Beane again showing why he is a top GM

[Ethan in Cleveland]

1 minute ago, Coach Tuesday said:

I will forever be grateful to Beane for nailing the Allen pick.

 

I will never forgive him if he squanders Allen’s career.

Yeah and if the Jets had taken Allen, Beane and McDermott would be out of a job by now. 

[Magox]

The WR room is stronger than last year from the 4-6 spots (I don’t believe they are done improving it)

 

The offensive line is upgraded with McGovern (I don’t believe they are done improving it)

 

RB room with 2nd year for Cook/Hines along with Harris should be stronger than last year.

 

Safety spot with Hyde back should be stronger than last year.

 

CB room with second year Elam and White recovering should be stronger than last year

 

The only spot where the Bills are noticeably weaker is with the departure of Edmunds and I’m guessing a valuable resource either via FA or draft will be used to mitigate some of that loss.

[IndyMark]

As important, Beane is doing precisely what he stated he would do.  He is positioning the Bills to go BPA on draft day by minimizing glaring holes on the roster.  Additionally, he is doing it in a prudent manner which is sustainable on being competitive not just for 1-2 years but beyond.  This is not to say he has not made errors, but to his credit he is quite transparent in what he states he wants to do and then what he actually does.

 

Now, of course BPA is a rather ambiguous notion as there is never a true consensus (particularly at pick #27) on who the BPA is, yet to me at least, it is becoming clearer with each FA signing that whichever prospect seems to be BPA, will be who we select; which is exactly where we want to be and how good teams get better.  

 

A rising tide raises all ships.

 

We can certainly debate the magnitude of how we feel the Bills have gotten better this offseason, or not, but Beane is doing some pretty smart things that (again in my estimation) are making the Bills better. By itself, signing McGovern is a huge upgrade over Saffold. No question.  We are a better team simply by that single move.

 

Similarly, our #3-5 WR line up is better, no doubt with Harty and Sherfield and our big RB has just been addressed.  We all should be feeling much better that we can go BPA on draft day and not reach for a position just because we need some bodies and depth.  

 

 

[Dr. Who]

9 minutes ago, Magox said:

The WR room is stronger than last year from the 4-6 spots (I don’t believe they are done improving it)

 

The offensive line is upgraded with McGovern (I don’t believe they are done improving it)

 

RB room with 2nd year for Cook/Hines along with Harris should be stronger than last year.

 

Safety spot with Hyde back should be stronger than last year.

 

CB room with second year Elam and White recovering should be stronger than last year

 

The only spot where the Bills are noticeably weaker is with the departure of Edmunds and I’m guessing a valuable resource either via FA or draft will be used to mitigate some of that loss.

I think this is all true, but the weaknesses in some areas were significant deficiencies, so marginal improvement or status quo is not sufficient. OL, TE, WR, DT and LB still need addressing. We'll see what Beane does. LB is a real worry as it stands. I would be unhappy without one of the better rookies or a fella like Wagner, yet I will be more discontent if getting weapons and protection for Allen is relegated to low level FA signings and second and third day draft picks. Whatever Beane does, he should prioritize getting playmakers and solidifying the oline even if it means allowing for a weakness here and there in the roster.

[Warriorspikes51]

If Beane wants to show that he is a top GM, he needs to acquire another high end WR

[stlbills13]

Beane has done a great job this off-season. But we still need one more offensive upgrade that isnt a depth player. Either on the line or as a WR. Could be in the draft. Could be in a trade. We'll see. I'm excited though

[BarleyNY]

1 hour ago, Coach Tuesday said:

I will forever be grateful to Beane for nailing the Allen pick.

 

I will never forgive him if he squanders Allen’s career.

Agree with this. I don’t look at any single season in a vacuum as far as championships. What I see is an elite QB’s limited career passing by season by season. Allen will be 27 for this season so let’s say he’s got 12 prime seasons left with three prime seasons behind him. That’s 3 of 15 opportunities for a championship lost to bad luck or squandered by bad decisions. Lotta time left, but 20% is gone - and that’s not nothing. 

Edited March 21, 2023 by BarleyNY

[ngbills]

I would not make the assumption:

 

WR Room: Harry and Sherfield is an upgrade from Crowder and McK. At best it’s a swap of B players for B players. We need to add an A. 
 

