wilcoam

I am confused by the re-writing of DW performance history as GM of our Bills, true under his guidance we didn't have successful years, however he did take a 6 win team and took us to a 9 win season, our only .500 plus season in a decade, nothing embarrassing there whatsoever, unless you're just being a drama queen Next, he oversaw a rather dramatic upgrade in on field talent, sure it still wasn't good enough, but he did oversee both the creation of a #2 DVOA D, and two successive top #12 DVOA O, note none of that occurred before he arrived, I think some fans here forget how awful our O was pre DW, and for many successive years, we watched terminally boring football, and awful D's Like any NFL GM, he has some draft success, and some draft failures, I will be forever critical of him for trading away too many picks, and moving up when I felt we were better served long term by moving back, I don't think any of his pre 2017 draft day trade up's were successful, Ragland a work in progress Unlike many NFL GM's his trades were mostly successful, the exception being anytime he traded away draft picks, he found some nice off season FA's, though at the same time he was a poor manager of both QB and WR depth, which hurt us tremendously I'm glad Pegs replaced him, I think it was time to go, and give someone else a chance to build our team, but he was neither a horrific GM, or embarrassing, I wish he would have been better, but I've also seen alot worse, he was classy, unlike Rex, Roman, and a whole bunch of other Bills executive management over the years jc

Why I'm optimistic. Offense - Sammy is healthy, we've upgraded at RT and FB Defense - We have 3 highly rated college rookies drafted in the first two rounds, Ragland could be a game changer vs the run Coaching - Sean seems to have the right stuff Media - Nobody is picking us to compete for a WC, so we are flying under the radar Why I'm pessimistic. Offense - New run scheme may take a quarter season or longer to get right Defense - The back 7 scares me, new scheme, 4 new starters, might also be a a period of adjustment Coaching - Sean is a rookie, he will undoubtedly make rookie mistakes, then again nothing could be worse than Rex's mistakes Media - Is Las vegas ever that wrong? If not gonna be a long season.. jc

Every other poster has their own clashing theory of why DW was fired, but post what happended like it's the gospel truth, lol Unfort none of the folks here actually know why the Pegs made the change, I certainly don't And DW in the interview didn't really say with certainty why he was let go either Except obviously Pegs wanted to make changes after the conclusion of the 2016 season DW was correct, the results just were not there I personally like that we've moved on from both DW and Rex However I am as not as confident as everyone else that Beane will produce better than DW and or HC Sean will produce better than Rex I mean fingers crossed everyone is right But its just projecting, there is really no guarantee this new management will have more success than the last After-all both executive managers are only rookies, they will make mistakes In fact Las Vegas predicts we will have less success in 2017 Should Vegas be correct, it'll be interesting to see if fans belief in the new exec mgmt continues unabashed into 2018 jc

Scott, I am also amazed at how many fans claim we made a big big mistake how we dealt with Gilly and then at the same time say they really like all the moves our HC/GM Sean has made this off season Funny, but true.... jc

If 'simple' means better tackling, stopping the run, a better pass rush, and a better pass defense, great, but I am not as convinced a simplification, and scheme change gets you a top 5 or top 10 D Yes, we have a talented front 4, on paper, with a new first round draft picks there, and a new 2nd round draft pick at MLB, who is supposed to be great vs the run, but the back 7 on paper looks nothing like we had in 2014, let alone, top anything, its the weakest part of our time, I'd say even weaker than our wide outs, albeit with three young corners with heaps of potential If you believe coaching and or scheme makes the difference there, fair enough, but I am not as convinced that a rookie HC will be as instantly as successful as either of the 3 starting rookie players now on the D, I think the D is in transition, with 4 of the 11 starters from last year having being replaced, and with more to come, as it should be post Rex's lack of success jc

Generally speaking NFL owners hire new HC they get a good vibe from, rarely do they get hired because their schemes match existing players - This is exactly what happened when Rex was hired, and it's not all that different when Sean was hired, except there is a better football argument to be made that our existing players are a better fit for what Sean wants to do on both sides of the ball However HC's, OC's, and DC's rarely pick schemes to fit players, it is usually the other way around - So fingers crossed TT's skills are a good match with Dennison's scheme, same for Shady and our O-line, if not, well its gonna be a loooong season jc

I'm usually in sync with your posts 86 but I am not as convinced as you that this was a great off season Sure I love the HC and GM changes, and yes I liked most of our draft - Those are both solid reasons to be giddy about the future of our team However I didn't like most of our FA signings pre-draft and what we lost in comp picks for 2018 - I am equally very concerned about our back 7 on the D and having lost Gilly - I remain cautious of scheme changes on both sides of the ball and our offensive blocking scheme I hope I am wrong, fingers crossed that alot of HC Sean's off season moves result in 9-10 wins this season, and yet another D scheme change works, that we finally stop the run, and our secondary performs better than it currently looks on paper, and that the change in blocking scheme does not reduce the biggest strength of our team, like say Rex's changes did with our 2014 D, but, and its a big big but... If Vegas and all the pundits are actually correct, and we only win 5-6 games in 2017, who the hell is going to look back at this off season and continue to say with a straight face, or argue that it was a B or B+ off season, and or that our team is moving in the right direction, if we not only have, yet another un-successful season, but end up losing more games in 2017 than we did in 2016? jc

