Buffalo Bills: Offseason - Free Agency: Trade for Antonio Brown is Dead
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DJB
Registered User
I knew it was too good to be true. It's just so Bills for him to refuse to report.
Well screw him.
Well screw him.
MayDay
Registered User
You guys ever wonder what it's like to be fans of teams that aren't a national laughingstock?
Like, the very idea of a prominent player going to *Buffalo* is always treated like a big GD joke, as if it's being sent to work in a labor prison in Siberia or something.
I don't know how our teams ever escape that reputation. Good players will only come to Buffalo if it's a very good winning team. In order to build a very good winning team, Buffalo will need get a lot of good players. But good players won't come to Buffalo unless...etc.
Catch-22.
Like, the very idea of a prominent player going to *Buffalo* is always treated like a big GD joke, as if it's being sent to work in a labor prison in Siberia or something.
I don't know how our teams ever escape that reputation. Good players will only come to Buffalo if it's a very good winning team. In order to build a very good winning team, Buffalo will need get a lot of good players. But good players won't come to Buffalo unless...etc.
Catch-22.
Sucks to get your hopes up and be rejected, but the positive I pull from this is that the Bills are going after big fish. Re-direct your attention to the offensive line and pursue Williams, James, Brown, Saffold, Paradis. Couple of those guys would pay huge dividends. Draft has a ton of playmakers in it.
EichHart
Registered User
Yeah, Green Bay or Detriot doesn't have a problem getting players to come there. Build a winner and they will come.
RoofIt5hole
Ball Don't Lie
Is the silver lining here that Beane is serious about upgrading WR? Does this mean we're drafting Metcalf?
i'd be worried if he wasn't serious about upgrading WR. this move (or attempted move) doesn't tell us much other than the bills pursued a "no duh" move to upgrade a position. what remains to be seen, and what has been a problem with the bills for a while IMO, is if the FO is smart enough to fill out the roster with non-"no duh" moves.
This is a positive thing. With a young team AB is a distraction. A sideshow is not needed right now. Lots of cap space, use it wisely.
RoofIt5hole
Ball Don't Lie
In the past I had zero confidence this team would even pursue the "no duh" moves so I see it as a positive that Beane's willing to go big
After a rip-roaring eight hours of overnight wondering whether or not the Bills actually had traded for Pittsburgh WR Antonio Brown, the window was slammed shut when GM Brandon Beane said they were moving on. However, past the move that wasn't, it opens up plenty of new questions. What does this say about Brandon Beane and where the Bills think they are? How does it have an impact on how we view the way that the Bills will look to add to the roster? Did they get saved from a massive headache in the future? Joe Buscaglia and Matthew Fairburn discuss it all.
Husko
Registered User
I can’t blame Brown at all for not wanting to come here. Look at what has happened to the career of every other vet receiver we have brought in the last few years. No doubt Brown has his eyes set on at least one more big pay day when his contract expires in either 2 or 3 years. Why would he want to come where WRs come to die?
HaNotsri
Regstred User
- Dec 29, 2013
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I follow a small town soccer team in Sweden. A classic club but it had a similar reputation. Then they got the best rehab center, facilities, goalie coach, physio, coach and behaviour analysts. The best of everything they could get their hands on.
The national team keeps recruiting from that club and now they attract a lot of the best young talent since it’s their best opportunity for development and they keep being top three in the league with a much smaller budget than other teams.
Buffalo’s best offer is building the best environment for football and hockey. You just need a vision and the resources to execute it.
You escape that reputation by winning. Pittsburgh, Green Bay, New England / Boston, all have similar weather to Buffalo. Buffalo gets the reputation for being Siberia because it’s a small market city that sucks. Nobody complains about going to Green Bay when they get to play for Rodgers.
Winning / reputation matters more in the NFL — Buffalo needs to draft well and become a winner. While Beane was making a bold move (which I think he deserves credit) he (unfairly?) gets categorized as the face of a dismal franchise. Same with Cleveland, Detroit, etc.
