SoTier
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Posts posted by SoTier
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3 hours ago, All_Pro_Bills said:
I think those names are a reminder that to this point, Beane/McDermott have done one thing, and one thing only, that previous regimes didn't. That's to find a franchise QB. A league MVP player.
But we're already 1/2 way through his career with no championships to show for it yet. 8 years later with the same issues and problems since day one. Can't stop the run against physical offenses and can't hold a lead in criticsl spots.
Let's hope this season is different with the group of free agent signings and draft picks.
Bull manure. They have built a perennial serious contender for the Super Bowl. There is no comparison between the Bills drafts under Beane/McDeromott and the previous regimes' drafts. There is no comparison between the way the current Bills regimes builds its rosters and what passed for roster building in the Drought Era. It wasn't an accident that one of Beane's first actions as GM in 2017 was to replace most of the Bills talent scouting personnel, including some scouts but definitely almost all of the FO personnel.
Now, I don't know if you weren't a Bills fans through the Drought Era or if Beane/McDeromott's success has skewed your perspective, but I was a season ticket holder back during the Drought. I sat through losing season after losing season when the best part of attending games was the pre-game tailgating. I saw those clowns mostly draft crappy players. I saw them either trade away the best players they accidentally drafted or let those good players walk away in free agency. IOW, there were few attempts by previous Bills regimes to build a winning team after John Butler and AJ Smith left for San Diego, and none after Russ Brandon became the de facto GM in 2006. McCargo, Troupe, and the infamous Aaron Maybin were all on Brandon's watch. Maximizing profits was infinitely more important than winning football games during the last years of Ralph Wilson's ownership.
And FTR, I was NOT a big McDermott or Beane fan when either was hired. I was very skeptical of many of their moves early on, and I admit that I thought that trading away so much assets to draft Josh Allen was a mistake. I thought they should have stayed at 12 and taken Lamar Jackson. I'm glad I was wrong, even though Lamar is a great QB in his own right. Lamar, however, has faced the same hump that Allen and the Bills have faced: the gauntlet of getting through the AFC playoffs only to face the Chiefs in order to get to the Super Bowl.
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9 hours ago, Bills!Win! said:
John McCargo and Torell Troup called…
FYI -- McCargo was drafted in 2006 and Torell Troup was drafted in 2010, long before McDermott or Beane or Pegula came on the scene.
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7 hours ago, jahnyc said:
Interesting how the Bills keep a tight ship about who they like and draft plans. Maybe they would have drafted one of the top DTs if available, but very few mocks had them taking Hairston.
Bills have a big need at DT, particularly with Ogunjobi out for the first six games and Carter disappointing last season. Not sure any of the DTs left will be plug and play, but whoever they draft will need to be able to be at least a rotational player this season given our lack of depth. I am not optimistic.
Most draft experts expected a run on DBs, especially CBs, in the first run because there were fewer really good DB prospects than really good DT prospects. Instead, there was a run on DTs that eliminated all of the top-rated DTs well before the Bills' turn. The expected run on DBs never materialized. Hairston was the third CB off the board behind Hunter and Barron (who went later than expected). Most mocks didn't have the Bills taking Hairston because they likely expected him to be long gone.
There are still some decent DT prospects left.
50 minutes ago, K D said:Beane has already said they rank players based on need and traits, not necessarily best player. He said their board will look different than other team boards because they have different needs. I prefer the Eagles way of doing it by just taking the best players. I think the proof is in the pudding. Simple as that.
Every team factors need into their evaluations to get their lists of "best players available", especially at the top of the draft. They also consider how a player fits into their offense or defense. If you think that the Eagles traded up to take Jihad Campbell just because some draftniks think he was their "highest rated player" without regard to how he fit into their plans going forward, you are not being realistic.
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12 minutes ago, Comebackkid said:
I hope this isnt the same hairston....
How many slaves did the Hairstons own?
10,000 people
one of the largest slave holding families in the history of America. The Hairstons owned 42 plantations in three states and enslaved more than 10,000 people over a two hundred year history.
