Buffalo Bills 2025 Thread

[IthacaBarrel]

If I was a hot head coaching candidate I dont think I’d look at the Buffalo job as the crown jewel that the pundits are claiming it is. I’d have a very suspicious eye on the workings around the McDermott firing and simultaneous beane promotion. Beanes presence alone would make me pick another spot. You aren’t going in expected to turn a 2 win franchise around. No. Anything less than a superbowl appearance is a failure. After all look at the QB you have? It’s an absolute SET-UP for failure.

You're also reporting to Beane who obviously is already under the gun regardless of the new promotion. The next move will be a total hose cleaning one would think if this back fires which it every well could.

That is why I think they either hire someone who may be slightly damaged goods like a Daboll.

 

[chugg21]

If you're a defensive head coach and your defense gives up 27+ in losses the past 6 January's then you must be a real nice guy to be getting this much blame put on others. They just spent like $25m and 4 early picks to get you additional dudes on the DL and you can't get them coached or schemed up to get any pressure on anyone when it matters. Sitting here watching Tim Settle and Poona Ford be pretty good, Beane brings them in on decent deals, they don't do anything and leave and then are instantly good again. There's some kind of disconnect somewhere in his scheme or something that neuters almost all DL outside of Ed(in the rare moments he's healthy) and Beane and him couldn't get on the same page to figure out how to address it or maybe the scheme just is outdated and the bend don't break model of defense will always crap out in the playoffs against good QBs and offenses if Josh can't put up 30+ to bail you out.

 

[chugg21]

If I was a hot head coaching candidate I dont think I’d look at the Buffalo job as the crown jewel that the pundits are claiming it is. I’d have a very suspicious eye on the workings around the McDermott firing and simultaneous beane promotion. Beanes presence alone would make me pick another spot. You aren’t going in expected to turn a 2 win franchise around. No. Anything less than a superbowl appearance is a failure. After all look at the QB you have? It’s an absolute SET-UP for failure.

Or you're setup to win double digits in your sleep and if you are a coach that can develop players and get the best out of them then you're in one of a handful of places to accomplish the ultimate goal.

 

[BuffOrange]

If I was a hot head coaching candidate I dont think I’d look at the Buffalo job as the crown jewel that the pundits are claiming it is. I’d have a very suspicious eye on the workings around the McDermott firing and simultaneous beane promotion. Beanes presence alone would make me pick another spot. You aren’t going in expected to turn a 2 win franchise around. No. Anything less than a superbowl appearance is a failure. After all look at the QB you have? It’s an absolute SET-UP for failure.

Lots of ways to look at it. I always argued it was an underrated job during the drought because if you ever do find a QB and win, you're a God. Which kinda is almost exactly what happened with McD even despite the playoff failures.
I don't think a successful Type A that you want to hire is going to be all that worried about the pressure of "what if it doesn't work", at least not enough to offset the alure of Allen. But ya I could definitely see Beane's presence being a deterrent.

 

[Toga]

Lots of ways to look at it. I always argued it was an underrated job during the drought because if you ever do find a QB and win, you're a God. Which kinda is almost exactly what happened with McD even despite the playoff failures.
I don't think a successful Type A that you want to hire is going to be all that worried about the pressure of "what if it doesn't work", at least not enough to offset the alure of Allen. But ya I could definitely see Beane's presence being a deterrent.

OTOH new coach gonna get five years guaranteed

 

[NineOneSeven]

If you're a defensive head coach and your defense gives up 27+ in losses the past 6 January's then you must be a real nice guy to be getting this much blame put on others. They just spent like $25m and 4 early picks to get you additional dudes on the DL and you can't get them coached or schemed up to get any pressure on anyone when it matters. Sitting here watching Tim Settle and Poona Ford be pretty good, Beane brings them in on decent deals, they don't do anything and leave and then are instantly good again. There's some kind of disconnect somewhere in his scheme or something that neuters almost all DL outside of Ed(in the rare moments he's healthy) and Beane and him couldn't get on the same page to figure out how to address it or maybe the scheme just is outdated and the bend don't break model of defense will always crap out in the playoffs against good QBs and offenses if Josh can't put up 30+ to bail you out.

My friends said exact thing about ford and settle.

