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With Allen, can the Bills de-emphasize skill positions?


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4 minutes ago, Dr. Who said:

It's not like they haven't been spending the bulk of the top picks on D. The game changes and strategy has to adapt. The defense is currently good, not great or dominant (the stats are deceptive.) Nonetheless, that is good enough in today's game. If you can upgrade, by all means do so, but not if that means neglecting to spend high picks on supercharging the offense and increasing the oline talent. We're probably just going to disagree on the best way moving forward.

 

I'm never so sure of myself that I disrespect or dismiss an opposing opinion.  Your view may be just as good as mine, or a lot better. I appreciate the perspective.

 

I'm curious how KC will fare if they go on to face the Rams.  The Rams are kind of the team I'm talking about.  It just always seems like if you have a great pass rush, it's a total equalizer against a superior QB.

 

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If de-emphasizing the skill positions means they focus on the OL. Im fine with that. Once the line started playing better the offense was unstoppable. 

I'm fine with Diggs, Beasley, Davis and Knox as my top 4. I add a rookie in the first 3 rounds. I'd be fine with Sanders for another year too. And I add a TE#2 and get rid of Sweeney and Gilliam.

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40 minutes ago, CincyBillsFan said:

I believe they should do the opposite.  The NE Patriots were able to take this approach because even only 5 years ago the NFL was a very different beast then it is today. IMO the Bills should double down on skill players for the offense.

 

Bottom line is that over the last 4 years KC has been more successful then NE and they  didn't do it by depriving Mahomes of elite offensive weapons.

 

That's true, but it's also true (what @Zerovoltz has said) that the Chiefs do kind of take a "Stars and Jags" approach.  They've got their stars (Hill and Kelce).  They've got their 1st round RB Edmunds-Helaire, who is not as good as Hunt was but the point is - he was a big investment of draft resources.  The rest, Hardman, Pringle, etc are JAGs who can play.

 

We need at least another star to pair with Diggs. 

 

As I said elsewhere, to my POV Brady had at least two "stars" for most of his tenure in NE.

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Just now, Success said:

 

I'm never so sure of myself that I disrespect or dismiss an opposing opinion.  Your view may be just as good as mine, or a lot better. I appreciate the perspective.

 

I'm curious how KC will fare if they go on to face the Rams.  The Rams are kind of the team I'm talking about.  It just always seems like if you have a great pass rush, it's a total equalizer against a superior QB.

 

A great pass rush gives even elite qbs trouble, obviously. Mahomes was pressured, but consistently escaped downfield. His running killed us. Top level pass rushers are difficult to get. You won't likely get one at #25. Not sure who is available in free agency, but that is certainly a position to inquire about. Josh Allen will make Buffalo a prime destination for anyone who wants a legit shot at a SB.

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3 minutes ago, Ethan in Portland said:

If de-emphasizing the skill positions means they focus on the OL. Im fine with that. Once the line started playing better the offense was unstoppable. 

I'm fine with Diggs, Beasley, Davis and Knox as my top 4. I add a rookie in the first 3 rounds. I'd be fine with Sanders for another year too. And I add a TE#2 and get rid of Sweeney and Gilliam.

 

I'm probably thinking more about both lines. This wasn't a "de-emphasize offense" thread. When you have a QB like Allen, the O-line should be a focus.  Protect that guy & keep him healthy.

 

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1 hour ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Wes Welker, followed by Edelman

after Moss, Rob Gronkowski

Then they had a series of 1 year rentals in the 4k range - when you're a perennial championship contender with the GOAT at QB, it's easy to persuade an aging WR who can still play like Brandon Lloyd to come collect 100+ targets and 900 yds for you.

 

They were fortunate to develop Gronkowski  and keep him on a cheap contract for a long time.

 

At the end of his tenure there, I understood "not having enough weapons" was one of Tom's beefs, but they kept the larder pretty decently stocked for him most of his tenure.

 

NE cheaped it a lot on OL.  They had usually 3 really good guys and a bunch of fill-ins.  Their OL coach Dante Scarnecchia, Coach Scar, was a genius at whipping young or journeyman OLmen into shape and teaching them to hold in ways that weren't usually called.

 

My opinion: I live in fear that Brandon Beane will try to do what was done in Carolina, where they figured they didn't need an OL or great WR because Cam.  They rode him into the ground and ruined him.  Hopefully Beane learned What Not To Do.

 

To me that also sounds a lot like seattle and green bay.   (more so seattle)   You cant put everything on a great qb and expect him to hold up.   hopefully the Bills are able to see the writing on the wall from the past.  

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1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

 

I listened to Beano's presser today. He doesn't sound like a man de-emphasising offense. Indeed he said protecting Josh and solidifying the line was "a priority".