Because the white Hairstons owned so many slaves, there are a lot of blacks named Hairston because many freedmen took their former owners' surnames even though most were not blood relatives to their white masters. Many black Hairstons today are not necessarily even related to some other blacks bearing the Hairston name. While the Hairstons are one of the most well known slave holding families, they aren't unique.
For more information on the Hairstons, black and white, read Henry Wiencek's definitive family history, The Hairstons, An American Family in Black and White. It's available on Amazon. It's a good read.
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On 4/16/2025 at 1:57 PM, Gigs said:
Here's my take:
Yes and No.
When is the last time we had a guy like Cook, scoring that many TDs?
Also, he cannot block, he has a hard time catching JA passes which is what they primarily drafted him for....
But he can *****in move better than most. Now how much of that is the OLine? Is it a coincidence that the 3 times the Bills have had memorable OLines, they were blocking for OJ, Thurminator and now Cpt Cook? Did the back make the line? Did the line make the back? Does this make Cook a HoF level player? Is he a HoF talent like Saquon?
Now imagine being Beane.
Is it that Cook "cannot block" or that he cannot block as well as Ty Johnson or that he can't catch all that well? It's entirely possible that one part of Johnson's game -- his ability to block and make clutch short yard catches -- is better than Cook's. OTOH, there's little doubt that Johnson's over all game isn't as good as Cook's. It's also likely that Cook's talent would be much harder to replace than Johnson's. I think that Cook is worth more to the Bills than a specialist like Johnson. I'm good with paying him $12-13 million.
19 hours ago, FireChans said:“Just reading over some of these threads, I was wondering if the majority of people on here really believe that it is a good move to hand over the starting job to McGahee, and that Henry should be on his way out?
Surely, MOST people on this board cannot be that illogical. Please, give me some faith in BILLS FANS!
Travis Henry has been an extraordainry NFL back the last two years, our best player during that period, and is one of the top five backs in this league.
And people think we should replace him with a player who has proven....what??? Absolutely nothing and is coming off a HUGE injury.
If it's true, that most people on this board believe this, what illogical people!”
- facts and logic man circa 2004
Willis ended up with 5300 yards and 32 TDs over the next 4 seasons.
Henry had 2800 yards and 11 TDS over the next 4 seasons and then his career ended.
Points for being consistent pre Chat GPT.
On the Bills Drought Era RB carousel, Travis Henry doesn't quite fit the profile. McGahee, Lynch, and even Spiller were good/great players who were sent packing simply because the Bills didn't want to pay them. Henry had off field issues that surfaced after the Bills traded him away. Not sure how much of his drug use that the Bills were aware of. He was suspended more than once while with Tennessee and Denver, and I believe he was imprisoned for drug trafficking.
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20 minutes ago, mannc said:
It’s also ruined free agency, where teams like the Pats and Jets make big moves and get touted as the team that’s going to end the Bills’ stranglehold on the AFCE…
Actually, I rather enjoy being a fan of the chasee rather than one of the chasers. I like winning the regular season rather than winning free agency or the off season.
Our AFCE rivals sign all these big names (or names of players we've merely heard of) and pick all these highly touted prospects in the draft, and then comes the regular season, and our Bills crush their hopes ... and their spirits ... and send their fans home dreaming of winning the next off-season.
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On 4/15/2025 at 1:42 PM, PastaJoe said:
I put 3 slits in it so it doesn’t curl. On bread with ketchup.
I am not a fan of fried baloney ... or ketchup on any meat except hamburgers or cheeseburgers "with everything". The combination is worthy of a vomit emoji.
I do, however, like uncooked bologna with yellow mustard.
On 4/15/2025 at 5:29 PM, Roundybout said:Okay, do you guys get thin sliced baloney and stack it for your sandwiches, or do you get real thick steak-cut baloney?
I'm partial to the former.
I'm a fan of thin sliced and stacked bologna for sandwiches.
8 hours ago, ExiledInIllinois said:Substitute a thick slice of natural casing liverwurst, thinner slice of onion 3 to 2 ration liver sausage to onion, then Weber's mustard on Kaiser roll.
Fine eats!
Love it. I sometimes add dill pickle relish or kosher dill slices. Yum!
