Success

While a few of our division rivals are having a wave-your-arms, "look at me!" kind of offseason, Beane is quietly adding impact players and depth to an already great team. Gotta love it. How the turntables, and all that.

I actually think Darnold will do really well in Carolina. I'm happy for him - the Jets were a terrible situation. They might be moving in the right direction now, but in the years he was there, he had nothing to work with. We'll see how the trade works out for the Jets, but they didn't do too badly. If Saleh pans out and they choose the right QB in this draft, the AFCE could be one very tough division.

Fitz beating the Pats was it for me. That felt like winning a Lombardi. It was SO tough to beat the Pats under Brady (pretty obviously). You needed every break you could get, and even then, he'd usually put together a final drive to put the game away. Even in that Fitz game, we needed 4 picks to make it happen. And that was still down to the last minute. When we were down on the 1 yard line and Wilfork started pointing the other way like Fitz fumbled, my mind almost broke. Great win. Glad the tables have turned on that team a bit.

I was just having a moment of appreciation for this. I check out the Pats & Jets boards, and a few others. The discussions are all complete deja vu of what our fanbase went through every April for 2+ decades - comparing QB's in the draft, trying to figure out if this one would be better than that one, or who had the highest ceiling or biggest bust potential. Is it worth trading up for this guy? What if that other guy drops to us? Maybe we can get a stop-gap FA until next year's class? It's especially gratifying watching Patriots fans go through this kind of hand-wringing. Literally, they have not had to do that since the '80's. It was a way of life for us. But after all that, we found THE guy - and I don't think anyone has any doubt about that. We're set for at least a few Presidential administrations. I don't want to go back to analyzing draft prospects until I'm an old man.

I was gonna post this one. Those voices are perfect.

Had they had a 17-game season since 2000, there is very little chance that their marquee player is still active and playing at age 43. And we'll likely see that across the board. The average NFL career probably just got shorter.

I don't think they should, which is probably weird. I think Darnold is a classic case of a good QB w/ a bad organization and team. Last year - the big 3rd-year breakout for most QB's - they gave him nothing to work with. I'd be worried if they cut him and the Pats picked him up. That's probably a good way to put it. This draft, after Lawrence, I see a lot of the usual hype for the other guys - but tend to think that 5 years from now, Lawrence will be the only one who made any impact. Even today, they're bumping Mac Jones up for having a decent pro day, and Fields for running fast. Ultimately, we see it every draft, and not to sound like the jaded old fan, but so few really work out in the long run. I don't think this draft is nearly as good as the one Allen was in for QB's.

Someday, someone is going to have to explain to me how a group of billionaires needs more money...

And then I went on w/ my day...

As soon as I saw the thread title, the 1st 2 you listed came immediately to mind. "Toy Story 3" was ridiculous - I was basically sobbing uncontrollably. I was glad they had the bloopers stuff during the credits so I could compose myself before heading out into the lobby. Close to the same w/ Marley & Me. And it's not a movie, but I can never get through "Cat's in the Cradle."

Yep - that post hail-mary run was what proved it to me (and I'm sure all of us). That game, me & my kids were all like, "here we go...Bills probably gonna collapse now." And instead, it just fueled them, and they won everything in sight. They actually made me GLAD about the "hail Murray." November & December last year were right there w/ my 2 best months as a sports fan. There is really nothing like establishing a negative expectation for your team after 2 decades, and having that team just smash it to pieces, leaving no doubt that things have changed, and you have to adjust to a new & better reality.

What an outstanding post. I feel the same way. Just to add - it's kind of amazing how quickly I've gotten used to being in this position. Maybe it's the desire to get away from how things felt previously as quickly as possible. I commented on another thread, but watching the Pats is complete deja vu to roughly 4-5 seasons during the Bills drought. A ton of early FA activity, us talking ourselves into the idea that it would make us a contender - even without a good QB - and also having to pay a little more just to get players. And to me, it seems like every move they make is geared toward trying to beat the Bills. It's been such a quick "how the turntables" that I can only smile whenever I think about it.

Kudos to him. Good stuff. But tomorrow - he'll still be a New England Patriot.

