[Long list of Bills UFA / void year after the season]

58 minutes ago, ProcessTruster said:

Bills have VPG, Anderson and others to come in and take over, which I believe they will.   

 

Beane did a great job with OLine depth, and next season is payoff time. 

 

What gives you confidence VPG is any good?

[Greg Rousseau has turned out to be a complete slug.]

I think Groot has had a decent season. It is just the Bills paid him like a player he is not. He is never going to be a big sack guy. He is a base end who plays the run and will have a big game as a pass rusher once or twice a year and otherwise he will get the odd clean up sack. 

[Long list of Bills UFA / void year after the season]

7 minutes ago, GoBills! said:

Looking to see if anything would change next year and it seems the defense is the one with the most holes to fill and shocker that means a heavy FA and draft for D. The good news is we shed some dead weight and hopefully a few restructures that make sense. 
 

Gone are guys like; Bosa, Daquan, Milano, AJ, Phillips, Hamlin, Poyer, Tre. 
 

Hopefully we draft the right LB , a pass rusher and run stopper. The hard part is we still need a #1 WR and I don’t think we can afford to pay  20+ million to one with guys like Knox, Samuel, Palmer taking up so much cap space. 
 

Short term buying 3 + oft injured, inconsistent WRs isn’t a great plan im sure he thought Samuel and Palmer would be better here but they aren’t. And we overpaid for Knox heavily. 

 

 

I wouldn't keep any of those defensive guys. I think Samuel will be cut. Knox will either be cut or take a massive paycut to stay with his buddy Josh. The actual tougher decisions are on the oline. At the start of the season I'd have said you have to keep McGovern but he has had a tough year. I saw someone the other day allude to him playing hurt, not sure if that is true but if it is that factors into the decision.

[Is it McDermott or Brady?]

7 hours ago, DCOrange said:

This hasn't changed. We're still #2 in the league in offensive yards and #5 in points this season. #2 and #3 in terms of points and yards on a per drive basis.

 

Yea the biggest difference to last year is the turnovers.

[Greg Rousseau has turned out to be a complete slug.]

20 hours ago, SoonerBillsFan said:

All of the re signings besides Cook are bad

 

I do think Benford has started to come around. He had a very rough start to the year, through five weeks he was one of the worst outside corners in football. But he is playing pretty well now. Not quite hit his 2024 peak form yet, but he is playing better. I still have hope for that contract I think Benford is a really good player.

 

I wasn't particularly a fan of the Bernard or Rousseau deals and while I understood Shakir and am fine with what we paid I am under no illusions about who and what he is. 

9 hours ago, Kelly to Allen said:

O sacks and 0 pressures in 22 pass rush attempts last night....

 

🤷

 

Well Ed Oliver and Hoecht are hurt and I made more effort from my Mexican sun lounger than Joey Bosa on Thursday. Once you take those guys out.... who do we have who rushes the passer well? 

[I was at the game and let me tell you what was happening downfield]

Some of us said after the Buccs..... this is about opposition nothing else. 

 

The Bills are happy to dial up deep shots. They took them against the Buccs because guys were open. Cos that was a bad secondary, especially with Dean out early. The Texans secondary is darn good. Their corners are excellent. I was one of the few who stood pat on Lassiter when everyone downgraded him for a bad combine. Dude can play. And Stingley is a stud.

[Time to Rebuild? Too Many Beane Holes.]

1 minute ago, ***** said:

It’s an interesting thought, we got Tre white Dawkins and Milano in that draft.  That’s 3 all pros.  All before Beane got here.  
 

Maybe give McD more say? Or perhaps bring back Doug Whaley!?

 

The 2017 Bills draft is easily the best non-Josh Allen draft of my fandom. But Dawkins hasn't been an all pro. 4 x pro bowler and had all pro votes but never been a 1st or 2nd team all pro.

[Buffalo Bills Capologist?]

54 minutes ago, Buffalo716 said:

I do believe Brandon beane was a cap guy with Carolina among other roles 

 

Not to sound corny but he was beane counting

 

He did cap strategy I believe. I don't know that he was actually the spreadsheet and numbers guy. But maybe back in his football ops days he did. 

[Buffalo Bills Capologist?]

8 minutes ago, ColoradoBills said:

 

So he is the new "spreadsheet guy showing options".

Thanks.

 

Yes. Spreadsheets and numbers.

[Buffalo Bills Capologist?]

1 minute ago, ColoradoBills said:

 

I thought he was more the contract negotiator.