RB Room: Harris is not an upgrade over Singletary. He is just new. Needed move but not an upgrade. If Cook is not the guy we still need a RB. 
 

OL: We swapped McG for Saffold. Looks like an upgrade. But the OL is not upgraded yet. It was more than just Saffold. RT was a bigger issue. 
 

 

2 minutes ago, ngbills said:

I would not make the assumption:

 

WR Room: Harry and Sherfield is an upgrade from Crowder and McK. At best it’s a swap of B players for B players. We need to add an A. 
 

RB Room: Harris is not an upgrade over Singletary. He is just new. Needed move but not an upgrade. If Cook is not the guy we still need a RB. 
 

OL: We swapped McG for Saffold. Looks like an upgrade. But the OL is not upgraded yet. It was more than just Saffold. RT was a bigger issue. 
 

 

Put another way - if any other team signed the guys we have nobody on this board would be impressed. Most have probably only heard of Harris bc he played us a lot. 

[Dopey]

On the oline, I think LG and RT were problems. I’m confident our FA guard is an upgrade over Saffold. Beane says he has confidence in Brown at RT with a full offseason to recover from back surgery. I believe we pick up a tackle to compete with Brown. Morse, Dawkins and Bates are solid, IMO.  Hoping we pick up 2 oline players in the draft for quality depth. So far, so good, Beane. IMO. 

[Dr. Who]

2 minutes ago, Dopey said:

On the oline, I think LG and RT were problems. I’m confident our FA guard is an upgrade over Saffold. Beane says he has confidence in Brown at RT with a full offseason to recover from back surgery. I believe we pick up a tackle to compete with Brown. Morse, Dawkins and Bates are solid, IMO.  Hoping we pick up 2 oline players in the draft for quality depth. So far, so good, Beane. IMO. 

Well, I would love to snag Matthew Bergeron in the second, but I suspect he won't last till 59 and we don't really have enough draft picks to move up. I think he can play both G and RT, so he gives you competition for Brown and a potential IOL.

[DrDawkinstein]

11 minutes ago, ngbills said:

 

RB Room: Harris is not an upgrade over Singletary. He is just new. Needed move but not an upgrade. If Cook is not the guy we still need a RB.

 

Harris upgrades Moss's spot. And Harris is a decent upgrade over Moss.

 

11 minutes ago, ngbills said:

Put another way - if any other team signed the guys we have nobody on this board would be impressed. Most have probably only heard of Harris bc he played us a lot. 

 

I dont know. I look at the other teams at our level and dont see anyone making much bigger moves. KC, Cincy, Philly. Cincy and Philly have both lost way more than they signed this offseason. They cant even keep up with their FA losses. KC signed an ok OT, but lost two who have better stats/profiles.

 

Tough being at the top. If you want to have a team that wins the offseason with a bunch of sexy FA signings, you need to be at the Bears/Texans/Dolphins levels. Or like we were during the drought. No thanks.

 

[LABILLBACKER]

2 hours ago, Ethan in Cleveland said:

Yeah and if the Jets had taken Allen, Beane and McDermott would be out of a job by now. 

Yes they would 

[Lost]

1 hour ago, BarleyNY said:

Agree with this. I don’t look at any single season in a vacuum as far as championships. What I see is an elite QB’s limited career passing by season by season. Allen will be 27 for this season so let’s say he’s got 12 prime seasons left with three prime seasons behind him. That’s 3 of 15 opportunities for a championship lost to bad luck or squandered by bad decisions. Lotta time left, but 20% is gone - and that’s not nothing. 

 

I was about to disagree with your assessment that Allen would still have 12 Prime years left but looking back at a lot of the top tier QBs from our league it seems a lot of them had some of their best seasons towards the end of their career while pushing 40.   These guys all have 5000+ passing yd seasons after age 36.

 

Ben Roethlisberger

Aaron Rodgers

Peyton Manning (holds single season record for both yards and TDs at age 37)

Tom Brady

Drew Brees

Edited March 21, 2023 by Lost

[uticaclub]

1 hour ago, BarleyNY said:

Agree with this. I don’t look at any single season in a vacuum as far as championships. What I see is an elite QB’s limited career passing by season by season. Allen will be 27 for this season so let’s say he’s got 12 prime seasons left with three prime seasons behind him. That’s 3 of 15 opportunities for a championship lost to bad luck or squandered by bad decisions. Lotta time left, but 20% is gone - and that’s not nothing. 

