Paying the Wrong People

[MJS]

52 minutes ago, Mikie2times said:

It’s like giving the bag to Phil Hansen. 

Phil Hansen was better than Rousseau, unfortunately. That being said, Rousseau is the 16th highest paid edge rusher. That's not a huge overpay.

Edited 57 minutes ago by MJS

[TheFunPolice]

I'm becoming more and more of the mind that McDermott is a good enough coach that we can win, but the issue is Beane's roster management. 

 

Especially once you get into the "who would you hire as HC" discussions and guys like Stefanski or Flores are mentioned. No thanks. 

 

Beane's signing have been bad overall lately, especially at WR. Samuel is never on the field. Same with Palmer. Maybe they would be great. But history suggests not. He's hit here and there, as any GM will, but it needs to be better. 

 

This repeating pattern of late of bringing back previously released players mid season is a sign of desperation and that the roster moves didn't work. 

 

IMO, McDermott wouldn't mind a change at GM. I believe he could do a lot better with better players. He can coach up the D but it only goes so far when Shaq Lawson is about to start a game for you in 2025. 

 

 

 

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

2 hours ago, wagne591 said:

I for one thought Beane was doing a good job in the beginning of his tenure but not so much as of late.  Here is my list of why Beane screwed up and why both he and McD need to go.

1.  Both are great coaches/GM but as time goes by so does your window of opportunity.  As McD said after the Texans game about this roster, he said that while he “loves these players,” he admitted the team doesn’t have what he considers a “super-Bowl-caliber” roster. That is on Beane and paying all the wrong players. I mean look at the guys he signed this year alone:

 Bosa DE (was killing it but we all knew he would get hurt eventually and miss some games, which he is at the most crucial part of our schedule)

 Palmer WR (signed a three year deal and was the forth/fifth receiver with the chargers so far he has played 8 games and has 18 catches for 272 yards 0 TDs)

 Hoecht DE great signing for the game and a half he played was impressed but was suspended the first six games played a little in Carolina and was killing it against KC then got hurt and is out for the season.

  Ogunjobi DT suspended first six games now playing but probably our worst DT on the roster. 

 

Honorable mention Curtis Samuels last year 14 games (only started 2) for 31 catches 253 yards 1 TD; 2025 6 games 0 starts 7 catches 81 yards 1 TD.  and we gave that guy $24M for 3 years.  

  

2.  Signing the guys he drafted instead of signing players that will help.  

Here is a list of players Beane Drafted then signed to big contracts:

 Josh Allen - Franchise QB drafted 2018 (best move Beane ever did)

 James Cook - RB drafted 2022 (great move but almost lost him to free agency because Beane didn't want to pay him)

 Khalil Shakir - WR, drafted 2022 (average WR probably paid too much for him 5yr $56M)

 Christian Benford - CB, drafted 2022 (probably paid him market value 6yr $69M)

 Greg Rousseau - DE, drafted 2021 (overpaid for a 5 sack a year guy who never got better, 4yr $80M)

 Terrel Bernard - LB, drafted 2022 (overpaid, 4yr $42M)

 

IMO only 2 of these contracts make sense (Allen, Cook); I can live with 2 (Shakir, Benford); and two I could have done without and used that money somewhere else (Rousseau, Bernard).  Bernard is small and gets washed out of a lot run plays, Shaq Thompson makes our Defense way better for only 1.25 million this year.  He is bigger stronger and better against the run which forces team to play into our strengths (pass defense).  Maybe Bernard will be better in the Malino role but Bernard is hurt a lot also just like Milano.  Rousseau is getting paid an average of 20M a year and Bosa is getting paid 12.6M this year and has already proven to be a way better pass rusher then Greg.  Greg is in his fifth year and has played in 74 games and has 28 career sacks (not cutting it).  For example, Jaelan Phillips drafted right before Greg played in 59 career games and has 27 career sacks.  You don't sign a guy because you like him you sign him because he is a good football player.  We need to get back to that.    

 

3. Bringing back dead weight over and over again.

  Retreads 

  Philips, Lawson, White, Davis, Jackson, Poyer, Spector, Broeker (all dead weight if you ask me) when we had guys like Tim Settle (DT Texans now), Puna Ford (DT Seahawks now) both did nothing in Buffalo after signing free agent contracts never got a chance if you ask me and are now killing it with their new organizations.  

 

4. McD hiring from within all the time instead of going outside the organization.

  Coach McD always hires from within (Brady and Badich) IMO we were better with Daboll and Frazier on the staff running their respective units.  It makes me wonder why Daboll and McD had a rocky relationship, and Frazier was fired.  I believe McD was responsible for the whole 13 seconds debacle when he played the analytics instead of going with his gut and kicking it inbounds.  I want to believe that Frazier was telling him to kick it in bounds to kill some time and when McD's plan backfired he fired Frazier.  When Frazier was running the D the opposing team always seemed to have a good opening drive but then Frazier made adjustments, with Badich running the D the opposing team has a good first half and some of the games get away from us, but after the half when the game is already lost he makes adjustments).  For example the Atlanta game right before the half with under 2 minutes the Falcons drove right down the field to get into FG range which was almost a TD, and the Texans game right after the Bills scored to get some momentum the Texans went right down the field and scored a TD right before the half. both unacceptable.  

 

5. What is up with all these injuries, I know it happens around the league but dam.

 Our training staff sucks, or our coaches are being over-protective.  

