2003Contenders

Given that Klein could be a nice bargain-priced free agent pick-up, I see no reason why the Bills couldn't sign him AND re-sign Zach Brown. Ragland remains a question mark. Preston Brown was disappointing last season -- and I don't know how much we can blame that on Rex. When it really mattered we saw just how poor the linebacker play was last season. Klein is versatile: he played all 3 LB positions for the Panthers and was a force on special teams. Obviously, coming over from Carolina, Klein could also give the defense a jump-start, already knowing McD's system. When Kuechly went down last season, it was Klein's responsibility to navigate the defense. Worse case scenario, he provides excellent depth. I know he is looking for a starting job, and McD would be in the best position to identify whether he is a good fit in such a role. Given his limited experience as a stater, I would not over-pay for him, but if he is available at a reasonable rate, he would be a top priority of mine if I am Doug W.

May God bless you and your whole family. I pray that He brings you comfort during these saddest of times.

Rex is such a stooge. One point,I believe, that is missed is the fact that Rex was talking to a NY paper in this article. So being the panderer that he is, made it sound like he was still in love with the Jets and felt betrayed by the Bills. He may have had a different spin had be been interviewed by the Buffalo News, for example. Even if you buy his loser argument about injuries, etc... In a league where most games are decided by just a few points -- and where a playoff appearance is decided by merely 1-2 extra games in the wins column, Rex made enough game-day blunders to prevent his team from making it into the playoffs in BOTH seasons. Poor team discipline (resulting in untimely penalties), horrific clock management, misuse of coach's challenge opportunities, and simply not having his team ready in key situations (10-men on the field multiple times), inability to make in-game adjustments on the fly, and the list goes on... Rex also showed that in games that really mattered -- against Oakland, Pittsburgh and most evidently against Miami -- that he simply did not have what it takes to get this team to the next level. And think about this... As a defensive-minded head coach,not only did this team's defense radically decline from where it was when he took over 2 years ago, it also set some dubious records. Under his watch, they gave up the most single-game passing yards of any Bills team ever -- as well as the most single-game rushing yards. In fact, they allowed 3 rushers to gain over 200 yards against them this year -- all in games where everyone in the stadium knew they were going to try to run the ball. I honestly do wish him the best in his broadcasting endeavors. I am just glad that the team has rid themselves of him and virtually all of his coaching staff.

When it is all said and done SOMEONE (be it the Bills or another team) is going to pay Gilmore. The market has been set on quality starting corners in the league. Regardless of his shortcomings, anyone with a fair sense of analysis would have to say that Gilmore qualifies as a quality starting corner -- whether or not you believe he is elite. If the team makes a business decision to let him walk because they decide to invest the $15M or so per year that he will demand elsewhere, that is a reasonable assessment. However, if he leaves, let's not kid ourselves into believing that replacing his vacancy will be a piece of cake.

Back in 2004 the favorite was Charlie Weiss. However, the word was that Donahoe did not want to wait those extra few weeks (until after the Super Bowl) to officially hire him.

The ironic thing is that Chad Kelly will likely have some choices to make about where to play, as he will almost certainly wind up being an undrafted free agent given his off-field problems and the knee issue.

This would make sense. Sometime the media reports (even by normally reliable guys like Rappoport) are a bit off. We saw last week that the Broncos were supposedly interviewing both McCoy and Musgrave for the OC job. Musgrave wound up being hired for QB Coach. Maybe a similar situation here?

My guess is Brad Childress. He was (and is) part of the Andy Reid corps and has worked with Castillo and McDermott in the past. Childress would also fit the pattern of what we saw with the Frazier hire: a guy with lots of experience, familiar to the res of the staff and with former head coaching experience as well. Given that Childress would be the main guy on offense here versus part of a 3-headed conglomerate (under Reid's shadow), he would likely accept the "lateral move" with the Bills, and Reid probably would not block it. Considering the early Castillo hire, I would not be surprised if some sort of agreement were not already in place with Childress -- but nothing can happen while the Chiefs are still in the playoffs.

I actually feel a little sorry for Marrone... Just a little.

In much the same way that I have thought about the rumors of Lynn being the "favorite" all along, I have to wonder if the rumors of McDermott are true then why hasn't the team sealed the deal and announced him as the new HC? There is nothing preventing them from doing so -- and if they are that high on the respective candidate, they can offer the $ and control to close the deal rather than risk losing the coach to another franchise. We are already hearing, for example, that the Chargers' interest in Lynn appears to be real. The absence of a hiring to now still makes me wonder if the ultimate apple of their eye is really a coach whose team is still playing -- be it Richard, Patricia or Toub.

