hondo in seattle

Most of what I said/suggested was confirmed in the JW article just posted... As the call came to a close, Pegula said Ryan asked to speak to the owner privately. Pegula said Ryan then directly asked him about his future beyond this season. Pegula said he had no choice but to set things straight with Ryan. "I was asked a point-blank question and based on the discussions we've been having all year, I felt it was better to tell Rex that we were going in a different direction," Pegula said. Ryan recommended Lynn to take over as interim coach for Buffalo's final game. Though Pegula was going to wait to evaluate Ryan's job after the season, he said he probably would've come to the same conclusion now as he did a week ago. Pegula based his decision on his own observations, input he's received from his front-office staff over the course of the season, and also on previous discussions he's had with Ryan regarding addressing the team's struggles. "(Whaley) had input on the basis of conversations throughout the year, what the problems were," Pegula said. "But did Doug ever say, 'Are we firing our coach, are we keeping our coach?' We never had that conversation. I took it upon myself to tell Rex on the basis of conversations about the games and the aftermath of certain games that, hey, things aren't going well."

Rex worked for Terry. Rex told him on that one-on-one phone call, according to reports, "If you're going to fire me, fire me now." Terry had probably wanted to wait until the end of the season. He probably intended to warn Russ and Doug in advance. But now that push unexpectedly came to shove, Terry honored Rex's request. So Whaley was not "privy" to that conversation. That conversation was unplanned and no one knew in advance where it would go. Here are the only facts that actually matter. Rex was fired. Even continuity guys like me can see why. Now Whaley is in charge of the new HC search. GMs typically hire HCs so putting Whaley in charge is interesting (given his past role) but nothing especially worrisome. I see no drama here. No sign of dysfunction. I'll pass on all the hand-wringing and Sully-esque whining. Or - at least - I'll wait until Whaley chooses a new HC.

Yep, it's hard to defend our running game when we effectively have 2, sometimes 3, running backs in the backfield. I don't know how to quantify TT's contribution to the running game but I do know it's more than just his rushing yards. Still, his inconsistent vision and accuracy can be maddening.

Gugny, nice admission. I wanted to believe in EJ because he's a class act. I wanted to believe in EJ because he works & studies hard. I wanted to believe in EJ because he's thrown some beautiful passes that hinted at potential. But after the Jets game, all hope and belief are gone.

Thanks for the summary. Perfectly predictable.

Agree. Whaley will be largely in PR mode today. Far more interesting is who he'll hire for HC, who'll he draft, which FAs he'll sign, and what players he'll jettison.

Yikes, what we see is the tip of the iceberg. Maybe not even that much. We have virtually no idea what's actually happening at OBD. We have no idea how well they're doing their due diligence We have little idea how much authority Whaley has (or deserves). We have zero knowledge of their motivations. We do know a few things about the org chart but not enough to draw any sweeping conclusions.

Much truth in this. I believe even the Pats draft more QBs than the Bills. I do think it's hard to have two developmental QBs on the team at the same time (we have Cardale), but I also think the Bills should have drafted many more QBs since Kelly retired than we have. Even at the considerable risk of wasting draft picks on QBs who don't work out like EJ.

Oh Wise One! I'm glad you know TT's future when us mere mortals are hanging on to futile hope. You may be right about TT's mediocrity. I'm personally not convinced yet. I remember when I thought Plunkett was a proven mediocrity. In his 5th and last year in New England, he completed a stunning 39% of his passes! After two more mediocre years in San Francisco, he went to Oakland and led them to two Super Bowl championships. I remember when I thought Drew Brees was a proven mediocrity. Being a Purdue alum, I watched his career closely and was disappointed by the uninspiring numbers he put up in San Diego. His first three years there he averaged barely 200 yards passing per game. He was Tyrod, without the legs. Now Brees just completed his 5th 5,000 yard season - more 5,000 yard seasons than all other NFL QBs in history combined! Those, and other examples, taught me not to jump to conclusions too quickly. Some QBs need time to develop.

"What you saw today is what we are without Tyrod." This is what I thought when I watched the game. Scary.

There are few things more fun than an uninformed opinion. Fan logic: we're not happy with our QBs and WRs therefore their coaches need to be fired. Coaches don't recruit. They get what they get and coach them up as best they can. The talent of the players limits the accomplishment of the coaches. Maybe the TT we saw this year was the best of all possible TTs. Maybe he would have been far worse with another QB coach coaching him. Maybe Lee performed a coaching miracle just getting this much production out of TT. Without more information, we have no way of knowing.

There is NOTHING on Lynn's resume that says he'll be a good HC. He's not even a proven OC at this point. As fans, we don't see his intellect, his work-ethic, his interpersonal skills, his organizational skills, his judgment, his leadership. We have no reason to believe he'll be a good HC. Then again, some of the people who actual know him say he's got what it takes. And they may be right.