 

Imma gonna flag you over in the Beane presser thread in hopes of getting more details on what you heard.

 

But yes.  He said the OL was "something to build on", that it all starts with protecting Josh, and that part of protecting Josh is the run game.

He also said "Isaiah really helped the running game", make of that what you will.

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Just now, Chaos said:

When Josh has time, he can destroy a defense as much as Brady, Rodgers or Mahomes.  A great o line will get us farther than upgrading the receiving corp. 

not to mention u have half a billion tied up in one player..it might prudent to protect that player the best you can.  

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1 hour ago, Victory Formation said:

Brady had better targets than you think. Even in Tampa Bay, when both Godwin and Evans were out, they lost 9-0 to the Saints of all teams.

 

The Bucs were kind of a different story. They were loaded at skill positions.

 

I didn't really expect the kind of negative reaction this one got.  It was just a discussion thought - the Pats definitely had a blueprint for their 2 decades of success, and it wasn't cheating, or investing too much capital in skill positions.  

 

The only thought I had was, is that worth emulating? Or do we forge our own path?

 

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3 hours ago, Nextmanup said:

I would not want to de-emphasize skill positions, and Josh isn't Brady.  They have different skill sets despite both being great QBs.

 

I think Josh needs good WRs more than Brady did.

 

I would continue to pump assets at improving the offense, especially at skill positions.

 

 

 

I agree, but I would say Allen needs an OL at least as good as where we ended the end of the season, with a good center.  

 

We also need a better front 7. 

 

We could get by with 2 No.  2RBs.  we currently have one No. 2 in Motor, IMo

2 hours ago, Dr. Who said:

A great pass rush gives even elite qbs trouble, obviously. Mahomes was pressured, but consistently escaped downfield. His running killed us. Top level pass rushers are difficult to get. You won't likely get one at #25. Not sure who is available in free agency, but that is certainly a position to inquire about. Josh Allen will make Buffalo a prime destination for anyone who wants a legit shot at a SB.

 

Chandler Jones.   Then draft a DL when it’s BPA.  

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1 hour ago, WyoAZBillfan said:

Brady benefited and won Super Bowls because his teams had very good defenses. Sure a few of those were due to a potent offense, bit his best offensive bowls were still carried by the D. 
just my .02 which means little and cost less. 

This opinion is not worth the 2 cents.  7 Super Bowl wins are not a coincidence. 

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4 hours ago, Success said:

With Brady retiring, it got me thinking of how the Pats were when he was QB there.  We hate them, rightfully, but it's okay to look at success and try to figure out if what worked there could apply here now.

 

The Pats blueprint was actually kind of simple:  you get a franchise QB, and you build a big O-line to protect him, and a great defense to help him win championships. Because he's such a great QB, you put receivers way down the list of priorities, because he can basically make anyone a star.

 

The only exception they really made was getting Moss.  1 time in a 20 year career.  And it didn't get them a Lombardi.

 

The opposite is what we saw w/ Marino, or even Stafford when he was w/ the Lions - the QB is so good, we have to get him the best weapons before other priorities.

 

I love Diggs and the fact that we've put a high priority on getting quality wideouts for Allen.  But is it necessary?  Does a championship formula lie more in the counter-intuitive approach?

 

 

Agree for the most part.  To often team get in trouble by paying close to top $$ to the QB for a guys that's really not a top QB, but he's the best the team has had in awhile so they pay him.  Tannerhill in Miami, Carr, Flacco, etc.  Then not enough money left to put a great team around him and those guys need greatness to win.

 

Take a Brady, Rodgers, Manning, they can make middle of the road guys WR, TE, RB look great.  Often then their contract runs out, they want to be paid top $$, but the team realizes it's really Rodgers that made him great, so they decline he goes elsewhere and puts up middle of the pack numbers and everyone is shocked.

 

Allen appears to be good enough to make the middle guys look great.  I do think you want one top tier guy like Diggs, but was reading a post the other day how we should sign Adams or Godwin to make the offense unstoppable.  We don't need that, nor can afford that.  Allen can win with Diggs, Davis, a decent rookie maybe slot WR, Knox,  and one middle tier backup for injury like a McKenzie.

 

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1 hour ago, WyoAZBillfan said:

Brady benefited and won Super Bowls because his teams had very good defenses. Sure a few of those were due to a potent offense, bit his best offensive bowls were still carried by the D. 
just my .02 which means little and cost less. 

 

Don't for get the cheating.  Every win should have an asterisk on it.

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I’m all for overkill.

Superior play from our skill positions is what will keep Josh very effective ( and upright) for many years.

Get mediocre on him & he’ll be scanning for an open guy way too long, far too often. All that extra scan time will eventually get him hurt.

 

If that ever happens, we are just another football team.