 

[chugg21]

My friends said exact thing about ford and settle.

I think we all became spoiled and stupid. Our roster has 1 real hole(WR) and we think the GM stinks because we don't just have every position loaded up. Been fighting with friends about this. We are so hyper focused on one team that we don't realize that's how it goes for everyone. No team is without holes and every GM blows premium picks and FA signings.

Roseman is considered the gold standard and the deal he gave to Bryce Huff a year ago was all-time bad. In the last 6 years to try and fix their WR problem, he took JJ Arcega Whiteside in rd 2 which was awful, a year later he then takes Jalen Raegor in Rd 1 which is catastrophically bad considering who went with the following pick. Those moves go so bad that he then has to use a 3rd to trade up the next year to get Devonta Smith at 10 and the only reason that was possible is because they were garbage in 2020 and went 4-11-1 so he was starting out at pick 12. Another year later another 1st and 3rd spent for AJ Brown. So the guy who is considered the best GM in football blew through 3 1sts, a 2nd and 2 3rds to try and fix that hole plus hand out giant extensions. I don't think any of us would sign up for that set of circumstances though we would for the end result last year.

So far Beane did a great job brining in Beasley and then Diggs and got rid of them at what appears to have been the right time. Just hasn't been able to backfill. Shakir is an absolute gem in the 5th. Kincaid is a potential difference maker if he could ever play for 2 months straight. Keon appears to be a turd and so are Worthy, Mitchell and Polk who were 3 guys in that range that everyone wanted one of. I don't recall a lot of love for Pearsall or Ladd who are the only 2 that have had much success from that 2024 20th-40th draft crop of WRs.

FA wise it's mostly been strike outs of late. Samuel went from being a pretty solid gadget guy in Carolina and Washington to essentially worthless for us. Palmer seemed like the highest ceiling guy of the mid-tier FA WRs this past summer and he ended up worthless. The cheap attempts on reclimation projects of other teams garbage hasn't worked out with guys like Moore. No one seems to remember that there was no one available that was anywhere remotely close to being a difference maker in the WR group. The top was Godwin, Adams, Cooper and Diggs. 0 of those guys made any kind of sense besides maybe Adams but a 32 year old at $20+ mill a year is a little nuts for my liking but he sure would have been nice to have on Saturday. That being the top group is gross and the next tier is even worse. 5 through 10 in the NFL.com WR FA rankings were Hollywood Brown, Slayton, Mike Williams, Elijah Moore and Keenan Allen.

So given that, how in the world was the WR spot supposed to be adequately filled? We had pick 30. The only guy that went in the 20s was Matthew Golden who did nothing. The rd 2 guys were Jayden Higgins at 34, Luther Burden at 39, Tre Harris at 55 and Jack Bech at 58. Would any of us trade Hairston for Higgins? I might but then we have a horrific need at CB again. None of the others in that range would have made a difference this year or likely in the future unless Burden matures and becomes something but he was a WR4 this year.

Given those were the FA and Draft options for the 2025 offseason, I just don't really see what the bright blinking option was to fix WR last offseason. I thought it was a borderline miracle what he actually made happen with getting all the young guys in on defense which looks like it could be a jackpot outside of Landon Jackson.

 

[upperdeck]

pretty much sums it up.. When you draft at the end you have less margin for error and by the time you get to the 2nd pick its a real crap shoot.

 

[Toga]

pretty much sums it up.. When you draft at the end you have less margin for error and by the time you get to the 2nd pick its a real crap shoot.

Or even with a high 1st rounder like Abdul Carter, there's no guarantees.

 

[Cusefan0307]

pretty much sums it up.. When you draft at the end you have less margin for error and by the time you get to the 2nd pick its a real crap shoot.

This is true, but then you see the hit rate of guys like Howie Roseman, Brett Veach, Les Snead, John Lynch and Eric DeCosta and you can clearly see the difference. Those franchises have been as successful or more successful than the Bills during Beane’s tenure.

 

[chugg21]

This is true, but then you see the hit rate of guys like Howie Roseman, Brett Veach, Les Snead, John Lynch and Eric DeCosta and you can clearly see the difference. Those franchises have been as successful or more successful than the Bills during Beane’s tenure.

