MarlinTheMagician

Rosen - yuk!

Brandon Reilly - baller. As big as Dupre and faster. Would love to see both emerge.

I really don't want a new stadium! Love The Ralph.

Ugh. No politics on our beloved board. I believe Trump is an idiot. Others will disagree, then it degenerates!

Being my usual sunny and optimistic self, and not wanting to infringe on my "19-0, Baby!" brother poster, I will go with: A gentlemanly 11-5; win the division.

Thanks for the thorough reply, but I probably disagree with half of these. So I will give them top 10! With a bullet.

If his head is right, he will almost certainly be better. How much better is the question. He was showing signs in second half. Could make a nice step.

Milano runs 4.5, was hurt at the combine when he ran the 4.67. I posted about that above. You can Google it. I wonder if McDermott knew this? I bet he did.

True, but I like the OP's enthusiasm. Don't know if we can compare ourselves to one of the most storied franchises in sport yet, but we are no longer a laughing stock. I remember when Pegula was hiring McDermott - said he just wanted our franchise to be respected. I felt bad for him, and for us. I think our team is now seen as a professional outfit, whereas before they were amateurs. I mean seriously, can't believe Russ Brandon was our GM! Rex eating dog biscuits and hiring his brother? We were a circus.

Cardinals, far worse.

It was my narrative from the first game. That win vs. the Jets felt different from the get go. We were not stupid for a change.

Right on my man! BBFS makes people say "wait and see" - but it is clear they know what they are doing. Yes, it is clear even if they go 3-13. Stuff happens. But it probably won't.

If Milano was there vs Jacksonville Bortles doesn't run wild. And with Edmunds instead of Preston he wouldn't have had all those yards either, IMHO.

I disagree. Allen is almost a free spin of the wheel. We got the pick from KC for taking Tre White - no loss vs. Mahomes there. We moved up for Cordy, who we did not want. And one of the two seconds was for Sammy, who we did not want. He did what he had to do to take a shot at a franchise guy with almost zero loss of draft capital. Masterful. So I do not think Beane's career is dependent on Allen. Even taking a shot at our franchise QB, we had 7 other picks this year (including a #1), and all our picks next year. If Allen is terrible they can do it again. But I bet he is awesome.

It appears no team had Rosen higher. Won''t be any proof forthcoming. Rosen is going to fail in the league I am willing to bet. So were the teams that passed on him.

Will be there - will be cool!

Agree. Totally intrigued to see what Neal does in camp. Highlights he kills people. Could be a good "big nickel" -

Great stuff. Thanks.

Great post. I completely agree on liking "especially how he went after the QB he wanted." McDermott did the same moving up for Dawkins and Zay. And McDermott/Beane did it this year not only with Allen, but also with Edmunds. They are decisive. They know who they like. They have a plan. Could not be more impressed!

An interesting thing about Milano - all last year I was wondering why they thought he would be such a top coverage backer if his combine was 4.67. My eyes were telling me he was a top coverage linebacker. I did a little research and discovered he was hurt at combine and that he was consistently running 4.5 pre-combine. Aha! (said I), now it makes sense! Don't know if he can ever carry 235, but Davis's weight may be a bit inflated by Carolina? I think Milano can carry more weight without losing speed, but I don't know about 235.

This is very fair, IMHO

Kirby - like your posts, but I disagree on this one. I think they are very similar in a different way. Tre White, Zay (pre hotel incident), Dawkins, and Milano were all seen as hard-working character guys. You have the same this year - Allen, Edmunds, Harry, and Johnson all from the same mold. Team, character, work ethic. That is the McDermott type, as that is what he is himself. Hold Russ Brandon up next to Beane/McDermott. Can you believe Russ Brandon was GM! Think about that.

Interesting back at you - had no idea Davis was a converted safety too. Milano credits the switch to the coach at BC (forgot his name), says it made him eligible for an NFL career. Went from a big-ish but not too fast safety to a super-fast linebacker. A year of mass could make him even better. He is a workaholic.

Very fair point - but i don't think it is Beane alone here. I think we rise or fall with McDermott. Seems McDermott sets the vision for the building, Beane prices and orders the materials. Loved Preston, but he does not fit the scheme. Gaines would have been a mistake, IMHO. There is a reason he got $4m - he wanted much more. Plus Tre knew early he was out (if you remember their Twitter posts), so I don't think he wanted to be in Buffalo. Good move on Gaines in my view. Vontae is a beast if he can regain form - dude was All-Pro, not just Pro Bowl (and I don't see why he can't).

I am with you - fingers crossed.