BillsVet

To my earlier point: When you are prepared to respond and engage in even a low level debate I will be here. Regards.

I don't see a response to my post here. When you are prepared to offer one I will respond appropriately. Regards.

Why was it close when you're up 16 points with 21 minutes remaining? Because McD, despite his tough talk, doesn't put the collective foot on his opponent's throat. He's a conventional coach who, when the chips are down, plays it safe. That's gotta change if, as someone below knows they are, "Super Bowl caliber." Yep. And offense is this coaches Achilles heal, although their skill talent has improved for 2020. Gonna be real interesting seeing how they use Diggs, Brown, Beasley, Knox, and Singletary. Big picture perspective? Every coach and GM in the league are driving for continuous improvement because, barring success, they'll all be out of a job eventually. You think McD is the only one riding that wagon? I saw a HC last year who was 1-4 against playoff level teams. Hence, my point about him needing to up his game. He does that by changing his spots and learning to be bold offensively. Do you believe a guy that's been defensive minded his whole career acquiesces suddenly to being an up-tempo offense? I think the jury's out on that. McD has 20 years of NFL experience. If he's not good on game day by now, it's probably not going to get better.

Does everyone now forget the last game he coached? Buffalo was up 16-0 late in the third quarter only to lose 22-19. He's also a career 3-17 against teams either in the playoffs or make the post-season. He's gotta start beating the better teams more frequently. And next season's schedule is sure to be more difficult than 2019's. McD has a lot to improve on.

I don't see Ford starting at guard or RT this season. Still, I would like to see the contract Daryl Williams received before making solid predictions about that position.

Being a good roster on paper is nice for the off-season, but this is the measure that matters. I want to see how the HC and OC use their newfound talented WR group. I want to see them scheme an offense which scares opponents. I want to see more of this QB and how he uses the weapons they've acquired And I want to see what all of them do in crunch time, as in a wild card or divisional round game. McD still has a lot to prove as an in-game HC. I've got more confidence in Beane's vision, but when practice starts again it's all on the HC from there.

Patriettes didn't have the resources or at least willingness to add the cap space to improve their offensive skill positions this off-season. And I doubt Brady wanted to play another year with rookies. It's not out of the question, but I think his mind was made up before, but who knows?

I can see Watkins and Woods in 2014 perhaps. Moulds-Evans in 04-05 The irony is that much of the offense in 2020 will be veteran players and not so much youth developed in their system. Not an indictment of McBeane, just ironic considering that for many years here when Buffalo was inactive in UFA people responded with cries of you can't build through UFA.

At the least, Diggs and Brown represent the best 1-2 X and Z combo in probably a decade plus. Difference is I think they've got a QB who'll get them the ball. I think I read that Buffalo now has the 3rd most money invested at the WR position. That guarantees nothing, but it's a move toward where the league has gone toward passing-driven offenses. Opposing secondaries will need to respect that where previously they didn't.

This could be an outstanding WR draft class, but doing a quick cost benefit analysis, trading those picks and taking on Diggs' contract (and likely extension should he perform) is far better than using the 22nd pick on a guy like Higgins or even moving up with another pick to take one of Lamb, Jeudy, or Ruggs. Those guys may be stars but it'll take them a little time to acclimate. And it means they can perform a true assessment of Allen at the 2020 season's conclusion. It was hard to stomach the 2017-18 seasons when Buffalo unloaded so much cap space and featured lesser talented teams, particularly on offense. But having cap space makes a deal like this possible and for that I give McBeane credit. Good on them not following conventional wisdom and taking what was left at 22 or even trading up.

TT's limitations could only be hidden for so long and defenses finally saw he would not challenge them across the entire field. HIs YPA, YPG, and sacks taken all declined from 2015 to 2017 and his progression just never happened from that first year with Rex. Credit to Beane for getting a 3rd from Cleveland for him. I'd be shocked (shocked!) if the LAC do not maneuver their way toward selecting a QB.