The first part of that response reminds me of how Bills fans talked for half of the drought years, especially when we spent more than usual on FA's. Their O-line stood pat - they also lost Thuney and Cannon. We'll see if Brown can stay in shape. It's still their best unit though, as it was last year. The LB they got is okay, and Hightower is on the wrong side of 30, after missing a whole season. The WR corps is improved, but still just middlin' at best. Again - they remind me of the drought-era Bills. A bunch of #2 and #3 guys (being generous there). And, like the drought-era Bills, the biggest question mark is QB. Color me not scared at all if they trade up for one of the QB's in the draft. They won't compete right away with any of them, and BB will probably retire by the time one develops into a decent starting QB - if they ever do. It's like watching a mirror of what Buffalo went through the last 20 years. Always trying to talk ourselves into believing we could be better than we ended up being.

You had the Bruins staying on top a few months ago, and the Celtics being a top contender. Makes your 10-6 to 12-4 prediction for the Pats kind of moot. What have the Pats really done? They were the classic "win the offseason" team. Without doubt, they significantly improved the TE position. The rest was a lot of spending for minor to average upgrades. And they had a bad team last year - not even average. If they get Jimmy, they could make some noise, but 12-4 would be a shock. 10-6 is still a stretch. They're very likely headed for a 3rd place finish, imo. Their FA was blustery & a lot of arm-waving, but doesn't amount to much.

A great point. I spend too much time worrying about the moves of other teams, especially in the division. But I'm as happy w/ the state of the Bills as I have ever been - even counting the glorious '90's. The future is so bright, and Allen will keep us competitive regardless. How good the other teams are almost doesn't matter. There will always be tough competition in the NFL, and key games will generally come down to a few plays. At least the Bills are right there w/ the other top teams and will always have a chance.

Sign me up. But there is really zero way to know what they'll do. As has been stated, the current braintrust enjoys the smokescreen concept.

The Dolphins haul reminds me a little of the Minnesota trade that created those '90's Dallas teams. Hope the Phins don't draft as well as Dallas did.

Yeah, definitely seeing that. Those were fun days. And it will be fun to see the Jets & Pats battle it out for 3rd place.

How are the Celts & Bruins doing, anyway?

Not a fan of this. NE will probably get Jimmy G. from San Fran for a 7th rounder or something like that (teams just seem to do that w/ NE). Jimmy has had bad injury luck and a spotty career so far, but he is a huge upgrade over Cam, imo. I was hoping the Pats were all in on drafting a QB, who would take a few years to develop and be a crapshoot anyway. Jimmy, with their other acquisitions, would immediately make them a contender in the division.

A very quiet but also very effective offseason for the Bills so far. They retained almost the entire AFCCG team, and then made smart adds that filled holes and improved position groups. There really aren't any glaring "needs" they need to address in the draft. I expect it to be more heavy on defense, but they can really go BPA, or whatever direction they want now. Beane knows football.

Thanks - I feel pretty lucky. I actually felt amazing after it ended. It's kind of strange, but I've had more energy than I've felt in years. One kind of bogus development - I've had tinnitus in one ear, which I guess has happened w/ some people. It's probably temporary, but I'm already used to it. If that's the worst thing, I'll take it. I've heard stories about some of the "long haulers" and I'm glad that nothing else seems to be lingering. From everything I've read (and my doc), I should definitely still get the vaccine, after a few months go by.

Great post & observation. It's almost hard to adjust to. For years, it was all about overpaying, if we wanted to land any meaningful FA. And sometimes we'd offer more money, and feel like a deal was close, and they would STILL take less money to stay w/ their team or go to another. I remember an O-lineman from ATL (I think) who that was pretty blatant w/, and it was so discouraging. It was like, what do we have to do? It always seemed like the rich just got richer, while the Bills played their own version of moneyball, and mainly hoped to improve through the draft. Watching guys take pay cuts to stay here & seeing players like Milano talk about the culture the way they have is just a fantastic change. And all last summer, other fanbases were talking about the Diggs trade like he'd be complaining within a month because of Allen's "inaccuracy" and be the worst thing for this team. I don't think Diggs would choose to be anywhere else now. He clearly loves it here, and playing w/ Allen. We're that team now. Gotta appreciate these days.

I generally say "top 3," which I think is accurate. I wouldn't say the best. Still, pretty amazing when you think about it. After Price/Moulds, most of the drought was JAG city. Evans and Stevie were some of the rare exceptions, and I guess you could say TO, even though he was past his prime. Hard to think of anyone else.