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How quickly can the Bills replenish their talent?

jahnyc

By jahnyc
in The Stadium Wall Archives

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jahnyc Veteran

jahnyc

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Watching the Sabres over the last couple of years, I have wondered if the stripping of talent through the tank and not having a pipeline of young talent meant that it would take years to replenish the talent and become competitive to make the playoffs, which seems to be the case now.  I am wondering if a similar problem has been created by the Bills.  Since last season, the Bills have lost (through a combination of free agency, trades and releases), among others, Watkins, Woods, Goodwin, Gillislee, Zach Brown, Dareus, Gilmore, Darby, Nickell Robey, Aaron Williams, Corey Graham, and Jonathan Williams.  Many of these players were starting caliber players.

 

I know that some of these players were free agents and we did not have the cap space to retain them.  I also understand that football is different than hockey, and teams can improve significantly from year to year, but are we starting a new rebuild from a very low base of overall talent?  I also know that we have a lot of picks in the next draft, but if we trade up to draft a QB, we may not have those picks available.  At a minimum, we will need a significant infusion of talent.  I hope through the draft and free agency we will be able to fill our holes for both starting players and depth players, but my concern is that this will take too much time because of the realities of from where we are starting this process.

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Dr. Who Veteran

Dr. Who

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6 minutes ago, jahnyc said:

Watching the Sabres over the last couple of years, I have wondered if the stripping of talent through the tank and not having a pipeline of young talent meant that it would take years to replenish the talent and become competitive to make the playoffs, which seems to be the case now.  I am wondering if a similar problem has been created by the Bills.  Since last season, the Bills have lost (through a combination of free agency, trades and releases), among others, Watkins, Woods, Goodwin, Gillislee, Zach Brown, Dareus, Gilmore, Darby, Nickell Robey, Aaron Williams, Corey Graham, and Jonathan Williams.  Many of these players were starting caliber players.

 

I know that some of these players were free agents and we did not have the cap space to retain them.  I also understand that football is different than hockey, and teams can improve significantly from year to year, but are we starting a new rebuild from a very low base of overall talent?  I also know that we have a lot of picks in the next draft, but if we trade up to draft a QB, we may not have those picks available.  At a minimum, we will need a significant infusion of talent.  I hope through the draft and free agency we will be able to fill our holes for both starting players and depth players, but my concern is that this will take too much time because of the realities of from where we are starting this process.

I think the difference is hockey drafts 18 yr olds that need years to develop.  I think an NFL team can rebuild more quickly, but we are certainly starting with a roster largely bereft of talent.

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Fadingpain All Pro

Fadingpain

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There is another recent thread here that documents the key draft picks and moves/acquisitions that set us up for the Super bowl run years.

 

It was like a 4 or 5 year ramp-up just to get to 1988...with our first Superbowl appearance coming in January, 1991.

 

So yes, it could take a while.  Though the league has changed since then and free agency didn't exist when we were ramping up to the Kelly/Smith/Thomas/Reed years.

 

I say give this regime 3 years; if we don't seem to be making any progress at all after 3, start over.

 

We are still in year 1 of all that! 

 

 

 

 

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The Wiz Hall of Famer

The Wiz

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Part of the problem that the bills have always had over the drought is getting good players and not overpaying them.  Problem being is most players don't want to come to a perennial loser like the bills so they have to sweeten the pot by overpaying them or giving them long term deals.  This hand ties them with the cap by having to give them these deal and makes it harder to replenish players.

 

I do think having a better overall team would attract more free agents and retain the talent that they have without having to break the bank.  Again, the problem is we need the talent to be better but haven't had the ability to do it with the large contracts they have given out in the past.  I think part of the purging of current players and big contracts is a good first step into clearing cap space for future free agents and players that will fit into their system.

 

Just my 2 cents.

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Dr. Who

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21 minutes ago, The Wiz said:

Part of the problem that the bills have always had over the drought is getting good players and not overpaying them.  Problem being is most players don't want to come to a perennial loser like the bills so they have to sweeten the pot by overpaying them or giving them long term deals.  This hand ties them with the cap by having to give them these deal and makes it harder to replenish players.

 

I do think having a better overall team would attract more free agents and retain the talent that they have without having to break the bank.  Again, the problem is we need the talent to be better but haven't had the ability to do it with the large contracts they have given out in the past.  I think part of the purging of current players and big contracts is a good first step into clearing cap space for future free agents and players that will fit into their system.

 

Just my 2 cents.

I think if you are perceived to have a franchise qb, it makes it a lot easier to persuade potential free agents to join up.

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Mat68 Veteran

Mat68

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Buffalo has plenty cap space and loads of picks.  The roster will be flipped again this year, and they will get much younger and on Defense more athletic.  Beane and Mcdermott will have a near blank canvas to build the roster how they choose.  

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Call_Of_Ktulu Veteran

Call_Of_Ktulu

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Buffalo has never been a FA hot spot. We need to hit on our draft picks and sign solid depth players in FA. I think with this being the evaluation year that we release players this year. Draft a QB and fix the O-Line for 2018 so at least you can properly evaluate the rookie and let him learn the position without getting injured. I would think in 2019 we might have a shot at the wild card if everything goes as planned.

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Figster Veteran

Figster

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13 minutes ago, DaBillsFanSince1973 said:

at least two seasons.

 

might be looking at a contender in 2020?

When you consider how long its been since Buffalo has been a real contender two seasons in the grand scheme of things is not a long time to wait.

 

McD knows what he wants.  Smart, solid players , men of good character and when he has enough of them good things will happen in my humble opinion.

 

 

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The Frankish Reich All Pro

The Frankish Reich

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30 minutes ago, The Wiz said:

Part of the problem that the bills have always had over the drought is getting good players and not overpaying them.  Problem being is most players don't want to come to a perennial loser like the bills so they have to sweeten the pot by overpaying them or giving them long term deals.  This hand ties them with the cap by having to give them these deal and makes it harder to replenish players.

 

I do think having a better overall team would attract more free agents and retain the talent that they have without having to break the bank.  Again, the problem is we need the talent to be better but haven't had the ability to do it with the large contracts they have given out in the past.  I think part of the purging of current players and big contracts is a good first step into clearing cap space for future free agents and players that will fit into their system.

 

Just my 2 cents.

I think that's right. "The Process" starts with getting out of bad contracts. When you have a lot of money tied up in non-elite players (even if they remain productive when on the field), it's tough to rebuild.

30 minutes ago, DaBillsFanSince1973 said:

at least two seasons.

 

might be looking at a contender in 2020?

I think 2020 is the right target. Three good drafts, bad contracts (Dareus dead money, Glenn, Clay) off the books, intelligent free agent signings - yeah, that's a lot to ask for given our history, but there's really no reason why a competent organization wouldn't be able to field a very competitive team by 2020.  2019?  Well, if the QB situation works out, it's not an outrageous scenario.  I can't see a seriously competitive team unless the ball literally bounces our way far more than is predictable - kind of like how it did in the first half of this season.

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