You think Allen is going to make it to 39 the way he plays and with no protection?!?!? I hope your right, but I expect Allens production to drop in 2 or 3 years. The window is MUCH shorter than you think.

[BarleyNY]

10 minutes ago, Lost said:

 

I was about to disagree with your assessment that Allen would still have 12 Prime years left but looking back at a lot of the top tier QBs from our league it seems a lot of them had some of their best seasons towards the end of their career while pushing 40.   These guys all have 5000+ passing yd seasons after age 36.

 

Ben Roethlisberger

Aaron Rodgers

Peyton Manning (holds single season record for both yards and TDs at age 37)

Tom Brady

Drew Brees

 

I was trying to be optimistic on Allen’s career length. I think it’s very reasonable to knock 2 or 3 seasons off of my estimate, especially since I said “prime” years. Roethlisberger lasted that long but was toast the last 2 or 3 seasons. 

[Gregg]

15 minutes ago, uticaclub said:

You think Allen is going to make it to 39 the way he plays and with no protection?!?!? I hope your right, but I expect Allens production to drop in 2 or 3 years. The window is MUCH shorter than you think.

 

They need Allen to do a lot less running. Think of John Elway. Early in his career Elway would scramble and run a lot. They weren't designed runs like Allen has but Elway did run. Later in his career with Terrell Davis doing the running Elway was able to focus on just throwing the ball. The Bills need to find that for Allen. If Harris can stay healthy (big if) then he can help do that. If not, then Beane has to find someone who can.

[Success]

4 hours ago, Warriorspikes51 said:

If Beane wants to show that he is a top GM, he needs to acquire another high end WR

 

Honestly, we don't need that.  We have a lot of talent on the offensive side of the ball now, and some real versatility in the WR corps.  Much more important to build the line in front of Allen so he can get the ball to the playmakers we have.

 

I have said it before - but that's the Patriots blueprint.  I hate them, but they did it right.

[PBF81]

2 hours ago, uticaclub said:

You think Allen is going to make it to 39 the way he plays and with no protection?!?!? I hope your right, but I expect Allens production to drop in 2 or 3 years. The window is MUCH shorter than you think.

 

It'll diminish significantly one he's not as fast or agile as well.  That'll be long before he's 39.  

 

At some point if he's going to continue to be a top QB, it's going to be more as a pocket passer, and how good he is then will be impacted by how good of an OL he's got in front of him.  

 

All of this also assumes that he doesn't get seriously injured due to his high-risk style of play.  

 

 

Edited March 21, 2023 by PBF81

[Dopey]

2 hours ago, uticaclub said:

You think Allen is going to make it to 39 the way he plays and with no protection?!?!? I hope your right, but I expect Allens production to drop in 2 or 3 years. The window is MUCH shorter than you think.

To me, a lot has to do with Allen's style of play more than the lack of protection. We can definitely upgrade the line to help, but Allen has been asked about his style of play. Specifically his physical runs where he tries to truck the defender or leap over him. He said that's how he plays. So did Cam Newton. If Allen continues to take on defenders like he's a RB, he ain't going to last. There's a reason RBs don't last 15 years(for the most part). He needs to mature some more. Take what the defense gives you and learn to SLIDE or RUN OUT OF BOUNDS. Pretty sure he know how to, it's just a matter of seeing how important he is in the long run to this franchise. This is up to him, not the oline. JMO.

Edited March 21, 2023 by Dopey

[HugeHeffner11]

On 3/15/2023 at 8:31 PM, Einstein said:

 

Until Week 5 you mean? The last 12 weeks of the season we were no where near the best team.

I won a ton of money on the second Bengal/Buffalo game!  I figured the way the Bengals were totally dominating and crushing the Bills in the 1st game the books were going to change the point spread drastically.  Then when the spread came out I couldn't believe it.  Vegas hardly changed it. It was a NO BRAINER!  I was only going to bet a hundred but when I saw the spread had hardly changed, I said to myself I'm going to bet a grand this is a sure thing!  By how the way, the first game went you could see the Bengals were WAY better and they were going to kill the Bills.  I should have had bigger "cajones".  I should have bet at least 5 grand.  I'll never get a sure thing like that game ever again.  Heck, they previewed how the game was going to go a week before it happened.   

