offsides#76FredSmerlas

I know there is one guy in Shelby NC that is very happy. Brandon Spikes said it was a great hire and that none of the players liked Marrone and that he was very distant and non friendly to the team. Brandon said he really wants to come back next season.

That's fine DC Tom I rarely post and was just trying to share a true and honest story. I understand there are a lot of people that find pleasure in making up things so the reader can decide what they believe is true and what is not. I continued my conversation with my cousin last night and he did tell me that Spikes said that he can't even remember having a discussion with Coach Marrone during his time here and that he found it odd that Marrone didn't have any close bonds with any of the team.

My cousin Dan who lives in the Charlotte NC area bumped in to Brandon Spikes today at a barbecue restaurant in Shelby NC. This was just about an hour after Rex's introduction. Spikes said that several players hated Marrone and they thought he was a jerk. He said they would be riding the bus and Marrone would sit in the back and not talk to any of his players and that he was very distant. He said that the players are very excited to have Rex and that he would like to resign with the Bills. He said he enjoyed this season in Buffalo more than any other in his career. Spikes said told my cousin not to believe the media and that there is no organizational problems. He said that Whaley is very good at his job and that all the issues had to do with Marrone. He said the front office was well aware that the players were not in Marrones corner. He said the city of Buffalo didn't deserve Marrone and the City will love what Rex brings. In conclusion Brandon said he loves the people of Buffalo and wants to stay. My cousin said he was very open and honest and that he came off as a real nice guy. I hope we resign him.

What I find interesting is that just 2 years ago they were only looking for a guy with head coaching experience. Now a few years later and that criteria is not important anymore. Why are Whaley and Brandon changing their philosophy or is it Pegula who is telling them to keep the door open to all candidates?

Mark80 it sounds like you know what you are talking about. I was a little more excited last night because I read in a few places that if Buffalo and Baltimore tied Buffalo wins the tie breaker but it sounds to me after reading what you wrote that this is not true.

I guess everyone is able to share their opinion but the bottom line is you have to somehow find a QB or it doesn't matter how you draft. I think Whaley has a done a very credible job and I would hate to lose him but if this franchise doesn't get a QB soon then GM's and coaches will continue to get fired because without the guy behind center you cannot win consistently in this league. We are strong in so many areas now we need a QB. The Patriots have had medicore teams and so have the Packers, Saints, Colts and before this season the Bronco's. The thing is though they all have great QB's and will win more often then they lose. The Saints are crumbling this year but watch how fast they bounce back because they have a QB. The Bronco's went to the Super Bowl with an average defense last season. The Patriots play offense with new has beens every year but keep it rolling.

I get so tired reading year after year all these people complaining because of "would of, could of should of's". Guess what the draft is a crap shoot and teams hit and teams miss. The Bills have hit more than they have missed in the last 3 years. You could say "wow" we picked up Kyle Williams in the 5th round or we got a starting right tackle in the last round in the 2014 draft but it is always more fun to be a critic. Instead of saying we missed on what some are saying could be the best QB ever in Rodgers you should say "wow" 23 teams missed on him. Hell even Seattle missed on Russell Wilson for 2 rounds. Every team had more than one shot to grab him but it is fun to say the Bills missed on him. The QB position is such a roll of the dice situation. I would rather take a chance on a QB after the second round then to grab a QB in round 1 or 2 anyways. This Mariota kid is a one read thrower like Manuel was in college. Like EJ he shows all the intangibles but if he can't read a defense were in trouble and he hasn't proved he can yet. He might be able to learn this crucial part to being a QB but do you want to chance that even if we had a first round pick, not me.

I think the Bills thought they had something in EJ and they still might believe this; otherwise they don't make this deal to get Watkins. Everything else said is blah, blah, blah... Think about this, if we don't pick up Orten, Dixon, and Brown we might be a bottom 10 team even with a defense. We had a defense last season and that didn't help us much from being bad. Also, the way things are going I think the Bills are going to keep Orten and try to develop EJ for at least another year. If a QB they love in the next few years falls in their lap they may go for it but I don't think they are all worried about trying to get a franchise guy. Watkins was a good move; sometimes you need to gamble and this gamble will pay off for years to come.

