technobot

I'm optimistic, but until they actually do it, no need to crown their ass (Dennis Green). Sports analysis, like most internet commentary (whatever the topic) is a lemming stampede. "This post on Facebook has 1000 thumbs up, I should up it too!" If the Bills are ever great again (please God, make this happen) I have no doubt the talking heads will be tripping over each other to talk about how good the Bills are and how they were the ones to call it first (mostly liars).

I'll admit I wasn't enamoured with the pick at the time but I've learned to trust this FO and if they were sold on him, great. It was a future looking move considering both Shady and Gore are most certainly gone next year, so if they really think Singletary can become a stud I'll really love this move next year. Kudos for being proactive instead of scrambling next year.

Nice post, OP, and I agree (unscientifically) with most if not all your assessments. I thought our #2 defensive ranking was overblown. I saw the defense frequently being gashed up the middle on runs. I saw especially competent offenses (Patriots) have their way with us. We showed well in the second game but eventually, like always, they wore us down and ran away with it. However I feel the defense is close; would love to see a monster 3-tech DL or another stud edge rusher, although I believe the interior lineman is the greater need. This isn't to say the defense was trash; it's difficult to diagnose because the offense was incompetent for the first half of the season, blips (@Vikings) notwithstanding. I think the defense is better by default because the offense (hopefully) is much better, same with special teams as you pointed out. Being better than the 2018 Bills' Offensive Line/Special Teams is a low bar to hurdle, I will jump the gun here and say "mission accomplished". The Peterman thing will always be a head scratcher and a source of concern regarding McDermott, however I've come to accept that he must the world's greatest teammate and is a positive presence in the QB room. I'm not being sarcastic when I say this, he had other teams at least look at him (Raiders still have him, and Lions took a flyer). It says alot about AJ McCarron; he must not have been helpful to the other QBs at all, I think Beane had a quote (paraphrasing) "he was not who we expected". The homer optimism I have every year genuinely feels different this year. With what I believe are two fairly successful drafts under the regime's belt, I'm really looking forward to part 3.

I did once way back in 2005, after the Bills got torched by the Chargers. It started well, I was calling out the Bills for being soft, carrying over from the previous year (getting rolled by Pittsburgh in Buffalo on the final game of the season in a game Buffalo needed and Pittsburgh didn't). This got me worked up, frothing at the mouth angry. I then called out Nate Clements for wanting big money as a UFA in the offseason. He wanted premium shutdown corner money after he got lit up by Eric Parker? HOW DARE HE??? They cut me off at this point.

On top of keeping the Bills in Buffalo, I'm grateful that we have an owner who will (gladly) spend on his team/toy. Also, if he and Kim find the right people (which I think they have) he's willing to get out of the way.

I don't think talk of 11 or even 12 wins is crazy. Likely? Probably not, but they're building themselves in the Carolina mold with a twist. What I mean is they want to play tight defense with complementary special teams and a synergistic offense (control the clock). If alot of things break for them, they could win 12 or 13 games. They could also lose the same amount, even with better play than last year and a better roster, but just be snake-bitten. 9-10 wins sound reasonable with some improvement from the core, upgrades from the new additions in FA and draft, and some (lots of) luck. I'm excited to watch because there's hope although it could go awry in a hurry. If their key pieces, specifically Allen and Edmunds, take a big step, then it could be the beginning of a dominant team. Lots of ifs, but looking forward to the draft and season!

Definitely up there in my Pantheon of Drought Bills. The near universal feedback of him being a great teammate has to be true, right? Easy guy to cheer for no matter how frustrating it was to watch him at times. Was sad to see him go because at the time I think all he wanted was a chance to be the starter. If he lost the job in TC, he just doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would sulk or poison the locker room/try to sabotage the starting QB. In retrospect, I pin much of his failings on having not much to work with outside of Stevie Johnson/Fred Jackson. Do I think he's even in the second tier for starters? Probably not, but it does make you wonder how he would have fared on a good team with a decent O-line, a stout defense, and quality receivers. But agree with the sentiment he's probably best suited as a backup, and the results are expected if you start a typical backup for most of the year.

