Beane: "This team is in transition"

[SoonerBillsFan]

20 minutes ago, MikePJ76 said:

I think you are a little off here.  The transition he is talking about is in the form of locker room leaders and who is going to step up into those roles.

 

I do not believe they have nor should any of us lower the expectations.

 

There will definitely be a learning curve with so many new younger players and veteran players but I see Zero reason to lower expectations.  I think you can make a case they improved their ability to be a more physical team this weekend.  

 

I get they didn't take a bunch of wr's but the fact that is now going to turn into 4 months of woe is me and they don't know they are doing is frustrating.  

 

For the record I think the defensive line is a weak spot on this team.  Its just not good enough.  I hope they add a proven veteran someway to the team.

I don't believe we see the same offensive philosophy this year.  I can imagine we are moving to being bigger, and more physical vs fast and finesse. 

[Niagara Dude]

32 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

This quote from Beane defines the entire draft strategy:

 

He is giving it to us straight. The Bills are in a rebuild year. So he went for all team captains. Guys that interviewed well. Guys that he believes set a new foundation of leadership in the building. He hunted for short term needs that fit the singular character profile he and McDermott feel comfortable with, at the expense of talent at premium positions. And he is telling the fanbase to temper our expectations without coming right out and saying it.

 

I'm not gonna grade a draft until we see how all the players turn out, but the overall philosophy shown this weekend is deflating and uninspiring.

Too bad, no excuses if this team sucks then Pegula needs to make changes because we can't continue to waste Allen's prime years. The Chiefs had a reset year 2 seasons ago after trading Hill away,  they won a Super Bowl by hitting on all of their picks that year.  Most of these players look like Mcdermott guys,  high character and limited in elite athletic talent. It was not very smart wasting a 4th rounder on a running turning 25 this year. Maybe you use a 6th or 7th but not a 4th 

 

The whole draft starting with opening night has been deflating and uninspiring and we have Beane Stans that think these picks have been great.

 

Fans need to stop lowering the bar,  when you have a great QB there is no excuses

Just now, SoonerBillsFan said:

I don't believe we see the same offensive philosophy this year.  I can imagine we are moving to being bigger, and more physical vs fast and finesse. 

Then trade Cook away and get a thumper, 

[ColoradoBills]

1 minute ago, FireChans said:

What exactly did he pull off? 

 

First off having the balls to let all the old guard go that he could, instead of trying to patch things up and put the bill on the credit card.

[Ethan in Cleveland]

I am so sick and tired of the cliched leadership and intangibles non-sense.  

Where was the leadership from McDermott when he would not take ownership of the 13 second debacle??  Leadership starts from the top and he spouts non-sense like the process and winning mindset.  We need to start a count of how many times he says we have a "young team that is still learning" as the losses stack up.  Oh you can bet it will be heard often.  

 

Did Jimmy Johnson's teams that boat raced us in two SuperBowls have choir boys?  No!

 

Do you think Belichick gave one rat's ass about character. He drafted a gang member and eventual murderer. He brought a "malcontent " Moss on his team and went undefeated.  

 

Is Kelce a high character guy? No.  He just destroys us.  

 

We need winners with elite talent not high character guys.  

 

McD chased away the second best player on offense because he dared to call out Dorsey as an incompetent OC.  Now we have to hope a second year TE that can't block (yes he is willing to but he still can't) can become a star.  

 

A small group of us have said the major deficiency on this team has been McDermott for several years now.  This draft just shows how much power McDermott has over Beane.  

 

As always, the only way we overcome this loser is if Allen plays superhuman football.  Truly truly hope Allen outlasts this clown and we get a HC that knows how to win in modern NFL.  

 

[SoonerBillsFan]

1 minute ago, Niagara Dude said:

Too bad, no excuses if this team sucks then Pegula needs to make changes because we can't continue to waste Allen's prime years. The Chiefs had a reset year 2 seasons ago after trading Hill away,  they won a Super Bowl by hitting on all of their picks that year.  Most of these players look like Mcdermott guys,  high character and limited in elite athletic talent. It was not very smart wasting a 4th rounder on a running turning 25 this year. Maybe you use a 6th or 7th but not a 4th 

 

The whole draft starting with opening night has been deflating and uninspiring and we have Beane Stans that think these picks have been great.

 

Fans need to stop lowering the bar,  when you have a great QB there is no excuses

Then trade Cook away and get a thumper, 

Honestly, I wonder if that's coming at some point. 

[90sBills]

15 minutes ago, GETTOTHE50 said:

We are literally going to smoke our garbage division and cruise on to first place.

 

the fish got gutted and scaled.

 

the jets have an old qb that hasn’t done anything in years with Nate Hackett.

 

the patriots are going to suck for the next two decades with belichick out.

