mjt328

We should always be rooting for the Bills to win. Just because a team is in rebuilding mode, doesn't mean they should be trying to lose games. The problem with too many on this board... they just can't reconcile those two concepts.

38 points. The Bills scored 33 points in the last 4 games combined. (9, 6, 5 and 13). They have scored 46 points in the last 5 games combined, and are climbing to within reach of that total.

The Bills scored 33 points in the last 4 games combined. They now have 31 at halftime.

Historically, the sport of football has always fluctuated back and forth. I would like to believe that Defensive Coordinators will eventually adapt - coming up with new schemes, player combinations and strategies to counter everything we are seeing today. Instead of Cover 2 or Cover 3 being used everywhere, something brand-new will take hold of the league and Defense will become an actual thing again. I would like to believe that... But unfortunately, I think too much of what we are seeing is the result of rule changes. Defensive players are now being handicapped at every turn. They can't touch the receiver at any point after 5 yards. They can't have any contact when the ball is in the air. They can't tackle with their head in a lowered position. They can't touch the quarterback below the waist or above the shoulder. They can't even fall with their body weight on the passer. Defense will always be important -- in a sense. It's just that elite defenses might eventually be those who give up 25-30 points, instead of those who give up 10-15.

The league has always been this way. For all the talk about parity, the same teams (those with the best quarterbacks) always rise to the top of the standings. The Patriots with Brady. The Steelers with Roethlisberger. Those teams have been at the top for 15+ years now. The Colts and Broncos were good when Manning was around. Not so much since then. The teams with good/not-great quarterbacks see some year-to-year fluctuation in the middle of the pack. Chargers, Ravens, Bengals, etc. The teams with poor QB situations like the Browns, Jets, Jaguars or Bills get the occasional good season thanks to strong defense, but it doesn't last. They eventually fall right back down to the bottom. Usually when you see a new team suddenly become dominant (Chiefs, Rams), it's because they suddenly have a new hotshot QB. Hopefully that's what we eventually get out of Josh Allen.

It happens all the time. Every year, you can can find teams (offense or defense) that go from the bottom of the NFL to the Top 10. SO MUCH hinges on the development of Josh Allen. He was very raw coming out of college. Right now, he's struggling with pretty much everything - reading a defense, holding the ball too long, throwing mechanics. Even slight improvements in any of these areas can make a world of difference There are many factors in Goff's improvement. McVay's system helped. Adding receiving weapons helped. Improving the offensive line helped. But don't discount how much better Goff himself became as a QB. The Rams were the perfect example of an offensive turnaround. I think a team like the Chicago Bears is more of a realistic goal. They have improved drastically with some solid (but unspectacular) free agent additions, and marginal improvement from their second year QB. I don't get the impression McDermott is "comfortable." He wants to win. He wants to get better. Even if he didn't expect this level of bad from his offense, I think he knew they would struggle. That's why he talks about being run-heavy and relying on the defense. Not because it's a long-term strategy. But because he knew it would be necessary with a rookie QB.

Almost all quarterbacks are BAD as rookies. Jared Goff was awful his first season, and he now runs the best offense in the entire NFL. The biggest complaint I keep hearing is that Beane didn't surround Josh Allen with tons of offensive weapons as a rookie. But even if you surround a rookie QB with talent (see Dak Prescott for example) - he EVENTUALLY needs to prove he can succeed in the NFL on his own merits. This team isn't built for now. It's being built for 2019, 2020 and beyond. So quit trying to judge this team NOW.

We are talking about the difference of ONE YEAR. Focus on the offense in 2018. Focus on the offense in 2019. It doesn't matter. We were starting a rookie QB this year. We weren't going to be good, no matter what we did. The worst four offenses in the NFL are Buffalo, Cleveland, Arizona and the NY Jets. Guess what they all have in common?

I agree. There certainly needs to be overall balance when constructing a roster. But the roster construction isn't done yet. This was always a 3-4 year rebuilding project. And it was always unlikely we were going to be competitive in 2018. If the front office identified 12-13 spots that needed immediate upgrades, and we only had enough resources to address about half this year... does it really matter if our 2018 cap space and draft picks were split equally? Let's say that instead of signing Star Lotulelei and Trent Murphy to big contracts, we replace Murphy with an free agent offensive lineman. And then instead of drafting Tremaine Edmunds, we grab a rookie wide receiver. Our offense is a little bit better. Our defense is a little bit worse. We still have major holes on the roster that need to be addressed in 2019. Overall, I see no difference. We went defense-heavy in 2018 and will go offense-heavy in 2019. When we look back at the roster in 2-3 years, the ORDER we did things in will not be the difference in success or failure.