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I don't have a doomsday scenario. Like @eball and some other posters have posted, the Bills are too competent to totally miss on an entire draft. I trust them to get some good players, so my "doomsday" is really more of a "disappointment": I would not be happy if the Bills did not draft at least one OLer if they keep all 10 of their picks. If they used some of their Day 3 picks to move up in the 2nd round or add a third rounder, then not taking an OLer would be okay with me, but protecting the QB is too important not to always be looking to the future when having lots of picks.
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4 hours ago, Beck Water said:
? McDaniel played football at Yale. Where he earned a degree in history. Shades of Marv Levy and his masters degree in History from Harvard.
Frankly, I think you need a lot of football talent to play football at just about any school beyond HS level, but Yale ain't DI
What's impressive is that McDaniel got into Yale without being a legacy applicant (ie, an applicant who has one or more family members who graduated from the school) or a gifted athlete. For the 2146 openings in the Class of 2028, Yale had 57,228 applicants. Being the child/grandchild of an alumnus or an outstanding HS athlete moves any applicant up to top of the applicant list.
4 hours ago, Captain Hindsight said:Miami is absolutely loaded, especially on offense
If The Bills had Tyreek Hill and Jaylin Waddle and Achane, Josh Allen would only need to play half of each game and they would still break the scoring record
Miami is loaded with talent on the offensive skill positions but their offense is significantly compromised by having mediocre OL play. They have so much invested in their QB and WRs that they can't afford to keep the best of their OLers. That imbalance is likely to bite them in the butt this season since they've lost more talent in free agency or to retirement on both sides of the ball, and come into the draft without filling many of their holes much less improving the talent.
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12 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:
Yeah, the Bills being good has really ruined the draft (and all pre-draft activities) for me. No telling who will be there at 30, or what that talent pool looks like.
I guess I'll take it
But I do miss the days of diving into all the top-prospect data and locking in on a guy I covet.
I don't miss those days at all. I want the Bills to draft #32 every year.
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78 years ago today, April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in MLB.
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15 hours ago, Billl said:
Buffalo drafting EJ Manuel shouldn’t be a cautionary tale for NO. If anything, it should encourage them to take a swing at QB. There wasn’t a player taken in the next 10 picks that would have helped Buffalo in the slightest. Hopkins went 27th with Ertz and Darius Slay going at 35 and 36. None of them were likely in consideration at 16 even if the Bills passed on a QB, so literally nothing of value was lost by taking a swing on EJ. This is a similar draft with most “experts” saying that there isn’t much in the way of high end talent out there. The blue chip prospects are going to be long gone by pick 9, so the opportunity cost of missing on a QB is pretty low.
FYI ... there are other positions that are important besides offensive skill positions. Here are just 3 who could have helped the Bills. All started 16 games for their teams as rookies. EJ Manuel only started 17 games for the Bills in 4 years.
- Justin Pugh was taken at #19; he started at guard as a rookie for the Giants, and was a starter at both guard positions all 11 of his seasons with the Giants and Cardinals.
- Kyle Long was drafted at #20; he started all 16 games at right tackle for the Bears as a rookie and made the Pro Bowl three straight seasons. He was a 2nd team All Pro in 2014. His career was shortened by a series of injuries after the 2015 season, but he still played 7 seasons in the NFL, all as a starter.
- Desmond Trufant was drafted at #22; he started all 16 games as a rookie, made the Pro Bowl once, and was a starting DB for 8 seasons with Atlanta and Detroit.
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On 4/12/2025 at 2:32 PM, Einstein's Dog said:
I disagree with what you're saying.
Henry did not play on a 1 year deal. Henry got a 2 year $16M deal according to Spotrac. Nothing really prove it about it, people here were talking about whether the Bills should make a bid.
Similarly Saquon was not playing on a one year deal. He had signed a 3 year $37.75 contract.
Philly also just gave Saquan an extension and a pay raise. Baltimore is seeking to extend Henry for 2025 and beyond, too.
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1 hour ago, FireChans said:
Just for funsies, I did a 2017-2018 deep dive.
Guess that poster!