 

He does contracts and cap. He was Overdorf's deputy. Promoted a few years ago. As I understand it when Beane is negotiating with say, for example, Cook he will say to Megank "we want him, we think this is the number and here is our ceiling" then Megank will come back with options for how that can be structured and what each of those options mean for the cap down the road. Beane obviously signs off on everything. 

[Buffalo Bills Capologist?]

1 hour ago, Mikie2times said:

This was Beanes main job in Carolina, so I'm sure he's pretty close to it

 

It wasn't his main job but he was, as Assistant GM, overseeing the cap because Gettleman was a pure scout. But I don't think he was the "capologist" in the way Overdorf was for years. He was the cap strategy guy responsible for working with that department on how to manage things long term. 

 

Kevin Megank is now the Bills capologist. But he is only the numbers man. Beane is still the one setting the cap strategy

[Time to Rebuild? Too Many Beane Holes.]

20 minutes ago, Luka said:

 

Well the ongoing saga with Coleman, the handling of Elam publicly last year, it makes me think that if the curtain is pulled tightly but somehow the dysfunction is still visible, it's a circus. You had Beane going on the radio in the offseason and having a childish meltdown because he was (correctly) criticized for not trying to get a weapon or two for his MVP quarterback. 

 

I've worked enough in corporate America to know this alleged "professionalism" is simply a large marketing department and PR team keeping the wraps on things.

 

I don't see any of that as dysfunction personally - except probably for Beane's radio appearance. That, in isolation, I agree was a clown show. Benching Keon and criticising Elam isn't. It is just managing under performance. 

 

I think for the most part this regime has been professional, competent and buttoned up. It just hasn't been good enough in the big moments.

[Time to Rebuild? Too Many Beane Holes.]

29 minutes ago, Luka said:

 

I guess the bottom line is, whoever is allegedly in charge of the circus at OBD needs to go. Too many misses in the draft and in free agency.

 

I don't think it is fair to call it a circus. They haven't been a clown show. They have been professional and methodical. It just hasn't worked and/or they haven't quite been good enough.

[Time to Rebuild? Too Many Beane Holes.]

42 minutes ago, Luka said:

 How exactly has that worked over 3 decades and multiple coaching staffs? Sounds like their coaching staff might be required to be a bit more flexible and use the talent that Newsome drafts... 

 

So the guy I speak to has only been on staff in the DaCosta regime. So I can't speak to Newsome but Newsome is a Belichick protege and he was famous for player specifications and the smallest draft board in the NFL. 

[Dawkins giving up on blocks]

5 minutes ago, T.E. said:

The whole team reminds me of the couple we all know who fell out of love years ago, but are sticking out for the kids even though it means they will never be happy until they finally pull the trigger and get a divorce.

 

That analogy isn't completely out of place. I see where you are going. The vibe has been off all season this year after a kind of slight overachievement in 2024 which has been odd.

[Dawkins giving up on blocks]

2 hours ago, SCBills said:

I said in another thread, his attitude is emblematic of a major underlying issue this team has. 
 

Dawkins just wants to vibe.  Which is fine, but not when you’re a team leader on a team that hasn’t even been to a Super Bowl. 
 

He said before the season “it’s never Super Bowl or Bust” and proceeded to give a five minute explanation why. 
 

His play on the field has been uneven, and last night, piss poor .. but he then says outside his locker that we weren’t out-physicaled.  Ok, buddy… whatever you say. 
 

Soft.  This whole team outside Allen, Brown, injured McGovern and Bosa gutting it out with one hand, are soft.  I’d throw Bishop in there with how he’s been playing.  Blew up Nico and is one of the few bright spots on Defense. 

 

Bosa "gutting it out" come on man. He rarely breaks into a jog. I'd have cut him today if I was in charge. His effort last night wad non existant

 

[Time to Rebuild? Too Many Beane Holes.]

14 minutes ago, L Ron Burgundy said:

I dont see positives in McDermott.   I think we already got all he has to offer.  Team building, picking us up out of the gutter.   I know there's no proof but I would guess he has a lot of influence on draft picks.  

 

If we didn't have Josh staying the course would be fine.  Not getting a superbowl with him would be a crime though.   And our guys in charge simply aren't good enough. 

 

All this and I'm betting we win a playoff game this year anyway. 

 

I have proof the other way. He does not influence individual picks. 

 

The positive in McDermott is he is a good football coach. Witness the improvement on 3rd down defense since he took over playcalling as yet another example. Sean McDermott can coach football better than most people on this planet. Do I see an immediate route to it getting better from here for this regime though? No I don't. And I genuinely don't see any benefit in saddling him with a new GM who he doesn't have chemistry with or vice versa Beane with a Head Coach. That never works and just delays the inevitable. 

[Time to Rebuild? Too Many Beane Holes.]

