BillsVet

I'm not convinced even if the NHL afforded this service to new or current owners that the Pegula's would make the right choice. I think Kim once mentioned they were misled. That's a lot of misleading considering they've now inherited or hired Regier, LaFontaine, Ted Black, Murray, Botterill and many other non-hockey personnel executives these past 10 years. There is something wrong in the upper rungs of management there. And there's a common denominator.

From 2020 to 20201, the DL needs to transition from the nonsense of needing an 8-9 man rotation that sucks up cap dollars to one which can pressure QBs. It's beyond me why a middling DL costs 51M+ for players who can't get to the QB or stop the run. Fortunately, it appears there's a decent crop of UFA rushers available. They'll need some pieces at LB and CB, although those should be value types and not the big contract types. Aside from that, the offense must again be the priority. Another Butler or Jefferson type DL isn't going to equate to much in W's anyway.

Fans debate each off-season over LBs, DTs, and Safeties, but using cap dollars there is not going to result in W's like it will making Allen better. That's just where the NFL is now, but people want to pursue balance on both sides of the ball? Why? Allen is the way you win now and so long as you can rush the passer on defense. All this talk about lower positional values signings is just that. If there's any balance this team needs, it's a running game that complements the passing game. And I'd start up front before falling into the new narrative about drafting yet another RB. This off-season remains a discussion about how they continue making Josh the centerpiece and giving him everything he needs to succeed.

How do you quantify or even qualify whether a coordinator is good? It's hard considering that they operate within the HC's desired game-plan and may work with inferior or superior talent. Daboll's success improved dramatically with the ascent of Josh Allen to a top tier NFL QB. 7 NFL teams had job openings at HC this year. 5 decided against interviewing Daboll, although perhaps his presence deep into the playoffs hurt that. OTOH, if he was an in-demand candidate, one would think a team could wait for their guy. That's quite the validation he's not HC material and/or that his work as an OC hasn't yet proven he's worthy of a promotion.

Fans tend to overrate their players...and now apparently their coaches. Other teams looking at potential HC's look beyond their rankings for coordinators, meaning they are wising up about whom to hire as a HC. Too many bad hires of "hot" offensive coordinators that aren't suited to being in charge. McDaniels with Denver and Gase with Miami/NY Jets come to mind. It may take another 1-2 seasons to rehabilitate his previous coaching resume.

No one is claiming COVID hasn't factored into their 2021 cap situation, but you're leaving out the recent roster UFA spending decision history. Buffalo entered the 2020 season with 1.3M in cap space and this year are at 3.2M. That's a pretty slim margin to begin with, but the cost of building a DL, OL, and WR group largely through UFA. Those contracts add up, and make it more difficult to absorb the effect of the virus. It's also bad policy to expect something (the TV deal) to go up each negotiation, when it's clear with the NFL's ratings are down. No one can assume the TV contract will rise anymore. As for the players contracts, if they can front-load some money in those renegotiated contracts it won't be a major issue. They're confident in both Dawkins and White. It's why 2021 is about ending their reliance on UFA's to fill out the roster and transitioning to more team friendly contracts, many of which I expect will be rookie deals.

Re-structuring 2 home-grown players who signed extensions less than 1 year ago is not a good look nor good cap management. And much of this discussion is because Buffalo leaned on UFA far too much to cover up not obtaining productive players after Round 2 in 17-19. Some of it is just bad UFA decisions as happened in 2018. Beane and McD get credit for the run last year and no one can take that AFCCG appearance away from them. Now the challenge is to get younger, be more efficient with draft and cap resources and all while maintaining the same level of production. The days of liberally using UFA and being average/below average after the 2nd round have to be over for this team to continue being a top tier NFL franchise. Beane and McD are gonna be working with a lot smaller margin of error than they've had in the last 4 off-seasons.

We need more threads of NFL pundits confessing to the sin of doubting Josh Allen and offering penance for having done so. Seriously, why is anyone using brain matter to post this stuff? What benefit to this board does it serve to highlight this?

Main issue with McD this off-season and last was whether he could change his focus away from his defensive scheme and the personnel to suit it. An 8-9 man DL rotation that ate up 51M (minus Star's full contract) indicated he wasn't interested in it. This off-season is largely about re-tooling the roster to support Josh and finding a pass rush. To win in this league McD's gonna need to let go of the defensive investment and he and Beane are gonna need to find lower cost options in UFA and via the draft.

Finally, someone who could spell his name right.

Another thread that supports new posters not starting threads for their first few months. Or in this case...ever.

In the words of the great Henny Youngman..."Take my Milano...please."

It's not about the player you propose...it's claiming Singletary is the problem and therefore the only option is to use another mid round pick on a RB. What was clear all season long is the interior OL wasn't opening much for these backs to get through. That will be addressed, and while it's early, I think management will keep Singletary and Moss. Continuing to use mid-round picks on RBs is not exponentially going to improve the offense.