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3 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

If only the Giants could afford such luxuries as a $6M slot receiver. :lol:

 

Schoen and Daboll got their work cut out for them.

 

I'm sure they are shaking out the sofa cushions in Mara's office for spare change looking at the roster to see where cap can be freed up to bring in players they want

 

Though seriously, when I heard what Beane said in his presser, "I just may plan to trade him" was exactly how I interpreted it. 

At the time, Daboll wasn't hired by the Giants of course.

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5 hours ago, Success said:

With Brady retiring, it got me thinking of how the Pats were when he was QB there.  We hate them, rightfully, but it's okay to look at success and try to figure out if what worked there could apply here now.

 

The Pats blueprint was actually kind of simple:  you get a franchise QB, and you build a big O-line to protect him, and a great defense to help him win championships. Because he's such a great QB, you put receivers way down the list of priorities, because he can basically make anyone a star.

 

The only exception they really made was getting Moss.  1 time in a 20 year career.  And it didn't get them a Lombardi.

 

The opposite is what we saw w/ Marino, or even Stafford when he was w/ the Lions - the QB is so good, we have to get him the best weapons before other priorities.

 

I love Diggs and the fact that we've put a high priority on getting quality wideouts for Allen.  But is it necessary?  Does a championship formula lie more in the counter-intuitive approach?

 

 

 

While I understand your analysis, I think it's not really correct on Brady. They did spend less resources on WR than most. Equally, they emphasized TE a great deal. Which was really smart since TEs were an awful lot cheaper than WRs back then. Still cheaper but not as much so. But Terry Glenn was a damn good receiver for the Pats. And NE strongly stressed slot WRs through the years as well - again cheaper - and had terrific ones in Welker and Edelman.

 

IMO your question is interesting but the answer is no. Brady was a different kind of QB. His game was accuracy and consistency. He could throw the long ball, but that wasn't really his game. 

 

Allen is a different kind of QB, though he's worked on consistency and accuracy and has become damn good at it. Brady's game in NE was mostly about sustaining drives, about scheme to get guys open, and about the short and mid-range game. Allen terrifies teams with the constant specter of the long ball. His game is about as devastating as Brady's even at his peak, but it's different, and has different needs.

 

Also, the Pats ran the ball a lot more than we appear to want to, stressing defenses with unpredictability.

 

 

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5 hours ago, Dr. Who said:

You're completely misreading the current NFL game. It isn't the nineties, the rules strongly favor offense, even the '85 Bears would have trouble dominating. When you have arguably the best qb in the game, you play to that strength and add playmakers to extend his career and increase his effectiveness. That doesn't mean you neglect defense, but the relative tilt needs to go opposite from your intuition.

 

 

No, he's not misreading anything.

 

Yes, the rules favor the offense. That's why scoring is up. But the game is still about getting the highest score and that's accomplished two ways, by scoring more and by making the other guy score less. 

 

Go through recent SB winners and you'll find a big majority of good defenses. Offenses too. What you tend to find is balance.

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9 hours ago, Success said:

With Brady retiring, it got me thinking of how the Pats were when he was QB there.  We hate them, rightfully, but it's okay to look at success and try to figure out if what worked there could apply here now.

 

The Pats blueprint was actually kind of simple:  you get a franchise QB, and you build a big O-line to protect him, and a great defense to help him win championships. Because he's such a great QB, you put receivers way down the list of priorities, because he can basically make anyone a star.

 

The only exception they really made was getting Moss.  1 time in a 20 year career.  And it didn't get them a Lombardi.

 

The opposite is what we saw w/ Marino, or even Stafford when he was w/ the Lions - the QB is so good, we have to get him the best weapons before other priorities.

 

I love Diggs and the fact that we've put a high priority on getting quality wideouts for Allen.  But is it necessary?  Does a championship formula lie more in the counter-intuitive approach?

 

I think the notion that New England didn't have have talent at WR is a fallacy. It's imperative, We've got to keep supplying JA with guys that won't let him down. I

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10 hours ago, Success said:

With Brady retiring, it got me thinking of how the Pats were when he was QB there.  We hate them, rightfully, but it's okay to look at success and try to figure out if what worked there could apply here now.

 

The Pats blueprint was actually kind of simple:  you get a franchise QB, and you build a big O-line to protect him, and a great defense to help him win championships. Because he's such a great QB, you put receivers way down the list of priorities, because he can basically make anyone a star.

 

The only exception they really made was getting Moss.  1 time in a 20 year career.  And it didn't get them a Lombardi.

 

The opposite is what we saw w/ Marino, or even Stafford when he was w/ the Lions - the QB is so good, we have to get him the best weapons before other priorities.

 

I love Diggs and the fact that we've put a high priority on getting quality wideouts for Allen.  But is it necessary?  Does a championship formula lie more in the counter-intuitive approach?

