts had the QB already, but the change in GM has made all the difference in the world in surrounding him with talent. The Jets may have got their QB, but I'm skeptical about their new GM. The Chiefs, Ravens and Texans just had changes at the top, and I'm curious if that hurts or helps long-term in surrounding their young QBs.

We already know Beane has no problems moving around the board. Based on everything he's said over the last few months, I really think he's been eying a trade-down this year. Of course, that all depends on who is available at #9 and what kind of offers other teams make. Free agency has played out perfectly for us, so that we can maximize value in the draft. And we still have around $40 million in cap space. They are clearly targeting the pass rush, and I expect them to make a move to grab another DE within the next few days. Sounds like they are going to make a nice offer to Ziggy Ansah, if he checks out medically. Our biggest need was O-Line. With the guys we've picked up, it's possible we already have our starting five on the roster. But we could also draft an OT or OG early, slide some people around and go into the season with upgraded depth. Our second biggest need was WR. By adding two solid veterans, we are no longer desperate to go here early. We don't have a clear #1 target, so I still think we draft someone on Day 1-2 here, but it's no longer a desperate situation. At this point, (in addition to another pass rusher as already mentioned) I think we still need to add another TE and a 3-Tech DT to replace Kyle Williams. Outside of that, we can literally go with anything when the draft comes around.

Yes. He's a good pass catcher. Which means (unlike Chris Ivory), he could take over the lead back role in the event of McCoy getting hurt. Not sure how much you put into PFF rankings, but Gore was their #11 runner last season.

Well... Here are the two narratives. Believe what you will... Those in Paradis' camp are saying the Jets prioritized getting Le'Veon Bell and wouldn't finalize the deal, so he bolted. The Jets are saying Paradis was never really interested in signing with them, just using their offer to drive up his market. Either way, I think Beane was smart in moving on to Morse. Both were very similar in value. It's just about whether you are more concerned with age (26 vs 29) or injuries (broken leg vs concussions).

Interesting sequence of events here (assuming the media reports have any truth to them): - Bills and Jets are supposedly in bidding war during the opening hours of free agency for Matt Paradis - Bills back out of contract talks with Paradis and almost immediately sign Mitch Morse - Instead of signing Paradis, the Jets seemingly move onto other targets like C.J. Mosley and Anthony Barr - Paradis resumes talks to return to the Broncos - Paradis suddenly signs with the Panthers for less than Morse got So the question is... Did the Bills always have Morse as their #1 target at center? Did the Jets pull/lower their offer once the Bills signed Morse and they had leverage?

Notice the teams at the bottom of the list are those who haven't had WINNING franchises in a long time. The article also says that Cleveland was by far the worst destination, and has been creeping up since hiring John Dorsey as GM.

My guess is that Daryl Williams is pricing himself out of the market for us. Ju'Wuan James was considered by most to be the #2 Right Tackle available (with Williams #1). He signed for $13 million per year, which is Top 10 Left Tackle money. Williams is going to want at least the same amount, if not more. Beane is playing the free agent game right. He's being aggressive and active, but not drastically overpaying. He's improving the roster, creating competition and opening up his options in the draft - but not overburdening the cap for future years. At the end of the day, I think this makes us more balanced across the board, with much better depth in case of injury.

The plan last year was to let LeSean McCoy carry the offense, then spell him with Chris Ivory in short-yardage situations. But after having a terrible season, the Bills are no longer certain McCoy can be a top runner. They also realized that Ivory is not a 3-down back, who can take his place if McCoy doesn't rebound this season. Something obviously needed to be done at the position. But it's never a good idea to spend big money on a free agent/veteran running back (like Le'Veon Bell), and with lots of holes on the roster, we will probably be using our early draft picks in other areas. To me, this signing tells me the front office is punting the RB decision until next season. Frank Gore is probably just a 1-year stopgap, who can split time with McCoy this year. If McCoy has truly lost a step, Gore should be able to take over the #1 role. Next year, I expect us to draft an RB within the first two rounds.

Was she never indicted because she didn't do anything wrong? Or because certain politicians are above the law? The federal government's top officials in the FBI and DOJ have been digging into Trump (and anyone loosely associated with him) for over two years, desperate to find anything that will bring him down. These are the most powerful and connected investigators in the entire world. All they have found is a half-dozen individuals who have committed tax fraud.

When it comes to building a team, free agency is something that needs to be used sparingly. The majority of work needs to be done through the draft. Sure. It's OK to hand-out a few big contracts (especially when you are in the midst of a major rebuild) to fill holes. In many cases, it's absolutely necessary. But if you aren't consistently drafting well, those moves won't equate to long-term success. There are only so many big-money players a team can afford. The Jets do have some extra space due to Sam Darnold being on a rookie contract (compared to a team paying $20-25 million for their QB). But each huge contract takes away from their ability to fill holes somewhere else, and hurts their depth across the board. Going out and signing CJ Mosley, Anthony Barr and Le'Veon Bell is great. But how long before those contracts force them to dump Trumaine Johnson (their big signing last year)? They just go from a big hole at linebacker to a big hole in the secondary. So far, I love Brandon Beane's approach to free agency. He can be aggressive in pursuit, but does have a limit on a player's value and knows when to call it quits.

Honestly, this hardcore opposition of a wall is just silly. If folks could just take away their feelings about the president, I don't understand how it's just a common sense move. 1. Lots of people are clearly coming into our country illegally. And many of them are coming through the southern border. 2. Even if you don't want to call it a "crisis" (which admittedly is overblown) - it's still obviously a problem that has a harmful impact on many U.S. citizens and the economy. 3. The first step towards keeping people out of a somewhere they shouldn't be... is erecting a wall, fence or structure to impede them. Will it 100% fix the problem? Of course not. But it certainly will help. Some people will find a way over/under the wall anyway. But the idea that every illegal is going to just scale a 20-25 foot structure with a grappling hook is ridiculous.

This is probably the worst group of free agent receivers I've ever seen. None of the guys on the market are going to make a significant impact. Yet all of them are signing absolutely insane contracts. Devin Funchess? Jamison Crowder? Adam Humphries? I realize that free agency always has guys getting vastly overpaid. But we are talking about #3 guys and slot receivers making Top 20 money. Every single GM is going to regret making these moves in about 6-7 months. Unless we go the trade route or someone gets cut (like you suggested), I'm already looking towards the draft at the WR position.

Pathetic. What a productive way for our elected officials to spend the next two years in office. Using our tax dollars to investigate everything and everyone every associated with the president, desperately hoping they can find some misdemeanor in his finances so they can impeach him.

Very similar to the Kevin Johnson signing. He's a young guy who has shown flashes, but has been derailed by injuries. I like these moves as value signings. But $6 million+ per year seems a little high.

I want to sign a few big free agents too. But every smart GM has a max. We are literally in the first 3-4 hours of the negotiation period. Hopefully Beane is making strong offers for the guys we really want. But there are lots of really good options still sitting out there. The Jets, Raiders, etc. can't bid on everyone, and that may leave us with some bargains with the second-tier guys.

Was this a guy anyone was targeting?