Agreed about Allen. This season has always been about his development, first and foremost. The real question is whether it's better for him to learn by playing, or by standing on the sidelines. There are strong arguments for both sides.

The Bills have been in the .500 area for quite a few years now. I think we caught a few breaks to finish 9-7 last season, and wasn't sure we could replicate the lucky bounces we got. On top of that, this year's schedule always looked brutal. As the offseason progressed, it became very clear that we were drafting a Quarterback in the first round and weren't going to have the resources to upgrade all of the big holes on the roster. Going into Draft Night, I figured we could use help at QB, WR, OT, two OGs, C, two DTs and CB. Even without a trade-up, it just wasn't going to happen. We were bound to have some pretty big holes going into the season. Considering everything, I always figured that 7-8 wins would be a massive accomplishment. The defense had too much talent to see us winning less than 3 games. So sitting at 2-7 just over the half-way point... pretty much on track with what I figured.

I disagree with the basic premise of this article. Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott are not trying to build a defense-heavy team. If the front office wanted to play conservative/run-heavy/low-scoring styled football - then WHY IN THE WORLD did they spend so much time acquiring draft capitol and then trading multiple picks to move up and grab the riskiest - highest ceiling Quarterback in the entire draft. They could have just kept Tyrod Taylor or gone for a mid-level veteran and used all of their picks on defense. Just because they have used more resources on the defense SO FAR, doesn't mean that is the plan for the long-haul.

Completely different situations. When Rex Ryan came to the team, we had one of the league's best defenses. His GM then went on an offensive spending spree - adding LeSean McCoy, Percy Harvin, Charles Clay, etc. The Bills were making every attempt to win NOW. The offense was probably good enough to at least make the playoffs as a wild card, but Ryan's schematic changes on defense dragged everything to the ground. I think if Ryan's defense had shown improvement in his second year, the Pegulas probably would have kept him. But when a coaches' specialty is the worst part on the team, it really makes you wonder what he brings to the table. In his first year as coach, Sean McDermott was able to do more (better record and playoff berth) with less talent. And since the day he walked in the door, we've been in a piece-by-piece tear down and rebuild. As said a thousand times... this regime did not believe long-term success could be achieved by building on the foundation Whaley left. They felt we needed to blow EVERYTHING up and start over. You may disagree with Beane/McDermott that this technique was necessary. But nevertheless, that's what they did. And it would be premature to judge whether this plan was successful, long before they actually finish rebuilding.

There will be talent available. We just need to find it. One year ago, the Chicago Bears were in a very similar position as us. They had a rookie QB with virtually no weapons, and a terrible offensive line. It was hard to get excited about their Free Agent pickups. Taylor Gabriel. Tre Burton. Bradley Sowell. Even Allen Robinson was coming off an ACL injury. But all of those guys have made a big impact, and really helped turn the team around.

Most NFL coaches are average. In order to be successful, they need talented players who fit their scheme (especially at QB). I don't think Sean McDermott is anything special. He's average. But you can't expect him to win games, when the offensive talent is below standards and our quarterback play is this terrible. Firing McDermott just restarts the endless cycle. You just bring in another average coach, who wants to change schemes and bring in his own guys. The offense takes a step forward. The defense goes backwards. Let this regime finish this rebuilding plan. Give them 4 seasons. Then judge where the team stands. If the talent level isn't good enough, then fire Brandon Beane. If there is talent, but it's underachieving, then fire McDermott.

For the millionth time, there is absolutely no evidence that Brandon Beane or Sean McDermott are emphasizing character over talent. NONE. All of the players who were traded away (outside of possibly Marcel Dareus), were shipped off to obtain draft picks, clear cap space or because they just didn't fit the defensive scheme we wanted to run. Not because of character reasons. Dareus was getting paid $16 million per year, and hadn't played well for us... pretty much since the day he signed the contract. One more off-field problem, and he was likely getting suspended for an entire NFL season. That's a guy taking up the salary of 3-4 starting players, contributing virtually nothing to this team. His character issues were the icing on the cake, but not the primary reason for us getting rid of him. Our front office stood by Zay Jones during his incident this offseason. They have stood by Shady during his ex-girlfriend's accusations, and likely bypassed opportunities to trade him last week. Until he retired, they had no problem keeping Ritchie Incognito on the roster - and he's one of the craziest players the NFL has seen in the last decade.

Tanking implies the coaches/players are losing on purpose, in order to get a high draft pick. If the Bills were tanking, this would have certainly happened last year. Instead, they had their most successful season in 15 years. The Bills have simply undergone the loss of too many veteran players at once. Part of this was by design (Taylor). Part of this caught us off guard (Wood, Incognito). And they either haven't had the resources to replace them yet, or the young replacements are still developing and struggling through growing pains.

