FanPost

McBeane and the Intervention of mediocre

It does appear that the Bills are in a rebuild mode from the moves which have occurred this off season. Gone are Sammy Watkins who the Bills paid a hefty price to draft, gone is Ronald Darby the Rex Ryan corner. Gone is Reggie Ragland the two down LB from Alabama that the Bills paid a good ransom to get in the 2nd round. Gone is the bravado of building a bully of the Rex Ryan years and the frantic grasping at straws of Doug Whaley. I can say one thing that this new regime has realized. The Bills are mediocre.

In the last six years the Bills are 42-54 which isn't exactly average but it isn't the worse record over that span in the league. If you look at the last three years the Bills were 24-24 and as average as they come. However what signature win did they have in that three year span? What win came against a good team that would signal that they have talent to compete with the big dogs of the league? Nothing to hang your head on in 2016. How about 2015? Nothing in 2015 which would be a signature win. In 2014 the only game to really hang your hat on was the win at the Ralph over the Green Bay Packers. Out of 24 wins in a three year span the Bills had one win over a powerhouse team in the Green Bay Packers. This screams of an average team in terms of talent and coaching.

If you're the new regime exactly where do you go from here? There are two options, try to do a patch job and get enough talent on the team to make a wild-card run or play the long game and sell viable assets this year in hopes of future success. The first option is the Whaley option. Whaley for his flaws was always all in on the here and now and his record shows he was willing to sell the future for right now. If it works you look like a genius however when it fails you have set the franchise back.

McBeane regime obviously is looking for the long ball approach. The Watkins trade with Draby, moving on from Reggie Ragland they are clearly seeing a talent which lacks over all depth and talent and selling assets this year because they believe they don't have a winning team on the roster today. They also have to believe that a patch work of trades to bring in talent this year is not going to bring home a championship. Is this approach correct? I would argue that this is the best approach in the NFL and drafting is key. Example is the Oakland Raiders.

For the longest time the Oakland Raiders were a garbage fire. Remember the approach they had taken? Randy Moss? Richard Seymour? Carson Palmer? They were swinging for the fences every year with draft picks and assets and still were finishing with lousy records. The Raiders in in 2008 didn't have 2nd or 3rd picks, 2011 didn't have a 1st RD pick, 2012 didn't have a 1st or a 2nd pick. Over the span of four years they lost top picks over bad trades and the results were a lack luster roster and then in 2014 they drafted well. They pick Mack in the 1st Rd and grabbed Carr in the 2nd. They started drafting better and bringing in good free agents. Now the Raiders are in contention for their division and can be considered a good SuperBowl pick.

The Bills have lived by the trade and the trade up and they have missed or over-spent. So do I blame McBeane for the switch? No, of course not because right now they are taking the Bills off of the live for now, trade, trade, trade drug and it is a hard intervention. The Bills for 2018 have now acquired nine picks in the 20158 draft and six of those picks are within the third round. A NFL draft which has already been being called QB class and one that has the potential to rival the 2004 QB Draft. They have also placed themselves nicely to build multiple positions at once to bring in young talent to form their team.

Looking back it is difficult to admit I was wrong on Whaley because he was exciting. never knew who he would bring in to try and make the team better for the here and now but I realize that he was just swinging for the fences every time he made a trade. This approach of McBeane may not be as fun but I think it will in the end give the Bills stability and long term success.

Just another great fan opinion shared on the pages of BuffaloRumblings.com.