”I am adamantly opposed to trading up for any QB except the consensus #1 pick in the draft. They succeed about 80% of the time, after that the success rate drops like a rock: 50% for QBs in the top half of the first round. Trading up for the 3rd best QB prospect ... supposing there even is one ... is a waste of resources. If 2 QBs are already off the board, stay put and see who's available at your spot ... or take a flier on a QB in the 2nd or 3rd round.”
These are the first round QBs plus later round QBs of some significance drafted between 2000 and 2014, and so would have time to develop into pros by 2017 or 2018.
2000 - #18 - Chad Pennington #199 - Tom Brady
2001 - #1 - Michael Vick #32 - Drew Brees
2002 - #1 - David Carr #3 - Joey Harrington #32 - Patrick Ramsey #81 - Josh McKown #108 - David Garrard
2003 - #1 - Carson Palmer #7 Byron Leftwich #19 - Kyle Boller #22 - Rex Grossman
2004 - #1 - Eli Manning #4 - Phillip Rivers #11 - Ben Roethlisberger #22 - JP Losman #90 - Matt Schaub
2005 - #1 - Alex Smith #24 - Aaron Rodgers #25- Jason Campbell #106 - Kyle Orton #213 - Derek Anderson #230 - Matt Cassel #250 - Ryan Fitzpatrick
2006 - #3 - Vince Young #10 - Matt Leinart #11 - Jay Cutler
2007 - #1 - Ja'Marcus Russell #22 - Brady Quinn
2008 - #3 - Matt Ryan #18 Joe Flacco
2009 - #1 - Matthew Stafford #5 - Mark Sanchez #17 - Josh Freeman
2010 - #1 - Sam Bradford #25 - Tim Tebow
2011 - #1 - Cam Newton #8 - Jake Locker #10 - Blaine Gabbert #12 - Christian Ponder #35- Andy Dalton #36- Colin Kaepernick #180 - Tyrod Taylor
2012 - #1 - Andrew Luck #2 - Robert Griffin III #8 Ryan Tannehill #22 - Brandon Weeden #57 - Brock Osweiller #75 - Russell Wilson #88 - Nick Foles #102 -Kirk Cousins
2013 - #16 - EJ Manuel #39 - Geno Smith
2014 - #3 - Blake Bortles #22 - Johnny Manziel #32 - Teddy Bridgewater #36 - Derek Carr #62 - Jimmy Garoppolo
The third best first round QBs were Patrick Ramsey, Kyle Boller, Ben Roethlisberger, Jason Campbell, Jay Cutler, Josh Freeman, Blaine Gabbert, Ryan Tannehill and Teddy Bridgewater. Only Ben Roethlisberger was worth trading up to get (and I think Pittsburgh did).
FTR, the 3rd first round QBs between 2015 and 2023 were: Paxton Lynch (#26 in 2016), Deshaun Watson (#12 in 2017), Josh Allen (#7 in 2018), Dwayne Haskins (#15 in 2019), Justin Herbert (#6 in 2020), Trey Lance (#3 in 2021), and Anthony Richardson (#4 in 2022). Only Allen and Herbert were worth trading up to get.
I'll stand by what I said back in 2018. Trading up to take the third best QB in a draft is a very iffy proposition.
1 hour ago, FireChans said:“How'd that work out in 2013? It's not ANY QB but the RIGHT QB that they have to draft”
That's as true in 2025 as it was in 2018.
1 hour ago, FireChans said:“They have too many holes to fill to waste high draft picks on a QB who's ceiling is "backup QB". They can draft one of those on Day 2 or Day 3 if they want somebody better than Peterman (which I hope they do but they have bigger needs right now, so I wouldn't be upset if they didn't”
I have always owned that I thought that drafting Allen was a mistake in 2018. I didn't think that the Bills "drafted the wrong Josh" because I thought that both would be busts. I was wrong, and I've always acknowledged that.
1 hour ago, FireChans said:
“That's what many fans thought about the 2011 and 2012 drafts, too. They were howling because the Bills didn't draft Blane Gabbert or Christian Ponder or trade up to get Robert Griffin III. Aside from Newton, Luck, and maybe Tannehill (depending how you view him vs Dalton and Cousins) the best QBs from 2011 and 2012 came out of rounds other than Round 1 (Andy Dalton, Russell Wilson, Kirk Cousins).”Nothing that's transpired since has changed the truth of that statement.
