This Will Be The Make Or Break Year For This Regime

[H2o]

We have all seen how things unfolded the last few years. A dismantling in the AFC Championship game by KC, 13 Seconds, the flop against Cincy, and then the recreation of Wide Right. McDermott has had friction with multiple coaches because he can't stop meddling. We've had 3 OC's the last 3 years. Frazier was sent packing, McDermott officially took over the defense, and now Babich is going to be "running" things. We've had some questionable draft choices when there seemed to be better options at the time, usually involving selecting defensive players. Now, because of the way they tried to build this squad, and the unnecessary drama, we are in what Beane calls a "transition" phase. 

 

People love to talk about 2017, how we handed KC Mahomes. Beane wasn't here for that though. It was strictly a McDermott draft based off of the work Whaley and his scouts had done. That draft brought us White, Dawkins, and Milano. If not for the injuries that have derailed White's career, we could talk about the entire situation in a different manner. You can't deny that, right now, Mahomes is on his way to staking a claim at GOAT status. It is what it is. Now fast forward to 2024. Knowing what Allen needed, what this team needed, they traded with KC. With the situation that has unfolded with Rashee Rice, you have to believe KC was looking at WR. They take the WR with the fastest recorded 40 of all time. Me, personally, Worthy doesn't scare me. Yes, he's fast. But he has had some drops and the guy is lighter than my 16 year old at 165lbs. Let him get out there to get squared up by some of these LB's and S's who outweigh him by 30lbs-70lbs. I just don't think he's built to last in this league. I don't see him as Tyreek Hill 2.0 at all. Tyreek is 25lbs heavier than him and is a 4.2 guy in pads, as well as on the track. Still, if I am wrong, the Bills FO just handed KC a guy who will give us fits for years to come. It will be another black eye on this organization from something McDermott, and this time Beane, had hands in. 

 

The "run it back" mentality has bit them this time. Because we were so close in the 13 seconds game, they developed this "run it back" type of mentality. Sure, we changed a player here or there, but many of the pieces have been the same squad since then. The weight is always, squarely, on Josh's shoulders. People try to use KC as a comparison and say look at what they were able to achieve without big name WR's, or whatever else. Well, KC has Mahomes, Andy Reid scheming the offense for Mahomes (probably THE largest difference), one of the greatest TE's ever to play the game, has typically had a top tier OL, a REALLY good defense littered with talent across the board, and a DC in Spagnuolo who has been a part of 4 SB winning defenses. Gabe never developed, Edmunds never developed, Von's knee, Poyer got old, Hyde's neck injury, White constantly on IR, constantly cycling out JAG's to fill holes, constantly rolling with meh WR's (outside of Diggs, who became more trouble than he was worth), keeping together a middling OL because Josh makes them look better than they actually are, defensive instability, and have changed the guy calling the offense out 3 times in 3 years. Now, on top of that, we find ourselves in Cap purgatory and still no closer to the goal we wish to achieve. 

 

Going into the 2024 draft, a blind man could see Josh needed weapons on the outside. We had big shoes to fill in Diggs and we needed an upgrade on what Gabe Davis was in this offense. Shakir has shown promise, but he's primarily been used in the Slot. We signed Curtis Samuel, who has primarily been a Slot guy as well. After that we were left with a bunch of JAG's we already had. In the best WR class in at least 10 years, we come away with one WR. I'm not counting the camp fodder UDFA's. We drafted ONE guy. Opinions vary on that one guy. He is truly a boundary WR though. Still, you would have thought this team would have doubled up on boundary guys for the sake of giving their generational talent QB more to work with. Instead they throw all their eggs in one basket by going Safety, DT, and RB with their next 3 selections. Kirby mentioned it in another thread, and I have to concur, that this team looks to have a bottom 5 WR group right now. Until proven otherwise on the field, it is what it is. I think it is a failure, as well as a disservice to JA17, to only have come away with one WR out of this class. This doesn't mean I hate our draft, or grade it an F. I just think it's par for the course we've already seen from this regime, a course that has always seen us come up short.

