By Justin DiLoro / Billswire.usatoday.com
There are many ways management can put its mark on a team’s roster. In several cases, teams have gone through the rebuilding process, one which a team sheds players who do not fit the long-term vision while bringing free agents and draft picks whom the front office believes will life the team to better times.
It’s not a groundbreaking practice, and several teams have used this method find success. Yet, there are franchises who perpetually find themselves stuck in the mud, finding themselves quite a distance from fulfilling their long-term goals.
With the Buffalo Bills’ recent struggles, it’s safe to say: the Bills are in the throes of the latter.
It’s time to be real with the management pulling the strings for the Buffalo Bills: this process is a farce. Buffalo has gone from a playoff contender to national joke in record time.
Buffalo was the NFL’s feel-good story last year. The team made the playoffs for the first time in 17 years, in stunning fashion. However, this “progress” overshadowed the flaws of the team. They moved on from several players whom they believed were not an essential part of the team’s future. This included former starters Sammy Watkins, Ronald Darby, Tyrod Taylor, Cordy Glenn, Marcell Dareus, and Robert Woods, among others.
And that was fine. It was all part of the vision. General manager Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott wanted to bring in their guys. This is not a shock. The delusion is the belief that the way the roster is constructed as of now can produce wins.
When asked if the roster was good enough to win games, McDermott predictably stated, “I believe we do,” following Sunday’s 41-9 loss to the Chicago Bears. There’s been plenty of coach-speak during McDermott’s tenure in Buffalo. There has to be a point where he is honest with himself. As of now, he’s delusional.
This team does not have the talent to win consistently. More often than not, the Bills have struggled to remain in games with the roster Beane and McDermott have constructed.
Even with a playoff berth in their back pocket, there are several worrisome facts about the team’s progress, or lack thereof, during the 25 regular season games the tandem has been together. The Bills have been outscored by 202 points during this time. Eleven of the Bills 14 losses have been double-digit affairs. In eight of those contests, the Bills have lost by more than 20 points.
Their failure to keep games remotely close with all of the changes points to a larger problem. The personnel decisions to help their future players grow is defective. How can Buffalo truly evaluate its young players?
Quarterback Josh Allen, whom the Bills spent a great deal of draft capital to acquire, has struggled to acclimate to the speed of the pro game. But it’s not completely on him, as it’s expected that the team’s coaches could bring Allen along at a comfortable rate. The organization is unable to learn a great deal about the most important player on their roster at this point. If they are unable to gain substantial insight into their prized draft pick, then the season is a waste.
How has the offense’s scheme developed this year?
The team looks deflated. Running back LeSean McCoy constantly looks frustrated on the field. The body language of receivers indicates a questionable buy-in to the plan. The defense’s effort squandered on a weekly basis.
Yet, McDermott seems to believe that the mere idea of hard work will carry them over the threshold.
He discusses protecting the football, yet the team traded away a player in Tyrod Taylor who was among the best in league history in protecting the ball. If the trade-off for better offensive performance could be turnovers, stop saying that protecting the ball is such a concern. Pop Warner coaches know that protecting the ball is important. Plus it’s hard to win one-on-one battles when players are overmatched. That goes back the whole personnel issue.
McDermott tried to show that his team could still be competitive after Nathan Peterman’s rushing touchdown. The second-year head coach had an onside kick called, and then called a timeout later in the drive to preserve time, even though the Bills were down 25. Spoiler alert: The Bears scored again later in the drive.
Moments such as this are too problematic. It’s indicative of a bigger problem. Teams who have completely bought into this process do not consistently get blown out of games.
The bigger problem could be the time frame. Buffalo could be facing a complete roster rebuild going into 2019. With approximately $85 million in cap space for the offseason, it’s difficult to envision Buffalo’s management being able to select the best players to rebuild this team to a competitive nature in one year. Plus, they will have some competition in spending those dollars.
Beane discussed how it takes time for the vision to come into focus. The GM shared this during the week leading up to Sunday’s thrashing.
“There’s nothing that’s happened, you know, that’s shocked me or anything like that. We can’t change our plan because we’re 2-6. That would not make sense. It takes time. Nothing’s that built to last happens quick,” said to The Buffalo News.
The front office’s myopic view has tainted the original vision of this process. Beane is correct, it doesn’t happen quickly. But at some point, management has to realize when things are going completely off kilter. They must make revisit their own process of developing this team. Otherwise, what free agent would want to come to this mess? Buffalo’s management needs to stop with the platitudes and refocus their energy on their target. The prospects of this process being successful are fading mirage right now. McDermott and Beane must give their players and fans a reason to believe this will work.
It starts with redefining their process.