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You're right, he's not #1... he's #13. Man, I thought you were pretty sharp. Surprised I had to point this out.

I'm astounded at how often I find myself repeating this, but... you do understand that free agency is a two-way street, right? Teams don't just snatch up players and say, "HA! You play for us now, ya putz, sign here! SIGN IT OR WE BREAK YOUR HAND!" The player has to *want* to sign to the team offering the deal. I see so much nitpicking and whining about Beane's "misses" in the off-season and it's like, well... yeah, because first, not every FA is meant to come in here and be a big time player. There are such things as depth signings. And no GM is ever perfect on every player they bring on-board. But I mean... if you're finding ways to complain about the most active GM the Bills have had in 20 some odd years then I dunno what to tell ya. Dude inherited a monster cap mess, has worked to reshape the roster to their vision, flipped players for picks, acquired the most draft capital the Bills have had since I don't know when... when's the last time the team had two first rounders, two second rounders and two third rounders? Gets a third for a subpar QB, swaps first round slots and moves nine spots up the board by trading an oft-injured left tackle, wheels and deals enough to draft his franchise QB plus the "QB of the defense" nine slots later. Players who weren't buying in that could've potentially caused drama in the locker room are out. He's looking at having 10 draft picks and the second most cap space in the league heading into 2019 but yeah, let's nitpick a depth player signing that didn't work out that he was able to get something in return for. Players like Newhouse get their pink slips weekly in the NFL, it's extremely rare to collect something in return for a player of Newhouse's caliber. But hey... "strike!" Ugh...barf.

Dude was unstoppable. I bet Reiff's last thought before passing out for the night was, "Damn, that sumbitch whipped my ass." Monday film session was probably not a good time for him. Hughes not only ate his lunch but gave him a wedgie and shoved him in a locker.

McD: Hey, Brandon, what did we get for Newhouse? Beane: I dunno, a few baseball cards, a sack of marbles, *cough* Petey...

I can agree that Peterman probably hits the routine, as designed plays. Swing passes and a couple screens. But, I don't think Thad takes into account that Minnesota would've had a completely different game plan for Peterman because he's not a threat to run. And I don't think Peterman has the improv skills Josh has. Doubt he rolls out and throws across his body to hit Ivory like JA did. And yeah, it's one game, solid game plan and I'm sure we'll see some flops from JA as we roll on. But as long as I'm seeing progress, it's all good. Even in a loss, it's good.

There are already 64,000 "Zay sucks" threads and discussions, don't think we need another one.

What Allen is doing is how the play is designed. Marcus Murphy needs to time it better. He had already ran past Allen by the time Allen had the ball. He needs to be a couple steps back so the snap goes to Allen and then Allen pushes it to Murphy. They've dialed it up three times now and it worked the first time with Foster for a gain of 8 or something. The last two times it hasn't gone well.

What a wonderful situation his head coach put him in for his very first regular season action. "Here kid, drive the ball 80 yards against this Chicago defense with this maniac on the edge named Khalil Mack. Have fun!"

If this kid was as good as half this board believes, then he would've been picked up or added to a practice squad somewhere. I think since he was cut he's received one or two tryouts? Some seem to think he's the next Adam Thielen or something...

I think there are a few reasons the WR position seems to be "unaddressed" right meow. One, I think they expected a lot more from KB. Allen has no problem giving him chances to make a play, he just isn't making them. Two, I believe they expected Zay Jones to step up and get better. They talked about his attitude being more focused and whatnot yet it hasn't translated to the field. It's early still, but so far he hasn't looked like the type of player you grab at 37th overall. Maybe they haven't tapped into his skill set in the right way just yet but if he doesn't turn some type of corner this season, he's gonna have an uphill battle to make the roster next year. Three, I believe Daboll's extensive use of TE's and RB's in the passing game is another reason they haven't done much at WR. Either it's by design or Allen has just been really good at finding the open man but he hit, what, like 11 different receivers vs. LAC and I think like, 9 vs. MIN. Daboll's offense is founded upon the mismatches from week to week and some weeks they might have the upper hand with the WRs, other weeks they may look to exploit defenders that can't cover TEs and RBs very well. If the Bills felt Gentry would really help this team, they could've put in a waiver claim for him but they didn't. It's clear that they don't view him as an upgrade over anyone they currently have.

