BillsFan4

For sure. Beane is an excellent public speaker & communicator. I have been thoroughly impressed every time I've heard him speak. Very excited to see what him and the front office/scouting staff he put together can do.

Boldin still mulling over Bills offer. Sounds like there's more at play than just money - https://www.buffalorumblings.com/2017/7/26/15976540/anquan-boldin-still-mulling-buffalo-bills-offer-2017-nfl-free-agency “I’ve been talking to teams the entire offseason,” said Boldin, who will turn 37 in October. “They understand the way that I train, and the fact that I train at XPE, any team that I go to knows that when I come [into camp] I’m in top shape, and they don’t have to worry it.” Working against the Bills are two things; location and pedigree. Boldin’s family is in Florida and he has expressed a desire to be closer to them. He also told The Florida Sun-Sentiel that he wanted to play for an established winner. "I’m going into year 15 so the only thing on my mind is winning. I’ve earned enough money to take care of me, my family, and my kid’s kids,” said Boldin last week. “I’ve won a championship [with the Ravens]. I know how that feels so I want to a taste of it again. I want to line up with a team that’s in position to win right now.” I'd love for him to sign here, but it doesn't sound all that promising if he wants an established winner.

https://mobile.twitter.com/buffalobills/status/889966082374676481 Not sure if this has been posted yet, but this is awesome! It looks like T. Pegula may be staying in the dorms at St. John Fisher with the team. How many owners do that? I love his dedication to the Bills.

Man, I am so excited that camp starts tomorrow. Probably too excited... lol. Even more excited to see them play some preseason games. First one coming up August 10th!!

I know it's not fair to take away games, but without that Patriots shut out the Bills points against ranking falls pretty sharply (more toward the bottom of the rankings IIRC). Again, I know it's not really fair to take a game off the schedule, but that one game really does skew the average quite a lot. It kind of gives the impression that the Bills defense was better than they actually were at preventing points. They had their stretches of good play though (and their stretches of terrible play). But as others have said they seemed to fold when the team really needed them.

Yeah I got a kick out of that comment. I don't think Reggie Ragland is by any mean the best player on the team, but I can see why Rex would say something like that. Ragland ran a very similar defense to Rex's in college. He was probably one of the only Buffalo defenders who actually knew how to (properly) execute Rex's overly complex system. With all the trouble the Bills had calling/executing plays, getting lined up right, blown assignments/coverages (etc etc) I can see why Rex felt like he was so important. When there are so many guys on the team struggling to run the defense, someone who can looks like one of the best players on the team in the coaches eyes.

I have no idea if some of it's actually true or not, but i have seen/heard enough reports to make me wonder if it is. I actually just came across a quote about it in the Buffalo News article written today about the Cardale trade, which mentions some of what I was referring to - http://buffalonews.com/2017/07/26/bills-trade-cardale-jones-chargers-conditional-draft-pick/ "Although Jones had strong support from former Bills General Manager Doug Whaley, at least one former assistant coach on the team was known to have had major questions about Jones' maturity and dedication. The coach noted that Jones made multiple trips to his home in Northeast Ohio for personal matters, and at one point urged him to pay attention to the hard work that Taylor and former Bills backup EJ Manuel put into their preparation." Who knows, though. Because I've also read quotes from Anthony Lynn complimenting Cardale's work ethic, so...

I figured he had almost no chance of making the Bills roster. People were saying he was really struggling this offseason (and last, actually) + he had already fallen to 4th in the depth chart and seemed to be getting less and less reps (and from most accounts wasn't doing good when he did get reps). I also heard (on WGR) that he supposedly wasn't putting in the necessary time at OBD or taking things seriously enough and wasn't the most willing to listen to coaches instruction (there was also that story about how he wouldn't really take the instructions from the offseason QB coach he hired, and was fighting him on the changes he wanted him to make). if true, it doesn't bode well for his chances to make it in the NFL. Hopefully getting traded so early into his career will be a bit of a wake up call for him. He's got a great arm. He just needs to work on every other aspect of being a QB. lol I'm glad the Bills were able to at least get something for him. Better than cutting him and getting nothing.

Do they really have the cap room next year? Spotrac said $24M and OverThe Cap said roughly $30M (not sure which is right). If they want to re-sign or tag Sammy (assuming he has a good year) that likely eats up something like $13 - $15M of that space (depending on. The tag or long term deal, etc). If they want to re-sign Eric Wood that eats up another good chunk of that space, (maybe $5 - $7M, spotrac has his value projected at $7M) and that's only 2 players. That doesn't take into account any improvements they may want to make to the team in their 2nd year.

So, basically, if they really wanted them they'd overpay and give them whatever it took, value be damned? Overpaying older free agent players is not a very good way to build a team IMO. Making smart/savvy vet signings is a much better strategy (which appears to be what they're trying to do IMO). Yeah, we have a little bit of cap space, but we are a middle of the road team. We should not be maxed out against the cap. It's likely a transition year anyway. There is zero reason to be right up against the cap. Plus cap space rolls over. I'm sure Beane and McDermott want the cap space to have some freedom to build the team they want. I don't blame them for not going all in and maxing out their cap space in their very first year with the team.

