Shaw66

I disagree about his abilities, but that's just a difference of opinion. I get it. We agree he doesn't make it; I just think it's because there's no way he can learn to play the game at a level that is good enough. The objective is mistake-free football; I don't see how he can play mistake-free football We'll see.

I didn't know that. That pretty much closes that door for Wade, and I'm not surprised.

I think you underestimate the level of his talent. When the Bills were preparing for the Ravens, Wade was the guy who played Lamar Jackson on the scout team, because he was the only guy the Bills had with that combination of quickness and speed. The guy is really talented. It's only a question of whether he can learn enough to play the game.

I just don't see it. I don't see any way that he can challenge for a spot in the top 3. Then there's Davis, who I assume is in the Bills' mid-range plans. So, I can't see Sammy getting a lot of snaps. On top of that, there'll be a rookie or free agent who the Bills will want to develop. Finally, I'm not sure I would want Sammy over McKenzie straight up. Then there's the whole attitude question. I'm not convinced that he's really changed. What has he done since leaving Buffalo to make McD want him back? KC was a great opportunity for him to shine - what receiver wouldn't want to play with Mahomes? - and he still was little more than an after-thought. I'm wrong a lot, but I don't see Sammy being a guy who looks like a fit to McD.

I keep coming back to Wade. We saw the flashes of his talent in the 2019 preseason - he has NFL speed and escapability. Obviously, he has zero football experience. His talents would be a great addition in the Bills' backfield, but does his inexperience make him a liability? He has said that the hardest thing for him to learn has been blocking. I'm sure Josh Allen loves to hear that. Bills need a punt returner and kick returner, and his skills fit there, too. But are the Bills really going to trust him to make the right decisions on those plays? Missing the 2020 preseason really hurt him. As much as I like the idea, I think he's less than 25%.

When he was a rookie the Bills put him back there a few times, in practice or preseason. I don't think he has anything like the shiftiness he had in his early days.

This says it. Just loved having this guy on the team. Thanks, Matt.

I wondered whether it's possible they're talking to him about returning kicks. He's showed some ability as a receiver, and if he could return kicks, he'd be a better choice than McKenzie, Watkins being the better receiver. Still, I find it hard to believe. If the Bills sign him, i wouldn't be surprised to find he gets cut before the season starts.

Thanks for this great summary. Really fills in the picture. They stay true to their philosophy - build for the long term, don't mortgage the future. Signing Milano, Williams, Feliciano, Wallace says it all. When they get good players at positions, guys who fit the culture, they're going to count more on individual and team improvement than on chasing after better talent. So, at TE and DE, they didn't go chasing just anyone because he is better than what the Bills have - they went after Watt because he is a special player, but other than Watt, Bills weren't chasing players. Opportunities for Knox and Epenesa. Good for Roberts. He may be the best in the game, and he doesn't have a lot of time to get paid. Bills will add three talented players in the first three rounds of the draft, and will sign usual collection of vets later in the spring, some of whom will be contributors in the coming season. We've said it here for a couple of years now - the off-season is a lot more boring under this regime. A couple of big surprises every year - Diggs and Trubisky, for example, but no major overhauls.

I didn't want to post until I'd threw the entire thread, but the posts are coming faster that I can read them! Great move. Beane really has his eyes on the prize. Only downside is that it's a one-year deal, and Mitch will be looking to move on as soon as starting jobs open up when the season ends. Still, nice, nice move. I was discussing backup QB with someone here a few months ago. My view was Barkley was good enough, you just pick up one back up or another off the scrap heap as you need one. His view was you want a backup who looks and feels like a real starter, because if you lose Allen for multiple gains, you want to be able still to compete. I agreed, but where do you find one of those guys? Well, Beane just found one. I find it amazing that Beane seems always to zig when we expect him to zag. Sanders came out of the blue, now Trubisky.

I think all the teams are strapped for cash, so the big paydays that players ordinarily look for aren't there this year. The result is that the differential between what others are offering and what the Bills offer isn't so large, so there's no reason for a guy to leave a team where he's had success to go to a new team and an uncertain future.

As I think about it, Allen now has three receivers, each of whom Allen can depend on to be where he's supposed to be when he's supposed to be there, and three guys who are good at fighting for the ball. With Allen's escapability, I think the Bills have a better threesome than they had last season. Plus Davis with a season under his belt. Very nice. Only have them for a year, two years tops, but enjoy it while it lasts.

Lee Smith is one of those guys coaches want on their team. A late round 2022 pick is not worth much at all, so giving up only a little to be sure you get him is something meaningful for a coach who likes him. Beane being smart. Quite incredible to create serious cap room and get a pick. Just solid roster management.

Sanders is better, technically. Smoke healthy is physically better in some ways, but Sanders is the better route runner and has better hands.

This is exactly what I think. The last couple of seasons when I've seen Sanders, I've been impressed by how savvy he is. He's the kind of guy a QB can rely to run the route he's supposed to run, to find the seem, to make the smart improvised route decision. He can still get deep, but not with the blazing speed he showed earlier in his career. I think he's a little less flashy than Brown, but a better route runner - a dependable guy. Like others, I still would like to see some true deep speed added to the roster.