I'm not an offensive line expert but it looks like he was picking up the outside rush from a guy who was a step closer to our QB. Is this his fault? Who is the guy next to him that appears to be doing nothing?

+1

I haven't heard much talk about us not going no huddle anymore but I really think it has benefited our young QB. I have to believe it put a lot of pressure on EJ to process everything when we were rushing and speeding things up they way they were. During mini camp I heard Hackett talking about how he wanted to get the plays off even faster this year and that they were working on upping the tempo to get more plays off. Then pre season came and I didn't see it so I thought the Bills might just be hiding it and not showing their hand. Somewhere between mini camp and the pre season the no huddle was dismantled. We may go back to it or use it from time to time in the future but it is obvious that our new style and approach is being effective. I haven't heard the media talk or ask any questions about the no huddle but I may have missed it.

I haven't heard this many blunders by a set of announcers in a long time. How many times did they say Jackson was running and it was Spiller or vice versa? I also know of at least 4 times when they said the wrong down. When Charles made a sack he gave credit to Kyle Williams. The funny part is after he caught his mistake he tried to make up for it and say Kyle didn't make the sack but he contributed to helping put pressure on the QB. Kyle Williams wasn't even on the field on that play. Then when we kicked a field goal late in the game the head announcer said Buffalo is about to attempt the go ahead field goal. Really dude, what drugs are you on? I don't remember the Bills ever trailing in this game. They were a joke.

I honestly like Tuel and I see a kid working hard to get better. What's not to like about that? He is having a good camp and he performed well in pre season last year. I was sick to my stomach on that throw he made in the end zone last year but that is pretty much what you can expect from a rookie QB. I'm not saying he should be our starter but I will say if EJ doesn't progress this kid might eventually press him to be the guy. I am really hoping that is not the case and I have my fingers crossed that EJ becomes a top 10 QB one day. If we get average QB play we will be a playoff team. I would love to see EJ play average and give me hope for the future as he continues to develop. If he is awful and shows that he cannot sustain drives on a continuous basis then I expect Tuel to get his shot about half way through the season. Regardless, I think Tuel has the ability to be a very good back up and have a long career.

I think our wide outs will prove to be a solid group but mark me down as a fan who will miss SJ. I haven't gone online to analyze stats but when you are a receiver that had three (1 thousand yard) seasons you are a productive player. SJ may have dropped some balls in his career but I'm guessing that he by far had more balls thrown to him than any other player because SJ gets open. He has been targeted quite a bit in his time as a starter and has been a big 3rd down guy who moved the chains. I think SJ is getting bashed pretty hard when no other receiver on our roster has done what he has accomplished as a Bills receiver. There's a reason why he was Fitzpatricks #1 guy and it was partly because we didn't have much for receivers. I don't think SJ is a #1 guy but he is a solid #2 and he was a highly productive player for the Bills. He didn't meet expectations in 2014 but we had a revolving door at QB, SJ was injured, and he went through some tough personal issues. Give the guy a break...

This situation reminds me a lot about a guy who played for us a couple of years ago, Wide receiver Donald Jones. The Bills would never disclose the issues with his health and then finally released him. The Patriots signed him and then let him go soon after. He retired after the Patriots released him stating that he was fighting a long term kidney ailment.

I just saw on ESPN that the Browns tried to get Cousins in a trade with Washington for a 4th round pick. This tells me they weren't 100% sold on Johnny Football...

I promise you if EJ steps up his game he wil make the GM look like a genius, the surrounding players look like all-pros and the Doug Marone look like a Hall of Fame coach. Lets just demonstrate by a few examples what a great QB can do for a franchise and a coach. Bill Belichick gets fired from Cleveland Browns where he had terrible QB play and goes to the Patriots where he has Bledsoe and soon to be Brady. Now he has a ton of Super Bowls and is a lock for the Hall of Fame. Marv Levy gets fired by the Kansas City Chiefs where he had little to work with at QB and comes to the Bills and wins win Jim Kelly. Results, Hall of Fame coach. Pete Carroll gets fired after an aging Boomer Esiason coldn't get the job done and comes to the Seahawks where Russell Wilson is doing amazing things and he wins a Super Bowl. John Foxx gets fired from the Panthers after he had the one year wonder Jake Delhome flop and lands with the Broncos where Manning brings him to a Super Bowl. This is a common trend, a solid QB makes the entire team look better and keeps a coach from getting fired.