1 hour ago, FireChans said:“Well, the disaster that was the Bills in 2013-2014 is a cautionary tale for teams (and their fans) who think sending a veteran QB packing to save a few $$ because they plan on drafting a QB in the first round”
The Bills cut Fitzpatrick prior to the 2013 draft because they planned on drafting a QB in the 2013 draft, regardless of the quality of the QBs in that class. Manuel was unimpressive as a rookie, and he didn't improve as a sophomore. The Bills replaced him with Kyle Orton who was simply playing for a paycheck ... and it cost the Bills the win that would have put them in the playoffs.
1 hour ago, FireChans said:”If they think Roquan Smith is a better LB than Lamar Jackson is a QB, and they go BPA, that works for me. A first round stud is a stud. A first round bust is an expensive backup. In fact, with all the hysteria over 4 or 5 potential first round QBs, maybe taking a guy in the 2nd or 3rd round is a smart move because those guys get lost in the shuffle.”
What's wrong with that? I'll stand by that all day, every day. If a team needs players at several positions, they should take the one they like best for one of those positions. If New Orleans loves Sanders, they should take him at #9, but they shouldn't take him just because they need a QB. With their roster, they'll have other opportunities to pick a QB early in Round 1 in the next couple of years.
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7 hours ago, FireChans said:
May I introduce you to the 2017 draft. You may have heard about it.
The sole reason the Bills drought lasted as long as it did is between Kelly and Allen, they drafted TWO QBs in the first lol.
Bull manure.
The reason the Bills drought lasted so long was because the owner and his surrogate, Russ Brandon, operated the team to maximize profits. The aim was to spend the minimum amount necessary to field a team that won just enough to convince fans to fill the seats. The last Bills GM before Beane was hired to put winning over maximizing profits was Tom Donahoe. He traded a first round pick to get Drew Bledsoe and he traded up in the 2004 to draft JP Losman. Both of those QBs were compromised by the team's lack of support in terms of providing either with decent coaching, OL, and WRs.
Under Brandon the Bills played "money ball". They drafted players and they signed FAs with the sole purpose of conning fans into believing the team was attempting to build a winning team. It's why they hired obscure That's why they replaced RB McGahey with Marshawn Lynch and then replaced Lynch with CJ Spiller. It's why they signed Terrell Owens and later Mario Williams. It's also why they drafted Manuel in 2013 and let Stephon Gilmore leave in free agency so they needed to draft Tre'Davious White in 2017 to replace him. Between 2006 and 2013, the Bills were literally a farm team for the rest of the NFL as so many of the good/great players they developed went on to star on other teams because the team "couldn't afford them" while the Bills rosters were filled with waiver wire refugees, UDFAs, and Day 3 draft picks.
Luckily for Bills fans, Pegula got lucky that his choice for HC, Rex Ryan, crashed and burned. Both McDermott and Brandon Beane were "outsiders" to the Bills organization. We got even luckier when Russ Brandon was fired in 2018 for issues unrelated to how he ran the football team, and Pegula essentially turned the team over to Brandon Beane to run.
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58 minutes ago, FireChans said:
I really don't understand this concept ha.
Bottom out to do what? Eventually have a QB prospect fall in your lap in the top 10? That's what they have, right now.
Their cap situation SUCKS, no one can deny that. But it's getting easier .They aren't over the cap in 26 and they are basically free from a ton of their old money in 2027.
To me this is such a drought era Bills loser concept. Being 2 years away from being 2 years away, we'll take a QB next time, we aren't ready yet etc etc. Trading guys like Chris Olave away to draft other talented players in the top 10 that will get infected by your loser franchise culture for 2-3 years until you try to find a QB.
The Bills FO during the drought never put off drafting a QB or any player because the current team "wasn't ready", ie had enough talent; they didn't draft good/great players in critical positions when they had the opportunity to do so because they were using premium draft picks to replace good starters that they either traded away or allowed to walk in free agency.