14 hours ago, Dopey said:

To me, a lot has to do with Allen's style of play more than the lack of protection. We can definitely upgrade the line to help, but Allen has been asked about his style of play. Specifically his physical runs where he tries to truck the defender or leap over him. He said that's how he plays. So did Cam Newton. If Allen continues to take on defenders like he's a RB, he bain't going to last. There's a reason RBs don't last 15 years(for the most part). He needs to mature some more. Take what the defense gives you and learn to SLIDE or RUN OUT OF BOUNDS. Pretty sure he know how to, it's just a matter of seeing how important he is in the long run to this franchise. This is up to him, not the oline. JMO.

Not behind the lines McDummy and the Beaner put in front of him.  Luckily, Josh is so big and strong other wise he would be crippled already.

[Nihilarian]

19 hours ago, Gregg said:

 

They need Allen to do a lot less running. Think of John Elway. Early in his career Elway would scramble and run a lot. They weren't designed runs like Allen has but Elway did run. Later in his career with Terrell Davis doing the running Elway was able to focus on just throwing the ball. The Bills need to find that for Allen. If Harris can stay healthy (big if) then he can help do that. If not, then Beane has to find someone who can.

Yes, think of John Elway...who didn't win an SB until the Broncos found a strong run game, along with a top RB under HC Mike Shanahan.  Denver RB Terrell Davis and that run-block scheme allowed Davis to run for 2000 yards, and 21 TDs, in 1998. Davis, a 6th-round pick? 

 

Just think, with opponents gearing up to stop a strong Buffalo power run game would leave Allen to do what he did at the end of 2021...just destroy teams!

 

C'mon Beane, build that O line.

[Dopey]

3 hours ago, HugeHeffner11 said:

 

Not behind the lines McDummy and the Beaner put in front of him.  Luckily, Josh is so big and strong other wise he would be crippled already.

I said we could use an upgrade on the line, I  mean I put it in BOLD but you seemed to miss my point about Josh acting like a RB. He needs to stop that, for his own sake. He can help prolong his career by NOT trying to run people over or leaping over players. Leave that 💩 for the RB. He’s big and strong, sure, but he’s also…NOT a robot. Don’t blame the line for Josh taking unnecessary hits. 
Mcdummy and Beaner?!?!

[major]

I trust Beane completely. The mental errors we’ve made (occasionally) haven’t been because of Beane. We are going to get a Super Bowl win with him eventually. Heck, we should have had two Super Bowl wins over the past few years, in my opinion

[stuvian]

I think bringing in Von Miller signaled that were on the cusp long before we earned it. The defense started coasting after that. We need to draft and develop young players independent of big names. We want long term success like the Steelers not a bought one off Super Bowl like the Rams. We're a blue collar organization not a Hollywood driven star franchise

[chongli]

NFL.com has released its GM power rankings. Beane is 4th!

 

 

https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-gm-power-rankings-eagles-howie-roseman-reigns-while-brad-holmes-makes-his-ma

 

"4) Brandon Beane/Sean McDermott, Buffalo Bills

 

I don't put the Bills' inability to get over the hump on the front office. Rather, I blame it on randomness (2020 and '21) and injuries (2022). That said, the team might need to revisit the relative lack of weight that is put into offensive resources compared with McDermott's defense. A solid D can only take you so far in this era, and the team's shortcomings on the offensive line and skill positions around Josh Allen showed up in 2022.

Beane made some low-cost moves in free agency (Damien Harris, Deonte Harty, Connor McGovern) that look smart enough on paper -- they are also similar to moves from 2022 that didn't work out well. His drafts have been less inspiring over the last four years, with 2021 first-rounder Greg Rousseau being the biggest difference-maker among them. The Bills have built and maintained a superpower over the last six years since Beane was hired, but their best work was done in the building stages. Can they do it again with different players around Allen?"