 

6. What happened to the players being the best version of themselves (remember when JA17 first got here and that was one of the things that lured people in).  Now it feels like it is not that anymore and it is do what I say and like it and smile.  No top end WR free agent is going to want to come here to run block all the time because that is not what they want to do.  They want the ball to make plays not to block.  

Where does he say he doesn’t have a “SB roster?” Genuinely curious.

[PonyBoy]

1 hour ago, HOUSE said:

I got $40 for shoveling one 40 foot driveway this morning

I do a ***** job too

 

$40 !!!!

You're going to need a bigger wallet 😎

[billsfan89]

I think Beane’s resignings are mostly fine. I can’t think of one that’s been all that terrible that was upper mid level money or better. Maybe Knox but Knox is at least productive and keeps Josh happy.

 

I think largely the issue has been external free agents. 2020 to 2022 when the Bills were still on Josh’s rookie deal were very frustrating with external free agents. They  had signed a bunch of JAGS and OK Dline players (Butler, Addison, Q. Jefferson to name a few) from 2020-2021.
 

They needed a big time pass rusher difference maker and they could have gotten that had they combined the cap space they were paying to guys like Addison, Jefferson and Butler. Then in 2022 when they decide to go after a big fish they go out and get Von who was awesome but then got hurt on a freak play.

 

2023 the Bills cap started to feel a crunch and they have had to be more restricted with external free agents. It’s been a mixed bag McGovern and Edwards were home runs. But Samuel and Palmer have been busts. 

Largely I think the Bills are at a point where they have to start taking more bold risks. They don’t have to go stupid and make big move after big move to chase losses. I think they need to make more high upside lower floor picks in the draft like Walker esp in the mid rounds. 
 

I think with vet guys they have to continue to do what they did with Bosa and sign guys who are a bit of an injury risk but have high upside. I think they may have to trade a high draft pick swap for a WR to help now.

 

If this team lets say makes the playoffs and wins a round but loses a close game in the divisional round the mandate should be to either fire McD or put him and Beane on a Super Bowl or bust mandate and they should manage the roster that way.

[RyanC883]

Number 3 on the list is interesting.  Why are Ford and Settle both productive before and after their times here?  It's like a mystery of the DL.  Secondary players do better (at least for a while) when we bring them in.  

 

Overall, I agree. We paid too many of the wrong guys, basically overpaying good but not great players at the expense of nabbing 1-2 more great players.  You need more great/elite guys to win a SB with a bunch of above-average guys and some JAGs.  

[RyanC883]

20 minutes ago, TheFunPolice said:

I'm becoming more and more of the mind that McDermott is a good enough coach that we can win, but the issue is Beane's roster management. 

 

Especially once you get into the "who would you hire as HC" discussions and guys like Stefanski or Flores are mentioned. No thanks. 

 

Beane's signing have been bad overall lately, especially at WR. Samuel is never on the field. Same with Palmer. Maybe they would be great. But history suggests not. He's hit here and there, as any GM will, but it needs to be better. 

 

This repeating pattern of late of bringing back previously released players mid season is a sign of desperation and that the roster moves didn't work. 

 

IMO, McDermott wouldn't mind a change at GM. I believe he could do a lot better with better players. He can coach up the D but it only goes so far when Shaq Lawson is about to start a game for you in 2025. 

 

 

 

 

I'd like a new coach, but a new GM may be more of a need.  We simply have no talent, but how much of the talent acquisition is Bean acting on behalf of McD?  

 

I think a coach like Kubiak or Shula would be great here.  The hiring of intro coordinators during Allen's SB window is a bit perplexing.  

[Mikie2times]

41 minutes ago, st pete gogolak said:

Are you against paying Phil Hansen? I’m not. Sad day when he retired. Pretty much signaled end of an era.

 

33 minutes ago, MJS said:

Phil Hansen was better than Rousseau, unfortunately. That being said, Rousseau is the 16th highest paid edge rusher. That's not a huge overpay.

I was sort of messing around with that comment because like most Bills fans he’s certainly a favorite of mine. The main point I was making is Phil was the do everything run defender of that era. To me he’s a very similar player to Greg. Which is why I would still contend that deal is/was a mistake.
 

Phil was not a foundational

piece nor is Greg, rather an absolute stud to partner with a premier pass rusher. Phil had Bruce, but Greg’s not going to get anybody. At that contract he’s going to make it very hard for us to sign an elite pass rusher even if we have the chance to do so. It will just be too much locked up at the position. He was the wrong centerpiece like Phil would have been in the same situation. 

Edited 25 minutes ago by Mikie2times

[Guns N' Rosen]

2 hours ago, Ridgewaycynic2013 said:

It's the New York State taxes, and the weather, I tells ya! 🙁

Taxes n' palm trees 

Kevyn Adams was right 😱

[Robert Paulson]

3 hours ago, Ridgewaycynic2013 said:

It's the New York State taxes, and the weather, I tells ya! 🙁

No palm trees

[In Summary]

Beane's expensive moonshots on older stars and vets wouldn't be as necessary with a better hit rate on high round picks.  

[Jrb1979]

1 minute ago, In Summary said:

Beane's expensive moonshots on older stars and vets wouldn't be as necessary with a better hit rate on high round picks.  

I agree. IMO that starts with focusing more on talent than culture in the first 2 rounds.