Drafting a QB simply because he's the best of QB in a draft without really outstanding QB prospects is definitely a "drought era Bills loser concept". The Bills did exactly that in 2013 when they drafted EJ Manuel.
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3 hours ago, PastaJoe said:
What’s a few dead kids from getting hit by cars, as long as they get playtime. 🙄
In my city, it would improve the gene pool. Despite the city having sidewalks and using sidewalk plows to clear those sidewalks during the winter, too many kids (and their dumbass parents) regularly walk in the streets.
// sarcasm off
Seriously, in my area, the rural and suburban kids all get picked up by buses. In the city, most kids actually do use the sidewalks. More importantly, this is whitetail deer country. Rural, suburban, urban -- nobody with half a brain drives carelessly before/around sunrise or sunset because smacking a deer is a very real possibility.
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On 4/8/2025 at 6:43 PM, BillsFanForever19 said:
Why?
Reports are he's playing for us this season. No reports yet of any holdout. Even his brother, who is looked at as a negative influence, knew better than to hold out in 2020 even when he threatened to (which to date, James hasn't).
Without Cook, we don't beat the Ravens. Without Cook, we wouldn't have stayed alive in the Chiefs game. We don't know if a Rookie is going to give us that. We don't even know that we won't bring him back after this season. We invested a 2nd in him, we should at least get the full Rookie contract out of him.
Have him on the roster playing his hardest in the Playoffs trying to get paid. If someone pays him what he's asking, we'll get more in a compensatory pick than his worth this year and we'll have him on the Roster this year.
I know it's the time of the season where you get completely manic about trading players for more picks. But it doesn't make sense to give him up and another pick this offseason for a prospect to replace him. You'd have had us trading away Dion Dawkins a couple years ago. You'd have had us trading Spencer Brown last season. If the team listened to you, they'd be trading away anyone of value on a yearly basis over lottery tickets that you get enamored with at this point in the offseason.
And Cook and a 4th isn't getting you to where you need to go to grab Henderson anyways. Worry about re-signing him or replacing him next offseason. We have enough to do this year without creating more holes.
This is similar to what the Drought Era Bills used to do. The only difference is that the Bills FO back then wasn't nearly as interested in winning football games as they were in maximizing profits, so they either let their best players walk in FA or they traded them away for next to nothing. In both the Drought Era and the current desire of some fans to trade away players for draft picks, the result is having to use premium draft picks to fill self-created holes instead of spending premium draft picks on players who could improve the team.
Cook is only doing what players do, trying to get paid as much as he can. That he uses social media to make his wishes known is also just what people his age do.
On 4/8/2025 at 7:23 PM, DrDawkinstein said:Like $13M. Just re-sign him.
edited for accuracy
I would really prefer that the Bills re-sign Cook, too. He is truly an explosive threat in the running game, and it's unlikely that the Bills can replace him as easily as some think.
Fans need to have some patience. There's absolutely no reason to trade Cook at this time since there's no immediate deadline looming to get a new deal done. They could make a deal next month or before the season starts or even before FA begins next March.
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7 hours ago, Low Positive said:
The Bills started at 21. They traded up to 12 with Cincinnati before the draft.
Thanks. I thought the #12 was too high because the Bills made the playoffs in 2017, but I couldn't find any references to a previous trade. I guess I didn't ask the right questions ... like what did the Bills get for Cordy Glenn, whom I knew that they did trade.
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36 minutes ago, JP51 said:
Nice notion, but we moved up about the same amount for Allen... and that cost was big, I cannot see doing it for a cb/Wr especially with our needs.. the cost of failure would be astronomical...
The Bills first rounder in 2018 was #12, which gave them about twice the trade value points than they have at #30. They gave up #12 plus #53 and #56 to move up to #7. That's 5 spots. The Bills would be moving up about 25 spots. Not realistic.
Hunter is likely to go in the top five, which is about 200 or more trade value points higher than #7. The Bills would have to give up their 2025 first and both seconds plus their 2026 first plus possibly other picks or players. I don't think that Hunter is worth nearly that much. I'm not sure that even Abdul Carter is worth that much draft capital.