 

Diggs is as much of a top-end WR as we need and Davis fills in great as a #2 and deep threat. beyond that it's important to get a player with some shiftiness for the slot, but they don't need to carry the kind of cap that Cole does. McKenzie on a bridge deal would be fine, otherwise I'll look for someone in the later rounds to compete with stevenson, hodgins and some value free agents.

I think what would help us more than anything is a couple of really good pass catching and pass blocking RBs. They don't have to be top of the line, but NE has made hay with that committee based approach for years and I'd like to have someone like james white, kevin faulk, shane vareen, etc.

A second TE that's not useless would be nice too.

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I understand the point because Allen by himself can elevate just about any offense to be at least decent. But the way the NFL is set up, offenses are the priority and there are quite a few teams in the AFC that can score points in a hurry with 2 of them being in the Championship game today. We were supposedly the #1 defense in the league and we’re absolutely helpless in trying to slow down, let alone stop KC. So trying to build a all star defense at the expense of your offense does not seem to make sense. I’d prefer to strengthen the offense to make sure it remains at the top of the league and I would allocate defensive $ only towards playmakers. Guys that get sacks and get or create turnovers. This way u hope when I are in a shootout that u have enough playmakers on defense that they can get the occasional takeaway even if they are still getting scored on. As much as we spent on the d line we did not have that sack machine player upfront. And I’d definitely be against extending Edwards as he does not fit the playmaker category and would cost way too much $. We need better play up front and in the back end (cb) and just average lb play to go with Milano and the defense would be just fine. I also don’t want to focus so much on the defense that McDermott begins to “trust” it or rely on them too much with punting and such. 

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14 hours ago, Success said:

With Brady retiring, it got me thinking of how the Pats were when he was QB there.  We hate them, rightfully, but it's okay to look at success and try to figure out if what worked there could apply here now.

 

The Pats blueprint was actually kind of simple:  you get a franchise QB, and you build a big O-line to protect him, and a great defense to help him win championships. Because he's such a great QB, you put receivers way down the list of priorities, because he can basically make anyone a star.

 

The only exception they really made was getting Moss.  1 time in a 20 year career.  And it didn't get them a Lombardi.

 

The opposite is what we saw w/ Marino, or even Stafford when he was w/ the Lions - the QB is so good, we have to get him the best weapons before other priorities.

 

I love Diggs and the fact that we've put a high priority on getting quality wideouts for Allen.  But is it necessary?  Does a championship formula lie more in the counter-intuitive approach?

 


 

Does he need a #1 guy at all positions?

 

No.  

He can do it with solid reliable guys like Diggs, Knox, Davis and Beasley 

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13 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

That's true, but it's also true (what @Zerovoltz has said) that the Chiefs do kind of take a "Stars and Jags" approach.  They've got their stars (Hill and Kelce).  They've got their 1st round RB Edmunds-Helaire, who is not as good as Hunt was but the point is - he was a big investment of draft resources.  The rest, Hardman, Pringle, etc are JAGs who can play.

 

We need at least another star to pair with Diggs. 

 

As I said elsewhere, to my POV Brady had at least two "stars" for most of his tenure in NE.


Its not really their approach though.  KC keeps going after more skill - they acquired Watkins, Gordon, and rumor has it they’re going to go hard after OBJ this offseason.  They traded a first for a LT, signed Bell, etc.  If Kamara became available they’d be the first team in line.  And they’ve done the same on defense in terms of targeting pass rushers, Honey Badger etc.  Not all of their moves have worked out but they keep trying.  I wish the Bills pursued skill as aggressively as KC does - the skill disparity was on full display last weekend.

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8 hours ago, Thurman#1 said:

 

 

No, he's not misreading anything.

 

Yes, the rules favor the offense. That's why scoring is up. But the game is still about getting the highest score and that's accomplished two ways, by scoring more and by making the other guy score less. 

 

Go through recent SB winners and you'll find a big majority of good defenses. Offenses too. What you tend to find is balance.

No one has said defense is unimportant. If you read through the thread, you'll see what is intended. We need to allocate more prime resources to offense. This regime has not shown itself averse to spending top picks on D. So far, it's got you a pretty good defense. If they want to kick that up a notch, they're going to have to get someone like Chandler Jones which another poster suggested. A speed cb2 would help. Folks can see what could improve that side of the ball and that's fine, but the idea that the offense is good enough and it's the D that needs attention is not correct imo.

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30 minutes ago, streetkings01 said:

Davis has been beating guys 1on1 since his rookie year…..stop selling him short!

Not selling him short, but it's a fact that because of Diggs he receives the one on one coverage which credit to him he dominated all night.  He needs to start next season as the clear #2 receiver on this team

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