Tanoros

Where do you take him? First? Does he last until our pick in the second? Or do you trade up? Our first 3 picks are going to be VERY important this year. More than likely we are getting a cb or wr who will play very meaningful snaps. The other position to look at in the first three rounds is IOL. If rb was taken in the first 3 rounds I could see it being instead of a wr, and taking wr later (4+) because wr is very deep this year. A dynamic offensive player will be important, whether it’s rb or wr.

I think Baker would do better than Wentz. Wentz looked horrible last year, Mayfield, he looked similarly horrible, but with a hurt shoulder. I think the Colts could compete in their division with Mayfield.

It’s not make believe, it’s simply pushing cost down the road, or borrowing against future years. With the cap constantly going (pre c19, and again) it’s harder to notice, and not a bad strategy, but there is certainly a cost.

Didn’t Rousseau start as a rookie? I thought he did. Either way, your right, McDermott generally takes it slow with rookies. However, with our cb depth being what it is, whatever rookie cb we draft will be battling in camp for a starting spot. We’ll have Dane, vet fa, and rookie cb (plus I’m sure another vet or late round rookie) competing for two starting spots week 1.

Your jumping the gun a bit with your worries. FA just started, and not many corners have been signed yet. Additionally, Jackson is going into his 3rd year, after playing nearly half the season last year and not doing bad all. What makes you so worried about him playing, “even 3% of the snaps”? He’s already done more than that and did just fine. The Bills will bring in a vet cb or two. Probably a mid priced vet and low priced vet. Additionally they will draft at least one cb maybe two (or UDFA). I’m sure they draft a cb early in the draft and have the drafted cb(s), Jackson, and vet(s) all compete for the two starting spots. Then when Tre is ready to play again, they keep the cb who was playing the best opposite of Tre (assuming Tre is ready to go). I wouldn’t be so worried about Jackson though. He showed well enough for a second year, 7th round draft picks. And with the contract Levi got, clearly the Bills aren’t worried about Jackson AND they have a plan. We just have to wait to watch it unfold.

I don’t see Edmonds being traded. With the Miller signing we are clearly going after the Lombardi, it doesn’t make sense to trade our starting MLB, making a big hole on our defense. Drafting a replacement for next season would make much more sense. Who replaced Edmonds if he is traded this season? If AJE is traded, it could possibly be a player for player trade like Hughes was back in the day or just a late round pick. Beane is certainly good at flipping guys for picks.

True, however that was awhile ago now and for the last few years they have been knocking on the door, not getting a wr or even something other than qb with a late first, could have changed everything for them. That team has been so close, and hitting on a 5 year cost controlled contract would have been big for them. The other reason I bring it up is because, Rodgers winning only one Super Bowl would end up being something people point too when discussing his legacy when he is retired. Everyone always talks about SuperBowl wins/mvps, and league mvps. I should have been more clear in how I said that. I was referring to this latest opportunity they have had with LaFluer as head coach.

Imagine if they took a wr instead of Love as many expected in that draft. That was a crucial mistake it appears, especially if GB doesn’t win the Super Bowl with Rodgers.

We certainly were lacking an elite pass rusher and it’s clear the FO understood that. When trying to take down the most elite of the elite QB’s, you need an elite player chasing them down, I agree with that. Just think about how many times over the last few years teams have focused on getting the ball out fast against us. That’s for two main reasons, we get pressure and tend to play off coverage. We, as a defense are essentially asking for quick passes, so I wonder if some may get frustrated with Millers production. His sack numbers may not be what some expect, largely because of scheme. With that said, pressure coming from multiple places may just be too much, even if a team is scheming to get the ball out quick. So you never know. Either way, I’m excited to see the defense this season.

Because Basham and Eponesa haven’t shown enough yet (they still have time) I don’t think the Bills can go into the new season relying on them as back ups. Meaning, the Bills most likely bring in a bet to compete and see what happens. It would make sense for the vet to be Huhges or Addison. I don’t know if you’ve seen/heard the discussions regarding why pressure is important. Cover1 has some, and they make excellent points as to why pressure is important so much so, they state pressure rate has to be factored into the defensive coverage equation. So although sacks end plays, pressures are factor in coverage that prevents completions and or big gains/first downs. To be clear, I’m not diminishing the value of sacks, just that, pressure it’s self is a very valuable component to defense.

I’m thinking it’s partially because of the draft picks. Beane values drafting and developing, and this draft is deep, especially in the earlier rounds. That second is a really nice pick this year. Secondly, Miller seems to be the type of player personality wise the Bills love. It’s quite possible the Bills truly like Miller more head to head. So either that, or the draft picks were enough to offset the difference.

I also like Gordon in the first and Wan’Dale Robinson in the second. But I’m good with either of those four players. Really curious to see how the Bills first few rounds go. I could see them trading up into the second as you suggested or even trading up higher in the second round.

I wonder what will happen with Star? If they bring him back for this season, it would have to mean they have some faith in him as part of the rotation. I’ll be happy for the day we move on, even if it’s not until next season Did Star say this? I didn’t hear

Treating all players with respect is the best way for the front office. No reason to give potential FA’s any reason to cause doubt. Look how close it was with Von Miller, some small thing could be the difference in the player going elsewhere. Also, what do the Bills gain by holding onto him a bit longer? They wouldn’t release him without a plan, and walking the high road is about following ones (or an organizations) values, regardless of others actions.

