timstep

Sort of. My thought isn't that the Bills need a great QB, that's self-evident. It's the approach to acquire one. The approach so far has been either: 1. Reach in the draft for a project (EJ, Trent, JP, Todd Collins) 2. Pick up a well-traveled veteran (Orton, Fitzpatrick, Holcomb,etc. etc.) Neither of these have worked out. The only time the offense has been remotely dangerous was with Bledsoe - i.e a legit franchise QB. He had good seasons in 2002 and 2004 (2003 was a wash because of all the injuries). The problem is that you need a partner to trade, so going out and getting, for example, Phillip Rivers, relies on San Diego being willing to move him, which I doubt they are. That brings me back around to the blitzkrieg approach - multiple draft picks per year. IMO, and I think the playoff teams each year back this up - QB is the most important position on the team, so pretending that continuing with options 1 and 2 is going to get it done just seems ridiculous. This isn't "DUH QBS are important," its the approach to acquiring one, and to that I'm saying the approach has to be radical, insane, beyond reasonable to most. Am I suggesting something that will sacrifice the future in order to provide (possibly) immediate results? Sure, because the other options continue to fail.

I did not state absolutes, but I'm not just talking about Super Bowls, I'm talking about making the playoffs. Marino did that a few times, so has Manning. You're right, there is no perfect way, but the "defense wins championships" canard that is being bandied about is not going to get this team over the hump they've been stuck on for 15 years.

Crappy teams are more tiresome.

Go back to when Orton was signed, and then had one or two good games, the pronounces of a franchise savior were not unusual, despite the fact that multiple teams had turned the page on this guy. It's the same thing with Fitzpatrick. People are willing to accept proven left-overs from another team and try to turn them into gold, and then are surprised that it doesn't work out. Over and over again. And when the Bills sign Hoyer or McCown, or some other journeyman vet, who does just enough to get people excited for a game or two, the same thing is gonna happen.

What about the early/mid-2000s Bills, they had stacked defenses for a number years with Winfield, Clements, Washington, Spikes, Williams, etc.? I mean, yes, mostly the team has been abysmal, but they did try this "if we just build a #1 defense" approach before, and it resulted in almost the same outcome. We got poor/average QB play this year out of Orton, who exactly is going to elevate that with an improved o-line? Manuel? Hoyer? Cousins? Let me put it this way, if the Bills announced today they had traded multiple early picks to get Rivers, I'd be ecstatic. Rivers has been elevating a pretty horrible team for a number of years. Imagine if they had a garbage QB, they'd be 2-14 every year.

Draft multiple QBs every year until you find a franchise QB. I don't care about the "What about the rest of the team!" argument. That argument has produced nothing. That argument has failed for 15 years. It's radical and crazy and nobody will ever do it, but accepting mediocrity has grown tiresome.

Russell, in terms of passing statics was 15th in total yards in 2014, 19th in attempts, 16th in TDs, He pretty much in the middle of the pack. However, he was 29th in INTs (he didn't turn it over) and was sacked 1 out every 95 attempts (10th best in league). When people talk about a "game manager," Wilson is the best possible version, because he's mobile, young and only going to get better.

Yes, because choosing the other path has been played out with no success for this franchise, and rare success for others.

But what's the upshot of not doing it? Since the Bills last playoff appearance, how many years has the Bills offense outranked the defense? My guess is not many? My guess is that the Bills have had a better overall defense more years than they have a better overall offense, and what has that gotten them? Two 9-7 seasons and no playoffs. So all you do by not doing it is continue the mediocrity.

I'm not saying it's easy like going to the grocery store, but the odds are if you have a franchise QB and an average defense, you're going farther than having not having a franchise QB and a great defense. And history bares that out.

The odds of filling holes with free agency, late round picks and undrafted free agents is far better with every other position than with QBs.

In many ways you're right, because as the league office tilts the rules even more towards offense and passing to drive up scoring and make the game more exciting, the few below-average QBs who led teams to Super Bowls in the past become even more irrelevant to the current day game.

My bad, I misstated on Grossman, he did GET to a SB. The statistics in the Freakonomics articles are for 45 years worth of stats, choosing anecdotal examples at a time when defenses could maul WRs and TEs at the line, as opposed the current NFL, is not really relevant.

I totally agree with you - keep buying lottery tickets. Remember the year the Redskins drafted RGIII? They also drafted Kirk Cousins. As insane as it sounds, maybe it's time to start drafting a couple QBs every year. I mean, you're right, you're trying to hit lightning in the proverbial bottle, so you don't fire one shot every other year, you fire multiple. Andrew Luck was pretty much the only no-miss QB in the last 10 years, the Colts knew he was a stud. I know it's crazy, but has anything else propelled this team to a playoff spot in the last 15 years? Or the Browns? Or any number of other mediocre franchises?

Of course there are multiple factors, and many things have to align like the right coach, and scheme, and surrounding players. But if you swapped Orton and Luck this year, do you think the Bills would be better and the Colts would be worse, or that the skill level and physical ability of those players plays not part in the overall success of the team? I don't even understand your point, which makes sense, because anyone who has watched Big Ben and doesn't think the guy is a franchise QB is defying reality.