Billl

But isn’t that an example of management by inertia? If Oliver wasn’t already on the team, I can’t think of a single poster who would have been advocating for bringing him to Buffalo for that contract. IMO, the dropoff between Oliver and a random DT acquired for $2 million would be minimal compared to what that money could have done for the offensive line or a WR. That’s the type of move he’s talking about. Signing Poyer to another deal didn’t make the defense better. It just brought back an even older version of the same guy. Extending Oliver didn’t improve the D-Line. It just brought back a more expensive version of the same guy. He could have drafted someone to fill Poyer’s spot, signed someone cheap to fill Oliver’s spot, and re-allocated those resources to fill holes on offense while getting younger on the back end of the defense. That strategy seems more effective than holding onto expensive and/or declining veterans on defense.

He gave Oliver a big new contract. Was that really the best possible use of resources?

Why would a National guy mention the McGovern signing? To this point in his career, he has been the definition of JAG. Now maybe Beane saw something that nobody else did and he turns out to be a great signing, but unless and until that happens, it’s not a move he deserves any sort of recognition over. It’s not like he signed an established anchor on the line or made an aggressive move to draft a blue chip prospect. If this season ends the way last year’s did, Beane is going to be a pariah. The narrative will be that he had an entire offseason to address the line and WR situations and the best he came up with was Connor McGovern, a late second round rookie Guard, Deonte Harty, and Trent Sherfield. Nobody is going to be shocked if those moves fail to move the needle. Similarly, nobody is going to be shocked if a bunch of guys in their thirties are worn down and/or injured by the end of the season again. Now these moves could end up working to perfection, and if they do then the Bills are Super Bowl contenders. Still, it’s hard to blame someone who looks at the offseason and doesn’t see how the moves Beane has made have pulled them ahead of Cincinnati, Kansas City, and Philadelphia come January.

What did he do that puts him above being judged beyond seeing how the season plays out? He signed a 31 year old pass rusher in June after multiple misses in the draft in Epenesa and Basham a day after he gave Oliver a $68 million extension. If it works, it was a great move. If it doesn’t, he shouldn’t get a pass, though.

In the last decade, the league has been moving it to smaller cities. Remember, it was in NYC forever. It’s actually become more popular as they’ve moved it to the smaller markets. Cities like Miami could give two ***** about the draft. Kansas City used it as a showcase event, and it was awesome. Buffalo would do the same and try to top what KC did. Bills fans deserve their opportunity.

It could be cool, but I’m just not sure how a stadium lends itself to that sort of event. It’s a casual atmosphere. Either way, Buffalo would knock it out of the park. It’s an event for football die-hards. The NFL spends so much capital courting new markets and casual fans by hosting the Super Bowl exclusively in glamour towns and having international games that they owe it to their base to let the middle market, middle class, middle aged fans have this one.

It doesn't need to be at the stadium. Kansas City hosted this year, and it was in midtown which is 10 miles from the stadium. The draft is a perfect event for smaller market teams like Kansas City and Buffalo.

I just can't fathom signing a very average DT to a $68m deal just to free up space for Hopkins. If that's the move and Buffalo doesn't win the title this year, Beane should be gone.

If there is one team in “win-now mode” this season, it’s the Bills.

Very similar to the last several seasons schematically. Anyone who thinks Frazier was going rogue and doing things that McDermott was opposed to is delusional.

Show me Schefter's quote on it.

Bell wanted a longer contract. Mahomes has 12 years.

He’s literally said the exact opposite. Guys like Mike Florio simply try to speak it into existence. https://theathletic.com/4552865/2023/05/25/patrick-mahomes-priorities-legacy-rings/

They’d be stupid to price themselves out of the market that way. Mahomes probably gained $20 million a year in additional endorsement revenue by winning the Super Bowl. Why would he jam up his own franchise for an extra $5,000,000 and cost himself a Creed Humphrey which would both hurt his chances at another championship and expose him to potential injury?

Mahomes isn’t getting a new contract. That’s all been made very clear.

Elam's lack of playing time the second half of the season is still a mystery to me. Has there ever been any explanation for it?

It just seems like these are the same level of moves that have been made every year. If they don't work any better than adding Saffold worked, then a year from now people are going to be complaining that all Beane did to address the issues was being in McGovern and Torrence (and the criticisms will be justified).

I've seen a lot of people say this, but I don't get it. For all the complaining about how bad the line was last season, Connor McGovern and a late second round Guard is all it takes to fix? That seems like an awfully small band-aid.

If that's true, Diggs should be gone.

You've already got a 34 year old Defensive End at home.

He sucks and all, but I don’t see how he’s done anything that warrants jail time. It seems hard to imagine, but sometimes being born into fame and fortune is the opposite of a blessing.

The agents are making those decisions. Whether you agree with what the agents decide, those guys earn millions to do this for a living. The players are just doing what their agents tell them, and that’s the smart move. Guys like Lamar who don’t hire agents get crapped on for not having agents tell them what to do, and then the guys who do what their agents tell them get crapped on as well.

Not sure what the take-away of it is, but I'm postseason victories, Josh averages 36 rushing yards per game. In losses he averages 69 yards. That could mean that he runs more out of desperation, or it could mean that he's trying to do too much. Like most things, it's probably a little bit of both.

Quinnen Williams, like nearly every single other player in his situation, is doing precisely what his agent is telling him to do, and that’s exactly what he should be doing. Agents aren’t stupid. They understand how to cause a stir amongst a fan base and apply pressure to the franchise by manipulating their clients’ social media. It’s part of a 9 figure negotiation, not childish drama.

There's nothing pessimistic about that. Football teams turn over their rosters frequently, and this is the oldest roster in the league. The 2024 version of this team will have 8-10 new starters compared to the 2023 team. McBeane have chosen to mostly run it back the last two seasons. They're due for an overhaul outside of Josh, Diggs, and the youngsters who are going to have to take over for guys like Hyde, Poyer, and Morse. It's very doable when you've got a young superstar at QB. Look at the "make it out break it" thread. If most of those guys show out, then they'll be part of the retooling, and the team will keep on rolling. If not, it's a bigger project.