 

we’ve got Josh Allen guys. It’s going to be ok 

Yup. Cruise to another playoffs loss. Rinse repeat. But positive Vegas superbowl odds and all that. 

[Victory Formation]

1 minute ago, ColoradoBills said:

 

First off having the balls to let all the old guard go that he could, instead of trying to patch things up and put the bill on the credit card.

He added three OL as well. If even one of those guys step up this line is set. A good draft overall, we have quality depth all over the place now.

[mjt328]

A large chunk of the fanbase is still in denial.

 

Believe me, I went into the offseason with the same attitude.  Cut a few aging vets.  Make a few smart free agent signings.  Kill the draft.  Get some bargains post June as the cherry on top, and prepare for another AFC East title.  Hopefully more this time.  Other teams (Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Kansas City, San Francisco, etc.) seem to keep the ball rolling year after year after year.  Why can't we?  I laughed off all the media folks saying the window was closed, and the Bills would be rebuilding.

 

But I was wrong.  Without clearly saying it, Brandon Beane has sent the clear message we are NOT expecting a deep run this year.  This offseason absolutely is a total rebuild.  Every single move he's made screams that he's building for 2025, and I'm shocked that some people can't see it.

 

The Jets are winning the AFC East.  It won't be close.  And we may even get passed by Miami this year.

 

[LABILLBACKER]

Let's start by getting Von & Dawson contracts out. Drafting only Coleman sends a loud & clear message we're in full rebuild mode. Too bad....thought we had a chance to just reload?

[Niagara Dude]

28 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

Yeah good point, that speaks to the overall strategy. Everything they've done this offseason has set the roster up more for 2025 than 2024. This year they're going to let young players take their lumps, still try to compete for a championship but they're not all in.

 

My worry is that this means McDermott and Beane both know their jobs are safe next year no matter what and feel no urgency to show improvement.

 

I  don't agree,  maybe for Beane but not Mcdermott who is lucky to finish last season up strong .  If this team misses the playoffs then more fans will be coming after him and you still have fans that will not forget 13secs.  I could see him fired if this season finishes less then 9 wins

[VW82]

8 minutes ago, FireChans said:

What exactly did he pull off? 

Two months ago we were like 50M over the cap and it looked like we would lose everyone. Beane got basically every vet to restructure or they were cut/traded, and in the case of Von he actually gave up guaranteed money. We got to bring back guys like Epenesa and Jones who I was sure were goners. We got to sign a guy like Curtis Samuel. That's rabbit out of the hat type stuff. 

 

But even still, we went into this draft with major holes at not only WR but C, S, DT, DE, RB, ST. Unproven guys all over the roster. I'm not sure about Coleman, but Bishop, Carter, Davis, VPG, and Solomon are all guys we can probably count on to play meaningful snaps for us at some point this year. Including Coleman, that's six guys. Name me another draft we've had where we're projecting six rookies to play. I'm not saying we found a bunch of studs, but some of them look like great pick ups for where they were drafted. 

Edited April 27 by VW82

[Low Positive]

Sit back and think about how few players are still in this team compared with the roster that broke out in 2020. Josh, Dawkins and Knox on offence. Milano, Oliver and Teton Johnson on D. That’s massive turnover. But if you look at the Chiefs, it’s even more drastic. It’s kind of Mahomes, Kelce and Clark and a bunch of moving pieces. You have to always be in transition and the Bills mistake was not taking this step a year ago. That being said, Id love to have Diggs back but I know I’m on an island with that opinion. 

[julian]

This roster hasn’t had the amount of blue chip players the other contenders have had the last four years, 2nd most wins in the league over that time, so it’s coaching or the QB and we all know it isn’t coaching carrying this team.

 

 I really hope this “transition” is quick and successful or Allen will have people whom he trusts in his ear telling him to go somewhere that will lean into surrounding him with real talent to win a title.

[Niagara Dude]

2 minutes ago, LABILLBACKER said:

Let's start by getting Von & Dawson contracts out. Drafting only Coleman sends a loud & clear message we're in full rebuild mode. Too bad....thought we had a chance to just reload?

I think Dawson's contract is one of the worse of bad contract Beane has worked

[Dablitzkrieg]

Life is over 

[Dr. Who]

2 minutes ago, Low Positive said:

Sit back and think about how few players are still in this team compared with the roster that broke out in 2020. Josh, Dawkins and Knox on offence. Milano, Oliver and Teton Johnson on D. That’s massive turnover. But if you look at the Chiefs, it’s even more drastic. It’s kind of Mahomes, Kelce and Clark and a bunch of moving pieces. You have to always be in transition and the Bills mistake was not taking this step a year ago. That being said, Id love to have Diggs back but I know I’m on an island with that opinion. 

