SoTier

I don't think that "average or above average" is good enough in today's NFL. At one time, a stout defense and a strong run game could hide a lot of QB deficiencies, but not any more. A team has to have an "excellent or elite" QB to compete with today's offensive juggernauts in the playoffs, because they all seem to have good defenses, too. The aim to "be a contender" doesn't say much. The Bills were playoff contenders in 2014, 2017, 2019 -- and actually made the playoffs in 2017 and 2019 -- but they were never serious Super Bowl contenders. Maybe you're satisfied with 9 or 10 wins a season and quick one and done playoff appearances but that's not good enough for me. Allen hasn't earned an extension at this point. He showed he was a competent NFL QB in 2019 but his passing and some of his decision making weren't good enough. Improvements on the offense should help him, but he's got to take advantage of the better weapons he'll have in 2020. It's entirely possible that he improves only incrementally in his third year -- or like Trubisky, doesn't improve at all. At this point he's played well enough for the Bills to consider picking up his fifth year option but they've got to see considerably more improvement before they decide to give him a pricey extension. He's not a $25-30 million a year QB at this point.

The Bills still need to add a few more pieces either through FA or through the draft. This draft is unlikely to yield as many rookie contributors as previous years simply because the team is better, doesn't have a first round pick, and is drafting later in each round. Moreover, the Bills are getting to the point that the modest type FAs they signed last season would be mostly only backups or STers going forward. They still need to upgrade some starting positions. Passing on a quality FA like a younger, better edge rusher than they currently have (think Clowney) or a starting caliber RB to run with Singletary (think Hyde) simply because Beane wants to keep a large "emergency fund" or have $$$ to roll forward into next year isn't wise, and it's unlikely to result in long term team success. It's nice to have general parameters for what to spend or what to look for but a team also has to be able to jump at opportunities. Sometimes rare opportunities arise -- like TB12 becoming a FA -- and a team has to be prepared to seize it. There are no prizes for having the most cap space at the end of the season, only trophies for winning the most important games ... and the Bills still aren't there yet.

This is my view. As long as they realize their mistake with Allen and do something about it, then I'm good with them. If they keep holding on to a sub-par QB just because he was a #1 pick and is still on a rookie contract without coming up with a "Plan B", then they need to go. This thread isn't about whether Allen is likely to succeed or fail. It's about how fans would feel about Beane and McDermott if Allen were to fail -- and it's certainly not an unrealistic or a pessimistic question. Look at Chicago. In 2018, the Bears went 12-4 with Mitch Trubisky looking good -- better than Allen looked in his second season -- but Trubisky failed to continue to improve in his third year and actually regressed (probably because DCs have "figured him out"), and the Bears went down the toilet. This year the Bears traded for Nick Foles rather than leaving all their eggs in the basket with Trubisky.

I would be willing to give them more time depending on how they handled the situation of having a first round QB who obviously isn't "the guy". I think that they've built a good enough team to win at least 9-10 games a season and compete for the playoffs even with only modest QB play. Do they do stand pat with that -- a QB not good enough to make them real contenders -- or do they do something about that to get better? Two teams that were also "a QB short" of a playoff powerhouse within the last decade give some possible responses ... Minnesota drafted a first round bust in 2011 -- Christian Ponder -- who lasted only 4 years in the league. They then drafted Teddy Bridgewater at the end of the first round in 2014 who was very promising until his terrible knee injury came close to ending his career. Finally, they went "all in" on Kirk Cousins. Tennessee was in that situation with Mariota when Vrabel became HC. They decided to bring in a better QB in 2019 and then decided to play him when Mariota failed to move the team early in the season. Chicago seems to be following Tennessee's example by bringing in Nick Foles just in case Trubisky can't be effective. These aren't the only two solutions, but they are examples of teams being proactive about their QB situation, and that's what I'd like to see Beane and McDermott be as well.

