BillsVet

A good way for TE's to succeed is not to jam them at the LOS and let them catch passes where they can run in the open field.

Last year, as I've noted, has concluded. And nowhere did I say those players they've retained are bad. It's simply a matter of is it enough and my contention is it's not. Fans should be able to discern that every team on their schedule has been dissecting film of Allen and Daboll's offense - as Steve Spagnuolo already did in the AFC Championship. Deal with differing opinions. If you cannot debate scheme, resource allocation, and emerging NFL trends that's cool. But when someone does, don't lose you stuff because it's hard to contemplate.

What "facts and data" do you offer to validate your view? I see some offensive rankings, but who cares? They were defeated by the AFC Champs twice last season. The question is how are they supplanting them beyond the tired narrative that "KC lost their 2 OT's!" Nowhere did I talk about pass protection - they're pretty good there and have a mobile QB who feels pressure quite well. My issue remains with the run blocking, which as others have said, was not good all season. As for the pass rush, McD's scheme looks to generate that from the front 4. Yet, there wasn't one guy on a 51M defensive line who could regularly get to the QB as evidenced by the AFC CG performance. Last year is over. This is the time to reload and I'm seeing the same people back ostensibly playing within the same schemes. Just because it worked last year doesn't guarantee anything next season. BTW, how did you feel about continuity when it was yammered about when Dick Jauron was inexplicably re-signed? Was it a "time-tested recipe" back then as well? You're making a massive assumption that everyone (read KC as well) regresses. You'd plan around your competition getting worse as a strategy? Really?

None of that matters. They have no money right now without making other moves and before rookie cap allocation. It's the snarky responses whenever anyone offers a different point of view. So be it...my take is that if you can't offer an opinion and support it, there's not much use debating. There's an expectation that Buffalo just will get better...using the same personnel and schemes. I disagree and will suggest that making the jump to playing in the SB requires more improvement. We're going to find out if they make the leap. Go back to the AFC CG where they were suffocated by a solid pass rush, could not do that themselves, their running game was weak, and the defense couldn't stop two of the league's best receivers. You are how you lost the last game of your season and it was Brandon Beane who said that, not me. If personnel hasn't changed and they don't have the room to add other players, then what? Continuity?

With ~6M required for rookie contracts, Buffalo has (unless they re-structure other contracts) about 4M to play with. Who do you want to restructure or cut to provide more space for UFAs or RFAs? I also see the usual suspects who lack the ability to analytical dissect the point offered about continuity. To those individuals...have a nice day.

I'm not concerned with AFC dregs like the Jets, Jags, and Texans. Good teams continuously improve and those are the ones they need to focus on defeating in the post-season. The ante has been raised. What happened last season is over. This is a discussion about 2021. People have seen Daboll now 3 years. Josh had a great season and I expect more next year, but QB's can't do it all alone. You can be sure defenses will do what KC did in the AFC CG to throw him off. To that end, it'll take some an improved scheme and personnel to overcome that.

With ~10M in cap space and rookies yet to sign, there's little room unless other cuts/restructuring occurs. That's why I'll contend the likelihood is they've made their moves in pro personnel. Banking on rookies to come in and play well, particularly at needs like DE, CB, and interior OL from the start is not an effective strategy.

On the cusp of a new league year, the latest Bills narrative advanced is that continuity is the way forward. To that point, they retained pending UFAs while restructuring others now slotting them with less cap space when you consider rookie signing requirements. Doing the same thing over again, albeit even on a 13-3 team, is no guarantee of success. Schematically, Buffalo was predictable on both sides of the ball last year and personnel issues have not been addressed for 2021, such as: 1. An ineffective running game which didn't get much push on the interior. Both their starting C and RG have been restructured/retained. The LG is a RFA and perhaps average. 2. The inability generate a good pass rush. Aside from cutting one DLineman, they've largely kept that unit intact and their defense in 2020 was the highest paid unit by more than 9.5M? This will likely remain the case in 2021? 3. Teams could throw in Buffalo, even with a very pricey secondary. That was helped, particularly in the AFC CG, by a defense which sat on its heels. https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/positional/2020/defense/ Perhaps Buffalo has another signing planned and other roster clipping to make for more cap space. Perhaps younger guys elevate their level of play. Perhaps they have a draft pick come in and play well from the start. Retaining the same players who struggled to address those primary issues does not inspire a lot of confidence. Nor would employing the same offense and defense scheme as the HC is wont to do. I just don't want to see this team become like the late (EDIT: Green Bay) McCarthy years when they expected to succeed with Rodgers, an average OL and little at the skill positions. Josh deserves more than the status quo.

There isn't enough value to the scheme McD wants to run which necessitates a deep DL rotation. At present, Buffalo is allocating 25% of their cap dollars to the DL. https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/positional/defensive-line/ At some point, McD's defensive needs are going to interfere in maintaining a solid offense. They'll find a way to keep Diggs and Allen, but that alone isn't enough. My sense is beginning in 2022 they'll face the prospect of whether to keep that DL so deep or not. I'm not convinced McD will relent, but we'll see.

