McDeerInTheHeadlights

How can that thing be so expensive?

That was an amazing defense. "The package", if I'm not mistaken that was the nickname, made of Phil Hansen, Ted Washington and Pat Williams was the best Bills DL I have seen play as a fan. Ted had unbelievable quickness for a 400 pounds monster, Pat was pretty much a slightly smaller (still 330+ I think) Ted, and Phil was a great all-around DE. And Sam Cowart, well without the injury I think he could have become as good as Ray Lewis. Thanks for bringing those guys up. I loved them.

I totally agree that's the case. The only person who could change it would be Terry, who is the one who created the situation in the first place... The only hope is that eventually McD himself realizes that it's time to revise his approach (very unlikely, and I'd totally expect him to vouch for a DB or LB in round 1 and perhaps even in round 2, if Edmunds and Poyer leave and given White's uncertain return to his pior form), or Josh put his foot down an demand it (more likely in the mid-term, but I'm not sure it's happening anytime soon). Anyhow, the draft is around the corner. Here's hoping they'll prove me otherwise.

To make things worse is the fact that the head-scratching asset allocation is only one side of the issue. On top of that you have to add the poor job at talent scouting, selection and, if you wish, development. I would argue that with that kind of capital spent on the DL, you should not be in the position to go out and overspend to bring in a 30+ veteran, regardless of his HoF status. Most people here seem to be in love with Beane. Perhaps that's because he is a polished public-speaker and he is, at least apparently, very candid in sharing the 'behind the scenes", the thought process behind each decision, but the reality is that for the Bills to win a SB he (also) has to do much better. And who knows, if part of the problem is McD getting too much in Beane's way when it comes to asset allocation and talent selection, well perhaps it's time for McD to take a step back and let the GM do his job.

I may be overly pragmatic here, but any strategy that entails keeping together a team that couldn't deliver multiple times when it really mattered and neglecting, due to a shortage of resources, clear areas of weakness while also increasing the cost base is, at the very least, suspect. It's like doubling-down on ricing up a Chevy Malibu and expecting to win a Le Mans race. It's time for a change in the roster-building philosophy, with different asset allocation and priorities.

It won't be easy, but this is a huge opportunity for both parties. He could get unbelievably rich finding someone who'll bite and overpay for his services, and the Bills could upgrade the team overall by allocating the resources he'd command somewhere else while still ensuring no drop-off and possibly even better play at the MLB position. It's up to Beane to make a win-win situation out of this.

On a value basis, after Josh and a couple of late round picks, only desolation.

Edmunds is a fine player. That being said, I'm not sure that keeping together the core of a team that couldn't go all the way while further increasing the cost base is the best course of action.

I think we should give Tre credit for fighting like a lion since getting back on the field. Don't get me wrong, he lost many more duels that he won, but the effort was there. It's up to McBeane to assess the risk that he may never regain his previous form and find a way to mitigate that risk moving forward. Clinching their assess and hoping for the best won't work.

As of right now, it feels like the only thing that could put some fire under the collective bottom of this organisation, leading to significant changes in the coaching tree or the approach to roster building, would be something of the magnitude of Josh demanding a trade. It won't come from anyone else, neither McBeane nor the Pegulas. It certainly appears they'll stubbornly ran it back over and over, most likely for a couple more playoff humiliations, until Josh, if he is smart, may indeed demand to be traded.

Since Schwartz is no longer available, I'd vote for the Ryan brothers. Both of them. A train wreck would be more entertaining than a slow, painful regression into insignificance.

Whatever happens, it's hard to think that Josh wouldn't have a say on a possible decision to bring Beasley back. I trust his judgement on his WR group.

That would be great. The Bills would get to replace a coach that may have held them down and he would get a promotion. That's the definition of a win-win situation.

Moving the player inside to guard was what they were planning to do with Tommy Doyle, before his injury. They have drafted two towering tackle prospects that are struggling so bad outside that they might be forced to play them in a position that doesn't suit their physical traits. Sharing juicy insights on their decision-making process and being polished public speakers is great, but they could do much better at evaluating OL (and DE) talent.

Most people seem to point 100% at Allen, and perhaps that is the case. Yet I believe that even Morse, with his history of concussions, may get a bit uncomfortable and less fluid in his execution, being the pivot of line and knowing that a pair of 300+ lbs behemoths will essentially be trying to blow him up on those situations.

In light of recent and historical humiliations, they could embroider "we always come up short" on that short canopy. Bad joke, I know. Just trying to laugh this L off.

To an extent, you already know everything you need to know to evaluate Beane. He could have produced better ROI, draft-wise, at the DE and RB positions, and he seems to half-ass his way at improving the OL, likely as a result of the above and a mandate from McD to prioritise the defensive side of the ball, hoping that Josh could make up for any offensive shortcomings. He is willing to slightly overpay to retain homegrown talent but sometimes you have no alternatives. He is a solid GM and that's a job in which you can't be perfect.

Well, most people seem to love the 'elements', but mistake them for s**t weather only.

Well, I think part of McD's process philosophy is continuous improvement. Regardless of what they said publicly, I would guess that they will also sit down and evaluate what they could have done to avoid this situation so that they can improve their screening process. Again, the information available so far suggests that most teams were in the same boat as the Bills, but a few ones had a deeper understanding of Araiza's background. I'm pretty sure that behind closed doors their approach won't be to the tune of "well, all teams have problems vetting players, let's move on".

Wow, man. Don't get me wrong, I agree with most of your takes on this situation, but I have to admit I slept like a baby last night. Not sure if that makes me thick skinned or a bad person. I guess it all start with knowing that horrific things happen thousands times every single minute somewhere in this world. You have got to come to terms with that and realise that this situation is neither different nor more relevant to you than the other thousands, or your life is gonna be miserable. Take care.

I can't listen to the interview right now, so I hope someone can clarify a couple of points. Have they been asked or addressed if they explored any other options such as putting Araiza on some kind of exemption list or suspend and replace him till things got clearer rather than releasing him outright? If I'm not mistaken, few, well very few apparently, teams were aware to a minor extent that there was a "situation" involving Araiza at draft time. Have they been asked why they think they failed to gather similar intelligence at the time and how they expect to make sure it won't happen again? In other words, was this press conference a pure PR operation or there was some kind of self-reflection or root cause analysis, if you wish to call it that, involved? Thanks in advance.

I can appreciate your viewpoint, but that's what it was worth to the eggheads of our franchise. They should have a pretty clear idea of what's needed to them, don't you think?

A 6th round pick?

Looks like Bruce ain't all about love and togetherness after all. Only some of it.

Way too many two-handed backhand volleys... Shame on me but I just couldn't cope with watching the entire game.