Shaw66

Inigo Great post, again. It proves your point very well. I think the people who are bemoaning the lack of high end talent are missing a few of the realities of this team. 1. McD intends to win with a team concept. He would tell you he doesn't need a lot of high end talent to win. 2. Beane dies NOT use free agency to get high end talent. He did with Morse pretty much because the line was so weak he had no choice. He says he fills holes with free agents and he builds talent through the draft. That means we have to wait for high end talent. He added two in the draft last year and he will add one or two this year. Yes, when an AB or a Clowney becomes available he will think about it, but he doesn't plan to add talent that way. 3. Something was posted the other day about the o linemen coming out of college. They have no skills, and they can get better only by sitting and practicing and eventually playing. What I like about the free agent linemen is they have a lot of playing experience. They know what it takes. I think that will help a lot. And if one of them gets cut because the Bills get a stud OT at 9, that's good news.

The concept makes sense. The problem is that they don't have much time left before the draft. Bill's and Houston might agree, but Bill's and Clowney would have to agree too. It's not clear that the Bill's would want to pay more than Houston.

Correct. BPA. You know when McD says he wants to play complementary football, he means that the whole team wins or loses. It isn't about one unit not being good enough or behind the other. It's about how good is the whole team. If the offense gets better, that's good for the team. If the defense gets better, it's good for the team. So even though you might want to build the offense, if the best player happens to play defense, that means the defense gets better and the team gets better.

My two cents. I wasn't in any of your recent threads, so I dont know what went on. I'm sorry, whatever happened. People here are really pretty good about just talking and having a good time, and that's what I've always thought about you. I hope you stick around.

And that's ANOTHER good sign. The best franchises have consistency and continuity, and McBeane and the Pegulas are focused on that.

I know, but I'm writing about what it feels like. What's going on seems very impressive to me.

I agree. And as I look at what I wrote, none of it had anything to do with Allen's potential on the field. I'm a homer, for sure, but this all seems so different, so right. The way they're doing things, I have a high level of confidence. Confidence in Daboll rising to his challenges, the oline taking on a winning persona, Beasley and Brown being threats, the defense being solid. And then there's Allen. I don't want to let myself dream about what HE could be. Of course, the reality is that it's really hard to win in the NFL. Really hard. So nothing is a given.

Even Peterman wasnt an exception. He didn't make it, but all GMs take some guys who don't make it. It's important not to let guys go too early. When you take a guy you have to be willing to invest time in him. Like Foster. The Bill's saw something in Peterman, so they gave him time to develop. It was the right approach. Not every project plans out.

I agree Logic. As I suggested in my post, I don't think it's just about the new facility. The Bills seem to be doing everything right. A few examples, and they aren't just on the management side. McDermott's total sincerity. Beane's completely straight forward approach with players. Allen calling free agents to welcome them. Shady recruiting Gore. Beasley picking the Bills over the Pats. The Pegulas continuing dedication to the whole project and their support of McBeane. And behind all of it is the fans. I was doing my taxes and was sure to take the deduction for my $17 donation to the Dalton Foundation. It reminded me about all of that. That kind of passion - $400,000 for a desperation TD pass - isn't lost on free agents. I never imagined a transformation like this.

That's a great post. Outstanding. Thanks. I think the coaching challenge is an important point. Most important is the challenge of having a raw rookie oline coach with all these new faces. I'm a little less optimistic about the impact of all the new oline guys. Some of those guys are going to get cut. And I disagree about the draft. The Bills won't shy away from a stud OT on the first round if he is the BPA. The Bills signed a lot of players, but there isn't a premier tackle among them. I agree completely about Roberts. I think his impact will be felt in the return game AND on offense, where he will be an upgrade overr McKenzie, who wasn't bad on the jet sweeps and gadgets. I really hadn't bought the notion about too many draft picks, but I think you're correct. Bills will make moves. I think what is going to happen is McD will get a couple of sleepers in the second, third, fourth rounds, guys he loves and Beane is willing to move up for. Your comments about the facilities are interesting. Fact is, everything the Bills are doing seems to be first class and with a purpose. I won't be surprised if in a few years people are talking the Bills as a model franchise. Thanks for your post. It really is excellent.

Moorman - It's good to hear you're on the mend after what had to be a real ordeal. Best wishes, stay on your meds, be positive. You know, you're still really young. You have plenty of time to build a great life. Be grateful for every day. I think the Bills had a great off-season. There is no doubt there is more talent and more quality experience on the offensive line than a year ago. Morse, in particular, looks to be a great addition and the anchor of the line for many years. Beasley and Brown look like great upgrades to a woeful receiver group, so there's hope there, too. Still the draft, with 10 picks, so there's more help on the way. Oh, and Josh Allen looks like he's emerging as the leader of the offense. I think the Bills are positioned to do great things.

I haven't watched all the videos. I had one reaction what I did watch. The videos made me realize how many of the highlights that the media show are running plays. When I think if Allen these days, I literally forget about his running. I mean, his running was great last season, and it helped the Bills win some games, but if he's going to have a big future, it's not going to be by running that much. If he's the best QB in the league in 10 years, it won't be because he gains 600 yards on the ground. It will be because he's an outstanding field general with one of the best arms in the history of the league. That's it. He has the arm, he just has to learn how to execute a quality NFL offense. He'll still scramble, and there still may be occasions when he makes big plays with this legs, but that will be only a small part of what makes him great. So what I like in these videos is his pocket presence, the fact that his eyes are always downfield, his quick release, his accuracy (yes, but let's not go there). That's what gets me excited about this season and the seasons to come.

