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Yeah but he's pretty out of touch with the game and players of the current era. Plus, he has a reputation as a massive pr*ck to work with. Evidently just a miserable guy and his mood would permeate the entire office. People always felt like they were walking on eggshells around him. This is just a theory of my own but I actually think it was the Pegula's who ultimately decided NOT to hire him as their "football czar" after meeting with him and likely hearing how he would want to run things and also seeing just how out of touch he is with the current era. I say this because since then, he hasn't had the nicest or most informed things to say about the Bills. I think it was just before the 2017 season that he referred to the Bills OL as "aging and unathletic" and this was after they had led the league in rushing in '15 & '16. For the record, I'm not concerned about the media spinning negativity about the Bills, I just kinda feel like maybe Polian was really on board to be "the czar" here and after the Pegula's got to know him a little better they were like, "Eh, thanks but no thanks. You can say that you declined our offer if that makes you feel better."

For every knucklehead saying these moves were crap there are two or three other writers praising the moves, so it's just all subjective. I personally think the moves are fine. McDermott places a huge emphasis on solid DL play and he wants plenty of depth so he can rotate players and keep them fresh. They have Hughes/Murphy, Lawson/Yarborough, Lotulelei/Williams, etc. That's not too shabby right now. Upgrades are needed behind those guys, though (to clarify, I'm talking about the linebackers, not more DL depth although I'm sure they will add several more DL before camp). That's why this draft is so important. As it stands now they could come away with five picks taken within the first 65 selections (and 6 within the first 95 picks). I think Peter King or Albert Breer wrote yesterday that they've heard from numerous teams/sources that all 32 teams have, on average, about 70 players rated as starters coming out in this draft. They can fill a lot of spots with picks 12, 22, 53, 56 and 65. So do they decide to make the jump or do they use this draft to add five potential starters and let McCarron take the reins for 2018? If they can swing a trade with NYG, I hope it's one that still leaves them with at least one pick in rounds 1-4 for this year. April 26th needs to hurry it up and get here. That whole weekend is a football/Marvel fans dream, the draft plus Infinity War. I might take a few days off the ol' job and turn it into a nice little 4 or 5 day weekend.

Fair points. I'm pretty certain they'll draft a QB but is it gonna be the #1 QB on their board, ya know? Right now, if they wanna get the guy they think is their franchise guy they're gonna have to get real creative with a trade package to either NYG or Cleveland at #4. If they get up to #2, they're virtually guaranteed to get their guy, unless their guy is Sam Darnold. At #4 they're looking at who's there after Cleveland and NYJ make their picks. Just don't think they're gonna pull a Ditka and give up a massive amount of draft capital. They're in a unique spot. I wouldn't say they're fully rebuilding, but moreso reshaping this team. As it stands, they have enough talent now to make the playoffs so they obviously wanna keep that train rolling and they have a great opportunity to add up to six potential starters with two firsts, two seconds and two thirds. That's tempting to a team that has a primary focus of building thru the draft. But on the flip side, as you said, can they kick the can down the road on the QB? I kinda just wanna drive to East Rutherford and slug that smug Maccagnan right in the chops. I do wonder if the Colts had both the Jets and Bills bidding for the #3 pick and it'd be great to know if Beane kept throwing more chips in the pile in order to get the Jets to give up what they did. But who knows.

This group (Team McBeane) is very dedicated to their plan to mainly build this team thru the draft. They also know they need their QB. As Domdab said, not just "a QB" but the QB they see as their franchise guy. At this point it seems like the best chance to lock up their QB is to get to #2 overall...which is gonna cost a bunch and I just can't see them selling out like that. Sure, maybe they do and they walk away with their QB but after that they have to sit on their hands until at least the third round, say adios to their 2019 first rounder and maybe a third rounder from '19 as well. So it's gonna come down to, "Do we pass up on the chance of taking six players within the first 93 selections? Or do we go for broke and grab our QB and worry about the consequences after?" The latter just doesn't seem like the McBeane method. And I gotta believe that they called the Giants about #2 with an offer of picks and Glenn with how badly the Giants need OL help. But evidently it wasn't enough and instead they got the Bengals to agree on a trade to get to 12. Now how do they do what Philly did in '16 and complete the two-step trade up? Gonna be tough after the Jets went for broke today. Leave it to those green jagweeds to screw everything up. Friggin turds.

Either way, McD is big on having plenty of DL for his rotations. DL is a major point of emphasis for this team going forward. Trading away one or both of your top two DEs doesn't make a whole lot of sense especially after they just went and paid good money for a big, space-eating DT that should help DEs get more 1-on-1 opportunities.

Hughes and Lawson aren't going anywhere. McBeane want as much DE depth as possible. Vic Carucci reported earlier this week that the recent DE signings by Buffalo have no implications on 55 & 90, both players are firmly in their plans for 2018.

Wasn't that "huge trade news" posted by someone here on the board? People have been speculating/trying to push the idea that McBeane are trying to trade Lawson/Hughes but Sal C reported yesterday that the signings of Murphy and Owa Odighizuwa have no implications on 90 & 55. Both guys are firmly in their plans for 2018.

In conjunction with the signings of Trent Murphy and Owa Odighizuwa, I think Sal C said he had a source tell him that those signings have no bearing on Hughes or Lawson, they're both here to stay.

Brown... Murphy... it was Murphy Brown this guy saw. Clearly.