Remember also that the Pegulas essentially inherited the existing paradigm that was more or less put in place by Russ of having the GM and HC serve as peers -- each reporting directly to the owner. In Ralph's final year-plus as owner, Russ served as the de facto owner -- a role he continued with during the transition when the Pegulas to over. From a distance none of this looks good -- and perception is reality when it comes to sports and entertainment. We have to hope that the Pegulas and others at OBD have learned a very valuable lesson. The good news is that it appears that Russ has been stripped of football-making decisions and that DW has been granted the task of identifying the next coach. DW knows that he HAS to get this right.

This actually brings up a good point that I did not see anyone elaborate on... Rex always chose to defer when winning the coin toss. This past Sunday Lynn decided to receive the kickoff rather than defer. Hmmmm.

That is why you are best off with a guy who certainly understands the game and knows the ins and outs -- but is a leader of men, a strong delegator and detailed manager rather than simply an x's and o's guy. Rex was a defensive-minded coach, who delegated the offense but oversaw the defense himself. Which side of the ball was better? Before him, St. Doug ran the offense (with his boy Nate) but delegated the defense to Pettine and Schwartz. Which side of the ball was better? Regardless of who the next coach is, I want him to bring in qualified coordinators on both sides of the ball -- and limit his own involvement in play selection, etc.

Continued lazy "reporting" by BN. This snippet was taken virtually word-for-word from JLC's piece on CBS the other day predicting the landing spots for various coaches among the 6 openings. Isn't it funny how the local media never seems to break a story regarding the Bills?

Given the scrutiny that teams place on QBs during draft-time, I am fairly confident that Chad Kelly will go undrafted. While he may have plus physical talent, poor decision making on the field will cause his stock to fall. When the multiple off-field issues are taken into account, no team in the NFL (Bills included) will have the intestinal fortitude to invest a draft pick on him. If the Russ, the Pegulas, Whaley -- or whomever -- really think adding him because of his surname will create some positive chatter among the fan-base, they should wait until AFTER the draft to do so.

Also, a couple of long Bills plays called back in the first half on dubious holding penalties -- meanwhile Miami's TE was flagrantly holding all game long and never got called for it.

I also do not think we can overestimate the poor play from the safety position this year. Everything went downhill once Aaron Williams went down. Also, Graham appears to have lost a step and become a liability in recent weeks. As much as many here love NRC, aside from making the occasional big play, he is also a liability in coverage -- especially against big, physical receivers.

He was a welcome addition on Sunday -- and the DL was hardly responsible for the loss. Had MD managed to make the comeback the week before, I am pretty confident that the outcome of the Miami game would have been quite different.

Or -- maybe,just maybe -- DW has hit the jackpot again with amother n'er do well from another team (a la Jerry Hughes) in Justin Hunter.

Not sure if the original intent was to troll -- or if the OP as simply ill-informed. The fact is that over half of Tyrod's yardage came on the 2 long TD passes. The first was on the very first possession, and the 2nd was on the first drive of the 2nd half. The first one put the Bills ahead 7-3, and the second one brought them to within a score. Oh, and the Jets turned it over on their very next drive -- and the TD return put the Bills back in the lead. Hardly garbage time. Look, the offense really struggled against the Ravens. Against the Jets, they struggled to sustain drives; however, they did make good on those big plays, which should have been enough to win the game if the defense show up. Despite all of the wailing, think about this: if Darby doesn't drop a pick six, and Tyrod doesn't underthrow a wide open Watkins (and instead tosses an INT), the Bills are probably 2-0.

Except... Terry and Kim inherited Whaley but brought in Rex on their own.

Uh no. While he had all the necessary physical tools, Rodgers was most certainly NOT a polished QB coming into the league, which is why he fell so far in the draft (coming from a Tedford offense). I remember back in the 2006/2007 timeframe when the Bills and Packers held joint practices and scrimmaged, the consensus was that the Bills had made the right choice trading away that 2005 #1 for the ability to get the 2004 #1 for JP, given that Losman looked so much better at that time than Rodgers did. Doh! History -- and superior QB coaching, or course -- would eventually tell us otherwise. While recent history has shown that Rodgers' back-ups have failed to amount to much, Favre had a steady string of back-ups that went on to become starters around the league: M. Brunell, M. Hasselbeck, A. Brooks, and of course Rodgers himself. It is silly to think that having the opportunity to play behind Favre for 3 years did not have an impact on the QB that Rodgers is today.

When Tyrod leads a late 4th quarter drive to seal a victory, I will consider moving him into the top 12.

Rankins, although he will likely be gone by 19.

Interesting. That is not my evaluation of him. While he lacks a cannon for an arm, I think his arm is good enough. The issue with his deep passes is more mechanical in terms of his footwork and delivery rather than arm strength.