GA BILLS FAN

Agree, if JM did same to RI, he is equally disgusting.

Jonathon Martin said RI used racial slurs. I said in my post "if" that is true there is no place in sports for it. I don't believe RI denied it. I'll wait and see what th NFL reports says. But, again, if they were used, in my opinion it's a game changer.

On the surface, getting Schwartz is a good sign, high profile DC with HC experience, certainly better than promoting an assistant or running to the college ranks. The fact that the Lions will cover the first two years of his contract tempers my enthusiasm a bit, but overall it's a positive sign.

What ? Your statement is ridiculous. There is absolutely NO PLACE in any business for racial slurs. I'm sorry, I'm not playing the card, I'm saying if it exists as reported it is a serious issue. I don't know you and you don't know me, so, let's just agree that if RI was using race as a weapon against JM, there is no place for it in the NFL or any other place. I'll let you walk back your comments. OMG

That would certainly change things on my end.

No evidence yet. Even the Schwartz hire came cheap to Bills because he's under contract with Detroit for next 2 years and will make $6M/year regardless of his salary from Buffalo, i.e. Buffalo could pay him $1/year or $5M/year, he'll still make $6M/year.

I have zero issues resetting Marrone/Whaley. I think the reason we are bringing up 2008 is because Brandon/Littmann and Overdorf were around at that time and had something to do with the restraints placed on the football people at that time and still do. I think it's as simple as that. Maybe Brandon is unshackled now and wasn't then, let's hope.

I'm sure it will be easier for him to keep his mouth shut and play on a team that doesn't throw racial epitaphs and sexual innuendos about his mother and sister on a daily basis -- is the guy a bit more sensitive than a lot of football players, probably. But, let's grow up just a tad and act like professionals. I have a ton of respect for Tony Dungy and David Shaw and based on those guys, he deserves another chance. I'll take those folks word for it.

I'm sure we could do better, but the downside is pretty low to give him a shot --- in meantime use the top 4 picks on TE-ILB-LG and WR

It amazes me how picky fans of a 6-10 team that hasn't made the playoffs in 15 years can be. Really ? A former 2nd round pick who anchored the LT spot for a Top 10 college team that is 6'6", 320+ and graded an 87 before draft --- not even worth a look see -- but let's spend a year alternating between Colin Brown and Legursky at LG and pick up Asper and JJ Unga and hope Chris Hairston mysterious illness will get cured ---- our OL has regressed under Marrone and we could do a lot worse than taking a flyer on Martin --- again, no one is suggesting signing this guy to a 5-year $80M contract ---

I'd waive Asper first.

I think the majority of us who remain negative or are not willing to give the Bills FO the benefit of the doubt or a do over are talking about Brandon/Littman and Overdorf. The post a couple pages back that went through the moves over the last 12 months certainly applies to Whaley and Marrone. It however, can't apply to the B-L-O trio as they have been a part of this franchise for a very long time. We can debate the role that trio has played in the 15 straight years without a postseason, but it is not up for debate that they have been around the past 10+ years. I personally have no issue resetting the clock on Whaley and Marrone to January 2013. I have a big issue doing that with the B-L-O trio. If you, like others feel, the three of them had no role in the failures of this franchise, we should open a separate thread and hash it out or continue with that debate.

For a team that is using a roster spot for Mark Asper, acquiring Martin for a look see at RT doesn't sound that bad -- nobody is suggesting giving up a high round pick -- more than likely a 7th, if anything --- take a look at our roster, especially at OL, it is not very deep ---- we have holes to fill

Most likely. I think compensatory picks are based on a comparison of FA's signed and FA's lost. If there is a deficit Lost > Signed the NFL awards pick(s).

I would be glad to debate Brandon's self-proclaimed "marketing genius" label anytime. Look no further than comparing the state of the Bills, in terms of marketing and the Green Bay Packers. That's one example. As for selling tickets, I think fear (of the team moving), low ticket prices, no competing teams and loyalty have a lot more to do with it than anything Brandon has or hasn't done. But all of that is for a different thread. As for blaming Brandon, you said it yourself, he was making football decisions and was responsible for a couple bad hires. I don't blame him for drafting Troup in the 2nd round, but he certainly hired the guy that did. We as fans have to expect more from this FO and demand accountability and not continually allow the FO to make excuses. This team hasn't made the playoffs in 15 years. Raise your standards !

I'd be thrilled to be wrong about Brandon, thrilled, as I don't see him going anywhere until the first day of a new ownership group. I'm just saying that I think he had a lot to do with what went wrong with this team for the past several years. He was defacto GM for a brief time, he did hire a couple GM/coach tandems, so, he is complicit if not responsible. I hope you and others are right and that Brandon wants to spend to win and maybe last January he was finally given final say over all aspects of operation. Time will tell. I'm hoping.

What's ESPN ?

+1. Spending efficiently is the key and optimizing the trade-offs you will inevitably have to make position by position as you acquire the talent that you want to keep will determine if you are a consistent winner. You have to be willing to spend, first and foremost, you have to be smart how and where you spend and you have to be able to identify talent and in turn make good football decisions.

What about Brandon ? He was a part of the last 2 regimes, does he deserve a do over ?

+1

Incognito would be a bigger media circus. I don't think that will happen where Martin goes. We'll see. But I see him as a low profile player that will do his job, keep his mouth shut. It might be a story for a week or two, but after that, nobody will care.

Goodell is looking more and more like the Brandon Shanahan in terms of consistency. I know Lynch wore out his welcome in Buffalo, I was okay they traded him, I was just pissed they got so little value in return. The guy can play and I never saw anything but 100% effort while he was on the field in Buffalo. The Bills boxed themselves into a corner with the Spiller pick and panicked. Live and learn.

I don't think the media influences the Bills FO decision making. The Bills FO trio makes decisions to maximize profit first, winning is second. They might like it when they are taken off the proverbial hook by the media, but, in the end, this franchise does what it wants. I know Bandit will say otherwise, but with $20M in unspent cap in 2013 and $30M in cap space heading into 2014, we'll all see if this is a new day and a new way of thinking. Still waiting for thatToronto series to get cancelled, crickets.

+1 He's worth a shot in a low risk scenario. Confidence and environment matter, he can play. Might not be all-pro, but I can see him as a solid RT. David Shaw was supportive of Martin, I'd talk with him and some of the players that played with Martin at Stanford (Luck, Sherman etc.). My bet is that you'll see him in Indy with Luck.

and still is one screw up away.