 

In the end, I think this year will be the make or break for both Beane and McDermott. To continue to do things the same way and expect different results is madness. If the players they drafted become a foundational youth movement, if you can see the results on the field as to what they were drafted for, if Samuel, Shakir, and Coleman make for a dangerous group, if we can transition on the fly like KC did a couple years ago, and if we didn't just make the KC offense unstoppable again, then they'll be around for a while. But there are A LOT of "if's" in that statement. At some point you have to pull the plug if it's not getting you any closer to what should be the goal of every franchise in professional sports, a championship. We shall see. 

[Nephilim17]

I am not certain but would hope that the McBeane leash is getting shorter. How long does a regime with a QB like Josh have to accomplish some real playoff success? I would hope that's not a 10-12 year trial period. 

I hope the Bills succeed this year, with Coleman and all the staff, but if they don't, and especially if other WRs we passed by have great success, I would hope Josh flexes his leverage and demands some kind of change. I think with an in the shadows owner who doesn't seem to know football deeply that the only person who can really make substantive change happen is a relatively young superstar QB.

 

This year should be telling. But maybe we underperform in the playoffs (or God forbid, don't make them) and nothing changes. At a certain point, we need to go to a Super Bowl with Josh or move on from McBeane. When will either happen? The calendar pages are turning more quickly now...

[TH3]

12 minutes ago, H2o said:

We have all seen how things unfolded the last few years. A dismantling in the AFC Championship game by KC, 13 Seconds, the flop against Cincy, and then the recreation of Wide Right. McDermott has had friction with multiple coaches because he can't stop meddling. We've had 3 OC's the last 3 years. Frazier was sent packing, McDermott officially took over the defense, and now Babich is going to be "running" things. We've had some questionable draft choices when there seemed to be better options at the time, usually involving selecting defensive players. Now, because of the way they tried to build this squad, and the unnecessary drama, we are in what Beane calls a "transition" phase. 

 

People love to talk about 2017, how we handed KC Mahomes. Beane wasn't here for that though. It was strictly a McDermott draft based off of the work Whaley and his scouts had done. That draft brought us White, Dawkins, and Milano. If not for the injuries that have derailed White's career, we could talk about the entire situation in a different manner. You can't deny that, right now, Mahomes is on his way to staking a claim at GOAT status. It is what it is. Now fast forward to 2024. Knowing what Allen needed, what this team needed, they traded with KC. With the situation that has unfolded with Rashee Rice, you have to believe KC was looking at WR. They take the WR with the fastest recorded 40 of all time. Me, personally, Worthy doesn't scare me. Yes, he's fast. But he has had some drops and the guy is lighter than my 16 year old at 165lbs. Let him get out there to get squared up by some of these LB's and S's who outweigh him by 30lbs-70lbs. I just don't think he's built to last in this league. I don't see him as Tyreek Hill 2.0 at all. Tyreek is 25lbs heavier than him and is a 4.2 guy in pads, as well as on the track. Still, if I am wrong, the Bills FO just handed KC a guy who will give us fits for years to come. It will be another black eye on this organization from something McDermott, and this time Beane, had hands in. 

 

The "run it back" mentality has bit them this time. Because we were so close in the 13 seconds game, they developed this "run it back" type of mentality. Sure, we changed a player here or there, but many of the pieces have been the same squad since then. The weight is always, squarely, on Josh's shoulders. People try to use KC as a comparison and say look at what they were able to achieve without big name WR's, or whatever else. Well, KC has Mahomes, Andy Reid scheming the offense for Mahomes (probably THE largest difference), one of the greatest TE's ever to play the game, has typically had a top tier OL, a REALLY good defense littered with talent across the board, and a DC in Spagnuolo who has been a part of 4 SB winning defenses. Gabe never developed, Edmunds never developed, Von's knee, Poyer got old, Hyde's neck injury, White constantly on IR, constantly cycling out JAG's to fill holes, constantly rolling with meh WR's (outside of Diggs, who became more trouble than he was worth), keeping together a middling OL because Josh makes them look better than they actually are, defensive instability, and have changed the guy calling the offense out 3 times in 3 years. Now, on top of that, we find ourselves in Cap purgatory and still no closer to the goal we wish to achieve. 