I think if Ford can't beat out Nsekhe in TC, then it seems like he should be moved to guard to see if he works there. If they get a better RT than Ford, then it's not "the same result". A lot of evaluators thought Ford would be a better pro guard than tackle, so a kid with physical skills better suited to playing pro OT might very well be worth grabbing. That's simply untrue when discussing OTs taken in the first or second rounds. Prospects taken that high generally need to get stronger and to hone their skills but most are perfectly capable of playing respectably as rookies. Cordy Glenn was a competent LT as a rookie. So was Dion Dawkins. Dawkins struggled in his sophomore season but rebounded last season when the Bills had NFL caliber OLers beside him rather just bodies wearing OL numbers as in 2018. If the Bills acquired a "stud left tackle" in the draft -- highly unlikely in the bottom third of the second round since the best ones go in the first round -- I think Dawkins moving to LG might be better. It's hard for OLers to switch sides because everything is reversed, and not every OT can play well that way. Also, LTs tend to be quicker and lighter than RTs while RTs tend to be more powerful.

That sounds a lot like the Jamestown area. We have no COVID-19 cases in the area but we had little or no TP, no bread, no bottle water etc at most stores until yesterday -- and those in limited amounts.

Since the Bills aren't up against the cap, why do the Bills need to cut Murphy, a DE, and Smith, a TE, in order to sign Gurly, a RB? They will still need a DE and a TE. Moreover, Gurley is not going to get the kind of contract from his new team that he got from LA since the top of the RB has dropped significantly. I would love the Bills to sign Gurley. It's entirely doable from a cap perspective but it might not be the right fit from either the Bills' or Gurley's perspective. ? Apparently some fans have enjoyed the past twenty years of the Bills sacrificing wins for profits a whole more than you or me.

I think that Clowney's injury history is what is keeping teams from considering him at present. They aren't going to make a deal with him unless they can have their own doctors give him a physical -- and that's not going to change for some time to come.

Exactly. I get really tired of this "penny wise, dollar foolish" attitude that so many Bills fans espouse, which is undoubtedly a product of 2i0+ years of being brain washed by Ralph Wilson and his minions that the Bills can't "afford" to build a winning team. Other teams figure out how to put together winning teams -- sometimes for only a couple of seasons but others almost continuously -- while paying really expensive players like QBs and DEs that the Bills simply don't have on their roster at present (I think last season, Morris might have been the most expensive Bills player). This is the year for the Bills to go for broke to take over the AFCE while NE is transitioning away from Brady, Miami is still collecting puzzle pieces, and the Jets are simply the Jets. Murphy seemed to get his act together last season, McDermott knows what he can do, the Bills aren't in need of cap space, and the Bills aren't likely to sign Clowney, so what's the point of cutting him??? They don't have a young stud waiting to take over for him already on the roster, they aren't going to actually save $8 million since they will have to add a replacement. Even an UDFA rookie is going to cost something just in $$$ and maybe in wins, too.

Foles is an entirely different kettle of fish. He's a QB, a much more important -- and thus valuable -- position than RB. More importantly, the Bears need a QB behind Trubisky who 1) can step in and save their season if Trubisky fails and 2) won't disrupt the team if Trubisky improves. Nick Foles is that guy.

Good OLers can be found beyond rounds 1 and 2, especially if the team doesn't expect them to step right in and gives them time to get stronger and improve their techniques. I will never say no to a stud OLer in the first or second, but I really think that the Bills should go BPA in rounds 2-5. Lots of outstanding OLers come from late in the draft/UDFA.

This has been my perception of Hopkins as well.

That would lead me to reconsider. When I went to PT several years ago, it was a big room but there never was more than 2 patients and 3 or so staff.

IMO, this isn't a good strategy. Guys in the 2nd and 3rd are simply much more likely to bust than guys taken in the first round. A trade up might be justified to get a pick in the first ten picks of round 2 but since the Bills will be drafting in the bottom third of both rounds, the chances of moving up to the top of second round seems likely to cost too much. I don't think trading up in the third round is a good idea at all. The Bills are in a position at this point to improve their backups and ST with guys from the third, fourth, and fifth round, some of whom may eventually develop into really good players if given the opportunity. The Bills 2019 had too many UDFAs, PS refugees, and 6th and 7th rounders once you got beyond the starters. They need to improve the bottom of their roster as well as the top, and the place to find those guys is rounds 3-5.

