hondo in seattle

According to NFL.com, a former NFL scout named Daniel Jeremiah tweeted this: "Here are the QB matches I hear most often from NFL sources: Bills-Geno, AZ-Glennon, JAX-Nassib, PHI-Manuel…for what it's worth. Jeremiah also said he'd be "surprised" if Matt Scott escapes the third round. Several teams are buzzing around the Arizona prospect." http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000154843/article/jeremiah-eagles-focused-on-florida-qb-ej-manuel?campaign=Twitter_atl

We as fans will always second guess our GMs and coaches. It's part of the fun of being of being a fan. But the idea that we have posters who could be better GMs than Buddy is amusingly ridiculous. Lots & lots of jobs appear easy when looking in from the outside. But even guys who devote countless hours to this stuff like Kiper and McShay are not being offered GM jobs. Matt Millen, who seemed to know a lot about football, was a far worse GM than Nix. If the average fan was made GM, chaos would ensue. Scouts and other staff would quit because they'd rather go work for someone competent. Draft boards would be a joke. Other GMs would be calling to make poor-value offers to see if we were gullible enough to make the deal. And sometimes we would. I'm not a Buddy apologist. I see no evidence so far to suggest that Buddy is above-average NFL GM. But I think some people here are overestimating their own abilities or underestimating the professional expertize involved in the NFL personnel field. If we fired Nix to replace him with a better GM, I'd be thrilled. If we fired Nix to replace him with someone on this board, I'd be suicidally despondent. I'm sure we're all good in our own fields of expertise. Football personnel is Buddy's field of professional expertise, not ours. He's not an idiot. He's just not as smart as many other NFL GMs.

There isn't any guarantees that the QB we hypothetically take at #8 will be an NFL star either. But where are the odds better? At the QB position or some other? First round QBs only become good starters about half the time. Other positions are safer bets in the first round. It's easier to project how a guard, for example, will play in the NFL than a QB. Making this draft more problematic for the Bills, it's widely considered to be a weak QB class. Maybe none of the top QBs deserve to go in the 1 round (though some will). And maybe none of these QBs turn out to be solid starters. While I understand the sense of urgency many feel regarding the QB position, I'm not convinced it's a good move to roll the dice with a QB at #8. I understand why the OP suggest that it might be better to wait for our 2nd pick. The QBs available there might be as likely to succeed in the NFL as any available at #8.

Nix is definitely not an idiot, nor are our regional scouts. Any personnel man at OBD knows far, far more about player evaluation than 99.99% of the people posting here. Saying "Nix is an idiot" might make the ego feel good. But the truth is that the people making such assertions are more idiotic about the NFL than Nix. Nix, Whaley and our scouts are experts at their jobs. However, the issue isn't whether Nix is an idiot or not. The real issue is whether or not he's more competent than 31 other GM's. Or even better than half of them. And, so far, there are valid reasons to questions this. Let's see if better coaching makes our draft picks and FA acquisitions look better.

Even 1st round QBs have a fairly low probability of success in the NFL - in the neighborhood of 50%. I'm all in favor of tilting the odds in our favor by taking two.

Meaningless article. As fans, we only have to learn a few new names each year. Marrone has to learn literally hundreds: all the players, everyone else that works on OBD, not to mention all the college kids the scouts are talking about. I'm sure this isn't the first time he screwed up a name. Means nothing.

Any good prospects in the LFL?

I remember Peter King criticizing us for hiring Nix as GM when there were some sharp, young, up-and-coming personnel guys like Whaley who better deserved the opportunity. Then we hired Whaley and ended up with the best of both worlds (young & old). Apparently, King likes and respects Whaley. And that's about the sum total I know about Whaley. I don't how we fans can evaluate a #2 guy. We don't know which decisions are his and which were made against his recommendations.

Incidentally, NFL.com has Geno Smith as the only QB rated higher than Dysert. He's not flying under everyone's radar. http://www.nfl.com/d...sition-input:qb Though CBS Sports has probably a more mainstream view of him, projecting him to go in the 5th with this assessment: STRENGTHS: Looks the part of an NFL quarterback. Possesses broad-shoulders and a strong frame, overall. Possesses an efficient, over-the-top release and good accuracy on in-cutting routes. Generally steps into his throws and flashes impressive accuracy when throwing on the move (typically rolls to his right). Good touch, especially on intermediate and deeper passes. Stands strong in the pocket to exhaust his throwing options. Is a good overall athlete who isn't afraid to take off and run with the ball. While not particularly elusive or fast, Dysert is more athletic than he looks and is a determined runner who knows where he has to go to keep the chains moving. Good intangibles for the position. Didn't seem fazed by hostile environments (Ohio State, Boise State) and is the first three-time captain in Miami history. WEAKNESSES: Played out of a shotgun-heavy offense in 2012 that simplified his reads and made the vast majority of his throws underneath tosses that simply don't translate to the NFL. Rarely asked to drive the ball down the field and may not possess the velocity to slip balls through tight windows. Highly inconsistent accuracy on the move, often forcing his receivers to adjust their routes. COMPARES TO: Josh McCown, QB, Chicago Bears -- Just like McCown, Dysert possesses enough natural talent to potentially warrant a top 100 selection, but he's a work in progress who has shown just average accuracy on the types of throws he'll be asked to make in the NFL. http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/1631626/zac-dysert

Maybe my standards have lowered after all these years of losing but if we picked Barkley and he was only great for us, I'd be okay with that.

