ny33

Go watch the game again. Graham gets open, and often. E.J. often locks onto Chandler or Fred Jackson when T.J. is wide open. Graham's hands are suspect, and it is likely that our rookie quarterback goes to safer options for that reason. That being said, there is a very good reason that Graham gets significant playing time. If Manuel gets better at going through his progressions and Graham gets better at catching, #11 could be a huge weapon. He's not "100% useless." Cut the hyperbole. Two prime examples on the final drive: watch Graham on the short throw to Stevie on the left sideline, where he is open deep if Manuel leads him, and on the pass that Fred Jackson dropped in the middle of the field.

Marcell Dareus was great today. I'm not sure who Marcel Darius is.

I'd love a link to the play if someone has one.

Aldon Smith is incredible. He might set the all-time sack record.

How is Cam Newton a "great QB"? He's an average starter at best.

The team also had 8 TFL (including sacks) and 9 Q.B. hits, which is awesome.

DeAndre Hopkins has been awesome so far.

The Bills sacked the Panthers six times.

Colin Brown needs to be replaced.

Why would you drink Grand Marnier neat?

I'm not sure I'd touch a guy with a DUI arrest with a first-round pick.

Wasn't that Summers' first snap?

Anyone else surprised that White is still a Patriot?

Well, then.

Yep, agree completely. Brandon's tenure has been one of massive cronyism- which, of course, is endemic in the NFL- but that's not acceptable if the network has been one of mediocrity, not success. The last time I really respected management was the John Butler era.

Most of the people he, or Wilson, have hired tend to be people with strong connections to the organization or region. The Bills have a long history of making such decisions, from Wilson naming the should've-stayed-retired Marv Levy as G.M., to Brandon's being retained for so long. I think Manuel was a good pick, and he seems to have a good enough head on his shoulders and the physical talent to succeed. Perhaps the mistake I made was in titling the topic, "Russ Brandon should be fired." Obviously he shouldn't be fired one week into the season. But we, as fans, need to take a closer look at the decisions he has made and decide if they were made with winning as the #1 priority. Maybe Marrone was hired because he was the best choice, but I maintain my suspicion that he was hired in no insignificant part because he comes from a program that Brandon has strong ties to. Thanks for a fair and reasoned post, unlike almost every other poster on this board.

He hired Marrone, and served (poorly) as G.M. for a year. We may be a winning team if Manuel works out, and I'm cautiously optimistic on that front. I have a feeling we may end up becoming something like the current Detroit Lions, a talented team with a good, but imperfect Q.B. and a coach who occasionally throws games away (Jim Schwartz makes way too many mistakes that cost the team games). Tell me, what has Brandon done, football-wise, to show that he deserves to continue making football-related decisions? The fact that the Bills spend the off-season at his regional alma mater and the hire of a local coach tell me that Brandon might make decisions with regionalization and his personal relationships sometimes prioritized over simply winning football games. As to those who have launched ad hominem attacks for daring to criticize the regime (not you), please find a legitimate way to contribute to the discussion. Is it such a stretch to believe that Brandon doesn't make every decision with winning as his top priority?

Again, Brandon is a great marketer but terrible at football decision-making. I would rather Brandon focus only on marketing/business, not football decisions.

We'll live and die by our Q.B., so that may not matter too much in the end, but, yes, we should have hired someone less green to run the team. Russ Brandon should have been shifted to a non-football role back in 2008.

I would compare Brandon to a lesser Jerry Jones in that both are great marketers, but struggle when they get involved in football decisions instead of leaving them to, well, football people.

Marrone might turn it around. He's a rookie head coach, and the players supposedly believe in him. But why allow a rookie H.C. to bring in his college offensive coordinator, especially when we plan to play a rookie quarterback, and then run a uptempo scheme that we don't adjust? Marrone might turn out to be a decent hire- he obviously won't be fired for at least another year- but it is still a huge red flag that we hired a Syracuse coach with direct connections to Brandon.

I don't blame him for the details of the actual loss- I question the fact that he was allowed to hire a coach who (hopefully with just growing pains) seriously mis-managed the game, and brought a college offensive coordinator along with him. It's amazing that people are fine with Brandon having his role. I questioned the hire when it was previously made, but the loss today deepened my concerns about the decisions he has made.

I want to have a discussion about a marketing man who has been granted the power to make key football decisions, including hiring a local coach who had serious trouble with basic game management (two instances of twelve men on the field is ludicrous), and failed to adjust his game strategy when he should have been burning the clock. Brandon has never achieved success from a football perspective. He's been great at keeping the Bills in the region and is a good marketer, but an abject failure when it comes to football decision-making. Instead I'm met with childish, non-sensical posts (not yours), ad hominem attacks, and strawman arguments.

Ok, so it seems that people are fine with an executive who has been with its team throughout its losing years staying on board, and then hiring a coach and offensive coordinator (the biggest red flag) who ran a mediocre college program. He's great at marketing, but, sorry, I find it unacceptable that he still has any involvement in actual football decisions

I enjoyed the game. I still have faith in Marrone and the team, and like Manuel. All I'm saying is the hire likely was made because of personal connections and not, necessarily, as the best available candidate. Does that not concern you?