hondo in seattle

You may be right.

Exactly right. While it wasn't at the same level, I'm sure Elway learned a lot from the process. At the same time, Pat Bowlen could see Elway had an aptitude for this kind of work. An example from the other end of the spectrum. Being a good player in no way, shape, or form makes you a good evaluator of players. Would Manning be another Elway? Or another Millen?

Spend some time in the San Fran-San Jose area and see if you still think so.

I know John Elway has had some success, but this idea would make me nervous. What does Manning know about organizing, mentoring and leading a staff of football scouts, let alone evaluating college talent?

I don't remember Rex saying that but it was a good point. As is yours. The pass I'll give Tyrod is that he was working in a system designed by a guy - Roman - who's best at the run game and setting up an 'efficient' but not 'effective' passing game. And the OC most of last season was a guy whose NFL career until then consisted of being a RB and coaching RBs. ALynn was not the ideal guy to take TT from efficient to effective/productive.

Passer rating is all about passing efficiency. It evaluates a QB on a per attempt basis: completions per attempt, yards per attempt, TDs per attempt, INTs per attempt. But 6 of 10 for 60 yards is NOT equivalent to 30 of 50 for 300 yards. Tyrod has been an efficient QB, not an especially productive one. Sometimes you need your QB to drop back nearly every play and throw for 300+ yards. When Kelly had to do that, he often could. We have no evidence that suggests TT can do the same. I think we all want a QB who's both efficient and productive in the passing game. But I'm appreciative of having a QB in Tyrod who's at least efficient with his arm, and productive with his legs. And I'm anxious to see what Rico can do with him.

This is good news. Didn't want Beane to get the job just because of the McD connection. It ought to be an exhaustive search. Gutekunst is well regarded. And if Beane wins in the end, so be it. But the Bills need to talk to the best #2s and #3s in the league.

Good football trivia right there. Ridlehuber's only other claim to fame was picking up a fumble on a kickoff and returning it for a TD - with less than a minute left - in the Heidi Bowl.

I remember that game clearly... at least the finish. That game cemented the name "Roland Hooks" in my memory forever. Great stuff!

I liked Vic well enough during his first stay in Buffalo. But when he returned, he turned me off. He seemed uninformed, and a little Sullyesque in his reporting. So - I must admit - I didn't fully notice his recent hot streak. Hope it continues.

Obviously Beane has the McD connection. But I wonder how the Bills are deciding who to interview? You need a lot of insider knowledge to know who the good personnel guys are (guys who don't currently sit in the top spot). Did we hire a search firm? Does Pegs have a retired GM or HC as an unofficial adviser?

How many coaches - not just in Buffalo but across the league - have we seen fail because they just didn't have enough talent on the roster? I don't have a strong opinion about who we hire as GM because I don't have the resources to evaluate some other team's #2 personnel guy. But I sure hope Pegs does - and makes the right call.

Well, good. If we do hire Beane, I'll like and trust him more if he's not a cheat.

Thank you, DW.

This is why I'm still a big fan of yards per game. Not as the be-all, end-all stat. But as an important component of any evaluation. It's one thing to produce efficient looking numbers when you're throwing 15 times per game. It's another thing to drop back on the majority of plays and challenge the D to stop you from getting the ball downfield and they can't. I want to see Tyrod become the kind of QB who can do the latter.

'One is the loneliest number you'll ever do.' I don't like it.

You can ask yourself all the right questions when looking at a college QB: * Can he make all the throws? * Does he have NFL arm strength? * Is he a good leader? * Does he have good 'eyes'? * Does he anticipate? * Does he have good footwork and mechanics? * Does he have a high football IQ? * Does he have a good football character and work ethic? * Can he effectively move throw his progressions? And so on. Even if all the answers are the answers you want, he still might disappoint on the bigger stage. Obviously, I would never trade a franchise QB for a rookie. But I wouldn't even be inclined to trade an average NFL QB for a rookie. Comparatively few drafted QBs even become average starters.

Any relation to Cookie?

There's something to this.

Without critiquing Watson's game, I think about it in a probabilistic way. Given the low success rate of 1st round QBs, the chances that Watson ends up better than TT are slim. Chasing after longshots is more likely to make the Bills worse, not better.

This is a very good article. Nice find! A lot of it is speculative but it's speculation from a guy who intimately understands the inner workings of the NFL. It also fits nicely with what Terry's been saying. While Pegs has been careful not to discuss Doug's firing or even drop hints, he did say he wants a "collaborative" approach. I've interpreted that to mean that Terry wants the GM and HC to work together to get the players the HC wants for the team he's trying to build. And this is what Lombardi's talking about in his article. And, I admit, I felt a little reassured after reading Lombardi's positive take on all this.

Entrepreneurs and business leaders call this "the cost of doing business." Sometimes unfortunate costs come with the territory. Terry mentioned that all teams have dead money. Whether it's for ex-players, or ex-coaches, or whoever - if you run a major sports franchises you're going to end up having to pay people who longer work for you. It's the nature of the beast. Eventually - I hope - they'll find a coach and GM combo they like (i.e. who win) and they'll hold onto them.

The backup is almost always the most popular QB on the roster. EJ, of course, was the aberration. Back in 2014, some fans wanted Jeff Tuel to start!

How well do any of us actually know McD? We get bits and pieces in the media. We've seen his defense. But we don't know the man. The optimist gives more weight to the good info and expect success. The pessimist gives more weight to the bad info and expect failure. The realist admits he just doesn't know. And the long-time, snake-bitten Bills fan just flat out knows there's zero chance the Bills are going to the playoffs anytime soon no matter who fills the GM and HC roles. It's way beyond coaches and scouts - it's a cosmic principle of some mysterious kind, or an evil curse, or bad karma from a past football sin that hasn't been worked out yet.

Exactly right. Here's why I kind of lean toward Beane: Most GMs want to pick their own HC. And Doug Whaley will gladly tell you why. GMs are judged by wins and losses - and wins and losses are determined largely by the head coach. When the coaching is bad, the GM often loses his job too. Some GM candidates will therefore be reluctant to link up with a HC they didn't choose. Beane however already knows and - supposedly - likes McD. They ought to work together well.