 

Going into the 2024 draft, a blind man could see Josh needed weapons on the outside. We had big shoes to fill in Diggs and we needed an upgrade on what Gabe Davis was in this offense. Shakir has shown promise, but he's primarily been used in the Slot. We signed Curtis Samuel, who has primarily been a Slot guy as well. After that we were left with a bunch of JAG's we already had. In the best WR class in at least 10 years, we come away with one WR. I'm not counting the camp fodder UDFA's. We drafted ONE guy. Opinions vary on that one guy. He is truly a boundary WR though. Still, you would have thought this team would have doubled up on boundary guys for the sake of giving their generational talent QB more to work with. Instead they throw all their eggs in one basket by going Safety, DT, and RB with their next 3 selections. Kirby mentioned it in another thread, and I have to concur, that this team looks to have a bottom 5 WR group right now. Until proven otherwise on the field, it is what it is. I think it is a failure, as well as a disservice to JA17, to only have come away with one WR out of this class. This doesn't mean I hate our draft, or grade it an F. I just think it's par for the course we've already seen from this regime, a course that has always seen us come up short.

 

In the end, I think this year will be the make or break for both Beane and McDermott. To continue to do things the same way and expect different results is madness. If the players they drafted become a foundational youth movement, if you can see the results on the field as to what they were drafted for, if Samuel, Shakir, and Coleman make for a dangerous group, if we can transition on the fly like KC did a couple years ago, and if we didn't just make the KC offense unstoppable again, then they'll be around for a while. But there are A LOT of "if's" in that statement. At some point you have to pull the plug if it's not getting you any closer to what should be the goal of every franchise in professional sports, a championship. We shall see. 

Nah…They are in contention for a SB every year as long as 17 BB and Mcd are around. A lot of words though

[Buffalo4Life01]

15 minutes ago, TH3 said:

Nah…They are in contention for a SB every year as long as 17 BB and Mcd are around. A lot of words though

Troll much?

[Buffalo Boy]

   Giving McD a do over is ludicrous.

   I don’t care if we are closer than we were during the drought. It’s not enough.

    I understand how unpopular this opinion is to some but Belicheat, running a Defense and having Josh for the next 4 years with Beane or another qualified GM DOING the GM-ing is much more preferable to a guy who is never going to get us over the hump. 
    Watching Josh waste away gives us a taste of what Fins fans must have felt like with Marino…..all time great being squandered right in front of our eyes.

[K D]

They are already laying the groundwork for the "it's a rebuilding year" excuse. They will likely get another shot next year and then by then Josh will be in his 30's already and nothing to show for it

[GunnerBill]

I disagree. I think that they wouldn't have begin this re-load process without Pegs being fully bought in. Unless the season is a disaster (and I mean like losing record territory) they will get 2025. I think expectations are lower this year and that will be reflected in the way things play out. 

[Buffalo Boy]

3 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

I disagree. I think that they wouldn't have begin this re-load process without Pegs being fully bought in. Unless the season is a disaster (and I mean like losing record territory) they will get 2025. I think expectations are lower this year and that will be reflected in the way things play out. 

I dont disagree and that is sad

[strive_for_five_guy]

I agree from the perspective that this regime has been holding on to a large cohort of veterans for several years now, and they finally needed to rip that band-aid off to find much younger blood for this squad.  If it goes horribly this season, could be an indictment that Beane and/or McD will not be the ones to take this team to the next level.  I’m holding out hope they know what they’re doing though, and will successfully transition this team to even better days.

[KentuckyBillsFan]

I don't trust Pegula to do what needs to be done. This season will end the same way they all have under McDermott. He isn't an upper echelon head coach and I'm not convinced Brandon Beane is a truly elite GM either. Barring an unforseen run this season I think this franchise needs a front office and coach that is hellbent on aggressively building around Josh Allen for once. 