So Beane stinks yet of all the guys you just named, his team was the most successful this year outside of the Rams.

Lynch hasn't done anything special besides hiring Shanahan and not sure he made that call. They had a good roster that was old and it's deteriorating and being held together by the best playcaller on earth. The trade up for Lance was one of the worst trades in NFL history and Shanahan thankfully bailed him out by turning Mr. Irrelevant into a pro bowler.

I just did Roseman. Won it all which is all that matters but he was just as wasteful trying to fix problems with picks and out of FA. I sure wouldn't be happy with that Hurts contract, my offense all hating each other and watching that gross offense operate but he's done great just building up the lines so they can bully a lot of teams.

Pretty sure I saw Veach's roster finish .500 this year and his OL construction which he's poured endless resources into is far more of a debacle and more debilitating than what we think our one major hole at WR is. But again he's won it all multiple times. Could probably make an argument that if we had Spags on our side instead of theirs that maybe we have multiple and they have none.

DeCosta has a great reputation for building but look at his last 3 drafts and he has found basically 3 starters total out of 26 picks and the team absolutely fell apart this year.

We've had a roster capable of winning a Super Bowl for 5 straight years and every year it ended with the defense having a meltdown and giving up 27+ and almost guaranteed to blow a lead that Josh hands them at the end of the game.

 

[Orangeman]

It might be nice to have a little break from ex-Panthers players and coaches...there's a whole world out there.

 

[Toga]

Wonder if there's any data analysis showing which positions are most accurate and least accurate projections in say the first four rounds.

 

[Cusefan0307]

So Beane stinks yet of all the guys you just named, his team was the most successful this year outside of the Rams.

Lynch hasn't done anything but ride Shanahan's coat tails. The trade up for Lance was one of the worst trades in NFL history and he Shanahan thankfully bailed him out by finding him a QB that made up for it.

I just did Roseman. Won it all which is all that matters but he was just as wasteful trying to fix problems with picks and out of FA. I sure wouldn't be happy with that Hurts contract, my offense all hating each other and watching that gross offense operate but he's done great just building up the lines so they can bully a lot of teams.

Pretty sure I saw Veach's roster finish .500 this year and his OL construction which he's poured endless resources into is far more of a debacle and more debilitating than what we think our one major hole at WR is. But again he's won it all multiple times. Could probably make an argument that if we had Spags on our side instead of theirs that maybe we have multiple and they have none.

We've had a roster capable of winning a Super Bowl for 5 straight years and every year it ended with the defense having a meltdown and giving up 27+ and almost guaranteed to blow a lead that Josh hands them at the end of the game.

I never mentioned this year. I said over the course of his tenure. Roseman is the best GM in the sport. I don’t think it’s arguable either. He’s done a lot more than build up the lines. Lynch missed on Lance, but he’s hit on more starters.

Aware or McDermotts defensive shortcomings in the playoffs, but he’s always had it be in the top half of the league in the regular season with mostly average personnel. Whoever the next guy is needs to bring someone in who can coach up that side of the ball.

 

[chugg21]

Wonder if there's any data analysis showing which positions are most accurate and least accurate projections in say the first four rounds.

Growing up it always used to be a thing that OL were the safest bet but that became a crapshoot too because they now don't develop in high school or college with most schools everywhere running some kind of no huddle spread. Then its tough to develop them in the pros with limited padded practice time.

Seems that nearly everything is just a coin flip based on the person and the environment they're going into.

 

[chugg21]

I never mentioned this year. I said over the course of his tenure. Roseman is the best GM in the sport. I don’t think it’s arguable either. He’s done a lot more than build up the lines. Lynch missed on Lance, but he’s hit on more starters.

Aware or McDermotts defensive shortcomings in the playoffs, but he’s always had it be in the top half of the league in the regular season with mostly average personnel. Whoever the next guy is needs to bring someone in who can coach up that side of the ball.

