True Blue

The blame is equally shared by McD and Beane because both are joined at the hip. Beane is the GM and has the final say, but I believe McD has influence in every decision made when it comes to roster construction with the draft, free agency, and the coaching staff. 1. Coaching Staff. It's no coincidence that coordinators who have had success prior to being hired by the Bills such as Frazier, Daboll, and Kromer, have had the most success with the Bills compared to everyone else we've hired. Assistants such as Rick Dennison sucked as NFL OC for the Broncos (2006–2008, 2015–2016) and the Texans (2010–2013). We have inexperienced assistants like Dorsey, Brady, and Babich. Dorsey had zero NFL OC experience prior to being named OC for the Bills, and the same applies to Babich whose NFL experience as DC is limited to his time with the Bills. Brady spent only 2 seasons as OC with the Panthers (2020–2021). When you have a unicorn like Allen, we should be hiring some of the best and brightest in the business but we're having to pass on some of the best and the brightest because McD wants YES MEN he can control. No man worth a lick is willing to be a yes man which is why we don't hire some of the best and the brightest. It was widely reported that Leslie Frazier's departure from the Bills stemmed from a disagreement with McD over defensive play calling duties. Tensions began by the defensive play-calling during the final 13 seconds of the AFC Divisional playoff game against the Chiefs in 2022, when the Bills surrendered a field goal to tie the game, which many attributed to a soft defensive scheme. It was later reported that McD had called the plays during that specific sequence. After the 2022 season, the issue came to a head when McD decided he would call the plays for the 2023 season. Frazier was unwilling to accept this arrangement and reportedly refused the demotion, leading to McD suggesting he could leave. The official announcement stated that Frazier would be taking a year long hiatus from coaching to "take a step back". There's friction between McD and Daboll, primarily stemming from philosophical differences, specifically regarding the run game versus the passing game. Daboll wanted to pass more and McDermott wanting to run more. Daboll was looking for a new job and wanted out of Buffalo, even without a head coaching job in place, partly because of his relationship with McD. Dorsey was fired during the 2023 season because of ongoing conflict with McD stemming from McD's micromanagement and the two disagreeing on how to implement the offense. McD Effect: McD's defense leans heavily on zone coverages — Cover 2, Cover 3, even Cover 4 are commonly used. He’ll disguise coverage frequently by showing two-high safeties pre-snap and then rotating one into the box or another area post-snap, but the problem with that tends to work most of the time vs average QB's or offensive coaches but mostly not vs the good or great ones. Same old one gap system which means linemen focus on penetrating specific gaps rather than two-gapping and reading blocks. The idea is to keep the structure simple, so players can react quickly, play fast, and be aggressive without overthinking. This allows his front to be aggressive and disrupt plays early, rather than absorb blocks, but the problem with that is the rush defense is prone to long runs if we're unable to disrupt plays early or shoots through the wrong gap which is what we've seen happen to our rush defense year in and year out, no matter who or what the personnel is. While McDermott’s approach is aggressive, that doesn’t mean he blitzes constantly. Instead, his aggressiveness comes through line stunts, movement, and pressure generated from the front-seven, not just sending extra rushers, but the problem with that vanilla style of defense is it makes life easier on the opposing teams to gameplan for and play against since it's so predictable. Another problem that McD has is he makes too many defensive substitutions which doesn't allow anyone to get into a groove. The same can be said about our WR core. Not only does the offense eats, but the defense does too LOL. Joe Brady Effect: The biggest red flag with Joe Brady is he has a habit of making WR's stats worse. Curtis Samuel, Joshua Palmer, and Elijah Moore, all had better stats before they played for the Bills and during. Stephon Diggs statistical drop-off from Ken Dorsey and Joe Brady will blow your mind. Dorsey was fired by the Bills the day after our 10th game of the season which was a loss to the Broncos on November 14th of 2023 and replaced by Brady on the same day. Diggs stats with Dorsey: the first 10 games was 73 Receptions (7.3 per game avg) on 102 Targets (10.2 per game avg) for 868 Yards (86.8 yards per game avg) and 7 TD's (TD rate of 0.7). Diggs stats with Brady as OC the last 7 games of 2023: 34 Receptions (3.4 per game avg down from 7.3 with Dorsey) on 58 Targets (8.28 down from 10.2 with Dorsey) for 315 Yards (45 yards per game avg down from 86.8 with Dorsey) and ONE TD (TD rate of 0.14 down from 0.7 with Dorsey) This indicates a 53.4% decrease in receptions per game, 18.8% decrease in targets per game, 48.1% decrease in yards per game, and a 79.6% decrease in TD's per game. It's safe to say Brady's system is not WR friendly. 