The Bills by far have more talent than anyone in our division. The Jets have a solid defense but so do the Bills and our offensive unit is twice as good. The Dolphins have a good defense but have a mediocre offense. The Patriots have a good defense and of course Tom Brady. You put Brady on our team and we may not lose a game all season. EJ Manuel needs to come through and if he does this team will flourish and have the possibility to be dominant. If EJ falls short it will be a shame because we have the components to be a very good team. If we don't win it will fall in his lap and it could very well set us back for many years. If this is the case then I would give our number 2 pick next season to the Redskins for Cousins instead of hoping for a draft pick after round 1. I hope EJ is the guy and stays healthy because if he is this team will be exciting to watch.

I know this is a bit off topic but I would like to share some things about Perry Tuttle. I go to church with Perry in Charlotte, NC. He is one of the most kind hearted men I have ever met. Perry has had a pretty tough go in life. His sports agent robbed him blind back in his playing days leaving him broke. His brother who had down syndrome passed away at an early age and hid father was a drunk. His latest batte is that he has a disease which doctors say will cause him to be blind soon. He has had 7 surgerys to this point to keep limited site but it is progressively getting worse. If some of you would keep him in your prayers it would be greatly appreciated. The last thing he is worried about is a football career that didn't pan out the way he wanted. Sorry about going off topic but wanted to share a little about one of our former Bills.

ESPN said that he did not drop many passes this past year and has improved on that part of his game. I'm just going by what they said.

WR is a top need, and LB is not??? I highly question that. We only have Spikes guranteed for a year and I'm not totally sold on Rivers from what he has done so far in the NFL. I would love to find a stud LB in the draft that can help us for the next 10 years. I think our lack of WR production was because two of the guys were rookies, along with 3 QB's throwing to them who were very green and lacked NFL experience. We picked up a Vet in Wiiliams, Stevie should be healthy and the two rookie wideouts who are loaded with potential have a year now under their belt. I honestly think most will find out this year that we are loaded with talent at the wideout position and it is not a TOP need.

+1

l So what one is it, can they evaluate players or can't they? Someone evaluated as you put it some of the very best D lineman and put them on the Bills team. What were you saying I wonder when Pete Carroll flopped in his first stint in the NFL? Give Marrone a break! The bottom line is if you don't have good QB play your coach looks bad. Hell Belichick got fired by the Browns because his QB sucked and now he has Tom Brady so now he is a so called coaching genius. I want to also respond to something else you said in one of your other quotes. Unless you are working for the Bills how do you have any idea if they are trying to negotiate early with players before their contracts are in their last year? Did you know they talked with Williams before he signed? Just because players don't sign early doesn't mean it was because the organization is incompetent. It takes two to tango!

How in the hell do you know that we don't try to get early contract extensions with players? What I do know is that they have signed guys before their contracts were expired. Heck, we just signed Aaron Williams this very same way. You also have no idea nor do I on what goes on behind closed doors. Does the guy want to stay, is he playing hardball to get over paid, does he want more years then we can offer? Beyond that, none of us know the long term plans and budget of the team to get certain guys signed in the future. I figure you obviously must know more about the cap than a professional GM. You should have applied for the position. I hate when people think they have all the answers and know what the teams brain trust needs to do with their money better then them. The bottom line is you can't sign every damn guy on the roster, especially for what they all feel they deserve. Do you think the Saints wanted to get rid of Sproles, did the Patriots want to lose Welker. or their top corner this year? How about the Texans, how could they let Mario Williams go, hmmmmmmm? It happens all over the league so stop busting the Bills chops everytime they don't please you. Somebody earlier said we can't evaluate head coaches, not so sure about that. I do agree with your comments on us not getting good QB's. If you have a QB your head coach looks like a genius, if you don't have a solid QB your coach has a max shelf life of 3 years. Is that always the coaches fault? Life in the NFL...

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