Is tanking and rebuilding the same or different?
— Joe (@BuffaloWins) August 11, 2017
At the visceral level, because of the issues that were around at the time of the Sabres’ rebuild, tanking became a pejorative, eliciting cries of hockey gods and vengeance and unfairness.
I want to get this out of the way first – I don’t care about the terms. Either way, you want to get the best picks possible, make the picks count in the draft (more on that later) and then succeed long-term as an organization. Feel free to listen to Joe and I argue this point on our latest podcast.
Anyway…
The first practice Jordan “I don’t get hurt like that schmo Sammy” Matthews is in and:
Injury Update: Jordan Mathews has a chip fracture in his sternum and will be listed as week to week. #BillsCamp pic.twitter.com/GDuqXm2sHG
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) August 14, 2017
The sooner we as fans realize that the Bills break the players, not the players themselves – similar to us really if we’re being honest – the easiest this will go.
Right now, most of the Buffalo Bills 2017 roster is cannon fodder – Storm Troopers in a Star Wars film if you will – until this regime gets the players they want in place. And remember that an aspect of this “retanking” is that you get rookie contracts you control. Unlike a free agent, you don’t have to woo them, you keep them until you decide you want to get rid of them or they are worthy of a second contract.
If I’m a free agent that’s coming to Buffalo, I’m getting as much guaranteed in year one that I can because who knows if they’re going to flip you or cut you for a comp pick?
My “Race to QB Mountain” series is going to focus on the future quarterback everyone agonizes over, so feel free to send comments about which QB YOU think the Bills should pick my way. Best responses get mentioned in my next article.
Before I depart for today, let’s look at some winners and losers of this whole situation – not just the trades…
Winners and Losers
Winners
McBeane – By doing this, they not only keep their 5 year plan intact AND get the masses on their side for the strategery.
Tyrod Taylor – By being in this situation, Tyrod and his agent can honestly show anything team he was handicapped from pre-season game 2 on – and I’m absolutely certain teams will be cognizant of this when they negotiate with his people in 2018.
Micah Hyde – With the amount of money outlaid to get him, it’s clear he’s a “McDermott guy” from here on in. That means he gets to grow in the system without having the tag of “here today, gone tomorrow’ attached like some of his cohorts
Losers
Season Ticket Holder Re-Sale Value – So now that the Bills have gone full #TrustTheProcess mode, say goodbye to those late season game purchases. Heck, say goodbye to trying to get anything but face value for your games this season. It’s pretty funny that they did all these moves after seasons were fully paid, ain’t it?
Vets That Thought They Were Giving It The College Try – Kyle Williams in particular for this one. Listened to the #compete speech from coach, and after the first preseason game you replace your top outside players for less-than-stellar replacements. The fun thing about the whole “we need a team and not a group of primadonnas” argument that gets ground into dust in Buffalo isn’t the cliched notions espoused – it’s that the part about the team having good players is missed. You can have 52 DiGiorgio’s and Tom Brady and you’re gonna still going to struggle. Sorry Kyle, maybe they’ll flip you for a 5th at the deadline to a team that is trying to win this year.
Gilmore Detractors – One of the key issues folks had with his “I play on prime time more with Pats” statement was the belief Buffalo could earn a prime time game or two themselves. After these moves, good thing the NFL didn’t commit to more, or they’d be ignominiously bumped out of them!
That’s all I got folks. Let’s see if we get through this season together, huh?
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