 

Full list:

 

1. Howie Roseman, Philadelphia

2. Brett Veach, KC

3. Duke Tobin, Cincy

4. Brandon Beane/Sean McDermott, Buffalo

5. John Lynch/Kyle Shanahan, SF

6. Les Snead/Sean McVay, LA Rams

7. Brad Holmes, Detroit

8. Brian Gutekunst, GB

9. John Schneider, Seattle

10. Jerry Jones, Dallas

11. Bill Belichick, New England

12. Tom Telesco, LA Chargers

13. Eric DeCosta, Baltimore

14. Mickey Loomis, New Orleans

15. Chris Grier, Miami

16. Joe Douglas, NY Jets

17. Jason Licht, Tampa Bay

18.Chris Ballard, Indianapolis

19. Andrew Berry, Cleveland

20. Trent Baalke, JAX

21. Terry Fontenot, Atlanta

22. Ron Rivera, Martin Mayhew, Washington

23. Scott Fitterer, Carolina

24. Nick Caserio, Houston

25. Geroge Paton, Denver

 

Too New:

 

Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, Minnesota Vikings

Ran Carthon, Tennessee Titans

Omar Khan, Pittsburgh Steelers

Monti Ossenfort, Arizona Cardinals

Ryan Poles, Chicago

Joe Schoen, New York Giants

Dave Ziegler, Las Vegas Raiders:

 

[Don Otreply]

Beane has been a very good GM, as is attested to his rankings amongst the leagues GMs, at or near the top since he has been here.  Sure he like ALL GMs wiff on picks, the draft is a crap shoot as we all know. The Bills went from a running joke to a perennial contender with Beane running the show, what’s not to like? 
 

yah yah, we all want a Super Bowl win…, 

[Success]

So, I'm bumping my own thread. There was a lot of spirited debate on this one, but I think this offseason has really validated the original premise.

 

I'm actually astounded by what we've done.  Heading into FA & being significantly over cap, I had no expectations.  We only really lost Edmunds.  Key players have been extended.  We've added upgrades at RB, WR, TE, both lines. We've gotten more physical, and built depth.  Our pass rush will be better, as will our ability to protect Allen.

 

On paper, this is arguably the best team of the JA era.  I don't think it's a crazy stretch to say that it might be the best team in Buffalo's history, or at least in the top 2-3.

 

I don't think it warrants a "well, we have to see how the season plays out." Beane has done his job, and done it as well as I think anyone could.  It's all in the hands of the coaching staff & players now.  

[Chaos]

8 minutes ago, Success said:

So, I'm bumping my own thread. There was a lot of spirited debate on this one, but I think this offseason has really validated the original premise.

 

I'm actually astounded by what we've done.  Heading into FA & being significantly over cap, I had no expectations.  We only really lost Edmunds.  Key players have been extended.  We've added upgrades at RB, WR, TE, both lines. We've gotten more physical, and built depth.  Our pass rush will be better, as will our ability to protect Allen.

 

On paper, this is arguably the best team of the JA era.  I don't think it's a crazy stretch to say that it might be the best team in Buffalo's history, or at least in the top 2-3.

 

I don't think it warrants a "well, we have to see how the season plays out." Beane has done his job, and done it as well as I think anyone could.  It's all in the hands of the coaching staff & players now.  

Beane has built a team that is consistently in the top 8.  This is a fact. Nothing to dispute. 

[CincyBillsFan]

33 minutes ago, Success said:

So, I'm bumping my own thread. There was a lot of spirited debate on this one, but I think this offseason has really validated the original premise.

 

I'm actually astounded by what we've done.  Heading into FA & being significantly over cap, I had no expectations.  We only really lost Edmunds.  Key players have been extended.  We've added upgrades at RB, WR, TE, both lines. We've gotten more physical, and built depth.  Our pass rush will be better, as will our ability to protect Allen.

 

On paper, this is arguably the best team of the JA era.  I don't think it's a crazy stretch to say that it might be the best team in Buffalo's history, or at least in the top 2-3.

 

I don't think it warrants a "well, we have to see how the season plays out." Beane has done his job, and done it as well as I think anyone could.  It's all in the hands of the coaching staff & players now.  

Agree.  With this signing we can say with confidence that at every position group the Bills are no worse then equal and in some cases are much better versus last season:

 

*  QB = 2022

*  Kicking = 2022

*  WR slightly better then 2022

*  TE slightly better then 2022

*  RB much better then 2022

*  O line much better then 2022 (went from bad to average which is a big improvement).

