dave mcbride

Sully???

The primary job of WR in the NFL is playing WR, not throwing blocks in the run game. It's not unimportant, but it's without a doubt secondary and arguably even tertiary.

This is all to make it look like Beane actually has juice here. I'm not saying he doesn't have any, but McDermott runs the show, not Beane. Of course they were showcasing him for the Rams to show he's healthy. That is freaking obvious. No, not in a situation like the Watkins one. LA wanted to see his patented explosiveness post-injury to see if the rumors of his recovery were true. That strikes me as blindingly obvious.

Don't believe anything you read about McDermott not being in the know about Watkins. It's patent BS.

He's certainly physical. He's good at beating the jam -- the most important "physical" component of being a WR in the NFL. great comp. I've been following training camp reports, and he is apparently the best player out there right now. This trade was so dumb ... Weak post.

I believe it was McDermott's idea, not Beane's. Watkins's option was declined before Beane was hired. And i think that the idea that mcdermott wasn't in the know despite force feeding the ball to Watkins in the first quarter is hilarious. Of course he knew, but saying that he didn't gives fans the illusion that beane is in control. I am by no means saying that the situation is promising. God, I hope not. Pegula is an utter moron about football, and I say that even though I like him for buying the Bills and keeping them here. I'm not even sure he likes football.

I think that structurally, coaches and GMs are incentivized very differently. Yes, they're close, but I guarantee you that McDermott is in the driver's seat. It's not like I don't think the Watkins trade was bad, by the way. I just think you're measuring them against the wrong teams. Measure them against current crews in which the HC drives the show. They may still fare poorly, but those are better benchmarks.

Jeff George is a ridiculous comparison. Seriously, stop with that.

Not even close. Rosen is genuinely smart, and his father is a surgeon. Jeff George got a 10 (not a misprint) on the Wonderlic.

Rosen is majoring in economics and wants to eventually get an MBA. I could see him staying in.

But that's not really the point. One may think that this team is as poor as Levy/Jauron (although obviously the jury is out), but I'm talking about structure and approach. The coach is in the driver's seat.

I don't think situation compares all that much with any of the previous regimes even if the results end up being similar. The reason for this is simple: the head coach hired the GM. This is a new-ish trend in the NFL, and the Bills are at the forefront of it (I'm excluding Bill Parcells and his disciples here). If you're going to compare the Bills with other organizations, look to teams like SF, KC, and (less recently) Seattle -- places where the coach runs the show and not the GM. For the first time in modern Bills' history, we have a situation where the coach is truly in charge. The previous two Bills coaches weren't in charge but wanted to be, and the results in terms of how people worked together were ugly. I have no idea whether this approach will work. Pete Carroll and Bill Belichick are both phenomenal at what they do, although they go about it differently. Same goes for Parcells and Coughlin (like Belichick, a grad of Parcells University). I have little expectation that McDermott will measure up to these guys, but one never knows. In any event, comparing them to Levy/Jauron or Donohoe/Williams seems to be missing the bigger picture. Again, the results may end up being the same, but it's a very different organizational structure than what we as Bills fans are used to.

AJ Green is the primary reason why Dalton looks competent and a significant reason why the Bengals almost always make the playoffs (even if they do unbelievably boneheaded things in their losses). Green is the difference maker on that team -- he is THAT good. Without him, the Bengals are a sub-.500 team.

Probably just Quan being Quan. Remember this???

Randy Moss had what should have been the game winning catch in February 2008. And even on the Pats very final possession, he cleanly (and shockingly) beat the guy covering him for what would have been an 80 yard TD pass if Brady hadn't underthrown him. So, no.

Don't be so sure it'll be "early." They were 15th in defensive DVOA last season and 7th the year before. They are talented on D, and they now have one of the best DCs ever (Philips). They have also undergone a massive upgrade on offense with Watkins/Woods. Gurley, despite his stats last season, is one of the best pure RBs in the league. It all depends on whether Goff takes the next step, but Goff, who did not impress last year, has real talent.

I recommend not arguing with him.

They are NOT out of shape. Sheesh.

+1.

He basically produced exactly like jordan matthews (both were drafted within two picks of each other): good number of catches, low ypc. But the Giants are fine with that because they actually possess another receiver who can beat people over the top. Bob Woods is a similar comp and was also drafted at almost exactly the same spot. All are solid possession receivers who fill importanr roles provided they play across from a number 1. Woods and Shepherd have that now in Watkins and OBJ.

I took "better shape" to mean "better football shape," which is a whole different thing. Watkins is cut like a greek god at present, but in terms of on-field reps and hitting, I can see him being a little behind.

Early second rounder, actually.

Donohoe willingly dumped big Ted for being too fat, based on the rec of his noob coach who was wedded to a system. Tomlin wasn't given free reign, as far as I recall, and he didn't essenetially hire his own gm. That's the situation we have in Buffalo. -- McDermott HIRED the GM. That aimply can't be compared to the Steelers' situation. I actually think McDermott has potential, but the way he has started on the personnel front has me concerned. I have seen this show too many times before.

Yup!. People miss the fact that we're going to have a lousier entertainment product this year. "Wait 'til next year" is a meaningless (and indeed pernicious) philosophy w/regard to this organization. I always joke that if the Bills win the SB, I will never have to watch another sporting event again in my lifetime (and I'm not even really joking). Of course, I fully expect to hooked up to a respirator in 2050 watching them lose to the Jets and complaining on a message board about some stupid trade the team made.

Call me crazy, but I'd say the shameful refereeing was far more impactful in that Dolphins' game.