I think it’s pretty certain they take a slot wr myself, having McKenzie and the rookie compete for the slot role. I can’t see the Bills just rolling with McKenzie, it’s too much of a gamble, and they didn’t pay him like they are going to lean on him. To be clear, I like McKenzie and would love to see him succeed. I just see the Bills hedging their bets a hit with the slot role.

D Williams came on with us his second year removed from injury on a prove it type contract. This looks to be a similar approach. Not a bad idea, especially if it pays off. I can’t imagine the Bills don’t have a some insight on the injury. We’ll see I guess.

Because he would be cheap and could possibly have similar success in Buffalo again. Scheme is SO important to player performance. There are very few players good enough to transcend scheme and be a stud anywhere, most are scheme dependent in order to shine. If the Bills brought him back, they deserve the benefit of the doubt in regards to what Phillips can bring to the table again.

Every team is going to have weaknesses and no FO is going to hit on all players acquisitions (draft/FA). Could our defense benefit from more playmakers? Of course, but our defense is a very good defense, just reference the defensive DVOA numbers. We certainly need more production from our de’s we picked the last two years, but they are still young with two of them going into year 2, so it’s a little premature to be concerned there. Epenesa and especially Ford, we need more from them. However, Epenesa was asked to majorly change his body and I imagine this has forced him to play differently, while also learning the pro game. I’m not ready to write him off. As far as equating money spent on Butler or Addison potentially being used on a guy like Jones, it’s not that simple. We would have to of signed someone for those roles, and those people would cost money, most likely….the Chandler Jones money. Middling D like talent isn’t very cheap. The FO in the McDermott era has done a fantastic job building this team. Of course there is always room for improvement, but look what we came from! Previous front offices during the drought era don’t even compare to this one. We are a super bowl contending team and it’s no accident, it was via calculated strategy. We aren’t privy to internal discussions and team building strategies, and signing players is much more complicated that signing based on football skills. The people side of the equation is very complex for those on the outside looking in like us. At the end of the day, we can only judge based on results. Again, they can do better and I’m sure Beane/McDermott would be the first to admit that, but they also built a super bowl contender, and that matters.

What bad contracts contributed to the mild mismanagement of the cap? As far as FA signings the Star signing was probably the worst, but more so because of his c19 opt out year (we’d be able to move on with very little hit this year if not for that). The Spain resigning wasn’t great, and the Williams resigning (in hindsight, but at the time, it was the right call). Beane hasn’t really paid big bucks for FA’s and he has generally resigned our own to reasonable contracts. I really don’t understand where a comment like yours if coming from? The Bills FO is more about developing talent that is drafted, and they won’t all be star players. But, they have done a good job drafting overall and we are only going into year 6, but year 5 of Beane as GM. Personally, I feel like Beane and the Bills FO have done a fantastic job! They don’t typically overlay for FA, mostly by avoiding the big ticket names, they draft well, and are very reasonable with contracts. They even had to adjust course with the c19 impacts to the salary cap. We are one of the top teams in the league, and our cap situation isn’t bad at. At this point, our key to success is to continue drafting well, having starters on rookie contracts and, and savvy via cost benefit analysis in regards to FA signings (in other words, don’t overpay for the big names because it’s rare that they play up to their cost).

6-11 you mean

Somewhere recently I saw a rumor that he wants to play out his contract/franchise tags. If he did so (while staying healthy enough), he would get huge payday. It would be interesting to see him take this approach and td FA frenzy if that did happen.

So true, silence would be the most respectable approach. However, so many people these days take to social media to share so many various things/details and it becomes habitual. With that being said, while choosing to say something, he did it in about the best way he could. I’m sure many Browns fans appreciate his approach as well. Everyone is different, in the end, the most important part is being classy/respectable no matter the route one takes. I think he did so here, while drumming up attention like those who use social media seek.

Just to add, he wants pressures because it forces the ball out early, and allows the defense to play back a bit and come forward and make tackles on underneath/intermediate level throws. The point being, anyone would love more sacks, but our D is geared around pressures minimum and we do that.

My guess wound be some of the older vets like Haden, Sherman, Peterson. Either way, I can’t imagine the Bills not having a specific FA cb or two in mind. Also, if they were to be planning on cb early in the draft to compete for a starting spot week 1 (with Tre out), I’d imagine Beane would only do that if he saw that there were multiple guys he would take, and he is confident he will get one. Kind of like how he has described his thought process when trading down in the draft. For a 4 m a season, it will be interesting to see what’s upcoming in FA and how the plan unfolds. I’m super curious which vet or two they bring in. Who would you want?

I’m sure they will bring in a vet who will compete for a starting spot with a rookie. But due to Tre’s injury, I’m sure it will be a vet who can play either cb 1 or 2 week one, with Dane/rookie at the other spot. For the price Levi took with Pittsburgh, the Bills have to something specific in mind, which probably entails a cb who can do more things, and let the defense play a little different. Also, maybe the Bills offered the same and he chose Pittsburg over us? I wonder.