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Why I'm optimistic about this draft and the Bills' future


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It's easy to say this draft is drawing more excitement out of Bills fans then any in a long, long time.  I think it's because we have something we have not recently.  Hope.  True hope.  The feeling that we are on the precipice of potential greatness again, finally.  And with it comes fear.  We know how fragile that hope is, and how key to it this draft is, and while QB is the hot topic, the other picks are still quietly crux.  If Beane nails this draft the Bills could be a powerhouse, and quickly, too.  Of course, if he doesn't nail it...that dreaded mediocrity that has plagued us from 2000 up until last season...that mediocrity we are all paralyzed with fear over.  And if he botches the draft, well, top pick in 2019, here we come.

 

What impresses me about Beane is, that playoff drought was killer and it left him with a very touchy, very volatile fan base.  One bad season, two?  It's easy to get fans to just sit tight, be patient, trust the process and let a GM do their job.  Seventeen?  We want results.  Immediate results.  Any single move a GM makes that doesn't look like it immediately makes us better gets scorched on talk shows and message boards.  I mean, look at these boards.  There are already a couple people that want Beane gone after he "allowed" the Jets to trade up to #3.  The pressure on a NFL GM has to be brutal, but the pressure on a Bills GM has to be soul-crushing.  It would be far easier to make flashy moves without direction, to grab sexy players to appease and excite the fans, to placate them and put bodies in the seats.  That is what we had for a long time, and that is what kept us mired in the muck.

 

It would have been easy for Beane to do the same, but he didn't.  He sat down and came up with a long-term plan.  Since taking over he has been making moves based on what he believes will help the team instead of basing them on how he thinks Bills' fans will react.  Getting rid of players like Watkins and Darius took a serious pair of stones and the backlash from fans was almighty.  I remember discussions of tanking the season, and I remember Beane standing up there telling me they were most certainly not tanking the season.  I rolled my eyes, as most of us did.  Of course he'd say that, and a GM lying to Bills fans would be nothing new.  But then we starting winning.  The team started gelling, developing chemistry, culture.  The started overachieving, producing a playoff run that was inconceivable before the season started.  All of a sudden the moves were making sense and the Darius trade showed that Beane was willing to take a short-term hit for a long-term gain.  This wasn't throwing darts at a board.  There was a plan here, a real plan, and we were already seeing benefits.  And even after the season ended, the moves continued.  But these weren't random strikes, it was a methodical plan.  He moved Taylor, added to draft capital, and when other teams were breaking the bank overpaying for mediocre free agent QBs, Beane waited, remained patient, and nabbed AJ for the equivalent of pocket change all while still moving withing striking range of a top QB prospect.

 

It's too early to tell how good a GM Beane will be.  But I like what I've seen.  Whether it works or not, we finally have a GM with a fully detailed long-term plan already in place.  He is willing to do what he feels he has to in following that plan and makes moves not to make the fans happy, but rather to make the team better.  He's willing to endure upsetting our touchy little fan base because he knows if his plan works, in a year or three the Bills will be an elite team again and the fan base will worship him.  Will it work?  I don't know.  But the fact that we actually have such a plan and a GM committed to it has me far more optimistic for this team's future then I've been in a long, long time.

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This draft will no doubt be huge for Beane and McDermott.  I've like the job they've done thus far over the past year and am giving them the benefit of the doubt.

I don't think they give away multiple first round picks for a QB; just a hunch I have about them.

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people need to consider who they have traded away in preparation for this draft.  Tyrod, Glenn, Watkins, Darby, Ragland, also traded from 10 to 27 and they were going to draft Lattimore who was DROY and a pro bowler.  that's a lot of pressure.  they need to deliver

Edited by kdiggz
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Just now, kdiggz said:

people need to consider who they have traded away in preparation for this draft.  Tyrod, Glenn, Watkins, Darby, Ragland, also traded from 12 to 26 and they were going to draft Lattimore who was DROY and a pro bowler.  that's a lot of pressure.  they need to deliver

I think trading away those players was an excellent move. 

 

Tyrod. . .  no reason to go over his mediocrity, just use the search feature and read the many threads. (I am a fan but that's because he was the better  than  what we have had in the  recent past)

Watkins . . . KC also got bit by, he  going to be awesome, but his stats show we over paid, at least we got something back

Glenn. . . he did play and was an expensive specatator

Ragland . . . not a great fit, Rex pick.

Darby . . . .liked him even after sophomore slump and TW upgrade.  

 

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We have way less talent than when Beane inherited the team.  If they get a qb, I’m good with everything.  But a team that got out scored but got super lucky to make the playoffs was kinda bad last year.  

2 minutes ago, BuffaloMatt said:

I think trading away those players was an excellent move. 

 

Tyrod. . .  no reason to go over his mediocrity, just use the search feature and read the many threads. (I am a fan but that's because he was the better  than  what we have had in the  recent past)

Watkins . . . KC also got bit by, he  going to be awesome, but his stats show we over paid, at least we got something back

Glenn. . . he did play and was an expensive specatator

Ragland . . . not a great fit, Rex pick.

Darby . . . .liked him even after sophomore slump and TW upgrade.  

 

I would love all those guys on our team over their replacements.  A rookie qb would love to have Sammy to throw to.

 

 

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7 minutes ago, C.Biscuit97 said:

We have way less talent than when Beane inherited the team.  If they get a qb, I’m good with everything.  But a team that got out scored but got super lucky to make the playoffs was kinda bad last year.  

I would love all those guys on our team over their replacements.  A rookie qb would love to have Sammy to throw to.

 

 

He's gonna love Benjamin.

