Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘Let me be clear: I pay only scant attention to these 1 through 32 rankings of NFL teams during the season, and generally next to zero percent at this time of the year when, oh, about a thousand things might change around the league between now and Week 1 of the 2018 season. “Power rankings” is essentially code for “click bait.”’

‘This is what happens when you don’t have a quarterback on your favorite team, when you haven’t had a legitimate quarterback for more than two decades — minus a couple of fun seasons from Doug Flutie and one by Drew Bledsoe around the turn of the century. Seemingly every time a quarterback on another team shines, fans want to know if he’s someone the Bills should try to get.’

‘For the champion Philadelphia Eagles there were Nigel Bradham, Corey Graham and Ronald Darby starting on defense, and Jason Peters (injured), along with offensive coordinator Frank Reich and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. For the New England Patriots, there was Chris Hogan (a huge game with six catches for 128 yards and a touchdown), Stephon Gilmore, Eric Lee and Mike Gillislee (inactive).’

‘Last year, McDermott and Reid found common ground on two deals. First, there was the draft day trade that enabled the Chiefs to move up to pick the quarterback who will now replace Smith, Patrick Mahomes. The Bills netted two picks, including an extra first-rounder in 2018. Then, during training camp, the Bills dealt linebacker Reggie Ragland to Kansas City in exchange for a fourth-round pick.’

‘In other words, Bills fans should be saying good riddance because if the $70 million in guaranteed money turns out to be accurate, that seems absurdly high for a quarterback who will be 34 years old in May and has a 2-5 record in playoff games.’

‘Wood was on the phone with his agent as the news conference was set to kick off and when he did appear, he spoke for just 1 minute and 42 seconds, didn’t field questions and didn’t actually announce his retirement officially.’

‘He was a team leader in the truest sense, one of those “go-to’’ guys with character in the Kent Hull and Steve Tasker mold, the guy who faced the media not just in good times but in bad. And boy was there a lot of bad after he joined the club in 2009, a big, burly, friendly, always smiling guy with curly blond locks.’

‘In that exam, a deteriorated neck condition, caused by years of fighting on the line of scrimmage, convinced team doctors that it was no longer safe for Wood to continue playing. Friday afternoon, Wood confirmed this news in a statement that indicated he will announce his retirement Monday at news conference at One Bills Drive.’

‘Taylor is due a $6 million roster bonus on March 16, and in the unlikely event the Bills opt to give it to him, then he would be the quarterback for 2018 at a price tag of $18 million. Based on the way he played in 2017, it just doesn’t seem like McDermott and Beane are enamored with moving forward with him.’

‘While it sounded like lip service at the time when McDermott credited Whaley with the haul, and some scoffed at the notion of owner Terry Pegula saying that Whaley ran the draft the way he had in 2014, 2015 and 2016, the truth is that the ex-GM rode out of town on a positive note.’

‘The obvious takeaway for me was that the Bills will try their absolute hardest to pick a quarterback in the first round, and if they don’t, the past nine months have been one of the great draft smokescreens of our time.’

‘”It’s genius what he did because he was taking out a serious candidate to buy the team and then hope that he would get it at a bargain price,” Bon Jovi said. “But we were as real as real got and, you know, I’m brokenhearted because I would have loved it.”‘

‘Before joining coach Nick Saban’s staff as offensive coordinator at Alabama, Daboll was tight ends coach last year for the Super Bowl champion Patriots. He coached with New England from 2000-06 and again from 2013-16. In all, he has coached 17 NFL seasons as an offensive coordinator or positional coach, including quarterbacks. He was an offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns (2009-10), Miami Dolphins (2011) and Kansas City Chiefs (2012) in between his time with the Patriots.’

‘Because Doug Whaley and his staff had done all the work on the draft prospects, they were retained until the draft was complete. Once they were let go, the Pegulas struck it rich again by plucking Beane from Carolina. The fact that McDermott and Beane had six years of history together with the Panthers was vital because it meant that, finally, the most important men in the football operation would be operating from the same blueprint, with a similar set of ideals and values.’

‘While it was true that Dennison didn’t exactly hold a strong hand in Buffalo, given that his quarterback was the maddeningly inconsistent Tyrod Taylor, and his wide receiving corps was among the least-talented in the league. Still, Dennison confounded many this season with some of his play-calling and personnel usage, and he never found his groove.’