Did you mean Deonte Thompson? He's in Dallas right now and had the dropsies yesterday. He's streaky, has stretches where he plays well and stretches where he looks completely unreliable.

His adjusted completion percentage is probably somewhere around 75%. KB dropped two, one was a routine slant, the other was a contested catch that he got out-worked for and going up and coming down with those contested catches is supposed to be one of his strong suits. The Clay drop was a good throw but a tough catch to make. The deep ball to Foster was on the money, Foster just short-armed it. That was a consistent criticism I saw in his scouting reports, he's got speed, athleticism, he's improved on his route running but he has trouble tracking the ball and getting himself in a position to catch it. What's really awesome to see is a QB that is not afraid to sit there in the pocket and wait for the play to develop. With EJ, he'd dropback and be tap-dancing right away, eyes would drop to look at the rush and he'd either rush with his throw and launch a wobbler or take off when he had the chance to hang in there and make a play. With Taylor, it's dropback, scan the field, scan it some more, doesn't throw anyone open and doesn't throw into risky areas so after that, he's running around and half the time he'd make a 'wow' play, the other half, he's getting sacked. Allen has been pretty consistent with staying in the pocket and his movement and awareness is much further along than I thought it'd be. I'm sure he'll get better at pre-snap adjustments with more experience. And I'm sure there are gonna be bummer games where he doesn't look so good but he seems to be showing steady, consistent improvement from game to game. Very interested to see what he can do once they provide him some better weapons out there.

Obviously no GM hits it out of the park on every draft pick or free agent signing but at this point I'm pretty confident that McBeane has this team on the right track. It's been mentioned before but yes, Doug Whaley was/is a solid scout but his team-building philosophy wasn't great. He figured if he drafted players from consistently winning college programs then that winning tradition would somehow come with those players and translate into the locker room. It didn't. During Whaley's tenure, he was also saddled with two coaches that, I'm pretty sure, he didn't care for and didn't want to work with from the jump. Still, he did his best to provide them the types of players they wanted for their schemes. IMO, Whaley is probably better off in a Director of Player Personnel position and being a guy who helps in the decision-making process but doesn't have the final say. During the last few years of the drought, one of the things that seemed to stand out to former Bills players and people that were around those players (like wives) during those runs in the 90's was that they always said the team wasn't playing for each other. Whether it was Marrone or Ryan, the sideline never looked hyped up, whenever they were down by a couple of scores it looked like those guys just wanted to finish the game and bail. I know McDermott and Beane take some heat for trying to fill the team with "boy scouts" but I can fully understand what they're trying to do... and it seems to be working. Look at last season, they compile a team that isn't the most talented but made up for that with heart and effort. The Taiwan Jones play vs. the Bucs last season says a lot to me. Whole sidelined erupted after a career backup/special teams guy made a nice play to pick up a first down on 3rd and long. They're building a team that truly plays for each other and trusts the vision and message coming from their leader. They want players who have the team-first mindset and aren't really concerned with personal achievements as much as just winning. And the cleansing of the roster has a lot to do with that. It makes sense to see Beane purge the roster of a lot of Whaley's picks and some other players he brought in because, unfortunately, a lot of those guys simply got used to losing. Or they became OK with being mediocre, middle-of-the-road every year and never really getting over the hump. They needed a completely fresh perspective in the locker room. Any veterans or hold-overs from Whaley's time (or even Nix's time or earlier) that had the right mindset, stuck around and were model leaders, guys like Kyle, Wood, Alexander, etc. Anyone that couldn't get on board with what they had in mind is playing somewhere else, despite their talent. Would I love to have a Sammy Watkins out there for Josh Allen? Definitely. But his attitude and mindset had become toxic here. He's openly admitted that he'd walk off the field after a win and be upset that he only had a handful of catches. It's great that he wanted to make more of an impact but he wanted to make that impact moreso to make himself look good. And I'll throw some blame on Marrone and Rex for never properly utilizing the guys skill set (aside from the second half of the 2015 season). You make your GM look like a colossal ass-hat if you use the 4th overall pick (that the team had to trade up for) as a friggin' decoy to free up other players. You don't do that with a player like him. You make him a focal point of your offense and they never really did that, again, except for the last 8 games in 2015. So, when evaluating which kinds of players they wanna bring in here, character plays a large role. And that's fine. I used to think they might pass up on a highly talented player because of their character concerns but I'm not so sure they would. If they build a strong locker room with solid leaders, then they should have confidence in those leaders to help a young, talented player with a few character concerns get his head on straight and reach his potential.