There isn't a "magic" age delimiter. I think your health condition is much more important, especially your heart, respiratory, and immune systems health. I'm 70 and in better health, especially with those systems, than many people a decade or more younger than me, so I would go. I'm assuming that your appointment is private and not a group situation.

If this is a pleasure trip, you might want to reconsider because virtually all entertainment venues in New York are currently closed down, not just in NYC but throughout the state by the governor's order. Restaurants are only open for take out or delivery. Movie theaters are also closed. All "non essential" businesses have been ordered to be closed to the public between 8 PM and 6 AM. Museums and zoos are all closed. Catholic dioceses have canceled all church activities, including Masses. Public schools have been closed statewide, and most colleges have extended spring break or closed so that they can transition to on-line classes. Parks are open, though, if you want to go for a walk.

The Diggs trade is in no way similar to the Watson trade except that both landed the Bills a WR.

Agreed. It's not that he traded Hopkins as it is that he traded him away for next to nothing: a high priced, washed-up RB and a second rounder. Hopkins should have garnered at least a first rounder plus another pick/player even from the Cards.

I think Teddy Bridgewater might be a possibility as well.

Absolutely. Any day of the week. Drafting WRs is about as chancy as drafting QBs. So many great college WRs take 2 or 3 seasons to fully learn the NFL game and some never do.

Totally agree. The Bills need to improve their over all depth, and so my only criteria for Day Two picks are prospects who are likely to develop into good starters, and possibly more. Position is irrelevant.

I think that many of the critics were fantasizing about Beane trading up to get CeeDee Lamb or some other supposed "can't miss" prospect. Now they'll have a boring Day 1. Even Bill O'Brien isn't so stupid to trade Hopkins to another AFC team, especially one that not only made the playoffs but gave the Texans all they could handle despite clearly needing a WR1. James Hardy comes to mind. I thought that acquiring Tunsil was a good move and that maybe sending Clowney to the Seahags was a necessary one. There's absolutely no way to spin the Hopkins trade, however, to make it anything but one of the biggest faux pas in Houston's history -- and maybe in league history. It may become legendary. I think some fans are not being realistic about the kind of WR the Bills could get at #22, about how much more they would have to give up to move up in the first round to get one of the top three WRs, and most of all, how important it is to give Allen better weapons this season rather than waiting for next year or the year after for a rookie to develop. With Brady very possibly leaving NE, the opportunity for the Bills to take over the AFCE is now -- 2020 -- and obviously Beane recognizes that and has acted accordingly.

Draft a Day 2 WR with size. Hope that one of the TEs steps up.

The Bills gave up the opportunity to pick a WR who might or might not be a starter in 2020 plus a bunch of "Mr Irrelevants" who were unlikely to make the team -- even with an expanded practice squad. Diggs has a "big" name because he's proven that he's a top NFL WR and a playmaker, something the Bills really, really needed and didn't have much chance of acquiring in the draft. Better to give up a first and some Day Three picks than giving up more to move up in the first round. I'm not scared at all. I'd rather find out that Allen's not who the Bills drafted him to be in 2020 than to be still asking "Is Allen the man?" come 2022, which is where we very well might be if the Bills don't give him better skills players. They've added the veteran playmaking WR. Now they need to add another WR and RB.

I was thinking that the Texans got royally fleeced on the Hopkins trade, and this trade seems to confirm it. I don't know what the thinking was behind the Houston-Arizona deal but it smells of desperation. The analysts on NFLN all seemed to be perplexed by the reasoning behind it as well. It's like the Texans made a complete 180 degree turn: last year they gave a fortune in picks in order to acquire talent and seemed in "win now" mode, and then at some point last season, they decided that they were going to do a rebuild instead, so they started trading away some of their best players. The Hopkins trade seems a continuation of that.