2. McBeane Personnel and Roster Construction: For the most part, ever since 2018, McBeane has failed at finding premier or blue chip players in the first 3 rounds of the Draft, failed in Free Agency, failed at managing the cap, and doesn't have a clue as to how to build a team physically. Too many undersized DT's and LB'ers. Too many 3 TECH DT's and not enough big, nasty, and physical 1 TECH DT's. Too many tweener DE/3 TECH DT's. Too many big DE's and not enough athletic types. We've seen a pattern of struggling vs the run, generating sacks, small and fragile Linebackers and DT's, reliance on too many big outside WR's no jitterbug types surrounding Allen with WR's that opposing teams Some players who left Buffalo played better elsewhere. Take Poona Ford, Wyatt Teller, Jerry Hughes, and Harrison Phillips as examples. Ford was with the Bills in 2023, but had a much stronger season after leaving and signing with the Los Angeles Chargers. In 2024, Poona recorded 39 total tackles, 3.0 sacks, 5 passes defended, and a superb PFF score of 85.1. His performance was disruptive in both run and pass defense, and that led to him getting a 3 year deal afterward with the Rams. Poona's PFF thus far this season is 82.9. Despite playing well, McBeane traded Wyatt Teller to the Cleveland Browns for a 5th and 6th round pick. Hughes had only 2 sacks with the Bills in 2021, but the following year had 9 with the Houston Texans. With Buffalo (2018-2021) Harrison's role was more rotational; his single-season high with the Bills was modest (he never posted huge counting totals while in Buffalo). After Buffalo (Vikings, 2022–2024): Phillips became a full-time starter and recorded career highs — most notably 92 tackles and 3.0 sacks in 2023. That single-season tackle total is clearly higher than any year he had in Buffalo, driven by a jump in snaps/starting role. Offensively, our pass catchers is not built in a way that's taylor-made to bring out the best of Allen's strengths and physical skills. Too many slow OUTSIDE WR's instead of fast and shifty despite having a QB with a howitzer for an arm is mind boggling. Top end speed make plays downfield and stretches the field to keep defenses honest. Too many SLOT WR's. Dalton Kincaid is a TE posing as a SLOT RECEIVER. Curtis Samuel is primarily a SLOT RECEIVER. Khalil Shakir is a SLOT RECEIVER. Elijah Moore plays SLOT and OUT WIDE. For God sakes, there's not enough snaps for all of them. Brandon Beane threw two 3rd round picks in the trash for Kelvin Benjamin and Amari Cooper because we didn't get a good return on investment. In 16 games played, Benjamin had only 39 receptions on 89 targets for 571 yards (35.7 YPG) and 2 TD's between 2017 and 2018. Cooper had only 20 receptions on 32 targets for 297 yards (37.1 YPG) and 2 TD's in 8 games. It took McBeane 2 full seasons (2018 and 2019) before they paired Allen with a stud #1 WR in a trade for Stephon Diggs in 2020. Since May of 2017, McBeane have only been able to add a stud #1 WR a grand total of ONCE in 9 seasons, 8 WITH ALLEN, which is unacceptable. McBeane hasn't been able to find a stud WR themselves be it through the Draft or FA, they're so inept they needed to trade for someone else's stud receiver. Cole Beasley signed as a UFA in 2018. In 2019, John Brown and Tyler Kroft signed as a UFA, and we drafted Dawson Knox. Traded for Diggs in 2020. In summary, it took McBeane 3 full seasons to finally surround Allen with a pass catching core that threatens defenses when it should've been done sooner than 3. Gabe Davis was drafted in 2021, Khalil Shakir in 2022, and Dalton Kincaid in 2023. By my count the hits include 1 stud WR, 4 good WR's, and 2 good TE's, in 9 seasons. Here's the whiffs by McBeane. Zay Jones, Kelvin Benjamin, Jordan Matthews, Deonte Thompson, and Andre Holmes in 2017. Zay Jones, Robert Foster, and Kelvin Benjamin in 2018. John Kumerow, and Tommy Sweeney in 2019. Isaiah Hodgins in 2020. Jake Kumerow, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling in 2021. None in 2022. Justin Shorter and Tyrell Shavers in 2023. Keon Coleman, Amari Cooper, and Elijah Moore in 2024. and Joshua Palmer in 2025. I won't count Isaiah McKenzie in 2019, Emmanuel Sanders in 2021, or Jackson Hawes in 2025 as a whiff since they're all solid players. By my count, that's 19 whiffs by McBeane. In summary, by my count when you count the hits and the whiffs, only 7 of 26 total pass catchers (27%) in 9 seasons between 2017 to 2025 are hits, 19 are whiffs, and 3 are neutral. 2026-2027 Season: Bills have 15 UFA's, and 3 RFA's. UFA notables on Defense are Joey Bosa, A.J. Epenesa, DaQuan Jones, Larry Ogunjobi, Matt Milano, Shaq Thompson, Tre White, Cam Lewis, and Damar Hamlin, UFA on Offense are Connor McGovern, David Edwards, Mitch Trubisky, Elijah Moore, Reggie Gilliam, and Punter Mitch Wishnowsky. The 3 RFA's are Ryan Van Demark, Alec Anderson, and Ja'Marcus Ingram. 3 of these 19 players are OL, 2 of which are starters which won't be cheap to re-sign. I expect Van Demark to be tendered, and Trubisky and Gilliam to be re-signed, and possibly Wishnowsky. Out of the 9 defensive players, the only defensive player worth a lick to re-sign is Cam Lewis. The defense needs a makeover anyways. I expect there to be some cap casualties as well. Knox $10 million in savings, Samuel $6 million, Palmer $5 million, and Rapp $3.5 million. Post June 1st release candidates could be Taron Johnson $9 million. Spotrac projects the Bills will have approximately $8.5 million in cap space for 2026, and $3 million according to Over the Cap. The final 2026 NFL salary cap amount is not yet set, but projections estimate the cap will be around $300 million, which is a nearly 7.5% increase from the 2025 cap of $279.2 million. Based on these projections, the Bills will have approximately $24 million to $28.5 million in salary cap space in 2026. McBeane has their work cut out for them. I know I left out other concerns but flame away.