Properly execute his assignments. He struggled with the X's and O's a lot through camp with that.

Depends on if they can play defense the way they did in the second half against LAC and if the run game gets going. Having Shady dinged up with the ribs isn't ideal. If they can play D and run the ball alright then maybe he goes 17 for 28, 218 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT. If they fall behind early and the run game is caca, then probably like 23 for 48, 311 yards, 1 TD, 2 picks, handful of sacks. Either way, after watching Tyrod last night, I'm happy to be rooting for a QB that doesn't flinch on pushing the ball down the field. I know it'll result in some picks here and there but that's how he learns and he's also looking to give his receivers a chance to make a play.

Didn't watch Dawkins too closely but did catch him off-balance and out of position a couple times.

Surprised Groy hasn't stepped up and played better. He played really well when he had to step in for Wood. Played well enough that they matched the offer sheet the Rams gave him in order to retain him. Miller was visibly fired up early in the game last week. Looks like he gives a sh*t and wants everyone on the same page and getting it done. Actually haven't heard Mills or Dawkins names mentioned much which is typically a good sign that those guys are handling business. But yeah, Groy has been rough and this week I'm pretty sure we're gonna see Bodine. And of course Edmunds and Allen are gonna take their lumps this season. They're gonna look great at times and at times they're gonna leave us wondering, "What the crap was that?" Edmunds, a 20-year old rookie in his second ever start, got played by a 15-year future Hall of Famer... he ain't the first Rivers has done that to and he won't be the last. Allen... first NFL start, had some highs and lows. The game is moving pretty fast for him right now but with more experience and the more he sees from different defenses, the more it'll slow down and come to him. We also have no idea how he's being coached right now. Are they encouraging him to take what the defense gives him? Are they calling just half-field reads? Or is it maybe that he's only played in 1.5 NFL games and is learning on the fly. It's gonna be a tough season but there will be some high points and there's no better way for these young guys to learn than to be in it and playing, gaining hands-on experience. Mistakes are how we learn. Expect young players to make them. I'm not saying this to the OP or anyone in particular but, honestly, it feels like if Allen doesn't come out and complete 94% of his passes for 550 yards and 12 touchdowns he's a bust. If Edmunds doesn't make 21 tackles, get 6 sacks, picks off 3 passes, causes 2 fumbles and returns one for a TD then he's a bum. They'll get better the more they play. Just boggles my mind that for so long, so many fans wanted the full on rebuild. No more patch-up jobs, no more bridge QBs, etc. etc. And now they're finally getting what they've asked for and two weeks in and they're losing their minds. (Again, not you, OP, this is just in general). Aye yi yi. This board was a great place to have a nice time discussing the Bills and football in general. Last couple weeks have been abysmal.

What is it that fans like you don't understand? Watkins had ZERO interest in staying in Buffalo past his fifth year option, nada, none. He hadn't stayed healthy and has openly admitted he was more concerned about his own stats than helping the team win. They wanted him to prove it in year four, hence why they declined the 5th year option. Had they given him the 5th year option, he's leaving the minute that option is done and free agency opens up and the Bills get nothing but a bunch of wonderfully intellectual logical fans like you screaming at them for letting top talent walk out the door for nothing. Instead, they trade him and got assets in return, and you're still whining. They offered Robert Woods a deal. He wanted to test free agency, got lucky and got to sign with a hometown team. Can't fault him for wanting to be close to home and landing on a team that was on the tail-end of their rebuild as opposed to sticking with a team that was just beginning theirs. While Watkins and Woods were here, this team ran the ball more than any other team in the league while throwing it less than any other team in the league. What's your selling point to a wide receiver in that case? "Hey man, we know you're talented and want the ball but our QB is pretty limited, however our run game is great so we're gonna run it 45 times a game and try not to throw it more than 25 times a game, how's that sound?" The player has to want to sign to the team offering the contract. People act as if they just kicked guys off the team willy-nilly with no long-term plans. And they end up with Benjamin last season only because they didn't expect to be sitting at 5-2 near the trade deadline with a real chance to end the drought. So they made a move to help end that drought. And ya know what? Benjamin helped end it by catching a TD pass in the snow game to help them win over the Colts. Last season, most of this fan-base couldn't be more ecstatic that a regime was coming in here ready to tear it down and rebuild. They're two games into their rebuild and so many of you can't handle it that you gotta put on your super duper special hindsight spectacles and vomit bullsh*t all over the board like you know something. Get it through your head: 2018 is meant to suck. They're not going to win a lot of games. It's about getting experience for these young players, helping them progress and evaluating how they move forward in the future. Pull back on your emotions, don't worry about game results, just observe and look for improvement and progress. Makes watching the games a lot easier.