I see all this in a different light There are 11 starters on any typical defense If HC Sean wants to find starting players that are a perfect fit for his D system he'll likely have to replace every one of em Even then no guarantee, and we're not even talking about our depth This off season he's already transitioned out 3 secondary and a linebacker So he's got 4 replaced and 7 more to go He should by finished by about this time 2019 Of which by the time he's finished he might be unemployed For while he was replacing all the players to fit his system we were likely not winning many games I made this exact argument about Rex Ryan, and guess what? Just saying regarding any NFL HC who decided to swap out all or a majority of his players How many are actually still NFL HC's, I bet its a really low % jc

All I know is that he had a poor PFF rating, a poor Koch rating, and doesn't project to be a starting NFL starting safety, except for having started 6 games over a 4 year span, with the worst team in the league, and on paper doesn't look to be an upgrade to either Graham or Williams, even health wise HC Sean must see something we don't, which makes him a genius if the FA signing works out, or just another rookie HC who typically goes out and cuts existing players for his type of scheme player, like Rex did with Cockrell, Bradham, Searcy, Spikes etc Lets hope this works out better jc

I am neutral - I could see that they were part of the community off the field non game day marketing and branding outreach - The problem was they were not being paid a decent wage, let alone even a minimum wage, for doing so jc

Having an extra, albeit likely low 2018 first rounder, is indeed a wonderful thing, if needed, in terms of capitol, to trade up in the 2018 draft However by the same token, so would have been taking the free low 3rd and 4th 2018 rounders the NFL tried to give us That would have been 3 extra draft picks to use as capitol Because it will most likely take way more than just one extra first to trade up to the 2nd or 3rd spot Ask the Bears or the Rams.... jc

Saw a great double bill with Nick Lowe and Mavis Staples last year in Austin Huge bills backer bar in town You see lots of folks year round with Bills shirts at ACL, etc, keeping the faith jc

First off, Shaq was a collaborative pick between DW and Rex, so those blaming one and not the other are off base Second, the reason fans are not focused yet on individual players is because we are preoccupied with mgmt changes and owner dysfunction, lol I also think its unrealistic for expect Shaq to have double digits sacks 5-6 would still be great IMO its more important to become a full time 3 down player Who can stop the run and set the edge Do to what Hughes on the other side cannot jc

I think its absolutely makes a difference but keep in mind Sean is still a rookie HC and will be prone to making his own rookie mistakes A bigger difference IMO would be to develop a better passing game, or more in Sean's wheelhouse to stop the run Stopping the run probably gives you 3-4 more wins And Reggie Ragland is the key addition this year who could be a game/franchise changer, or not jc

There are many ways to win in the NFL, one is not better than the other, but as it relates to our Bills currently we don't presently have a Carr, so mgmt has to find a way to win without one, surely the maintaining a great running attack, while changing the D to better vs the run, would on paper achieve this until such time as we finds a Carr IMO our Bills were absolutely a playoff team in both 2015 and 2016 as they had a D that could have stopped the run, and IMO it is the prime reason they did not succeed, over and above QB play As for the Raiders, they are busily trying to improve that D, just look at what they drafted, they are not just resting on Carr bringing them back to the playoffs.... jc

I find it uber fascinating that Bill fans seem to be resigned to losing with Sean HC, and talking patience And yet were furious about playing just .500 with Rex with little patience The ownership and org have dome a great job creating a narrative of belief lowering expectations, lol I;m telling everyone, even if you refuse to listen, that 6 wins and or 10 wins, is 6 or 10 wins no matter who's in charge The rest is just perception, context, and propaganda IE - If our Bills in 2017 only win 6 games then Sean HC didn't succeed in his rookie campaign You are what your W-L record indicates regardless of the argument fans and owners will offer up in defense Food for thought jc

The present structure our Bills are using is very similar to exactly what goes on in KC The only difference is that is currently a highly successful team so media and fans don't claim its in any way dsyfunctional At the end of the day if we start winning more games nobody will care about the structure If we keep losing folks will key on it jc

Actually 'they' don't know what he is capable of, they have likely only seen old film, the folks who know what he is capable of are no longer here, lol, its a transition year where 'they' get to know Sammy, and Sammy wins him over, or not Both with his play, his desire, his character, you name it jc

It's a decent haul, helps when you don't trade away your extra 3rd round pick, and have a 4th, lol However I still like HC Sean's better I assume Willis would play OLB but short term Lawson and Brown are redundant And we would really look bare at RT, again, and #2 WR Yours is wholly based on Watson becoming a franchise QB Sean's is overall IMO a better selection of talented potential starting plug n play players jc

The new Bills have no longterm tie to Sammy other reviewing his contribution this season next Jan So if they got offered a good deal why not trade him However in what universe does another team trade for an injured player entering his free agent season And then that team giving us great value? I think this has only happened once in the last 5-6 years If I am incorrect give us the examples? It's not Madden and its not as easy as fans think to trade an impending FA for value The better value is in franchising and or working out a long term deal jc