I don't think you're on an island. The WR room with Diggs added looks a lot better. One can only surmise how toxic things must have become that Beane felt compelled to move him and take a huge cap hit.

[Toyo321]

It's hard to say how much we take a step back this year because the talent level is not there.  Our Schedule this year is going to pit us against other teams that are loaded with talent abroad.  If you think this roster is at the same level of KC-SF-Balt-Det-Jags-Texans-Rams you are in for a rude awakening this year.  These other teams are loaded with talent and we are going face them all this season.

 

There is no telling what happens this year,  but the Jets & Phins have to be better than last year, I can't see NYJ not having Rodgers play every game this year and dealing with the QB play from hell they had last year, and Miami will somehow be there again at the end of the year fighting for the AFCE DV title. 

 

We are transitioning and quite frankly our talent level is way behind many of these other teams. 

 

You are either a guy that thinks the glass is half full or its half empty.  That is how you can look at this team at this point after this draft.  Did we do enough???

 

Will have to see what happens in training camp and preseason.  So the verdict is still out on this team for 2024.

 

I will try and stay optimistic, but quite frankly this draft will go down where it's remembered how we missed getting any game changing impact players with this years draft being loaded with this potential talent.  That is very disappointing.

 

Edited April 28 by Toyo321

[ColoradoBills]

6 minutes ago, mjt328 said:

A large chunk of the fanbase is still in denial.

 

Believe me, I went into the offseason with the same attitude.  Cut a few aging vets.  Make a few smart free agent signings.  Kill the draft.  Get some bargains post June as the cherry on top, and prepare for another AFC East title.  Hopefully more this time.  Other teams (Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Kansas City, San Francisco, etc.) seem to keep the ball rolling year after year after year.  Why can't we?  I laughed off all the media folks saying the window was closed, and the Bills would be rebuilding.

 

But I was wrong.  Without clearly saying it, Brandon Beane has sent the clear message we are NOT expecting a deep run this year.  This offseason absolutely is a total rebuild.  Every single move he's made screams that he's building for 2025, and I'm shocked that some people can't see it.

 

The Jets are winning the AFC East.  It won't be close.  And we may even get passed by Miami this year.

 

 

I agree with everything except the Jets.  No way in hell I'm seeing them walk away with the AFCE on the 27th of April.

[Niagara Dude]

6 minutes ago, mjt328 said:

A large chunk of the fanbase is still in denial.

 

Believe me, I went into the offseason with the same attitude.  Cut a few aging vets.  Make a few smart free agent signings.  Kill the draft.  Get some bargains post June as the cherry on top, and prepare for another AFC East title.  Hopefully more this time.  Other teams (Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Kansas City, San Francisco, etc.) seem to keep the ball rolling year after year after year.  Why can't we?  I laughed off all the media folks saying the window was closed, and the Bills would be rebuilding.

 

But I was wrong.  Without clearly saying it, Brandon Beane has sent the clear message we are NOT expecting a deep run this year.  This offseason absolutely is a total rebuild.  Every single move he's made screams that he's building for 2025, and I'm shocked that some people can't see it.

 

The Jets are winning the AFC East.  It won't be close.  And we may even get passed by Miami this year.

 

Agreed and I believe they may not be planning for it but they will finally move on from Mcdermott if things go bad,  he will be the guy everyone goes after. 

[MasterStrategist]

@HappyDays I think you're adding some of your personal "opinion", onto what Beane is saying.  With the part about "lowering expectations".

 

By your posts during the past few days, you seem to disagree with what Beane accomplished in this years draft/offseason (in aggregate, while agreeing with some decisions).  Especially on offense/weapons.

 

I think this year is all going to depend on how fast some of our young core players step up/and how far.  Cook made a big leap LY, as did Bernard.  Shakir made a solid leap, especially down the stretch. 

 

Now do we see a similar big jump with Dalton?  What impact will Brady have with a full offseason to install his offense?  What is the impact of losing Diggs, does Josh play more "free" without Diggs constantly in his ear/and ability to spread the ball around?  What does a leadership "transition" do to the team/locker room?  How far back to normal self is Von? Will the defense be able to avoid key injuries?

 

So many questions, but none of those are any different than when we were prime SB contenders/had aspirations.  Talent level, sure someone wants to say losing Diggs is monumental...but how did he play down the stretch/in key playoff games?

 

This team is always going to be in a SB window with outstanding Qb play, that goes for any team like we saw with Chiefs in 2022.  Ravens had a star team LY, they choked in AFCG because of Lamar's play.  If Josh plays to his talent, we will always compete....I mean just look at LYs divisional game as an example when we had a patchwork defense that couldn't stop Mahomes at all, and we still were 1 potential drive/play from winning.

 

Sometimes "new energy", young and/or new players taking the leadership roles can have a significant impact.  Same goes for coordinators.  I for one won't be lowering expectations.