Billsfan1972

And regardless how good TT is, I'll still wonder how much better he'd be with Watkins. The Bills traded their #1 or 2 best offensive player and nothing will excuse that....... Can hardly wait if Watkins has a big season these draft fools complaining "he cost us draft picks", "we can't afford him" or "he's screwed up the salary cap".....

Laughable.... Yes I want TT unleashed too, but they traded their best asset and have shown minimal support for TT. Watkins was the perfect receiver for TT and he's gone. Expect more of the same defensive (offense) with 2-3 good drives a game and a lot of lousy low yardage games.

Philly had a much more proficient pass attack, which helped Matthews #'s. Pretty simple imo. And Watkins is 100% this year.

Just listened to Bill Simmons say Watkins was wide open everytime the Bills played the Pats, but understood the trade as they could not sign him (and injury concerns, however forgetting that they could have extended him). BTW if OBJ doesn't play this weekend will he be deemed injury prone?

I will watch but no where near as intently and not fervently cheering as I am turned off by the smugness and their apparent disdain laissez-faire attitude to 2017. Why should I care when they don't. Looking forward to that first punt on 3rd down.

Philadelphia's passing offense yards 6th 2014 12th 2015 24th 2016 Buffalo's passing offense yards 18th 2014 28th 2015 30th 2016 I'd say Matthews had a lot more opportunities then Sammy to be involved. Maybe he just wasn't open as often.

Well the Experts have them rated low and it's been since 1999 that they've made the playoffs and we have a a coaching staff & GM who have made moves only looking to the draft and not winning in 2017, and I should be thrilled? Show me a team that has been successful with that mindset?

And Watkins would have been a stud in this offense......... But again how does anyone know if this staff is better? Find me an Expert who has the Bills in the top half of the league. Sorry I want to see wins, not drafting position and prospects in the 2018 & 19 drafts.

Well the O looked great in the pre-season huh? I didn't like the how the offense was handled the past two years specifically the passing game. Please stop calling Matthews more productive then Watkins as there isn't a single GM who'd take him. I disliked the defense too. As for better coaching and GM, they haven't played a single game and wasn't the coach hired by the previous regime?

And where for the better? Sorry the Watkins trade still is a fresh wound. When the best player is traded during training camp for future "hope" you've undermined the 2017 team.

Okay start disparaging The Ringer and their forecast, but seems pretty bang on. 31. Buffalo Bills2016 record: 7-9 2016 DVOA finish: 10th on offense; 27th on defense Best-case scenario: A rough year might be in Buffalo’s best interest if it gives new general manager Brandon Beane a chance to find the quarterback he wants moving forward. Nearly every move the Bills have made this offseason has served to undercut what Tyrod Taylor brings to the table. Wide receiver Sammy Watkins and his deep-ball prowess were a perfect complement to Taylor, who excels when pushing the ball downfield. With Watkins’s August tradeto the Rams, Taylor’s go-to receiver is gone, leaving him with a stable of pass catchers who act best as short and intermediate targets. Combine that with new coordinator Rick Dennison’s offense, which should keep Taylor under center for a majority of the time, and Buffalo has created a confluence of circumstances that set Taylor up to fail. This is all one year after former coordinator Anthony Lynn (now the Chargers head coach) built an offense that lined Taylor up in the shotgun, gashed opponents on the ground with LeSean McCoy, and finished the season 10th in DVOA. The Bills can move on from Taylor before the start of the next league year with a limited dead money hit, and if their choices this summer are any indication, they intend to do so. If the franchise is going to search for a quarterback once again, it might as well do it from the top of the draft. Worst-case scenario: Beane has made it clear that he has a plan. Buffalo has started stockpiling the draft capital to facilitate an on-the-fly rebuild, shipping Watkins to L.A. in a package for a 2018 second-round pick and moving cornerback Ronald Darby to the Eagles in a deal structured around a 2018 third-rounder. Like we’ve seen in Cleveland since the Sashi Brown-led brain trust took over in 2016, that approach requires conviction and patience. It also means that the Bills are in similar situation as the Jets; things can only go so badly in 2017. Stat of note: 80. That’s the percentage of Buffalo’s offensive plays that started out of shotgun or pistol formations last season, the third-highest rate in the league, per Football Outsiders. The Dennison-coordinated Broncos finished last year at 43 percent for second lowest in the NFL. Breakout player: Wide receiver Zay Jones. The NCAA’s all-time leader in receptions (399) is a dream for receiver nerds. The East Carolina product has excellent hands and superb body control and understands the nuances of the position. And with Watkins traded and Anquan Boldin now retired, the rookie is going to see a lot of work.