I didn't take that comment as negative. I took it as someone just joking around and having some fun. Most of the time, I think (most) people are just joking around when they make that "championship" or "super bowl" comment. Maybe a very small number of posters are trying to be jerks by saying that. But most are just having some fun.

Kind of hypocritical IMO. They have quite a few players on their roster with "character flaws" and legal troubles (they almost seem to make a point of acquiring guys like that...), yet use that as more/less an excuse to release Lucky (even though it was a false arrest).

Wasn't sure if this has been posted yet, or where to put it. But this looks to be a new Bills series with Richie Incognito called "Going Incognito". It was pretty good. http://www.buffalobills.com/video/videos/Going-Incognito-with-Richie-Incognito-Doodle-Bugs/60e42c3c-218c-458b-a388-9bbe3c0ad5b3?platform=hootsuite

What makes me think that they won't want to just throw whoever under center is that McDermott has said he's not looking to do a bottom out rebuild. He said he wants to win every game possible. So I'm not sure that they'd want to take a step back at QB. I'm thinking that even if they draft a rookie next year in the 1st, that they will still probably make him beat out TT for the job. Maybe if they win 4 games that's different, like you said. But 7, 8? I don't know. I think 7-9 or 8-8 in everyone's first year with McDermott and company, with how tough the schedule is looking, wouldn't be that bad of a result for year 1. I mean, 8-8 is an improvement over last year. I think it will depend more on how Tyrod looks anyway, than the Bills overall record. I don't know that Dennison will want a total unknown under center. That's the thing though - we have a totally new front office and coaching staff. We really don't know enough about their tendencies yet to even make much of a guess as to what they will want to do... maybe it becomes another "Tyrod takes a pay cut or we replace him" thing. I guess it also depends on who is available as well. If there's no decent free agents and/or they miss out on their guy in the draft, that changes everything.

Wonder if Beane and Co. were possinky watching some old Bills film and seen some of the stuff Rambo did in Buffalo? Or if he's just been on their radar for a while now? I actually think he could be a nice fit in McDermott's defense. He puts a priority on turn overs and that's something I could see Rambo doing well.

I'd like to see the passing game improve in general. I'd also like to see TT play more games like his last Miami game, where he can score in the clutch. And obviously I want him to be able to run this new offense efficiently and show that he can be an anticipation passer capable of running Dennison's hybrid WCO. But as far as whether he will be brought back next season or not, I think that really boils down to 1 thing - is Buffalo able to replace him with someone they feel confident in? Someone who can run the offense as well as TT for cheaper (this is tricky because of TT's roughly $8M dead cap hit if cut), or better than TT for the same/more $. Or if they decide to go QB round 1 and they're able to draft the rookie QB they want - do they feel confident in starting him right away? If not, I think TT is likely back for another season even if he only plays at the level he did last year (2016).

Sounds to me like the Bills did what they could to get him to (want to) sign in Buffalo (without maybe the "offering to overpay an almost 37yr old player to entice him into signing" part). It's most likely on Boldin now. If he want to be here, great. But I don't want them to overpay just to get him here. I like that they even brought him in. They seen a guy who has been sitting on the market all offseason that could add value to the Bills offense and probably tried to take advantage of it by trying to sign him to a team friendly deal. That's a smart move IMO. Also, The Bills may not have given their absolute best offer yet though, just in case Boldin was trying to use the Bills to shop their offer around. So maybe they still make one final offer before he signs somewhere.

You get all bent out of shape on anyone who even remotely criticizes Tyrod whether the criticism is deserved or not, yet you have no issues criticizing a brand new front office staff for stuff that may not even be their fault? Do you not see the irony in that?

Yeah, they should have just went all out and broke the bank for a guy who turns 37 in October. I mean, we should clearly sign every single free agent we bring in for a visit, otherwise what are these jokers in the front office doing, right? And If the guy doesn't want to sign here, we should just hold him hostage or kidnap his family and force him to! I mean, WTF is wrong with OBD? Not willing to go the extra mile.... Seriously though, this new front office had absolutely nothing to do with the whole Tyrod/EJ thing. They have literally all been fired. So how exactly does it push the fact more that they deserve the criticism they get? Seems like you are kind of blaming the new front office for something the old front office did, and holding previous losing seasons against a brand new front office staff. You are going overboard with this Boldin stuff man. You know zero details of what happened, yet you are laying all the blame on the front office and saying how you're unimpressed and that they deserve all the criticism they get. Again, what if it was Boldin who didn't want to sign here? That doesn't matter? It's still all Beane's fault? What if we still end up signing him? Does the front office still suck then? Or what if they sign someone better who gets released between now and the start of the season? Don't you think that it makes sense to maybe wait and see what our new GM does with the next couple drafts and off-season before you decide they suck because they didn't sign one or two free agents that you, personally, wanted them to sign? Anywa, don't you think it's better that they're actually bringing guys like Maclin and Boldin in for visits? They could just as easily not attempt to bring in any quality free agents and go with what they have. At least they're trying to find good fits for the team. I don't see it as a bad thing that they're not willing to get a deal done at all costs. If the player and money are a fit, great. If not you move on and continue looking for that right fit instead of forcing something. That's how good front office staff's operate IMO.

