The Red King

I love how some people say Buffalo had a bad team, backed into the playoffs and didn't deserve to be there. Remembber, Buffalo made it instead of the Ravens because of the strength of victory tie-breaker. Their nine victories were over teams with a combined better win-loss record. Then they play their first playoff game in the 21st century on the road, losing by only seven points to a team that went on to beat Pitt at Pitt and then almost beat NE at NE. Yeah, they really showed they didn't belong, right? As for prime time, Buffalo has no storylines atm. What is the pull? The national draw? Recently, and especially last year, our storyline was The Drought. That was the national draw. Were the hard-knock Bills finally going to break the longest playoff drought in pro sports? A lot of people were keeping an eye on the Bills nationally by Week 17, rooting for the underdog, hoping those poor slobs made it in. And they did, of course. But what now? The Drought is over. From a national standpoint, from an outsider standpoint, what is currently compelling about the Bills? What will attract viewers? No big-name QB, no high-octane offense, the only real (one-sided) rivalry got a MNF game this year. Also, keep in mind Buffalo has been terrible in prime time. Factor all of that in and tell me, if you worked for the NFL, would you give the Bills more then one prime time game this year?

The crux is, when the Bills needed 4th quarter comebacks, Flutie was able to deliver. Tyrod couldn't. That's the difference between them. Crunch time came, Flutie doubled down and looked sharp. TT on the other hand looked lost every time he had to run the two-minute drill with the game on the line. ...and I still have my 1st and 2nd edition unopened boxes of Flutie Flakes in the kitchen.

"He's not dead, he's drafting." "Drafting?!?" ...I say we must one up this. For our pick a live buffalo must walk up to the podium and poop out paper with the pick's name on it. Less gimmicks, more substance please NFL.

The Jets payed an obscene amount of picks to move up just three spots in a deal that took place not during, but well before the draft. Precious little else would surprise me now this draft.

I'd be fine removing the Free Kick. Safeties are a rare thing and you're already rewarded 2 points for it. Replace the Free Kick with the team scoring the safety getting 2 points and the ball on their own 40. Free Kicks can't be kicked onside anyway. As for kickoffs, I'd really hate to see them go. They can be game-changers, especially onside kicks. How many times have we watched the end of a game thinking "Team <x> is out of time outs, twenty seconds left on the clock. They better hope for a good runback!"? Who can forget The Music City Miracle (as much as we try. XD)? The Bills kicking the suicide onside during The Comeback? Kickoffs may seem trivial for most of the game, but during the last couple minutes of a game they can become critical. There has to be a better way then just axing them.

Many here already are (for example the thread "Beane Cost us the 3rd overall pick."). I must have mistook some other responses on this thread as yours and apologize for that.

At the same time, Foles will never be worth more in trade-bait then he is right now. The Eagles might strike while the iron is hot. Depends on the offer, I suppose. This is why GMs get paid the big bucks, so many different ways to handle each situation, half of it requires dilligant number-crunching, half of it relies on pure gut instinct. I'm sure these guys are chugging Tums and chasing it down with Pepto on a daily basis this time of year.

This was actually a thing awhile back. Trying to remember details, think it was on HBO. They made a virtual league, pulling from great teams of the past...though no Bills team. Each week a computer would simulate the games, then they spliced and edited actual footage of the teams to make game highlight clips. Was quite creative actually, but only lasted one season. Was a decade or two ahead of its time.

Time will tell. If the Bills manage to trade up on Draft Day, we may never know. If they don't/can't, I suppose we'll see.

Imagine if he won the bid on the Bills back when that was a terrifying possibility. I'm guessing he'd have built a domed stadium and made the NFC pay for it.

As I said prior, if Buffalo cannot feasibly trade up to get the QB they want, they may take a different QB without trading up, then trade for Foles as an insurance plan. The rookie gets to sit on the bench a year and learn, AJ and Foles battle for the starter role, and Peterman gets released. If Buffalo can trade up for the QB they want, they will likely no longer have the picks needed to trade for Foles, which is why there hasn't and won't be a trade for Foles until Draft Day rolls around.

And yet, without knowing exactly what the Bills would have paid to move up, you're already saying Beane blew it. And if we don't move up when the draft finally arrives, again with no idea what the cost will be, you're ready to label him a failure. Beane has a threshold. He will not overpay to move up. You're already calling that threshold unreasonable without even knowing what it actually is...and yet your above reply suggests that even you would have an acceptable threshold. You have absolutely no idea how much Beane is willing to spend, and no idea what he was asked to spend. All we know is the asking price, whatever it was, exceeded the threshold, whatever that was.

I'm curious. How much would be too much to pay to move up in your eyes? Or should the Bills give/have given a team ahead of them whatever they demanded without question? You were the one who said the farm had no value without a QB. Careful when dealing in absolutes and abstracts. McBeane can't afford to just say...