How is it moot? Saying draft grades are fine, but not necessarily the reults or developing the players. And now the Bills have another regime claiming it will be different and asking fans to wait for their draft picks to develop in what "4-5" years?

And it comes back to what I said. Bad coaching & development and a couple of bad contracts. And the result we gave up on Watkins, traded Darby and didn't even give Ragland a chance. But keep getting excited about draft day and pray for 3-13.......

Hopkins 8.8 Targets/game 4.95 catches, 14.2 avg & 70 yards/gm and yes healthy..... Watkins 7.4 Targets/gm, 4.13 catches, 16.1 avg & 66.5 yards/gm Yes they are light years apart........

I love the anxiety surrounding the draft and how you all come back here year after year complaining about choices and why the Bills don't make the right picks. I have no idea, but I usually peek afterwards at draft grades & most years the Bills have drafted well according to experts. Now 5 years later obviously more misses then hits, but I don't see the bills making off the wall picks (i.e. drafting someone 10th, who was ranked 40th, or someone in the 2nd that was projected in the 4th). They are drafted where they should have been and then up to the coaching to get the best out of them. That's where the Bills have failed. Prove me wrong if someone has stats.

No it's terrible. Don't you understand these fans excitedly hoping for a 3-13 years so that they can start playing with their draft board and then complain when the Bills draft the wrong player and then again prep for next seasons draft.

Seemed to make sense, but the staff wants 4-12 (though will pay lip service to making the playoffs).

Good a year where I have minimal interest in my team with a GM and coaching staff who has assessed the talent and decided it is no up to their standards (and really they know that?). Yes they traded away their best young player and another good young player in hopes of what? And if they don't get that star QB and build around him? Again as a coaching staff shouldn't they be the ones protecting TT and saying that he was hurt by the OC and bad playcalling? Isn't this the worst passing team in the NFL for years now incapable of a 300 yard game? Shouldn't they be able if competent to rebuild the core defense who was near the top of the league just 2 years ago? I want coaches & GMs that make the team better, not worse. Those happy to be 6-10 or worse and dreaming of the draft are just losers.

The only way it is a push is if Watkins is injured. When you trade the best players (as they did in both trades) you are weaker for the short term. Now of course if Mathews now on a non passing team puts up better #'s then he did on a team that PASSED the ball, and Gaines becomes a great everyday player, then the Bills win the trade. And with the draft picks they choose starting NFL players, then absolutely right they win.

Wow get paid what you're worth........ Why would anyone want that. The Bills could have tied him up for a 5th season but decided against it claiming injuries. If he isn't injured and performs they weren't going to pay him. Sounds really really stupid. But let me guess how many excitedly waiting to post if he is injured.

You'd have to be an idiot not to realize you need to get Watkins the ball 10X/gm and I watched the Bills and saw the playcalling and it was asinine the # of times Watkins had single coverage and you'd see TT at the LOS not even look his way. It had to be coaching and playcalling. If not then yes TT is to blame.

And I blame his coaching and the OC. Can't be hard to say or create situations to target your #1 10X's/gm.

Again why all the love for this thread? While I agree with much, Flip has not addressed the Watkins & Darby trades that made the Bills worse and yes is waving the white flag for 2017. Draft picks do not guarantee success in the NFL. Belichek sorry could be a bust if not for Brady (we just don't know). Almost every successful team over a prolonged period is due to the QB and while TT may not be the QB, I do maintain a significant factor was the OC and play calling. The offense is much worse without Watkins. A healthy Watkins and innovative O could have turned the team around. I was ready to give the coaching staff & GM a chance, but they showed their colours with the moves and now expect the fanbase to be okay with growing pains...... 18 damn years and no playoffs is pathetic.

So what side are you on? I am confused. Those games I remember vividly and continually point to them as why Sammy is so valuable and a great player. The first half they targeted him and he made every play and then they forgot about him the second half and the Bills lost. The Houston game they threw him maybe a third time and otherwise didn't look his way. The New York game he torched Revis and was a joy to watch. I blamed the OC and had hope that this staff wasn't so STOOPID.

Because I expect a competent coaching staff to properly use their best offensive player.....