Late-comer to NFL fanaticism over here. I will blame my father, who is an immigrant. We would watch hockey together, and in late public school I started watching some football with him. When asked who his favourite player was, he answered "Jim Kelly". I would ask a ton of questions because the game was totally confusing to me. He would get annoyed, and it turned out it was because he didn't understand the game either! My best friend in high school broke the game and rules down for me. I've always supported the local heroes, and although Canadian, Buffalo was as close as Toronto and thus became "my team". I will say this... getting to the Bills "late" (i.e. mid 80's) I watched them become good, then dominant. As a neophyte sports fan, I thought they would be good forever, and they would obviously end the Super Bowl curse sooner rather than later. Nothing prepared me for the drought...

Exemplary work ethic, and he's already a leader. Great attitude; he's very positive and has swagger without being a cocky prick. There's no fear of any idiocy from him during the offseason, he's too busy working on his game and building chemistry with his teammates. For some reason he strikes me as the type that is furious with all the "Josh Allen is trash and will never amount to anything with his atrocious, unfixable accuracy issues". Like smashing objects every night angry, we just never hear about it. Where Mayfield wears it like a shirt, Allen doesn't but I really believe it's there and it burns. Not that this kid needs any extra motivation, he's clearly a self-starter. None of this guarantees anything, but he's easy to root for even if he wasn't the QB of my favourite team. Get it done starting this year, Josh, you've got some talent around you now.

I'm cautiously optimistic, but I agree things seem different. I'm thrilled with how free agency started for the Bills, but won't delude myself into thinking they've stacked pro-bowlers across the board. However, Allen has been given enough pieces to (hopefully) succeed. I don't expect him to turn into Jim Kelly or Ben Roethlisberger this year, but I do expect progress. If there's substantial progress, I think many of us will be (pleasantly) surprised with the results, but for me, that is not the expectation.

Agree with sign/trade for/draft an edge rusher. Let's see how Edmunds develops this year, hopefully both he and Allen take a big leap. You would hope that Edmunds' floor is as an edge rusher, and that we will see hints of ceiling starting this year. But don't give up yet, IMO.

Agree, but this is like bizarro offseason. They had a ton of money, warned everyone they would be judicious, and then did that while doing the total opposite of what the pessimist in me expected. Talk about keeping all options on the table... AB, OBJ, now Clowney? Is tomorrow's news "Beane inquired about the availability of Aaron Donald?" "It can't hurt to ask..."

Bills UFAs: Ryan Groy (OL), John Miller (OG), Jordan Mills (OT), Taiwan Jones (RB), Deonte Thompson (WR) Replaced with: Spencer Long (OG), Jon Feliciano (OG), Ty Nsekhe (OT), Frank Gore (RB), John Brown (WR) I see what you did there, Beane (and FO) Obviously not including the others, including "the prize". Also realizing we haven't seen any of these guys play a down together but I'm liking the replacements. The OL can't possibly be worse (easy bar to clear) and despite lots of money being thrown around, most of the contracts have easy outs if things go south. Judicious, indeed.

Agree, I want to see DD renewed and reinvigorated this year, playing alongside quality lineman. Let's judge him after that, last year was a tire fire.

Getting way ahead of myself but 2019 is like the anti-2018. Yes, having a metric ton of cap room is key but contrast the praise being lavished on Nshekhe and with the reactions from signing Newhouse or Bodine last year. Won't even pretend this guy was on my radar, but the feedback from NFL pundits/fans is positive. FO had a plan and are executing. They chased one "premium" name, and I have no qualms with giving a well-regarded, starting center a large contract. Smart moves with the receivers, and Nsekhe is icing on the cake. Agree with the sentiment it gives us total flexibility in the draft: draft Best Stud Available, or trade back and accumulate picks.