The 2020 Buffalo Bills will go as far as their QB and his surrounding offense will take them. Let's hope Josh takes a big step, Daboll gets his stuff together and they use these weapons aggressively.

I'm not going to bash McD or Beane at this point. They just traded their 1st for a proven NFL WR who instantly should make the QB and the entire offense better. People talk about McD's process and I have no doubt he had a plan or else ownership would not have hired him. But the idea it was down to the letter over 3 years is hard to believe. There are too many variables and I suspect the HC and GM needed to deviate every so often. Besides, nothing ever goes according to plan, especially 1-2 seasons into the future.

A far cry from a certain GM 10 years ago who would have been in bed by 8pm.

I've been banging the drum that McD has prioritized the defense his first 2 seasons at the expense of the offense. The byproduct was their offense during the first half of 2018 and last year they were mostly below average. You could have made this point a year ago, but not anymore. Trading for Diggs combined with their focus on offensive skill types last year in UFA and the 2 third rounders is a major shift. This is a team that has been questioned about their offensive talent and they responded. So long as McD and Daboll use these guys appropriately, they've changed their direction.

I would not count out Belichick just yet. Not even post-Brady. That said, NE is a lot weaker now and were trending that way during 2019.

Brady being allowed to leave NE tells me all I need to know about where Belichick is on him. His level of play is declining rapidly. And Belichick knows he can get solid play from someone else that is now better than the guy he won 6 SB's with. Now let's go win the division in 2020!

Buffalo said they needed to score points. Well, they're going for it now. Steep price to pay, but under team control for a reasonable price these next few seasons and not demanding a new deal like Hopkins reportedly is. This is a force-multiplier of a move. I thought they needed to go big this off-season or go home. They're going big with this acquisition.

That hasn't been cancelled either?

Al Davis won 3 Super Bowls in 8 years though. O'Brien strikes me as the guy who got a lot of power and thinks he knows what he's doing. But he doesn't and that team will end up hurting in the long term until someone wakes up and decides they need a different HC.

San Fran ranked second in yards allowed, first in passing yards allowed, and eighth in points allowed in the NFL. And this happened in the highly competitive NFC West. That said, it did not work out well come the 4th quarter against Mahomes. They still needed to score points (particularly in a 48-46 win over the Saints) to win against good teams. McBeane chose to build the defense first and perhaps they'll get around to finish the offense in year 4 of the rebuild. That will, more than defense, define how they will fare in 2020.

Gotta wonder where Ford plugs in provided Feliciano and Spain are the guards in 2020. He either wins the RT job or finds himself a primary backup because neither of those 2 should, barring injury, be pushed to depth roles. Buffalo needs an OL that can pass block because Josh has shown a tendency to hold on to the ball longer than his contemporaries. At the same time, if they use this draft to find better receiving talent and add a complementary back to Singletary that should help him be more comfortable in the pocket. It'll be interesting to see if the Bills take an OT or sign one in UFA. Doing so would indicate where they are on Ford's ability to play RT.

I have a hard time giving Beane a pass on the Benjamin deal because that was an organization he came from and had familiarity with the player. But that was 2+ years ago and no one had high expectations for that Bills team or the 2018 one. It's a sunk cost they've already paid. But now their offensive personnel decisions, overall team strategy, and in-game offensive decisions will be more highly scrutinized. Perhaps McBeane get it right, Allen improves, and Daboll schemes up presumably better talent on offense next season. Bottom line is this off-season is all about taking the next step and being a strong offense.

It comes back to how much this regime is willing to value the offensive skill positions because this coming season they absolutely need an out of the box weapon for Josh. Perhaps they'll just fall back on the depth of the class and use another 2nd or 3rd on a skill type. I don't think that's good enough if they're going to support the QB and help the offense improve from being a mid to bottom ranked unit. At this point, scoring points is more crucial to their long term success than finding another big dollar/high draft pick defensive player.

Born in Batavia, NY no less.