I saw something that said he's been paid $54 million. He had a $90 million deal with the Bills, but only $9.5 guaranteed. Whatever, he's earned enough to have really comfortable life. Good for him. Please, please don't tell me Watson is going to New England.

It's easy to forget how hobbled the Bills were against KC. At receiver, and at running back.

Fair enough about the verbal gymnastics. Maybe I'm only reporting how the deals struck me, at the time or with hindsight. I was thrilled when the Bills signed Hyde. I thought he was a star. The Bills presumably paid top dollar for him, whatever the price, because those were the days when free agents weren't anxious to come to Buffalo. In hindsight, it's pretty obvious that Hyde was an important piece, maybe the most important piece, to anchor the defense. Morse has underperformed, but I think the Bills knew there was a good chance he'd be no more than he's been. He never was junkyard-dog-type interior lineman. So, I don't think the Bills thought he was going to be a star - just a solid all-round type in the middle. I won't be surprised if the Bills bring someone to camp to challenge him, and I wouldn't be surprised if Beane told you that he knew it was a real possibility two years ago. Star was a known commodity. He wasn't going to be some super-stud difference maker in the middle. He was going to be solid and a good presence in the locker room. The Bills paid for that, but they didn't pay like they paid for Diggs.

I agree. Beane may tell you everything he's thinking, but what he does tell you is what he's thinking about that particular subject. I WAS fooled, however, when he talked about Milano going to test the market. Usually when Beane says something like that, it means that the guy is gone. It's what he said about Shaq last season, and Philips. However, what probably happened this year is that Milano found out that the market wasn't nearly as attractive as he'd expected it to be.

As I just said about Morse, and I think it's true about Star, the Bills may have hoped they would emerge as core players for the Bills. That is, they knew that these guys had potential to be difference makers, but they didn't expect them to be difference makers like they expected Diggs to be a difference maker. They were guys who met the need at the position and might turn out to be more. I think McDermott expected Hyde to be what he became - the anchor for the defense. I think Hyde was one of the exceptions to the rule - Hyde was expected to be a free agent difference maker. Diggs, although not a free agent, was the other. Brown, Beasley, Addison, Butler, Murphy, Feliciano, Williams, Norman, and plenty of others were all in hole-filler category, just like several other free agents who ultimately didn't make the team. Free agency is simply not where the Bills look for major talent, generally. Watt would have been an exception. So, what the Bills are doing/not doing in the free agent market shouldn't be a surprise, especially in a season when cap space is tight and the Bills had players they wanted to keep. Why put yourself in a position to go replace a Williams or Milano in free agency why you already have the guy?

They're all role players, not core stars. Sign ten, keep eight for a year, cut a couple, keep a few. Whatever you call them, they aren't difference makers. Morse is the one guy they might have thought would emerge as a true core player, but now I think they'd move him as soon as a better option came along.

Beane has been clear repeatedly: Free agency is for filling holes. He is always bargain hunting. He isn't looking for difference makers. Happy to find one, but the draft is where he looks for difference makers.

Pope Fitz I!!! Love it!

I like that Mindset starts a thread with an inflammatory post and then doesn't run and hide. He's been back to defend himself. I disagree with the negativism. I always do, I know, but this time I have some points, one point really, that I think is important: McDermott's approach is about the Growth Mindset. That's what the Bills have been promoting this month, but it isn't a new public relations gimmick. The Growth Mindset is at the core of McD's beliefs and his culture. It's about everyone in the organization wanting to get better every day, as a team and as individuals. If you're about the Growth Mindset, you don't need to be about getting a better player at every position all the time. Talent is a revolving door - most of the players on the team come and go within three years. As Beane says, you use free agency to plug holes, you use the draft to get better talent. Free agency is just part of the revolving door - you want to get your core players in the draft. Poyer and Hyde were the exceptions - they jump started the team. But White, Dawkins, Milano, Edmunds, Allen all came through the draft. Diggs was the lone exception in recent years. The Growth Mindset is about each player working to get better every year, seriously working at it. Sure, guys on other teams do that too, but in Buffalo it is an attitude. Every player in Buffalo gets up every morning intending to make himself a better player that day. That's what McD preaches, and McBeane only get and keep players who operate that way. That's at the core of the culture. But what's more important about the Growth Mindsent is team improvement. McDermott and his players expect his 2021 offense and defense to do all the things they did in 2020, PLUS improvements. They come to work every day learning more about how to play together, more about how to attack defenses and more about how to stop offenses. This isn't new. This is what McDermott has said about his approach since he got to Buffalo. The Growth Mindset is how McDermott intends to have sustained excellence. He doesn't expect his team to get better and then get worse as talent comes and goes. He expects that there will be a continuing knowledge base that is being built on constantly, year after year, a knowledge base that new players learn their way into over a couple of seasons. Ford and Oliver and Epenesa are all in the that process, and the expectation is that they will play 2021 with an even better understanding of the game and their roles. It's the Growth Mindset that will make the 2021 Bills better than 2020, not some free agent acquisition.

Fitz for President!!!