Ronald Darby retires

[stuvian]

A successful career by any measure. Enjoy the rest of your life Ronald. Thanks for the memories 

[CNYfan]

He was a good friend of Jameis.  Covered for him on the Uber Driver sex asault allegation.

[MJS]

He was pretty decent. Here's to a happy retirement 🍻

[Goin Breakdown]

Good player and seemed like a good dude. Glad he lived his dream and can now enjoy the next chapter. 

[T master]

5 hours ago, mushypeaches said:

This leaves Stephon Gilmore and Robert Woods as the last remaining pre-McDermott era draft picks still in the league

Bills have had some really good players over the years and especially during the drought years that in some way they will always be a Bill !

 

There were some I wondered why they were allowed to get out of the building like London Fletcher why let him walk ? Stevie J ?

 

There are also some that I wasn't impressed with the way they left but management & ownership was much different then ...

[Chandler#81]

11 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Well we already knew they were going to be drafting a QB in 2018 well before the Darby/Watkins trades.   That's why they handed Mahomes to conference rival KC 4 months earlier.  To get another 2018 first rounder.  

 

I don't think you and the other BBMB refugees had washed ashore here yet but the general consensus was that the primary "signal" of the Darby/Watkins trades was that they were tanking.  

 

It didn't go over well when I explained how getting rid of the core young talent(players with leverage) but keeping all of the old vet talent meant they were going to try to "Jauron ball" their way to the playoffs.  

 

You couldn't pay me to re-watch that brutal 2017 offense.   

 

 

Yet we made the playoffs ending the drought. Yes, they were brutal. ESPN stated the Bills/Jags playoff game set pro football back 30 years 🤦‍♂️

[GunnerBill]

13 hours ago, mushypeaches said:

This leaves Stephon Gilmore and Robert Woods as the last remaining pre-McDermott era draft picks still in the league

 

And Dustin Hopkins.

[The Jokeman]

13 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Well we already knew they were going to be drafting a QB in 2018 well before the Darby/Watkins trades.   That's why they handed Mahomes to conference rival KC 4 months earlier.  To get another 2018 first rounder.  

 

I don't think you and the other BBMB refugees had washed ashore here yet but the general consensus was that the primary "signal" of the Darby/Watkins trades was that they were tanking.  

 

It didn't go over well when I explained how getting rid of the core young talent(players with leverage) but keeping all of the old vet talent meant they were going to try to "Jauron ball" their way to the playoffs.  

 

You couldn't pay me to re-watch that brutal 2017 offense.   

 

 

Trading Dareus was more of a signal to me, as moving Watkins netted us EJ Gaines and yes a pick, who was a pretty solid CB when healthy and trading Darby netted us Jordan Matthews, and again a pick, who prior to his Bills career was a decent big Slot in Philly. 

[Captain Hindsight]

Darby was a guy I always hoped would make it back to Buffalo somehow. Good player, but his trade helped the Bills turnaround from bottom feeder to contender

[Gugny]

Kissin’ like a bandit, stealin’ time … underneath the sycamore tree …

[BuffaloMatt]

Ten years is a feat in this league!

[billsfan89]

Solid career in the NFL. 98 starts, a Super Bowl Ring, and 40 million in earnings. Getting out at age 31 also seems positive for your health. Had a very promising start here in Buffalo as a man to man corner. He simply didn't fit the McD zone system so they traded him and it seems to have worked out for both parties. 

[Rubes]

18 hours ago, Augie said:

He made a few cents under $40 Mil, a very nice start in life. Hope he’s got his health and enjoys retirement. 

 

I don't know man, $40 mil doesn't stretch as far as it used to. Good luck to him.

 

[Jauronimo]

3 hours ago, The Jokeman said:

Trading Dareus was more of a signal to me, as moving Watkins netted us EJ Gaines and yes a pick, who was a pretty solid CB when healthy and trading Darby netted us Jordan Matthews, and again a pick, who prior to his Bills career was a decent big Slot in Philly. 

The Dareus trade pissed me off.  We were 4-2 and looking ok, surprisingly.  The defense immediately started getting gashed including 300 rushing yards conceded to the Saints.  And we netted a 6th, conditional 5th round pick.  Keep him for the season and let him walk. 