We have two groups here on this subject. Group one consists of fans that want a franchise QB, but figure there is a limit to how much you can reasonably trade away to get one. They figure there are still other holes on the team that need filled. Now, where the threshold for "reasonably trade" varies from person to person, but everyone in this group has settled on a ceiling. Group two believes there is no ceiling, that nothing is off limits. The common phrase is "whatever it takes". Two 1st round picks? Fine. All our first and second? Fine. Every 2018 pick? Fine. Every 2018 and 2019 pick? Of course! Every Bills pick this decade? Why not?!? Throw in Shady and White? What part of "whatever it takes" is unclear? If it takes all our 2018, 2019 and 2020 picks and the whole starting D to move up to #2, then that's what we need to do! Whatever it takes. Beane belongs to the former group, and as a result despite the draft not even occuring yet, group two has already declared him an incompitant failure. He has clearly showed he has actually spending limits when he should obviously just be doing what it takes. It's easy. Cleveland tells you what they want for the top pick, you give it to them without batting an eyelash. If he doesn't, he has obviously screwed up and condemned the Bills to hell so blatently that judgement can already be passed pre-draft. ...the draft cannot come fast enough... >.<

Yes, because we all know The Eagles' season ended the minute Foles had to step in. Let's count Super Bowl wins...Rivers and The Chargers...zero. Dilfer and The Ravens...one. Foles and The Eagles...one. Ergo, according to your assertation above, Foles and Dilfer are obviously better QBs then Rivers, right?

Also, isn't that really an utterly pointless Tweet? A backup who had a taste of glory, not only outgunning Brady and winning a Super Bowl, but also winning SB MVP...would...love to be a starter again? Does this shock anyone? Surprise anyone? A backup wants to start, that's...not a rarity in the NFL. Now, if Foles wanted to be a backup, content to step in if needed but far preferred staying on the sideline holding a clipboard...now that would be Tweet-worthy.

This "QB is the only thing that matters" though is really vexing me. Hey guys, remember the early '90s? You know, when the Bills went to four straight Super Bowls? When Jim Kelly single-handedly won the conference year after year with his talent alone, and the other 21 starters were all no-name nobodies that contributed nothing to the team? I mean you just have to look at the Hall of Fame to see the truth. I mean, the only person that mattered, the only person from that team to make it to Canton was Kelly. Because QB is the only position that matters. ...wait... ...um...oh...right. That's not how it happened at all! I swear, the draft cannot get here soon enough.

I think Beene considers him an option. And just that, an option. I believe he also thinks the Eagles are asking a lot more then he's willing to spend to get him. I think Beene is willing to play chicken with the Eagles to see if there is a price drop. If the Eagles blink first, Beene nabs Foles for a bargain that will have us saying "whoa". If they don't blink first, Beene is content to think "oh well" and move on. I have a hunch there is groundwork in place for a possible trade, but Beene wants to see how the start of the draft shakes loose first. He has no idea what the final price tag will be for a trade up to a higher pick and doesn't want to trade away any picks to the Eagles that he'd then wish he had back. If Beene is able to secure the QB he truly wants, great. That will be the end of the Foles talks. If he can't, and he has to settle for a QB he's less sure of, he'll likely still have the draft capital to both nab a different QB in the draft and trade for Foles, giving him a little insurance. If the latter happens, Foles starts, the rookie rides the pine and learns, and we watch Peterman and AJ battle it out. Winner gets the backup spot, loser's gone.

Um...what? I honestly have no idea what you're talking about now. Really, I don't. I cheered for the Bills last year. I'll cheer for them this year, like I have every year since I was a kid. I would take a SB win with anyone under center. That has absolutely nothing to do with your assertion that TT is a great QB simply because (going by your past replies), he was on the first Bills team to make the playoffs this century and QB is the most important position...and nothing more. An assertion I blew out of the water by pointing out that teams have not only made the playoffs, but even won the Super Bowl with mediocre QBs.

Excellent point, thanks. Given how Cinci helped us out last year, my daughter would be thrilled to see them. Moreso then Carolina, I think. Well, one can hope. I just like how the last Kids' Day I went to was affordable, and was hoping for a repeat.

Let's see...we're talking the Browns. You trade up from #4 to #2, take a kicker with #1, punter with #2. ...teasing aside, the answer is completely dependent on how you feel about the QBs. If there is one guy you value well above the rest, you don't mess around, you nab him at #1 and see who's still on the board at #4. If you value several QBs about the same, feel reasonably confident one of them will still be there at #4 and see a non-QB you really want, you might nab them at #1 instead before the Giants potentially swipe them up first.

Are the Bills' still doing Kids Day this season, and if so has the game been announced? I'm guessing it's the Panthers preseason game if past pattern holds, but I hate to assume. I was working during last year's and would like to plan this one a bit more in advance. My daughter would be absolutely thrilled and though my son isn't really a football fan he loves the stadium experience.

It will be hard to top the Kyle Williams offensive TD in terms of sheer awesomeness.

The Bills and Jets were not dealing from position of equality. The Bills could not "match" the Jets, as they did not have the #6 to offer. If the Colts didn't want a QB it's highly likely the player they'd have nabbed at three will still be there at six. If so, the Colts just got all those picks from the Jets effectively for free. Brilliant, and simply not something the Bills could offer. As for the trade itself, the Jets overpayed. They've panicked this offseason, loading up on QBs and trading away their future for yet another one. They're throwing darts at a dartboard and praying something sticks. They overpayed, and during a draft where there isn't a clear cut top QB prospect. They paid too much and pulled the trigger too soon. Beene has a plan, and he's not about to blow all our picks carelessly. Trust the process and don't panic. If you don't like what you see in the draft, then consider panicking. Personally, I'm happy to finally feel like we have a GM who has a plan, rather then just impulse shopping like we have been for a decade or two.