Not only do I feel sobered... I am also sufficiently warned.

Honestly, a fair number of these "draft experts" are just chomping at the bit to prove themselves right. They go through the pre-draft process and pick apart every player bit by bit in ways that border on obsessive and then when said player makes a mistake that the analyst pointed out, it's like they can't wait to hit Twitter and start screaming, "See?! See everyone?!?! I'm right! I pointed out a thing and that thing came true!!!" It's a miracle they don't trip over their boners as they try to race to their computers. What's especially amusing is when one of these smug asshats gets served by the actual player they're evaluating. They'll tweet out a video of a play and say, "Player A does this when he should've done that, shows poor instincts!" And then Player A pops up in their mentions and says, "Are you in the huddle? Do you know the call? What you're saying is the exact opposite of my assignment on that play." And what did these numbnut writers expect? Allen was gonna go in there with a patchy OL, subpar receivers against a solid defense and come out 30 for 33 for 418 yards and 5 TDs? Experience and progress. That's the goal for Allen this season.

I'm all for them bringing in a vet backup to help him out but it works both ways, a player has to wanna sign here as well. For all we know, Beane could've reached out to a handful of guys and they're just not interested in going through the grind of an NFL season just to serve in a mentor role. With the whole Carolina connection, I thought Derek Anderson would make sense. Again, we have no idea, perhaps Beane did make a call and Anderson may have just said, "No thanks, I'm retired." We don't know what goes on behind the scenes. Some people sure act like they know, tho.

Flacco didn't test him in Week One either. Teams are actively avoiding him. That was just a fantastic throw and catch by Rivers/Williams. Bills had good coverage, sometimes the other team just makes a play.

Meh. That's what I think when I hear Preston Brown. I think he's a serviceable player but overall, he's just another guy. He can talk all he wants about weird stuff going on up here. He completely checked out for both seasons that Rex was here because he didn't like the scheme. Not that I blame him, because Rex had to come in here and fudge up a perfectly decent defense. But, as the leader on defense, you're expected to set the tone/example for the other guys and he didn't wanna do that because he didn't like the scheme. And he probably wasn't held accountable for it while Rex was here. Now Buffalo fields a coach who's all about accountability and it's "weird stuff." Whatever.

I think I heard enough from him when he called the game Sunday. Blamed everything short of the Blizzard of '77 on Allen. "And ya see here, Bob, Hughes just misses that tackle and that's really on the young QB, Allen. It's a mistake he'll have to learn from." "Billy Buffalo tripped and dropped a steamin' hot tray of nachos on a group of kindergartners up in section 308... the young QB Allen has to recognize that and fix it."

The near-constant criticism of the FA signings is silly. People saying the Bills did wrong or didn't do enough to sign this guy or that guy, it's dumb. It takes two to tango. The player has to wanna sign here. Since Beane's taken over, the Bills seem to have been linked to all sorts of free agents or players on the trade block, more than any previous FO I can recall in recent memory. They're always actively looking to see what's available. But they're limited in cap space and again, they can't force players to sign here. And just like players, personnel executives get opportunities to work elsewhere. It's just business. Day after day this board is just flooded with, "Do the Bills suck this year because of this? Or is it this? Should they fire everyone? Should they push the stadium into Lake Erie? Should they make the whole team retire?" It's a friggin' rebuild. 2019... 10 draft picks and I have no doubt they'll find ways to acquire more, and a truckload of cap space. It'll come together.