BillsFan4

It was a while ago so I'm not 100% sure. Maybe someone else can confirm... But I swear that I remember hearing/reading that the Browns would have taken our 2014 2nd but Whaley wanted to keep all of his picks in 2014 so he gave them the 1st in 2015 instead.

I agree. He has t looked like the same player since that injury. I am confident that he will bounce back though. He's too good not to. He didn't even start skating again until this past September, and it hasn't even been a year since he had the surgery (where I believe they removed part of his ankle bone).

Good. I hope he does get the job. That means we would get to keep Lake Dawson. Plus it would be one more GM around the NFL that Beane has an excellent relationship with. That's a good thing IMO.

Yeah, especially with Lehner in net... it's an automatic loss, just more embarrassing than losing in OT (when Lehner fails to make a single save). The Sens fall in the standings has been quite surprising after their surprising run last year. I thought things were finally coming together for Ottawa last year. Who knows, they could rebound quickly next year though with some savvy moves by Dorian (not holding my breath on that one...). I empathize with Sens fans. Melnyk reminds me of the days of ultra cheap Sabres ownership, back when they were owned by the NHL and then Tom Golisano. They were so cheap that they only had a bare bones scouting department, and scouted players by video tape. Trading Karlsson would be such a bummer. Especially over money. Thats a damn hard trade to win. I'm sure you'll get a ton for him if he's traded. But I don't see an equal piece coming back, unless Dorian's able to find a 1 for 1 type hockey trade (which is doubtful IMO). He's sooo good. Hopefully the owner just ponies up. Itll be interesting to see see what happens in Ottawa the next couple years. With Stone an RFA this year, and Karlsson, Duchene and Brassard all UFA after next year.

Yes, I have and I love the fallout games! Ive definitely put some serious hours into those games. I have 3, new Vegas and 4.

Anyone else notice the (male) security guard repeadly kicking that woman laying on the floor?

So the deal is basically what I figured it would be. 49ers loaded the cap hit for 2018 (since they have a ridiculous amount of cap space), and have a pretty easy out after 2-3 years. Well worth the small gamble SF is taking - which is basically just some cap space lost this year. Even with Jimmy G's $37M hit, the 49ers have $80M left for 2018. So they still have more cap space than every team but 1 (Cleveland). And if Garoppolo works out, they have their franchise QB locked up for years. Great deal for San Fran IMO. They've been pretty smart with their QB contracts in recent years (Kaepernick, Garoppolo).

Any word on if he's still in Buffalo?

I'd be good with this signing. Bills have no CB depth. Not looking to break the bank for Davis, but if they can get him signed to a reasonable deal, then why not? Any hole we we can fill in free agency (for reasonable money) im all for. Frees up draft picks to get best player avaliable. One area that I have total faith in McDermott is the secondary. If he feels that Davis is a fit, then I'm sure not going to question it.

Damn, you really are fast. You and 26 are always right on top of any breaking news. Appreciate it.

Not sure if this is the same segment this thread is referring to, but here is Eric Galko on WHR with Howard and Jeremy - http://www.wgr550.com/articles/news/galko-lot-teams-feel-buffalo-covets-josh-rosen

Well said. And furthermore - with the emphasis that Beane and McDermott put on character, plus how overly thorough/detailed they are in their approach, if they have enough confidence in Rosen's character, then I am good too. Go back and listen to Beane's interview a few weeks ago when he discussed scouting QBs and everything they research. It sounds like he really digs deep into these players backgrounds and tries to cover every possible angle. One thing i know for sure - they dig way deeper into these kids than any of us internet message board people could ever even attempt.

Man, I have been daydreaming about this all day now (ever since I first read this thread). I would be pumped to get any of the top 3 QBs in this draft (Rosen, Darnold and Mayfield). Rosen never really even seemed like a possibility though. I still think its its a long shot, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't have my hopes up at least a little bit.

I can't be the only one who feels like Phil Mcgoeghan did the Bills a favor by taking a lateral move to the Chargers. A coach left who McDermott may not have had any intention of moving on from (at least it didn't look like he did), and because of that we ended up with a pretty clear upgrade at that position (IMO anyways). Works for me! I have to say to say that I've been impressed with McDermott and Beane's ability to hire quality candidates with other options available to them. We are seeing guys choose Buffalo over other teams for a change.

Bio on Breske - http://www.chicagobears.com/team/staff/Nate-Breske/56fa80e9-63fd-4330-9304-de56e2d7efea

HUGE upgrade! Thanks for leaving Phil! Id take TR over PM any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Interesting if true about Trubisky. That's actually what I read too - that the only QB the Bills were really, truly interested in was Trubisky. But it's hard to know what to believe around draft time. How reliable is this guy? This has me way too excited. It would just be a dream scenario if we could get pick #2, and Rosen. I don't think 21,22 and Glenn would be enough. It probably takes at least another 1st next year but so what. As much as I've been against trade ups in the past I would be ALL FOR this one. Trying not not to get my hopes up though. It's draft season (aka wild speculation and crazy rumor time).

Interesting. Can't say that I'm all that upset about him choosing to leave. But he didn't exactly have a whole lot to work with either, so... Culley makes a lot of sense in that role, with a more traditional QB coach hired (who can help with mechanics etc). Butif they are already interviewing WR coach replacements, im not sure if that's something they're even considering.