I agree that Roseman is considered the best but I can also tell you that he hasn't drafted a single starter on day 3 in the past 7 drafts. Also helps that he had 3 straight years where he drafted in the top 13. Getting Davonta Smith, Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter is sure the hell a lot easier picking up there then it is for any of the perennial contenders that are back in the mid 20s every year. Still have to make the picks and hit on them but the highest pick Beane has had in the last 6 years was #23. Other than that he's only even had 1 other pick in the 20s at #25. If you go look at the draft history I don't know that Beane actually even has a single bad draft. Been bad picks like Elam but then he goes and gets Cook, Bernard, Shakir and Benford on day 2 and 3 which is pretty wild. 2024 is the one right now that is looking the sketchiest with only Bishop playing a major role so far.

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

 

[NineOneSeven]

Growing up it always used to be a thing that OL were the safest bet but that became a crapshoot too because they now don't develop in high school or college with most schools everywhere running some kind of no huddle spread. Then its tough to develop them in the pros with limited padded practice time.

Seems that nearly everything is just a coin flip based on the person and the environment they're going into.

I’d guess linebackers.

 

[Toga]

I’d guess linebackers.

and possibly Safety

 

[Melancer46]

So do it again. The data showed Nix struggled with pressure during the season. He doesn’t take sacks but he doesn’t respond well to it. And in the biggest third down of the game, you let him off the hook? When the DL hasn’t gotten a single sack all game?

What’s the worst that happens?? You give up a touchdown?? WE DID ANYWAY!

Ridiculous decision and another example of McDermott just getting too conservative in a critical spot. Force Nix to make a quick decision.

Think the data also showed he was the worst QB in the league when defenses bluff the blitz and drop into zone, which is precisely what we did on that conversion. Probably would have worked too if the one DB didn't randomly vacate his space to chase the guy in the flat that was already covered/you wanted them to throw it to the flat anyways. Just a blown coverage at a crucial time.

 

[Melancer46]

Ya I mean look as we have noted this could absolutely backfire and the team is an abject mess next year or later this year etc. I just don't know how you can run it back again though when were 9 years into this and still haven't made a SB much less won one. Obviously this hire is gonna be beyond critical, gotta hope Beane and Pegula get it right because that schedule is absurd as usual.

The really unfortunate thing is there's really no obvious offensive coach to hire. Everyone is just kind of defaulting to Kubiak because it has to be someone and he seems to be a pretty good OC but I wouldn't say the Saints or Seahawks offenses really blow you away either. If not for Darnold throwing the most accurate deep ball in NFL history, the Seahawks offense goes from being slightly above average to bottom of the league. If you want to say Darnold has thrown it that well because of Kubiak...maybe, but the deep ball is generally an inconsistent thing so may have just been a random outlier season.

 

[Toga]

Tomorrow's press conference - Brandon, in view of the extensive community support for Coach McDermott, how long of a rope do you feel you have left?

 

[Toga]

You're also reporting to Beane who obviously is already under the gun regardless of the new promotion. The next move will be a total hose cleaning one would think if this back fires which it every well could.

That is why I think they either hire someone who may be slightly damaged goods like a Daboll.

Schoen and Daboll, together again.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Ya I mean look as we have noted this could absolutely backfire and the team is an abject mess next year or later this year etc. I just don't know how you can run it back again though when were 9 years into this and still haven't made a SB much less won one. Obviously this hire is gonna be beyond critical, gotta hope Beane and Pegula get it right because that schedule is absurd as usual.

Sure, "9 years into this" - but really, whose fault is it that they haven't won the Super Bowl - or made the Super Bowl?

I think McDermott was a little too hot and emotional as a young coach, but damn, the whole city loved him, along with this whole damn team.

They KEPT the guy who was the problem - Beene, who has bombed a few drafts, and failed at a lot of his roster moves. HE is the one to get promoted? And they guy who BUILT THAT CULTURE is shown the door in hours, without so much as any kind of goodbye.

They messed up their connection to the City of Buffalo SO BAD, Beene is gonna bomb, they are not going to get a great coach, because he reports to the GM, not the owner.

So, yeah, a real mess is coming. They didn't max out these last few years, but that's on the guy they KEPT, not the one they fired. They fired him for speaking the TRUTH.

 

[rrlbees]

mike mcdaniel to chargers as oc

 

[STEVEHOLT]

Or you're setup to win double digits in your sleep and if you are a coach that can develop players and get the best out of them then you're in one of a handful of places to accomplish the ultimate goal.

It doesn’t matter how many games you win. You could go 17-1 and if you don’t win it all… fail .