Big *if* but *IF* they were able to sign him and D Williams... talk about flipping the script. Last year, JA "protected" by a bottom 5 offensive line, offense had a dearth of playmakers. This year, the line is potentially good, but at least above-average, and the offense would have added a Top 5 playmaker, in his prime... At that point, would the real Josh Allen please stand up? Also, that's fine calculated spending aggression, taking advantage of Allen's cheap years. To temper the eventual letdown, I'll try to convince myself "not in a million years"

Will admit I was never a fan of this, even in theory, but it's intriguing. Talk about giving your young quarterback a playmaker... I doubt it will happen, but then again I never thought this FO would be interested in AB. It's really different this year hearing the Bills be "in" on so many big names.

I think it's a textbook "process" signing. He's a well regarded player and teammate and will (hopefully) show the way for the RB(s) we draft/sign. Another veteran voice in a locker room that is trending younger, and a vocal/example leader unlike McCoy. Insurance if McCoy goes down, otherwise 2/3 RB by committee/game situation. I would guess they supplement by drafting RB later in the draft. They could have gone the "just draft/sign a young guy" route but perhaps they preferred a "known quantity", Gore's age be damned. I doubt the goal here is to get Gore 300+ touches... IMO it's a solid move, fits with their culture, and Gore is still productive.

If that's the case, I'm even more thrilled.

If that's the case, I'm even more thrilled!

So, reading the tea leaves, Beane and the FO actually had a plan to sign one of the top 2 centers in FA. They actually had a backup plan if Paradis fell through and no, they weren't settling on a future with Spencer Long as the starting center. Do I assume too much? Well done, Beane, but listen to the posters and go get a D Williams; maybe that's part of the overall plan, too...

I'm happy that at least the Pegulas don't "make the call" in the war room like Haslam has been accused of doing. Unless they do, in which case... make it stop. Terry does seem like the type to let the people he hired do their jobs. I agree that finding the right people is the hardest part whether it's Haslam or Pegula's problem.

"I should've known way back when... You know why, David? Because of the kids. They called me Mr Glass."

Until I've got my dancing reps in I'll just reply here: 60-80% on both as well. They've made mistakes, some head slapping moves in both years have also found some real diamonds in the rough. RE: Beane, not quite sure about his pro personnel operation because I'm not sold on the free agent signings over the last 2 years (and I don't hate Star at all, liked the signing, but agree he's not quite the game changing run stuffing, 2 blocker eraser I was expecting). I am however encouraged by what seems to be their "under the radar" or even scrap heap type pickups (Wallace, Foster). In two years (I know he didn't run the draft in year one, but I'll lump it together) it just "feels" they are hitting on more picks than I've seen with other regimes. I realize this is probably wish-fulfillment type thinking but my hazy memories of drafts throughout the drought were good player here, good player there with nothing in bunches. Contrast to what I think has been a solid 2 draft haul to build the core of a good, young defense, and a potential franchise QB who has given fans hope heading into next year. RE: McDermott, very conservative, but most coaches are. He seems to get the most out of marginal NFL type talents, and motivation is probably a strength. Interested to see if he can learn from and correct his mistakes, there have been some discouraging signs but it's early. Would like to see how well he does with a (hopefully vastly) improved roster/offense. Really seems like a partnership with Beane (what Rex said about Whaley buying the groceries and Rex making the meal, except McBeane actually do this). Let's see how they spend that stack of grocery money this year; I'm onboard with being judicious and rolling what they can into 2020 to set the stage for resigning the core. Excited to see Beane, McDermott, Allen and the defense's progress in 2019.

I realize it wasn't listed, but I agree with the "hands" sentiment... large catch radius type would complement Allen well (who I feel will never be the pinpoint accuracy type). That kind of a receiver is probably a "size" kind of guy, ideally. Before Foster's emergence I would definitely say "speed" type, and even with his arrival you can never have enough of those. But IMO the first type is required, immediately, for Allen's sake.