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10 hours ago, billsfan89 said:
The Bills "over investing" at RB was more of a 2000's thing. They drafted Henry in round 2, Willis in round 1, Lynch in round 1, and Spiller in round 1 all in a 10 draft span. I get RB's have a short shelf life but 4 picks in the first two rounds (with 3 being in round 1) in a 10 draft period is excessive. Especially since 3 out of 4 of those RB's were fairly good players and the team found an undrafted gem in Fred Jackson. The Spiller pick and the Willis picks the more egregious examples of just losing a valuable pick at a position losing value.
The Bills "over investing" at RB wasn't about "losing a valuable pick at a position losing value". In the early 2000s, RBs were still valued. It was about the team philosophy that emphasized maximizing profits over winning.
Consequently, the Bills rarely re-signed the best players they drafted and used high draft picks to fill the holes created by losing those players. They did similar things with DBs as they did with RBs, letting first rounders Antoine Winfield, Sr, Nate Clements, and Donte Whitner along with 2nd round DB Jairus Byrd, all excellent DBs with multiple Pro Bowl and/or All Pro awards, leave while keeping first rounder Leodis McKelvin who was not nearly as good as the DBs they allowed to leave.
The Bills weren't missing on high draft picks at RB and DB and needed to try again and again. They spent a lot of draft capital replacing good players that they didn't want to spend the money to keep.
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8 hours ago, Doc Brown said:
Only team to draft three RB's in the first round during the drought span. Those picks could've went to more premium positions. Glad those days are over.
Exactly -- and this was back in the days when teams frequently re-signed their best RBs because they valued them more than they do today. The only sorta "dud" in the trio was Spiller. McGahey was a pro-bowler, maybe an All Pro, for Baltimore before going on to Denver and rushing for nearly 1200 yards and another Pro Bowl season. Lynch was an All Pro and multiple Pro Bowler for the Seahawks and led them to a SB. He might become a HOFer, too.
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2 hours ago, Rock-A-Bye Beasley said:
20 years? I remember a string of 1st round running backs, Lesean McCoy and Fred Jackson.
maybe you’re thinking of Josh Allen?Finding good RBs was never the Bills issue during the Drought Era. Keeping the good ones was always the problem because the Bills, especially under Russ Brandon, never paid their best "home grown talent".
- They drafted McGahee at #23 in 2003, and traded him for a 3rd and a 7th in 2007.
- They used their #12 pick in 2007 on Marshawn Lynch to replace him. Lynch ran for consecutive 1000+ until he fell out of favor with Jauron. The Bills traded Lynch to Seattle for a 2011 4th round pick in October 2010.
- They used their #9 pick in 2010 on CJ Spiller whom they allowed to leave in free agency in 2015.
1 hour ago, Einstein's Dog said:I suggest that the acquiring team would want him as a bellcow because that would be a team where Cook would have the greatest perceived value. A team planning on using Cook in that manner would be willing to give up more to acquire him. Also, I believe that would please and motivate Cook, you wouldn't be trading a disgruntled player.
Cook has improved each year - from a fumbler to great ball security, to getting tough yards. For an ascending RB it is not a stretch to think that he could improve his pass blocking, especially since pass blocking is dependent a lot upon desire. True, he is on the small size but he does appear to have gotten stronger each year.
$5M is an excellent deal for Cook for a year as it is, but it is a great deal for a team that wants a bellcow RB (which doesn't seem to be Buff).
Oh, it would undoubtedly be a great deal for whatever team that got him, just like trading for McGahee and Lynch worked out great for the Ravens and Seahawks. It wouldn't be a good deal for the Bills. The best deal for the Bills would be for the two sides to reach a compromise that keeps Cook on the team for several more seasons. Keeping Cook for the 2025 season and allowing him to leave in FA in 2026 and getting a comp pick is the second best deal imo.
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Bills 5th Round Pick (#2) : Jackson Hawes - TE - Georgia Tech
in The Stadium Wall
Posted
One of the best OTs who ever played for the Bills was an UDFA TE named Jason Peters. Back in the days of the OJ Simpson's Electric Company, a converted TE named Paul Costa anchored one side of the OL that helped OJ run for 2003 yards ... in 14 games. Maybe Hawes is the next Bills TE to move to OT.