 

I'm all for grabbing Chark in the 2nd round, too.

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21 minutes ago, kdiggz said:

people need to consider who they have traded away in preparation for this draft.  Tyrod, Glenn, Watkins, Darby, Ragland, also traded from 10 to 27 and they were going to draft Lattimore who was DROY and a pro bowler.  that's a lot of pressure.  they need to deliver

 

Yet they still made the playoffs, are loaded with draft capital, and will be out of cap hell next season. Yeah I'd say they have been delivering.

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11 minutes ago, The Red King said:

As I noted earlier, Beane is willing to take short-term losses if they lead to bigger long-term gains.  Reminds me of how another AFC East team conducts business.

 

They can afford to do that because they have, and have had, their franchise QB for a decade. So not really relevant. 

 

I do believe Beane is building this thing the right way and everything he has done has been for the goal of building this thing the right way. Gotta get the QB now

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2 hours ago, C.Biscuit97 said:

We have way less talent than when Beane inherited the team.  If they get a qb, I’m good with everything.  But a team that got out scored but got super lucky to make the playoffs was kinda bad last year.  

I would love all those guys on our team over their replacements.  A rookie qb would love to have Sammy to throw to.

 

 

I guess Benjamin will have to do. The picks we received will replace what we traded UNLESS OBD gambles the house and loses on next Matt Lienart. The new drought will be in year five by the time we can even consider the future.

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1 minute ago, Ifartalot said:

In the 2 years together, Brandon, Whaley and Ryan set the Bills back 5 years.

 

Brandon should be gone. He's the common denominator of the Bills and Sabres troubles.

 

It's BS he's not involved with what goes on with the teams. If so, he need not be sitting upfront at the draft. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't care a lick of what you are talking about.

 

You are the greatest named poster...on any board...anywhere...ever.

 

 

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2 hours ago, C.Biscuit97 said:

I would love all those guys on our team over their replacements.  A rookie qb would love to have Sammy to throw to.

 

Unfortunately, you weren't allowed to have him.  He wasn't ever going to be a Buffalo Bill in 2018.  Sorry!

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2 hours ago, C.Biscuit97 said:

We have way less talent than when Beane inherited the team.  If they get a qb, I’m good with everything.  But a team that got out scored but got super lucky to make the playoffs was kinda bad last year.  

 

 

Two blowout losses to Bolts and Saints were a net -67, and two losses to the Pats*** that didn't feel nearly that lopsided were -41.  That's -108 in four losses!  In the other 12 games they were +51.  Yes, your record is what it says it is but if a points differential statistic was ever misleading that was the Bills last season.

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4 minutes ago, DC Tom said:

Stay tuned, this time next week, when The Red King post an "I'm so done with this team" thread.

 

Lol!  Never.  My father ingrained in my head that you stay with your team, even back in the 2-14 years.  :D

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16 minutes ago, eball said:

 

Two blowout losses to Bolts and Saints were a net -67, and two losses to the Pats*** that didn't feel nearly that lopsided were -41.  That's -108 in four losses!  In the other 12 games they were +51.  Yes, your record is what it says it is but if a points differential statistic was ever misleading that was the Bills last season.

They made the playoffs so I’m happy. But I just think it deluded the bigger picture.  They basically played Jauron ball and lucked into 2 more wins.  It just goes to show how terrible the past 17 years were that they couldn’t get lucky once.

 

they bought themselves time but this was hardly some 1-15 team they inherited. It was a team that won 8 games/ season over the last 3 years.  Right now, it is the least talented team in the last 5 years.  That said, if they get a 1st round qb, they accomplished one of their missions.  

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4 hours ago, C.Biscuit97 said:

They made the playoffs so I’m happy. But I just think it deluded the bigger picture.  They basically played Jauron ball and lucked into 2 more wins.  It just goes to show how terrible the past 17 years were that they couldn’t get lucky once.

 

they bought themselves time but this was hardly some 1-15 team they inherited. It was a team that won 8 games/ season over the last 3 years.  Right now, it is the least talented team in the last 5 years.  That said, if they get a 1st round qb, they accomplished one of their missions.  

 

I'm curious, what two wins did the Bills "luck into" last season?

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8 hours ago, kdiggz said:

people need to consider who they have traded away in preparation for this draft.  Tyrod, Glenn, Watkins, Darby, Ragland, also traded from 10 to 27 and they were going to draft Lattimore who was DROY and a pro bowler.  that's a lot of pressure.  they need to deliver

I understand your point but if we got Lattimore and NO got White then White would have got DROY and the Pro Bowl.

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8 hours ago, kdiggz said:

people need to consider who they have traded away in preparation for this draft.  Tyrod, Glenn, Watkins, Darby, Ragland, also traded from 10 to 27 and they were going to draft Lattimore who was DROY and a pro bowler.  that's a lot of pressure.  they need to deliver


If we hadn't pursued this path, based on at least one mock draft the 21st and 22 picks would have been McGlinchey and Daniels. Later picks in that mock included Hernandez and Wynn. Both reasonable at those picks. Hence a starting lineup of ...

 

RT McGlinchey OR Dawkins
RG Dawkins AND Isaiah Wynn
C Daniels 

LG Groy/Miller/

LT Glenn


Nearly all of that offensive line is under 26; very underpaid, with annual savings likely to exceed $30,000,000 or much, much more. I think it's a top 10 offensive line, maybe better. Yes, you'd still have Tyrod and that's sub-optimal. But you'd have the second round to address the QB position. Having a line that goes Dawkins, Wynn and Daniels would probably be really, really special. 

Feh. Let's not play what if, but yeah. there's a lot of pressure in my mind. They need to get this right.

 

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