I think the OP makes an interesting point. Frankly, I don't think that's WHY the Bills signed the guys they did, but it will be a result of what they did. McBeane have said several times that no team will be known as more physical than the Buffalo Bills. They want the Bills the physically tough. That's why so many of the guys they signed for the O line this year seem to have that mean streak, and that's Teller was one of the few survivors when McBeane started cutting linemen. A tangential benefit of having guys like this on the offensive line is what the OP says - these are guys who are going to take offense, physically, when their QB gets hit unnecessarily. There was a play last season when someone jumped in as soon as Allen took one of those hits, don't remember the game or the player, and I don't remember the result (penalties or whatever). What I do remember is that when asked about the play after the game, McDermott said something like "we don't condone fighting and we don't want stupid dies, but I like to see my guys stand up for their teammates." I think we can expect the offensive line to play with some aggressiveness that we lost when Richie left.

I sort of scrolled through to see what others said. Mine are similar. Stratton Lincoln for sure. Mcgee's kickoff return. Beebe and Lett Fitz to TO for 99 yards. Plenty more I'm forgetting. A lifetime of highlights. Oh, yeah!

I'd guess you misperceive how McBeane operate. They want team players who have certain physical skills. This guy has physical skills. I'd guess they look at him and think "he will fit our schemes and make plays." They aren't looking for stars in free agency; they're looking for good athletes who will do their job. Their objective is to have a team full of good athletes who will do their jobs, and then they sprinkle in a few stars wherever they find them. I'd guess this guy will see significant playing time, unless they find someone better. But they aren't going chasing after someone better - they can live with Harold.

There you go. Dline, and edge rusher just became less of a "need." Beane fills his needs in free agency. BPA coming up, without regard to need. Might be a dlineman, but if it is, it'll be because the Bills like him better than everyone else.

Well, he can make plays. Nice.

Of course you're correct. But the fact that you can vote an exception doesn't mean the system is bad. I've already excepted the Qb situation, and Barkley is another. There are very few others. For example, I gave Watts and Clowney as an example where one would have thought they'd go away from Clowney, but they didn't. Someone said what if you have four HOF DTs. Well sure, bit that's not real. I think that what Beane has said makes it clear except for QB, he's going BPA.

Yeah, Beane actually said something about this. I think what he said was that he didn't feel any pressure to get a dlineman in free agency because dline was so deep in the draft that he was comfortable that one would fall to him somewhere along the way. He was clear that his objective was to fill all his needs in free agency, and he did that. He didn't mean he will value d lineman above other positions when the draft comes because he has a need.

Turns out he's in Amherst on Main Street right at Exit 50. Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. I'll pass them on. And special thanks to the Senator. I was going to tell my friend to do the search himself. Thanks. By the way, you aren't helping just some Red Sox friend. He's a football Giants fan, he lives in Cleveland, but he goes to only one NFL game each year, with me on the road somewhere to see the Bills. So he's kind of a closet Bills fan. On the other hand, HIS friend who's coming for the Frozen Four is a Patriots fan, through and through. Oh, well. Thanks again for your suggestions.

Looking for some first hand info. Yelp has plenty of suggestions, but I'd trust someone here more. Are they likely to have the Sox on, and do they care if you hang out for 3 hours nursing a couple of beers?

I have a friend going to Buffalo for the Frozen Four. He's looking a sports bar to watch the Red Sox on Friday night. Any suggestions? Thanks.

I think the point is that even though the BPA might be the move that makes your team batter this season, he is the guy who will help your team best I. The long run. BPA is NOT a short term strategy.

Here's a couple of other things to think about in a pure BPA system. Suppose you have the best defensive lineman in the league. That means, almost as a certainty, that defensive line is NOT your area of greatest need, because almost any three NFL defensive linemen and the best in the league will make up a decent front four. Now suppose it's your pick and the BPA on your board is a defensive lineman. What do you do? Pure BPA, you take the defensive lineman. Which is exactly what the Houston Texans did with JJ Watt in their lineup and Jadavian Clowney on their board. Take the BPA. Now, in hindsight, it hasn't been a spectacular success story, but that isn't because of the theory. Clowney was injured and may not be quite as good as people thought. Another way to look at is this. You've got all these guys with scores, from 8.0 down to 0.1. At any given point in time, the sum of all the scores of all the guys you have on your team is a measure of how much talent you have. If you take a guy in an area of need with a 7.2 instead of the PBA with a 7.4, you are limiting the total value of all the talent on your team. BPA is a system designed to maximize the talent on the team. When you take the guy with a 7.2 and leave a 7.4 on the board, you never get an opportunity to recover that differential. You certainly don't in the next round, when all that's left are 6.5s or whatever. That 7.4 is an opportunity you lose forever. Now, yes, you may get lucky and get a Kyle Williams in later rounds, but every team has those stories. You can't count on those picks to cover the opportunities you lose when you skip over your BPA. Now, I'll say this: Building a successful team is obviously a very difficult task, and BPA is just one of at least a few different approaches teams take toward the draft. I'm not uncomfortable with this approach, but I really have no idea if it's the best way to go about it.

You make a good point. I'd guess that they evaluate players based in the positions the Bills actually have. So they evaluate the guy as a 4-3 linebacker. As for the rest of your points, I think that's exactly right. Except for QB, the BPA is almost certainly going to help you this season or next. Even safety or corner. If Troy Polamalu is there at 9, you take him.