I always think about myself in these situations. What am I looking for? In no particular order —
a) winning
b) location
c) taxes / pay
Buffalo doesn’t win, isn’t a prominent city, and has extremely high taxes (even though it’s likely AB wouldn’t live here full time).
Does Buffalo cross any of the boxes off? No. So as a market specific issue Buffalo will need to draft talent. Top top talent isn’t going to willingly come here until Buffalo becomes a tropical paradise or wins. At this point I’m not sure what’s more likely.
But the thing is that team is still acting as a pathway to something better. They are essentially acting as a farm team for bigger leagues.
The Bills are in the best league in the world. There’s no more “development”. I do agree that aside from winning, Buffalo should (and has been since the Pegulas bought the team) continue to build up their football infrastructure. Training, doctors, locker rooms, weight rooms, cafes. All things the Pegulas have tried to drastically improve. At the end of the day, though, I’d imagine that virtually every other team is doing the same thing... in nicer cities.
SundherDome
Y'all have to much power
AB has been a top receiver for some time now. It is a business and he has put himself in a spot where he can dictate his career path. He will be 31 at seasons beginning and this is his last chance to cash out.
If you don't want to be here, that is fine. Beane handled this well, imo, he inquired about a top playmaker, negotiated the price and then moved on when it wasn't working. It is nice to have a competent GM for one of our teams.
If you don't want to be here, that is fine. Beane handled this well, imo, he inquired about a top playmaker, negotiated the price and then moved on when it wasn't working. It is nice to have a competent GM for one of our teams.
Uberpecker
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- Mar 3, 2011
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Who the f*** wants to be in Green Bay? Yet, they attract first rate talent, nonetheless. All this means is the Bills still got lot's of work to do. Not a fan of this "woe is me!" Buffalo attitude.
missingmika
Registered User
- Dec 9, 2006
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Green Bay does not attract top talent.
The Bills have signed way more top end free agents than Green Bay ever has.
Green Bay signed Reggie White because God told Reggie to go there and Peppers and Woodson. Outside of that they haven't signed any big name players.
Here are Green Bays free agents signings from 2005 to 2015 under Ted Thompson:
- Ryan Pickett, DT (2006): 110 games
- Charles Woodson, CB/S (2006): 100 games
- Brandon Chillar, LB (2008): 34 games
- Marquand Manuel, S (2006): 16 games
- Adrian Klemm, G (2005): 16 games
- Frank Walker, CB (2007): 12 games
- Ben Taylor, LB (2006): 10 games
- Jeff Saturday, C (2012): 14 games
It's not like people flock to Green Bay. There's a reason they sign like 25 UDFAs a year.
brian_griffin
"Eric Cartman?"
If true, they could likely get him for a very cheap pick. Steelers have zero leverage after AB turned down the Bills.
Husko
Registered User
Yeah Green Bay is actually kind of a laughing stock of mismanagement. Their lack of success under Rodgers tenure is horrifying.
NFL free agency guide: rankings, signings tracker
By ANDY BENOIT - March 08, 2019
With the legal tampering period starting Monday (and players allowed to start officially signing on Wednesday), a look at the impact free agents available at each position on offense and defense. Check back for updates. All players listed with ages as of May 1.
By ANDY BENOIT - March 08, 2019
With the legal tampering period starting Monday (and players allowed to start officially signing on Wednesday), a look at the impact free agents available at each position on offense and defense. Check back for updates. All players listed with ages as of May 1.
MayDay
Registered User
That’s my point though. Green Bay and New England can attract good players to play in cold climates because they already have a winning reputation. And attracting good players allows them to keep winning.
Need good players to in order to win. Need to win in order to attract good players.
Self-reinforcing cycles that are hard to break.
I think the tax thing is overblown, and in any case is more than compensated for by the far cheaper real estate market and cost-of-living in Buffalo compared to pretty much any major market. A player can buy a veritable mansion in Buffalo for dirt cheap compared to wait he’d pay in a major market.
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