I think you missed the point of my post. The goal for any front office should be to add (or retain) 5-6 strong starting players per season. Do the math. That means about a quarter of the roster each year. Anything more than that would be totally unrealistic. Beane/McDermott have only gotten a chance to address "approximately" 50% of the roster at this point. And out of that group, a significant number are rookies or 2nd-year players who are still developing. I definitely agree that Benjamin has been a bust of a pickup for us. But that's one player. I think we can agree that Tre'Davious White, Dion Dawkins, Matt Milano, Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer were successful adds. That's 5 of 22 starting positions that the new regime addressed well in Year 1. In Year 2 (keep in mind we are only 8 games in), I think most of us have been pleased with the additions of Star Lotulelei and Trent Murphy in Free Agency. Both have been solid pickups for the defense. The signs are also pointing up for Tremaine Edmunds, Harrison Phillips and Taron Johnson as rookies. It's very early, but that's another 5 positions we can "optimistically" say were addressed well in Year 2. So yes. When you do the math, the Bills are realistically on-pace for a successful rebuild. Obviously, we have a long way to go. And there are some big questions: a) Will the young players like Edmunds, Dawkins and Phillips continue to trend up, or eventually hit a wall? b) Will the young struggling players like Zay Jones or (especially) Josh Allen develop into good starters? c) Will another player like Wyatt Teller step up into a starting role eventually? d) Will our front office keep up the pace of 5-6 players per season... especially now that they are forced to focus on the offense. Nobody knows the answers to these questions. And all of them are key to the Bills future.

Bottom line. You cannot judge whether this rebuild is successful, UNTIL it has been completed. The argument I keep seeing is that a poor O-Line and lack of WR talent is going to damage Josh Allen's long-term development. But I don't necessarily think that is true. The top drafted QBs in 2016 and 2017 - Jared Goff and Mitch Trubisky - both had terrible offensive players around them as rookies. And both struggled horribly in their initial seasons. But it didn't stunt their long-term development. Both guys took massive steps forward in their sophomore seasons. Despite what some people may believe, I think the Bills are very much on track to be competitive within the 3rd Year of the rebuild. If you were to look around the league, you would find that a GM can address approximately 25% percent of the roster per year. In the two Beane/McDermott offseasons, they have addressed QB (Allen), WR1 (Benjamin), WR2 (Jones), LT (Dawkins), DE (Murphy), DT1 (Lotulelei), DT2 (Phillips), WLB (Milano), MLB (Edmunds), CB (White), SS (Hyde) and FS (Poyer) with Day 1-2 Picks or significant Free Agent contracts. That's 12 of the 22 starting spots (4 on offense, 8 on defense). Even if you consider the WR selections busts, we are right on track. The focus on the defense has clearly worked, and that side of the ball looks very good. The offense has barely been touched, and it's hard to judge whether Benjamin or Jones were good additions, because they are getting dragged down by a rookie QB. Which should ABSOLUTELY be expected. But next offseason, Beane will have plenty of picks and cap space to add another 3-4 linemen, 1-2 receivers, a tight end and maybe even a future replacement for Shady. If we do that and Allen takes a step forward, you will be surprised how many games the Bills can win.

AJ McCarron was dealing with a fractured collarbone. And he was outplayed by Nathan Peterman during both training camp and the preseason. And at the time, many Bills fans were calling for him to get cut. And most in the media felt Beane got a steal landing a 5th Round Pick.

There are basically three different ways to get separation: Speed - This obviously cannot be taught. Scheme - This has more to do with the coordinator/playcaller than the receiver. Route Running - This is a combination of physical skill and technique, which can certainly be taught and improved. The Bills don't really have much speed at the WR position, and the few guys who are fast... can't catch. Daboll's scheme is very bland/generic and doesn't do anything special to get players open. Zay Jones seems to be improving on his route running, but he needs his QB to throw with better anticipation. Kelvin Benjamin gets very little separation and basically just uses his size. He needs his QB to have better placement, so he can win jump balls and box out defenders. So while lack of WR talent is certainly an issue, I have no doubts that our receivers would be looking much better with improved QB play.