Our options for who will line up under center this season. TJax Aaron Corp Rookie we haven't drafted yet. Matt Hasselbeck Despite the anomaly of last year, rookie QBs - even highly regarded ones - often perform miserably in the NFL. Given that - and given our options - I wouldn't mind signing Hasselback to see in training camp what he might have left.

I have a higher opinion of DJ as a coach than many others. With Perry Fewell as DC and Bobby April as ST coach, the Bills had a good coaching staff mostly. They just needed an OC. That and some players with talent. I judge a HC not by his W-L record but what he did with the talent he did have. I can't honestly say DJ's teams played over their heads, but they didn't under-perform either. He just didn't have enough to work with. That roster looked like a 7-9 roster. Chan Gailey certainly couldn't do anything more with those players than DJ did. I think DJ had a good rapport with his team and was solid with X's and O's. Then again, I agree with all those who criticize his it's-hard-to-win-in-the-NFL attitude and couldn't complain when he was finally fired.

I live in Seattle and some Seahawks fans tell me that Jackson played credibly well in his one year here given that he was injured (shoulder, ribs). One used the word "courageous." They say his stats would have been better if he had been healthy. Even so, Seattle fans are obviously happy they ended up with Wilson under center rather than TJax. TJax isn't the answer but he might be a serviceable caretaker until we find a franchise QB.

I think they went after Manny Lawson fast & early because they thought he was by far the best fit for Pettine's defense. I'm guessing that at other positions, they don't feel like there's a huge difference between their #1, #2 and #3 choices. So they'll wait to the market cools off and then look for players at reasonable prices.

Pettine likes to creative on defense. He might have a role for a tweener like Scott.

I went to the bottom of the TBD home page and selected "Last" and was surprised by how far back it went. Some of the headlines on that oldest page read like they come from some manuscript just discovered in an archaeological ruin: Hobert hopes to change luck [1:12 PM] AP reports: "Hobert, a journeyman who was with Oakland and Buffalo, was cut by the Bills when he admitted after a loss that he hadn't studied the playbook." But some things never change... Area business leaders will keep backing Bills [1:08 PM] D & C reports: "A year ago, a committee of influential Buffalo businessmen teamed up to help keep the Buffalo Bills in Western New York." Both stories are from June 17, 1999. Nothing earth-shaking here but I was amused and thought others might be too.

The franchise tag is expected, but welcome, news. The Bills already lost McGee, Kelsay, Wilson and Barnett. Whatever we thought of these guys, they played a lot of snaps because they were better than the next guy down the depth chart. I like Pettine as DC but I don't know he has enough to work with. It would have sucked to lose both our starting safeties and 3 of 4 of our starting defensive backfield.

So let me try to understand... You actually think a Bills coach who does this work professionally and full-time knows more about NFL personnel than we TBD posters? Hmm. That's a difficult concept for me to digest.

When did the Bills ever announce that they were turning the keys over to Whaley after the draft??? This has been assumed by some. It may have even been hinted at. But it has never been stated officially and definitively. In fact, Nix says he's staying around for a while yet more. I'm glad Whaley isn't getting so impatient that he's looking at other opportunities.

I haven't live in Buffalo since 1977 when I went away for school so I haven't seen a lot of Bills games in person. But I was at Joe Robbie Stadium for this one. Never imagined I'd have to wait 20 years - and counting - to witness another playoff win.

I was taught in the army, "The leader is in the critical place at the critical time." I'd be nervous if he wasn't down there. He's not a talent evaluator but he is the President & CEO.

+1 There aren't a lot of great alternatives. I think we have to keep him. We can't put all our eggs in the TJax basket.

Different teams value different QB characteristics (ability to get the ball out quickly, leadership ability, ability to throw deep, mobility, etc.) differently. Where a team puts a guy on their draft board depends on how they value these different characteristics. I agree with many others that no where does Whaley say the Bills will compromise. He's just saying the value of a QB depends on the value you assign each trait.

I think we'll be a little below .500 in 2013 as we've been for the past several years. I think Gailey was an average-to-good OC. I think the Marrone/Hackett combination will be better but not necessarily right away. It sometimes takes a while to install a new offensive (or defensive) scheme. Furthermore, until the quarterbacking gets better, the offense won't get much more productive. And if Levitre walks, our OL will suffer. All in all, our offense may take a small backwards. On defense, I think we all expect Pettine to be a better DC than Wanny. But we just cut 3 starters and may yet lose another. While they all had problems, their back-ups aren't any better. Nonetheless, I do see the defense improving somewhat in 2013 thanks to Pettine's philosophy, preparation and more aggressive approach. Of course, free agency and the draft could change these assessments, especially on defense. However, I'm not at all confident we'll find that franchise QB we've all been waiting for. If Fitz isn't the QB in '13, it will be either TJax or some raw rookie. I don't know if I'd call 2013 a "waste" because Marrone/Hackett/Pettine will be laying the foundation for the future, but I don't think we'll be in playoff contention.

+1 Teams get most their player analyses from their scouts. They don't care much who's getting hyped by Kiper on ESPN. If thought Kipe was a good talent evaluator, they would hire him. They trust their own scouts more. Sherman is just bitter that he got drafted in the 5th round.