I really like EJ's attitude and his reported work ethic. And there were moments in his career when he looked like a NFL QB. There are some pretty passes in his resume. But after today, all I can do is wish him well on another team.

Man, what are you talking about? Lynn had 5 days to hire the coaching staff he wants, rebuild the culture, and implement his philosophy and scheme. How much time do you want to give him?

This is why we have to keep Tyrod. As we saw today, things could be much worse.

Yep. Both players and coaches have said over the past few weeks that he's not ready yet for game day action. They were right.

I don't know how any fan can have such a strong opinion about Lynn one way or the other. He's never been a HC at any level and has only become a OC in-season. So he's never assembled a coaching staff, never organized an offseason, never put together a playbook, never led an NFL team. What body of work can we fans evaluate him on? Guys inside the NFL - like Charlie Casserly and Gus Bradley - speak highly of Lynn. I personally don't know enough about the guy to have an opinion.

His performance today has made me regret every good word I've ever written about him. I'm selling.

I'll be stunned if your wrong. I'm still not sure if being a Negative Nancy drama queen is Sully's true personality or just his professional schtick. In either case, he's pretty darn consistent. Nicely put. As I once put it, Sully can find an dark cloud on the sunniest day. It's a talent.

Being a Bills fan is all about hope but I hear you, brother. I don't think the Pats will trade us Brady, or the Pack Rogers. And we already have a developmental project in Cardale. I don't think we need/want another development QB. So the question is, I guess, is the next Dak Prescott in this draft? Not a developmental QB but an instant starter and star? If so, out of 32 teams, will the Bills be the one to find him? Let's remember Dallas wanted to trade up for Paxton Lynch or Connor Cook. Prescott was their third choice. In other words, dumb luck brought Prescott to Dallas. Either TT, Cardale, or EJ becoming good franchise QBs might all be unlikely scenarios, but so is finding a franchise QB in the draft. Far more drafted QBs fail than succeed. So do you keep drafting one till you get it right? Maybe. Or maybe you spend another year seeing what you have in TT and Cardale. I think you can make rational arguments both ways.

That's the thing. The NFL teams with franchise guys aren't letting them go. Unless a true franchise QB surprisingly became available, why would we replace a QB that helped the Bills place in the top ten in points scored? Drafting a QB is always a roll of the dice. Given his lack of QB experience, we can call Cardale our 2017 draft pick. He effectively red-shirted his freshman year in the NFL and is only joining the squad as an actual player this upcoming season.

While I don't think Tyrod proved himself to be a franchise QB, I think we stand pat at QB. Taylor. TT looked awfully good as a dual purpose threat in the Miami game. He seemed to throw over the middle more the past few games. His timing/rhythm seems to have improved. There's still a chance he becomes a franchise QB. Cardale. Cardale is our young, developmental QB that we hope has a higher ceiling than Taylor. Why draft a guy in 2017 to develop when we're still working on the guy we drafted in 2016? We haven't seen him in game action but reports from coaches and players indicate that he's coming along nicely. EJ Manuel. I hope we resign him at a cap friendly price. He's a good backup. And while I think it's unlikely, I do think there's still a chance for him to be a good QB. Some QBs (Brees, Plunkett) take longer than others to develop an NFL skill set. Then again, to give Cardale more reps, maybe EJ needs to go.

The first statement seems sensible enough but it doesn't lead to the second statement. Rex isn't just a scapegoat - he deserves to be fired. Our goal is to get to the Super Bowl. Rex inherited a 9-7 team and did nothing with it. The team hasn't suffered an utter collapse but it didn't get any closer to the Super Bowl in two years under Rex. And he turned a #4 ranked defense into a #19 ranked defense. He's not excelling in the one area where we was supposed to excel. Rex is neither an idiot or a genius. His defenses play about as well as you'd expect given the players who line up for him. When he has good players, he gets good results. When he has poor players on the field (due to a bad roster or injuries), he gets poor results. He's neither a good DC nor a bad one. He's an average one with an average set of strengths and weaknesses. The Pegulas are looking for more than average.

I think Hackett's biggest flaw was his unwavering commitment to Doug Marrone. Marrone's O was a lackluster thing with no creativity. Players commented that Hackett wanted to get more imaginative but Marrone wouldn't let him.

Hyperbole much? You've surveyed all 53 regular roster players and 10 practice squad players and each one has asserted to you that not only do they have more respect for Tyrod's leadership, they have "way more"? If you disagree with someone, you might share your opinion or you might share some facts. Just making stuff up doesn't advance your argument or add to the discussion.