One of the pro players Josh Allen gets compared to frequently in the scouting community is Cam Newton, minus the running ability. They say the arm strength is similar, their size is similar, etc. So, take that for whatever you want. And scouts/executives look at prospects as, "It's not what he is now, it's what he *can* be in the future." Many scouts and executives see the raw skill set and come to the conclusion that despite the low completion percentage and the flaws he has right now, those are fixable issues with the right coaching. This is not my personal endorsement for Josh Allen. I've watched several of his games and you do see that the ability is there, but he's lacking consistency in several areas. And people can talk all they want about how a "real franchise QB lifts the play of those around him" but again, within the scouting community, most of them agree that he really had no weapons on offense. Plus, he threw a lot of balls that were on the money but were dropped. I'm sure people are reading this and seeing it as excuses, I'm just reiterating what I've read over the last few months. I can understand the desire to draft a guy like this and then mold him into the type of player McBeane envision for their franchise... however, I certainly don't have the most faith in a guy like David Culley being Allen's "QB whisperer" and turning him into an All-Pro.

Twitter, I don't remember who but it was from a legit verified football news guy fella man....

He a bum and his attitude would not go over well with Team McBeane.

No, but it was reported that the Bills connected with Bradford's representatives to see what type of deal he was looking for... probably more than the Bills were willing to offer plus he had Arizona on the horn telling him they consider him a long term option.

Tucker was responding to a tweet from Peter King so I think he's just speculating/joking. Allbright consistently throws a lot of crap at the wall to see what sticks. I rarely see his tweets RT'd by any other insiders. And I can't imagine McCarron would go thru all the trouble of arbitration so he could go right back to being a backup.

Right now, any kind of news leaks or rumors are almost 100% coming from agents. The crew of local sportswriters in Buffalo have all said numerous times that this regime has everything on lockdown and aren't putting any info out there. If they do, it's likely misinformation anyway. Bills are obviously gonna do their homework on the entire QB group but they're the only ones who know who their top target is.

Peez no

Mayfield is starting to grow on me a little bit. He checks some of the boxes Team McBeane like, aside from prototypical size and consistently making plays from the pocket. (I'm not saying he doesn't make plays from the pocket just saying that he's got some of that Russell Wilson/Tyrod Taylor vibe where he'll run around for a bit and then make a throw. Nothing wrong with that if you're making the plays but teams obviously wanna see steady plays being made from the pocket.) I don't care what they do (well, I do) just do what they gotta do to get whoever they think is gonna be their guy for the next 10 years.

Ah yes, me as well. Very intriguing. It's the Indiana Ponies team that drafts at 3, right? Didn't someone say that team is going to trade their QB to the Bills? What's his name.... Andy... Anthony... Andre Fortune, right?

This board did vote Sal as their favorite local sportswriter. I tweeted that to him a while back, he was unaware (of the contest) but he knew of TBD and was stoked to hear that we voted him as the top guy. He's a good, fair writer/reporter. This article accurately sums up how Bills fans felt about Tyrod during his time here. IMO, Tyrod is a consummate professional. Bills weren't all that good to him last season and he was still first in/last out. He most certainly has the work ethic to succeed in the most ideal circumstances (i.e. a super talented team around him) which isn't Cleveland but I'll still check in on how he does this season from time to time.

There's been speculation picking up on Bradford to Buffalo. More than a few media dweebs have been floating that around.

Well, I certainly hope no players, rookies included, are on the roaster... because that sounds painful... uncomfortable at the least. On the one hand, yes, the execs say all the time that they are always evaluating the roster, always listening to offers, always evaluating those offers, etc. etc. But there are most certainly players on this roster labeled "Safe" or "That Dude Ain't Goin' Nowhere." Logically thinking, Dion Dawkins, being the third ever draft choice by McDermott, is on that list. He performed pretty well last year in place of Glenn, his contract is much more affordable than Glenn's and he's younger. That's not to knock Cordy, I like that guy, I think he's a strong, solid, good all-around player. Doesn't do anything spectacular, but doesn't do anything terribly either. But when you compare the two players, knowing how Beane wants to clear as much cap space as he can, you can easily connect the dots and say that Glenn is a guy they wouldn't hesitate to part ways with if the right deal comes along. The issue is his contract. Again, he's a good player, but he's being paid like a Pro Bowler and now with the foot injuries he's had, his value is down. We could very well see a Sammy-type situation with Cordy. He spends the off-season getting healthy, goes into camp labeled as the #1 LT, they showcase him in some pre-season games and then swing a deal to a team in need of a left tackle and then tell Dawkins he's the guy at LT.

Didn't he also have a really hard time grasping an NFL playbook? I could be misremembering but I thought I'd read that his football IQ wasn't great but teams figured they could dumb it down for him.

McBeane has made it clear that they plan to build this team through the draft, so they're not going to trade away one of their very first draft picks. Especially not a guy they jumped up in the second round to get. Also... c'mon man.

Don't forget Blaine Gabbert and Christian Ponder. 2011 & 2013 drafted QBs were obviously legends. One difference with Manuel and Allen is that Allen looks to throw it and try to make a play that way as opposed to EJ who will take off running at the first sign of trouble. And that's mainly because the person he trusts on the field the most is himself, which is an odd contradiction for him. He won't trust himself to push the ball through tight windows but when the play breaks down and something has to happen he'll go, "I gotta run, forget throwing or even looking down field." I do, however, put some of the running mentality EJ has/had on Marrone and Hackett. Those dudes have literally said they wouldn't throw the ball if they didn't have to. And during EJ's rookie year, he was consistently coached to make one or two half-field reads and instantly take off running if the receive wasn't open.

Ah, he has clearly changed it since the last time I saw, but all through the season it was him in a Bills uni. Well, either way, good luck to the guy.