 

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/buf/2017.htm

 

You can easily spot the where in the schedule we traded Dareus by looking at rushing yards against.  Its amazing the drought ended in a year where Peterman started 2 games and the roster was gutted.

[blacklabel]

18 hours ago, mushypeaches said:

This leaves Stephon Gilmore and Robert Woods as the last remaining pre-McDermott era draft picks still in the league

 

I was about to mention RB Jonathan Williams who was drafted in the fifth round of 2016 and hung on with a few teams as a special teams ace but it appears his last season was '23 with Washington. 

[JP51]

18 hours ago, Logic said:

I remember the shock I felt when Brandon Beane came in and immediately dealt Darby and Watkins.

It immediately signaled two things to me: One, he and McDermott were trying to build a culture, and only wanted players that fit that culture. And two, they were gonna be drafting a quarterback in 2018 come hell or high water, and this was the first move made with an eye toward positioning them for a potential move up the board.

Always thought the way Beane pulled off those moves nearly simultaneously was cool, as was the fact that he got replacement players at each position that he traded away, simultaneously planning for the future but signaling to the locker room and fans that they weren't throwing in the towel on the present.

Other than that, as far as Darby himself, all I can say is: Good, solid, athletic man corner. Never a world beater, but usually a plus player when he was healthy. Carved out a nice, long, respectable NFL career. Here's wishing him a happy retirement.

Definately felt like things were changing when McBeane took over... almost immediately... didnt they let go of Dareus as well...  

[FireChans]

1 hour ago, Jauronimo said:

The Dareus trade pissed me off.  We were 4-2 and looking ok, surprisingly.  The defense immediately started getting gashed including 300 rushing yards conceded to the Saints.  And we netted a 6th, conditional 5th round pick.  Keep him for the season and let him walk. 

 

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/buf/2017.htm

 

You can easily spot the where in the schedule we traded Dareus by looking at rushing yards against.  Its amazing the drought ended in a year where Peterman started 2 games and the roster was gutted.

Dareus was already paid, he wasn't a "let walk" candidate IIRC.

 

Plus, he was notorious for being a little bit of a locker room goofball.

 

It wouldn't surprise me if he started rubbing McD/Beane the wrong way off the field and they just wanted him out.

20 hours ago, Chris from Rochester said:

Doug Whaley's greatest draft pick. Seriously though, good for him, solid career. Best wishes

Honestly, yes, right?

 

It may not be even particularly close.

[Jauronimo]

Just now, FireChans said:

Dareus was already paid, he wasn't a "let walk" candidate IIRC.

 

Plus, he was notorious for being a little bit of a locker room goofball.

 

It wouldn't surprise me if he started rubbing McD/Beane the wrong way off the field and they just wanted him out.

I thought he was late in his deal but I see that he had multiple years remaining.  I'm reasonably sure they could have gotten a 5th had they waited until the offseason.  Here we are 8 years later still trying to stop the run.

[FireChans]

1 minute ago, Jauronimo said:

I thought he was late in his deal but I see that he had multiple years remaining.  I'm reasonably sure they could have gotten a 5th had they waited until the offseason.  Here we are 8 years later still trying to stop the run.

Honestly, I just had the thought the other day that if Dareus had put together a Fletcher Cox-type career, the whole trajectory of the McDermott era looks different. Hard to believe he could've been as good at 31 or 32 as he was at 24, but he could've been a plus starter for a LONG time, and helped solve a lot of defensive problems.

 

That's really the goal of having one of those high draft picks. Getting a guy for 10+ years who is still a difference maker more often than not while the team shifts around them. Fletcher Cox played for 4 HC's and went to SB's with 2 of them in Philly land.

[BADOLBILZ]

5 hours ago, The Jokeman said:

Trading Dareus was more of a signal to me, as moving Watkins netted us EJ Gaines and yes a pick, who was a pretty solid CB when healthy and trading Darby netted us Jordan Matthews, and again a pick, who prior to his Bills career was a decent big Slot in Philly. 

 

 

They had won too many games to tank at that point though.   Bills fans weren't just talking playoffs at the time of the trade but also about winning the division and maybe even home field at that point.  Dareus was basically a one man run defense that season.   He left and they completely fell apart defensively and the Jags went from worst to first in run D overnight after the trade.   We tend to think of the Bengals as an organization that has McBeane's number but between the Dalton miracle and trading for Cordy Glenn 4 months later they really helped save the regime.