Just now, LabattBlue said:

Then I will defer to you.  I have always felt that McD had much more say in draft and FA.  I stand corrected.  

 

If you want to say, for example, that they spend too many resources on defense then that is broader strategy and both of them have their hands in the blood on that. If you want to say "Kaiir Elam was a bust" or on the flip side "James Cook is a stud" that is on Brandon Beane.

[Time to Rebuild? Too Many Beane Holes.]

1 minute ago, LabattBlue said:

You sure about that or just speculating?

 

I am sure about it. I have spoken to two people who have worked in that building and been in the draft meetings and in the room. Neither are still in the organisation but both have confirmed to me absolutely that Brandon Beane runs personnel. The evaluations and the decisions are his. He and McDermott are aligned strategically but the evaluations and selections are Brandon Beane. 

[Time to Rebuild? Too Many Beane Holes.]

22 minutes ago, Luka said:

 

If you are drafting based on your scheme over BPA, then you are doomed in the modern NFL. At this level, the players make the plays. With how much talent the Ravens and Eagles have, I don't think that argument is true. 

 

I promise you it is. I have a relationship with someone on the staff in Baltimore. He says their player specifications are absolute. They are interesting because they apply positional value far LESS than many teams. But their specifications on what a D end needs for their scheme, what a corner needs etc are gospel.

[Is it McDermott or Brady?]

25 minutes ago, Chaos said:

Which implies we have a talent problem. I think.

 

We UNQUESTIONABLY have a talent issue. There is a legit debate that then can take place about whether coaching is maximising what we DO have. And that is fair. But it starts with a talent issue. 

[Time to Rebuild? Too Many Beane Holes.]

16 minutes ago, Luka said:

 

That is not what I meant. If McDermott says I want a fast middle linebacker who excels in coverage, then Beane is tasked with evaluating the players available and attempting to draft that player. A good coach would be more flexible in their scheme and want the best middle linebacker available, period. 

 

Every team has player specifications for what their scheme needs the Bills are not unique on that. Indeed even the teams you probably think are more just draft the best player are probably the strictest on that specification - Ravens and Eagles for example . But I don't think it is ever "just get me a fast linebacker." And if it is then Beane failed with Terrel Bernard! Although to be fair to Beane he did take the best remaining linebacker on the board when he selected Bernard two rounds ahead of where most had him pegged. He is actually an example of a good draft choice (though I am less persuaded he is a good contract extension and said that at the time).

 

They do value coverage ability at linebacker, they value length at edge and at corner, they value movement skills on the offensive line. 

 

But I don't think it is their player specifications that is hurting them with the exception that I think they do under value speed, generally across the roster. 

 

I think their positional value is the bigger issue. And that is on Beane. He drafts to the Gettleman / Hurney rules. And he tells us himself that is what he believes in. Defensive front 7 and Quarterbacks early, oline and running backs next, boundary players last. I know he has drafted two 1st round corners as well but that is only really cos he whiffed so badly on the first one. Elam, Hairston, Bishop and Taron are the only DBs he has taken in the first four rounds in SEVEN drafts.

 

[Time to Rebuild? Too Many Beane Holes.]

16 minutes ago, Luka said:

Is Beane drafting the players he wants or is he drafting the players McDermott wants? To me, I feel like we are definitely drafting the players McDermott wants. I still say fire them all and start over. But I have a sneaking suspicion McDermott is the man responsible for all of this because he's also the first to scapegoat whoever he can.

 

Beane runs the draft. The overall strategy McDermott has a say in so if you want to argue too much on defense etc its legit to point to both of them. But Beane is 100% the one evaluating and selecting players. 

[Time to Rebuild? Too Many Beane Holes.]

5 minutes ago, Niagara Dude said:

Going to start drafting guys with speed,  this team is undersized and not enough speed at critical positions.  Speed and size matter,  i could care less about if they guy has great character 

 

I agree with speed. They lack it almost everywhere. Don't have a speed edge rusher. Don't have a fast receiver. They finally have some at corner with Max but he is still a bit up and down at the moment. They used to have speed at the second level that was the trade off for lacking size - if you threw short of the sticks to the flats Milano and Taron chased you down and tackled you. But the injuries have taken their toll on both. 

 

But fundamentally, even more than speed.... they just don't have enough talent.

[Time to Rebuild? Too Many Beane Holes.]

2 minutes ago, PauleeeWalnuts said:

If they let Beane rebuild the team with McD coaching, we will have all the same problems. 

 

I think it is the other way round. If they keep asking McDermott to coach a Beane built roster it won't get any better. But they are tied as far as I am concerned. One goes both go.