He may not, but he also may be willing to be patient and wait for the opportunity he wants. Hopefully that ends up being Buffalo, but if it doesn't I'm not losing any sleep over it. I'd love the Bills to sign him though. And I hope that Buffalo eventually becomes a destination. Winning is likely the way to change that though, other than overpaying which the new regime has said they don't intend to do. They want to build through the draft and retain their homegrown talent. I like the sound of that, as long as we draft well (which I have high hopes of, with this new front office staff).

How do you know Boldin even wanted to sign here? How do you know what he was asking for, money wise? We don't know that there are no other suitors for him, either. We don't even know if he passed his physical... All the reports I seen said that his first choice is to sign in Detroit still, and IIRC I believe I also seen something about if not that he wanted to play somewhere down south (FL I believe). I also believe I read something about how he was waiting until closer to training camp to sign, in order to be able to skip a lot of the offseason workouts and OTA's etc. (but I'm not sure on that). This could have just been one of those visits his agent set up in order to drum up interest for Boldin or put pressure on Detroit (or some other team they've had talks with). The signing could still happen yet anyway. All I'm saying is that we know absolutely nothing of the situation, or how the visit went or if he/they felt he was a fit etc etc etc. so to put this as a negative against Beane is a stretch IMO. Like I said in my other post, there's still plenty of time yet to add a WR before the season, and it clearly looks like that's something the Bills will try to do. I like that they're not willing to just throw money away though. It's not like we are 1 veteran WR away from being a contender. This is likely a transition year, as the new staff installs all the new schemes and figures out which players fit the new regime. Unused cap space rolls over, too. With some of the bloated contracts the Bills have, and their place in the standings, they're not in a position to just arbitrarily spend to the cap.

There's a long way to go before the season starts. Let's wait and see what happens, yeah? There's plenty of time to add to the WR corps. Who knows, we may still sign Boldin yet, too. It's not like we had a great passing game the last couple years, so drawing in any good FA wide receivers may not be the easiest task right now, until they prove that they will pass their receivers the ball more. Buffalo ran more than they passed, pretty sure they were the only team in the NFL to do so. That may contribute to WR's not putting Buffalo at the top of their list. I don't want them to overpay an aging player just to force a signing, either.

Seriously? What's there not to be impressed with yet? Because Maclin chose Flacco and a Baltimore team he felt was more competitive and just won a Super Bowl in 2012 over a Buffalo team that hasn't even seen the playoffs in almost 2 decades? (him not signing here had nothing to do with the GM, go read Maclin's comments in why he chose Baltimore). And because we didn't sign Boldin yet? Seems like some silly reasons not to be impressed with our GM... Look at the front office/personnel/scouting staff Beane put together. How can you not be impressed by that? Really, there's not even close to enough to judge Beane on one way or another yet. But from listening to him talk and looking at the staff he's assembled, I don't really understand how someone could not be impressed with him, unless they're just looking for reasons not to like him (IMO anyway).

I had no issue with that article. I think it was pretty accurate, and didn't seem overly negative to me (and I'm usually one that hates all the negative Buffalo media articles etc). If Whaley had stayed, and hired Lynn like the rumors said, I do think it was likely that Tyrod's time in Buffalo could have been done. IMO he did seem ready to move on, and that's what most of the leaks seemed to be saying too (whether they were accurate or not I don't know, sometimes they were and other times they weren't). I absolutely HATED that benching at the time. Tyrod was coming off his best game as a Bill, and I just felt that was not the way you treat your starting QB. Plus I hated that Whaley once again seemed to be pushing EJ Manuel into the starting role (against the coaching staff's wishes) and I was scared to death that if EJ had a good game Whaley would try and push him into the starting role for next season. I had very little faith left in Doug Whaley to find another starting QB as well, which added to my fears of losing Tyrod. It all worked out for the best though. We got a much higher draft pick, that was turned into an extra 1st plus what looks to be a very good starting CB and a good RT or WR (can't remember which trade we gave up the extra 3rd in). We kept Tyrod and we got him cheaper for this year (although if he breaks out and becomes our true starting QB of the present/future, it may look like a mistake changing that contract).

Unless they gave him some ridiculous money/term, which I don't see happening, I can't see any down side to signing him. I've wanted Boldin all offseason, so I'm really hoping it gets done. But even if it doesn't, it seems pretty clear that OBD is most likely going to make an addition to the WR corps between now and the start of the season. I'm sure there will be some good WR's available between now and then. It'd be nice to get a quality guy like Boldin in before training camp though.