*  D Line slightly better then 2022

*  LB = 2022

*  DB's much better then 2022 when you factor in returns from injury.

 

And coaching has a chance to be much better as McD takes over the D and Dorsey has a year of experience behind him.

 

 

 

[PrimeTime101]

On 3/15/2023 at 6:33 PM, NewEra said:

I’m happy with the offseason so far.  
 

Edmunds price of 18M was too much.  he resisted the temptation and played that card correctly imo. 
 

Poyer-  He held his ground and played things perfectly as he kept a great working relationship with JP, enough so that he would return.  He’s a leader and would have been missed.  
 

mcgovern-  looks like a huge upgrade over Saffold in pass protection….and that’s really what matters most.  The move could also help both OG spots of Bates moves to LG and performs better than he did at RG-  

 

Harty-  I’ve been a fan of the kid for a few years, so I absolutely love this signing.  I think he’ll be a WR along with some gadgets. Dorsey needs to make him shine.  Maybe our PR too (but I’m worried about the fumbles)

martin- stud punter-  didn’t overpay

 

Matakavich- lol

Dodson-  capable backup- knows the system-  hopefully won’t have to play.  
 

tendered Dane- solid depth. 
 

Resigned Cam Lewis 

 

Well Well Well.... Look who got his giphy back. Stylin  

[Bills Bud]

By not getting Josh the proper weapons?

[Pirate Angel]

On 4/13/2023 at 8:05 PM, stuvian said:

I think bringing in Von Miller signaled that were on the cusp long before we earned it. The defense started coasting after that. We need to draft and develop young players independent of big names. We want long term success like the Steelers not a bought one off Super Bowl like the Rams. We're a blue collar organization not a Hollywood driven star franchise

ID be happy with either...you are obviously post drought

[gobills404]

56 minutes ago, CincyBillsFan said:

Agree.  With this signing we can say with confidence that at every position group the Bills are no worse then equal and in some cases are much better versus last season:

 

*  QB = 2022

*  Kicking = 2022

*  WR slightly better then 2022

*  TE slightly better then 2022

*  RB much better then 2022

*  O line much better then 2022 (went from bad to average which is a big improvement).

*  D Line slightly better then 2022

*  LB = 2022

*  DB's much better then 2022 when you factor in returns from injury.

 

And coaching has a chance to be much better as McD takes over the D and Dorsey has a year of experience behind him.

 

 

 

They definitely got worse at LB unless somebody breaks out and plays like a total stud at MLB. I agree with the rest tho.

[mrags]

I think we’ve upgraded in every position with the exception of LB and WR. Nothing proves that we’ve upgraded. At least not yet. 

[CincyBillsFan]

55 minutes ago, gobills404 said:

They definitely got worse at LB unless somebody breaks out and plays like a total stud at MLB. I agree with the rest tho.

Floyd evens things out IMO.

 

 

[White Linen]

1 hour ago, mrags said:

I think we’ve upgraded in every position with the exception of LB and WR. Nothing proves that we’ve upgraded. At least not yet. 

 

Have no idea who will make the team and shape out the position but I'm confident we're better at WR.

[NewEra]

1 hour ago, PrimeTime101 said:

Well Well Well.... Look who got his giphy back. Stylin  

No…..😤

 

the post is from March. 
 

no giffy for me.  It sucks

[gobills404]

39 minutes ago, CincyBillsFan said:

Floyd evens things out IMO.

 

 

Floyd is not an off-ball LB. He’s an edge defender that will be playing DE for the Bills. Just like Von.

Edited June 6, 2023 by gobills404

[Billl]

3 hours ago, Success said:

I don't think it warrants a "well, we have to see how the season plays out." Beane has done his job, and done it as well as I think anyone could.  It's all in the hands of the coaching staff & players now. 

What did he do that puts him above being judged beyond seeing how the season plays out?  He signed a 31 year old pass rusher in June after multiple misses in the draft in Epenesa and Basham a day after he gave Oliver a $68 million extension.  If it works, it was a great move.  If it doesn’t, he shouldn’t get a pass, though.

[mrags]

1 hour ago, White Linen said:

 

Have no idea who will make the team and shape out the position but I'm confident we're better at WR.

Still no factual proof that we are. I’m with you. I think we will be better. But to say for a fact that we are, or that on paper we are, is a false.