Look I love the HC Sean hire, and I was ecstatic to see Rex released However its hard enough to be a successful first time HC in the NFL without also being that involved in daily general managing Ask Chip Kelly Its not unfair to suggest maybe Sean is in a wee bit over his head? Though I concur, he's too new to rate, lol As for the GM hire, I am also ecstatic that we have moved on from DW, let's give Beane a chance And I don't think the search was limited at all There was only so many assistant GM's out there both willing to change teams and wiling to work in a collaborative structure I found it amazing that the Pegs found 4 of em, lol jc

As usual, I am in total agreeance with Scott Law Look no further than HC Sean if you care to praise or critique or shrug shoulders on our 2017 off season moves And the owners if you love, hate, or don't care, about our new collaborative mgmt structure Which by the way its our off season moves and unusual mgmt structure That has media experts, pundits, and Las Vegas, predicting just 5-6 wins for our team That points to the loss of, on the field talent, usually associated with a rebuild I'm not saying I agree or disagree, right now being May, I'm a fence sitter Though I lean towards them all being wrong, that it's more a redirection And thinking we are surely still a 7-8 win team, just not more It's the optic of fans that I find ironically humorous For if in 2017 if we win 6-7 games and Marrone or Rex were still the HC fans would be mega furious However if HC Sean does the same fans will be instead be very patient Because some or most will have branded 2017 a rebuilding season Yet its still the same 6-7 wins regardless of the branding Food for thought jc

I really hope the new MGMT team works out as our team deserves better continuity in management And I love the idea of two young executives working in tandem building our team However I'm not sold 100% on HC Sean's initial off season moves I understand he's gonna re-jig our team and make more his team, his players, his schemes However in doing so I believe he jettisoned more on field talent than he gained And most of us don;t see a this team winning 9-10 games this year but more the same 6-8 So its at most a transition year with an eye on competing more in 2018 But I;m not convinced the NFL in general, media, and us fans, plus Terry/Kim, are giving anyone 4 years, lol A pass this year, absolutely, but if our team doesn't show signs of improvement, I'm not convinced this duo stays past 2 years That is the new reality in today's NFL, its result based Sorry if that's a bubble burst jc

I don't think the search was embarrasing but rather not all encompassing, there is a difference - IMO the structure Terry/Kim have imposed basically ruled out just about every potential experienced NFL GM, the majority of whom wouldn't put up with it - Cleary we were only likely to hire a first time GM, who was willing to work alongside other team executives in building a team, than being the president and or all powerful general manager So I like the hiring, given the situation, and I very much hope it works out for our team, that Terry/Kim's structure works, and that HC Sean works out These moves could be a critical turning point in this franchise's history or just our owners going 0-4 with hires, or yet another middling result So I share the OP's concern that this structure will actually lead to more successful seasons, and or that HC Sean has the experience to be as powerful as he is in shaping the future of our team, or that we currently have the on field talent to be competative - Lets be honest, most media pundits, and sports experts, and Las Vegas, etc only having us winning 6 games this year - How many of you who today who claim with impunity we're moving in the right direction, with all the recent changes, and this years off season moves, will feel the same way about the program if we only in fact win 6 games? I can't wait to see the defense of our new mgmt and ownership if this actually occurs, lol Which is why I feel sorry for the OP (except if he/she has made racist posts b4), its not easy to be honest on any sports message board about being skeptical about changes your owner makes, there's always a majority gang of fans who support every owners move blindly, as was the case on the old BBMB when Rex was hired, if you suggested during the 2015 off season that our D might slip under Rex than was previous under Schwartz, or Terry/Kim had made a hiring mistake, you were literally beheaded game of throne style, but in actuality, you were proven in the end to be an astute fan, and the majority, as they often are, proven to stubbornly dead wrong Which is why I'm sitting on the fence on all theses changes, while I'm ecstatic Rex and WD were released, I'm not necessarily automatically buying in on either our new HC or GM, until they yield results, sure I like their youth and pedigree of potential, and I'm all for a new direction, however I also see their humungous lack of NFL experience, and while I like our draft choices, and I was not all that impressed with our other off season moves, and the loss of comp picks, I see alot of player and mgmt changes but I still don;t see anything pointing to a 10 win season, so if we are not going to better off in 2018 than we were with DW and Rex, but are expecting to be worse, I am not sure why most folks see this as any form of progress, it looks like a transitional year, or a regressive year, how folks will spin that to our Bills being better off is mind boggling, but they will, and most eat it up Mind you, should we actually go out and compete this year, then the experts assessment of this team will have been proved wrong, and lots more of us will eagerly buy in and more fully support all the recent changes, I hope this is the case, but until it occurs, we win more games than we lose, I have complete respect for those who question our owners, the teams direction, and have reasonable well thought out skepticism Rant over jc

We will get nada Rookie HC/GM mistake I like that we have an extra 1st round pick in 2018 But since our Bills and our new rookie HC/GM likes to trade up as much as our old GM We could have really used that extra 3rd and 4th round comp pick for having lost Gilmore and Woods jc