Eric Wood retired because of a neck injury, two months before the trade. It had absolutely nothing to do with Tyrod Taylor. Ritchie Incognito is mentally unstable, so who really knows what the guy is thinking. But he never remotely suggested that Taylor was the reason. It's easy to look back now and see what Beane's individual trades ended up netting. But he didn't have the benefit of hindsight at the time. Up until draft night, we had no idea how far we needed to move up or how much draft capitol would be needed. When all the chips had fallen, maybe we could have kept Ronald Darby. But you really can't blame Beane for jumping at the chance to get another 3rd Round Pick, in addition to a veteran receiver (in Jordan Matthews) who was a pretty solid player on the Eagles. I understand the frustrations of watching the Bills look awful. But most of this is just nitpicking. "We should have signed players on the O-Line instead of Star." "We should have drafted Calvin Ridley instead of Tremaine Edmunds." WHY? Going into the offseason, we knew the Bills needed upgrades all over the roster. QB, WR, OL, DL, LB, CB. They couldn't possibly do it all at once. We weren't going to be a playoff team in 2018. So why does it matter WHICH position they addressed first? Some GMs would do a little bit on both sides of the ball every year. Beane decided to go mostly defense this year and mostly offense next year. I don't understand why this makes him incompetent at his job (like so many are saying). Your above scenario doesn't give us a better record OR make us a better team. It just makes the offense a little better, at the expense of the defense. In my opinion, the only thing Beane could have done differently to make us better THIS YEAR would have been keeping Taylor for another season. Maybe we compete for a wild card spot again. But what does that do for us long-term? We don't get the 3rd Round Pick that helped get us Edmunds. And we end up with higher draft picks in 2019.

They did keep some players. LeSean McCoy, Jerry Hughes, Kyle Williams and Lorenzo Alexander were all valuable veterans who the front office decided to keep around. And I'm sure that Eric Wood and Ritchie Incognito would still be on this roster, if not for both unexpectedly retiring. To your point about Charles Clay - his contract (and the dead cap associated) is absolutely the reason the front office has not moved him yet. His dead cap figure the last two seasons was $18 million and $13.5 million respectively, which is more than his cap hit for staying on the roster. So cutting him wasn't an option, and I doubt he would field any trade offers. I always liked Robert Woods. But if he was on this passing offense, his stats would probably be about the same as Kelvin Benjamin or Zay Jones. If the Bills paid him $7 million per season, the fans would be talking about how terrible his contract was. Blowing up the roster had EVERYTHING to do with getting a QB. Our main reason for trading Sammy Watkins, Ronald Darby, Cordy Glenn and Tyrod Taylor was to get enough draft picks to trade up.

I really don't see why fans consider this "reckless" or "risky." When Beane/McDermott started their tenure, this franchise hadn't made the playoffs in 17 years. Every General Manager and Head Coach that has walked into these doors KNEW the only answer to fixing the Buffalo Bills was getting a franchise quarterback. Very few were willing to make the moves necessary to get one. You just can't sit back and wait for someone to fall into your lap. Marv Levy passed on QBs and never picked one before the 3rd Round. Buddy Nix sat on his hands for three years before he was willing to draft one. Doug Whaley took over and complained about being in "QB purgatory." For all the crap Tom Donahoe gets from the fans - at least he tried to land us a quarterback. He traded a 1st Round Pick for Drew Bledsoe. A few years later, he traded into the 1st Round to get JP Losman. At the same time, he DIDN'T pull the trigger to trade up for Ben Roethlisberger... and I'm sure it's something he will regret that move forever. In just two offseasons, Beane/McDermott have built the defense back to where it was before Rex Ryan destroyed it. They cleared out the bad contracts. And most importantly, they drafted one of the top QB prospects available in the draft. Because of limited resources, they have barely touched the offense... SO FAR. But it's crystal clear that offense will be the primary focus in 2019. It's maddening that fans can't see past 2018 and how we are playing on offense right now. If Allen develops into a solid starter and they continue to draft well, by 2020 the Bills will be better than when Beane/McDermott originally took over. Isn't that what we all want to see happen?

According to Bills ownership, both Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane report directly to the Pegulas. So technically, neither can be considered the others "boss" or on a higher level in the organization. They are equals. With that said, McDermott was the one specifically targeted and hired first by the Pegulas. They later went after Beane and took him from Carolina, based on McDermott's recommendation (not the other way around). McDermott also pretty much got to control the roster moves during 2017 offseason by himself - or at least with a lame-duck GM behind the scenes. So it's easy to see why public perception has McDermott as the more powerful of the two. In response to the rest of your post... there still seems to be a fundamental lack of understanding about what the Bills are trying to accomplish. Some think Beane/McDermott are trying to build a defense-heavy team with a conservative offense. They are not. They just focused on rebuilding the defense first, and the offense will follow in 2019. Some think Beane/McDermott are scrambling in a frustrated panic, wondering why they are 2-6 with a bad offense. They are not. They are perfectly aware how most of their resources were dedicated over the last two years, and knew how this season was going to turn out.