I'd offer the Jags Coleman and a 1st for Brian Thomas Jr

IF we trade for a WR it'll most likely be for Rasheed Shaheed and for multiple reasons here's why... 1. Saints are 1-7 which means they're not making the playoffs which makes them sellers at the trade deadline November 4th, and a realistic trade partner. 2. Salary Cap wise, we can afford Shaheed. The Bills currently have $2.54 million in salary cap space. As of Week 8, a team trading for wide receiver Rashid Shaheed would take on a prorated cap hit of approximately $2.22 million for the remainder of the year which we can afford. 3. Trading for Shaheed opens up an additional roster spot since he has experience as a WR, KR, and PR. Bills currently have 1 open roster spot. Ed Oliver is expected to go on IR which will open another roster spot which will be used on his replacement. Curtis Samuel and Brandon Codrington are the primary KR and both are tied for the 5th best in the NFL with an average of 27 yards per KR, however Codrington is averaging a paltry 5.8 yards per Punt Return which ranks as the 5th worst in the NFL amongst all Punt Returners, and dead last amongst all PR with 10+ Punt Returns. Shaheed currently ranks as the 9th best PR with an average of 13.3 yards per Punt Return. Shaheed has a history of being an elite returner, earning All-Pro honors as a punt returner in 2023. Shaheed is an upgrade to Codrington as the primary PR and backup KR to Samuel, and an upgrade to our outside WR's. Another benefit of trading for Shaheed is McD has the option to not dress Samuel on gamedays in favor of someone else with Shaheed as the primary KR instead of Samuel. By trading for Shaheed and releasing Codrington, kills up to 3 birds with 1 stone. Shaheed is a free agent after this season. I'd offer the Saints a 5th round pick but will go as high a 4th.