[TH3]

22 minutes ago, Buffalo4Life01 said:

Troll much?

If trolling is pointing out reality…then yes

3 minutes ago, KentuckyBillsFan said:

I don't trust Pegula to do what needs to be done. This season will end the same way they all have under McDermott. He isn't an upper echelon head coach and I'm not convinced Brandon Beane is a truly elite GM either. Barring an unforseen run this season I think this franchise needs a front office and coach that is hellbent on aggressively building around Josh Allen for once. 

Dreams are free

 

 

[DapperCam]

I disagree strongly. They are obviously doing a bit of a rebuild year, with the plan to have a push next year when the cap clears up a bit.

 

McDermott might have been in a little bit of trouble towards mid-season last year, but he rallied the troops and performed pretty darn well to end the season.

[TH3]

21 minutes ago, KDIGGZ said:

They are already laying the groundwork for the "it's a rebuilding year" excuse. They will likely get another shot next year and then by then Josh will be in his 30's already and nothing to show for it

JA is 27

[papazoid]

when you say "regime"....i take that to mean they are a package deal

 

beane and mcclappity are going nowhere

 

in fact, they could miss the playoffs  and still keep their jobs.

 

plus.....the chances of the next regime doing better is 10% or less.

 

beane is a Top 5 GM 

 

mcclappity is outside the Top 10 for HC

 

 

Edited April 29 by papazoid

[Beast]

24 minutes ago, KDIGGZ said:

They are already laying the groundwork for the "it's a rebuilding year" excuse. They will likely get another shot next year and then by then Josh will be in his 30's already and nothing to show for it

What does it matter if Allen is 27 or 37? You think he sucks.

[gonzo1105]

They just gave Beane and McDermott contract extensions last offseason. What people want to happen is different from the reality of the situation. These two aren’t going anywhere unless they majorly flop 

[K D]

6 minutes ago, TH3 said:

JA is 27

Turning 28 next month. Let's say Bills miss playoffs or are 1 and done and everyone wants McD fired. They will just say it's a rebuilding year. Next year he's 29 and then let's say they crap the bed again. Then the next season he is over 30. Cam Newton was only good until 30, just saying....

[May Day 10]

It is not.  

 

The expectation is to take a step back.  Hopefully contend for the division or the wild card.

 

Everything is setting up for another 4-5 year window starting in 2025.  

 

They needed to purge salary and age a bit.  This past build failed to get a superbowl.  I blame a few bad contracts, mainly Von Miller, as well as the inability to get a WR 1B or WR 2 for the past 2 seasons.  Diggs' act also hurt.

[H2o]

27 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

I disagree. I think that they wouldn't have begin this re-load process without Pegs being fully bought in. Unless the season is a disaster (and I mean like losing record territory) they will get 2025. I think expectations are lower this year and that will be reflected in the way things play out. 

I fully believe that they will get 2025 as well. I think this is the year that could be what speeds up that process though if the "if's" in my original statement fall the other way. If this team falls flat, if Worthy does turn into this world beater some are acting like he is, if Josh's guys do struggle to get open for him, then I think that seat is BLAZING hot in 2025 for the both of them. And I don't hate either of them, Beane or McDermott. I have been extremely pissed at both of them for various reasons, but I know it's better than anything we saw from 1999 until 2017. 

[GunnerBill]

6 minutes ago, H2o said:

I fully believe that they will get 2025 as well. I think this is the year that could be what speeds up that process though if the "if's" in my original statement fall the other way. If this team falls flat, if Worthy does turn into this world beater some are acting like he is, if Josh's guys do struggle to get open for him, then I think that seat is BLAZING hot in 2025 for the both of them. And I don't hate either of them, Beane or McDermott. I have been extremely pissed at both of them for various reasons, but I know it's better than anything we saw from 1999 until 2017. 

 

Yea if this were to be a 10-7 wild card team, Coleman has 600 yards, Bishop only plays in sub, and they lose round 1 of the playoffs then I agree the seats would be very warm in 2025. That I think would be the all or nothing season.