JGMcD2

I don’t think you really understand what you’re talking about right now... Wade himself is on record saying he still has so much to learn and that the playbook still gives him difficulties, he’s still learning block concepts, etc. If you want to throw him out on the field on game day that’s cool... but you’d likely be the first to whine when he makes a mistake. He legitimately has 2 years of professional football experience... he’s a world class athlete learning a brand new sport... everyone knows he isn’t ready. Not if he’s part of the International program. Bills get an exemption and teams aren’t allowed to poach him.

Except Star will help with that too... because it’s means interior players aren’t playing out of position anymore....

This post defies all logic. There’s legitimately zero logic used here. Zero. Learn math.

If the question was WR pairs (#1 and #2) I personally don’t think we’d be that high... probably top 10. WR I think we’re top 3 with Tampa Bay and Dallas in terms of raw talent. Atlanta might be on the periphery.

Me too! I don’t disagree with this at all... not one bit. The good news is... our GM and HC have the exact same mindset. There without a doubt is still room for improvement... but improvement doesn’t have to come in the form of free agency. Would a big FA splash have been one way to improve this team? Absolutely. Is that the only way to improve this team? Absolutely not. I totally understand the need and want to see improvement... for it to be tangible. That’s what a feee agent signing is... it is SO much easier for everyone that way... Where we are right now... a lot of the improvement is going to come from player development... and unless you’re lucky enough to be there every day while these guys are training and playing... it’s going to be a little bit of an unknown for fans until they step on the field.

Lets just all think more like Dion now please...

He’s done a lot given the resources available and the circumstances. Of course there is more work to be done... everyone agrees there. With that being said, there is less work for Beane to do this off-season in terms of improving the Buffalo Bills than there was work to be done for Belichick improving the New England Patriots, or Grier improving the Dolphins or Douglas improving the Jets. Look at it this way... we had less money to spend because we had far less holes to fill. Money was already allocated towards building a competitive roster that ACTUALLY won games last year. The Jets, Patriots and Dolphins had money to spend because they didn’t have as many long term solutions across their roster to contribute to a winning football team. They’re spending money in an attempt to catch us... If we were like 8-8 last year and came into this year with no money to spend and Beane didn’t do anything to improve... yeah I’d be worried... but comparing what we’ve done this off-season to the other AFCE teams and the moves they HAD to make to TRY and get on level us isn’t really a fair or strong argument for the fact that we wouldn’t win the AFCE.

Was he not supposed to spend money to improve the team to the point where they were 13-3 and in the AFCCG? I don’t really understand this train of thought... it’s not just you... I hear it a lot. No COVID and we’re sitting at $30M in cap space entering this off-season. We weren’t up against the cap the way he had it planned out... he’s a pretty meticulous guy. Things changed on a worldwide scale that nobody could foresee...

Well let me pose this question... which teams in the AFCE have as much depth as us AND employ more elite players than us? Which teams in the AFCE don’t have holes at certain positions? You have to realize these teams are making bold moves to catch us... because they really were not anywhere near us over the course of 16 games. I’m not sure there’s a team with a more complete roster than us...

We were really bad here early on. You’re not wrong... it was tough to watch the first 8 weeks or so. Coincidentally Edmunds and Milano were hurt during those first 8 weeks... once they healed up for the stretch run... we were just outside the Top 5 defensively. I expect another year of continuity helping. I expect Star (yes, he’s overpaid) coming back being a big help solely because DL aren’t playing out of position this year. He’s not an impact player but I think he plays an important role... at some point we can replace him for less... but he’s good at his job. I expect a slightly easier schedule to benefit us as well. I expect the confidence and camaraderie from a group that’s pretty much 100% returning to not only help those guys... but usher in a certain expectation for the few new guys and draft picks. We’re returning 21/22 starters from the AFC Championship game and the one spot where a starter isn’t returning we arguably upgraded... and still haven’t reached the draft.

Please delete this it gives me anxiety.

But, but, but Tua has Will Fuller now... Belichick spent $25M/year on a pair of TE who haven’t even combined for 1000 yards in a season... and we didn’t score a touchdown against the Jets the second time we played. We are doomed. 😢

I mean just last year around this time there were talking heads saying that Jarrett Stidham was the best QB in the division.

Is this an opinion piece? Looking for some actual facts to support things being said. We stood still at best... and those teams who weren’t even close to our level (Over)spent some money... this means we won’t repeat as AFCE champions? Our biggest competition last year was Miami and they’ve done what... added a deep threat WR who averages 11 games per year over 4 years for a QB that averaged 6 Y/A... I’m shaking in my boots... especially after they got blown out by Matt Barkley for 2 quarters.

I think you’re right. I also think he ends up making the final roster... but his spot isn’t guaranteed. He said in an interview the same thing happened to him last year. They like him... but keep pushing him harder to earn this back of the roster spot. Fits the whole competition everywhere mantra.

Oh I thought you meant to reflect his proper name... Isaiah McKitrick-McKenzie

I can’t believe we put this much focus on role players/ST team players!!!!! What other team does this? Am I doing it right @FireChans? Welcome back Lil Dirty!!

LIL DIRTY!!!!!!

This is very true. VERY true and very well said. We sorely need a guy who can cover TE. The Buffalo Nickel so to speak... I think the front office has known that for awhile now. I’m actually upset/surprised they took Epenesa over Chinn last year. I really thought that they were going to go with Dugger had he been there or Chinn. I suppose they didn’t foresee Epenesa being available.

I did some analysis on this a few months back before these numbers came out. Information attached. Gives some context to the success of McBeane in FA compared to other organizations. If you’re looking for a deeper dive into things.

Yeah I do agree with that... I think people are looking for your traditional straight line guy... but there’s danger in that one trick pony type. A guy who is lighting fast would be helpful for us... but the idea the Diggs isn’t fast is in fact a myth. It is funny that the year before we traded for Diggs his Y/R was 18... he can take the top off a defense.

Nah he did. I actually don’t disagree with the premise either... You want to have skill set diversity. I’m a baseball guy so I always think about a bullpen. You don’t want 8 guys back there who are all right handed and throw 95 MPH with a 12-6 curveball. You’re limited in what you can do and it makes game planning for teams easier because they only have to focus on one skill set. It’s not bad to mix it up with a few different profiles. The main point was Sanders, Diggs and Beasley all run great routes but none have elite speed or size so they’re all just similar that it makes things easier on opponents. I do agree, but I also don’t think running routes and getting open is a bad thing to have some redundancy with... we seem to value it pretty highly... it’s a front office that is pretty analytically inclined paired with a lot of great football minds. My hunch is that they see AND they know there’s a lot of value in great route runners... probably even more so than we realize and they’re targeting that. They’ve shown a similar penchant for RB who force missed tackles... Singletary and Moss both lead their draft class. I’m not sure I agree 100% because speed is an important skill... but at the same time I don’t know what the information they have looks like and it’s assuredly more complete than anything I have. There is an extremely disparity between resources in pro organizations and public information.

No. I’m asking what these other players do that make them upgrades. I’m not paying Curtis Samuel $11.5M a year to be Isaiah McKenzie... that’s essentially what it boils down to. He has 1 year of significant production in the NFL, otherwise he’s been a nice little gadget player for Carolina. He would’ve been nice for $5-6M a year... $11.5M is too much. You’re banking on him being the type of player he’s never been before... and for a speed guy that take the top off the defense... he sure isn’t catch the ball very deep down field... Same thing with Engram... why pay Engram $6M when you have the same type of player in Dawson Knox? It’s not an upgrade... but you were advocating for it... I actually really do agree with the Josh Allen portion here.