1) Let me get this out of the way…I am not a fan of this trade. A 6th round pick is nothing, but is also what I thought they could get. Since August, the Bills have painted Dareus in a “We really don’t want you here” corner. Once you do that, teams aren’t going to line up to give you the goods because they know you are in a trade position of desperation. Additionally, I don’t think the new hierarchy gave Dareus that much of a chance to be successful on the field because they didn’t play him all that much and it has only been 6 games. Now, he’s been better the last two weeks and that shouldn’t be forgotten. In terms of recent off the field stuff, yes, I know he was late for a preseason game, but as I wrote then, it isn’t the end of the world. I would rather they slapped his wrist and tried to make it work out. We’ve seen him at his best before and I feel this defense would have been tailored made for him. If you wanted to trade him, I would have done it in the offseason and played him more so his value could go up. Alas, if there’s one thing that is apparent when it comes to McBeane, it is how this is their fucking ship and if they think you are slightly not on board with them or a part of the last ship, they will throw your ass overboard.
2) This has been set in motion since since Dareus was late to the preseason game against Baltimore. When McDermott -who says a lot but without much substance- tells an NFL Network reporter that he isn’t sure Dareus will buy in, at that juncture you knew he was getting shipped out. Factor in how his playing time has been all over the place and that just adds to it. It is a ballsy move when you consider the Bills are 4-2 and Dareus is arguably your most talented defensive player. He was also popular with his teammates, so, you know they can’t be all that happy. You’ve just dealt someone who you probably feel can contribute to help them make the playoffs this year. That’s the key here. This deal is all about tomorrow, but do you think these players care about tomorrow? Kyle Williams gives a shit about today. Same for Tyrod and McCoy. Dealing Dareus may help in 2019 when his dead cap money is gone, but it won’t help the team get better this year.
3) Who to blame on what happened to Marcell’s career here? I think everyone has a part. Let’s start with Dareus. Even though he’s had some off the field tragedies with his family which shouldn’t get glossed over, you can’t smoke weed or be late to a bunch of meetings. Yeah, I think tardiness isn’t awful since I’m late for my job all the time, but my employers don’t care. The Bills obviously do. One thing I’ll say until I’m blue in the face is that you are an idiot if you chastise the Bills for giving him that deal. The dude deserved it in 2015 when he had back-to-back awesome seasons. What really fucked everything up was when Rex Ryan came here and his 3-4 defense shackled everyone and Dareus paid the most for it. If Dareus was still in a 4-3 defense the last two seasons, I don’t think we’d be having this conversation because his output on the field would have been better and that would have trumped his off the field stuff. As for McBeane, they have had a hard-on for anyone who they didn’t select unless you are Eric Wood. Yes, new regimes tend to get rid of previous guys, but I think some of their moves are going to hurt them this season.
4) Get ready for a ton of leaks from One Bills Drive or Chris Brown/John Murphy giving hot takes on how Dareus was the worst person ever. It will happen. Wait, it has been happening since the Bills hired that ex-marine DL coach and every media member who hated Dareus couldn’t wait for Rambo to whip his ass. Some in the media have hated Dareus since 2013 when Jerry Sullivan wrote how he was an embarrassment to Ralph Wilson’s memory because he was caught drag racing. Of course, when Dareus played his ass off, #Smalltimer didn’t write anything about him, but did pen a piece on how the Bills should give a player another chance when he was caught bullying and using the N word multiple times. What a guy…So, yeah, everyone is going to enjoy taking pot shots at him leaving. Also, look for certain dipshit media members to turn on Tyrod Taylor (Wait. That already happened) and LeSean McCoy since Dareus is gone. They are going to need a new whipping boy.
5) I’ve never bought into the Bills being concerned about the cap ramifications of cutting or trading Dareus. McBeane has said since day 1 they want to build the team through the draft and NOT free agency. Right now the Bills don’t have any draft picks who are due for deals because they basically got rid of those players from the previous regime. So, as much as some will say the Bills did this to get Dareus off the books, the Bills team building philosophy won’t really be tested by this. Plus, it isn’t like Pegula can’t afford to pay him money. I mean, #Onebuffalo has been paying people to sit at home for years now. As it stands, the Bills have 30-million in cap space for next year which isn’t that bad at all. So, don’t fall for lazy media narrative on how the cap is/was in awful space. This has never been about the cap, but all about McBeane’s Hulkamania demandments about accountability, flexibility and whatever the hell they always say. Basically, they don’t care about Buddy Nix or Doug Whaley’s players and want to rule with an iron fist. I’m fine with ruling with an iron fist when it comes to getting rid of shitty players or older players, but I’m skeptical when it comes to jettisoning younger guys.
6) The timing for the Bills to deal Dareus couldn’t come at a better time from a PR standpoint with the fans because everyone seems to be blown away by McBeane and the team’s 4-2 start. The defense is overachieving, so, they can spin it in a positive and make guys like Eddie Yarbrough and Jerel Worthy as being the underdog, blue-collar, overachievers who Buffalo fans cream their pants for. However, the defense has shown some holes over the last two games and with injuries hitting the secondary, it is no telling how much the defense could hit the rocks. Plus, Dareus is going to a Jags defense that kills QBs and has been really carrying the team. If that defense continues its trend and Dareus helps them out in the run defense -something they aren’t good at- you bet your ass I’m going to be tweeting about it.
Final word: While I’m not happy with the deal, this probably had to happen in the grand schemes of things. The Bills and Dareus got tired of each other. Just getting a change of scenery to go along with lesser expectations will help out Dareus. For the Bills, well, I’m happy we can all move on as I wasn’t exactly thrilled with the weekly debate on Dareus snap counts and the endless culture demandments from the Bills and how Dareus didn’t fit in. It was just so tiring for me the last 3 seasons to try and reason with why this was happening to Dareus. I felt it was a one way narrative on how Dareus was awful without counting on how the previous coaching staff fucked him. Still, it is a relief All parties can move on so I don’t have to bitch about it. Yet, while there is relief, there is still disappointment.
Dareus was the one player during the drought who I felt the Bills FINALLY got right in the 1st round. There’s been a lot of reasons for the drought and shitty picks in the 1st round was near the top of the list. Dareus seemed to be different. He was really good from 2013-2014 and helped change the defense that was awful during the Chan Gailey years. He was that brass ring that we all grabbed at because we were so desperate for change. Whenever you get rid of someone who was going to help you get over the hump and who you saw greatness from, it really cuts deep. Some fans can’t wait to run players out of here because you gotta blame someone for the losing product and star or wealthy players tend to get that grief. I never really was down with that. Win or lose, if a player was contributing and young, I would rather build on those talents instead of stripping away at it.
When Dareus was on, he got sacks and he was stellar against the run. He deserved his new deal and I felt we’d have him here for the next decade. Alas, more money and Rex Ryan’s shitty scheme brought more problems. Injuries, off the field stuff, shitty schemes, and the Bills being a clown show with Whaley/rex brought down Dareus. Yes, the Bills will spin new culture, how Dareus didn’t believe in it, and Bills media friends will blow McBeane as being able to communicate with martians in order to get #rocknwawrow exclusives. Still, this sucks and it just feels like another sad failing moment in the Bills drought.
McBeane better be good at drafting as they are in trusting their own process.
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