Not sure I can say that I agree with #3. That would be quite a huge gamble. You can pretty much guarantee that any QB worth a damn will be long gone by the draft (and probably well before that). You can only draft the QB of the future if he's available in the draft. With all the teams at and near the top of the draft, there is no guarantee that the Bills can snag the guy they want, or even move up if that's what they choose to try and do. So that means, in scenario #3, there would be a real chance of having Peterman, another mid/late round rookie, and some garbage vet (think someone like TJ Yates. For reference , guys like Josh McCown and Geno Smith were signed about 4 days after free agency began. Even EJ Manuel was signed about 1 and 1/2 weeks after free agency started and well before the draft). The only real way I'd do #3 is if the Bills are able to secure a trade for one of the top 3 picks in the draft between now and the start of the new league year, and finalize that trade right when the trade window opens again (the same day fre agency opens). In that scenario the Bills would pretty much have to be 100% comfortable with 3 QBs in this draft, as there's no way to know who goes 1 and 2, especially if they finalized the trade almost a month before the draft. Otherwise its just way too reckless IMO. Unless the Bills have no plans of trying to improve upon last season and they don't care who plays QB for them (highly unlikely). Or they are very comfortable with the prospects of Nate Peterman as their starting QB next year (again, I don't see it). The Bills pretty much have 4 days to improve upon Tyrod Taylor in feee agency (march 12th when the tampering window opens to March 16th when they have to decide on his bonus/option). How that 4 days goes will probably determine what happens with Tyrod. I just can't see McBeane cutting him before some other plan is firmly in place. They don't seem like the reckless type.

People slam Castillo a lot (not saying it's unwarranted...) but our o line did pas protect better under him. IIRC that was the case when I looked at his o line's numbers in previous stops. His o line's were usually pretty good in pass protection. Thats something that that could be important depending on what the Bills do at QB...

It'd be great if they found their QB in free agency. The more QB needy teams that fill that spot in free agency, the better as far as I'm concerned. Although I hope it's one of the other QBs besides Cousins. I still hope he somehow lands in Buffalo (however unlikely that is...).

Yes, as others have said, his dead cap number has to do with the actual dollars already paid out to him. IIRC he got a $25 million signing bonus that was paid out at the time he signed his new contract. The Bills paid out something like $40 or $50M to him between 2015 and 2017, but they had spread that signing bonus amount (as well as any other bonuses he received) out over the life of the contract. But now that he's cut all that money that was going to be spread out over the the next 4-5 years has to be accounted for. Yep, as bad as the dead cap is this year, the Bills still saved something like $50+ million over the next few years.

Good point. Yeah I don't see that deal happening now that you mention it. I do think they make a lot of sense for Cousins though. I think they'd probably just stick with Keenum anyway, if it came down to him or Foles. He wouldn't cost any assets and they're obviously very familiar with him (as opposed to more of an unknown in Foles). Plus he has chemistry with his teammates already. Im not sure how big of an upgrade one is over the other, and both have had their ups and downs. Neither is what I'd call "proven". Ill definitrly be inteested tomsee what the Vikings do at QB.

No. I said something similar in the Cousins thread. The vikings just make way too much sense. They have like $53 million in cap space, which is good for 7th best in the NFL. They have the #1 defense, numerous (very) good playmakers on offense (who I also believe are relatively young?). They're ready to compete for a Super Bowl again next season, and for seasons to come. Cousins could step right in and compete for a championship. Seems like a pretty great landing spot for him IMO. And if you're the Viks, why not go for him? You have that tampering window. See if he's interested, if not go after Keenum/Bridgewater/Foles etc. As much as I'd love Cousins and hope like crazy the Bills get him, I think Minnesota is where he goes if they're interested. Minnesota or maybe Denver, but I think the Vikings could be higher on his list.

I have said this same thing multiple times myself and I think it's something that some don't take into consideration. McDermott was what, 2 months into his first time as a head coach - a position he has worked his arse off for the last 2 decades to earn. And he was clearly working with a GM + scouting staff that he had zero faith in (and most likely knew would be replaced right after the draft). I can't really say I blame him for not gambling his entire head coaching career on a Whaley picked QB... plus then he's sticking the new GM with a QB drafted in the top 10 that he may or may not like/want (and it wouldn't be very easy to walk away from that QB for a while). Its not like Whaley had some good track record at the QB position, either. Honestly, I had no faith left in Whaley myself when it came to the QB position. I didnt like the traits that he seemed to prioritize in his QBs. That was the main reason that I didn't really want the Bills drafting a QB at #10 last year. I just didn't trust Whaley to get it right, and I figured if he blew it again we'd be stuck with another EJ for the next 4-5 years (especially with it being a top 10 pick).. And with how strong the QB class was supposed to be this year, my fear was repeating 2013 all over again - where we draft the wrong QB in the wrong draft year and watch in subsequent years while other teams draft their franchise guys in stronger draft classes. This year i feel way different. I know that Beane is totally unproven at this point, but I just have more hope/faith that he (and the top notch front office/scouting staff he put together) will get it right. It's a shame that this front office wasn't here before last year's draft...