This team has more holes than Swiss cheese

I agree. I’m thinking more along the lines of Coleman is a role player that enters the game as a slot receiver whenever Kincaid or Shakir needs a breather. Coleman isn’t starting material.

If it were me I’d bench Coleman but if McD insists on starting him I’d line him up as a slot receiver

Coleman needs to be moved to slot receiver

Lets go Lions!!!

Who's yo daddy Miami. WE ARE.

A win is a win baby. WOOOOO!

One word. BANDCAMP. McD loves his former players. When in need go with who your most familiar with. If you've played for McD in the past, your job application gets pushed to the top of the heap lol.

Tell that to Eagles GM Howie Roseman and Ravens GM Eric DeCosta just to name a few teams who draft late like us every season. Unlike Beane, those GM's find blue chip talent way more than Beane does

4 of those players are no longer on this team, if they were good enough, most of them if not all, would still be on this team

The man sucks in rounds 1-3 but is great in 4-7 which makes him a decent GM. My biggest gripe with Beane is this team lacks blue chip talent and this is a biproduct of struggling to draft blue chip talent in premium rounds 1-3. Beane is struggling to build a great defensive line despite spending a lot of money and premium draft picks along the defensive line. Hopefully Beane hits on Jackson, Sanders, and Walker.

You and I obviously disagree on the definition of what a ''good player and productive player'' is. In my opinion, a ''good player'' is a starter or deserves to start. A ''productive player'' is a backup or role player. Having said that, from 2018-2024, Brandon Beane drafted 15 players in rounds 2 and 3, and traded away an additional two 3rd round picks for Rasul Douglas and Amari Cooper, which makes it a subtotal of 17 picks. 2018: Harrison Phillips 2019: Cody Ford, Devin Singletary, Dawson Knox 2020: A.J. Epenesa, Zack Moss 2021: Boogie Basham, Spencer Brown 2022: James Cook, Terrel Bernard 2023: O’Cyrus Torrence, Dorian Williams 2024: Keon Coleman, Cole Bishop, DeWayne Carter In my opinion, 5 of the highlighted names above of the 15 total names drafted by Brandon Beane are wasted draft picks because they didn't live up to expectations from premium 2nd and 3rd round draft picks. As far as the 2024 draft goes, it's too early to determine whether or not Coleman, Bishop and Carter are worth 2nd and 3rd round picks, but as of today Bishop and much more so Carter, aren't looking good which could very well end up being a total of 7 bad premium draft picks we didn't get a good return on investment on. I changed my mind and listed Rasul Douglas as worthy of giving up a 3rd round pick because he gave us 2 good years as CB2. We drafted Edefuan Ulofoshio with the 5th round pick we received from the Packers in the Rasul Douglas trade. Ulofoshio is a failure and just got released. Amari Cooper on other hand is a wasted 3rd round pick because the return on investment was a pathetic 1 year rental who played a total of 8 games and only got 20 receptions for 297 yards and 2 TD's, and in addition was a ghost in the AFC Championship game when we needed him the most had only 4 catches for 33 yards. By my count, Ford, Singletary, Epenesa, Moss, Basham, and giving up a 3rd round pick in a trade for Amari Cooper, makes it a minimum of 6 wasted draft picks out of 12 from 2018 to 2023. There's a very good odds that it'll end up being 8 wasted draft picks IF Bishop and Carter continues to struggle and not live up to expectations.