Need a better cost benefit analysis here. Situation: Cut a player who's had some production on a rookie contract with 2 years in this system to use a draft pick on a rookie. Benefits are hopefully increased production and marginal change in cap hit. Costs are, you have a rookie. You use a draft pick that could be allocated toward another position that affects the game CB, OL, pass rush (not in that order). I would not use another top 3 round pick on a RB. Nor do I blame Singletary for Buffalo's inability to run the ball. The root of the issue isn't so much with Singletary, as it is with their OL. He averaged 5 yards per carry in '19 and 4.4 in '20. I would, however, look to find a more speedy complement and competition, but not high in the draft.

Singletary gained 5 ypg last year and 4.4 this year. Some love to point out candidates for release, but rarely offer a solution to replacing that player. He's not dynamic, particularly in the passing game, but 1.1M savings is chump change. That said, bring in competition and see how he responds.

Maybe he's taking a cue from Harden. David Culley is an uninspired hiring, but the idea Watson wanted input in the GM hire is absurd. Yes, he's the franchise QB, but getting to contribute to that decision, well, is a bridge too far even in NFL circles. Bill O'Brien trading Hopkins out from underneath him combined with the 2020 season is him wanting a fresh start. But there's almost no compensation a team will offer to make that trade worth it unless Watson really digs in his heals and makes this an off-season drama fest.

Amazes me they had a 1st round grade on him and were giddy trading up to 38th in 2019 to select a tweener OL. They significantly overvalued him. Cue the hindsight is 20/20 types, but when he couldn't win the RT job in camp and then rotated with a journeyman I knew it wasn't good. He's finished both his seasons on IR, which is also cause for concern. But I agree, he seems weak at the point of attack. Maybe that changes and he recovers, but right now he's a spare OL part.

McD's approach to defense is quickly becoming antiquated, especially against top offenses. I'm not placing all the blame for this loss on him, but how he schemes a defense hasn't adapted to better passing offenses. The 2019 and 2020 playoff losses underscore this. Allowing Houston to eliminate a 16 point lead in 22 minutes or now the AFCCG where KC rang up 21 points in 18 minutes. For all the cap dollars and picks I'm not seeing how this scheme and these players McD needs works anymore. I would hope he does more than question his scheme...it should begin adapting to meet and defeat KC. Not gonna be easy, but unlikely if the same system is in place. The AFC is going to run through KC as long as Mahomes and crew are healthy.

Of course. On defense the priority is always gonna be pass rush and corners and that's just how the modern game is played. Interior OL consistently offers options in UFA, which may be the best route considering the time it can take an OLineman to develop. As to the TE - yes. Knox has some flaws to his game, Kroft will go UFA, Smith is blocker, and Sweeney is a complete unknown with his condition. It's time to be focused on that because almost all the top teams have someone who can run the seam and attack a defense.

It's waaaay early in the off-season, but McD and Beane have some strategic roster management decisions to make this off-season. As in, does this team really need to spend 52M or about 25% of total cap dollars on DLinemen? (not including Star's deal). Those contracts may fit what the HC wants to do, but I question those expenditures compared to the value they provide in on-field results. I'm actually happy they aren't going to be active in UFA this off-season because it's clear McBeane aren't the best there, especially defensive signings. And I think some of that is the HC's overwhelming desire to have his scheme that requires his type of players on defense. Go all-in on offense by improving the interior OL, developing a run game, and focus on improving the pass rush. Easier said than done, yes.

All about creating leverage via a new issue to solve. He wins either way it's handled. A new contract with more money or it forces a trade.

See my edited post above. I would expect spending 51M on the DL would provide more than what we saw in 2020. And i neglected to mention that the 51.7M was not inclusive of all of Star's renegotiated contract.

Link? EDIT: OK, I see you're using spotrac: https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/positional/breakdown/2020/ Chiefs have Frank Clark and Chris Jones. Indianapolis has DeForest Buckner. Buffalo has who on that DL who can impact a game? No it didn't take 7 years. Reid went to the AFC Championship game in Mahomes' first year as a starter. They were limited under Alex Smith and made the change in 2018. Yes, they'd assembled talent before that, but the NFL is about winning now. KC has refined and tweaked that roster (trading Dee Ford for Frank Clark) on both sides of the ball. This narrative that it takes years to reach the pinnacle of success is unfounded.

You think Stills runs the same 40 time as he did at the combine 8 years ago?

Buffalo spent 51M on DL this year, tops in the league by far and because that's what the HC wants. It's resource allocation like this which gives me the impression McDermott and Beane like building depth and giving players PT who buy in to the HC's process. That strategy doesn't work when you play the league's best as evidenced by last night. Who knows if McD will acquiesce, but Buffalo's success this year will not go unnoticed by other teams. Now is the time to adjust personnel and scheme to meet the challenge of competing with KC long term.