Dr. Who

Some folks think Sammy's a tease and want him to get overpaid somewhere else. I continue to think he's a quality wr and would love to get him back. However, if the current regime shipped him out because they didn't like his attitude (I don't know) they won't have any interest. Will other teams outbid our price point? I suspect there are teams with more to spend in FA this year that are willing to take a chance on him.

I will be surprised if the cost is as high as you surmise, even with competition. We shall see. I think it was a mistake not to take a shot with Watson or Mahomes last year. The mistake is compounded if the cost becomes such that one is frozen out in a year with a number of quality qbs at the top of the draft. I cannot fathom folks who want to continue to kick the franchise qb can down the road. Teams will always have holes that can be filled by FA and draft over the course of years. The opportunity to acquire a top level talent at the most important position in football, however, is not something that automatically becomes available every year.

Your minimum scenario is at the high end of the most expensive possible.

That exception is a chief consideration in this current draft. If we wait for 21 on qb, you are probably counting on the fifth or sixth best qb as your eventual starter. This year, I would trade up for Mayfield, Rosen, or Darnold (that's my order of preference.)

If you truly end up with a franchise qb, you are getting a guy who can eventually carry a team. Of course, it's a gamble, but one increases the odds drafting a qb early in a good qb draft. Not to single you out, but your post was brief, so I take the opportunity to answer your question more generally. There seems to be an assumption that those of us who want a proactive effort to get a potential franchise qb expect a SB run to immediately follow. I don't think anyone thinks that. Seems to me that you need to make sure the Oline is not a disaster. It would help to add a good wr and #2 rb either through the draft or FA. You don't want to David Carr your shiny, new qb. Then you allow a few years for the qb to become what you hope is a very good qb. This allows time through drafting, trades, and free agency to "fill out the team around him." In short, it's actually prudential to get the young qb now when you have the draft capital and a good qb draft. By the time the team is set up, your qb has hopefully gotten through the growing pains phase.

Yeah, you're spot on.

I'm with you. If I paid over a billion dollars for a team, I sure as Hades am going to the combine and hanging out in the draft room.

Is this a team thing or more broadly cultural? Authority in general is often painted as fundamentally incompetent and corrupt. Millenials have a sense of entitlement. NBA the players mostly dictate, don't they? Add in, Housley doesn't project a tough guy demeanor. I can see that it is a problem, but it's not evident what the solution is.

The early MASH is better, imo. The anarchic energy is sharper and the humor doesn't descend into preachy bathos. You can't give a comic character depth or nuance. When one does that, a certain kind of humor becomes sadistic. For this reason, Frank Burns was more suited as the butt of jokes. Show took a different direction with Stiers. He's an interesting character with intellect to challenge Hawkeye. I liked the character, and the actor, a lot, but it swung the comedy away from the ethos introduced in the movie.

You may have stated this in one of the innumerable threads, but I missed it if so. Do you have any surmise as to which qb(s) we are most interested in? I sure hope Mayfield is included in the fellas we are keen to move up for.

I meant it would be an awful plan for Beane. Sorry for lack of clarity.

And good for him. Loyalty is fine. I wouldn't expect him to bash Brown in a public context. That said, one can hardly imagine a worse combine than that fella had.

Awful plan, imo. Certainly, one is leaning heavily towards a skeptical interpretation of the top-rated prospects and equally propping up the tier-two fellas as if, in fact, there really isn't any signficant difference, so why pay the price to move up. I doubt that is truly cogent, but it fits in with the way OBD has addressed the qb position for most of the history of this franchise.

Unless you are envisioning a tiny jump into the mid to late teens, there's no way both firsts are not involved. Exasperating how last year, those of us pushing for the Bills to finally address qb and take Watson or Mahomes at ten were condescendingly told they weren't any good and this year was the bonanza year to draft qb. Now, as always, there are too many holes on the roster and suddenly the draft class at qb isn't all that good. If this isn't a good draft class, there likely won't be one. Most drafts have one or two potential franchise qbs, or zero, actually. Those fellas are always drafted high. This year, we have two firsts, two seconds -- if not now, when, exactly, will the stars align for the perfect scenario that makes drafting a qb high in round one possible?

I'm not convinced a tradeup is impossible. Giants or Colts may be willing to deal. Saquon could easily go in one of the first two picks. Aside from that, I think Mayfield is worth a high trade up. Outside of top three, I'd place Jackson and even Allen ahead of Rudolph. Supposedly we passed on qb last year and traded out of ten to have the capital to get a qb this year. It's a fail, imo, if we end up settling for a tier two or three qb.

I like Mayfield and Rosen best. Darnold is a bit riskier, but I'd still trade up for him. If we stand pat, I hope Jackson is there at 21. Those are the first round qbs, imo.

We'd be lucky if he were there for one of our seconds -- and I'd run to the podium with the pick if he were.

You could cut out the dead wood and bring in a new wave of older, low budget players. You can play that game if your hand is forced. What you can't do every year is have a legitimate chance to get a franchise qb. Next year is next year; long-term success can accomodate a down year if need be. Free agency and future drafts can build up a team. Very short-sighted to just look at the evident deficiencies on the team and use that as a rationale for not going after the qb. I think the gap between Rudolph and Darnold/Rosen/Mayfield is significant. I even prefer Jackson/Allen to Rudolph. I think Rudolph's ceiling is maybe Andy Dalton. Obviously, if you judge him better, you will have a higher opinion. I think Rudolph is a third round talent. If he weren't tall and looked the part, he's JAG.

If you really like Rosen, Darnold, and Mayfield, that means you think they are potential franchise qbs. It's worth it.

Please let this be true.

Not sure we will be in a position to spend a second rounder on wr, but he would look good in a Bills uni. Aside from talent, I think we should draft him just for the fun of seeing how many combinations of a misspelled first name are possible.

You take every equivocal situation and assume the worst. When offered an alternative scenario, you pretend that your pessimism is rational and everyone who disagrees is a fool. I doubt it will cost three firsts and a second to get up into the top three, but as others have pointed out, there are still more draft picks and free agency, which you appear to ignore in your assessment. It's easy to win an argument when you beg all the questions. But even granting certitude for all your surmises, you still consistently ignore the question you have been asked multiple times -- if you foresee a bad record, regardless, than why not get a franchise qb and build for the future? Logic, Hercule, give it a try. Agatha Christie killed her detective off because she didn't want incompetent imitators ruining a splendid reputation.

With that kind of optimism, why not just go ahead and get the qb? You seem to already have presumed a poor record in any event.

Slightly above average centers are easier to replace, though I realize he's an excellent locker room fella as well. Today's defensive schemes require skill at both tackle spots. It would be big, assuming we don't end up trading Glenn in order to move up and grab a qb. Personally, I'd rather find a way to keep him and move up. A solid oline would certainly improve the potential for a young qb to have success.

I dunno, how have you liked 6-10 to 9-7 at best the last twenty plus years? Get the qb.