Strategically, I don't understand this HC and how he allocates resources with his GM. The push for defensive spending needs to be viewed in terms of how it affects their ability to fit pieces around Allen. The QB is how they win games now and, especially in the playoffs against IND and KC, the defense failed them. They're spending almost 100M this season on defense at those positions. And last season that still left them 14th in yards allowed, 16th in points allowed, and 15th in sacks. The lone bright spot was being tied for 3rd in turnovers. It's contracts like this for Milano which indicate the HC isn't going to change his stripes. He became a HC in this league on defense and will not acclimate to what this team's identity should be...and offense supported by enough defense.

3 QB's in one off-season. Deshaun wants to have a say in the HC and GM. Russ is mad his OLine isn't better. Rodgers didn't like the Jordan Love pick. It's not new for players to demand trades, but front office moves that need to go by the QB is a recent trend. Fans look way too much at last season as though it's a guarantee the next season will be better. Lot of conventional thinking, but rosters turn over really fast in the NFL. Players get hurt, they leave in UFA, and cap management becomes more challenging when you play well. This is a place Bills fans haven't been since the cap was introduced in 1993. Depending heavily on UFAs in 19-20 is a luxury they no longer have. Only now, they're right back against the cap with the expectation is to remain competitive. 2. The free agents mentioned aren't coming back if they haven't re-signed by now. And no way is Matt Barkley a key contributor, nor Levi Wallace an above replacement grade starter. 3. Buffalo needs to be more efficient with cap dollars, the result of spending big on UFA's in 2019-20, particularly at OL, DL, and WR. They need to get younger and better production on cheaper contracts and/or a rookie contract. 4. Buffalo's WR group isn't solid after Diggs. Davis had a nice season as a 3 but how, if now the Z, he plays is entirely different. Beasley isn't young either. I'd expect to see a Day 2 pick there. The DL needs to be overhauled and younger value type players need to step up, especially Oliver and Epenesa. They've gotta get younger and better on DL.

Sounds you need a Snickers bar right now.

Have you ever heard a player, whether 1 hour, 1 day, or a year out from being cut ever publicly talk about whether the QB was consulted on the former being cut? I've never heard that. My contention remains: that NFL players are beginning to demand a say in personnel decisions, both player and executive. Russell Wilson and Deshaun Watson won't be the last who demand trades or question the front office publicly. It's not gonna go over well if players believe they're entitled to a seat at that table. Massive conflation. Your job ain't NFL football nor on a contract like what Brown was signed to. And I'm guessing that you didn't appeal to your co-workers to run the Regional Manager's decision by someone higher up. Be relevant in analyzing that statement as I have. How many teams with veteran QB's that go to the playoffs don't or won't have one of those? I'll wait Doc.

I would avoid copy and pasting articles (even with a link) to make a thread. NFL players seem to be modeling their approach to personnel and other front office decisions based on where the NBA has trended. It's not going to end well, particularly when QBs demand to be traded or to have a say in who the HC or GM is. Right now I cannot imagine being a Texans or Seahawks fan and learning your star QB wants out because they're unhappy with who the GM is or thinks they need more talent to compete. EDIT: Where does this end? Do teams, especially those with big dollar QB's, allow high priced players input on player personnel decisions to satisfy them? Does the QB take added heat then if a player doesn't work out or when the cap is not managed poorly?

Very sorry for your loss Returntoglory. RIP.

I get the sense initially under the Pegula's Sabres ownership that Terry was playing uber-fan and allowed his hockey people to do whatever they could financially and within the cap to win. They tried to spend their way to success and of course it didn't work because the people they inherited (who they retained) didn't know their stuff. And as the team remained at the bottom of the NHL, Terry and/or Kim began asserting more control over the entire operation. They maintained hiring bad executives and blamed the NHL for guidance over these moves. The move to buy the Bills in 2014 required a refocus on the bottom line with all their investments and that meant the Sabres got singled out because they were losing. It couldn't be Terry's toy like it had been before. Not to mention, they over-expanded into all these businesses for some reason. There again, I think there were some bad advisors or they made bad decisions. I know Terry made billions in gas, but I have yet to see how Kim is qualified to be leading these major organizations. Bottom line is they're trying to do things their way as a response to letting others run the team into the ground. What they're not capable of is admitting this "plan" is making things worse. It's their decision-making for why the franchise is losing money, why the fans are so dissatisfied, and why dysfunction exists in the front office. I If they think the Bills can be put on auto-pilot and win without good football management, this sports town is in real big trouble. They'll never recover from that level of stupid. They're in waaaay over their heads and won't admit it now because they look so bad already.

More appropriate thread title would be 2021 NFL Prospect But clicks.

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?